April 2008 Archives
I mentioned Friday that I had an early work day - well, I wound up staying late, and spent most of the weekend working as well. There are some short notice requirements from a customer driving the workload, and I'll be putting in long days all this week.
Being busier than normal at work is never really a bad thing, because it means job security and an opportunity to pit myself against a few extra challenges. But a byproduct is that my free time is diminished, so I must prioritize what I have a little more carefully. Unfortunately, this means little or no time for blogging.
So, there will be little or no posting here at Don't Go Into The Light until this coming weekend at the earliest. I hope you will all understand and come back once I'm able to resume regular posting.
As always, thanks for stopping by.
LB
Why? Because I have to leave early for work this morning, and today's activities will be keeping me away from a computer for most of the day. That means no posting until this evening - *sigh*.
In the meantime, hope your Friday goes well - here's an albino alligator for inspiration:
One of the things polls often show is relationships between seemingly unrelated groups of folks and their views. File this one under Awesome:
If you are male and a Led Zeppelin fan, chances are you may be leaning toward voting Republican in the U.S. presidential election, according to a survey of rock radio fans released on Wednesday.
That followed for classic rock in general - but fans of 80's and 90's alternative radio liked Obama. No mention of death metal or yodeling.
Rock on, dudes.
Maybe related, or maybe not - The apparent point to this meandering story is that the Associated Press was unable to find any significant dirt on John McCain after reviewing "thousands of pages of campaign, personal finance, real estate and property records nationwide". The secondary message is that the McCain family is a beer family, which dovetails nicely with the poll above. Combine the two, and maybe we're seeing the beginnings of the customary painting of Republican voters with the flyover-country-trailer-trash brush we see every four years or so.
After all, it's easy to imagine rock and rollers as beer drinkers. Fans of Depeche Mode or Flock of Seagulls? Not so much.
Does this count as experience? Considering the left's taste in candidates, though, I have to believe this will likely help her....
In a similar vein to the previous post, the town of Sitka, Alaska has its own nightmare:
Jason Alex Abbott, a gaunt 18-year-old with a shaved head, has been charged with four counts of murder, accused of using a dagger to kill his grandparents, an aunt and her fiance.He's also charged with a single count of attempted murder for stabbing another aunt multiple times; she was the sole survivor of the March 25 slayings.
"It was a very horrific type of crime with a lot of blood," Police Chief Sheldon Schmitt said. "It was a very chaotic scene. There was a lot of blood in the home and on the street."
The last time a killing occurred in Sitka was 1996. Police don't have a motive, but this stands out from the story:
Three days before the killings, Jason Abbott was arrested for allegedly trying to punch his mother because she had orange and red colored items in her home. He said they were "evil colors," according to court documents.
From Waycross, GA:
WAYCROSS, Ga. - A group of third-graders plotted to attack their teacher, bringing a broken steak knife, handcuffs, duct tape and other items for the job and assigning children tasks including covering the windows and cleaning up afterward, police said Tuesday.
They were upset with the teacher because she fussed at a student for standing on a chair.
Can you imagine how the teacher felt when she learned about this? I bet it will be a long, long time before she turns her back on a class.
So, is this a sign of the times? I've been to Waycross - it's a sleepy little southern town, not an urban blight zone. Frightening.
Am I the only one who thought of "Children of the Corn" while reading this story?
Does that mean Bill's name is now Adrian? That's not going to help him get dates...
This time, through the oil companies:
Appearing before a House committee, the executives were pressed to explain why they should continue to get billions of dollars in tax breaks when they made $123 billion last year and motorists are paying record gasoline prices at the pump....
(Rep.) Markey challenged the executives to pledge to invest 10 percent of their profits to develop renewable energy and give up $18 billion in tax breaks over 10 years so money could be funneled to support other energy and conservation.
To sum up the position of our Democrat overlords:
1. We want to raise taxes on the oil companies (couch it in whatever rhetoric you want, the effect is still the same)
2. We won't let you increase supply (which would lower prices)
3. We want to dictate where 10% of your profits go.
4. And by the way, after we've done the above, we want you to lower gas prices.
The sheer stupidity of Rep. Markey and his Democrat cohorts is beyond stunning. The taxes built in to a gallon of gas (which dwarf any profits) are a combination of per gallon taxes plus corporate taxes and are directly levied on the consumer. And any increase is a direct assault on the on the very same folks who folks like Rep. Markey dishonestly claim to represent. If the Democrats in Congress really care about the pain folks feel at the gas pump (which they don't), then they should set an example by lowering or eliminating these oppressive taxes. The positive effect on the economy would be dramatic and quick.
Some blogging notes:
It's been a busy time for my family and I lately.
In case any of you wondered where I was in January and February, much of that time was spent on business trips. Thanks to a few readers and fellow bloggers who emailed to ask if I was OK, and thanks to Hube and Elbert for the kind emails welcoming me back. I'll try to be better about updating folks when I'm down for an extended period of time.
Short term, there may be an occasional day or two that goes by with little or no posting. It may be that there's little I feel inspired to comment about on a given day, or maybe real life has thrown me a curveball or two. I do this as a hobby, so I'm not obligated to write a minimum number of daily posts in order to keep advertisers happy.
On the subject of blogging as a hobby... this is all out of my pocket. I've considered putting up advertisements and tip jars, but so far I've resisted. If there comes a time when the hosting fees become burdensome, I may reconsider. Until then, I'm happy with things as they are.
A friend noticed that I was linking to fewer blogs lately. That goes back to being busy - I'm actually reading fewer blogs. Also, I've learned that my trackbacks are being blocked on a couple of sites (and no, I don't know why - my emails go unanswered), so I'm less inclined to do so anyway.
I don't treat my blogroll as a quid pro quo vehicle as some bloggers do. Each are blogs I both read and recommend. So give those folks a visit, OK?
Lastly, March was my best month ever for readership. I'd like to thank everyone for stopping by, you've made my virtual soapbox worth the effort.
Regards,
LB
If John McCain runs this as a campaign ad, he's gonna have an easy time in November.
Unlike the candidates who actually had access to classified intelligence, he opposed the war from the beginning. In other words, he opposed the war based on... ignorance. Good luck with that.
"I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems." Sheer stupidity. How can you prove a system if you don't invest in it?
"I will slow our development in Future Combat Systems." You know, the massive Army program that has spawned all of the force protection and unmanned systems that are saving soldier's lives. Yes, while it's true that the systems being fielded today aren't technically part of FCS, they wouldn't have been developed as fast or in some cases not at all had it not been for the investment in FCS. Maybe Senator Obama would prefer that Army doctrine return to the days of trench warfare - it worked in WWI, after all.
Considering his view of FCS and missile defense, his statement about the quadrennial review really comes into focus. What would Barack consider to be unnecessary defense spending? Pretty much all of it, by the looks of it.
As for nukes - is he talking about the same Russia that's been pining for the good ol' days lately? Is he really so naive as to believe that everyone else will dispose of their nuclear weapons after we do? A nuclear weapons-free world is a nice goal. But to assume that Putin will suddenly start wearing flowers in his hair because Obama asks nicely is more than a little naive. It's downright dangerous. Oh, and notice he doesn't mention China.
When it comes to national defense, Obama's views sound less like a potential Commander-In-Chief and more like Jane Fonda. Is this really what you want for a President?
