Imaginary Horses And Real Horseshit

As many people have pointed out (including the alcoholics at GGDF), the city of Detroit is in a world of hurt.

The Left’s answer to the deficit: raise taxes to protect spending. The Left’s answer to the weak economy: raise taxes to enable new spending. The Left’s answer to the looming sovereign-debt crisis: raise taxes to pay off old spending. For the Left, every deficit is a revenue-side problem, not a spending-side problem, and the solution to every economic problem is more spending, necessitating more taxes. The problem with that way of looking at things is called Detroit, which looks to be running out of money in about one week. Detroit is what liberalism’s end-game looks like.

There are many reasons for Detroit's downfall, not the least of which is the overwhelming influence of unions on local government and businesses.

One lesson to learn from Detroit is that investing unions with coercive powers does not ensure future private-sector employment or the preservation of private-sector wages, despite liberal fairy tales to the contrary...

Here's a perfect example.

Despite having no horses, the water and sewerage department for the city of Detroit employs a horseshoer.

Yet even with a department so bloated that it has a horseshoer and no horses, the local union president said it is "not possible" to eliminate positions.

Union rules have turned the department into a government jobs program, some critics say.

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) has a large debt, rising water prices and inefficient services — using almost twice the number of employees per gallon as other cities like Chicago.

A recent independent report about the DWSD recommends that the city trim more than 80 percent of the department’s workforce. The consultant who wrote the report found 257 job descriptions, including a horseshoer. Capitol Confidential sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the department for the salary, benefits and job description of the horseshoer position.

In response to the report, John Riehl, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 207, which represents many of the DWSD employees, told the Detroit Free Press that the department needs more workers.

An independent report says cut jobs by 80%. The union says it needs even more people. Which one do you think is more believable?

The answer to that question can be found by going back to the opening sentence of this article:

"Despite having no horses, the water and sewerage department for the city of Detroit employs a horseshoer."

BTW, the city pays $29,245 in salary and about $27,000 in benefits for the horseshoer position. That's around $57K per year for shoeing non-existent horses.

Un-friggin'-believable...

Now I Understand

This explains a lot about why the Dept. of Justice's actions of late have seemed a bit bizarre.

A DOJ policy instituted May 31, 2012, directed the agency to "affirmatively recruit" attorneys and staff who are dwarfs or who have “psychiatric disabilities” or “severe intellectual disabilities.”

"Affirmatively recruit" means that the targeted groups are given preference in hiring, and in fact can sidestep the normal hiring process.

This DOJ policy does not merely involve prohibitions against discrimination, but rather the documents reveal deliberate recruitment efforts to hire as attorneys and staff for the Department of Justice people suffering from psychiatric disorders and intellectual disabilities.  Moreover, applicants can “self-identify” their disability...

"Self-identify."  That means even though I stand 6'1" tall, I can fill out "Standard Form 256, Self Identification Disability" and declare myself a dwarf, and no one can say boo about it.

Those with “targeted disabilities” may be hired through a “non-competitive” appointment. That means they don’t have to endure the regular civil service competition among applicants, but can be plucked from the stack of resumes and hired immediately instead.

According to the documents, those with these “targeted disabilities” may be hired “before the position is advertised” and even “before the position’s closing date.” Moreover, lawyers with psychiatric disabilities and “severe intellectual” disabilities receive a waiver from the requirement that a new DOJ employee have practiced law for one year before being hired.

I'm all for equal opportunity, but hiring folks before a position is made public, or waiving requirements that other applicants must meet, is not equal opportunity. It's reverse discrimination.

It's seemed to me that the DOJ's recent actions have been stupid and crazy. Now I know why...

(Full memo here.)

Back To School

I've been back at 'work' since Monday. It's been a long three days full of administrative nonsense and time-wasting meetings prior to the actual start of classes. I'll spare you a detailed blow-by-blow account of all the foolishness and instead just pass along a few select tidbits that highlight why America's higher education system is headed downhill.

The first morning was spent in an all-hands meeting where the prez gave us his state-of-the-university speech. It was remarkably similar to last years:

• You've all done a fantastic job.
• But times are tough; we have limited resources and are facing budget cuts.
• Therefore everyone needs to make sacrifices and work harder.
• Keep up the good work.

Interestingly, the agenda that was distributed prior to the meeting had last year's date on it. Oops...

On a related note, the prez is evidently oblivious to irony (and the fact that people can count). As part of the program, new faculty and administrators were introduced. There was a net increase of 17 faculty members, compared to a net increase of 25 administrators. Here's the breakdown:

• Total administrative employees - 386
• Total faculty - 378

And people wonder why the cost of a college degree keeps spiraling upwards.

While I'm at it, take a look at this sobering assessment of the education bubble. Take my word for it, folks, the bubble's real, and the reasons for it advanced in the article below are valid (especially the one about "lowered academic standards").

Just as easy money, lowered lending standards, and political hype came together to vastly overinflate the housing sector, a combination of easy money (federal grants and loans available for nearly every student), lowered academic standards (colleges that readily accept students with pathetically weak basic skills) and political hype (the notion that getting a degree will guarantee a huge boost in earnings) have produced a vastly overinflated higher-education system.

... Whereas college degrees used to be regarded as sure-fire investments, the labor market has become glutted with people who have been to college but can’t find “good” jobs.

Did you know that 22 percent of customer-sales representatives and 16 percent of bartenders have bachelor’s degrees?

Furthermore, at many schools, academic standards have fallen to the point where students can coast through without learning anything worthwhile. As University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds recently wrote, “The higher education bubble isn’t bursting because of a shortage of money. It is bursting because of a shortage of value.”

Word.

Read the full story. It's worth it.

Headed For The Last Roundup

I take great pride in being a Texan. I could write volumes explaining why being from Texas makes us special, but I'll save that for a later date. For now I'll just note that this is merely one example of having a Texas state of mind.

Last Rodeo Caskets capture the true spirit of the West and serve as a timeless tribute to the Cowboys, Cowgirls, Native Americans, Cattle Kings, Oil Barons, and Pioneers of the West. Handcrafted in solid wood with intricate detail and only the best quality materials.

Last Rodeo Casket Co. offers the ultimate in handcrafted Western and Southwest solid wood caskets. Made from solid American Alder wood, hand-forged custom hardware, and hand-tooled leather and fringe. Last Rodeo Caskets are individually built and handcrafted.

For all you cattle barons out thee, we have the Cattle King model.

And for you cowgirls, there's the stylish Lady of the West version.

Alright, buckaroos, let's saddle up and ride off into the sunset...

Socrates Who?

One of the courses I teach is the capstone class required of all graduating BBA students. It is a class designed to allow/encourage/require seniors to apply everything they've learned to date in a multidisciplinary real-world-oriented context. Case studies and group projects are employed as teaching tools. The class format is discussion-focused and primarily consists of a question and answer dialogue between instructor and student. It's quite a change from the typical lecture format most students are familiar with.

I enjoy teaching it, and most students seem to enjoy taking it. Sadly, that's not always the case.

Some students didn't take well to Steven Maranville’s teaching style at Utah Valley University. They complained that in the professor’s “capstone” business course, he asked them questions in class even when they didn't raise their hands. They also didn't like it when he made them work in teams.

Boy, are they in for a shock when they get a real job. Most professional positions have bosses that ask questions, and require some form of teamwork.

Those complaints against him led the university denying him tenure – a decision amounting to firing, according to a lawsuit  Maranville filed against the university this month.

Maranville and his attorney did not return phone calls, but the allegations in the lawsuit raises questions that have been raised and debated about the value of student evaluations and opinions, how negative evaluations play into the career trajectory of affected professors and whether students today will accept teaching approaches such as the Socratic method.

Maranville followed the Socratic teaching style and described his way of teaching as "engaged learning," according to court documents. Those records describe teaching approaches designed to go beyond lectures. He would ask questions to stimulate discussion. He divided his students into teams and gave them assignments outside class.

Supporters of the method see it as "a process by which you try to make the best logical argument and you focus on process as much as content” ... (but) not that many faculty members use it these days. "The reason for its unpopularity sometimes is because we are in a test-based education system. Students can be increasingly impatient where the answer is not clear and when the professor is not giving it to them immediately."

Ah yes. Short attention spans coupled with the desire for immediate gratification are typical of today's students. And don't get me started on the damage resulting from our test-based 'educational' system.

The advantage of (the Socratic method) of teaching is that students learn how to think on their feet, said Patricia King, a professor of education at the University of Michigan.

“But it requires hard intellectual work,” she said.

Students today remind me off Maynard G. Krebbs (from the old TV show Dobie Gillis).

"Whenever the word "work" is mentioned, even in passing, he yelps "Work?!" and jumps with fear or even faints."

In Maranville’s case, students did not see the value of his approach, the court records suggest. "Some students were quite vocal in their demands that he change his teaching style, which style had already been observed and approved by his peer faculty and administrative superiors,” according to the lawsuit. Students did not want to work in teams and did not want Maranville to ask questions. “They wanted him to lecture.”

The department chair – Scott Hammond, who is named in the lawsuit – apparently agreed with how Maranville taught his courses and called him a “master teacher,” according to court documents. Hammond visited his class, and so did an associate dean.

But a few months later, during the spring semester, Maranville received a letter from university president saying that his classroom behavior was not suited to his being granted tenure.

John Curtis, director of research and public policy for the American Association of University Professors, who was not specifically speaking about the Maranville case, said such situations might reflect a growing trend to give weight to student evaluations when it comes to promoting professors and even in their retention.

"These kind of situations might become a real threat to academic freedom. We have heard from professors who are afraid to be tough with their students because of the possibility of negative evaluations leading to them being let go," Curtis said.

As a result, he said, it might be tempting for a faculty member to make classes easy just to garner positive evaluations.

In our particular case, we receive funding from the state under a complex formula that in part is based on the university's student retention and graduation rate. In this era of tight pursestrings and budget cuts we are under tremendous pressure to improve those rates. That has resulted in increased emphasis on student evaluations as part of our overall evaluations, with subsequent consequences for raises, promotion, tenure, and even continued employment.

Some faculty go along to get along. Others insist on maintaining standards, with predictable results. They get assigned to less desirable courses. They are saddled with less desirable service and administrative duties. They are increasingly isolated and marginalized. This is most definitely not the way to improve the quality of our colleges and universities.

But it's what's happening in higher education today.

I can't decide which of the following is the best way to describe the situation:

the tail is wagging the dog; or

the inmates are running the asylum.

Either way, I'm not sure how much more of this I can take...

Followup To Yesterday's Post

In commenting on yesterday's post, OldNFO stated that (paraphrasing here) as part of his campaign strategy, obama would continue to blame Bush for so poisoning the economy that no one could be expected to turn it around in a mere four years.

OLDNFO was more prescient than he knew.

Obama worried that Romney might take credit for turning economy around

At an off-the-record lunch at the White House in June 2012, President Obama explained that he had to win re-election or Mitt Romney would get credit for an inevitable recovery during what would be his second term.

“I’m not going to let him win … so that he can take all the credit when the economy turns around,” Obama said...

... Obama’s advisers knew by 2011 that a positive campaign based on the improving economy “just wasn’t in the cards” and planned early to hit Mitt Romney with a negative campaign.

“You can’t run on the economy ... You can only tell people that you’ve saved them from something worse.”

Give 'em credit. They're following that game plan to the letter.

They're All Out Of Touch

obama claims Mitt Romney is out of touch with middle America. Romney responds by charging that obama is the one who is out of touch.

From where I sit both of them, along with the whole damn congress, is so far out of touch that they can't see how we live with the Hubble telescope.

Here's just one example.

America’s most distinguished leaders get their hair cut at the Senate barbershop, but taxpayers are the ones really getting clipped.

The barbershop ran almost $300,000 in the red last year but received an infusion from Senate coffers that is keeping it in business...

"an infusion." That's congresscritter speak for "bailout." It's particularly disturbing given what the barbershop charges.

A shampoo, cut and blow dry is $27 and highlights are $105, according to the barbershop’s website. A trim costs $20...

For comparison purposes, I go to Larry's Barbershop in beautiful downtown Boerne, Texas. Larry charges me $10 for a haircut and beard trim. Granted, I don't have a full head of hair, but what I lack on top I make up for with my beard. so it all evens out. Toss in a $2 tip and we're both happy.

The sad thing is that many senators didn’t even know that the shop couldn’t pay its bills. That sort of astute fiscal awareness is one reason why this country is in the mess we're in.

Former Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., blames the money woes on the stylists, who are federal employees. He contends they’re overpaid compared to their private-sector counterparts.

