It was a good pick, I think.
I'm still no fan of Romney, mind you. The guy will say or do anything to get what he wants, and has shown me little of the "principled" foundation that we here at the Bund all seem to long for in a candidate. His time as Governor of Mass. shows exactly what I mean.
Still, the ticket got a lot stronger with the pick of Paul Ryan as VP candidate. He is going to appeal to many who might otherwise look at Romney with some disdain, an "old money" politician with lots of markers hanging over his head should he win.
Now that the pick is made, I think the ticket needs to do what the McCain-Palin ticket didn't: put the two side-by-side and start working the trails. It MUST be seen as a joint effort, and that the two are working towards the same goal... and (I can't stress this enough) that goal CANNOT simply be getting rid of Obama. It MUST be the return of government to a more conservative, "smaller" model in as short a time as possible.
There is an outside chance that the GOP could win back majorities in both Houses, and the White House in November. If that happens, then the first two years of the Romney Administration MUST do what Bush/Lott/Hastert did not do... and that is emulate (if not outright copy) the Reagan paradigm of cutting spending, reducing the size and scope of government and lowering taxes. Things like foreign policy, the ongoing War on Terror, support of allies like Israel... all that is secondary to showing the American voting public that the model of government needs to change DOMESTICALLY before any real efforts can be made in our extended policies abroad. I might even add that a page could be taken from the Clinton/Gore playbook by re-selling the "Pay As You Go" plan for Congress... Newt and Co. got a LOT of miles out of that act, and (by extension) put Clinton into his second term.
No more promises of a "balanced budget" beyond long term discussions... it will not (indeed, I wonder if it is even possible at all) happen in the next four years of ANY Administration. Cut spending, reduce the size of bloated government agendas, and eliminate as much of the "new Government" as we have seen since 2008... and I think you will have the chance to show America just what really DOES work, versus the empty promises of the liberal left.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Verum ops...
Funny thing about Latin... the older it is, the more like English it is.
Ryan's "ops verum" would read "power, but..." because the verum is read as a conjunction when following the predicate, but is an adverb when preceding it. So, "true power" is "verum ops", just like in English.
However, the reason for my post is NOT to start a grammatical argument over the verbage used from a dead language in post titles...
Jake woke up REALLY early this morning... 5:00 AM in fact, and there simply is no sleeping when Jake is awake, so I had extra time to run through the news this morning. While looking at the very cool images from the Mars mission, I found a series of pics from the Library of Congress dating back to the early 40's, all in perfect color and clarity (true Kodachrome images, in fact). There were more than 60 of them, and they were images of life in America, un-staged and candid.
Looking at the images brought the thought that it doesn't look ANY different then than it does now. Nearly 75 years later, and homes, buildings, factories, fairs and businesses look no different now than they do in the photos. What is different is the manner in which life was conducted... and that really got me thinking.
Ryan and I have fought and fought about the era collectively known as the Great Depression. The fight usually stems from what ended it, rather than what started it. Without starting the fight again, I will say this:
New Deal changed one thing that is undeniable in the world of "small business" here in America... and that is it brought about the age of "zoning". Prior to 1933, businesses run from a home were treated no different than businesses run from separate facilities. Plumbing businesses were run out of homes, where the "shop" was located on the front or first floor of the building, and the "plumber" lived upstairs or in the back with his family. These were the businesses that failed over and over again during the protracted period of the "Great Depression" and I am willing to admit that there is no denying that New Deal zoning laws, enacted at a Federal level to separate personal property from business property (for the assessing of value and usage in government subsidies), did keep small business from recovering at a reasonable rate after the crash. It is difficult to find any other common factor that explains the failure of so many family businesses in such a short time frame. It wasn't Federal lending practices, or tax policies, or a disparity in distribution of Federal grants and funds (for better or worse)... so what else could it be?
Those images show small business working... but the vast majority didn't, and I think it is because of the added cost associated with maintaining and paying for additional space/buildings.
I wish I could link the images... but I can't find the site now. If you find them, they are fascinating.
Ryan's "ops verum" would read "power, but..." because the verum is read as a conjunction when following the predicate, but is an adverb when preceding it. So, "true power" is "verum ops", just like in English.
However, the reason for my post is NOT to start a grammatical argument over the verbage used from a dead language in post titles...
Jake woke up REALLY early this morning... 5:00 AM in fact, and there simply is no sleeping when Jake is awake, so I had extra time to run through the news this morning. While looking at the very cool images from the Mars mission, I found a series of pics from the Library of Congress dating back to the early 40's, all in perfect color and clarity (true Kodachrome images, in fact). There were more than 60 of them, and they were images of life in America, un-staged and candid.
