Dirt Nap Voting

Posted on January 27, 2006 by Phil Kadath

Even with the more than a year after our Governor’s Election debacle and even after the federal deadline for each state to square away their voting rolls, Washington still proves itself to be a solidly Democrat stronghold with one simple fact: There are still 11,500 dead people on the statewide voting roster.

A statewide computer sweep of voter registration records in Washington found 11,500 voters listed as dead by the state Health Department.

The sweep this month also found 36,000 voters who appear to be registered in two counties. The manager of the new $6 million database project, Pam Floyd, says the names have been flagged for further scrutiny.

Our Governor’s election was decided by less than 190 votes and yet there seems to have been over 45,000 people who shouldn’t have voted in the state.

Democrats call that hunky-dory. The Repubs called that time for a revote.

Posted in Count ANY Vote | 3 Comments

RNS Quote of the Day

Posted on January 27, 2006 by Phil Kadath

Historically, the general development of industry has taken the following course: an industry begins with a few small firms; in time, many of them merge; this increases efficiency and augments profits. As the market expands, new firms enter the field, thus cutting down the share of the market held by the dominant firm. This has been the pattern in steel, oil, aluminum, containers and numerous other industries.

The observable tendancy of an industry’s dominant companies eventually to lose part of their share of the market is not caused by antitrust legislation, but by the fact that it is difficult to prevent new firms from entering the field when the demand for a certain product increases. Texaco and Gulf, for example, would have grown into large firms even if the original Standard Oil Trust had not been dissolved. Similarly, the United States Steel Corporation’s dominance of the steel industry half a century ago would have been eroded with or without the Sherman Act.

Based on a paper by Alan Greenspan given at the Antitrust Seminar of the National Association of Business Economists in Cleveland on September 25th, 1961

Posted in Quote of the Day | Leave a comment

Jeff Cooper’s Still Kicking

Posted on January 26, 2006 by Alaska

A new edition of Jeff Cooper’s monthly Commentaries is up. There was a bit of a gap between November’s edition and now, which caused some to worry about his health.

Not that he hasn’t given plenty of warning about that: In Volume 13, No. 9 (September 2005), the Colonel laid out his desire for a funeral sports-driving rally through the Alps upon his passing. I won’t quote his words as the Commentaries are “not for publication,” but the link’s here. Scroll to the bottom.

I’ve never met the fellow or attended a Gunsite class, but I’ve enjoyed his books and the interviews he’s done over the years on the various gun shows. His physical decline over that time is obvious. It happens to us all eventually. Someday it will be nice to tell my children that I was alive at the same time as he.

Posted in Heroes, Comrades and Brothers | 1 Comment

I’m facing a dilemma

Posted on January 26, 2006 by Phil Kadath

One of the women I work with is in the Army Reserve and she recently re-upped and got a $15000 signing bonus.

She is spending around a third of the bonus a new boobs. Now, she’s an Army brat and is currently serving so she has the tendancy to talk like, well, an Army brat, and that it what she called them when she told me what she was doing with her bonus money.

But that is not where the dilemma begins.

She’s not getting anything spectacular, she has just been looking at getting back what she had before she had her kids. She works at the desk next to mine and was looking at pictures from the doctor’s website (which was oddly not blocked). I saw nothing out of the ordinary for a woman of her build, so there won’t be a dramatic change from when she went away last week to have th surgury done.

And this is where the dilemma begins: This is her first day back.

I’m not afraid of her talking about them and I’m not afraid of her adjusting them on the job in front of me.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist calling her ‘Tits McGhee’.

I’ve always wanted to use that name and even though her last name isn’t McGhee, this would be the perfect time!

I doubt she’ll give a rip, but my other co-workers can be little tattle-tails.

Must Resist! Must Resist!

Posted in Color me confused | 7 Comments

The Soundboard: Dog News Edition

Posted on January 26, 2006 by Phil Kadath

Well now, lets see if we can get this baby runnin’ in WP….

Because of the dog news in the post below, were going to go with a standard from the only album by the Seattle Grunge Band Conglomerate, Temple of the Dog.

You Call Me  A Dog – Temple of the Dog

For those who forgot the early to mid 90’s this is what Seattle bands do when they lose a bandmate and friend, they start up a band. I’m not going to give the whole sorrid history, just buy the album, it’s worth twice the price.

