Day 2: Undisclosed destination acquired

We've arrived at our top secret destination. Nothing of note except one thing:

71- DEGREES!!!

Ohhhh yeahhhhhhh!

Day 1: Undisclosed location

We've left the friendly confines of the Welcher homestead for destinations unknown. Lots of fellow adventurers traveling along side. We've set camp for the night.

Only you can prevent...

First of all, this isn't an anti-smoking rant. I don't smoke, don't really like being around smoke (especially cigars), but I'm not a card carrying member of the anti-smoking Nazis, activists, police - pick your favorite moniker.

This is about the stupidity of some smokers, particularly the ones that choose to smoke while in a moving vehicle.

Given the time of year, unusual high temperatures, seasonal fire danger, and numerous recent examples of said fire danger, I can’t believe how many people I see flicking their cigarette butts out their windows.

Don’t you SEE the vast amounts of combustible fuel lying just to ether side of you? Don’t you think (just maybe) it’s a BAD idea to fling a smoldering butt out in the direction of and in proximity to a potential powder keg? Do you really think that your butt is extinguished immediately after it leaves your fingers?

Besides the obvious threat to yourself and your fellow drivers from the ignition of a fire, you’re also LITTERING the roadways. Do you also throw your Big Gulp cups, Big Mac wrappers, or Biggie fries out the window after you’re finished? Sadly, that behavior is not exclusive to smokers.

Please keep your butts INSIDE your vehicle’s ash tray – that’s what it’s there for.

Alright, I'm leaving the kitchen

Friday = 109 deg
Saturday = 116 deg
Sunday = 113 deg
Monday = 112 deg

Need I say more? Not even my pool can provide relief from the onslaught.

It could be worse, though. Fortunately, our power has not been interrupted and my air conditioner is still functioning.

I'm sweating prefusely just typing this much. Back into the hole.

UPDATE
The powers that be have just declared a Stage 2 power emergency. Let the rolling blackouts and brownouts begin.

Would the real congress stand up?

It's a not so subtle secret that I lean more to the right side of the political spectrum than the left. I should be ecstatic that we've had a Republican controlled congress since 1994 and the White house since 2000. Examples of core conservative principles since then have been few and far between, with the only possible exception being the concepts contained in Dr. Gingrich's Contract with America. Too bad so little of those ideas ever saw the legislative light of day. Corrupt Washington, DC culture = 1, weak Republicans = 0. But what else is new?

Of all of the problems and threats facing this country our Congress chooses to focus on these pressing issues of utmost importance to the safety, security, and prosperity of the United States:

• Flag burning
• Gay marriage
• Increased stem cell research funding

Huh? I remember when Republicans actually stood for something that resembled a party of limited government and some common sense. Not so anymore.

I'd say our country is over 80 percent of the way towards the great socialist utopia the elites have been dreaming of. Oh boy, I can't wait. Wake me up when we get there.

What am I missing here?

I really think that there are a few huge misconceptions out there in the recent stem cell debate. I have not made up my mind on this yet, because like man's contribution/cause/resolution to global warming, we don't have overwhelming concensus from the people who actually KNOW about the science involved.

Here are a few FACTS that most people can't seem to grasp, or out of their blind hatred for this man choose to ignore:

[1] President Bush is the FIRST President to federally fund stem cell research. When given the opportunity, President Clinton did not.
[2] President Bush has NEVER proposed making stem cell research ILLEGAL.
[3] President Bush is only against federal funding for the creation of NEW stem cell lines, not the elimination of any of the existing lines. This is a personal moral choice for him, and like it or not he's curently the President. Try again in 2008.
[4] There is NOTHING stopping the private sector or state government or YOU from funding, creating new stem cell lines, or conducting research. California voters approved state-sponsored funding in 2004. YOU can legally contribute your OWN money to your institution of choice doing the type of research YOU approve of.

The core questions are these:

Should the federal government (i.e., the US taxpayer) fund stem cell research, including the creation of new stem cell lines?