Looking at the images brought the thought that it doesn't look ANY different then than it does now. Nearly 75 years later, and homes, buildings, factories, fairs and businesses look no different now than they do in the photos. What is different is the manner in which life was conducted... and that really got me thinking.
Ryan and I have fought and fought about the era collectively known as the Great Depression. The fight usually stems from what ended it, rather than what started it. Without starting the fight again, I will say this:
New Deal changed one thing that is undeniable in the world of "small business" here in America... and that is it brought about the age of "zoning". Prior to 1933, businesses run from a home were treated no different than businesses run from separate facilities. Plumbing businesses were run out of homes, where the "shop" was located on the front or first floor of the building, and the "plumber" lived upstairs or in the back with his family. These were the businesses that failed over and over again during the protracted period of the "Great Depression" and I am willing to admit that there is no denying that New Deal zoning laws, enacted at a Federal level to separate personal property from business property (for the assessing of value and usage in government subsidies), did keep small business from recovering at a reasonable rate after the crash. It is difficult to find any other common factor that explains the failure of so many family businesses in such a short time frame. It wasn't Federal lending practices, or tax policies, or a disparity in distribution of Federal grants and funds (for better or worse)... so what else could it be?
Those images show small business working... but the vast majority didn't, and I think it is because of the added cost associated with maintaining and paying for additional space/buildings.
I wish I could link the images... but I can't find the site now. If you find them, they are fascinating.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Dicere est non, mi amice
I admit, some jobs in the "fix-'er-upper" area of habitation are simply too big to take on... but as you said, you aren't your average "fix-'er-upper" either. Are you sure you aren't passing on a good thing? You'd know better than I, but I wanted to ask. Help is out there, and you have always struck me as a quick study. Should the opportunity present itself for you to apply the same effort in learning how to do the jobs needed around the domicile as you do your daily "make up" and hair-style ritual, coupled with your narcissistic obsession with your physique... I'd think you could rebuild the lost city of Atlantis in just short of one summer, let alone a little three bedroom cabin in the Mississippi backwoods.
Still... I'm sure you're excited about going back to the Coast. Working on a house is tough work, and no one knows that better than I.
Still... I'm sure you're excited about going back to the Coast. Working on a house is tough work, and no one knows that better than I.
No Mas
Well... it happened. The last straw. The final act. The Rubicon crossed. After all the efforts at mostly cosmetic upgrades to "Chateau Apocalypse" here at deep station 4 in the wooded zombie refuge, we discovered the entire structure is laden with black mold. Walls and floors. Add to this the recent detection of a semi-regular gas smell that coincides with a slight drop in the propane tank's meter (which gets no usage during summer). The little lady and I have simply decided this place is beyond our pay grade to repair. That and I have this silly little aversion to inhaling toxic floating fungus until I'm consumed in a fiery death ball of fury. Silly, I know. The result is simple - we're moving up our time frame. The graduate degree I want is exclusively offered at the Gulf Park Campus of USM (on the Coast). We had planned to move there in roughly 18 mos after I wrapped up my undergrad at the main campus in Hatteisburg. We're going now. As in by the end of August "now."
Jambo, this is where you can help a bit, if you don't mind. I have the money to get a place, but I need real bang for my buck. I don't know what your schedule is, but we're driving down Friday after the kids get out of school. We'll be there through Sunday afternoon-ish, at an aunt's house. However, I've made it clear I intend on - assuming you're off - heading to your place either Friday or Saturday night to crack a few back. I'm simply hoping by luck of the schedule that you're off and don't already have plans.
The "help" I refer to is any lead, any contact, or even grabbing a coast apartment guide from the gas station would be much appreciated (anything from Ocean Springs to Bay St. Louis). Even if this weekend's no good for you, anything you (or your better half) know of in terms of a good deal on a house or apartment rental would be welcomed. I'll go down to the main house and ring you tomorrow, make sure you have my yahoo email and a good phone number for me.
Now you may be asking yourself, "why not just text/call tonight, rather than post this on a public forum?" All I can say is, there are no phones in the Apocalypse.
Jambo, this is where you can help a bit, if you don't mind. I have the money to get a place, but I need real bang for my buck. I don't know what your schedule is, but we're driving down Friday after the kids get out of school. We'll be there through Sunday afternoon-ish, at an aunt's house. However, I've made it clear I intend on - assuming you're off - heading to your place either Friday or Saturday night to crack a few back. I'm simply hoping by luck of the schedule that you're off and don't already have plans.
