An early start on one of my New Years' Resolutions

One of my New Years' Resolutions will be to try to find, take, and post a quiz a week to this blog... wonder how long that will last?

Here goes:

Which internet subculture do I belong to? [CLICK] You are a Trekkie! It's a geek, Jim! You probably have a starfleet uniform and a tricorder. Bonus points if you speak klingon. One day you will walk down the aisle with your buttertroll trekkie partner, humming to the Voyager theme. More Quizzes at Go-Quiz.com

I altered the above text to correct the spelling of Voyager...the ninny who typed in the code spelled it 'Yoyager', shesh...they aren't a Trekkie.


Guess what? I really do like Star Trek, but have not visited any Trek sites with any regularity. Battlestar Galactica sites are a different story, though.

BTW, new episodes begin airing next Friday night. Here are the episodes for January:

01/06/006...Resurrection Ship, part 1
01/13/006...Resurrection Ship, part 2
01/20/006...Epiphanies
01/27/006...Black Market

And I received the Season 2.0 (1st half) of BSG from amazon yesterday...

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It's too early to think of a title

Citizen Journalist, Michael Totten, has had one of his pieces published on the left coast. You may find it here.

More citizen Reporting can be found here and here.

Also, another General has geared up for the 2008 Presidential Elections.

More later if the "expected" snow develops, it ain't looking good for those who are working in Maggie Valley.

Bobby

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Quiz pegs me as a ... Centrist?

I thought I was Conservative, but what really scares me follows below:

You can take the test here.

ACCORDING TO YOUR ANSWERS,

The political description that
fits you best is...

.

CENTRIST



CENTRISTS espouse a "middle ground" regarding government

control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on

the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention

and sometimes support individual freedom of choice.

Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind,

tend to oppose "political extremes," and emphasize what

they describe as "practical" solutions to problems.



The RED DOT on the Chart shows where you fit on the political map.




Your PERSONAL issues Score is 50%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 80%.
(Please note: Scores falling on the Centrist border are counted as Centrist.)

......................................................................

5,341,382

.

THAT'S HOW MANY TIMES THE QUIZ
HAS BEEN TAKEN SO FAR.

(Results are renewed after each submission.)

......................................................................

How People Have Scored


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Centrist 30.14 %


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right (Conservative) 7.49 %


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Libertarian 34.88 %


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Left (Liberal) 18.86 %


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Statist (Big Government) 8.64 %


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

......................................................................

Other Political Philosophies

Right (Conservative)

Conservatives tend to favor economic freedom, but frequently

support laws to restrict personal behavior that violates "traditional
values." They oppose excessive government control of business,

while endorsing government action to defend morality and the

traditional family structure. Conservatives usually support a strong

military, oppose bureaucracy and high taxes, favor a free-market

economy, and endorse strong law enforcement.

Left (Liberal)

Liberals usually embrace freedom of choice in personal

matters, but tend to support significant government control of the

economy. They generally support a government-funded "safety net"
to help the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation

of business. Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations,

defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action

to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.

Libertarian

Libertarians support maximum liberty in both personal and

economic matters. They advocate a much smaller government; one
that is limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence.

Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, oppose

government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate

diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil liberties.

Statist (Big Government)
Statists want government to have a great deal of power over the

economy and individual behavior. They frequently doubt whether

economic liberty and individual freedom are practical options in

today's world. Statists tend to distrust the free market, support

high taxes and centralized planning of the economy, oppose

diverse lifestyles, and question the importance of civil liberties.

......................................................................

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More links Pray for rain

Dymphna over at The Gates of Vienna points us to a good fisking.
Read her first, then follow her link to the action.

While he and I differ a bit on politics, Screwie Hoolie has an interesting post on the NSA eavesdropping program. I'm for it, he's nervous. Now I'm still for it, and nervous.

Note to self: Save this for next year.

Pray for rain out of this next system coming through...I hate freezing rain and icy conditions.
Well, in the time it took for me to post, the forecast HAS CHANGED. Yippee! And I'll still get a day off work. ;-)

Bobby

Rain at 10am!!! My girl has come through for me here. Link will probably only work until she posts a new article, so scurry!!!

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Tuesday Linkagery

Appeasement in 1938, a blast from the past on the Belmont Club.

Huge Coalbed fond off Norway coast should move the Oil Peak back another couple of centuries, eh?

Hope your Christmas went well, and Happy Hannukah to my Jewish readers, if any.

Bobby

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Christmas Eve Picture

Billy took everybody out to eat yesterday for Christmas. We ate at a Chinese restaurant called New Happy Garden in Waynesville. We pretty well destroyed their Buffet Line. Thanks, Billy!

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Are the Main Stream Media Treasonous?

Earlier in the week, the New York Slimes revealed the NSA program of spying on phone calls of suspected terrorists with other people in the United States of America. Duh. They better be doing that!

It bothered me, but did not surprise me that the NYT would expose these activities. I don't buy the paper from the few racks in WNC, and I make sure I berate anyone I see doing so. You should try it sometime. Nothing nasty, just a simple laugh does the trick. Not a horse laugh, just an expression of my amusement usually gets me the reward of an angry stare, or if (I suppose) the person is a native, they tell where I can go do my silly laughing. So far, I haven't been beaten up.

Enter the US News & World Report

Now a newsrag I still have a little respect for (only because a Muslim once told me it was run by the CIA and Jesse Helms) has outed an FBI program that has been monitoring radiation levels around mosques and other places frequented by Muslims near our nations' capitol. Double Duh!

If good ole Jesse Helms was running USN&WR, he'd have had a heart attack, or certain editors at the magazine would be pounding the pavement right about now.

Little Green Footballs has covered the story, which I first heard about an hour ago on the BBC via shortwave. I cut the radio off and connected to the internet to see what was going on.

Commentary

Pay attention, people! We are at war with a bunch of nuts who think their god is going to reward murder and mayhem with paradise. I am very likely preaching to the choir when I say people should go to prison for printing these stories exposing our efforts to monitor these whackos.
And as far as Mr. Speilbergs' entry into the 'Middle East Peace Process.' A movie that casts blame on Israel for going after terrorists after the massacre of their athletes in 1972 at the Munich Games. Even I can see the very thinly veiled comparison to our actions after 9/11/2001. I wonder if Michael Moore served in an 'advisory' capacity on the mockumentary. Puh-Leeze!

If so many innocent people wouldn't get killed, maimed and ruined, I would love to pull an 'Atlas Shrugged' on the Left. I would bet they wouldn't last a calender year without us.

In the spirit of the book,I will not provide a link for those who wish to know more.

Oh, yeah... Have a Merry Christ-mas Eve! If I go shopping today, I'm waiting in the truck with a good book...Atlas Shrugged.

Bobby

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Night Before Christmas

The following was posted in a forum I am a member of:



Title and Author unknown


--------------------------------------------------------------------




The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.
Sleep without fear as you turn out your lights."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of this line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one has asked or begged or implored me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembered."

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..

Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you some money, prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.


--------------------------------------------------------------------

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World War IV

This is actually World War IV.