Barbers are federal employees, and union members? Barbers!?!? YGTBSM. The barbers who cut my hair when I went through Basic Training at Ft. Polk damn sure weren't federal employees and union members. They were moonlighting sheep-shearers.

“They are using union labor, and so their benefits and wages are higher than those of many jobs,” Fitzgerald said.

To support his argument, Fitzgerald contrasts the salaries and benefits of the Senate’s stylists to what is offered by Capitol Barber, three blocks away.

Capitol’s four barbers and stylists made $22,000 to $30,000 last year with no benefits, manager Lynn Dang said. At the Senate barbershop, formally called Senate Hair Care Services, the top four barbers and stylists made more than twice that — $54,761; $70,349; $73,658; and $81,641 — plus they have a generous 401(k) plan, health care and paid vacation. In all, the government contributed $230,000 in benefits for the barbershop, the Senate Appropriations Committee said.

$70, 000+ for cutting hair?!? Plus a 401(k), health care, and paid vacation? I'm in the wrong line of work

(Senate sergeant at arms Terrance Gainer) acknowledged the barbershop’s staff members “are well paid, and it gives them a leg up on their nongovernment counterparts.”

No shit.

After struggling to stabilize the barbershop’s finances for the five years he’s been on the job, Gainer has decided privatization is the only answer.

",,, it’s costing the government money, and that includes taxpayers like you and me...”

That's true not only of the barbershop, but of many other government-provided 'services.'

And if it's so obvious that privatizing the barbershop is the answer to its fiscal woes, why isn't that being considered in other areas?

Just askin'...

My Home Away From Home

Well, here I am in the beautiful moderately attractive hellish city of Laredo. I'd forgotten how much I hate this place. There are a number of reasons.

It's not just hot - it's HOT! The average high down here for August is 101 F. Last night it was still in the 90s after 10:00 p.m. The sun is a physical presence. It literally beats you into submission. Forget doing anything outside. Just walking from my truck to my office leaves me sweating like a hooker in church.

This place is on the Texas-Mexico border. That means the vast majority of the people around here are Hispanic. Not that this is a problem per se, but there are some cultural differences between South Texas and Central Texas. For example, I went grocery shopping today. The store was full of large, heavyset women speaking Spanish, with swarms of under-school-age children in tow. The concept of staying to one side of the aisle and not blocking access to shelves or other parts of the store is unknown. Also unknown is the practice of putting shopping carts in their little corrals in the parking lot. It's evidently much more fun to let them roll loose and bang into other people's vehicles.

I'm used to living out in the country, with plenty of elbow room. Here I'm cooped up in a little one-bedroom apartment. The good news is that I have a corner unit on the top floor, so I don't hear too much noise from my immediate neighbors. The bad news is that I'm located right next to the pool, which attracts hordes of yelling screaming kids in the afternoon, and a plethora of loud drunks playing even louder music later in the evening. Fortunately they're pretty good about observing the 10:00 p.m. curfew during the week. Weekends, however, are a different matter. Thankfully I'm usually home then, so it doesn't affect me too much.

Today I got a serious case of cabin fever. I just had to get out and about, regardless of the heat. I decided to take a short hike along the Rio Grande. To my shock, I saw a member of Los Zetas, the Mexican drug cartel that controls these parts, trying to cross the river. He was struggling to stay afloat because of the large backpack of drugs that was strapped to his back. If he didn't get some help he would surely drown.

Being a responsible Texan and raised by my parents to help those in distress, I immediately notified local police, the Border Patrol, and the DEA.

It's now over an hour later and no one has responded. The unfortunate drug smuggler has drowned.

I'm starting to think I wasted three stamps...

FOD 2012.08.20

I'm a soft-hearted person. Sometimes too soft-hearted. For example, if obama getrs re-elected I'll feel sorry for him.

Why?

Sunday Funnies 2012.08.19

The Fall 2012 semester starts tomorrow. I'll resume my weekly commute between Laredo and Central Texas. That's bad enough, but the worst part is getting back on that endless treadmill featuring ungrateful and unprepared students, ignorant administrators, and a mind-numbing routine.

Oh well, at least it pays the bills ... sort of...

Last semester I had a student who was habitually late to class. I finally decided to teach him a lesson. Near the end of class I went around the room asking students some questions about the day's lecture. When I got to the tardy student I asked him about a topic that was covered early in class before he arrived.

His response: "I don't know."

"Perhaps if you came to class on time, you would know the answer," I pointed out.

"I doubt it," the student replied. "I never pay attention anyway!"

A friend of mine who teaches physics was discussing a particularly complicated concept. A pre-med student rudely interrupted to ask, "Why do we have to learn this pointless information"

"To save lives," my friend responded, and then continued the lecture.

A few minutes later, the same student spoke up again. "So how does physics save lives?" he persisted.

"It keeps the ignoramuses like you out of medical school," replied my frined.

Q:  What do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?

A:  A college professor

A Horse Is A Horse Of Course Of Course...

The obama campaign is using the fact that Ann Romney owns a show horse to try and paint the Romney's as members of the evil rich 1% who are out of touch with the middle class.

They are, of course -- much like barry and michelle -- but that's beside the point. It's also a tactic that won't be as effective as the obamamaniacs hope.

The hoo-hah over Ann Romney’s part-ownership of Olympic dressage horse Rafalca will backfire on the liberal critics. She began riding to help with her multiple sclerosis — admirable, gutsy.

The best response I've seen comes from Roger the real King of France.

So the Romneys are selfish for keeping a horse?

And employing a groom with a family to support.

And paying for feed that’s sold by someone with a family to support

And  transported in trucks by someone with a family to support

And manufactured in a factory by people with families to support

And made from stuff that’s grown by farmers with families to support.

And having a barn built by construction workers with families to support with  materials trucked by drivers with families to support

And made with materials from factories with workers with families to support.

Sounds to me like Mitt Romney's one horse has already done more to put Americans to work than that horse’s ass in the White House.

Words straight from the horse's mouth...

High And Dry

There's a saying in these parts that goes something like this: whiskey's for drinking, water's for fighting over. That's becoming more evident daily.

We had a record drought here last year. This year started off with average amounts of rain, but the last few months have been hot and dry. Rivers and lakes are still down about 50%. Wildfires are becoming more and more of a concern. With that as a background, here's some disturbing news.

We have a small vacation house on a lake about 90 miles north of here. Since we only use it occasionally, our utility bills are usually pretty small. So it came as something of a shock when the most recent water bill was around $150, approximately four times normal. We called the local water utility and requested a meter re-read. They went out and confirmed the reading. Our next thought was that there was a leak somewhere, but that didn't make sense because I turn the water off at the meter when we leave to prevent water damage in case of a leak. We were stumped ... until we got the following email from the president of the neighborhood Property Owners Association.

____________ reported that person(s) unknown apparently stole several 1,000's gallons of water from their house over the past month. The theft was discovered when the bill, which is usually the minimum, was received for the last billing cycle and was in the $800 range. The owner is working with (the utility company) and the County Sheriff is investigating. If anyone has any information, particularly of vehicles pulling water trailers, etc., please call it in to the Sheriff's department.

So yesterday I drove up there, double-checked the meter reading (it was correct), confirmed that there was no leak, and discovered that the water cut-off valve was in the on position. The only possible conclusion is that someone stole 15,000 gallons of water from us. That's how bad the water situation is down here.

And just to top things off, the back yard was torn up; big, long furrows, about 6 to 12 inches deep. The culprit? Feral hogs.

For those of you not familiar with feral hogs, here's a short primer.

Feral hogs were imported into Texas over 300 years ago. The “Russian Boar” was imported into Texas by ranchers and sportsman in the 1930’s. It is the cross breeding of these two that give us the feral hogs that we have in Texas today. These feral hogs are growing in numbers that are very alarming. Hogs can reproduce twice a year with a litter of 4 to 6. These animals destroy crops, uproot fields, destroy and contaminate watering holes, carry diseases, and kill other animals, such as deer, cattle, goats, quail, turkey and other livestock.

They are nasty, dangerous critters. Here's some more info.

The water theft problem had an easy fix. I padlocked the water cut-off valve in the off position.

The hog problem is going to be a little tougher.

Where's Krystal Campbell when I need her?

Friday Follies Happy Hour 2012.08.17

For all you folks out there who like Hank Williams Jr. and honky-tonk music ... enjoy!

You Can Bank On It

This is a long and somewhat convoluted post, but the payoff comes at the end. Make sure you have a full cup of coffee (or other beverage of choice) and slog through it. I think (hope) when the pieces come together you'll be glad you did.

In a previous life I worked for about 20 years in the financial industry - banks, and savings & loans (if you remember S&Ls then you're a greybeard just like me). I've lived through all the changes to our banking system, and suffered through the resulting carnage.

Back in the old days, a fundamental concept of our financial system was separation of functions. Savings and loans took deposits and made mortgage loans (the old-fashioned kind where people had to have a down payment and a job, and the S&L held the mortgage and didn't sell it off to some Wall Street institution). That was about all they did. No checking accounts, no commercial loans, just a simple, straightforward, low risk business model.

Commercial banks, on the other hand, could offer checking accounts and make commercial (i.e., business) loans. That was a riskier business model, since companies went out of business more often than people defaulted on their mortgages, but the banks made up for it by charging higher interest rates. The key for both S&Ls and banks was that, for the most part, they lived with the loans they made, so there was a significant degree of self-interest involved in making good loans that had a high likelihood of being repaid.

But that wasn't enough for them. Back in the 1980's the distinction between S&Ls and commercial banks was erased. Both types of institutions could make both types of loans. Predictably, S&Ls got in over their heads when making commercial loans (lack of knowledge and experience) and banks started making mortgage loans. But mortgage loans are long-term (usually 30 years) while most business loans are for much shorter terms. The banks quickly found out that they didn't like waiting for the principal to be paid back, and pressured the government for the ability to package and resell their mortgage loans. This eventually led to repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which separated commercial banking and investment banking (investment banks, which underwrite the issuance of securities, arrange financing for mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and the like, aren't really banks in the traditional sense, but rather brokers for large institutional customers and complex transactions).

It's that last sentence above that's key - repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act. The end result is that the large Wall Street banks are now gambling with depositors' money, not their own. If Bank of America underwrites enough investments and ventures that ultimately fail, the federal government (i.e., the taxpayers) has to bail out the bank in order to protect the depositors - you and me.

Another end result was consolidation among banks, so that today we have 10 or 12 huge banks that dominate the market, leading to the notion of 'too big to fail.' If a bank knows that there are no negatives consequences to its actions -- that the feds will bail it out because it's too big to fail -- then there is no downside to making risky investments. And that's where we are today.

The most recent example is the billions of dollars in losses by JPMorgan Chase on financial derivatives. The derivatives (high-risk, highly leveraged speculative transactions) are on the books of FDIC-insured megabanks, which means that you and I are on the hook if anything goes wrong.

All of the above is a long-winded way of saying that Joe Biden actually had a valid point when he spoke about banks and chains (actually, the lack thereof) that bind Wall Street banks. Of course, he bungled the message, but that's another story.

I'm for the most part a free market guy, but this is an instance where a little reasonable regulation would go a long way. Re-institute Glass-Steagall. Let the Wall Street boys play with their own money, not that of their depositors. That will make them evaluate the investment risks more thoroughly, and shrink the number and size of the megabanks so that 'too big to fail' doesn't come into play anymore.

On a personal note, back in the 1980s I worked at Lamar Savings Association, an Austin-based S&L that failed. Its chairman and several officers were eventually convicted on a number of bank fraud charges and served time in prison.

After that I went to work for First City, a Houston-based bank holding company (a bank holding company is a shell corporation that own a number of banks - in our case we owned over 60 banks). As fate would have it, First City failed not once but twice, a record that will hopefully never be broken. And continuing my personal streak of choosing wisely, several of First City's top officials were convicted on bank fraud charges.

Taking that one step further, the chairman, vice chairman, and several of their their cronies were from Chicago, and did business the Chicago way. For example, they arranged for the bank to loan money to Calumet Farms, a Kentucky thoroughbred racehorse operation. Triple Crown contender Alydar was part of the collateral. When the loan went bad, they paid a security guard to break Alydar's leg so that the horse had to be put down. The life insurance policies on the horse were more than enough to cover the loan. Thankfully, they were also convicted and sent to prison.

Now we have the president of the United States coming from Chicago. As the French would say, "Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose."

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

Don't Quote Me

Is anyone really surprised that a liberal commentator/columnist has no ethics?

Time, CNN Star Fareed Zakaria Suspended for Admitted Plagiarism

Star?!? I'll let that one pass for now. In the meantime, here's the story about the 'star.'

When CNN host and Time editor-at-large Fareed Zakaria wrote a new piece called “The Case for Gun Control,” it ended with a bang: “So when people throw up their hands and say we can't do anything about guns, tell them they're being un-American--and unintelligent.”

Here’s something that suggests a lack of intelligence: plagiarism. Cam Edwards at NRANews.com suggested to me that Zakaria seemed to plagiarize a paragraph from an April article in The New Yorker magazine -- with a modicum word-usage changes and interjections (Texas!) in an attempt to paper it over.

It's not the first time Zakaria's been accused of lifting things.

Zakaria's cover story today on Iran contains the following sentence: "In an interview last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the Iranian regime as a 'messianic, apocalyptic cult.'"

In an interview with whom, exactly? Zakaria's wording makes it seem as if the interview was conducted by, oh, Fareed Zakaria, but as best as I can tell, the interview was conducted by yours truly, for The Atlantic. And not, by the way, "last week," but in March.

A few paragraphs later, Zakaria writes, "One of Netanyahu's advisers said of Iran, 'Think Amalek.'"  Said it to whom? Again, yours truly, for a New York Times op-ed piece that did, indeed, run last week.

Are these people so stupid that they think no one can do some basic research? Do they take us for complete idiots? (Rhetorical questions - don't bother to answer.)

At least Time and CNN are pretending to have some semblance of journalistic ethics.

Time has suspended Zakaria, saying in a statement:

TIME accepts Fareed's apology, but what he did violates our own standards for our columnists, which is that their work must not only be factual but original; their views must not only be their own but their words as well. As a result, we are suspending Fareed's column for a month, pending further review.

CNN has also suspended Zakaria.

In a statement released to the press, Zakaria has admitted his plagiarism:

Media reporters have pointed out that paragraphs in my Time column this week bear close similarities to paragraphs in Jill Lepore’s essay in the April 23 issue of The New Yorker. They are right. I made a terrible mistake. It is a serious lapse and one that is entirely my fault. I apologize unreservedly to her, to my editors at Time, and to my readers.

Of course, if Time, CNN, and Zakaria were really sincere, he would be fired/resign, not just settle for a slap on the wrist.

Oh well, I guess that's what passes in the liberal press for integrity these days...

Dog Daze

In an earlier post I briefly mentioned that one of our flea-bitten freeloaders beloved pet canines had suffered the doggie equivalent of a torn ACL. Yesterday we had it surgically repaired. The process involves replacing the shredded ligament with, of all things, high-test fishing line. It also involves putting the animal under general anesthesia, shaving her leg from hip to toenails, and cutting a four inch incision along her leg.

The procedure went well, at least according to the vet. She's on pain meds and is pretty well doped up for the next few days. She's also not able to walk on it for a couple of days, which means you-know-who gets to carry her outside when it's time to take care of business. Funny how the we-promise-to-take-care-of-them brigade vanishes around that time.

She doesn't weigh that much - around 40 pounds or so. That's about the same weight as the duffel bag I lugged around on our recent trips. The difference is the mutt doesn't have handles or wheels, so it's a little more awkward. I also get to hold her up while she 'performs,' something I never had to do with my luggage.

The bandage stays on for 10 more days, then it's two more weeks of restricted activity. Finally, about four weeks after the surgery, she'll be allowed to resume normal activity.

Here's what she looked like right after surgery. She was still pretty groggy, so we held off putting on her Cone of Shame until she's a little more awake.

On a related note, both of our flea-bitten freeloaders beloved pet canines have long hair. We give them haircuts in the summer to help them cool off and to reduce the amount of shed hair floating around the house. I get a kick out of it because I swear they're embarrassed the first few days after they get trimmed. Here's the before and after pictures.

Okay, enough about the dogs. Normal blogging will resume shortly.

Definition Of Irony

Hearse driver dies while taking body to funeral

Beverly Hills police say a hearse driver who was found dead with a body in the vehicle died while taking the casket to a funeral.

Lt. Lincoln Hoshino says authorities were alerted that a body was slumped over in the driver's seat of a hearse parked near the Beverly Hills Hotel at about 3 p.m. Monday.

Hoshino says the investigation is in its early stages but the woman appears to have died of natural causes, with no weapons or evidence of violence discovered.

Poor woman. She was just trying to urn a paycheck...

Maybe the funeral home was having a 2-for-1 special...

Also known as a dead giveaway...

I guess that's better than a layaway plan...

Fly The Friendly Skies

I'm back home physically, but mentally I keep thinking about going on another vacation. Here's what sent me daydreaming this morning.

... a Vietnamese carrier has taken its entertainment offering to a stratospheric level by serving up a mid-air beauty pageant.

None of the male passengers appeared to be dashing for the emergency exits when a string of women in Hawaiian bikinis trooped through the cabin on the inaugural VietJetAir (VJA) flight from Ho Chi Minh City to the coastal holiday destination of Nha Trang.

Instead they reached for their phones to record the scantily-clad women, who had all been contestants in a local beauty contest, performing a three minute hip-shaking dance in front of them during the night flight last Friday.

Leave it to government flunkies, however, to spoil a good thing

However the airline has now been fined after a video showing the unusual high-altitude antics was posted on YouTube and became a hit on social network sites.

The Vietnam Aviation Authority has ordered the airline carrier, which was only launched last year, to pay £600.

Nguyen Trong Thang, chief inspector of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam said he thought the airline made a serious error of judgement in giving the go ahead for the sky high show.

A VietjetAir official offered a diplomatic response.

He said: ‘It was the first flight to a beach town, so we came up with the idea of getting a number of girls in bikinis to dance and make passengers happy...

If the above picture is any indication, there certainly were a lot of happy passengers (most of them male).

Reminds me of the old days when Southwest Airlines hostesses wore hotpants...

Letter To The Editor

From the San Antonio Express-News Letters to the Editor section:

The Kennedys inherited their wealth and John Kerry married into his wealth, and both are loved.

However Mitt Romney, who earned his wealth, is loathed and scorned.

Go figure.

What a sad -- and insightful -- commentary on where we are as a people.