The "help" I refer to is any lead, any contact, or even grabbing a coast apartment guide from the gas station would be much appreciated (anything from Ocean Springs to Bay St. Louis). Even if this weekend's no good for you, anything you (or your better half) know of in terms of a good deal on a house or apartment rental would be welcomed. I'll go down to the main house and ring you tomorrow, make sure you have my yahoo email and a good phone number for me.
Now you may be asking yourself, "why not just text/call tonight, rather than post this on a public forum?" All I can say is, there are no phones in the Apocalypse.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
A must see...
Within the Netflix instant view documentary choices is a bone-chilling series you simply MUST see. It is the single best documentary series I have ever viewed (so of course it was done by the Brits). It's 6 episodes entitled: Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State. Each episode is about 48 minutes. It's detail, from the use of CGI to recreate camps brick by brick from Nazi blueprints, to the reenactment actors (speaking fluent German at all times), to the personal life's of the commandants, to how the Germans dealt with the practical obstacles involved with killing then disposing of millions of corpses within each of the camps is a body of record that any man, woman, and I'd say child of appropriate maturity, needs to watch.
Whew... that was hard.
Well, today we just returned home from eight days of vacation. Liz, myself and the three kids... no one else.
It almost killed me.
It was about the best vacation we've ever had. We went to a small cabin right on the shores of Lake Ontario in the quaint little NY town of Oswego. It was simply too much money and not enough time to go all the way home to WI and the shores of Lake Superior, so we compromised on a much closer Great Lake, hoping the return would pay off.
It did, let me tell you. A great little place, right on the water... just enough room for the five of us... close enough to town to make frequent trips more convenient but far enough away to keep the hustle and bustle of the city far, far away.
We had Liz's NY family over for a cook out on Sunday (last), went to the Syracuse Zoo on Monday, the MOST (Museum of Science and Technology) on Wednesday, Fort Ontario on Thursday, and Liz's sister and kids over (again) on Friday. Plenty of family time, not too hectic a schedule, very relaxing, and must cheaper than driving 2,400 miles over the course of four days in a pickup truck. Only three hours away, with traffic.
I'm not kidding though... DAMN I'm tired.
More later...
It almost killed me.
It was about the best vacation we've ever had. We went to a small cabin right on the shores of Lake Ontario in the quaint little NY town of Oswego. It was simply too much money and not enough time to go all the way home to WI and the shores of Lake Superior, so we compromised on a much closer Great Lake, hoping the return would pay off.
It did, let me tell you. A great little place, right on the water... just enough room for the five of us... close enough to town to make frequent trips more convenient but far enough away to keep the hustle and bustle of the city far, far away.
We had Liz's NY family over for a cook out on Sunday (last), went to the Syracuse Zoo on Monday, the MOST (Museum of Science and Technology) on Wednesday, Fort Ontario on Thursday, and Liz's sister and kids over (again) on Friday. Plenty of family time, not too hectic a schedule, very relaxing, and must cheaper than driving 2,400 miles over the course of four days in a pickup truck. Only three hours away, with traffic.
I'm not kidding though... DAMN I'm tired.
More later...
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Chicken sandwiches and Walter Mondale
43 galons of paint later ...
well, maybe not 43, but damn near close.
First, kudos to Titus for trying to keep this thing (our site, the brothers bund) going despite my needed absence as of late, and Jambo's almost sociopathic objection to posting (although he reads everything, as he's assured me in the past). By the way Jambo, yes I will be heading to the coast at some point in the not so distant future. My ex-wife and current "girlfriend" (I'll explain that one when I figure it out, and off the public record) has an aunt down there she also intends on visiting, so plan on my bunking over one night. I'll call days in advance to shore up dates, you needn't worry.
Before I get to the "news" of the day, something that shouldn't be news to anyone - I am NOT a handyman. I am a man. I am handy with certain facts, figures, the occasion historical recitation, and arguments regarding anything under the sun, but put anything more complicated than a paint brush in my hand and you'll see me sweat like an insurgent on the wrong end of a SEAL sniper rifle. If you don't already know - my mother has given me (and my family) usage, for free, of a 3 bedroom, 2 bath cabin like domicile on her property... deep, DEEP in the woods for as long as it takes me to get a graduate level degree. However, as gracious as that is, it comes with a slight catch - the entire place must be renovated from the walls, to the floors, to the kitchen sink (literally). I've inherited a post-apocalyptic shelter (Zombie, nuclear, take your pick). The problem is, people in my life keep forgetting they're talking to ME, F.Ryan. See, I drive a pick-up truck. I own a dog, I lift weights, I wear a ball cap with a bent bill, and so it is assumed I can lay flooring and cut molding (or is it lay molding and cut flooring?) with the best of my brothers, of which I have FIVE, all of whom could build a house from scratch with little more than a hammer and some Elmer's Glue! They're very helpful, they get me started, give me some pointers, remind me to do this and that, but the problem is I need someone to get me started, come in at the middle, and rescue me at the finish. One of the windows needed a window sill... around the entire window. My step-dad came up, cut and put in place this sill out of some 2x4's. He then told me I could use a router to design the wood of the sill to match the other window's design. Oh yeah, my router. It's right next to my freisenberg above the doohiggy in my non existent shed of imaginary tools. Boys, we all have our strengths, and right now I need a Hail Mary (or other poem of your choice) for about every can of paint stacked in the living room. An apartment lease is looking more attractive by the day.