Posted in Kewel! | 2 Comments

A Little Bad News

Posted on January 26, 2006 by Phil Kadath

RNS regulars know who Jake is. He’s the Vichy French Dachshund the Analog Wife adopted a almost two years ago. Here he is demanding, and getting, some KFC last summer. You might also remember him as Black Ceasar on the RNS Christmas e-Card.

For those who aren’t fully aquainted, here’s a little recap: He’s at least 16 years old, he is completely deaf and nearly blind, he also has had at least a third of his teeth removed due to the crappy treats his former owners constantly fed him. Also, his Thyroid has lost 75% of its function, making him 10lbs heavier than the standard weight of a tweenie Dachshund’s 12lbs.

Because of that and his slow, lumbering walk, he gets called a number of nicknames: Lighting used to be my favorite, but now, it’s ‘Jake Ciabatta’ (like Jake Lamotta, get it?).

He is, however, a true Dachshund. Meaning, he is in charge, no matter what. He, and only he, knows when it is dinnertime, when it is playtime and when it is laptime. If you don’t know, he’ll tell you. He does not like the vet’s office and gets to wear “The Happy Face” (aka: a muzzle) when he gets his Howard Hughes nails clipped at the groomer’s.

He is also the only dog to every lay teeth on me. Took a nice chunk out of the top of my right index finger when I tried to take him to the vet on a morning when the wife had to work late. He and I get along, but needless to say, some days are strained.

But that has changed as of a week or so ago. Jake started getting sick while outside, and hadn’t done his caterpillar style run for a week or so. The wife made an appointment at the vet for yesterday morning and the results are in.

Jake has developed a heart murmer that is a nine on a scale of one to ten, also, his kidneys are shutting off and on. But the worst part is that he needs to have more teeth removed. We’ve got new meds for him that should boost his kidneys and help the thyroid work a little better than the last perscription, but to have any quality of life he will need those teeth pulled.

Unfortunately, with the heart murmur, the dental surgery could kill him.

Jake is a football loving dog. Don’t ask me how he even knows it’s on the TV, what with his lack of senses, but he’ll sit on the wife’s lap for hours and watch every game, completely sated. The wife has made his dental appointment for the day after the Superbowl and hopefully he’ll make it through that so he can watch the Pro-Bowl too.

If I drop out around that time, I’m probably off making arrangements at the crematorium, getting Jake ready for his spot on the shelf above the fireplace next to June, our Boxer of six years and Shela, my cat of twelve.

Posted in Life in the Atomic Age | 4 Comments

Works for me

Posted on January 26, 2006 by Phil Kadath

I’m a Lamborghini Murcielago!

 

 

 You’re not subtle, but you don’t want to be.  Fast, loud, and dramatic, you want people to notice you, and then get out of the way.  In a world full of sheep, you’re a raging bull.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Though I would have prefered that there be some classic American Muscle Cars in there somewhere (the new Vette, while fast, is not a classic in any sense of the word).

My links are alphabetical, so I found this first at Drumwaster’s. Though I saw it at a number of other blogs afterwards.

Be careful with this one if you’re easily disappointed. I’ve only seen four possible results so far, with the majority of folks getting the Bavarian Tail Wagger that Drum got.

(BTW Drum, your trackbacks weren’t working this morning)

Posted in Kewel! | 1 Comment

RNS Quote of the Day

Posted on January 26, 2006 by Phil Kadath

The railroads developed in the East, prior to the Civil War, in stiff competition with one another as well as with the older forms of transportation – barges, riverboats and wagons. By the 1860’s there arose a political clamor demanding that the railroads move west and tie California with the nation: national prestige was held to be at stake. But the traffic volume outside of the populous East was insufficient to draw commercial transportation westward. The potential profit did not warrant the heavy cost of investment in transportation facilities. In the name of “Public Policy” it was, therefore, decided to subsidize the railroads in their move to the West.

Betweem 1863 and 1867, close to one hundred million acres of public lands were granted to the railroads. Since these grants were made to individual railroads, no competing railroads could vie for traffic in the same area of the West. Meanwhile, the alternate forms of transportation (wagons, riverboats,etc.) could not afford to challenge the railroads in the West. Thus, with the aid of the federal government, a segment of the railroad indusrty was able to “break free” from the competitive bounds which had prevailed in the East.

