A Welcome Trend

It's a little early to declare two recent events a trend, but one can hope.

A couple of days ago a teen mom shot one of two men who broke into her house and threatened her and her new-born daughter.

The incident described below happened two days prior to that one, but authorities didn't release any information until yesterday.

Police in North Carolina revealed a 14-year-old boy shot dead an intruder attempting to break into his home while he and his sister were alone.

... police said the 14-year-old and his sister were at home in the rural town of Henderson when four men tried to break into the house.

The teen opened fire with a shotgun while his 17-year-old sister hid in a closet as a gang of men attempted to smash their way into their home.

Michael Anthony Henderson Jr, 19, was shot dead.

He staggered away from the house and collapsed where he was found by police.

His brother Seneca, 20, and one other man Andrew Terry, 23, have already been charged in the case.

Police are still searching for a third man named as 21-year-old Jatwaun Davis.

Vermin that tried to invade the North Carolina home.

 In the call, the teen, says: 'I just shot the man. He came around the corner. I shot him. He broke the whole glass out (of the back door).'

He continues: '... I got one more in the chamber. I'm going to shoot again,' the boy said.

Police said the teen will not face any charges...

He damn well shouldn't face charges. If anything, he should get a medal for protecting his sister. (I especially liked the part where he said " I got one more in the chamber. I'm going to shoot again.")

Both cases have two things in common. One, the people defending themselves were not just outnumbered, but at a physical disadvantage; a young woman, and a 14-year-old boy vs. grown men. Two, in both cases the weapon used was a shotgun.

A shotgun is a great weapon for home defense. It requires less fine motor skills to operate and aim than a handgun, something to keep in mind as adrenalin surges through the system. If loaded with shot rather than slugs, it is also less likely to penetrate interior walls and threaten other family members.

Plus it's just so damn intimidating...

Hopefully these recent events will give pause to the scum who prey on the (supposedly) weak and helpless, but somehow I doubt it. But at least we taxpayers won't have to foot the bills for an endless series of trials and appeals, followed by room and board (and cable TV and exercise facilities and all the other benefits that criminals shouldn't be allowed).

Do You Really Get What You Pay For? Update

In my earlier post I left out one additional step to take to improve our public education system: parental involvement.

Kenya Parents Attack Teachers Over Exams Results

The chairman of the Kenyan teachers' union says angry parents are attacking teachers nationwide after their children's dismal performance in a national exam.

Okay, physically attacking teachers might be a little extreme, but the underlying concept is valid. Institute some form of individual accountability to hold teachers and administrators responsible for student performance.

And while we're at it, let's hold the little darlings and their parents responsible as well. After all, there's enough blame for this mess to go around...

Do You Really Get What You Pay For? - Part II

Yesterday we commented on some of the causes and effects of the disaster our public school systems have become. Today we'll extend that thought into the higher education arena. First, some figures to support the argument that public schools are graduating students who are unprepared for college.

Three out of four graduates aren’t fully prepared for college and likely need to take at least one remedial class, according to the latest annual survey from the nonprofit testing organization ACT, which measured half of the nation’s high school seniors in English, math, reading and science proficiency.

Only 25 percent cleared all of ACT’s college preparedness benchmarks, while 75 percent likely will spend part of their freshman year brushing up on high-school-level course work... Students are most likely to need remedial classes in science and math.

Even more damning, "...80 percent of college students taking remedial classes had a high school GPA of 3.0 or better."

Take it from one who has to teach classes full of unprepared students - students who can't write a simple complete sentence, much less a full paragraph; students who have little to no grasp of basic grammar; students who can't solve elementary math problems - it is beyond frustrating. I can handle the frustration. But can we as a society handle the more serious consequences?

And what are some of those consequences?

If I as the professor dumb down the class to accommodate those less prepared, the better prepared students feel like they're just repeating high school. They get bored, distant, and develop bad study habits. Even worse, they are being held back from reaching their full potential.

(Side note: state universities receive government funds based on a complex formula that in large part is based on admission, retention, and graduation rates. If reasonable standards are enforced, less prepared students aren't admitted or later drop out, decreasing the government funds funneled to that particular school.)

Taxpayers, of course, also suffer. They are in essence paying twice for students to learn: once in high school, a second time in remedial college classes.

And of course taking remedial courses means the students themselves take longer, and pay more, to graduate.

Which leads to another problem: mounting student loans, and a so-called 'higher education bubble.'

It’s officially a crisis. Student loan debt has hit the $1 trillion mark, exceeding Americans’ total credit card indebtedness.

The real problem is that we’ve been running a higher education bubble, one that -- like the real-estate bubble -- has been pumped up by cheap government money. Since 1999, student loan debt has increased by 511%, while disposable income has increased by only 73%.

That’s because when the government subsidizes something, producers respond by raising prices to soak up as much of the subsidy as they can. College is no exception. Tuition has been increasing much faster than disposable income, and families -- believing that a college education is a can’t-lose investment, much as they used to think houses were -- have been making up the difference with debt. After all, we’re told, student loan debt is “good debt,” because a college degree guarantees more earnings.

The problem is, “college” isn’t an undifferentiated product. Companies can’t hire enough mechanical engineers, but there’s no bidding war for majors in Fine Arts or Women’s Studies, degrees that cost just as much, but deliver a lot less in terms of employment. In an economically rational market, it would be harder to borrow money to finance fields of study that were unlikely to produce enough income to pay back the loans. But since the federal government subsidizes everything ... there’s no incentive for lenders to care, and even less incentive for colleges and universities to care. They get their money up front, after all -- just like the people who wrote the subprime loans that fueled the housing crisis.

So what's the solution? Well, like most complex problems, there is no simple solution. But there are a few simple steps to take that would put us on the road to a solution. The steps are not exciting or glamorous. Nor are they easy. But nothing worthwhile is.

First, improve how we measure and reward (or punish) the job public schools do in preparing their students. Standardized tests have their place, but they are limited. Other, less objective measures also have a role. The trick is determining how to blend the two in assessing student preparedness. One way might be to increase or decrease funding to K-12 school districts based on the number of remedial courses their students have to take in college.

