January 28, 1986...

...I remember hearing the announcement, and I snuck home to watch the coverage on TV. 

I remember watching some of the first Space Shuttle launches when I was in grade school - our teacher said that the astronauts were chosen from the best of the best.  I said I wanted to be an astronaut...but I did not want to fly on that ship. 

  How brave you must have to be, to strap yourself into that seat.

Walk Like and Egyptian...

When the news of the Tunisian revolution hit, the only thing I could think was...'wait, where's Tunisia?'  I thought it was near Libya, but truthfully, I thought it may be near the Horn of Africa.  The horn is a mess, and I'm not as worried about the pirates and the lawlessness, as I am the haven it provides to whatever evil wants to hide there (see Sudan mid-90's).

But I looked at a map.  Tunisia is not near the horn.  It is next to Libya, on the opposite side of Egypt (see current map of the world).

...pause...

When the protests in Iran were going on, I knew immediately that while not knowing what the end result would be...anything is better than what passes for a regime in Iran.  I also knew that I was thoroughly ashamed of the response of the leftists in our own government.

...reset...

Tunisia...Egypt...Now the news of Egypt.  If you talk to Egyptians living in America, Christian Egyptians, there is a reason they live in America. 

I stayed up last night and listened to Obama, Gibbs, and Hillary.  I think they might have hit the Reset Button.  Gibbs is a goof, a person like that should not be speaking for the President of the United States in public.  But I was actually impressed with what I heard from Obama and the horse's mouth itself. 

The danger in Egypt is that we have accepted Mubarak (accepted = 1,000 million dollars a year in foreign aid***) too long.  It is not our job to replace Mubarak, or Musharraf, or Assad, etc., etc., and it is a diplomatic dance dealing with these despots...but our position should be clear.  When revolution occurs, we have to be on the side of freedom. 

It will be interesting to see what happens in Egypt.  Stanley Kurts has written alot on Egypt and the consequences of our actions.

I think of it like Super Bowl XLV - while I know the Steelers are evil, I can't bring myself to fully support the Packers.  If the Steelers win, we know it will be more of the same, and none of that is good.  If the Packers win, it could open the door to a whole new evil... 

***And once again, what has our billions of dollars bought us?***

We Need a Change...

I was listening to Rush Limbaugh today. He was reacting to the nonsense comparisons of Obama to Reagan...

...there is no comparison.

Clear as Mud...

Every time I hear about budget cuts....like:

"We want to go back to 2008 spending levels..."

"We want to freeze raises for Federal Employees for two years..."

I think, okay - that's a start.  Where's the beef?  The big mention lately has been the $100 billion:

House GOP Proposes Deep Budget Cuts
"According to Democratic estimates, cuts of that magnitude - if applied across the board - would require the Justice Department to fire 4,000 FBI agents and 1,500 agents at the Drug Enforcement Administration. The federal prison system would have to fire 5,700 correctional officers..."

Really? Cutting that much of the budget would force America to cut the number of FBI Agents by 1/3? Those cuts sound serious!

Or are they...



When are they going to get serious?  When are they going to cut failed efforts like federal spending on education, agriculture subsidies, etc., etc., etc, that have billion dollar budgets...and don't provide the benefits they were intended for?

Hopefully, 2010 was a wakeup call.  If they hit the snooze, we have to do it again in 2012 - and I'm not just talking about Obama and the Dems...

Whoa!

...breaking news

FoxNews.com Headline: 
GOP Puts UN Reform Back in the Cross-Hairs

Subtitle: 

Once again, the United Nations is the target of congressional Republicans, and the calls from its critics are all too familiar: wasting U.S. taxpayer dollars, institutionalized corruption and snubbing human rights issues for dictatorships and autocracy

Cross-Hairs...target

I think Fox just fired a shot across CNN's bow...

The Carrot or the Stick...

Big Brother is Watching You Recycle

...Cleveland wants its people recycling.  Cleveland - the nations fastest shrinking city, a city that still uses people to load garbage trucks (Did you know....that Scottsdale, Az, is the home of Godzilla - the worlds first automated garbage truck) thinks it has come up with a way to get people to recycle.

What incentive are they going to use?

If you recycle properly, you will not get fined.

"...Citing the British model, Cleveland, Ohio, is taking a giant step toward a similar scheme of compulsory recycling. In 2011 some 25,000 households will be required to use recycling bins fitted with radio-frequency identification tags (RFIDs)—tiny computer chips that can remotely provide information such as the weight of the bin’s contents and that allow passing garbage trucks to verify their presence. If a household does not put its recycle bin out on the curb, an inspector could check its garbage for improperly discarded recyclables and fine the scofflaws $100. Moreover, if a bin is put out in a tardy manner or left out too long, the household could be fined. Cleveland plans to implement the system citywide within six years.."

"...Cash-starved local governments will be watching to see if an American city as big as Cleveland can use RFID bins to increase revenues. The revenues would flow from three basic sources: a trash-collection fee that could be increased...; the imposition of fines; and the profit, if any, from selling recyclables..."

“...The Division of Waste Collection is on track to meet its goal of issuing 4,000 citations this year.” In short the goal is revenue enhancement not perfect compliance..."


Some people just don't get it...

Justice?

Christiana Korbe, 42, was a drug dealer.  When the FBI raided her house, she fired a pistol from a second floor balcony.  She hit Special Agent Sam Hicks in the neck, and he died.  She claimed she was protecting her family, and did not know it was the FBI. 

Odds are, she was protecting her family from what she thought was a drug rip.  She thought other drug dealers were coming to steal her drugs.  (Her husband knew it was the FBI, her husband ran to the basement and was flushing cocaine down the toilet).

She was sentenced today, as part of a plea agreement, to 190 months.  Less than 16 years.  Sam's son will be about 20 years old when his father's killer is released from prison.

Her husband, who did the actual work of dealing the drugs....got 25 years.

At sentencing, Korbe blamed the FBI.

To me, these terms are unacceptable.