Vacation Wrap-Up

After 10 days of no TV, Internet, or newspapers, I came back to find that:

1. Romney hasn't paid his taxes for 10 years.
2. Romney caused some guy's wife to die from cancer.
3. Romney picked Paul Ryan as his running mate (great choice, btw).
4. The media has declared Paul Ryan to be the second coming of Satan himself.

Expanding on that last point, the various media hacks are pontificating that Paul Ryan is unqualified because he lacks significant private sector experience. (Remind you of anyone...? Double standard...?). On the other hand Romney isn't fit to be president because he's too closely tied to the private sector.

I've been back less than 24 hours and I'm already sick of this crap. It's enough to drive a man to drink.

Or at least make him want to go back on vacation...

 From our earlier trip. This is the beach at Punta Cana.

Same beach, different direction.

 The villa where we stayed.

 From our most recent trip to Wyoming, here's the view from the foothills approaching the mountains. The ranch where we stayed is about a 30 minute ride from here, and the mountains another 15 minutes (that's on horseback, not in a car).

 The view looking the other way, from up in the mountains looking back at the foothills. We were at about 6000 feet when this picture was taken. That faint ridge line in the far distance is Montana.

 Sunset on the ridge overlooking the horse barn and corrals. We stayed up there a little too long and just barely got down before it was totally dark.

 The ranch cabins are old, and the windows don't always work right. In this case we had to resort to field expediency in order to keep the window open.

FOD 2012.08.13

We got home last night (actually, this morning) around 1:00 a.m. I'm still wading through emails from the past 10 days (1000+) but here's a quick tidbit.

While we were at this isolated ranch in the Wyoming mountains, barack obama paid us a surprise visit. Security was tight, but I managed to snap the quick picture of him posted below.

On Vacation

Internet access has been iffy. I've been seduced by the vacation lifestyle. Consequently, there won't be anymore posts until Tuesday August 14.

I hope you come back then, and in the meantime enjoy yourself as much as I intend to enjoy myself...

Of Wolves And Men

The foothills and mountains we ride daily here are constant reminders of the beauty and bounty Mother Nature provides. There are chokecherry bushes, wild plum and apple trees, and wild sage in abundance. We’ve seen numerous whitetail and mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and even two moose. Wild turkeys are everywhere, along with some grouse and partridge. The creeks teem with trout. If you go hungry here it’s your own fault.

With all that game, it’s only to be expected that predators will be found here as well. The smaller ones such as bobcats, coyotes, and foxes prey on the smaller animals; cottontails, squirrels, field mice, and the like. The larger ones – mountain lions, bears, and wolves – are drawn to larger animals; the deer and antelope. We’ve seen cougars and bears here in the past, but not wolves – until this year. And that’s when the story begins.

It’s ironic that of all Mother Nature’s creations, only one has seen fit to decide he is better suited than She to manage the land and the beasts. I speak, of course, of man.

Back near the start of the 20^th century man decided to eradicate the wolves around here to protect the cattle herds. About 100 years later man decided to reintroduce wolves to the same areas where they had been eliminated. In this particular instance, it was Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone sits in the northwest corner of Wyoming, near the junction of the Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana borders. It’s about 200 miles from here. The powers that be – in this case the Department of the Interior – thought it would be a good idea to place a few wolves in the park to help restore the natural balance by controlling the deer population, which was getting out of hand. Armed with good intentions and an inability to see the inevitable long term consequences, the Dept. set loose several breeding pairs.

Like the people in charge of this program, wolves are both dumb and smart. They are too dumb to read a map and understand they’re supposed to stay within the park boundaries. Yet they are smart enough to understand that deer are fleet and evasive, making them difficult to catch. The elk and bison roaming the park are slower, but can do serious damage with their horns and hooves. But cattle … ah cattle. They are slow, dumb, and basically defenseless. Just the thing for a hungry wolf pack. The fact that the cattle all live on the other side of that invisible park boundary matters not to the wolves.

But it matters quite a bit to the ranchers.

Wolves are at the top of the food chain in these parts. They have no natural predators to keep them in check. Bears and mountain lions are solitary creatures and no match for a pack of wolves. So as the wolves in Yellowstone multiplied and spread it was inevitable that some would leave the park and prey on cattle. However, the government refused to allow any sort of control over the wolves, maintaining them as an endangered species. In reality, of course, it was the cattle that were now endangered.

As I said, this ranch is 200 miles from Yellowstone. But last month it suffered its first confirmed wolf kill. The cattle here represent a sizable portion of the ranch’s income, and any lost animal is a reduction in that income.

In the local bars ranchers speak of their ‘three S’ approach to wolf control: shoot, shovel, and shut up. It’s not that they go out hunting wolves. But when they come across one threatening their herds they do what they must to protect them.

For this the government brands them as wrongdoers and imposes hefty fines.

The states have appealed to the feds for relief, in terms of allowing some form of predator control. To date those pleas have fell on deaf ears, although there appears to be some softening of the feds’ position as of late. Until then, things will be much as they have been in the west.

Take matters into our own hands and don’t expect much help from the government.

There’s a lesson for us all in there somewhere…

Ranch Trip Update

We've been here in the Wyoming mountains for several days now. Most of the trip was uneventful, filled only with the usual hassles of air travel today - long lines  and ignorant people at the TSA checkpoints, squalling babies and overwieght, underbathed seatmates, bland and overpriced airport food, and the like. But once we arrived at the Billings (Montana) airport and piled into the rental car, the vacation truly began. We loaded the luggage, cranked up the stereo, and headed for the Bighorn Mountains. The only down note was when we drove through a large grass fire on the Crow Indian reservation near the Montana-Wyoming border. They've had a dry summer up here and wildfires are a continuing concern.

The weather on arrival was nice: low 80s and low humidity. We got to the ranch about 7:30 that evening - too late for dinner, but not too late for cocktails. After a few drinks and catching up with old friends, it was decided to head off to the Mountain Inn in Dayton, Wyo. It's the nearest watering hole, about 15 miles away - 15 miles on a winding, hilly, unpaved country road. It seemed like a good idea at the time...

The bar was pretty crowded for a Thursday night. There was a group of bikers in one corner, a group of cowboys in another corner, a group of local drunks at the bar, and us tourists at the pool table. Fortunately everyone was in a good mood, so there was no trouble, but just to be sure I ordered a round of tequilla shots for the house. It seemed like a good idea at the time...