A second step would be to reemphasize the value of vocational education. It is not feasible, or even desirable, for every student to go to college. There are plenty of available, good-paying entry level jobs in the trades that do not require a college degree. We need to send a strong message to high-school students that there is value and honor in vocational careers.

Third, reduce the cost of a college education. It's absurd that kids are graduating from college with six-figure debts that they have no chance of repaying. Insisting that students meet reasonable standards before they are admitted (I've worked at universities where the only admission requirement was a high school diploma) would be a start. Eliminating unnecessary and 'feel good' programs would also help. (The university I'm currently at has an administrative department for freshman success, and another one for sophomore success. Presumably juniors and seniors can succeed on their own.) Furthermore, tenure reform is long overdue (I could write a book on the disadvantages and abuses of the tenure system).

There's lots more that can be done, and lots of detail work involved in these three steps that goes way beyond the bare bones put forth here, but we need to get started ASAP.

Not acting just means we'll get more of the same. More unprepared students, more unaffordable college education, and more failure on a broad front. Let's stop kicking the can down the road and fix the problem now.

In other words, let's not be like congress...

The Great Equalizer

As the old saying goes, "God created man, but Sam Colt made them equal." That old saying applies to women as well.

A young Oklahoma mother shot and killed an intruder to protect her 3-month-old baby on New Year's Eve, less than a week after the baby's father died of cancer.

Two men armed with knives tried to break into Sarah McKinley's home on New Year's Eve. Ms. McKinley called 911, then grabbed her 12-gauge shotgun and a pistol.

"I've got two guns in my hand -- is it okay to shoot him if he comes in this door?" the young mother asked the 911 dispatcher.

"I can't tell you that you can do that but you do what you have to do to protect your baby," the dispatcher told her. McKinley was on the phone with 911 for a total of 21 minutes.

When seconds count the police are minutes away.

When Martin kicked in the door and came after her with the knife, the teen mom shot and killed the 24-year-old. Police are calling the shooting justified.

"You're allowed to shoot an unauthorized person that is in your home. The law provides you the remedy, and sanctions the use of deadly force," Det. Dan Huff of the Blanchard police said.

McKinley said that she was at home alone with her newborn that night because her husband just died of cancer on Christmas Day.

"I wouldn't have done it, but it was my son," McKinley told ABC News Oklahoma City affiliate KOCO. "It's not an easy decision to make, but it was either going to be him or my son. And it wasn't going to be my son. There's nothing more dangerous than a woman with a child."

Except maybe an armed woman with a child.

It's too much to hope that the anti-gun nuts will learn anything from this. Without those weapons, an 18-year-old woman is no match for two men with knives. If this took place in California, New York, or any other place with restrictive gun controls, this story would have had a much different ending. And no one in the media would be lamenting "If only she were armed."

All snark aside, what a terrible holiday season for that young lady. I hope and pray that she and her child find peace and happiness for the rest of their holidays.

Do You Really Get What You Pay For?

As my regular readers (thanks, Mom and Dad) know, I believe that our public school systems are doing society a huge disservice by graduating students who are not prepared for either college or employment. While I could, if I had the time and inclination, provide a formal literature review documenting this failure, let me instead offer two arguments in support of my point.

The first is a chart that compares public school expenditures per student with test scores over time. It quickly becomes shockingly obvious that we are spending more - much, much more - and not gaining any improvement.

What's driving the growth in expenditures? IMO two things. First, teachers unions. Unions in general must force employers to pay above market wages. Otherwise there is no justification for the existence of the union. Unions also protect their own, at the expense of quality. Union contracts specify that teachers are laid off on the basis of seniority, not merit (or lack thereof). Thus we have situation like the ones in Milwaukee, Houston, Las Vegas, and Parsippany (NJ), where Teachers of the Year were laid off in 2011 in place of some old fossil longer tenured union member.

The second factor in growing school expenditures is the increasing emphasis on special programs and non-core subjects, driven by special interest groups. As these special programs grow, so also does the need for non-classroom staff to administer and monitor them. Case in point: New York state.

In New York, the number of administrators grew from 31,000 in 1997 to 42,000 in 2011 – a 33% increase. During that same time the number of teachers increased by 10%. Meanwhile, the number of students dropped by 5%.

It's not just the number of administrators, it's also their bloated salaries. One-third of NY school superintendents earn over $175,000 per year.

As a result, overall public-school expenditures more than doubled, from $26 billion to $58 billion statewide.

It wouldn't be so bad if the taxpayers received value for their dollar, but that hasn't been the case in New York. The state's graduation rate has hovered between 65 - 70%, ranking it around 40th in the country. More money spent, no improvement - a situation that is mirrored at the national level, as seen in the above chart.

A specific example of special interest-driven public school agendas is a new 2012 California law that requires California students to receive mandatory classroom instruction about the contributions of gays and lesbians to the development of the United States. I have nothing against gays or lesbians, and I don't deny they have contributed to this country's development. But by placing emphasis on every single group (gays, lesbians, blacks, Hispanics, left-handed redheads, etc.) we are losing sight of the forest for the trees. And by fragmenting learning into an endless series of lectures on diversity we are most definitely not preparing students to succeed in college and beyond. Does anyone really think that injecting gays and lesbians into history classes will increase test scores?

The second segment of my argument that public school systems are failing us is grounded in the now-global nature of the workforce. Multinational employers are increasingly turning their backs on American workers not because of wage scale differential (although that does play a role), but because of a quality differential. Earlier this year the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness invited the heads of foreign companies that invest in the United States to discuss why they don't hire more U.S. workers.

“The issue that we have is finding skilled workers,” said Christian Turnig from ThyssenKrupp, a German company.

According to Turnig, his company had to send hundreds of employees from its new plant in Alabama to Germany for several months of training.

Martin Daum, the head of Daimler Trucks North America, told the gathering that he felt he had better skilled workers at his plants in Mexico than in the United States, where some workers have to be taught proper math and writing skills.

... According to Daum, the better skill sets of Mexican workers makes it easier to ramp up production at his company’s factories in Mexico than those in the United States.

“We have to bring in educators,” he said.

Peter Solmssen of Siemens said “it’s a skills issue.  We’re having to train them ourselves.”

Unprepared public school graduates. Unions that protect the administrators and teachers responsible for the graduates' lack pf preparedness. Special interest groups that get in the way.

And it gets worse. More unintended consequences tomorrow...

Corruptisima Republica Plurimae Leges

As David Martosko notes, translated from the Latin, the title of this post means ”The more corrupt the state, the more plentiful its laws." (H/T to Curmudgeonly & Skeptical for the link)

Laws are like technology. Over time, they become one of two things: indispensable or obsolete. It’s beyond me why most state and federal laws don’t have 15- or 20-year sunset clauses, so we could periodically dispense with the obsolete ones like so many floppy disc drives and 8-track tape decks.

For the record, Texas has a Sunset Commission that does just that, albeit on a limited basis. Still, it's a start. Now if we could just elect congresscritters with enough common sense and backbone to implement a similar panel on a national level we might have a fighting chance. Better yet, pass legislation stating that all laws passed by congress expire in three years unless they are specifically and individually extended.

In 1925 it would have taken you 12 days to read all the United States’ federal laws and regulations if you plowed through about 200 pages per day. Today that same task would take you three years.

obamacare and the Dodd-Frank bill alone account for 5000 of the new pages.

That's just at the federal level. At the state level there are approximately 40,000 new laws. Most of them are unnecessary, of course, but since when did that ever stop politicians from passing something to make some potential campaign contributor or voter happy. For example, one of California's new state laws prohibits the awarding of goldfish as a carnival prize. I'm sure goldfish and goldfish lovers across the state are sleeping easier tonight.

Of course, with all those new laws and regulations there's plenty of room for conflict and overlap. Case in point:

New environmental regulations, coming amid warnings that Texas might not meet its electricity needs next summer, could set up a legal dilemma for regulators, grid operators and generators.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which takes effect Sunday, requires plants in 28 states including Texas to cut smog- and soot-forming emissions that cross state lines.

... power plant operators and their political supporters say the rule will force shutdowns of power plants needed to keep U.S. grid capacity safely above demand.

Here in Texas, at least one utility - Dallas based Luminant Generation Co. - will shut down two coal-fired generating units to comply with the EPA rule. Other state utilities are considering similar moves. As a result, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state's main electric grid, has projected power reserves will fall below its desired minimum next year.

So we have an agency of the federal government creating regulations - not legislation passed by our elected representatives, but rules thought up by bureaucrats to justify their existence - that will shut down existing power plants, eliminate jobs, and cause rolling blackouts throughout the state in the foreseeable future.

But just when you think all is lost, here comes a knight in shining armor riding to the rescue.

Another federal agency, the Energy Department, says it has the legal authority to require power plants to maintain grid reliability.

If you see a dilemma here - one agency saying stop, another saying go - you're not alone.

U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, said generating companies could be in an untenable position if the department orders operation of plants idled because of EPA rules: By complying with one of the federal agencies, they may defy the other one.

He cited incidents over the past decade in California and Virginia, where Mirant Corp., now GenOn Energy Inc., was ordered to run generating units for reliability purposes, but faced legal action for environmental violations.

“It's not fair, when these companies do exactly what regulators ask them to do — keep the lights on — and then they're penalized for it,” Olson said in an interview.

Gina McCarthy, an EPA assistant administrator, said the Clean Air Act, which authorizes the cross-state rule, never has caused reliability problems and has mechanisms to prevent local reliability issues.

But EPA permission didn't protect Mirant from lawsuits when it faced conflicting federal mandates, GenOn lawyer Debra Raggio told federal energy regulators in a memo last month.

Gee, confusion and lies misleading information from federal agencies.

What a surprise...

Don't Blame Me

I'm out of town half the time...

San Antonio makes ‘Drunkest Cities’ list

For those who’ve sipped a margarita or a cold beer at one of San Antonio’s many watering holes or reveled in the alcohol-friendly Fiesta, it’s likely no surprise that media outlet The Daily Beast has ranked the city fifth on its list of “Drunkest Cities” in the U.S.

San Antonio staggered to fifth place this year after ranking 19th on last year’s list...

We're aiming for #1 next year.

Ranked first, with an average of 15.5 average monthly drinks consumed by person, is Boston. Other Texas cities that ranked were Austin, at No. 7, and Houston, at No. 25, the list states.

The Daily Beast in February ranked San Antonio as the best U.S. city for love, and previously the Alamo City was listed next to last among 55 U.S. cities for intelligence.

I know correlation isn't causation, but still, that last sentence makes one wonder...

FOD 2012.01.02

Hopefully everyone is alive and well this morning, even if you're not feeling at the top of your game. Let's all hope that we have a better 2012 than 2011.

On this, the first FOD of 2012, it is illustrative and amusing to look back on obama's 2011 performance. For your entertainment and amusement, here's a list of "The Obama administration’s top 10 foolish quotes of 2011."

10. Barack Obama refers to the “English Embassy” in Tehran

9. Hillary Clinton refers to Syrian dictator Assad as a “reformer”

8. Hillary Clinton calls the Mubarak regime “stable”

7. The US Ambassador to Belgium blames Israel for some forms of anti-Semitism

6. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper calls the Muslim Brotherhood "secular"

5. White House adviser touts Obama’s “leading from behind”

4. Joe Biden on the Taliban: “not our enemy”

3. Barack Obama calls France America’s strongest ally

2. Joe Biden compares the Tea Party to terrorists

And the Number One most foolish quote of the obama administration in 2011 is...

1. Barack Obama calls himself the fourth best president in US history

There's more at the link. Enjoy...

Sunday Funnies 2012.01.01

It's traditional to begin the New Year by making resolutions. Most are well-intentioned, but difficult to achieve. Here's a few more realistic ones.

 

 

Happy New Year

All the best to you and yours in 2012 - and beyond!

Home Alone

Our 17-year-old son is the human equivalent of a Labrador Retriever. He's a friendly, good-natured kid, reasonably smart, but totally clueless.

We left him home alone overnight for the first time this week. My wife and daughter went to Houston on short notice for a chick fling with a couple of friends of theirs. I was planning on spending several days hunting, but cut the trip short when they decided to go. Still, that him left one night with no adult supervision - and a brand new girlfriend. He's normally a pretty responsible kid, and we trust him, but ... he is 17 years old.

So he and I had a heart-to-heart talk before I left, and we set the ground rules. The main one was "No visitors." In light of his new-found love, I also passed on two rules my Dad set for me when I was 17.

Rule #1 - Keep it in your pants.
Rule # 2 - When you break Rule #1, keep it covered.

Both my wife and I left town on Tues. The boy and his girlfriend were planning on exchanging their Christmas gifts that day, and then going out to dinner afterwards. About 3:00 that afternoon I got a phone call from the boy. His girlfriend's parents were having some people over to their house, so he wanted to shift the gift exchange to our place.

Well...

At least he asked. And like I said, we trust him. So I said okay, but she had to leave by 8:00, and he had to be back home no later than 10:00 that evening. And I told him I'd be calling the house to make sure everything was okay. (Trust, but verify...)

When I got home Wed. evening I asked him how things went.

• The gift exchange went well. He got her a cookbook (!), which he said she liked.

• Rather than going out to eat, he fixed her dinner. We've been working with him in the kitchen trying to teach him the basics. Evidently some of the cooking lessons stuck, but the tips on romance didn't. For their big romantic dinner he made her scrambled eggs and toast.

Sigh...

However, when I stopped and thought about it, I realized that (1) he has a girlfriend who has a job, and (2) she likes to cook.

Maybe the boy is smarter than I give him credit for...

I'd Like To See Obamacare Top This

I've been having a little problem with one of my eyes. Nothing serious, but enough to be aggravating, verging on painful. It started a couple of days ago and has slowly gotten worse. Since there's a holiday weekend coming up (and my wife has gotten tired of hearing me fuss about it), I decided around 10:30 this morning to get it checked out.

I called the ophthalmologist at 10:30. By 11:30 I was getting examined. After a series of tests I got a prescription, which was filled by 1:30.

In short, within three hours of me making a phone call I was seen by a medical specialist, tested, and medicine was dispensed. It cost me $40 for my co-pay, and $4 for my prescription (over and above what I pay in medical insurance premiums, which ain't cheap, but which are affordable).

obama and the libs think they can improve on that? Fat chance...

Friday Follies Happy Hour 2011.12.30

An oldie but a goodie - and just in time for the New Years weekend. It's a 1977 song from a Canadian band called Trooper: "We're Here for a Good Time, Not a Long Time, so Have a Good Time."

Sounds like a New Years resolution to me...

It Was A Great Hunting Trip

Just got back from a quick day-and-a-half trip to our hunting lease. It would have been longer, except for the fact that our 17-year-old son with the brand new girlfriend was home alone (more on that later). Didn't shoot a thing but had a great time.

I know this is difficult for many non-hunters to understand, but the motivation to go hunting is not driven solely by the desire to shoot something. Yes, that adds to the experience, but most of the folks I know hunt for a mix of reasons: the building excitement and the fun of preparing as the season nears (like Christmas, but with guns); the enjoyment of getting away from everyday life and doing something engaging, challenging, and outdoors (like hiking or camping, but with guns); and strengthening relationships with friends and family (like hanging out in a favorite tavern, but with guns*). If you happen to get lucky, that makes the whole thing even better (like dating, but with guns).

* We don't have a lot of rules, but we are very strict about safety. Rule #1 is "Once you have a drink you cannot touch a firearm until the next day."

Anyway, on this particular trip the weather was, finally, fantastic. Beautiful deep blue skies, crisp temperatures, just a light breeze. The ground was soft from the previous rains, but not muddy or squishy, making it easier to move around quietly and to see tracks. The roads were, for the most past, passable, although there were a few remaining bogs where I got to play 4x4 road warrior.

Best of all, since it was the middle of the week, no one else was there. It was just me, my older son, and his son (my grandson). I'm not much for stand hunting - I like to get out and move around - but with a full lease it limits how much roaming you can do. This trip I would get into position while it was still dark, then about an hour or so after sunup I'd move a few hundred yards and find another spot to sit for a while, and then move again. Probably not the most efficient way to hunt, but that's the way I like to do it.

We'd meet up back at camp for lunch, hang out for a while, and then go out again mid-afternoon.

Meals were simple. We had sandwiches for lunch. Dinner was sausage roasted over the fire, then covered with salsa and wrapped in tortillas. Dessert was leftover Christmas cookies. Elegant dining at its finest.

The only thing missing was the game. Between the three of us we saw one deer on the entire trip. It was a little forkhorn with one antler broken off at the base. Damn thing looked like a unicorn. I saw it early on the first day and passed, thinking I'd surely see something better. Wrong again.

I also saw a javelina family. Saw them several times, in fact. They showed up at 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. both days at the intersection of a couple of game trails I was staking out. I thought about shooting but I've been successfully anthropomorphized by Walt Disney. There was Daddy javelina, Mommy javelina, and a cute, tiny like piglet about the size of a football. He stayed under Mom most of the time. It was amazing watching them move in tandem, both changing direction simultaneously.

 

Unfortunately, Dad proved the old adage that all males are pigs. At one point, while Mom had her head down eating acorns, he mounted her. There was poor Mom trying to get something to eat, with Dad getting busy on top of her, and Junior underneath her butting up against her teats trying to nurse. Then Dad lifted his head and curled his lip back, showing his tusks. It wasn't an angry or threatening gesture, or even a triumphant one. It was more of a "Gee, is this a great world or what, and I'm so friggin' happy right now" grin. It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud. I would have given Dad a high-five but it would have broken up their tender moment.

Later that day there were nine (I counted 'em) large v's of geese fly overhead. It looked like those old WWII movies where waves of bomber fly over in formation. They were moving from west to east, headed for the Texas Gulf coast with its lakes and marshes (or at least where the lakes and marshes used to be before this year's drought - I guess the geese don't watch the Weather Channel). Seeing them spread out over the sky and hearing their cries gave me goosebumps (seriously).

There were other birds as well. In addition to the usual sparrows and wrens, we had plenty of dove and quail. There were several of the brightest, reddest cardinals I've ever seen, along with something I'd never seen of even heard of - green jays. They're medium-sized birds, bright lime-green with a dark blue or black head, and a light yellow underbelly. I had to look them up when I got home.

And then there were the predators - a couple of owls, several hawks, and even one caracara - the Mexican eagle (probably here without papers).

Add in the mammalian food chain - rodents, rabbits, racoons, coyotes, and bobcats - and it was a veritable Wild Kingdom.

Didn't see any feral hogs, but saw plenty of sign - tracks, wallows, rooted-up areas, and droppings. I had a game camera set up in one area, and there were nightly visits by a couple of packs, usually between 11:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. Spotlighting hogs is legal in Texas (they're considered vermin, and rightly so) so after deer season we're planning a weekend to go night-hunting for hogs.

All in all, a great trip. But now it's time to catch up on everything I put off over Christmas, including school work.

Yuck...

Try Try Again

I'm slipping away today and tomorrow for one more try at this hunting season. After the last two rainouts, I'm hoping the third time's the charm.

The forecast is clear and sunny, but the damn weatherman has lied to me more than both of my ex-wives combined, so I'm not gonna believe it until I see it...

Freedom Of Religion

Around this time of the year here in America there is a lot of Sturm und Drang around the holiday traditions of various religions. Although there are the usual assholes who get bent out of shape regarding Christmas, Chanukah (Hanukkah), and/or Kwanzaa displays and message, most of us are relatively tolerant.

Would that it was the same elsewhere.

Attacks Against Christians In Nigeria Kill At Least 39

Attacks across Nigeria by a radical Muslim sect killed at least 39 people (on Christmas), with the majority dying on the steps of a Catholic church in a massive explosion after Christmas Mass.

The first explosion Sunday struck St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla near Nigeria's capital just after 8 a.m. The attack killed 35 people and wounded another 52, said Slaku Luguard, a coordinator with Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency.

The wounded filled the cement floors of a nearby government hospital. Bodies lined an open-air morgue.

In Jos, a second explosion struck near the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church, state government spokesman Pam Ayuba said. Gunmen later opened fire on police guarding the area, killing one officer, he said. Two other locally made explosives were found in a nearby building and disarmed.

By noon Sunday, explosions echoed through the streets of Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state, where fighting between security forces and the sect already had killed at least 61 people in recent days. The most serious attack on Sunday came when a suicide bomber detonated a car loaded with explosives at the state headquarters of Nigeria's secret police, the State Security Service.

(The group claiming responsibility), Boko Haram has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people. The group, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, is responsible for at least 504 killings this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.

This Christmas attack comes a year after a series of Christmas Eve bombings in Jos claimed by the militants left at least 32 dead and 74 wounded. The group also claimed responsibility for the Aug. 26 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, that killed 24 people and wounded 116 others.

Men look at the wreckage of a car following a bomb blast at St. Theresa Catholic Church outside the Nigerian capital Abuja on Christmas Day. 

In other countries the words may change but the tune remains the same.

Kirolos Andraws had every reason to be excited about the January uprising in his native Egypt, figuring democracy would bring hope for young people like him.

Then one day in February, says Mr. Andraws, a gang of thugs beat him and told him, "you deserve to die." His offense, he says: refusing to convert to Islam.

Mr. Andraws is one of thousands of Coptic Christians—followers of an ancient form of Christianity with its own language and rituals—who have come to the U.S. to escape rising persecution in Egypt.

For decades Copts have suffered attacks by Islamists who view them as "kafir"—Arabic for nonbelievers. But there is now a sense among Middle East experts that they have become more vulnerable since the revolution.

This year, mobs have looted and attacked Coptic churches, homes and shops throughout Egypt. Churches have been burned down, and one Copt had his ear cut off by a Muslim cleric invoking Islamic law.

Strong gains by Islamist parties in the recent elections have further raised fears among the Christian minority that they won't have a place in the new Egypt.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal advisory agency, asked the State Department to place Egypt on its list of "countries of particular concern"—egregious violators of religious freedoms. The department declined, saying that its goal is to work with the Egyptian government to improve conditions for Christians.

That last paragraph is another indication of how dysfunctional and delusional Hillary's State Department is.

The common theme of these two stories is, of course, the absolute lack of tolerance of Islam. Not surprising anymore, but still disturbing. I am getting really, really tired of Islamic apologists who say it's only a few radical fundamentalists who give the rest of them a bad name. It is past time for so-called moderate Muslims (if there is such a thing) to stand up and denounce their radical cousins. And it is way past time for the rest of the world to enforce civilized standards of behavior on any religion that uses its beliefs as a shield to protect cowardly and murderous behavior.

Thought exercise: go back to that first story about the church bombings in Nigeria. Switch the words "Christian" and "Muslim."Change "churches" to "mosques." Now imagine the world's reaction. The media's. Would it be the same? Greater? Less?

I think w all know the answer to that one.

I'm willing to bet that the majority of Americans, regardless of their religious leanings, are not overly concerned about others who believe differently. Our guiding tenet is that you have the right to do whatever you want, as long as you don't interfere with my right to do the same.

Again, would that it was the same elsewhere...

Count Your Blessings

We take so many things far, far too much for granted. Especially those close to us.

Yesterday we had a large gathering of family and friends share Christmas with us. We opened presents, had the traditional excessive dinner, and then sat around socializing. (Socializing, of course, is greatly facilitated by various forms and amounts of adult beverages.)

We have what real estate folks refer to as an open floor plan. That means the kitchen and living room are basically one large room, separated only by an island that is kitchen on one side (stove top, sink, etc.) and living room on the other (a chest-high bar top, lined with high-backed bar stools). I was on the kitchen side, helping clean up, while the guests mingled and chatted on the other side.

Suddenly my 94-year-old father began coughing. Not ordinary coughs, but great, heaving, retching hacks. They came in spasms that shook his entire frame. He couldn't talk, was having great difficulty breathing, and was starting to change color.

We live about 15 miles from the nearest town of any size. It would take at least 20 minutes or more for EMS to reach us. Fortunately, one of our friends who lives about five minutes away is an Emergency Room doctor, so we called him.

Unfortunately, he wasn't home.

Fortunately, his wife, who is an ER nurse, was.

We explained the situation to her and she said she'd be right over. In the meantime, the coughing got worse. Dad had an upper respiratory infection earlier in the week, and it seemed like he had tried to cough up a wad of mucous which became stuck in this throat. It reached the point where I was running through the Heimlich maneuver steps in my mind, while at the same time sticking the blade of a boning knife in the stove burner flame to sterilize it in case an emergency tracheotomy became necessary.