And more importantly,

Is it even within the limits of the responsibility, authority, and bounds of the federal government to fund such research? In other words, it this something the federal government should be even involved with in the first place?

Many citizens say yes, and many say no. Our current President says NO. It's as simple as that.

Finally, some hope

It's encouraging to get proof of the fact that the vast majority of the rank and file in the Middle East are getting tired of all of this bullshit.

Read it here and here.

Thanks for the URLs, Paul.

Free Food Fight!

I just read an article stating that over 50% of all California K-12 public education school children are enrolled in free or reduced-price meal programs. Over 50 percent. Some local counties are almost 70 percent! I can't tell if I'm furious, dismayed, disgusted, or saddened. As noted in the article, not all children receiving assistance are poor - why the hell not? Have you ever heard of PACKING your child's lunch? I guarantee you that it would be cheaper AND healthier that what is being served in the cafeteria.

FLUSHHHHHHHH... That giant sucking sound that you just heard was more tax money spiraling down that bottomless rathole known as the public school system.

When growing up I remember only a few kids that got public assistance, but 50-70 percent of the student body? I could not imagine it. What happened? Granted, I lived in a poor and backward farm state (Iowa), but I would think that the enlightened and progressive population centers would have solved this by now, but alas it is untrue. Oh where, oh where, has my [insert random government program or agency] gone? Sniff, sniff... Look, up in the sky. It's big(ger) goverment! We're saved!

All I know is that I pay thousands of dollars every year in income, sales, and property taxes to support the public school system that my nonexistent children will never use. Every year, it's always more, more, more.

I'll shut up now. The mean and heartless hole I'm digging is getting deeper.

What's that smell?

It's always interesting when someone finally wakes up from the mental fog long enough to discover his or her surroundings. I was reading some agiprop from one of the local "concerned" hippie activist groups depicting the latest local contribution to global doom and gloom. OK, maybe it wasn't that dire, but it's still pleasurable to poke a little fun from time to time.

This particular bulletin related to the amounts of evil and harmful fissile material being locally stored by the mean and heartless weapons designers at LLNL. What I find quite amusing is that this institution has been part of this community since the 1950's, back when this town was nothing more than a few farms. These activists started their assault on the weapons labs in the 1980's. My question is this: The labs were here long before you moved here, so what are you complaining about? If you despise them so much, why did you move here in the first place? I'm not suggesting for one second that they should be silienced, but come on.

This is akin to the person who moves downwind from the waste treatment plant and then complains how much it stinks, or someone who moves next to the airport and then complains about the noise. Duh - you knew about the exisitence of these places long before you signed the mortgage papers at the title company, you just chose to IGNORE it.

So let me get this straight. You move into a new area. You ignore the large oil refinery behind your house. You then take it upon yourself to petition to close the refinery because it obstructs your view of the hills, smells bad, and because it is part of the war mongering, environment hating, price gouging, obscene profit making, evil Big Oil corporate monopoly. Halliburton! Dick Cheney! Bush lied!

Sorry, I got caught up in the frenzy there for a minute. I find it very disturbing that some people have the audacity to think that they are entitled to move into a community and then forcibly transform it into their own personal nirvana irregardless of the previous wishes and community planning of the longer tentured residents.

Don't go away quitely, just go away...

New Photo Gallery

I updated my photo gallery pages. Hopefully the interface is better.

Click HERE to view.

First victory, now carnage

First of all, I'm not a rabid sports fan. I enjoy playing and watching sports, but I try to keep it in perspective. I was listening to some talk yesterday about the soccer World Cup. It was simply fascinating listening to people get so fired up over something that has NO real affect on your personal life. Now, if it's your job (professional coach, trainer, agent) that's understandable, but not fans.

I am passionate about things that have a direct impact on my life and that I have the opportunity to influence- my wife, music, wine, politics (yes, I DO vote). I can't image being so attached to a specific sport or team or individual athlete that my emotional well being is altered beyond a little elation at a victory or a little disappointment with a loss. That doesn't mean that you don't support your favorite team, it also doesn't mean you riot, burn cars, or break store windows when your team wins or loses. Not everyone does it, but it DOES happen often enough. On your birthday, do you get a card from the league? If you died tomorrow, would your favorite team even know (or care)? You may know a great deal about any particular athlete, but it’s not like he or she is actually your friend.