This theater shooting ... it defies rationale. I had a detailed discussion with my sons (and a brother or two as I watched them sodder (sp?) something I needed for wi-fi use). I start with the basics - blaming the gun for these deaths is like blaming the fork for obesity. I add that laws, by definition, affect only those willing to abide by them. And for those inclined to blame the 2nd Amendment based on loose rationale, let me ask you a simple timeline question - the 2nd has been around for what, 221 years? Yet these style shootings (from Columbine to Batman) have cropped up only in the last 30 or so years. During those 30 years the gun laws have become MORE restrictive, not less. Can you say the same about movies? About the glorification of senseless violence in movies? I don't blame batman, don't get me wrong. But if the Left wants to open up this can of worms regarding causality, I'd say the discerning investigator would find Hollywood's coarsening of our culture a much more useful time line for measuring violent crime in our society, than say the .357 I keep near my bed.
And what's worse, this trend (until recent court victories) towards more restrictive gun laws, take away the single best defense against this sort of tragedy. No law is ever taking away all the nut-jobs. Nor all the .22's out there. The single best defense against a maniac committing mass murder in a public place is other, sane citizens, in that public place intervening with their own weapon - PERIOD! That is your only chance. Just today another scare in another Batman movie theater occurred. A man jumped up from his seat and started running through the aisles screaming, "It's happening! It's happening!" He was quickly wrestled to the ground by three other moviegoers and subdued until the police arrived. It turned out he had no weapon, but in a dark theater how would these three guys know that? The same happened at the New York, New York casino in Vegas a couple years ago. Guy pulled a gun, started firing, and two cops on vacation from Florida, both packing personal heat for personal safety, drew their weapons and subdued this nut - nobody was killed. Consider the most famous act of citizen intervention in our life time - Flight 93. The list goes on and on. We can't put a cop in every theater, on every plane, at every casino. Our only chance is regular guys with what I think is a common American sense of duty to their fellow man, stepping in and doing what's needed, what is right. And the ONLY thing more restrictive gun laws do is limit that regular guy's ability to help.
One other bit in the news today - Obama and Chick-File (did I spell that right?). It turns out that Dan Gracy, the CEO of this family owned chain (which closes on Sundays nationwide, at every chain, in accordance to their Baptist beliefs) said in an interview recently that he opposes any changes in the definition of marriage. It's one man, one woman, period. Well that set off a firestorm of Leftist mayors, like Rham Emanuel of Chicago (formerly Obama's chief of staff), screaming that they intend on running "hate chicken" out of their cities (I mean, do these guys ever listen to themselves - hate chicken?). Today, in response, millions of consumers whom support the chicken sandwich king's stance lined up and purchased a combo meal to show their solidarity. Lines looped around the street, twice, at some drive thru's. It took 90 minutes in Texas to get an order of waffle fries. This does not boad well for the president. I think this is an indication of the election now 97 days away. Those that oppose the PoTUS, and his ideology, are itching, chomping at the bit as it were to get involved. But they're not screaming about hate, boycotts or making public statements... they're showing up. They're voting with their feet. I think we're talking landslide ... the waffle fry sees all.
well, maybe not 43, but damn near close.
First, kudos to Titus for trying to keep this thing (our site, the brothers bund) going despite my needed absence as of late, and Jambo's almost sociopathic objection to posting (although he reads everything, as he's assured me in the past). By the way Jambo, yes I will be heading to the coast at some point in the not so distant future. My ex-wife and current "girlfriend" (I'll explain that one when I figure it out, and off the public record) has an aunt down there she also intends on visiting, so plan on my bunking over one night. I'll call days in advance to shore up dates, you needn't worry.