The problem was that Dad would have a spasm, be in extreme distress, but then recover slightly for a few seconds. Every time I got ready to give him the Heimlich squeeze he'd rally slightly. I've always been taught that if the victim is breathing even a little bit, don't do anything. But it was so damn frustrating, not to mention frightening, to stand there basically helpless, watching the man who gave you life in danger of losing his own.

Finally he gave one really huge hack and expelled a plug of blackened, dried-up mucus, along with about a cup of totally gross liquid. Immediately afterwards he leaned back and began to breathe a little easier.

About then our friend the ER nurse showed up. She checked him out, confirmed that the crisis was over, and gave us a few suggestions for care and treatment in the near term.

Today Dad's doing fine. He's a little tired from the ordeal (he is, after all, 94) but is resting comfortably and breathing normally, for which we are all grateful.

We're also grateful to have friends who will interrupt their own holiday celebration to help us in our time of need.

So the moral of this story is to not just count your blessings, but to also give those special people in your life a little extra hug or kiss, and let them know how much they mean to you.

You never know when they might be taken away...

FOD 2011.12.26

First of all, I hope everyone had their fourth best Christmas ever - if not better.

In a recent 60 Minutes interview, humble barry obama ranked himself as the fourth best U.S. president. Below is a list of his 'accomplishments' that prompted him to do so.

Thank goodness he wasn't the best president ever. I don't think the country could take it...

Twas The Morning After Christmas

Here's hoping your Christmas exceeded expectations.

Santa's certainly did...

Merry Christmas

I can think of no better Christmas wish than that old standard:

"Peace on Earth. Good will towards men."

May it come true this year...

Christmas Cancelled

Bad news. Christmas has been canceled this year.

Naughty Or Nice?

Your choice...

Naughty:

Nice:

Chrismas Lights

Things have been hectic here in the idyllic hamlet of Bergheim. Consequently, I've fallen a little behind in certain Christmas activities, such as putting up the outside Christmas lights. My wife has been giving me grief about it, so to get her off my back I finally put them up today.

Friday Follies Happy Hour 2011.12.23

'Tis the season ... dedicated to those who can't be with their loved ones this Christmas.

Our Little Boy Is Growing Up

Our 17-year-old son has just entered into his first 'serious' relationship.' He had a girlfriend a few years back, but she was a contender for the reality show Real Housewives of Bergheim, in that she acted like a diva, demanding 100% of his time, attention, and discretionary spending. That experience convinced him that casual dating was the way to go.

At least until recently.

We first learned about his new girlfriend from - what else - Facebook, when his status changed from Single to In A Relationship. (Yes, we made him friend us.) That prompted a flurry of posts from his real friends, which gave us more intel than we ever got from him.

She joined us for dinner the other night. She's a very sweet girl - attractive, smart (early acceptance to Texas A&M, with acceptance decisions pending at Rice and Boston College), good work ethic (rancher's daughter, has a job working at a fashion boutique in town), simple tastes (just about every other one of their dates is a walk in the woods followed by a picnic alongside the creek) ... just about everything a parent could want in a girlfriend for their son.

She's been an excellent influence on him. He is paying more attention to clothes and hygiene than I ever thought possible. He even asked for an electric razor for Christmas, which is a massive case of overkill (he could be clean-shaven just by scrubbing his face with a rough washcloth once a week). It would be an ideal match, except for one thing.

She's a high school senior, and he's only a junior.

That means next September she'll go off to college, get swept off her feet by some frat boy, and that'll be the end of the boy back home.

I can see it coming, but there's nothing I can do about it.

Oh well, it's all part of growing up...

Another Last Minute Gift Idea

Evidently there were some women out there who were less than pleased with yesterday's suggestion that their man get them an old-fashioned Christmas present. So today we present something for those bitter, man-hating women in our lives - a five piece kitchen knife set with a unique knife holder.

"Not only functional, but also therapeutic, this five-piece knife set plus holder makes for the perfect gift and a guaranteed conversation piece."

And I can only imagine what the conversation will be about...

One Person, One Vote Follow-Up

A little while back I posted about Eric Holder and the obama Department of Injustice planning to "be aggressive in reviewing new voting laws."

Today there was was a letter to the local paper addressing that very topic. In response to an editorial cartoon criticizing a new state law requiring voters to produce a photo ID, a reader penned this gem.

Texans must show a photo ID to board an airplane, cash a check, drive a car, use a credit card and a raft of other everyday activities, yet it is the cartoonist's opinion that having to show an ID to vote is “voter suppression.”

Give me a break! The specific purpose is to prevent vote fraud and ballot-box stuffing. My grandparents all lived in Illinois and voted Republican until the days they died. They've been staunch Democrats ever since. We need to stop such practices here in Texas.

Gotta luv it...

Last Minute Gift Idea

For you men out there who are still struggling to come up with a special gift for that special gal in your life, we here at Bergheim Follies have just the thing.

Let me know how it works out for you...

Follow The Money

Recently, a trading firm named MF Global filed for bankruptcy - the eighth largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. The story behind that bankruptcy is still unfolding, but there is more than a whiff of another obama-related scandal emerging.

MF Global has been around in one form or another since 1783. It survived over 225 years until former democrat senator and former New Jersey governor (until Chris Christie kicked his ass) Jon Corzine became CEO in 2010.

Oh yeah - Corzine was also one of obama's top economic advisers (Obama: Corzine Is “Our Wall Street Guy”). He helped craft obama's failed stimulus package. VP Joe Biden called Corzine "the smartest guy I know in terms of the economy and on finance.”

As part of MF Global's failure, $1.2 Billion - that's Billion with a "B" - of its customers' money is missing. If you're like me, you keep pretty close track of every dollar. The thought of 'misplacing' $1.2B is literally incomprehensible. Yet Corzine, testifying in front of congress, stated "I simply do not know where the money is..."

Needless to say, that isn't going over very well.

It's been more than six weeks since the bankruptcy of Jon Corzine's MF Global, and everyone from the FBI to Congress to frustrated customers is still trying to figure out what exactly went wrong.