World War III was fought between The USA and the USSR from 1947 to 1989. Churchill warned us of in his Iron Curtain speech of March 5, 1946. Our acknowledgement and participation began on March 12, 1947, when President Truman enunciated the Truman Doctrine. The essence of the Doctrine was that "it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure." This was clearly an anti-communist doctrine. This amounted to an American declaration of war upon Communist Russia. President Truman followed his speech with massive military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey. (The communist guerillas were defeated by the American troops in 1948 in both Greece and Turkey.) This was our first victory in the war most people call the Cold War, but was, in fact, War War Three. It had been made Politically Incorrect to call it a real war due to the massive communist infiltration of our media and education systems.

World War Three included the battles with communist guerrillas in Europe, Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, Communist Infiltration of our media and educational systems, the Suez Crisis, the Communist Infiltration of Indochina, the Bay of Pigs, the Viet Nam War and the Soviet-sponsored anti-war movement in western countries that was successful in causing us to lose our will to fight. The Arab-Israeli Wars up until 1973 can be considered part of World War Three. The later wars are more properly part of World War IV due to the awakening of the Islamic Extremists by the Soviet Union and their break away from Soviet control during the Iranian Revolution that was led by Jimmy Carter's friend, the Ayatollah Khomeini. The Arab's loss of the 1973 war presaged the defeat of the Soviet Union and the Rise of Islam.

World War IV essentially began with the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979. What followed after that was an Iranian sponsorship of acts of terror modeled on the previous Soviet Union model that used Muslims as cannon fodder against the west. The Muslims shed the control of their former masters and sought to establish their own empire of terror throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America. They also sought to infiltrate a militarily superior Europe and America using the methods taught to them by the Soviets. In the coming years in America and Europe we will see an increase of mosque-building, demonstrations and attempts to establish a separate but equal justice system based on Sharia Law. Mark my words. This will happen, and we cannot stop it due to a sympatheic media and education system. The progressives have paralyzed the Democrat party, and I suspect that they will attempt to use the anti-war libertarians in the Republican party to do the same there. I have some hope that we can stop them, but only time will tell.

Part of the Left's continued war against American Exceptionalism is the erasure of our history, because they know that if we can't properly remember where we've been, they can control where we are going. They fight any attempt to refer to the Cold War as a global war deserving of the title of World War III, and they will fight the acknowledgement that we are now engaged in another global war, called by many names (the Global War on Terrorism in currently the most pouplar) but, it is still War World IV any way you slice it.

What got me started on this tirade was an OpEd by Ohmyrus at FaithFreedom.


The following is a brief excerpt from an excellant post:

World War IV


By Ohmyrus

The War on Terrorism is actually World War IV. Most people don't appreciate this because of the asymmetrical nature of this war. Nation states are pitted against terrorist organizations and not against other states like in previous World Wars.

In a way, asymmetrical warfare is more dangerous because the enemy could be living amongst us. These men are eager to die so as to be rewarded with Paradise with its carnal pleasures. This is so unlike World War III (i.e. the Cold War) where the free world fought the repressive communists.

They wanted to live and can be deterred by Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Now we are fighting a bunch of medieval mad men who are not afraid of MAD. What if they get hold of a nuclear device?


The complete post is here.

It says so many of the things I have tried to say, but is much more effective and eloquent.

Also, Fjordman has left the blogosphere, but never fear, he will post on other blogs every so often. Goodbye, Fjordman, I will miss you.

Things at work have been rough. The cold weather has sapped my energy, and the slick and frozen ground have made using a chainsaw interesting at times.

Bobby

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Monday Morning Briefing

.
Winds of Change has their Monday morning briefing on the progress of World War IV.

I just wish that The President would up the ante by letting the American people know that this war will last at least a generation. This coddling of the left has to stop. We need to get this internal war with the nihilist leftists over so we can proceed forthwith to the destruction of Islamo-fascism, and their enablers...Europe and Russia. Chew on them apples!




Here is what it looked like last Wednedsay morning at work.

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Warning: Construction Zone

.
Over the course of the next few weeks, I intend to make several changes to the sidebar and try to streamline it for maximum efficiency, and add some buttons.
Maybe I've gone link-crazy. If I don't kill the blog, it might be fun to watch.

My goals are to make my blogs more closely match their mission statements(uh-huh), and provide useful links accordingly.

WNC Citizens Blog is intended to keep track of citizen activists and political events in West Carolina, with a wary eye cast toward Raleigh.

Thunder Pig Journal was my attempt to try to keep track of the Big Picture of World War Four, which is currently in progress.

And this blog, where everything else goes, with some overlap.

Feel free to leave comments what you'd like to see.

Bobby

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French bashing... it's so easy!

I found this at Demotivators.
The History Guy read a few on last weeks show, I forgot to look it up, and found a blog that had a few on it while hitting the random blog button in the upper right hand corner. Since the rally is off, I've decided to spend the rest of the day surfing randomly to see what I come up with since there are no time constraints.

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Zombie Time photoblogs Tookie execution

Well, not really. The Zombie did photoblog the people who gathered outside San Quentin in opposition to and support of the execution. This is the type of thing I would love to do in Asheville during the protest season if I could get part of Friday off work.







Squinting for Utopia


This is just one of many fine photos. Be forewarned...a few of them show signs with a picture of one of Tookies' victims after meeing the man. You judge whether Tookie did the guy any favors.

Go here for the Gallery

TC Override has a commentary I cannot improve upon.

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Rally Postponed due to Weather

This may be a double post, so I'll switch the words around. Blogger is acting funny.
The BlackOut Rally will not take place tonight due to the fundraiser itself being cancelled. We will try again when they try again. ;-)

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BlackOut Rally Cancelled for Dec 15

Alas, Don Yelton has just announced that the BlackOut Rally has been cancelled and will be rescheduled when the Democrat Party fundraiser is scheduled.

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Rain Day

Now, that is a cool picture of clouds!
Click on the picture to enlarge.
Here is where I found the clouds.















I proudly stole this picture from Dude, Where's the Beach? And yes, he stole it from someone else, too!













BlackOut Rally is still on for those who are able to despite the inclement weather. Remember, Safety First!

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Cartoon Classics !!!

There is nothing like Calvin & Hobbes snowmen cartoons!

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Rally is Thursday not Wednesday!

.
I goofed! Thanks for all the e-mails letting me know. Most days I only have a window between 3.30am and 5am to post, so sometimes it takes a while to correct a mistake.

People will begin gathering after 3pm Thursday.
Please go here to find out more.

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Buh-Bye

.
Tookie Williams...Buh-Bye!
Arnold...I was worried about him, although he pulled through in the end, and did the right thing.

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Monday Morning Updates

I only got to watch 20 of the 24 episodes from Friday to last night.
It exceeded my already high expectations. I hope they keep it up next season.

Winds of War Monday Briefing covers World War Four region by region.

An Aussie tells us about the race riots on Cronulla beach this weekend from a local perspective.