The next thing I knew it was morning and I was climbing on my horse with a dry mouth, a pounding headache, and bloodshot eyes. My wife -- who was smart enough not to go to the bar with us -- told me my eyes looked like two tomatos in a glass of buttermilk. I told her "You should see them from this side."

Anyway, we all mounted up and headed out into the hills. I've been riding the same horse here for years. He's a big sorrel -- over 16 hands high -- and a wonderful mount; well mannered, smooth gaited, and sure footed, yet with plenty of speed when needed. Just about the perfect horse for this place. His name is, or rather was, Dylan. Sadly, Dylan died the month before we got here. He was off his feed and had lost a little weight, so they thought he was just a little wormy. Then he died overnight of what they now think was a ruptured stomach.

Up here you spend several hours a day on your horse. In fact, you probably spend more time with your horse than with your spouse. You get to know him; his personality, his likes and dislikes, his quirks. Dylan was a good companion. I'll miss him.

I won't however, miss the horse they gave me as a replacement. He wasn't a bad horse, but he was so rough it was like riding a paint mixer. I hung in there for three days thinking I'd get used to it, but yesterday I felt like I'd gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. I was sore all over, stiff and achy, and just flat out beat up. So I traded that horse in for a different one, who is much smoother. I think he may be a keeper, but it'll take a few more days to be sure.

The weather is always a factor here, since the cabins lack heat and air conditioning. As I mentioned, Thursday was pleasant. Friday was cool and rainy - high of 70, low in the 40s. After spending the first two months of summer in Texas it felt wonderful to put on a sweatshirt. The damnyankees from Boston were running around in shirtsleeves and laughing at us, but I didn't care. Saturday was a little warmer - 80s again. Sunday and Monday the temperature was in the 90s, but it still got down in the 50s at night.

We've settled into a routine. Breakfast around 8:30, then saddle up and hit the trail. Lunch at noon, followed by a short nap. Afterwards it’s do a few chores, have a drink or two before dinner, then more riding, followed by more drinks. It's a tough life.

I haven't read a paper or seen the news in five days. Today is the first time I've had Internet access. A nuclear war could have broken out and we wouldn't know it. It's amazing how fast you stop missing all the modern 'conveniences.' Out here you get back to what is truly important; family and friends.

It's not the same without you, Bots...

FOD 2012.08.06

Barack Obama got out of the shower and was drying off when he looked in the mirror and noticed that he was white from the neck to the top of his head.

In a sheer panic and fearing he was turning white all over, he called his doctor and told him what had happened.

The doctor advised him to come to his office immediately.

After an examination, the doctor mixed a concoction of brown liquid, gave it to Barack, and told him to drink it all.

Barack drank the concoction and said, "That tasted like bullshit!"

"It was." the doctor replied, "You were a quart low."

Sunday Funnies 2012.08.05

Still on vacation...

God was tired and worn out. So he spoke to St. Peter.

"You know, I need a vacation. Got any suggestions where I should go?"

St. Peter, thinking, nodded his head, then said, "How about Jupiter? It's nice and warm there this time of the year."

God shook His head before saying, "No, too much gravity. You know how that hurts my back."

"Hmmm," St. Peter reflected. "Well, how about Mercury?"

"No way!" God muttered. "It's way too hot for me there!"

"I've got it," St. Peter said, his face lighting up. "How about going down to Earth for your vacation?"

Chuckling, God remarked, "Are you kidding? Two thousand years ago I went there, had an affair with some nice Jewish girl, and they're STILL talking about it!"

Where does an Irish family go on vacation?

A different bar.

Something To Think About

The Whited Sepulchre is a hard-core Libertarian. Nothing wrong with that - I respect him for the time and energy he puts into his beliefs, and for the quality of his posts. In fact, I share his views on many of the issues facing us today.

Where we part ways, however, is on the candidacy of Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party's candidate for president.

The sad thing is I agree with nearly 100% of Johnson's positions. I'd love to see Johnson win, but there is just no way on God's green earth that will happen.

What I fear is that Johnson and other third party candidates will siphon off enough votes from Romney to get obama re-elected.

Obama team sees promise in 3rd party candidacies

Most Americans have never heard of Virgil Goode, a former party-switching congressman with a distinctive Virginia drawl who conceivably could decide the presidential election. But he is well known to President Barack Obama's team of political advisers.

Goode served six terms in Congress from Virginia and is gathering signatures to appear on the ballot in his home state as the presidential candidate from the Constitution Party. He's already on the ballot in more than a dozen other states with an anti-immigration, pro-term limit platform he hopes makes a dent with the electorate. It's not likely to be much of a dent, but enough in Virginia for Obama campaign officials to take close notice of his potentially helpful candidacy.

Goode is one of several third-party presidential candidates who will appear on ballots across the country this fall. But within the Obama camp he is considered one of two who could tilt the race by pulling votes away from Republican challenger Mitt Romney. The other is Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, a former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico whose presence on the ballot could make a difference in the presidential contest in states such as New Mexico and Colorado.

Neither candidate is considered enough of a national threat to draw comparisons to Ross Perot, whose independent campaign in 1992 attracted nearly 19 percent of the vote and whom President George H.W. Bush still blames for costing him his re-election. But Democrats see Goode and Johnson as this year's Ralph Nader, whom they still blame for Al Gore's loss to George W. Bush in 2000. Nader's liberal Green Party candidacy only attracted 2.7 percent of the national vote, but in decisive Florida, his total was greater than the 537 votes that separated Bush from Gore.

Despite that history, in most modern elections, third-party candidates haven't swayed the results, and even those who poll strongly early eventually fizzle in the end.

Still, in a national contest like this year's where Obama holds slight leads or is running virtually even with Romney in key battleground states, even a sliver of the vote in a crucial state could determine the outcome. Obama's team has scenarios whereby Obama can win states like Virginia and Colorado with less than 50 percent vote with an assist from Goode and Johnson, respectively.

That third-party candidates have become a consideration in Obama's camp illustrates one of the president's persistent challenges and his potential weakness: his inability to get above 50 percent in states he carried with some comfort in 2008.

Of all the states in play, Virginia looms among the most important. Campaigning there recently, Obama repeatedly declared that if he won Virginia he would win the election.

Virginia is even more of a keystone in Romney's strategy — one of three formerly reliable Republican presidential states that went for Obama in 2008.