In the commodities market, customer funds entrusted to firms like MF Global are supposed to be sacrosanct, protected even in the event of a bankruptcy. A firm can invest these funds for its own purposes, but only provided that it puts safe forms of collateral in place, such as U.S. government bonds, to keep the value of accounts whole.

If these procedures aren't followed, the use of customer funds for a firm's own purposes is a serious violation of industry rules that may also carry criminal liability...

With any luck, this story will play out over the next eleven months, keeping the Conzine-obama-Biden connection in front of voters during the upcoming campaign.

In the meantime, here's a pithy summation and illustration of the MF Global debacle.

During the Age of Obama, the scandals come so thick and fast that you can hardly remember them all, let alone keep track of their details. One of the most recent is MF Global, which not only went under–with former Democratic Senator and Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine at the helm–but misplaced $1.2 billion in client funds along the way. How do you lose track of a billion dollars? ... Michael Ramirez has the definitive answer:

The Rich Get Richer - Not

Politicians lie. The media misinforms. Not exactly a surprise, but when a particular theme is repeated over and over, some people eventually take it as gospel.

“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.”

 Joseph Goebbels

A good example of this is the 'evil 1%' message currently being parroted by liberals and the media: "They get richer while everyone else gets poorer;" "They don't pay their fare share."

The only problem is none of that is true.

Myth #1 - They get richer while everyone else gets poorer.

Fact - The rich have gotten poorer much faster than anyone else.

The total income of the top 1% - or those earning more than $343,000 - fell by more than 30% from 2007, according to the most recent Internal Revenue Service data. By contrast, the average income of the bottom 90% fell less than 3% during the same period.

Subsumed in Myth #1 is the notion of an inequality gap - the gap between the rich and the poor - that not only is large, but growing. Again, however, the facts do not bear this out.

... the most recent data from the IRS and Federal Reserve show that income inequality was lower in 2009 (the latest period available) than it was in 1995. The top 1% of earners held 16.93% of the nation’s income in 2009. In 1998, their share was 18.47%.

An interesting side note to the inequality gap is that most Americans don't see it as a problem, despite what the politicians and pundits would have us believe.

According to a recent Gallup poll, 52% of Americans say the rich-poor gap is “an acceptable part of our economic system.” A slightly lower 45% said the gap “needs to be fixed.”

The survey found that Americans prefer growth over a reduction in inequality. Some 82% said growth was either “extremely” or “very” important; only 46% said “reducing the income and wealth gap between rich and poor” was “extremely” or “very” important.

The poll goes on to note that "Americans are less concerned about inequality now than they were in 1998."

Myth #2 - They don't pay their fair share.

Fact - the rich pay more taxes proportional to income than any other group.

... the infamous top 1% – those earning over $380,354 – paid 38.02 percent of federal income taxes... Meanwhile, the bottom 50 percent of income earners – the group that, according to the liberal world view, is subsidizing tax handouts to the wealthy – shouldered just 2.7 percent of the federal income tax burden.

The top 1 percent ... earned 20 percent of the nation's adjusted gross income – yet their share of the tax burden was nearly twice that (over 38%). Meanwhile, the bottom 50 percent earned 12.75 percent of the nation's income, while their share of the tax burden was about one-fifth of that. You can see this demonstrated in the chart below.

Furthermore, the tax burden shouldered by the rich has remained essentially level over the past decade, even as tax rates went down as a result of the Bush tax cuts. So much for tax cuts that favor the rich.

... the distribution of the tax burden across income levels was roughly similar in 2000 – the last year of the Clinton tax rates – than it was in 2008, after the Bush rates had been effect for years. In fact, the rich paid a slightly higher share in 2008.

So the facts show that the income of the wealthiest 1% has dropped more than any other group, the inequality gap has shrunk, and the wealthiest 1% pay proportionally more in taxes than any other group. Yet obama and his drones, aided and abetted by the blathering sycophants in the media,  continue their class warfare campaign in a shameless attempt to impose their socialist agenda on the rest of us.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not part of the 1%. Not even close. But I hope to be some day. And I don't believe in punishing people for being successful.

I guess that means I can't be a liberal...

FOD 2011.12.19

Actually, today is  a combination of FOD and FED (E = Eric, as in Eric Holder).

Posted without comment, mainly because Jeffrey Kuhner says it much better than I could.

Obama's Watergate

A year ago this week, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered. He died protecting his country from brutal Mexican gangsters. Two AK-47 assault rifles were found at his death site. We now know the horrifying truth: Agent Terry was killed by weapons that were part of an illegal Obama administration operation to smuggle arms to the dangerous drug cartels. He was a victim of his own government. This is not only a major scandal; it is a high crime that potentially reaches all the way to the White House, implicating senior officials. It is President Obama’s Watergate.
...

(Attorney General Eric) Holder insists he was unaware of what took place until after media reports of the scandal appeared in early 2011. This is false. Such a vast operation only could have occurred with the full knowledge and consent of senior administration officials. Massive gun-running and smuggling is not carried out by low-level ATF bureaucrats unless there is authorization from the top. There is a systematic cover-up.
...

Mr. Holder and his aides have given misleading, false and contradictory testimony on Capitol Hill. Perjury, obstruction of justice and abuse of power - these are high crimes and misdemeanors. Mr. Holder should be impeached. Like most liberals, he is playing the victim card, claiming Mr. Issa is a modern-day Joseph McCarthy conducting a judicial witch hunt. Regardless of this petty smear, Mr. Holder must be held responsible and accountable - not only for the botched operation, but for his flagrant attempts to deflect blame from the administration.

Mr. Holder is a shameless careerist and a ruthless Beltway operative. For years, his out-of-control Justice Department has violated the fundamental principle of our democracy, the rule of law. He has refused to prosecute members of the New Black Panthers for blatant voter intimidation that took place in the 2008 election. Career Justice lawyers have confessed publicly that Mr. Holder will not pursue cases in which the perpetrators are black and the victims white. States such as Arizona and Alabama are being sued for simply attempting to enforce federal immigration laws. Mr. Holder also opposes voter identification cards, thereby enabling fraud and vote-stealing at the ballot box. What else can we expect from one who, during the Clinton administration, helped pardon notorious tax cheat Marc Rich and Puerto Rican terrorists?