As might be expected, the subsidies attracted the kind of promoters who always exist on the fringe of the business community and who are constantly seeking an “Easy Deal”. Many of the new western railroads were shabbily built: they were not constructed to carry traffic, but to acquire land grants.

The western railroads were true monopolies in the textbook sense of the word. They could, and did, behave with an aura of arbritary power. But that power was not derived from a free market. It stemmed from government subsidies and government restrictions.

Based on a paper by Alan Greenspan, given at the Antitrust Seminar of the National Association of Business Economists in Cleveland, on September 25th, 1961.

Posted in Quote of the Day | Leave a comment

Thanks again, California

Posted on January 25, 2006 by Phil Kadath

We have to use our ammo to stop your bad guys.

A police chase at the Canada-U.S. border forced the closure of the Peace Arch border crossing south of Vancouver on Tuesday.

It also caused dozens of Canadian guards to walk off the job, fearing for their safety.

The incident started when two men, both murder suspects, tried to get into Canada. Officials say the two men, 38-year-old Ishtiaq Hussain and 22-year-old Jose Antonio Barajas, are now in custody. They are wanted on murder charges in California.

But the arrest didn’t come easy. One of the suspects was wounded in a shootout with police.

They are suspects in the murder of a cab driver who were running to Canada. They almost made it too. The main I-5 border crossing in Blaine, WA was shut down for hours while US officals completed their investigation of the scene after the two were taken away.

I heard the story on the top and bottom of the hour radio news all night, but found the link to it at Right Thinking.

Lee pointed out two things that I would also like to point out:

First, this line from the story:

Witness Bill Whittle didn’t see the ensuing gunfight but he heard it. “I heard about seven or eight gunshots on the other side of the Peace Arch,” he said. “One of [the suspects] was shot. [The police] got him out of the car.”

Could this be the Mr. Bill Whittle, of ‘Eject, Eject, Eject’ fame? It’s been a good long time since he posted. It would be a shame if he didn’t offer up his experience.

And secondly, it seems that, like the unionized Dutch military at Srebrencia, the Canadian Border Patrol Officers get their hands so effectively tied by those in charge that their union has included a clause in their contract saying that they can up and leave whenever times get dangerous.

CBC News has learned that when unarmed Canadian border guards found out the murder suspects were coming their way they left their posts at four crossings along the B.C. border. Only two supervisors were left at each crossing to protect the Canadian side.

A spokeswoman with Canada Border Services says the guards have the legal right to refuse to work if they believe they are in imminent danger.

And that, folks, is who is watching the other side of the world’s longest undefended border.

Contrast and compare.

Our guys may not have the proper armaments (BTW, where is the left wing’s call for body armor for the Border Patrol guys?) and have to call for backup, but they stay where they’re needed.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

If the Lawyers Say It’s Okay….

Posted on January 25, 2006 by Alaska

…then it’s a pretty good bet it’s legal. I’m talking, of course, about the very effective way the Bush Administration quietly defined the parameters of the political elite’s view of the NSA “scandal.”

There’s obviously a political dimension to the Administration’s NSA public-relations “offensive” this week. But more importantly, the Administration needed to nip in the bud any serious move at a policy level towards reigning in the NSA. With enough political momentum, these things can get out of hand. And from all the confusion over the past few weeks, it’s clear that the chattering class hasn’t had the right facts — coming from a reliable, knowledgeable, and if-not-unbiased-at-least-truthful source — about which the conventional wisdom of Washington could coalesce.

And that’s why, of all the Administration’s public-relations moves this week on the NSA front, by far the most important is General Michael V. Hayden’s speech two days ago to the National Press Club. What’s that? Didn’t hear much about it in the MSM, did you? It’s critically important because of the tone, if nothing else. Unlike AG Gonzalez, or any of the talking heads tossed out to the network gabfests, Hayden’s speaking as an insider, to insiders, patiently explaining things, expecting a certain level of comprehension from his audience about the way things work in Washington, and speaking to them at that level.

And here’s what he says:

Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment