Porkbusters episode 2 Revenge of the Pig

I Support the Fiscal Watch Team Offset Package !

Porkbusters is back! The Truth Laid Bear has put up a PorkBusters tracking page that shows Senator support for and against by state. Check it out here.

Thoughts on the previous Coburn amendment here.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) and six senate colleagues today unveiled their proposal to offset government spending on relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The senators announced their proposed government spending cuts during a Capitol Hill press conference this afternoon.

“Congress is learning what the American people already know – charity requires sacrifice. Congress can help those in need in the Gulf Coast without putting the bill on a credit card the next generation will have to pay back. Among the American people there is a growing rumble about our unsustainable fiscal course. I believe this package will help quiet that rumble and build a bridge to fiscal sanity and responsibility,” Dr. Coburn said.

Dr. Coburn, joined by Senators Sam Brownback, Jim DeMint, John Ensign, Lindsey Graham, John McCain and John Sununu, proposed the following actions to offset hurricane relief spending:

• A freeze on cost-of-living adjustments for federal employees, including members of Congress, with the exception of law enforcement and military personnel.

• A two-year delay in implementation of the Medicare prescription drug benefit except for low-income seniors who would receive $1,200 in assistance with their drug discount cards.

• A requirement that those with higher incomes pay higher Medicare Part B premiums in 2006, rather than in 2007 as currently scheduled.

• Eliminate $24 billion in special project spending in the recently passed highway bill.

• A cut of 5% to all federal spending programs except those which impact national security, with 1% set aside for funding of essential programs.

The package of offsets proposed today could save the American taxpayers nearly $130 billion over two years

Only Sith deal in absolutes

Well that may be so but we can also call bullshit when we see it. I love how you can just string a few news articles together.

So in across the pond Prince Chuck is in the news. I will cut him some slack as I have not seen him quoted directly in the articles. Anyway it seems he and the Duchess of Cornhole are going to pay the US a visit. Honestly I do not understand why US citizens give a shit about the Royal inbred family...okay okay back to the point. I need to get back on my Strattera.

The Prince of Wales will try to persuade George W Bush and Americans of the merits of Islam this week because he thinks the United States has been too intolerant of the religion since September 11.

The Prince, who leaves on Tuesday for an eight-day tour of the US, has voiced private concerns over America's "confrontational" approach to Muslim countries and its failure to appreciate Islam's strengths.


The Duchess of Cornwall will accompany her husband
The Prince raised his concerns when he met senior Muslims in London in November 2001. The gathering took place just two months after the attacks on New York and Washington. "I find the language and rhetoric coming from America too confrontational," the Prince said, according to one leader at the meeting.

Okay so we are taking too hard a line against muslims. So 19 hijackers do not represent the whole of islam. Okay I can deal with that but you know what Chuck? Who gives a rats ass what you think? Some great Americans fought a war to be rid of your pompous asses back in 1776. If you could get your nose out of the Duchesses Cornhole for a bit you might take notice that YOUR country is now under attack from these assclowns.

Meanwhile in Indonesia the religion of peace has been busy. Maybe its just me but it seems the MSM here in the US is reporting on the deaths of 3 school girls. Where overseas the headline tells it like it is "3 Christian School Girls Beheaded". I suppose we couldn't add in that they were Christians as it might offend some of the non pork eating citizens. Not that Christians have not ever beheaded anyone or burned them at the stake but this is 2005 isn't it?

How about a zero-tolerance policy on stupid laws?

Wow this is just an incredible read . The war on drugs is obviously going down the toilet and it seems the harder the govt tries to clamp down the more these kinds of things are bound to happen. How amazing this is in the same state of the Terri Schiavo clusterfuck. So let me get this straight. In the great grey hair state they were bound and determined to keep an obviously brain damaged woman alive at all costs. Yet they have locked up this harmless wheelchair ridden man for drug distribution although they admit he never sold any drugs? To top that off the prison is threatening to not refill his morphine pump to try to get him to stop talking to the press?

I felt a tremor in the Force

While everyone else is yacking about the Harriet Miers I found that the news just keeps getting stranger.

Reuters digging for something to bash Bush with comes up with this.

Argentine soccer hero Diego Maradona promised Cuban President Fidel Castro on Thursday he would be at the front of an anti-Bush march in Argentina next week.