Mr. Holder clearly knew about Fast and Furious and did nothing to stop it. This is because the administration wanted to use the excuse of increased violence on the border and weapons-smuggling into Mexico to justify tighter gun-control legislation. Mr. Holder is fighting ferociously to prevent important internal Justice documents from falling into the hands of congressional investigators. If the full nature of his involvement is discovered, the Obama presidency will be in peril.

Fast and Furious is even worse than Watergate for one simple reason: No one died because of President Nixon’s political dirty tricks and abuse of government power. But Brian Terry is dead; and there are still 1,500 missing guns threatening still more lives.

What did Mr. Obama know? Massive gun-smuggling by the U.S. government into a foreign country does not happen without the explicit knowledge and approval of leading administration officials. It’s too big, too risky and too costly. Mr. Holder may not be protecting just himself and his cronies. Is he protecting the president?

And just where is the media in all this? Whatever happened to investigative reporting? Or is that only the case when questionable and unsubstantiated allegations are made against conservatives...?

Not With A Bang But A Whimper

Is it just me, or does the exit of the last U.S. troops from Iraq seem anti-climatic? There's been no banner headlines, no high-profile celebrations or parades - just a soft, almost silent sigh of relief from the troops and their loved ones. It all seems quite unsettling, almost surreal. Even the reaction of the media and the blogosphere seems strangely muted.

It is worth keeping in mind that the troop withdrawal deadline was specified in the Status of Forces Agreement signed by George W. Bush towards the end of his presidency, and overseen by obama. Of course, both sides will try and spin this to their advantage (e.g., pro-Bush here ; pro-obama here).

I'll leave it to others to debate the success or failure of the Iraqi mission. To me, the important thing is that thousands of our service members are out of harm's way, in time for the holidays.

For that, at least, we should all be thankful.

Rained Out - Again

Tried to go hunting again this weekend, and again Mother Nature didn't cooperate. It didn't rain nearly as heavily as last weekend, but the week in-between was generally drizzly and damp. It wasn't so much the amount of rain we got, as the fact that the dirt roads on our lease didn't get a chance to dry out. They were pretty much impassable last weekend, and even worse this weekend. So Saturday morning we opted to head for the comforts of home and hearth.

As Charlie Delta pointed out in a comment on an earlier post, Texas is in the midst of a prolonged severe drought. We should be grateful for what precipitation we have received.

The recent rains have brought some relief to the area, but have done little to change the overall drought situation. Most of Central Texas and the Colorado River basin remain in the grips of an extreme drought.

The weather outlook ... over the next six months still doesn't offer much hope for significant rain.

The recent rains are indeed welcome. However, as an American, a veteran, and an almost-senior citizen, it is my God-given right to bitch about anything, no matter how beneficial. Whoever controls the weather should arrange for it to rain during basketball season, when it won't bother anyone...

Sunday Funnies 2011.12.18

Another semester has come and gone ... thank goodness.

The pretty coed was shocked when the biology professor asked her "What part of the human anatomy enlarges to about 10 times its normal size during periods of emotion or excitement?"

"I - I - I refuse to answer that question," the girl stammered and blushingly turned her face away.

Another student was asked the same question and answered correctly, "The pupil of the eye."

"Miss Fenster," said the professor, "your refusal to answer the question leads me to three conclusions.

• One: You didn't study last night's assignment.
• Two: You have a dirty mind
• Three: Your marriage will be a tremendous disappointment."

Old professors never die, they just grade away.

Old professors never die, they just lose their class.

There once was an old man from Esser,
Who's knowledge grew lesser and lesser.
It at last grew so small,
He knew nothing at all,
And now he's a College Professor.

The Week That Was

Between the end of the Fall semester, hunting season, and the approaching holidays, I let a couple of things slip last week that are worthy of going back and revisiting.

The first is the 220th anniversary of the Bill of Rights becoming part of the U.S. Constitution. Conservative and liberal groups both noted that event, and both shared a common perspective on it -- praising the original intent, and bemoaning its erosion over time -- something that is at once surprising and encouraging.

The Cato Institute commented on the amendments one by one, coming to the conclusion that the only one which retains much of its original scope is the Third Amendment:

The Third Amendment says soldiers may not be quartered in our homes without the consent of the owners.  This safeguard is one of the few that is in fine shape...

The Huffington Post takes a different approach, tracing the historical evolution -- or perhaps a better word is de-evolution -- of the Bill of Rights.

U.S. history reminds us of why so many early Americans wanted a Bill of Rights. They understood that governments abused their power, a truth that has since been corroborated by our presidents' actions time and again.

Interestingly, both organizations used the TSA as an example of violating the Bill of Rights. And both came to the conclusion that it is the responsibility of We the People to ensure that our rights are not violated by the government.

HuffPo: "If we want to have a Bill of Rights Day worth celebrating, we must demand that officials at all levels respect our freedoms -- and not let the government get away with abusing them."

Cato: "The key point is this: A free society does not just “happen.”  It has to be deliberately created and deliberately maintained ... let’s resolve to be more vigilant about defending our Constitution."

That sounds like a resolution worth keeping during the New Year.

A second, more troubling anniversary, also took place last week. It was the one year anniversary of the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry at the hands of Mexican drug cartel members, armed by Eric Holder and his flunkies at the U.S. Department of Justice.

It turns out, the gun used to kill Brian came from the Obama Justice Department through Operation Fast and Furious. One year later we have no details about what really happened that night, no justice for Brian, no justice for the Terry family and an Attorney General who thinks he is above the law in providing details about the lethal Fast and Furious operation which has left more than 200 dead in Mexico and tied to the murders of two federal agents. Even Eric Holder admits more people will be killed because of his department putting over 2000 guns into the hands of ruthless cartel members.

Brian, the Terry family and the American people deserve better.

So please, take some time during your holiday activities to say a prayer for Brian Terry and his loved ones. And resolve to honor Brian by doing whatever you can to 'preserve, protect, and defend' the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights during these turbulent times.

Friday Follies Happy Hour 2011.12.16

Our hunting trip was rained out last weekend. It's rained off and on all this week. And the forecast for this weekend is more rain. But we're going to try it again and hope we don't get too wet. Still, I wonder ... who'll stop the rain?