Check out The Northeast Intelligence Network, who is keeping the flu pandemic meme fed and spread, and has some coverage of the Oil Depot explosions this weekend.

Also, go to The Yahoo Group BlackOut to keep informed on the upcoming BlackOut Rally this Wednesday. I hope to see you there!

Bobby

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Sequestered Weekend

This weekend I will be watching ALL 24 episodes of "24" Season Four. I was not able to watch or record them, and had a harrowing time keeping away from spoilers. The only other show on TV today in the same category is the new Battlestar Galactica. And yes, Season #2 of that is already preordered.

"Narnia" is a movie I plan on watching maybe next weekend. I'll post a review then. I have never read the books, but did see a BBC TV series in the early 80's I thought was good. I have had a rough time of avoiding spoilers on this one, too.

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BlackOut Rally on WNC Citizens Blog

On WNC Citizens Blog, I've posted on the upcoming BlackOut Rally planned nest week.

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Linking

History Lesson

Heath Shuler prepares to run for the 11th US District seat. Go back to Tennessee, carpet bagger! Or move your company to WNC... wait, that is the last thing we need, more Real Estate bidness.

Don't forget to check out Jim Black Must Go!

BlackOut has formed and ready for action.

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Jim Black coming to Asheville Dec 15

Speaker Jim Black is coming to Asheville for a Democrat Party fundraiser.

Some people are planning to meet him. Click for Flyer.

Also, a local newspaper is using one of my photos on their website as background. Cool! The Mountain Guardian. It also has a radio show every Monday at 1pm on 1350AM WZNN and can be heard live here.

I've taken more pix, but the computers here at WCU have their CD drives disabled. It'll have to wait until the morning.

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Long overdue link

Iraq Strategy is at the White House Website.

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Three time loser

I saw this on the WCU Campus last week. In the faculty parking. No, sorry, in ADMINISTRATIVE parking. Figures.

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I love the smell of links in the morning

In case you don't wander by The Gates of Vienna, you should.

As a history buff, I frequently visit The World History Blog, and found a reference there to theHistory Carnival XXI. I guess that shows a lot of history sites I've not been able to find using Google.

Another favorite blog I ride by is Al Fin.

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Clouds

A front moved in on Friday morning and I took this picture showing how straight the edges were. A caller in Madison to Top of the Morning mentioned the clouds. So, I wasn't the only one who noticed!



This shows a view a little after 5pm that same day. The whole sky was like that as they came through...then it was clear.

I'll be posting more pictures later. Right no, the forecast makes me hope I might be able to visit WCU and get some broadband time in. 28k sucks too, Fred.

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Links To Share

I've found a website that stores bookmarks for those surfing from public terminals (which I do a lot of), or just want to share them with others. After much furious hunting, pecking, cussing, repecking, I got some of them up.

Then came the fun part. Getting the doggone thing linked from here. I just simply cannot get it to work in the sidebar. I suspect it has something to do with using a proxy server. I will put the link a couple of ways in this post to see if it works.
It works if I type the address in the address bar. Here goes:

Click Here

http://www.mybookmarks.com/public/Thunderpigfaves

http://www.mybookmarks.com

What's going on here? At least the top link works.

Ours is not to worry or wonder why,
Ours is but to link or die.
(with apologies to the original author.)

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Hey! Look what I found!

I fell so very stupid. I have never had ANY formal training about the internet. And I just discovered the most amazing website, EVER!

I found it by following backward links from Project Rho, another great site I've been plaing with for the last couple of months.

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Michelle Malkin on Top Of the Morning !!!

Get Thee Hence!!!

Sorry such a late notice, I just found out.

Update:9.34amOk, she's gone. If you missed it, too bad.

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Happy Thanks Giving !!!

Things I am Thankful for...
1. God
2. My Family
3. My nation
4. Those who have, are, and will serve in our armed forces.

Appropriately enough, William F. Buckely's 80th birthday falls on Thanks Giving Day, 2005.

This man had quite an effect on me in my teenage years, providing me with a firm foundation of political belief after President Ronald Reagan kindly pointed the way toward conservatism.

Reagan brought my attention to a "shining city on a hill," and Mr. Buckley taught me the basic principles I could use to get to that city. Others have helped along the way, but I look upon WFB as providing guidance at a critical juncture in my life, when I wavered between choosing Good or Evil. I made a few missteps, and whenever I was restored to my senses, WFB was there.

Less than a decade ago, I discovered he had a magazine, then still later, a website. I quit my subscription over the Ann Coulter dismissal, but still read the mag in the public library. The only way I would renew is for The National Review to print a full and complete apology for their actions in that incident.

I still remain fond of WFB, and will spend a part of my Thanks Giving day comptemplating the man and the ideas he has shared with me over the course of my life.

I thank God for WFB, and I thank WFB for using the gifts that God has given him.

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Rain today means... No work and much posting!

I will be updating this post throughout the day instead of posting 150 times today.

Axis of Islam is associated with some good blogs, he comments on some and the following are the ones I ran into a few minutes ago:
Intelligence Summit
Musulman
Pedestrian Infidel

Cut-N-Run Vote, courtesy of CDR Salamander.

I found an interesting article posted on Heads Up America. The article is entitled: "The real secret to defeating Islam" by David Kupelian.

No Apologies Radio is on! Check out the links on Immigration Issues! updated at 12.04pm

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Curious Developments in Israel and Eurabia

What is going on in Israel?

Ariel Sharon has left the party he helped form, and is forming a new party with Shimon Perez, and others. I hope this gives Bibi Netanyahu a shot, although I believe Sharon and Perez will be able to form a majority coalition government.

Others report and analyze better than I. Links are below. Please feel free to add others in the comments section.

Security Watchtower
Drudge Report has links to MANY online news sources.

On the EU front, Fjordman has a disturbing essay on the nature of Eurabia, the new European Empire that is emerging.

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New Websites Launched

The misty rain moves in on Campbell Mountain.


Pajamas Media has changed their name to Open Source Media, I guess making a play on the Main Stream Media. OSM v MSM. I prefer calling the MSM Legacy Media, implying they are outdated. Oh well.

Another new site is called Threats Watch. This promises to be a wealth of information and analysis.

Hat Tip to Baron Bodissey for the last site, and prob the first as well, I simply can't remember, and with a web connection of 28.8k, I don't have the time to check. Add both these websites to your web browser.

I will post more today from my great aunt's house. She has 56k. WoW!

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Dr. Jerome Corsi to appear on HUA

Dr. Jerome Corsi will appear on Heads Up America tomorrow, (Tuesday for those in Rio Linda) at I guess 3pm to 4pm. I gather he is an expert on abiotic oil. For those who can't tune to 1350 kHz on an AM radio, listen here.

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Middle Earth, Anyone?

Here is what I tested out as:


Rohirrim



To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?

brought to you byQuizilla

To which I can only repeat the words of our great king:

"Ride! Ride for ruin! And the world's ending! Death!
Forth Eorlingas!"

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Early Morning on Jonathan Creek

Taken at 7am in early November 2005 looking northeastward from one of the top lots.