I'm sorry who? Oh I see, a washed up soccer player (who just got over his gastric bypass surgery), a 2 bit dictator and Argentina (Faulklands anyone?). Americans give a rats ass because?

Meanwhile here in that states if you want to kill yourself maybe Halloween is not a good time according to
this.

Wow what do the other yards in the neighborhood look like?

Burning bodies?

Been seeing lots of coverage on the net of the burning of the terrorist bodies in Afghanistan. Much ado about nothing is what I thought at the time and now that seems to be the case.

Good information on Strategy Page.

Also a little background seems to be coming out on the imbedded journalists as well. Looks like at least one of them went with his mind already made up since he already wrote a book bashing the Iraq war. Doesn't someone do background checks on these guys? A google search of the pricks name would have turned up his book at Amazon.com

All the leftists in this country are shocked and disgusted our troops would burn rotting corpses that no one would collect but I haven't seen any outrage from them about live contractors being burned ALIVE in Iraq.

In a shocking turn of events I see the insurgents in Iraq seem to have turned on thier greatest allies in the region.

On a final note. I have been puzzled as to what Trudeau has been trying to accomplish over the last year or so with B.D.'s misfortune in Iraq but what he is trying to accomplish here I can understand and appreciate.

RICA Ranger Roundup St Louis AAR

Couple of pics from the event. The 1st is me with Col Robert Black and the 2nd is me wish Major General Singlaub.





Well I made if home from St Louis. Some random thoughts and observations.

Never before have I seen so many black berets worn so many different ways.....with Members Only jackets.

If you get enough 70+ year old Rangers together suddenly they are 50 years younger.

After the dinner on Thursday night when I sat with the 2 men from 2nd Ranger Company I went back to the room and could not sleep. I cracked open my copy of Rangers in Korea somewhere in the next few hours I ran across the list of Silver Star recipients and the name Posey, Edward L. I did a google search when I got home turning up the Ranger Hall of Fame link. I was honored to buy him a drink Saturday night and even more honored for the wisdom he imparted on me on that Thurday.

RICA-KW has started a new organization whose title I think was finally decided to be Descendants and Friends of Korean War Rangers. Anyone interested shoot me a message.

The next reunion is scheduled for 2007 at Ft Benning, GA during the time of the Best Ranger Competition.

Are there any Conservatives in Washington?

Well not very many it seems as the Coburn bill was voted down today. The Senate voted 82-15 to defeat Coburn's amendment which is pretty much what I thought would happen. I found this 2 snippets interesting:

Sen. Ted Stevens (news, bio, voting record), R-Alaska, vowed Thursday to resign from the Senate if his fellow lawmakers followed through on threats to cancel spending on a $230 million "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska that was stuck into a pork-filled highway bill earlier this year.

The bridge, longer than the Golden Gate, would cross from Ketchikan (pop. 8,000) to Gravina Island (pop. 50), replacing a seven-minute ferry that connects the town with the regional airport. Its main critic, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., argued that the bridge money is enough to buy each island resident a Lear jet.

That was followed by this tidbit of info:

"If the Senate decides to discriminate against our state, to take money only from our state, I'll resign from this body," said Stevens, a pugnacious Alaskan who's held his seat for 37 years.

37 years? I think its time someone got a real job. Maybe the next Coburn amendment should be for term limits. I need to run down a list of who voted against this for future reference like say maybe the next elections. I'm sure the good voters will no doubt forgive the fact that the same assclowns they keep putting in office are spending us into oblivion.

Well I just stopped in to check my messages. I'm heading back down to the bar to hang out with some real Americans. No not some asshole politicians but some Korean War Rangers.

On the road with the Korean Ranger Companies

In STL hanging out with the Ranger Infantry Companies Airborne of the Korean War. They are having their national reunion and its a blast. How did I end up here? Well thats complicated but here I am anyway.

Met some outstanding Rangers many of whom are mentioned in Rangers in Korea by Col Robert Black. Speaking of which I did get a chance to meet Ranger author Col Robert Black who has some outstanding books available at that link from Amazon. Amazing having read about some of these men and then meeting them in person like this.

At dinner tonight I got a great history lesson first hand from 2 men who were in the 2nd Ranger Company. The 2nd Ranger Company was the only all black Ranger unit in American history. Those guys were a hoot and I learned a great deal in a short time. Both went on to SF and stayed for their 20. Both also said being a Ranger opened doors for them in the Army that would not have been there had they not earned the title of Ranger. The one gentleman told me back then things were much different in America but with the Rangers it did not matter they were all friends and looked out for each other.

I think the lesson I will take from that is that no matter who they were as individuals together they were Rangers. Too bad Americans today have a great deal of trouble standing together as simply Americans.

Tonights thoughts and run down

Great article on the wasting of our tax dollars and military resources in Korea Here. Pretty much tells what I always thought. South Korea should have enough money to train and equip an army to defend itself and should not need the USA to do it for them. Now I know many an American GI spilled blood on the battlefield to keep Korea free. But would pulling out our troops cause the North Koreans to come streaming over the border hopping over the bazillion land mines in no mans land? For some reason I do not think so. Without all the aid from South Korea the North would have starved to death already. One would think freeing up all the troops defending Germany from ??? and the troops in South Korea would help to solve the many problems. Yeah I know pulling our troops out of Germany would cause chaos in their nifty financial arrangement of spending way too much money on welfare. Like I give 2 shits about the German economy what about the US economy thats supporting their welfare system?

BTW this article puts to rest the dire predictions of mass carnage on the streets as the so called Assault Weapons ban died over a year ago. Remember how it was supposed to be? Cops would be outgunned and mowed down on the beat by gang bangers toting Ak-47's!

I would wager the reason crime is down and drug arrests are up has more to do with the assload of money being spent on law enforcement. Tiny police depts getting Homeland Security grants to buy nightvision goggles. To do what with you might ask, perhaps catch terrorists plotting death and destruction? No how about sitting in parking lots trying to catch people not wearing their seatbelts. On my way home in my little city of 20,000 I counted 3 cops in parking lots with their radar guns on. Common fella's get a life will ya? Almost every day I see the same cop sitting in a parking lot under a tree where the speed limit drops from 45 to 35. Then at 2:30 the little yellow lights come on because its a school zone and the limit is 25. Never mind the fact its a PRE-SCHOOL! Anybody that lets a preschooler walk to school should be the one arrested so whats the need here? My favorite though was last year during spring break when he was there writing tickets at 2:30 cause the little yellow lights were still coming on. Now I know these guys have a shitty thankless job but damn this really is a small city and they are certainly not winning hearts and minds of the local populace pulling that kind of shit.

It is funny that the State Police seem to be running in short supply and do not have the time to write tickets on the highway because they have real crimes to tend to. But here we are in the city up to our ears in cops with radar guns. Things that make you go hmmm. I would get started on the money squandered on this D.A.R.E bullshit but I think I will savor that for another post.

Much assclownery afoot I sense

I felt a disturbance in the Force. As if thousands of assclowns had gathered together. I went online to see what it could have been and found this Assclowns . Wow Farrakhan, Jackson and Sharpton all in one place. Its funny in all the rambling there was one theme I thought was good. It was the black Americans need to clean up their neighborhood and take responsibility for their actions. Of course then they had to dick it all up by bitching about the Federal response to Katrina. So much for personal responsibility eh Louis? Personally I think the Nation of Islam should be added to the list of Terrorist groups.

Speaking of which a completely different group of assclowns descended on Ohio Here. Looks like the Nazi's didn't even manage to march before all hell broke loose. I saw the live footage and was very impressed with the counterprotesters. Well that is if they were trying to prove the Nazi's right.

Organizers of the march said they were demonstrating against black gangs they said were harassing white residents in the neighbourhood.

Well good job crowd. The Nazi's were there to protest "black crime" and it resulted in more black crime. I do not have any love of Nazi's but it would seem they were not the ones breaking the law and acting like idiots. Granted they were there to cause a scene and looks like they got it.

Much of the anger boiled over because people were upset that city leaders were willing to allow the supremacists to walk through the neighborhood and shout insults, residents and authorities said.

Yeah well thats called the 1st amendment. Its in the Bill of Rights you guys should try reading it. Maybe there is a Dummies Guide to it somewhere. Even assclowns have First Amendment rights or else how would ole Louis say things like..

"I heard from a very reliable source who saw a 25-foot deep crater under the levee breach," Farrakhan said. "It may have been blown up to destroy the black part of town and keep the white part dry."

