Google Earth

While waiting for the new year to arrive, I've been checking out what's new on Google Earth, and was surprised to see that the ground level camera car made a pass down our little country road in rural Lindale, TX. Our house can be seen in a couple of views, and in one, they even captured my van driving into the driveway. It looks like the photo was taken about three weeks ago, so they get them posted quickly.

They have also been busy taking photos in North Dakota, so I took a trip through the big cities of Stanley and New Town, and even the ghost town of Belden. It was another surprise to discover that my mother's old country grade school building is still standing.

If you don't yet have Google Earth downloaded on your computer, you're missing a wonderful program. The free version has all the features most people would want, so it won't cost you anything.

Yearend Rant

America’s reputation for tough individualism is undergoing an evolution that’s becoming terribly worrisome if we are to survive as a nation. We are becoming spineless, soft and whiny to a degree I would never have predicted.

Every time there is a tragedy of some kind, the first thing you see is a perfectly coifed television reporter on the scene asking how the family, friends, or survivors “feel” about what happened. Instead of telling the idiot what he can do with the microphone, they sob and whine about how they are victims, and somebody in government should do something about it so they can find “closure”. Before the days of television, those people would have cried in private, dug in their heels and with the help of close friends, they would have worked around the tragedy.

Recently, a high school football star in a neighboring town was killed in a car accident. The next day the entire school shut down, a team of counselors rushed to the scene, and prayer and candle light vigils became the order of the day. Pictures of students hanging on each other and bawling, graced the front page of the local newspapers. Stacks of flowers, ribbons, cards, and teddy bears, littered the accident site. Yes, the loss of a young life is terribly sad, but really, what did such a display accomplish? All it did was condone and reward displays of weakness.

When I was a senior in high school, a sophomore was killed in a car accident and a freshman was crippled for life. This was in a high school with a total population of less than 150. Call our parents and teachers brutal and uncaring, but not a single class was delayed or cancelled, and only those involved in the funeral received unexcused absences on that day. There was no such thing as a counselor and we all dealt with the tragedy in our own way, as we were expected to do.

Ho Chi Minh said that America was a paper tiger, that we didn’t have the stomach to fight a protracted war, and that we would eventually tire and run. He was right. Vietnam is now a communist country, and over 50,000 of our finest died in vain.

Osama Bin Laden also said that our will is weak and that we can’t stand up to worldwide jihad. The election of Obama as a peace candidate was a sign sent to the world that Bin Laden will also be proven correct.

Americans need a serious helping of spinal stiffening...and that's especially true of our politicians.

Winding Down the Old Year

No matter what I promise myself, it seems as if the holiday season gets more and more demanding every year, or maybe it's just because I'm getting older, and normal activities wear me out faster. That's probably it, since we didn't do anything this year that should have been a big deal.

The last of our company left today and now I'm going to just relax and enjoy the promised good weather until the new year arrives. Nothing like sitting on the patio watching the birds at the feeder and soaking up some sun. If there is any such thing as reincarnation, I'll likely come back as an old hound dog.

I have a couple of cabinet projects I should get back to, and I'm anxious to finish them, but not until I finally shed this cold. Every time I try to rush things, I regret it. I've put them off for a year, so I guess a few more days won't matter.

Seems like only yesterday that I put the Christmas lights up, but I'll try to get them down next week. Once they're down and packed away, it feels like spring is just around the corner. Our Flowering Quince already thinks it is.

I imagine we'll spend a quiet New Year's Eve with the dogs again. Unlike our previous neighborhood, where one guy always emptied his shotgun at midnight, this one is quiet. At least it was last year, and only two new families have moved in, so if it gets rowdy, we'll know who to blame. Come to think of it, one of those families had a move-in party that featured a twenty-minute fireworks display. Might need a double shot of sparkling cider if that happens again.

Speaking of New Year's Eve...If you like old time rock and roll as much as I do, tune in to KAAM radio from 6 until 12:30 on that night. Cruisin' Al Taylor will be playing pre-Beatles R&R for those of us too old to go out and party. Here's the link:

kaamradio.com

Hey ATT!...Where is our DSL?

We've been trying to get DSL in our little development for over a year, and getting information out of ATT management as to when that will happen is impossible. According to the ATT technicians I've talked to, the only thing they have to do is install a piece of equipment in the shack that's located less than a half-mile down the road, but they have no idea when that will happen.

After reading the report in the link below, I'm embarrassed to even think about where the USA ranks against the world in high-speed Internet access today, and where it's going in the future.