The same goes with any famous actor, actress, musician, or any other person for that matter. Why some are so emotionally involved with the lives of people we will never know boggles my infantile mind. I apparently don't care enough.

More on that later...

When I recently reformatted my blog pages, I had the opportunity to re-read my missives and took a mental note of the number of occurrences of the phrase, “more on that later...” I think I’ve got less than a 20% follow-up rate. Let’s see if I can increase that percentage a little bit.

One of those hanging topics was why I don’t want to have children. I’ll try and breech that subject now. Take a look at the image below. After the initial shock, I would think that at some point the situation depicted below would transform into something more cute and less infuriating. I don’t think that I can get to that point. If that sounds insensitive, uncaring, and selfish, at least I admit it - and I believe that having children will not change that.



The subject of not having children is a very overwhelming topic of discussion for me. It’s difficult to formulate coherent thought without sounding like a heartless waste of human debris. Although it’s a firm and undisputed decision for my wife and me, we do have to revisit this topic from time to time with other people who can’t fathom the concept of being childless by choice.

My wife loves children, she just doesn’t want any of her own. I on the other hand, have never been overtly fond of children. I don’t despise them per se, I’m just not instantly enamored by their mere presence. I do enjoy being around my nieces and nephews and my friends’ kids, so I’m not a total heathan.

Probably the most compelling reason for me personally not wanting children is that I think that the general state of the world (and especially our country) is in an irreversible steep decline. Why would I want to bring a child into a world that is significantly worse than the one I grew up in? And no, I don’t think I’m unduly influenced by current events. I have pretty much always thought this way since my teenage years.

Again, I’m sure that I sound insensitive, uncaring, and selfish. In my mind, if I wanted to have children, I shouldn’t naturally feel this way. If I did and decided to have kids, I would do a great disservice to the child, which is why I’m not having any.

Try something. Put your prejudices aside for a moment if you can and open your mind. Read or listen to people like Dr. Laura and Dr. Phil, or watch some of the fine daytime programming such as Jerry Springer or Maury Povich. Pay attention to how the children are affected by the life choices of the parents and accepted societal norms. These are purportedly "normal" people and families. Sadly, the welfare and protection of the children typically takes a backseat to the immature and selfish desires of the parent(s), not the other way around. Children aren't accessories. Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now. More on that later... (maybe).

Do as I say, not as I do

It's always enlightening to witness the hypocrisy of the Democratic Party. When Senators Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton recently said derogatory and racist things about Indian and Arab Americans, that huge vacuum you had experienced came from the vast silence from the mainstream press. Of course if Tom Delay or Pat Roberson had said something equally appalling, you'd better watch out for the torches and pitchforks.

The liberals have had a really good scam going for many years. They are supposedly the people who promote “tolerance”, but based on my personal experience, they are anything BUT tolerant. I hear more racist, bigoted, and homophobic epithets from my liberal friends than from my conservative ones. They must feel that since they’re the enlightened, tolerant, and caring sect of society they can get away with being elitist, condescending, and mean. Say what you want about people such as Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh, at least you openly know where they stand on things. With most liberals, they say one thing publicly and something quite different in private. That’s fine, just don’t pretend that you’re better than everyone else just because you care and are tolerant (but not of views you don’t agree with). Private behavior is a more accurate measurement of character than one's public persona, which is why it matters.

But "we" know better

In a previous life, I had a job that required a security clearance. Of the many responsibilities that came with that clearance, nothing was more important than NOT disclosing classified information to those without the required clearance and need-to-know. To do so could have grave consequences to the safety and security of the nation, and usually resulted in an instant revocation of your clearance, loss of your job, possible jail time, or even death by execution. It’s THAT serious. You could have the highest clearance ever granted, but if you did not have a valid reason to know a particular tidbit of classified information, you weren’t told. The greater number of people who know something, the greater the chance for it to be inadvertently (or purposely) divulged.

Somehow, this has been lost to some people who should know better. I’ll get to the media’s irresponsible behavior in a minute, but my wrath right now is focused solely on these treasonous bastards that divulge classified info to the media. Am I being overtly harsh and extreme? You bet your ass I am! Once these leakers and so-called “whistleblowers” are discovered, they need to be delivered the way of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Apparently it’s acceptable or courageous if it supports an agenda against a sitting President that the media doesn’t favor.

As for the media, in their vitriolic hatred for this Administration, they don’t seem to care if what they print or say helps our enemies or puts our own troops in danger as long as they make the President and his administration look bad. They put their own petty, selfish, elitist, petulant desires over the safety and security of OUR country and our fellow citizens. They’re quick to wrap themselves indignantly around the First Amendment, but conveniently ignore the responsibilities that come with this freedom. I honestly can’t understand why the American mainstream press hates its own country so much to the point that it will put it (and themselves) in danger. I guess they think our enemies will only kill and rule over the racist and bigoted red-staters, and will leave the caring and tolerant press, Hollywood, academia, and the Berkeley-types alone in peace.

Yeah, right…

Read, understand, and defend

Here are transcripts of some very important documents pertaining to our nation's history and founding, perhaps you've heard of these before:

The Declaration of Independence
The Constitution
The Bill of Rights

Read them. Read them again. Contrary to what your socialist teachers have indoctrinated you to believe, theses are great documents that declare and guarantee your rights and responsibilities as citizens of the Unites States of America. A popular misconception is that the government grants your rights; no, these documents define the LIMITS of government upon your inalienable rights, not the other way around.

Keep that in mind when you:
vote for your representatives in government; read or hear about any legislative matters; vote for any local or state ballot measures; vote for the expansion of government control and oversight.

And accept the validity of (because you think it’s a good idea):
ordinances such as smoking bans, gun bans, and helmet laws; limits on free speech to prevent someone from being offended; limits on freedom of association because a private organization chooses not to associate with YOU or some other “group” of people you don’t even belong to; use restrictions of personal private property for wetlands or species preservation; removal of any religious reference in the public domain, even though it doesn’t establish a forced acceptance of such dogma; mandated standards such as speed limits, toilet flow rates, and paint colors for your private home.

Again, read these documents as the framers and authors originally intended – establishing your rights and responsibilities as citizens and the LIMITED role and authority of government.

Lift your glass

Too much time has passed. Let's catch up.

Father's Day
There is so much I want to say here that I fear it will get too diluted in both content and meaning. You have been such an inspiration for me. I left the nest and searched for my place in the world just like you did when you were my age. Over the years you’ve given me a strong moral foundation, love, guidance, and support in which to structure my life. I know I don’t call you enough and visit as much as I should. I hope I have given you (and continue to give you) proven examples to be proud of me. I love you so much, Dad!

4th of July
This is the celebration of our liberation from tyranny - not from the Bush Administration - but from King George III, although thanks to modern public education and the mainstream media many will not know the difference. I offer my gratitude to the wisdom and heroism of our founding Fathers (and mothers), our military who protect our freedom, and to all of those over the course of our short history who have made this country the bastion of hope and beacon of freedom for the rest of the world. Celebrate proudly, ignore the childish tantrums of the leftists and the elites, and honor those that volunteer their lives for your freedom.

Timeline
We’ve begun tracking our first epic, Now That You’re Gone, a twenty-five plus minute roller coaster ride of moods, textures, and emotions. It’s an exhalting and uplifting conclusion to the darker themed melodies of the CD. The recording sessions have not gone as quickly as my eager anticipations would prefer, but we’re making progress. Better to take the time and do it right. It’s very easy to get caught up in the recording process and forget that we all have familial and professional obligations outside of the project that are more important and require priority over what is essentially a hobby.

Site News
Obviously, I’ve been busy upgrading my blogging interface. Hopefully this new format will be easier to read and navigate. More updates to come...