Uh huh I see, was that reliable source one of those guys I saw on CNN packing off a plasma screen tv?

9/11/2001

I posted this on a forum a few years ago but will share it here:

I was in bed when the first plane hit, I had just finished my 3 day rotation of 12 hour shifts at the EMS. My wife was up and getting ready to go to work and turned on the Today show right after the first plane hit. She came in and woke me up to see what was going on. I was still a little dazed when I stumbled in just in time to see the the second plane hit. When I saw the size of the plane I knew right away we were under attack. I had read Tom Clancy's book and wondered if the White House would be next. I had 2 TVs at the time in the living room so I had 1 on FOX and the other on CNN. I called work to see if they needed me to come in (they didn't). Belinda left for work and I just sat at the computer reading different sites including Cinemayhem.com (before the days of bhd93.com), Fire-EMS.net, and SOCNET. I watched as the first tower came down and thats when the first tear rolled down my cheek. It didnt take me long to calculate how far the debri field would go and where I thought the Triage and Incident Command post had been. I had no idea how many were actually in the building at the time all I could think of was those at the triage center trying to help the wounded. I knew they were under it just doing what we do everyday. I felt really useless and wished I was at work doing something constructive. Dad pulled up just after the 2nd tower came down. Dads a Vietnam vet and doesnt do or show emotions very well most of the time. He came in and just wanted to make sure I knew what was going on and said he was glad I wasn't at work. He started crying and told me he loved me and left. I had to go to my Math 151 class that afternoon but I doubt I heard anything that was said. Mostly I just sat and turned my pager over and over in my hand hoping they wanted me to come in and do something, anything really.

The following is not a paid endorsement by Barnett Int.

So little brother...I wonder if it bothers him that I refer to his 6'4" ass as little brother still...was over and wanted to check out my crossbow. I used it to kill a doe last year. I hit her in the right chest as she spun around. The crossbow has a pretty loud thwang so I suppose it spooked her. The bolt actually traveled through her length wise and exited her left pelvis before traveling another 40-50 yards. The crossbow is a Barnett revolution XS. Draw weight is 160lbs and it shoot at 340 FPS. I set up the target behind the garage and showed him how it worked. I hit about 2 inches low of dead center at 30 yards and then let him have a go at it. Here is the result. The concrete blocks actually go up 3 high. The bolt drove itself into the block about 3 inches. I would love to know what kind of foot lbs it had going into that block.

You call that a steak?

You know every time I attempt to get a steak in a restaurant somebody has to dick it up. Tumbleweed seems to go above and beyond to screw up my meal. About six months ago I went with the wife and some friends for a meal. I really wanted a steak so I went all out and ordered the "TEXAS T-BONE (18 oz. PORTERHOUSE)". When the girl brought it out as soon as it hit the table I knew I had been screwed. So I said to the clueless girl "This is not a porterhouse.". I even tried to explain to the girl what makes a porterhouse different from a T-bone. If you don't know try this T-Bone and Porterhouse . I was nice I think. So the girl scurries off to the kitchen and comes back to report that the cook said its a Porterhouse. Okay I just explained to your dumbass what the difference is and you could clearly see that this particular piece of meat is missing some parts. So I tell the girl (still nicely) that used to work in a grocery particularly the butcher shop so I think I know my way around cow parts. Eric is getting amused now cause its dinner and a show.Away she goes so I cut into the overpriced piece of meat and low and behold the damn cook comes out dirty apron and all. Guy doesn't look like he knows his way around a Big Mac much less complicated cow parts. The cook informs me that yes indeed this is a porterhouse, so I explain to clueless idiot number 2 what makes a porterhouse. Having enough sense to realize in a battle of wits that he is unarmed he concedes, "This is what Tumbleweed calls a porterhouse". Well bubba that’s what is known as false advertising. Hells why not just totally screw me over and bring me a chopped steak. At this point Eric is getting pretty tickled.At this point you would think the waitress would realize I am not happy and the least she could do is keep my glass filled up. I have after all so far been nice but oh hell no the girl must have gone to lunch or something. So now as they always do the manager comes by to ask how it was even though its too late to do anything about it. The wife is shaking her head at me and mouthing no but we are in it this deep its round 3 baby. So I tell what I told nimrod 1 and 2. Suddenly here is the cook again saying he did indeed cook me a Porterhouse. Well thanks for your expert testimony fuckstick. Eric is now choking on something but I am too busy to help, can't you see I am giving an in-service! Asked what she can do to make it right I tell her she could charge me for a T-bone since that’s what they served me. "Gosh we don't have a regular T-bone on the menu".... of course you don't.... so you she knocked some off the price of my steak and finally we can get the hell out of here.

