Come join us for a slice of Americana with a helping of conservative politics on the side.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed"
These are for Gayle to help jog her memory, and a new something to search for on my foothill rambles, covered bridges, and we have a few, this is the Oregon Creek bridge at its confluence with the No. Yuba River.
This is the Bridgeport bridge over the So. Yuba River. ------
Update: From HotAir, John Murtha has really gone off the deep end, the Marine's need to formalize "ex"marine in his case after all the bloviating and lying he has done over the last couple years. Marines don't quit in the middle of a fight or make false charges against fellow Marines as he has repeatedly done.
------ Update: Mitt's boys work the Romney charm on Greta Van Susteren from Fox News. Dang, his boys are just as polished and polite as their Dad,unlike Rudy's, what's the right got to bash him on, nothing.
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Update: This guy is a long time friend of the Barnyard and well worth a visit, a SoCal Sheriff detective with a very good blog. We have a game afoot, fun with trolls, more later.
Hugh has an important interview on Iraq with John Burns of the NYT, a credible and very good war reporter this afternoon on his radio show 3:00pm pac . He will have transcript and podcast posted as well. ------ Generalissimo Duane opines about what Iraq's soccer victory means to the people, this is a huge morale booster for a beleagured people. It gives them something to be proud of Nationally and a great sign of hope, the team will be big heros as they take their soccer very seriously. Duane is good wordsmith go read it. ------ Uh oh, Fred has a problem, Michelle Malkin is after him over Spencer Abraham his campaign manager and open border, proislamist panderer. ------ Mitt Romney adds to his already stellar team of advisors, this is great news for conservatives concerned about the courts and justices, Mitt had to fight with activist judges for his whole term as Gov. so he knows a bit about it.
Mitt Romney was credited with a political coup last Tuesday when it was announced that Wendy Long has joined his campaign as a senior legal advisor and vice chair of his National Faith and Values Steering Committee. Long is a familiar name to conservatives who follow the courts. She is chief counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, an organization of conservative lawyers that has played a critical role in the confirmation battles for appellate and Supreme Court judges including Sam Alito and John Roberts. She was a litigation partner with Kirkland & Ellis LLP and previously a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and to U.S. Appeals Court Judge Ralph Winter. We talked to her about her decision to back Romney, her thoughts about the future of the judiciary, and why even non-lawyers should care about the courts.
---- What's that old adage about the company you keep? Fred could of had her, she chose Mitt while Fred has policy talks with Spencer Abraham. Mitt has built an A-list of top conservatives as his team and used his extensive business contacts to build a national network that none of the other candidates can rival. That is why the second tier candidates are having trouble breaking out, they lack the National contact lists of Rudy and Mitt or even Fred. Read the article for some real insight into Mitt and his Judicial philosophy, he is a Cum Laude(with praise) graduate of Harvard's Business and Law schools after all. Mitt's campaign has been running full tilt for a long time, I have been talking about it here and before in Bill O'Reilly's forum for a total of about three years and I am a country boy from Alabama, transplanted in California. I am not an easy voter to win and especially hard to win as an avid vocal fan. Mitt Romney wants to be President not on some of power hunt conspiracy for his Church but out of a true desire to fix what's broken in America. Mitt is the anti-socialist, heck the guy made his millions as a free-market venture capitalist and is squeaky clean. I look at the candidates accomplishments, what have they done with themselves over the years? That will reflect on their policies as much as what they say . Hillary: scandal ridden Whitehouse. B.Hussein Obama: Novice appease them naive lightweight fool. Edwards:It doesn't exist bumbersticker silkypony, baby channelling trial lawyer. Rudy: Cleaned up New York and made it a shiny Big Apple instead of a worm eaten one. Solid leadership in the days after 9/11 Fred: Fair Senator, lax on going after Clinton transgressions, go along to get along, after hours cavorter in the DC nightlife. McCamnesty: Well, need I say more...?!? ----- Update: Must see Vent Video from HotAir!
Cool, PBS is showing a documentary " Vertical Ascent" of a Japanese climbing team making an attempt on the Citadel on Baffin Island one of the last great frontiers for climbers. I don't climb at that level so this is great. I have not gotten any harder than class iv. They are doing some serious aid climbing on a face bigger than El Capitan. It has some incredible scenery. ------ Update: Mike Totten has posted an email from a soldier that had been stationed in Ramadi at its most violent and lends more credence to his and Mike Yon's posts. ------- Dr. Spencer's weekly dissection of the Koran is up at HotAir and fascinating as always. Know thine enemy and be prepared to defend yourself I say.
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For Election 08, Jim Geraghty at the Campaign Spot has some of the best rundown, insight and inside info available. Fred is coming out of the gate like vaunted race horse with a bum leg. I would like to see him overcome it but I do not see it happening. Mitt Romney seems to be the purebred stallion ready to race and chomping at the bit and ready for some serious competition.
Fred, ohh Fred,
Where are you?
Are you rising from the dead?
Are you to unreal to be true?
Questions that must be asked
For upon you our security must be tasked?!?
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A zombie vs. a stallion, I am sure Mitt's team is ready, grin.
This weekend's ramble took me to the Kentucky mine, I live in the valley dust so any excuse I can make to head for the foothills I will. Talked to a fellow working his claim with a suction dredge, cool set up I tell you. I had to play dumb tourist from Alabamaer to get him to talk but it worked because I was a dumb tourist from Al. Not anymore....I bluffed, I won, secret kept. I know where to look now and how to do it.
The stamp mill for the Kentucky mine where they crushed and refined the gold ore, they have tours, but the next one was too long a wait so I will return. I didn't note anything of when it shut down but I would assume it was about the same time as the Empire mine in Grass Valley and the crash of hard rock mining in the early 1940s. There is a nice little museum on site and I met a tourin' Aussie and after a nice chat I clued him to many of our hidden bits of history including the Empire mine .
The view from the top, while gorgeous, also shows how it worked, the track on the right leads to the tailings, bad rock, and the one on the left sent the rich ore to the mill. The Chinese immigrants made millions catering to the crazed gold rushers and built most of the infrastructure, roads, etc. They had much success reworking the tailings of careless, inexperienced miners, as well as they moved on. There is a monument for them in the picnic area surrounding the museum.
This is the mine entrance , basically a workshop of what was needed to run a mine as it disappears into the mountainside, carpenter, blacksmith, all powered by the "Pelton wheel", basically a high tech water wheel for its time. Many of the miners built their houses right above the entrance to their mines in order to protect them and they dot the hill country still today and can give driving down some back country dirt roads a true "Deliverance" feel . There is a lot of marijuana grown and methamphetamine made in those hills and lonely dirt roads. I try to blend in and not look like a tourist at those points and stick to the road, a 4x4 truck just bumping down the road is nothing to to look twice at.
A look inside the mine entrance, the Pelton wheel is is just outside the bottom right of the picture, and the spring that powered it still flows, it ran the various compressors and pumps sending air in and pumping water out shown here. There is still a whole lot of gold in the hills of the Mother lode country and I am going to try and find me some of it, the saga will continue ....
The debate about the Utube/CNN GOP debate, Hugh Hewitt says stay away, Patrick Ruffini says go, I know this all insider baseball political junky stuff but I am one so... I am still sitting on the fence on this one, it could be interesting it, could be a nutfest attempt to trap the GOP. If the questions are well chosen and not just from a bunch of nutters that would never vote for a conservative no matter their answer, it could be very good. Lets say the folks at HotAir, Pajamas Media, the Victory Caucus, LGF, Indepundit, etc. put together a bunch of high quality v-questions, would CNN play them or just the nutters designed to embarrass the candidates? No questions from non-voters, ie. children coached by their parents, stuffed animals or snowmen, would be a good place to start, bring in someone like Michael Barone to help choose them. What do you think? I'll post a few of the recent submissions and almost every one seems to be made by MoveOn or Koskidz. They are not releasing the codes but they can be viewed here with moonbat 1. Rudy has said he will not participate and Mitt, who has his own ask Mitt anything forum and is already very net accessible is leaning away from it. McCain has to since he is sinking fast and the Paulites will love it since they are our nutters and can fit right in. I think Rudy and Mitt should find schedule conflicts and Fred should join John and Ron in the box canyon as Hugh has called it since they are the media darlings. Update: A great video interview from Pajamas Media and WSJ's Richard Miniter with Mitt Romney answering some tough questions can be seen here. Like I said Mitt is highly accessible by the new media and willing to sit down for tough interviews with top conservatives asking the hard questions, Hugh, Laura, etc, and answer them. Where is Fred, silence from the morgue as he arises, can't find him any where of late, no Townhall or radio... hmm?
I see Lisa finally came out of hibernation to post a great article about Mitt Romney, the NewsMax article is a must read for those taking a close look at Mitt and his bid to lead America. The story about tracking down a partner's missing daughter is a perfect example of Mitt and one he should tell from the stump and I am sure it had a powerful impact on him to find her in the condition they did. The man has a positive resume' a mile thick and is by far the most qualified candidate in the field. Meanwhile Fred Thompson continues a non-campaign and chooses an open-border, pro-Islamist as a campaign manager, Spencer Abraham. Debbie Schlussel has the scoop.(hattip:HotAir)
He hasn't entered the Presidential race yet, but Fred Thompson, yesterday, showed us why he's the scariest Republican Presidential candidate. And maybe the scariest of both parties. Don't believe Thompson's claim that he understands the Islamist jihadist threat to America. His announcement, yesterday, of his choice of Spencer Abraham as campaign manager, told us everything we need to know. Although Abraham, of Lebanese descent, is a Christian, he is a career water carrier for Islamists of the most extremist stripe and made that the cornerstone of his failed, one-term Senate career and equally lousy tenure as Energy Secretary.
Fred seems to have already started losing any steam he had as stories like this get out along with his playing with primary voters in some sort of crazy cat and mouse game. I will add that his best bud and fellow maverick in the Senate was John McCain, so who might be his running mate? At least Mitt never worked for or was paid by the abortion industry, cavorted around Hollywood like a playboy and certainly doesn't hire pro-islamists to run his campaign. There are three true conservatives running, Mitt, Duncan Hunter and Mike Huckabee, Rudy has some issues but is still more of true conservative than Fred from what my research is uncovering. I think he knows he can't jump over the bar set for him among the conservative faithful and that is why he isn't trying very hard to by jumping in and running with the dogs. He thinks he is to good to actually campaign and the draft Fred movement is all he needs, well he has another think coming. Instead of the big strong conservative savior he seems more like an overpuffed marshmallow RINO and without the stage make up quite unhealthy looking. This is not meant as an attack on Fred but as a warning to my fellow conservatives to be careful and do some research.
Well under all the pressure from the Milbloggers, one Pv2,latrineboy, steps forward from the grease pit of the motor pool to claim the postings at the New Republic, apparently one Pv2 Beauchamp entered the Army with visions of writing a warped story of the war following the narrative of his dreams and becoming a future John Kerry. Sounds like he spends his time doing oil changes and ridden hard by his PFC. If you have been following the story, you know where to go for info. His fiance' is on staff at the New Republic, hmm. Michelle Malkin is probably the best place to start. Even his "creative writing" on his now uncovered blog reveals a sensationalist unbounded by fact. He entered the Army in order to write a book bashing it and now sweats in the oilpit, no wonder he tries to bash a Bradley driver, I bet that driver was giving him a bunch of grief, same with the other tales. I bet he the pushup master though and has to wear that grease button on the tip of his nose. Update: Angel has another good post up, some New Yorkers get it.
Please read the story via the title link if you haven't already been made aware of this. It is a true testament of the man's character.
A snippet:
"Mitt Romney was faced with a crisis in July 1996. The 14-year-old daughter of Robert Gay, a partner in Romney's new venture capital firm, Bain Capital, had disappeared. As it turned out, she had attended a rave party in New York City and had become high on ecstasy. Three days later, her distraught father had no idea where she was.
Romney took immediate action. He closed down the entire firm and asked all 30 partners and employees to fly to New York to try to find Gay's daughter. "
"Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Thursday he'll probably deliver a speech explaining the role his Mormon faith plays in his political life, but he argued he's made strong gains among evangelicals despite questions about his religion.
"I have thought about that," Romney said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I haven't made a final decision, but it's probably more likely than not."
Just as Kennedy was forced to address his Catholicism in the 1960s, Governor Romney is, indeed, going to have to put forth the most important speech of his candidacy to clarify a religion that is misunderstood by the majority.
It will be tricky as Romney will have to reveal enough to put people at ease while not making it appear to be a core reason to vote or not vote for him. It will also be highly scrutinized. I look forward to hearing it as it will, undoubtedly, put the issue to rest once and for all.
I found this link to the documentary "Obsession: Radical Islam's War With the West", from what I saw of the trailer for it, the five bucks for the online stream seems well worth it. I am going to fork up after I post this and watch it even though I already understand the topic quite well and will report back. I also noted that the recent Pew Poll shows Muslim support for terror bombing way down from a few years ago. I can see why folks that go around blowing up markets and Mosques aren't liked very much. Update: Get it and watch it, very good Update: Wow is this powerful, spend a five spot and watch it! Update: I am going to try and get permission to post some clips, this needs to be seen! Heading for UTube.......
I see Fred Thompson is having trouble raising money for his unorganized noncampaign campaign, donors are not going to dig deep till they know that he his serious and willing to campaign hard. He is coming with an impossibly high bar of expectations to leap over like a GOP Superman with no organization under him. I like Fred but if he wants to swim he has to get his feet wet and not just stick his pinky toe in and say vote for me because I am Fred Thompson. His record as a Senator leaves me with more doubts than Rudy's or Mitt's record, believe me the Dems have been sharpening their longknives and Hollywood is a dirt-diggers paradise leaning hard left. From what I have gathered Fred was a McCain-lite maverick working with the left instead of against it in the Senate though his votes were generally correct. Plus he hasn't been a good orator on the stump, unlike Mitt or Newt.
Update: I have spoken with Nonie Darwish a couple times on my friend Lores Rizkalla's radio show, one of the featured commentators.
I notice that it did not come up in the DNC debate last night but Hillary and Joe Biden tiptoed around the immediate swift surrender their moonbat base screams for and Obama came off as the naive, inexperienced, liberal he is, no wonder he is the new Dean of the Nutroots. The questions I have heard were generally as narcissistic and preening as the candidates they addressed and hardly representative of America. I think the idea has merits, as to the format, but it could be greatly improved upon, I believe the GOP has something similar planned and they could learn from this fiasco.
Are they really serious? I saw it called the Seinfeld debate for Seinfeld viewers about nothing. I will have to go find that post as it was quite funny. I hear Sen. Boxer(D.Ca.) is going to Greenland in high summer to watch the glaciers melt as they do every summer in order to state I saw them melting before my eyes, how funny.
From Newt Gingrich, and just take a glance at the comments
I watched an interesting show on PBS yesterday about the Mormons and their place in American history, I recommend it as I am sure it will reair. While I completely disagree with the stories of John Smith their place in American history is unique and a deeply intertwined part of it. While much has been written about the early church and polygamy, the belief in polygamy came from their deep ties to the family as the basis of a good and decent society. Here is the kicker, when a Mormon couple gets married it is for eternity not "till death do us part" , the nuclear family is a huge part of their faith. I can say this, everything I have learned about the modern Mormon faith, besides some babbling about golden texts still, is that they are very conservative Christians, very patriotic and down right American as it gets, charitable, hardworking decent folks. Their story in America is America in many ways, a rough one, they were not pacifists like the Quakers and fought back hard leading to their own Exodus to the deserts of Utah, the new Zion. I like the strength they have shown and incredible resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. The Mormon's run a tight ship and there is nothing wrong with that in my book. The reason behind this meander is my support for Mitt Romney, which grows by the day. Mitt has to be what conservatives love by virtue of the Mormon Church or they would not have let him be the equivalent of a Bishop, that anyone would say that Mitt does not know family values does not know the Mormon Church where the family is sacred. I don't know how much more American you can get than Mitt Romney unless we resurrect Sitting Bull. Mitt is probably the most conservative candidate the GOP has produced since Goldwater and by far the most capable. Did Hillary or Barak spend two years of their youth on a foriegn mission for their church? Did Sam Brownback or Fred Thompson? Have any of them run multi-billion dollar businesses or projects like the Olympics? I heard some of the DNC debate tonight via Hugh's radio show while I was driving back from an estimate on designing a Louvre type pyramid for an architectural accent and only Hillary and ,cough, Joe Biden made any sense at all. Mitt would destroy these lightweights in debate and win the American public over quickly. He is that 'different' politician that truly wants to help America that has the skills to actually do it. Dang typing with a faulty space bar is a royal pain when you stink as a typist already so I will go find some video clips of Dem debate absurdities. Would Southern conservatives support Mitt? Yes, the Mormons are well respected in Dixie, I am an Alabama country boy myself, I just live in California, it is the Sierra that keeps me here.
Wow, what timing, I just answered poll questions on developing one of my favorite stomping grounds, my beloved foothills east of Beale AFB and up against the Spenceville Wildlife Sanctuary. I won't support track homes being built there. The area can't handle it, they can't sell the damn houses they have already built and they want to build more in pristine oak woodlands far from the 'city', this is cattle country, yuppie horse estate country, not cheap cardboard track homes country. It is not subdivision country, I might add that this is a very conservative district in California and that type of development is not encouraged. Ole Slo Joe Biden actually makes me a Little bit proud of him, he likes to talk but he ain't a complete fool, and Hillary tries to gain a seat on the anti-fool wagon, hey, to fool Bill she must be good at something .............
O this is SWEET!
Yep Hillary for socialism and Silky Pony makes his feminine qualities and Obama makes his vacuousness more obvious. At the end does Kucininich take the usual center right stance on abortion, legal and well counseled?!? I hate the practice but do not think it should be illegal.( I am willing to discuss in the comment section).I can never support aboortion on demand. You gotta love the Silky Pony
The beer question, who could I have one with? Slo Joe wins by a long margin, dang, that would be fun actually. I want these goofballs onstage with Mitt Romney, now that will be true political theater, I have a feeling Mitt would rise like the morning sun from it. I am biased, Mitt Romney is the man to lead us into a new era. I have zero doubts about that fact and I would not be welcome in the Mormon Church or many churches in the US. I am a heretic Christian, I simply choose to take Christ's hand free of religious heresy and dogma, freewill Christendom. I do know this, the Mormons and Mitt Romney have a very vocal cheerleader in this independant Christian blogger. It gets better, this is great,
As usual I had to head into the foothills for a little exploring on the Yuba's north fork up to Downieville, a little tourist trap gold era town that hasn't burnt down that has become a destination for biker clubs and others looking for a beautiful ride, motorized or not. I couldn't find parking so I was unable to get any pictures. It has lots of old buildings that are now little boutique shops, saloons and diners, it is a little gem in the foothills and site of some the richest placer gold finds of the rush.
There is also some renowned trout fishing to be had with easy access. I am generally an ultra-light spincaster but used to do a bit of flycasting when I was younger and just might have to get into it again as it is such a fascinating artform of fishing, especially if you tie your own as you should. You need to be able to replicate the trout's prey at the time and on the spot.
Plus the views are hard to beat!
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In the wake of this weeks attempted trashing of our Military folks by the New Republic, Dean Barnett of Soxblog fame has penned an excellent piece for the Weekly Standard on the "9/11 generation". A must read article that clearly shows the professionalism and educated base of our volunteer forces. Unfortunately my back is/was too messed up to serve, high diving accident, or I would be more than happy to go blow away a few jihadi nuts at the risk of being blown up by them.
I will be as brutally honest as I can be, I donot trust Muslims or Islam, I have studied too much of their religion to be able to as a Christian. Yes, I am an islamophobe, I fear it, I do not like what it teaches as it is a religion of subjugation and slavery not freedom, the very opposite of our founding principles. A religion that kills those that leave it is not a religion it is a cult and from what I have so far read of the Qu'ran nothing has lead me to believe otherwise. It is a cult built by the success of a desert pirate and his ability to coerce by brutal force, Sha'ria law.
Oops, didn't mean to go off in that direction but it is titled the Rambler for that and other reasons. The main one being a moonbat liked to accuse me of rambling in my meandering posts so I decided to adopt that as a style and with a little work it is starting to pay off. So I am off on a ramble through the blogosphere having eaten supper and found no old westerns on TV, enough cable access for internet, not TV, if I find something interesting fun or just plain important I will update , later and have a great weekend!
Enough serious for now, even grumpy old goats know how to have a little fun here and there besides chasing nannies around. I had to borrow this bit from the Dragon Lady Gayle and her Fractured Friday an always fun respite on a Friday evening.
Southerners can be so polite!
Subject: Atlanta Airport
Atlanta ATC: "Tower to Saudi Air 911 -- You are cleared to land eastbound on runway 9R."
Saudi Air: "Thank you Atlanta ATC. Acknowledge cleared to land on infidel's runway 9R - Allah be Praised.
Atlanta ATC: "Tower to Iran Air 711 --You are cleared to land westbound on runway 9R.
"Iran Air: "Thank you Atlanta ATC. We are cleared to land on infidel's runway 9R. - Allah is Great. Pause:
Static.. Saudi Air: "ATLANTA ATC! ATLANTA ATC!"
Atlanta ATC: "Go ahead Saudi Air 911?"
Saudi Air: "YOU HAVE CLEARED BOTH OUR AIRCRAFT FOR THE SAME RUNWAY, GOING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. WE ARE ON A COLLISION COURSE. INSTRUCTIONS, PLEASE."
Atlanta ATC: "Well bless your hearts. And praise Jesus. Be careful now and tell Allah "hey" for us -- y'all hear?"
Update: Dang,when am I going to meet my Michelle, she has one lucky husband I can tell you that. She let the idiot speak with a few well aimed jabs to her credit. I can be counted as a loyal member of Michelle's fanclub and it ain't just for her incredible beauty.
Hey maybe she or HotAir will notice my little Barnyard and stop by for a visit one day. I can still dream, right.
Update: I am a fan of well done magic illusion so if you have a favorite send it along.
One very slick card trick
I ain't playin' poker with this dude!
Dang, this one is real slick, David Copperfield is the king of illusionists if you ask me.
Friday update: Michael has lots more here, you will have to scroll around a little bit but it all there and the American Thinker has a lead on the idiot, the writing styles are similar but the basic lack of milspeak knowledge is different, a tanker knows the limits of tracked vehicles an idiot does not, other than that the guys at TAT could be right.
The MSM just can't stand for any good news to come out of Iraq so they start making stuff up or not fact checking tall tales that fit their narrative too well. This time its a story in the New Republic from a supposed soldier witnessing all kinds of horrific troop behavior ala Jesse McBeth. Michael Goldfarb at the Weekly Standard jumped on it ( here, here , here) and put out the call to the milbloggers and they have shredded it as well. Thank God for the blogospere, if this were as little as a decade ago, this tale may have stuck but not anymore. The response by the Milblogs and others in the Military totally debunked the tale and it was pretty clear that type of behavior would land a soldier in a world of hurt especially mocking a person that had been injured in the war or desecrating children's graves. Their peers would have stomped them silly and then reported them. Since the left has no honor it seeks to tear down those that live a culture of tremendous honor our Military. This is not the same military of the 60's and early 70's full of draftees and unprofessional, it is a very highly trained professional volunteer military that takes alot of pride in that honor to serve America. They do not tolerate actions that portray a breaking of that honor. It supposedly took place at FOB Falcon and so far Goldfarb has found soldiers that served there for the last 16 months and news like that would be well known on those smallish isolated bases, nothing to verify the NR agenda jounalism. Update: Mike Yon has spent alot of time at Falcon and he weighs in, if this had happened Mike would have reported it. More here just scroll around.
That story about American soldiers at FOB Falcon sounds like complete garbage. I spent time with them this year, and in fact keep them on the front page of my site. 1-4 CAV is an excellent unit. I emailed the commander, LTC James Crider, about the story.
Hey, I am waiting with baited breath for Fred Thompson to show up for a debate with Mitt, I like Fred but he comes with an awfully high bar to leap over, the hyped expectations of the 'savior conservative'. I like a Mitt/Fred ticket, ability and stabilty.
Hugh Hewitt had a great interview with Gen. Petreus today on the remarkable progress being made in Iraq, yea the occasional bombs still go off and will for the foreseeable future but that does not mean progress is not being made. It seems many of the Nationalist groups now understand that we are not there to steal their oil but to help them rebuild a country they can be proud of and are now supporting the Gov't and the MNF-I against the foreigners trying to destabilize them. Bill Roggio reports on this and the capture early this month of an AQ bigturban in Mosul, they say the most senior Iraqi member of AQ in Iraq, this is a choice catch and he has spilled some interesting beans to interrogators. Wretchard at the Belmont Club has some gifted as usual analysis. This is so rich, have we turned the corner on the propaganda war as well? We have a great counter-narrative to use now, you'll have to read Wretchard's post to find out though, a little incentive to go read it. I like it, I like it! The Dems just don't get it and can't even pass a fake bill, they don't have the votes to end the filibuster and won't get them. Republicans and conservatives want to leave Iraq after winning a sustainable peace, Democrats want to run away and play socialism here at home after losing a major war to crazed jihadis. Nuts just plain old nuts, Sen. Byrd seems to be having some serious problems. He has really gone down hill the last couple years, just one more reason for term limits.
Speaking of term limits, what do y'all think, 12 years, 24 total, 2 Senate terms and six house? That is the exit question. Update: My buddy Amy Proctor has this great video posted.
Well I started that age-old summertime chore of cutting and splitting wood for winter warmth and cheer on the hearth. For some odd reason I have never shirked from this chore actually enjoying it to an extent having done it all my life, Pop never had to tell me to split wood, never had to tell me to cut the rounds. It became my duty from an early age and got me out of other chores I didn't like, I knew how to use a bowsaw, sledge and wedge when I was five or six and the adults let me at it glad not to do it. I found a nice down eucalyptus, great wood burns hotter than oak, with about a cord of wood to be had so that has been my work the last couple days, about a month of cozy warmth and low gas bills. I am still learning my stove and I think I had too fast a burn rate in my first year using it, the pyro that I am, I got it dialed in the last few fires of the year and can use its efficiency to the max this winter.
Nothing says summertime better than minor league ball on the radio or at the game, my Rivercats are just taking the field as I type, they have a good club with a few Pacific League Pennants.
Mike Yon has a new dispatch up and he tells a story from early this year, though a good read it shows how much quieter it has gotten in Iraq if Mike doesn't have frontline tales. Mike Totten has made it into Iraq and I look forward to his first reports. Noah Pollack is filling in and has some good stuff posted about Israel and the Levant.
Newt talks about what works and what doesn't, private business vs. big gov't, Newt is the only GOP candidate that would make me think about changing my support from Mitt Romney. Newt is our idea man and is very good at articulating conservative basics but can he lead?
I did take a ramble up into gold country yesterday but found nothing interesting to take pictures of so I think I will take the next issue into wine country, besides I have not been tasting in a while, the new California gold. There are a half dozen viticultural areas within a couple hours of me, all with their specialty wines. I am a fan of big, very bold reds and they are in abundance around here, Zinfandel, Syrah, both Cabs, Pinot and Petit Syrah. Frankly folks I am a little burnt out on blogging as I have gone at it really hard the last few months and it gets boring to report on the same topics over and over again and it gets harder to find new ones that grab my interest. Plus it takes alot of work and time to put together a well written entry with supporting links that I should be spending building my business not my blog. Heck even the Democrat's shenanigans in Congress have become predictable, ungrounded and very dull. They aren't going to get anywhere and the endless procession of hearings on every little thing is nuts while trying to railroad unpopular legislation will not win them many friends in fly-over country. Plus their plans to hike taxes big time to pay for their socialist programs won't win many friends either among the workers and investment folks. I want the Gov't to help me by getting out of my way to helping myself through hard work and the fruits of my labor. I want to be in control of my money because I know where I need to apply it for my well being. The collectivist socialists don't understand this concept that if everybody is free to take care of themselves they do better than if they enter a socialist collective that takes care of them instead. There is no incentive to do well, to achieve in a government run society so it stagnates and becomes a cesspool of resentment for those that have done well in free societies and the perfect brine for revolution. The government cannot give as it has nothing to give without a taxbase and it cannot build a taxbase without a free enterprise ownership based society capable of building wealth through private enterprise and investment in new advances in technology. These advances are not possible without the free market incentive of making a profit and growing a business, hiring and training folks to further grow the business and the economy. To raise my taxes would reduce my ability to hire other taxpayers that would rise in the ranks and pay more than what raising mine alone would have accomplished plus growing my business and like tax-share. That would happen under either a new flat tax or consumption based tax but not under the new plans afoot in the Democrat Congress who plan the largest tax increase in US history while the economy chugs along under steady steam and has whacked off huge chunks of the deficit despite the war and hurricanes. Just another argument the loonbats left has no chance of winning. Dang economics has to be the most of boring rants, one reason I avoid the topic on the main page though if you have a question I will discuss it at length in the comments section as long as the question is legitimate. To break the boredom some cool videos courtesy of Hotair and a great essay by Bryan and a couple good reads from Benador's Amir Taheri, here and here on the Levant and Iran. Plus a bonus blast at Al Gore and his green cadre of celebrities from the American Thinker.
Link: sevenload.com For the fun of it this is very good.
Is Osama Bin Ladin dead? I tend to lean in that direction, the footage of him in the most recent tape is almost five years old. He was a major publicity hound till we hammered Tora Bora and nothing new has come from him since. It has all come from Zawahiri of late, even Mullah Omar has been silent. If OBL wants to be a martyr that bad, I am sure he would not have a very hard time finding a Marine, Seal or Ranger team to oblige him. The folks at Hotair have been all over this story and have done a typically superb job. Michelle Malkin put together quite a team, I tell ya. Further excellent reading can be found at Laura Mansfield's on how the jihadi message is spreading. She also has the video if you want to see it, the Barnyard will not aid in the spread of Jihadi propaganda except to link to those that are shredding it.
Good discussion today in the comment section on healthcare and taxation though it looks like my guest was more a curious college student than an informed debater though the conversation was welcome and civil.
I am a Mitt Romney supporter, I don't try to hide that fact, I also do not make a point of bashing fellow GOP nominees, let the best man win. For anyone to suggest a man that is married to his high school sweetheart and a devoted family man with five happy healthy young families sprung from his house doesn't understand family core values is deluded. Mitt Romney has not chased gals around LA or NY, he raised a big happy family and built a highly successful business. Is that not the core values of American society? Faith and family, aren't they the basic building blocks of American society? I disagree with LDS doctrine, so what, I disagree with portions of all organized Christian religious services and dogmas it does not make him or me any less a Christian. Show me another candidate with his credentials beyond such a slim view of them. So Mitt has moved to the right over the years on the abortion issue, most folks do as they learn more about it and possibly experience one or have children. I look at Mitt's family and how devoted they are to each other and that tells me far more than Fred's trophy wife or Rudy's affairs as to having a better grasp on the core values of the American family and conservatism at its base. Mitt has never supported gay marriage or abortion, in order to save Massachusetts financially he had to maneuver around the ultra-liberal constituency to get elected and he accomplished both. I seriously doubt we have ever had a more ethically clean candidate than Mitt Romney. He was the first to sign the no tax pledge, is the first to sign on to debates and in my opinion is the man we need to lead America into the new era. I was a Mitt fan well before Hugh wrote his book "A Mormon in The Whitehouse" . I like Fred and have read all his recent articles and viewed a few speeches and nothing has inspired me where as, Mitt inspired me before he began to run 5 years ago. My coblogger is in Boston apparently hibernating at this time. Mitt has run big money business and done it well, no other candidate can claim that. Mitt Romney is the social and fiscal conservative dream candidate and we need to get behind him in force. Mitt is the man we need to launch America into the 21st century. Fred has little to offer, the real challenge comes when the idea man Newt Gingrich makes his decision, then I become a bit torn, I would hope Newt would endorse Mitt and shoot for a high level policy position in that administration but Newt will keep all options open for now. I don't blame him at all. Mitt as Pres, Fred at VP, I could accept a switch, Rudy at AG, Duncan at State and Tancredo at Homeland Security, Duncan Hunter would be awesome there as well. Huckabee at HHS and make Al Gore the first man on Mars. While the last one is in jest the others are good , though Al on Mars does have its own appeal.
On July 8, the New York Times ran an historic editorial entitled “The Road Home,” demanding an immediate American withdrawal from Iraq. It is rare that an editorial gets almost everything wrong, but “The Road Home” pulls it off. Consider, point by point, its confused—and immoral—defeatism.
1. “It is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit.”
Rarely in military history has an “orderly” withdrawal followed a theater-sized defeat and the flight of several divisions. Abruptly leaving Iraq would be a logistical and humanitarian catastrophe. And when scenes of carnage begin appearing on TV screens here about latte time, will the Times then call for “humanitarian” action?