We're on our way to becoming a third world country when we lag behind Estonia and the Isle of Man in one category, and behind China in total broadband hookups...behind a country that eats dogs and tills the soil with draft animals!

http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0812/

December 23, 1776

"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value."

The new country was in crisis when these words were written by Thomas Paine just before Christmas, 1776. WE had decided to become a union of states, and it wasn't going well. Washington's army had been defeated in battle and the British fleet and Redcoat army seemed invincible, but in the end, we prevailed and the greatest nation on earth was formed from the wealth, sweat, and blood of patriots who knew what was good, and believed in the cause.

Today, it's not an army in red coats that attacks us on the field of battle, it's an army of red thought that invades our entertainment, our schools, our government, our labor organizations, and even our churches. They are using ignorance and the inherent goodness of people to deceitfully secure power and oppress individual freedoms in some trumped-up name of fairness and impartiality.

Once again the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot are being challenged to rise to the cause. Will we have the courage to speak out against the attacks from within? Will we risk unpopularity to expose the truth of what's happening in our country?

A new form of tyranny awaits those who go along to get along.

Santa and the Democrats

I checked the survivor list this morning and was surprised to find my name on it, so I suppose I better post something before the cobwebs take over this blog. Even though I’m a survivor of my worst cold ever, my disposition is still nasty, so I’m going to take a holiday shot at liberals…in the true spirit of Christmas, of course.

Did you ever notice that the legends of Santa and liberalism are pretty much one and the same?

When we’re young, we believe that Santa spends the entire year at the North Pole with his elves, making toys for kids who believe in him. Then on Christmas Eve, Santa climbs into a toy-filled sleigh, pulled by a small herd of reindeer, and delivers those toys to all of his loyal followers around the world.

Why do we believe the story? Because, everyone tells us it’s true, and when we’re kids, it’s easy to believe that a nice benevolent old man has nothing but our best interests at heart, and nothing better to do than to give us all the things we want. There is no reason to argue with a deal like that.

When we hit about eight, nine, or ten-years-old, we begin to suspect that there is no way old Santa can deliver on his promise of free goodies for everyone, even if he wanted to. We’re not freight transportation experts, but we’re smart enough to recognize that there is no way he can carry billions of toys in his sleigh and deliver them to billions of kids around the world. So, we begin to suspect that something in the story doesn’t ring true, but we continue to extend our faith when Christmas morning arrives and we find gifts under the tree signed by old Santa Claus himself.

Eventually we come to realize that our families pay for the toys that we thought we were getting for free from that jolly old elf. We learn that despite the charming legend, there is no such thing as a free lunch, or a free doll, or a free train set.

Most of us grow up and accept the fact that our parents can no longer give us everything we want, even if they dress up as Santa and tell heartwarming stories about the act of giving. Someone eventually has to pay the bill, and if we demand too many gifts, in time our families won’t be able to provide thing like food, shelter and protection from harm.

Yet some of us grow up learning to disbelieve one fairy tale, but continuing to believe the one that the federal government and many politicians spout. It’s the promise that a government bureaucrat is better qualified to take care of you than you are.

The Democrat candidate for President of the United States is a lot like Santa. He promises more than he can deliver, but he keeps trying to convince us that he will. He says he can do it by taxing the rich and giving to the poor and the middle class. Since the vast majority of us are poor or middle class, it’s easy to accept that concept. Stick it to the rich…it won’t affect me. We quickly learn that the prez can’t deliver everything he promised, but he says he really could if only he had a few more elves…the elves that can be found under the “D” column on the ballot.

Members of Congress are like elves in the toy factory. They do everything they can to deliver whatever we demand. They’ve learned that if we obtain even some of what was promised, the elves get rehired every two or six years. But they've also figured out to never give everything that was promised or you won’t have anything left to promise in the future. Elves are smarter than voters.

I began my voting life as a Democrat. Most Americans do. It’s easy to think like a Democrat. You don’t have to waste time following what the party is doing or understanding what effect their acts are having on society. You only have to spout the mantra, care a lot, and have good intentions. If your party makes dumb decisions, you just blame the Republicans, because, God knows the Republicans are too wimpy to defend themselves.

Merry Christmas!

Wedding Photos

Since I'm still feeling too puny to think or write, I'll share a link to some wedding photos that will bring tears to your eyes.

Here's to the bride and groom!

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/ftp/multimedia/waffleweddingx/publish_to_web/