M.A.D.D. has gone...well stark raving mad

A few snippets for you:

"MADD is also pushing its agenda onto family laws, including a zero tolerance policy for divorced parents. Under the bills MADD is trying to push through state legislatures, a parent caught consuming one beer or glass of wine before driving could face penalties that, according to MADD, "should include, but are not limited to" — "incarceration," "change of primary custody," or "termination of parental rights." This means that if you take your kid to the game, have a beer in the third inning, then drive home, you could very well lose your rights as a father.

Even MADD's founder, Candy Lightner, has lamented that the organization has grown neo-prohibitionist in nature.

"[MADD has] become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned ...," Lightner is quoted as saying in an Aug. 6 story in the Washington Times. "I didn't start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving," she said.

Unfortunately, the tax-exempt organization has become so enmeshed with government it has nearly become a formal government agency. MADD gets millions of dollars in federal and state funding, and has a quasi-official relationship with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In some jurisdictions, DWI defendants are sentenced to attend and pay for alcoholic-recovery groups sponsored by MADD. In many cities, MADD officials are even allowed to man sobriety checkpoints alongside police."

Well I don't know about you but I think the next time someone hits me up for a donation to M.A.D.D. I'm goin to have to politely tell them to fuck off. How in the hell did this group start getting tax dollars?

Avian bird flu more questions than answers.

I have been keeping up with the daily news updates on the H5N1 Avian Influenza. A report came out in the Times online Here that doesn't really suprise me but causes me great concern. It only natural with such a rapidly changing virus that it would evolve to overcome Tamiflu eventually but that sure was quick.

My thoughts the other night at work were of concern for myself and my coworkers. I remember the lunacy of the media driven SARS invasion of the ER's. It didn't take long for us and our suppliers to run out of the N95 masks. I wondered aloud if the same would happen. Now today I read this snippet from Here

"For example, health workers would need to wear special masks, known as N-95 masks, to prevent infection while treating patients. Two U.S. companies produce 90 percent of the world's supply and "we'll run out overnight," Osterholm said."

Perhaps I should start stockpiling them in my locker for the winter rush of fucksticks who are convinced they have the bird flu based on what they read on WebMD and must be admitted to the ICU.

Oklahoma suicide bomber

As usual the media has dropped the ball on covering an important story but luckily lots of coverage on the Blogosphere.

Michelle Malkin has a good list of links Here

To say this case has disturbing potential is an understatement. The Dean is playing down the possibility that this could have anything to do with the bomber rooming with a Pakistani Muslim and hanging around a local mosque. We wouldnt want to offend any muslims of course. Funny how when something gets the muslims panties in a bunch it doesnt take long for them to agree to put out a statement condemning the offense. Sure took them a long time to condemn the attacks of 9-11 though didn't it?

Froggy Ruminations: Katrina/Rita After Action Report

A great comparison of how things went in NO with Katrina and in Texas with Rita. Some will defend NO in saying that Texas got more people to leave because of what they saw happen in NO. That may well be true but the plans that Texas has in place have been there because they were capable of learning from past lessons. I guess what NO has learned is that eventually the Feds will show up to clean up their mess.

Link Here

What is thy bidding, my master?

Well here it is a place to shine the light of common sense on the assclowns of the world. If you are easily offended obviously you do not need to be here. I have no problem throwing the bullshit flag on the field when I see it and there are no sacred cows. Anyone that knows me will tell you I am nothing if not opinionated and will readily give you my opinion on just about anything. I do not fit well into any mold. For some reason when I disagree with the Republican Party line right-wingers want to call me a liberal. Apparently a great deal of neither party’s membership is capable of thinking for itself.

I think we need to split the party into Conservatives (those that hate waste) and the Social Conservatives (lets just call them Socialists for short). We can split the Dems into the Liberal Assclowns and then have a whole party for Jesse Jackson called “Where’s my Govt check”?

Well now we are off to a good start.