Mitt Romney wins another silly little straw poll, this one over Fred Thompson at the Young Republican convention in Florida again showing his organizational skills and appeal when in person.
Romney, by contrast, treated the crowd to vintage Romney: a mix of enthusiasm and optimism with a heavy dose of policy. The speech was structured to compare the Democrats’ vision of change to his. He declared: “"To confront unprecedented challenges, we must change. Both parties claim to be the party of change, and I think both are right. But there's a big difference in the direction their change would take us.” While explaining the Democrats vision of change is a European economic model he set out his: “I have a different answer. Let's make the Bush tax cuts permanent. Let's kill the Death Tax. And let's have a new tax rate for middle income Americans who want to save their money, who are investing in America. The tax rate on their interest, dividends and capital gains should be...exactly zero!”
Here's a few good reads about Michael Moore's "Sicko" . Kyle-Ann Shiver Christopher Chantrill Peter Barry Chowka Rich Lowry Diana M Ernst I have to wonder if Mr Moore had a heart attack or stroke owing to his girth if he would go the Mayo Clinic , France, Canada or Cuba. I would be willing to bet he is self insured and would choose the Mayo Clinic in Chicago. If he likes France so much he should immigrate there and explain his first mockumentary to zee car burners.
As I posted the other night about cheap energy being the key to lifting people from poverty. Part VII
Part VII and affirmations of my arguments the other night made before I saw this.
Dang I must be e real nerd since this is all old news to me but I figured some others might get something from it to bolster their argument against the big green socialist machine. The other socialist vehicle is healthcare, Sicko might be the Friday Frolic topic while healthcare is not my area of indulgence or interest as a healthy uninsured American, remember this Government healthcare is not free healthcare, it is a high taxation boondoggle and Canada and Europe provide the proof forget Cuba, dog's get better care in Canada than people do, they are eaten in China. For the sake of cute, Dragon Lady has this to offer on Polar Bears, the awesome critters they are. Let's go for a swim.
We had an unusual start to a July morning here in California's Sacramento valley, cool temps and a light rain, no complaints here and I am sure my tomatoes loved it. I am trying two heirloom varieties I had not tried before and they are huge potato leafed vines now approaching six feet tall with big ole slicers forming. I planted a pink Brandywine and a German Giant this year after poor crops the last two years and am eager to try them. I just love a fresh garden tomato no matter how you slice it or serve it. While heirloom varieties can be a little unreliable compared to the hybrids, the flavor is worth it, you just have to find the right one for your micro-climate. A hint for those that live in very arid environs, invest in a misting system to spray the plants like a morning dew to increase production. It has been a good spring and early summer for farmers out here with fairly mild temperatures, sunny days and cool nights.
I can't believe the level of idiocy being displayed in the Swamp among Senate Democrats, can't they at least read about the success of Gen. Petraus' strategy even as it is just now fully cranked up and rolling. I follow the war closely because I wish I was there in the fight for this noble cause, and I have seen a remarkable turnaround in recent months as AQ and similar thugs overstay their welcome and the people turn on them. The people now realize we are not there to steal their oil or occupy and rule them but to help them set up their own country that they can be proud of, that we are their friends, not the enemy. Mike Yon's last few dispatches from Baqubah highlight this growing fact that the people now view us as a friendly tribe that can more or less be depended on for help, al-Ameriki. He has a video interview in his latest with a commander of a former insurgent group, a fiercely nationalist group, the 1920's Brigades, that is now fighting with us against AQ and Iranian backed gangs. The commander asked America to help finish stabilizing Iraq and getting its security forces able to do the job and then we can set a timetable to withdraw. This from a man that we would have shot on site a year ago and would have shot us. They misunderstood our mission and AQ educated them, now he works closely with our forces to secure his neighborhoods. If you have a strong Senator on the war, contact them and get them to read Mike's dispatches into the record, I'm stuck with Boxer and Feinstein, woohoo. The Kagans have some great reads posted at The Weekly Standard about the surge and its results from lessons learned, these are must reads if you actually give a darn, here and here. Quin Hillyer at The American Spectator opines on how the Bush administration can get the mojo back on the war effort. They screwed up in letting the MSM set the narrative from the beginning and it will take a massive effort to stop the bleeding. Hugh Hewitt adds his take on the situation as well. You can find the bill's text at The Victory Caucus site of which the Barnyard is a member. As always Hotair has the good videos.
I know one thing, I would rather look at MKH, Michelle,or Elisabeth Hasselbeck anyday before Helen Thomas, Susan Estrich or Rosie. Donot view the following video while eating breakfast unless you have a goat's famed stomach. , Rosie plays a retarded person, hmm........!?
For the illiterate, You will not find barnyard porn at this site, for those seeking it, rather you will be condemned here as the grossest of sinners and a very sick person. If that is what you seek this is not your site to visit. This is a conservative Christian site so bug off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if you link here looking for sick porn. This is not a porn site so do not bother to click.
I see the surrendercrats are about to start raising a stink again to give hope to our enemies just as the surge is returning highly encouraging results. As soon as the the Dems start blabbering, the GOP leadership should read Mike Yon's last few dispatches into the record as well as call Bill Roggio and DJ Elliott to testify. Mike's reporting over the last few weeks has been absolutely incredible, he has gotten better and better, and has learned to really put a face on the war and our enemy by talking to the Iraqi people, and the MNF-I forces and the IA/INP. Lots of good news and Mike sounds optimistic for the first time in months while Bill reports on some news from around Iraq with a very hot Daily update, the people hate AQ and the jihadi thug gangs. I have followed Mike around Iraq and Afganistan and back to Iraq and from what he and the troops he follows have I have no doubt about this no matter how difficult for soft Western lefties to stomach.