The difference in time between the posts shows how slow photo uploads are at 28 k.

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More Pictures !!!

This is why I need a camera with a zoom lens! Falcons don't look as good to the eye as they do through a regular lens.

By the way...all these pix are taken with a disposable Kodak camera. WoW!

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What a stupid picture to post!

This is my truck at work, hauling stuff so I don't have to. This lovely beast gets just 6 miles to the gallon of gasoline, and has sticks of various sizes crammed into the emission controls, and the previous owner performed other mods trhat are interesting, most notably, a 305 racing engine with entirely too huge fuel jets that make stomping on the gas pedal too expensive for me to do often.

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Asheville Election Results...Broad Analysis

There were serious errors in the Council Race Numbers in the third column. Thanks to a phone call, I've since corrected them. Hat Tip to Debbie.
Bobby 08:06 am 11/10/2005


These are preliminary numbers from the Board of Elections. I don't know if anyone else has done this, so here goes:

Mayoral Race

Candidate...................# Votes....%Votes....% Eligible Voters

Terry Bellamy...............10,534.....56.82.....19.10

Joe Dunn.....................8,004.....43.18.....14.51

Participating Voters........18,538.....33.62

Non-Participating Voters....36,609.....66.38

Just over 19 percent of eligible voters decided who the next mayor of Asheville will be. No matter who won the race, this is a sad statement.

City Council Race

Note that each voter can, but does not have to, vote for up to three candidates.

Candidate..................# Votes...% Votes....% Available...% Potential

Holly Jones................11,642.....24.03.....72.10.........21.11

Robin Capes.................9,737.....20.10.....60.30.........17.66

Carl Mumpower...............8,498.....17.54.....52.63.........15.41

Bryan Freeborn..............7,319.....15.09.....45.33.........13.27

Chris Pelly.................6,272.....12.95.....38.84.........11.37

Keith Thomson...............4,975.....10.27.....30.81.........09.02

Votes Cast.................48,443..............100.00.........29.28

Potential Votes not Cast..116,998...............70.72

Per Candidate..............16,147.67

The number of people staying away from the polls are sad here as well. No one was able to spur large numbers of people to the polls.

Note and Commentary

To avoid confusion, remember that there are 55,147 eligible voters, so in the council race, I multipied that number times three to get the potential number of votes that could've been cast. The available votes took the total number of votes cast and divided by three. That left 16,147.67, a number 2,390.33 less than the 18,538 who voted in the Mayoral Race. Not every one who voted in the council race chose three candidates. This had the effect of increasing their favorite candidate(s) odds of making the cut of the top three vote getters. I believe this is the tactic that allowed carl Mumpower to keep his seat on the council.

If any one losing campaign had managed to interest 5,000 voters, a mere 9 percent of eligible voters, their candidate would have been assured of a seat for their particulur race. That speaks volumes.

Why is it so hard to get people to vote?

Should a person should lose their franchise if they miss a certain number of elections in a row?

Or should we be glad these people don't participate because they either don't care enough to vote or know enough about the issues to vote?

Personally, I don't want people who don't care or are ignorant potentially canceling out my vote, there are alraedy too many ignoramuses voting.

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Maybe they ARE French, after all !!!

Yesterday, to combat a growing wave of terror attacks, the French decided to impose curfews in the affected areas. Which resulted in the number of cars being burned being cut in half, proving that they are french-muslims, not muslim-french.

Here's how I imagine it went down:

Jean-Pierre Mohammed: "Mes amies, the police are planning to impose a curfew tonight. This will be our chance to show them who is in control!"

Ibrahim-le-Jardin: "A curfew! Mon Dieu! What time do we have to be back from torching trashbins and Car-BQing?"

Just like that, the French have peeled away the fun-loving terrorists from the serious. Wow.

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City of Asheville Election results

.
Mayor

Terry Bellamy......10,534
Joe Dunn............8,004

City Council

1...Holly Jones.......11,942
2...Robin Capes........9,737
3...Carl Mumpower......8,498
4...Bryan Freeborn.....7,319
5...Chris Pelly........6,272
6...Keith Thomson......4,975

The top three vote getters will join ulta-liberal Brownie Newmamn and mostly middle Jan Davis on the Asheville City Council. Since terry Bellamy already had a seat on the council, the first order of business when the council next meets will be to select someone to replace Bellamy. the last time that was done, the council chose the 4th place finisher in the City Council race. This time, that would be Bryan Freeborn.

Commentary

Here are the political leanings of the City Council members as I understand them, painted with a very broad brush:

Ultra-Liberal
Brownie Newman
Holly Jones
Robin Capes

Standard Liberal
Terry Bellamy
Jan Davis

Conservative
Carl Mumpower

I understand that Bryan Freeborn is of the Ultra-Liberal stripe, since he accepted money last week from the Dmocracy Now PAC delivered by the person of Jim Dean, brother of the DNC Chairman, Howard Dean. If Bryan is chosen, that would make Brownie Newman the de facto mayor of Asheville. Let The Freak Show Begin!

Since I know little of the other candidate leanings, it may all be moot, at this point. One good thing to come out of this is the possibility of a backlash by the voters in 2009, a loooong way off in the world of politics.

Here are current voter registration numbers in the City of Asheville:

Democrat........28,117
Unafilliated....14,097
Republican......12,933

The only way for conservatives to advance is to conduct a long term voter registration drive to gain a few votes. By demographics, Asheville is a Liberal City. I'm just glad I live over 50 miles to the west, I can enjoy the show without having to deal with the repurcussions.

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Terrorist Attacks in France Day 10

Why are all these French-people so somber? Answers below. Why did I post it twice? Look hard. Do we have anything in common with them? How would people in your town react?


French citizens conduct a "silent march" in oprotest against the "riots". (I guess they're afraid to add their voices. The Muslims would get even angier, huh?)


As usual, the blogosphere has been the first to report on the terrorist attacks in France, with the Main Stream Legacy Media gradually turning to focus on the story, hoping against hope the french could bring things under control so they could credit the french with their 'enlightened european' approach.

The only 'enlightening' I've seen is by fire.

Even Fox News refuses to call it anything except rioting. Note: I've not seen the FNC coverage, so I'm just commenting about web coverage.

The BBC World Service (shortwave radio), reports "riots spread in France", and report the French as saying that "Gangs increasingly organized".

I was going to post about the inanity of the running count of cars set ablaze, trashbins torched, or the number of arrests, but The Belmont Club sorta beat me to it. There is other coverage on the site as well as thoughtful analysis.

At Winds of Change, there is reporting on a fiscal crisis as a contibutor to the problem.

More in line with my thinking, Little Green Footballs call it the "French Intifada Day 10, evoking images in my mind of Paleo-Stininan youths throwing rocks.

The Counterterrorism Blog also calls it an Intifada.

I will accept Intifada, but prefer to call it by its rightful name: Terrorism. Well, France has been under attack for ten nights, and still hasn't responded, except with policemen and firemen. Since the attacks have spread beyond the 'burbs of "Gay Paree", there is little excuse for not bringing out the troops. While there is little chance these thugs could gain control of the country, they can cause considerable harm to their infrastructure, but not their already tattered image.
In a way, the French are getting their just deserts for their policies of the past vis a vis (I always wanted to use that phrase) their Muslim Immigrants. It is also a picture of what may come our way with our illegal immigration problems.

Update: Fjordman has warmed the very cockles of my heart with a post reporting John Derbyshire's appellation. Dhimmis.
Have the French fallen into dhimmitude? I give then until Friday. If they don't make siginifant progress until then, I will considered France as under dhimmitude.

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The Smell of Liberals

I had to resort to reading the instructions...should work now. 

I never thought I'd be posting a picture of a bare-chested man, so here goes.

Update: Forgot to tell where I stole it from. Little Green Footballs.

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This is why I HATE the legacy media...

I nearly burst a blood vessel this morning while listening to NPR. (I was involved in Signals Ops monitoring enemy comms).

I heard a story about a New York Slimes story on secret prisons for al-Qa'ida run by the CIA.

Another is here.

I found these two links from Drudge.

I am going to paraphrase Pogo... We have read the enemy, and they are in the Legacy Media.

I urge you to send hate mail to both these establishments forthwith.

Update: Make that three...don't want to leave out NPR. Silly me.

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Introducing...Armchair General Thunder Pig?!?

Baron, I accept your invitation!
Directing administration policy is a very complicated affair, and not much gets done overnight, which is probably a good thing.
We must first put persons, groups, and nations into appropriate categories: (Understanding that this is a sweeping generalization)

• Enemy: Actively Opposed to us.


• Leaning Hostile: opposing us, but not willing to openly bear arms against us. Would benefit from our failure.


• Neutral: Want no part of us or anyone else involved in the conflict.


• Leaning Friendly: Willing to provide some measure of assistance, would benefit from our success.


• Ally: Will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us come what may.

I will survey the main Middle Eastern Players, because it is there The Great Jihad must be stopped.
Here are the reasons why I will focus on this area:

1. This is where the greatest concentration of muslims, jihadis, and their shrines, are located.


2. In any conflict, armed, diplomatic,ideological, or intellectual, whoever determines the battlefield has an initial advantage.


3. It will force the opposition to devote more resources to that battlefield, and delay planned excursions out of theater.


4. Oil is the economic engine of Western Civilization, and the engine of The Great Jihad. Whoever controls the oil, wins.

SITREP
Our main forces are deployed in the Iraqi theater, engaged in what might be described as suppressive fire operations, while local friendlies are built up to take the baton.
Foreign fighters, or jihadis, are being infiltrated onto the battlefield from multiple nations. They are: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and Iran. More come from elsewhere, but these will be the main focus for our purposes here.
These infiltrators are denying our forces the opportunity to effectively clear an area of combatants because more arrive from elsewhere. This is an obvious borrowing from the Viet Cong. We should handle this situation.
POLICY DECISION
Use the various available methods to reduce the flow of foreign fighters onto the battlefield.

1. Use the State Department to send a sternly worded message about the border crossings and any perceived “assistance” they have rendered the jihadis. Since I am aware that most employees in the State Department may or may not be “on our side”, my first goal will be to convince them that if they aren’t successful in communicating to their opposites, bad things will happen if our warning isn’t heeded. We would be forced to take the view that their nation was being used as a supply depot for our enemies, and a friend of our enemy is…


2. Use spy satellites, drones, humint, and military assets to track the movements of jihadis. This would allow military and/or intelligence assets to intercept and “roll up” their networks, both inside and outside of Iraq. Covert means would be used to take key players out of the game inside and outside Iraq no matter where they are to be found, using appropriate force.


3. Position forces where it would not be a hardship to move them across the border in pursuit of hostiles and get the message out to these nations that we are sooo close to having “had enough”.

I believe that about covers what I would do about the foreign fighter problem. I imagine it would take at least six months or so for this plan to begin to see some perceptible fruition, and perhaps some changes on the part of nations neighboring Iraq. Or at least they would severely cut back on their overt support.
End of first part
Okay, lemme know where I dreamin’!

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The Truth Laid Bear

I've rediscovered the ecosystem!!!

I guess i'll have to fix my broken site counter so everyone can laugh at my inane posts.

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Changes to the Sidebar

I've tried to clean up my sidebar. It looked cluttered to me, and it allows me to list more stuff. My categories might not be exact, and I tried to list the ones with the best material to fit the category (although there is a lot of overlap), and had lots of good links.

If you see websites that are listed again and again on these sites, that indicates it is a good site.

Please leave a comment in the comments section if I've made a glaring error of ommission.

Bobby

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Blog Roll

Here is my Blog Roll

One Hand Clapping
The Belmont Club
Cold Fury
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
IMAO
David Brin
Intel Dump
Fjordman
Gateway Pundit

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Blogs To Watch

Here are some blogs that bear watching:

Gates of Vienna
Politics of CP
CDR Salamander
WWIV Daily
Northern Virginiastan

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Terror Watch Groups

Here are links to some Terror Watch Websites:

United States Action
Northeast Intelligence Network
Winds of Change
Jihad Watch
The Counter Terrorism Blog
Little Green Footballs
Eurabian Times
Silent Running
Indepundit

Added on 11-21-2005
Threats Watch
Security Watchtower

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Local Media

Here are some links to Local Media Outlets


WZNN
NC Newspapers
WNC Television

WNC Radio

Upstate SC Radio

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North Carolina States Issues On Radio

Earlier this week, No Apologies moved from Saturdays to every weeday at noon. Good move. I covered it in this post. So go!

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My day off work. Woo Hoo!!!

You know you are a redneck if you have to use a shovel to clean out the back of your pick up truck! (And it took 2 hours!)

I went to the Jackson Co. public library and posted, and also to a car wash and cleaned out the truck...yes, I cleaned out the stall when I was done!

I then headed to Waynesville to look around and listen to the radio. I missed Brian's show, but caught Bill's and Ken's.

Baron Bodissey of Gates of Vienna was on Heads Up America yesterday. I thought he did very well.

Then I went home and cooked supper, listened to some shortwave before going to bed. Yawn.

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WZNN Schedule change announced

My favorite radio station is maling another schedule change. Here they are according to my notes copied from my palm pilot (the palm of my hand) to clipboard in the truck, to here:

7am Top of the Morning w/ Brian O'Brien (the same)
10am Laura Ingraham
12pm No Apologies w/ Brandon Randolph (new..unsure of spelling.)
1pm Local Matters digg show every day (new time)
Monday Mountain Guardian
Tuesday Entrepreneurs Edge (moved from Saturday.)
Wednesday Lifestyles Food and Wine
Thursday The Tech Guy (new show)
Friday The History Guy
2pm Dennis Praeger (last hour live)
3pm Heads Up America w/ Ken Bagwell

That's all Ilisten to because I can't hear the station while commuting from the Macon/Jackson County line. :(

Last time I looked, it wasn't posted, so I get to say...FIRST!!! Well, SECOND, if you count the announcement itself.