Before I get to the "news" of the day, something that shouldn't be news to anyone - I am NOT a handyman. I am a man. I am handy with certain facts, figures, the occasion historical recitation, and arguments regarding anything under the sun, but put anything more complicated than a paint brush in my hand and you'll see me sweat like an insurgent on the wrong end of a SEAL sniper rifle. If you don't already know - my mother has given me (and my family) usage, for free, of a 3 bedroom, 2 bath cabin like domicile on her property... deep, DEEP in the woods for as long as it takes me to get a graduate level degree. However, as gracious as that is, it comes with a slight catch - the entire place must be renovated from the walls, to the floors, to the kitchen sink (literally). I've inherited a post-apocalyptic shelter (Zombie, nuclear, take your pick). The problem is, people in my life keep forgetting they're talking to ME, F.Ryan. See, I drive a pick-up truck. I own a dog, I lift weights, I wear a ball cap with a bent bill, and so it is assumed I can lay flooring and cut molding (or is it lay molding and cut flooring?) with the best of my brothers, of which I have FIVE, all of whom could build a house from scratch with little more than a hammer and some Elmer's Glue! They're very helpful, they get me started, give me some pointers, remind me to do this and that, but the problem is I need someone to get me started, come in at the middle, and rescue me at the finish. One of the windows needed a window sill... around the entire window. My step-dad came up, cut and put in place this sill out of some 2x4's. He then told me I could use a router to design the wood of the sill to match the other window's design. Oh yeah, my router. It's right next to my freisenberg above the doohiggy in my non existent shed of imaginary tools. Boys, we all have our strengths, and right now I need a Hail Mary (or other poem of your choice) for about every can of paint stacked in the living room. An apartment lease is looking more attractive by the day.
This theater shooting ... it defies rationale. I had a detailed discussion with my sons (and a brother or two as I watched them sodder (sp?) something I needed for wi-fi use). I start with the basics - blaming the gun for these deaths is like blaming the fork for obesity. I add that laws, by definition, affect only those willing to abide by them. And for those inclined to blame the 2nd Amendment based on loose rationale, let me ask you a simple timeline question - the 2nd has been around for what, 221 years? Yet these style shootings (from Columbine to Batman) have cropped up only in the last 30 or so years. During those 30 years the gun laws have become MORE restrictive, not less. Can you say the same about movies? About the glorification of senseless violence in movies? I don't blame batman, don't get me wrong. But if the Left wants to open up this can of worms regarding causality, I'd say the discerning investigator would find Hollywood's coarsening of our culture a much more useful time line for measuring violent crime in our society, than say the .357 I keep near my bed.
And what's worse, this trend (until recent court victories) towards more restrictive gun laws, take away the single best defense against this sort of tragedy. No law is ever taking away all the nut-jobs. Nor all the .22's out there. The single best defense against a maniac committing mass murder in a public place is other, sane citizens, in that public place intervening with their own weapon - PERIOD! That is your only chance. Just today another scare in another Batman movie theater occurred. A man jumped up from his seat and started running through the aisles screaming, "It's happening! It's happening!" He was quickly wrestled to the ground by three other moviegoers and subdued until the police arrived. It turned out he had no weapon, but in a dark theater how would these three guys know that? The same happened at the New York, New York casino in Vegas a couple years ago. Guy pulled a gun, started firing, and two cops on vacation from Florida, both packing personal heat for personal safety, drew their weapons and subdued this nut - nobody was killed. Consider the most famous act of citizen intervention in our life time - Flight 93. The list goes on and on. We can't put a cop in every theater, on every plane, at every casino. Our only chance is regular guys with what I think is a common American sense of duty to their fellow man, stepping in and doing what's needed, what is right. And the ONLY thing more restrictive gun laws do is limit that regular guy's ability to help.
One other bit in the news today - Obama and Chick-File (did I spell that right?). It turns out that Dan Gracy, the CEO of this family owned chain (which closes on Sundays nationwide, at every chain, in accordance to their Baptist beliefs) said in an interview recently that he opposes any changes in the definition of marriage. It's one man, one woman, period. Well that set off a firestorm of Leftist mayors, like Rham Emanuel of Chicago (formerly Obama's chief of staff), screaming that they intend on running "hate chicken" out of their cities (I mean, do these guys ever listen to themselves - hate chicken?). Today, in response, millions of consumers whom support the chicken sandwich king's stance lined up and purchased a combo meal to show their solidarity. Lines looped around the street, twice, at some drive thru's. It took 90 minutes in Texas to get an order of waffle fries. This does not boad well for the president. I think this is an indication of the election now 97 days away. Those that oppose the PoTUS, and his ideology, are itching, chomping at the bit as it were to get involved. But they're not screaming about hate, boycotts or making public statements... they're showing up. They're voting with their feet. I think we're talking landslide ... the waffle fry sees all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