At first, he said, they would only target Shia, but over time the new al Qaeda directed attacks against Sunni, and then anyone who thought differently. The official reported that on a couple of occasions in Baqubah, al Qaeda invited to lunch families they wanted to convert to their way of thinking. In each instance, the family had a boy, he said, who was about 11 years old. As LT David Wallach interpreted the man’s words, I saw Wallach go blank and silent. He stopped interpreting for a moment. I asked Wallach, “What did he say?” Wallach said that at these luncheons, the families were sat down to eat. And then their boy was brought in with his mouth stuffed. The boy had been baked. Al Qaeda served the boy to his family.
Don't miss Mike's video interviews! Update: Found this at Bill's site, vewwwy intewwwesting!AQ threatening Iran......!?! Update: Has Syria reinvaded Lebanon? Michael Totten reports. PS: If you can send these guys some funds so we can continue to receive unfiltered honest news from the ME. I am short on funds as a new business so I will give them free advertising and promote them all I can. Yon and Roggio are already on my sidebar RSS feeder, I will also add Mr. Totten as he heads back to Iraq, so visit often and keep your eye on the RSS feeder. Don't forget to add your feedback. (Courtesy of Hotair)
Lots of links at Allah's post so don't skip by. To lift you spirits a bit is this video, one of the better I have seen.
My biggest regret is not enlisting, dang, that just looks like too much fun.
This was the big weekend for all the LiveEarth concerts and it appears they won't gross enough to pay for the carbon credits they will need too offset this tremendous waste of energy on narcissistic woodstockian pipe dreams. It has provided much for entertainment and not quite in the way I am sure they had intended. They were expecting hundreds of thousands to come out for the concerts and billions to watch , turns out hundreds showed up and millions watched. I hear that more folks showed up at Congressional CC for Tiger's tournament than the show in DC. I guess folks would rather watch a golf tournament than listen to overpaid celebrities preach and tell them to conserve energy while they burn enough to power a small town and jet around on private jets. The big green socialist machine made a mistake in enlisting celebrities in this campaign because the intrinsic pampered narcissism of celebrity makes them instant hypocrites on this issue and rock concerts as the worst possible vehicle. As I have always said, it has nothing to do with the environment, it is all about the politics of controlling the people. If it was about the environment then nuclear energy is the best answer but that is off the table, the socialists understand that the best way to control people is to control their access to energy, cheap energy. Just watch Russia play with Europe over natural gas and Iran playing right along if you don't believe me. Cheap plentiful energy is the secret to lifting poverty around the world not handouts and government doting and nannying. This also demonstrates that the left does not really want to help the poor, by driving up the cost of energy for dubious rewards sometime in the next century and putting it out of reach of some of the poorest of nations. Furthur Kyoto and similar EUnik plans are designed to ham string the US economy so their pathetic anemic ones will look better not to help the environment. To this cranky old goat it looks Al 'Chicken Little' Goracle may have jumped the shark that eats him. He and his movement have been so discredited that the hippies and protest crowd have taken up the cause. What better endorsement do you need? Tim Blair, The Corner, Planet Gore, Michelle and Hotair provide more coverage.
Answer the call, I gotta go to the restroom now and leave some methane and ammoniates.
To read the plaque click the picture as The Rambler heads to Coloma and the site of gold's discovery at Sutter's Mill by John Marshall and an event that changed not just California and the US but the world at large.
John Sutter needed wood for his fort in what is now Sacramento so he contracted John Marshall to build a mill on the American river's middle fork up in the foothills where wood was ready at hand. The paddle wheel ran the saw blade to make planks in a channel diverted from the main river.
What is left of that diversion channel where John Marshall found those first flecks of gold, within a few feet of here, while making sure the mill had sufficient outflow.
A view of the river at the site
The old El Dorado county jail
Solitary still stands, ouch, and some think Gitmo is bad
Try sitting in there for a few days, its about 85 out and the sunnyside was too warm to leave your hand on, it is about 4' wide,6' deep and 6' tall with an iron mesh floor and ceiling like the ends, a hotbox. Good enough for bandits good enough for jihadis.
Another old stamp mill though this one is fairly complete, the copper tray in the fore was coated with mercury to trap the gold coming from the crushed ore. It was crushed to the consistancy of flour and washed over these treated plates and then treated to a cyanide bath, toxic, eh.
A crew of Mormon's were assisting in building the mill, part of the Mormon Brigades fresh from the Spanish-American War and moving into the Sacramento Valley, after a spat with their landlord they built their own cabin. This is a replica on the original spot and yes the Mormons played a very important role in American history especially in the Western frontier bringing know how and discipline to the rowdy camps.
A look inside, a Ranger was working so I got an inside shot. I don't understand their cooking heating arrangement, no chimney and open grill?, there is a set of bunks to the right.
The old general store, the iron doors had two fire purposes, bullets and wildfire, all the surviving buildings are brick or stone with iron fire doors on all openings, or plain lucky.
Est. 1849, the gunsmith shop, now a tourist shop.
The oldest building left standing, the gunsmith's, a great symol of a spot that literally changed the world and America forever and a salute to our 2nd Amendment.
Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, 'What should be the reward of such sacrifices?' Bid us and our posterity to bow the knee, supplicate the friendship, and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war, to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!"- Samuel Adams
These are for Gayle to help jog her memory, and a new something to search for on my foothill rambles, covered bridges, and we have a few, this is the Oregon Creek bridge at its confluence with the No. Yuba River.
This is the Bridgeport bridge over the So. Yuba River.