If I didn't have to work for a living, I could post with the frewquency, if not the quality of Glenn Reynolds!!!

Gotta go, only 11 minutes left on the machine.

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Two different sides to how Cubans prepare for Hurricanes...

Call it serendipity, synchronicity, or whatever. I think it was yesterday morning when I heard a story on NPR while driving in to work singing the praises of Cuban hurricane preparedness.
It went something like this... When a storm is coming, the whole island springs into action, with committees for everything from local to national. Committees inspect houses to see if they can withstand projected storm damage. If not, the occupants are forthwith 'evacuated' to a shelter nearby, such as a school. Other committees go around cutting trees they think may fall, cutting utility line, falling into structures, and/or blocking roads. Food is gathered for the evacuation centers. The storm passes, and more inspections take place as the 'efficient' Cuban government is everywhere at once, (unlike the Bush administration) providing prompt response. ( sarcasm Being a good parent /sarcasm).

Then, this morning, while enjoying a day off from work,I came across this while stopping by at Instapundit.

Apparently, NPR is suffering from the Main StreamLegacy Media's love affair with the Bearded One.

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Terror Update

Blogger is acting up again, I can't choose a font or size for this post. Bummer.

Anyhow, here goes:

Jihad Watch and Norteast Intelligence Network have questions about Hinrichs, as does The Counter Terrorism Blog

And in a strangely similar case, The Gates of Vienna posts on the Saudis a la The Counter Terrorism Blog.

That's all I have for now, I'm still covering up ditches at work after putting in service taps and water meter stuff with Billy. That whacker packer is EVIL. Trust Me. Evil, I tell you.

Update: Check out The World History Blog. I need to spend more time looking for more sites...but I've already got too many to read, what to do? I know, less sleep.

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Apology Time

I made some comments in this post that were inappropriate, and I officially aoplogise to Brian O'Brien, the WZNN station advertisers, and listeners.

Update I can't get the stupid link to work...go to the October 4th post just a couple of posts down.

I also apologised in the comments section of that post when I came across it yesterday while at the library, and will send Brian a personal email along these lines.

I still miss The Bill Fishburne Show. I have listened to Bill for a few years now, and hope to be able to again. I'd really like to see him start a blog.

The show that replaced Bill's is hosted by Brian O'Brien and is called Top of The Morning on WZNN. And yes, I do listen, despite my harsh words written earlier. Brian can't fill Bill's shoes, he has his own pair.

I still wanna be mad at somebody besides terrorists, any ideas?

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Tropical Depression #24 likely to strengthen

Later today or tomorrow, TD#24 will likely become Tropical Storm Wilma, tying the record set in 1933. Then after that would come a storm named Alpha. I can already hear the enviro-whackos lecture us about global warming as they ride aroung in their SUVs yakkin' on their cellphones. Enough yakkin' from me for now, here are some links to keep a watch on the storm a brewing down south.

Check herehttp://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2005/09/hurricane-tracking-sites.html

Why type all that info again? Especially since cut-n-paste is still a mystery to me!!!

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The Bill Fishburne Show canceled

Yesterday, while listening to Ken Bagwell's show, Heads Up America, I heard hime say that there had been some personnel changes at the station.

My heart sank. The first two hours of Heads Up America dragged, because I knew it wouldn't be good. My pessimism was rewarded by the announcement that Bill's morning show had been cancelled, and he was let go. Brian O'Brien would be replacing him with a new show. Lack of advertising was the stated reason. Of course, Ken put a good face on it by saying that this would open up new opportunities for Bill.

I have heard that song and dance before, I won't bore you with the details. Another proof of one of my mottos "Never trust anyone wearing a suit, or in management."

Needless to say, I am disappointed, but it does free up my mornings from being glued to the radio as a certainty. I've been burned too many times to get attached again. Just klike my German Sheperd Laika was my last dog, so was Bill Fishburne my last morning show. I will listen to Brian's new show occaisionally, but I won't care enough to patronize any sponser.

I will continue my last post at another time.

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General Musings

General Musings

Friday was one of those days that went on and on and on, but I had fun doing it. For we had an emergency at work!

The day started off well. My first duties were to assist the moving of several sections of 8” water pipes from one place to another, then moving all the associated connectors, water meter boxes, etc to the same area, and perform a general cleanup.

Then, I was to assist in the placing of a water line across the main drag of the subdivision---before any turn offs---so, all traffic had to pas by our work area. The plan was to do one half, then place the pipe in, cover it up 6” at a time, pack it (my job), then repeat on the other side. That was the plan. However, not all plans survive contact with the enemy. Our enemy was a phone line (300 pairs) located where it was not indicated by orange spray painted lines provided by the phone company, who shall remain nameless, but whose initials are appropriately enough wait for, b.s. enough said.

The digging was put off until after lunch, during which I played around with my new grinding s350 field radio. One comment up front>>>> its am broadcast band reception sucks. I guess I should have read more about that aspect, which is very important to me.

On the shortwave bands it performed well. I was pleased with the reception of a number of stations, some of them even in English. My Mexican co-workers appreciated hearing some Spanish stations. A Spanish numbers station really puzzled them as to why someone would broadcast numbers. I found a station broadcasting from Cuba, and was surprised that they all laughed and told me that Fidel castor was a bad man, which warmed the cockles of my conservative heart to the core. They said all he told were lies and he made everybody but his friends poor.   Wow.   As Laura Ingram’s call screeners want callers to do, they got to the bottom line point, better even than most pundits out there.

While the track hoe dug out the first half of the road, I flagged traffic. This allowed me to listen to the radio, which I don’t always get to do when working around big equipment. I listened to the Danny Fontana show on wznn-am. As usual, I was entertained. Danny and his wife, Mary, were discussing bill Bennett’s unfortunate remarks that were taken to task by the legacy media.
Danny thought that bill was right to a certain extent, and Mary thought he shouldn’t have said them. Before I realized what was happening, I had called in and got through. First time attempt on that show and made it to the call screener, which I believe was their son, Casey. I was put on the air and I stated that I agreed with what Bill Bennet said, and added that most people who abort children are (would be) single parents, and statistics show that more criminals come from that demographic as opposed to two parents, so that is an unfortunate bonus of abortion, which is murder.

Danny got a kick out of it, but I don’t think Mary did. I also said that bill was courageous because he said what he said despite the coming liberal (legacy) media firestorm. It didn’t occur to me then that he could’ve not thought about what he said. Anyway, I put forth that we shouldn’t allow the liberal media take words out of our mouths before we even say them. That, I believe, is a form of censorship where we do their work for them. My thoughts weren’t quite that coherent, but that is the main gist of my points.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the phone line was found by the track hoe and rather nicely broken. This brought all work to a halt. I ended up directing traffic for longer than initially planned, and never did get to operate the whacker packer (maybe Monday). The guy from the phone company showed up, and he got to work. I occasionally snuck over and watched, impressed with his speed as he matched all those tiny little color coded wires to their mates across the way.