"If Virgil Goode gets on the ballot in Virginia that is going to make it very tough on Romney," said Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, a veteran of presidential campaigns. It's difficult to imagine Romney getting the 270 electoral votes he needs to win if he doesn't carry Virginia, Trippi said, adding that Goode "would be potentially crippling to Romney."

A senior Obama campaign official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss campaign thinking, pointed to polls that show Obama voters having greater enthusiasm for their candidate than do Romney voters. That means Romney voters could switch allegiance to a third-party candidate more easily. A recent Pew Research Center poll showed that 34 percent of Romney voters support him strongly whereas 64 percent of Obama supporters say they back him strongly.

Obama advisers say they are not doing anything to help either Goode or Johnson secure positions on the ballots of key states and that they don't plan to help their candidacies.

Yeah, right...

Friday Follies Happy Hour 2012.08.03

Today's Happy Hour song is dedicated to the all of us travelers who are subject to the tender ministrations of the TSA.

Off To A Good Start

The results from Tuesday's Texas primary runoff elections hopefully represent a trend that will carry forward to the November general elections. The message -- loud and clear -- is that voters are fed up with the current crop of do-nothing congresscritters. We want real change - and we want it now!

Cruz win is a slap at status quo

The decisive win by Cruz, a first-time office-seeker, over one of the Texas' most powerful officeholders underscores the growing clout of tea party conservatives in Republican nominating contests and the struggles that both moderate and conservative establishment figures are facing in the current political climate of grassroots fury at the status quo.

“People perceive a crisis,” said Clemson University political scientist James Woodard, a specialist in conservative politics. “They want leadership, not experience...”

Campbell upsets Wentworth for Texas Senate

...Dr. Donna Campbell, whose insurgent campaign proclaimed “it's time to end politics as usual,” captured an upset win over veteran state Sen. Jeff Wentworth on Tuesday.

“People were tired of the status quo government — that's the folks who came out and voted for us,” Campbell said

Another message is that the Tea Party is definitely a factor to be considered in the November races.

Texas race shows Tea Party strength

The easy victory of Houston lawyer Ted Cruz in the Republican U.S. Senate runoff in Texas shows the tea party movement remains a potent force in American politics.

It also highlights an anti-establishment frustration among voters, especially grass-roots conservative activists, which could influence national elections in November.

I don't understand why career politicians who have been in office for decades now all of a sudden think they can solve our problems.

Hell, they're the ones who created them...

On Michael Bloomberg And Misplaced Priorities

If all has gone well we are now winging our way to beautiful Wyoming for 10 carefree days. Meanwhile, here's a bit of news from a place that's just about the polar opposite of the Cowboy state.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's battle to control every New Yorker's life has now been extended from the cradle to the grave - literally.

First it was a ban on smoking in city parks. Then he took on, among other things, trans fats and salt in restaurants and school meals, donations of food to the homeless, and super-sized sodas. Now he's trying to force women to breastfeed their babies in place of using formula. He's taking the phrase "nanny state" literally. But perhaps he should spend a little time dragging the infamous NYC bureaucracy kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

New York Police Department officials said the city is spending nearly $1 million to purchase and maintain typewriters for the police force.

City officials signed a $982,269 contract last year with New Jersey typewriter manufacturer Swintec for the purchase of manual and electric typewriters during the next three years and last month the city inked a $99,570 deal with New York's Afax Business Machines for maintenance on the typing machines, the New York Post reported Monday.

NYPD sources said the vast majority of the typewriters are for use by police.

Most of the city's arrest forms have been computerized, but property and evidence vouchers printed on carbon-paper forms still require the use of typewriters.

"It just doesn't make sense that we can't enter these (vouchers) on computer," a police officer told the newspaper.

Dr. Edith Linn, a retired New York police officer and professor of criminal justice at the city's Berkeley College, said many of the 500 police officers she interviewed for a study told her the outdated equipment makes them less likely to perform arrests for minor offenses.

An NYPD representative told the Post officials are working on software that would eliminate the need for the typewriters.

The above story was written in 2009. Three years later, in 2012, nothing has changed.

The last city contract for typewriters ... is set to expire soon. Eighteen agencies use the machines, city officials said.

The city Department of Administrative Services recently put out a request for bids for new typewriters to replace the aging collection.

...Mayor Michael Bloomberg finds himself defending the city’s use of and spending money to maintain more than 1,000 pieces of retro technology called the typewriter.

“Particularly in old line government organizations, there’s still lots of forms where we have to fill them out in duplicate, and a computer doesn’t do that well...

For a couple of decades I made my living updating and converting legacy systems to modern technology. It's really not that difficult -- at least in for-profit organizations.

But I guess government agencies aren't that worried about efficiencies and saving $$$...

Vacation Redux

It seems like we just got back from our luxury Caribbean vacation, and here we are leaving on another one.

This one, however, is the opposite extreme. It's our annual trip into the Wyoming mountains. We stay in a log cabin on a ranch where there is no TV, no cell phone reception, and no Internet access.

Actually, that's not totally true. There is none of that in our cabin (which does have indoor plumbing and electricity - I'm not that much of a Luddite) but there is one TV and very limited Internet access (think dial-up) at the main house. If you want cell phone reception you have to drive halfway into town (about 20 miles).

Bottom line - I've got some stuff lined up and set to post over the next several days, but it won't be the timely commentary on current events that you've come to expect (*cough cough*). And I probably won't be responding to comments for a while.

Y'all behave yourselves while I'm gone...

Life In A Small Town

Yet another reason I love living in (well, actually about 10 miles outside of) a small town:

Yesterday I went into town to renew my truck's vehicle registration and to vote in our primary runoff.

I had my choice of parking places right in front of the county courthouse. I was in and out in less than five minutes, having performed my civic duty and clutching my registration renewal in my hot little hand.

You may be interested to know that in the early voting period prior to the runoff there were 2487 republican votes cast, compared to 53 democrat ones. Lets hope that trend is repeated come November.

You Might Be From A Small Town If....

You know what 4-H is.

You ever went cow-tipping or snipe hunting.

You plan parties around the schedule of different police officers, since you know which ones will bust you and which ones won't (same goes with the game warden).

It was cool to date someone from the neighboring town.

Anyone you want can be found at either the Dairy Queen or the feed store.

Weekend excitement involves a trip to the Wal-Mart.

You decide to walk somewhere for exercise and 5 people pull over and ask if you need a ride.

Your teachers call you by your older siblings names.