On the radio, “the history guy”, also on WZNN, was a best of show. I hope Dr. Forstchen is okay. I really enjoy his show and probably shouldn’t call in nearly every week. Only when I have a really cogent point to make. Yeah, right.

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Grundig S350 Purchase

Yesterday at work, we were drizzled upon off and on for roughly 2 hours before we were released. Gilberto and Lucino were gone and out of sight before I could get to my truck!

My first destination was Radio Shack, (Yeah, I know) where I bought a Grundig S350 portable AM/FM/SW band radio. I plan on getting back into listening to shortwave, and using it at work to listen when I'm working in one spot and don't want to mess with my Walkman. At work, I listen primarily to talk radio all day. Check out the WZNN link on the sidebar.

AM REPORT

Good News From Afghanistan

They kill Christians, Don't they?

No more new SciFi Fridays until January. Waaaaaaaaaa!!!

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Hurricane Traking Sites

I know this is late in the game, but here are some of my goto sites for tracking hurricane activity.

My current Favorite: http://www.thestormtrack.com

The Golden Triangle Page (2nd because I'm on dial-up)
http://www.ih2000.net/ira/bmt-wth.htm

Hurricane Alley http://www.hurricanealley.net

Hurricane City http://www.hurricanecity.com

Weather Underground Tropical Page http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/

Atlantic Tropical Weather Center http://www.atwc.org

Notes on the above pages====> Follow the links within these pages for a wealth of information that will reveal the simplicity of The Weather Channel when they could be so much better, instaed of resorting to tabloid-like storm coverage.

Posting has been slow due to the heavy work schedule I've been under. Putting in French Drains mostly by hand really takes it out of a fella.

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Heads Up America now 3 to 6 Drive Time Show

One of my favorite radio Shows on my favorite radio station is now on from 3pm to 6pm Eastern Time. My only complaint is since I live out of radio range, and work in radio range, on Fridays, instead of leaving when The History Guy goes off, I must needs stay until Ken goes off. My boss, however, loves it.

The web streaming link is at http://www.supertalk1350.com

and the show website is at http://headsupamerica.com

I am at a public terminal right now, and their web service is acting funny. (Well, it IS a public library, after all) So I better scoot before it does more strange things.

Update: I fixed the links so that they will now work. I am at home on a now working system... The Library System is working although it won't let me access any right-wing sites more than once a session. I smell a conspiracy...

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More computer problems

I am going to have to get a new computer. The old 1998 model HP (7 years old!) is proving to be more trouble I can deal with as it continues to behave in unpredictable ways. This past week, it would not turn on. Oh, the lights came on, and the monitor came on with a test pattern, but no sign of a boot up. The CD would accept and return discs, but no show. I checked all connections, once , twice, and more. Then this a.m., the old beast just came on like nothing was wrong. (!!!???)

Things are going well, I am getting 50 hours a week, which should help me get a cheap Dell in a couple of months, unless someone has an old one better than mine they'd let me pay the shipping on! :-)

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Russian State-Controlled News Outlets and Censorship

**note** Published at 3.37am on August 23, 2023 and hidden in the back catalog.

You can check out the three main Government-controlled Russian News Outlets: 

Russia Today: https://www.rt.com

Pravda: https://english.pravda.ru

TASS: https://tass.com

The Russian government monitors and censors information they don't like via an agency called "Main Radio Frequency Center" Learn more about it via an article on Radio Free Europe: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-agency-internet-censorship/32262102.html 

The BBC has a guide to the current state of news in Russia at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17840134 

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Interesting Conversation On Heads Up America

Wow. The following is a commentary about the radio show on WZNN 1350 of Friday, 19 August, 2005.

Show website is found at http://headsupamerica.com
and you can listen live at http://www.supertalk1350.com Mon-Fri noon to 2pm Eastern Time.
You can purchase a CD or cassette of this program at this number (828) 258-1337.

Commentary:

Fridays are normally a weekly wrap-up of topics discussed and those that were missed. As a caller-driven show, you cannot predict where things are gonna go next. Ken Bagwell, the host, usually has a stack of interesting and sometimes bizarre stories to pass along between calls and the good-natured banter with his producer (also station manager) Brian O'Brien.

In the course of the show, Ken asked a question about what kind of government we have, wasn't it a representative type? The first caller was none other than the highly esteemed (by this listener) Dr. Bill Forstchen, who teaches History at Montreat College and has his own show on the station (Fridays 2pm to 3pm). His take on the situation was that we are under an Unelected Bureaucracy.

What followed was a flood of calls to the station, with callers agreeing, disagreeing, and offering more specific nomenclature...such as Representative Bureaucracy where elected officials appoint the bureaucracy, who often serve decades until retirement. One caller said it was a Fascist Bureaucracy, etc.

The good doctor arrived at the station to do his show, and the station manager made an 'Executive Decision' to skip the 2pm newsbreak and carry over the conversation with approval from the doc, who shared his personal experiences with bureaucracy all the way to Washington, D.C. in the 90's. Ken gradually handed over the show to Forstchen, who continued the topic with the phonelines flooded until 3pm. The morning guy, Bill Fishburne, joined in the action in the studio.

It is going to take me a while to digest all that I've heard. I wish I could convey the eloquence of the conversation, and the links and phone number at the top will do a better job than I have done. It was one of those things that change the way you look at the world foreverafter (if that isn't a word, it should be) and clarified the task that looms before us.

To face a vast monster like an entrenched bureaucracy of bureaucracies with an idea of opposing it fills the mind with dread and the heart with hopelessness. And the monster has no head to aim at to deliver the coup de grace.

I believe the only way to effectively resist, oppose, and render asunder such a beast is with leaderless resistance.

Face the faceless bureaucracy with a faceless resistance on every level. Each member of the resistance must be willing to expose malfeasance by those bureaucrats within his or her reach.

Using a favorite pet peeve of mine: Illegal Immigration as an example:

• Take a page from the early Michael Moore playbook. Grab a camera, microphone and unobtrusively film the border crossings, investigate local employers hiring illegal immigrant labor.
• Document elected officials and law enforcement obfuscating and/or refusing to act on credible information of law breaking, even local District Attorneys, etc.
• You get the idea...start a blog http://www.blogger.com

I may have more to say once I receive my copy of the program and make more detailed notes.

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Problems with home computer

I've had a series of serious problems with my home computer, and have managed to get it running again. However, it will only let me on the internet long enough to load a few pages, then craps out on me. It seems I've deleted a file I shouldn't have when whacking the hordes of virii in every conceivable corner. I am using a public terminal to post so people won't think I'm dead, lost interest, or have been kidnapped by Islamo-fascists or neo-nazis.

Fighting computer problems sucks.

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Asheville Bele Cher and WZNN

Despite having lived most of my life in West Carolina, I've never gone to a Bele Cher. Which, I believe marks me as a true native.

My usual Saturday routine involves going to Franklin to do my laundry, wasting time at old bookstores, and using an hour or so of computer time at the Franklin Library to get on the Internet at a decent speed. From here on Chestnut Cove, I can barely maintain 21.6 Kilobaud due to bad phonelines.

This past Saturday I made, for me, a drastic change in routine. I hardly ever take trips that exceed 35 or 40 miles one way due to my perceived unreliability of my 1984 GMC truck. Apparently, my fears were unfounded. Bertha performed well, and I kept her at or under the speed limit, which made for interesting driving considering everyone else was doing an acceptable imitation of low-flying fighter jets.

I left the Cove just before 7 and arrived at my chosen, supersecret parking spot about 10 before 8am and arrived by foot at The Marble slab on Biltmore St during the news break. This allowed me to approach Bill Fishburne and Josh Wilkie off-air to introduce myself and shake hands, and retrieve a T-Shirt w/ the station i.d. upon it,.

You may listen to the station at http://www.supertalk1350.com by looking to the left sidebar and clicking on listen live. This is the station I listen to most of the time.

After meeting the morning talk jock and sometimes sidekick, I wandered the streets of Asheville and visited some used bookstores (Some routines I WON'T alter) and listened to the WZNN morning people. I was glad that the streets were blocked off, because I've found Asheville in the past to be a pedestrian unfriendly place...the drivers, not the layout.

Near noon, I wandered back to The Marble Slab WZNN HQ and purchased a coffee ice cream w/ strawberries mixed in by the staff in front of my very eyes. I lingered over the delight as I await the arrival of Ken Bagwell to start his usually weekday show, Heads Up America. I also saw, but didn't get to meet the station manager, Brian O'Brien (O'Brian ?) due to his One Armed Paper Hanger feat of Managing Things. He looked much as I had imagined, except his hair wasn't black. Bagwell, on the other hand, looked like a Real Estate Agent.

The Man on the Street was a success, and Ken wasn't jumped by the radicals of the liberal army that occupies Asheville. I followed along on the radio and in person, and shook Kens' hand before I left. I also met George, one of the other regular callers on the station, I thought he looked like Ken sounds, and Ken looks like he sounds.

I left at 20 before 2pm and arrived in Sylva to do my laundry around 2.30. My major regret was not getting to meet Bill Forstchen, The History Guy. I didn't know he would be roaming the streets until I was in Haywood County, to far to return due to my limited budgetary situation. I'll bet he and Josh had a hoot on the radio. I left radio reception range right at the top of the hour at 2pm.

I was sick yesterday, so I missed church. No race, so I attempted to sleep all day. I played "Scotty" when my grandparents Legacy Satellite receiver crapped out again. They probably have one of the oldest Dish Receivers in WNC. The "acquiring satellite signal" display was the only clue I had to work with as I checked everything. Eventually, either the signal came back on its own, or I worked magic.

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Snake in the House!!!

Early this morning as I watched Andromeda on the SciFi channel, a snake came out of the stove pipe.
It was black, and about 12 inches of it emerged before I was on my feet. There was a Cane Knife in the back of my truck that would fit the bill perfect for snake removal. I heard it thump on the linoleum as I made tracks.

I got back perhaps 30 to 45 seconds later, but no snake was to be seen. An hour later, and with considerable furniture moving, still no snake. I was quite shaken and juiced up on adrenaline, not liking snakes in general, and certainly not in the house in particular.

I eventually got to sleep around 7am (behind a well-fortified and sealed door) and had to wake up around 9ish to go into town and do laundry. I will probably never feel less than nervous for a couple of weeks over this incident. I told my grandfather about it, and he didn't seem to concerned. So I guess I shouldn't either, but EEEWWW!!! I HATE SNAKES! Worse that Indiana Jones in Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

I found a shed snake skin matching the apprx. sixe of the intruder hanging from the chimney about 10 feet off the ground. Only thing I can figure is the rascal was tracking the small of mice and fell into the chimney.

I researched solutions to my problem and found a nifty web site called thriftyfun.com. It helped me feel some-what better and gave potential solutions and future preventions. Also clued me in to the likely id of my new boarder: a Black Rat Snake.

If I see him/her/it in my bedroom, I'm camping out in the truck!

Hope your weekend got off to a better start than mine.

Peace Out!

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We're Not Afraid

Found a cool web site http://www.werenotafraid.com , if you have a digital cam or can draw on the computer, you might send a photo. The site has digital images of people (mostly in Europe) telling the Terrorists that they are not afraid. Brings my morale up a notch or two to be reminded that there are still great human beings left in Europe, and we shouldn't forget them or count them out just yet.

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Added more links

I've added more links to the sidebar that should be interesting, and there are more links on http://wnccb.blogspot.com that link to hurricane forecast sites and Department of Homeland Security.

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I'm Back! War of the Worlds movie review

Ok, I think things are running ok at WNC Citizens Blog. We got rained out Friday afternoon right before 2pm, and I stayed in the truck listening to "Heads Up America" before I left the job site. I started my three day weekend early by... going home and to sleep!

Saturday, I went to Ruby Cinemas in Franklin and watched the 2.10 pm showing of "War of the Worlds."

Spoiler Warning! Read no further in this post if you haven't seen the movie and/or don't want to know!!!

Normally, I don't care for "re-imagings" of movies or of books. I hold the original book by the original author as cannon. That being said, the 1950's version was so bad, almost anything could be an improvement.

My major problem with the movie is an apparent lack of consistent model size on the walkers (tripods), their size changed from a couple hundred feet to maybe 500, then down to a hundred feet.

The movie began in modern times with Morgan Freeman, I think, speaking the prologue. That was done very well. The aliens use of lightning strikes to ride down to previously buried walkers was a stupid idea. Whoever thought of that should be horselaughed out of Hollywood. Another problem I have with the movie is that the Paramount name was on it. They have ruined the Star Trek franchise, and I attend their (Paramount) offerings with great trepidation.

The general story line is good, and I thought the actors performed well. I appreciated the use of the 10th Mtn Division from Ft. Drum , New York in the story, although as a certified military entusiast, I wanted to see more use of Air Force assets, including a demonstration of the walkers surviving a nuke blast... even a small atomic demolition device! I realize even with The Great One (Speilberg) involved, the Paramount pukes wouldn't fork over enough cash for special effects. Remember Lord of the Rings has changed audience expectations forever!

Overall, I give the movie 8 out of 10 pigs.

Off the cuff rating system legend

# of pigs Means

0 The theatre should be boycotted and management taken to task!

1 Call the theatre and complain about their bad movie selection

2 Don't see it and don't buy or rent the DVD when it comes out

3 Only watch it if a friend (one w/o taste!) offers it to you (pull down the shades while watching)

4 Show up at the theatre in disguise if you must

5 Watch it only if someone else is paying!

6 No disguise needed! Purchasing is frowned upon, but renting is ok.

7 Watch it and Buy it, you can even pay for someone else to watch it with you

8 Worth it even if the popcorn eats a hole in your wallet, tell your friends about the movie

9 You can see this more than once! Pre-order the DVD, and buy memorabilia

10 If this movie doesn't win an Oscar, well, we already know that Hollywood rarely rewards movies of this calibre anyway, as it probably
has too much in it for Red Staters to cherish!!!


Gotta run

Bobby

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