Burkhart's Blog

Images From Memphis Flood

2011-04-27T21:43:00.001-05:00

My new job has me in Memphis, TN every other day. I was there Monday and today (Wednesday) and shot a few pics of the nasty weather and its aftermath.

This was a super cell that hit about 12:30 pm last Monday. I was parked outside the Coca Cola plant waiting to deliver. The folks ushered me inside to the storm shelter when the tornado sirens went off.

Today (Wednesday) I crossed the MS River into West Memphis, AR to reload. West Memphis had been hammered the night before and much of the town was still without power.

Power line repair en route to my reload.

Flooding along I-40 and I-55 in Arkansas

Access road flooded next to I-55

Lots of downed trees around town

Poor little forlorn fire hydrant…

Politics and Character

2011-03-10T13:02:00.001-05:00

As of this writing, Wisconsin Democrats are still hiding out in Illinois in an attempt to block a vote on a bill to curtail the collective bargaining rights (privileges?) of state employees. Predictably, the rhetoric continues to fly.

Wisconsin Senate Democratic leader Mark Miller said Wednesday Democrats will "join the people of Wisconsin in taking back their government," but he refused to say when.

- - FoxNews / AP

If Miller wishes to “join the people of Wisconsin,” he can start by returning to work and doing the job he was elected to do. He can face the fact that his party is in the minority, and by extension the people who voted for him and his party are also in the minority.

The Wisconsin Republicans have made attempts to negotiate with the Democrats on the public sector union issue. They’ve offered to compromise. But with the Democrats stubbornly refusing to show up to work, the Republicans took the next step. They separated the union legislation from the budget bill and voted 18-1 to approve it. Now of course the Democrats are crying foul. Like they always do when forced to deal with the consequences of their actions. Like all bratty children do when they don’t get their way.

I'm 53 years old and have no memory of Republicans fleeing a capitol like cockroaches under a spotlight (feel free to correct me if you know of such an occurrence). The Democrats have done so 3 times in recent years. First in Texas a few years ago (they scurried away to Oklahoma), and now Indiana and Wisconsin.

Here's where character comes into play: When faced with adversity, people of strong character continue to push forward. This can be something as simple as you or I going to work in spite of a really bad case of hay fever. In the case of the Wisconsin Democrats, it's a matter of doing the job they were elected to do in spite of being in the minority. That job is to contribute to and vote upon legislation in a manner consistent with the will of those who elected them. Instead, the Democrats have behaved like a little boy who takes his football and runs home because he can't be quarterback. Maturity is part and parcel of strong character.

The Wisconsin Democrats are currently in the minority because that's where Wisconsin voters put them. By running away to Illinois, they have bastardized the democratic process by refusing to be a part of it. This is a perfect example of how endemic poor character is to the Democrat Party specifically and to the left in general. Rather than work within the rules and preserve the integrity of the process, they've run away like a bunch of spoiled children until they can get their way.

All the while, principled Republicans are standing up for the people who put them in office. They're doing the job they were elected to do. And, the Republicans did so in the past when they were in the minority. They do so now in the U.S. Senate where they are still the minority party.

The Republicans have their shortcomings. They're human and therefore imperfect. More than one Republican has slipped and fallen, and more often than not paid the price for whatever indiscretion he or she committed. But they're doing their level best to address the fiscal crisis besetting this nation while the Wisconsin Democrats hide outside the borders of the state that employs them.

The Republicans seem to have learned from the mistakes that got them pushed into the minority a few years ago. Call me a partisan if you wish, but current events are what they are. Should the Republicans start waffling and backpedalling on fiscal issues, I’ll be among the first to plow into them about it. But right now, they are the ones taking up the cause of repairing our economy. They are the ones making the tough choices and at least trying to right the ship. Give them credit where credit is due.

The Democrats, in Wisconsin and elsewhere, still haven’t learned those lessons. Such principles as fiscal responsibility and self-reliance are alien to the collectivists on the left. And that’s why, whether they like it or not, they’re now in the minority and likely to stay there for years to come.

Related Reading:

Wisconsin Senate GOP Votes to Strip State Workers of Collective Bargaining Rights

Image Credits:

ObamaCare: My 90 Year-Old Mom Kicked Out of the Hospital

2011-02-21T13:13:00.001-05:00

For those of you who still think ObamaCare is a good idea, here’s how it’s affecting my family at the very moment I’m writing this…

My 90 year-old mother has taken ill. High fever (103), throwing up, weakness, spasmodic cough and significant respiratory issues. Her neighbor took her to the ER. The doctor says that "due to the changes in Medicare under ObamaCare" (the doctor's own words) he could not admit her into the hospital, even though he thought she should be admitted.

Kicked out of the hospital, even though she’s also a heart patient. Kicked out of the hospital, even though she runs a risk of developing pneumonia.

Would anyone like to try convincing me at this point that the rumors of death panels within ObamaCare are false? Before the new rules took effect, she'd have been admitted without question. We're getting a nurse to stay with her so that (hopefully) she gets proper care.

Those of you who pray, please pray for my mom.

UPDATE 6:00 PM / Feb 21…

The ER doc correctly interpreted the rules. Mom didn't "meet the Medicare criteria" for a hospital overnighter. 103 degree fever, violent coughing, nausea, AND a heart condition. No clue how sick one has to be to qualify.

My older bro & sister in-law are staying there 2nite. A Visiting Nurse will then stay 3 nights. She will be examined and treated as needed. She's stable and feels slightly better but very weak. Taking meds for symptoms and antibiotics.

Thanks to everyone at Free Republic and FaceBook for many kind words.

Natural Selection: Can The Postal Service Escape Extinction?

2011-01-18T18:10:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

The US Postal Service has been bleeding money for a number of years and revenue shortfalls are in the billions. While no one I know is predicting immediate collapse, the obvious fact is that the Postal Service is becoming outmoded. Why would I bother with "snail-mail" when I can just send an e-mail and know that the recipient will have the correspondence within seconds instead of one to three days?

From what I've seen, most younger people use the Postal Service far less than older Americans. I'm no spring chicken, but I pay all of my regular bills electronically. I've bought postage once in two years. With FedEx, UPS and of course e-mail chomping up larger and larger chunks of the Postal Service's customer base, how much longer can it be before it is rendered extinct?

Revenue is declining, and the USPS is up to its knees in red ink. In a recent article regarding new Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, the Washington Times stated:

He takes over an agency in the midst of its worst ever financial crisis. The organization faces multibillion-dollar deficits, declining mail volume and a looming $5.5 billion bill due by the end of the year to prefund retiree health benefits that the Postal Service can't afford to pay.

Though Mr. Donahoe took the oath of office last week, he's been acting in the position for weeks following the resignation of former Postmaster General John Potter. Mr. Donahoe recently announced a move to cut 7,500 administrative positions, including 2,000 postmasters nationwide.

Free market economies function according to the laws of Natural Selection. As time passes and the economic environment changes, the economy sheds that which is no longer of benefit. If an industry can evolve and adjust to its changing environment, the industry survives. If it cannot evolve, then like the dinosaur it is eventually rendered extinct (absent a government bailout of course). The Postal Service may unfortunately be unable to adjust in the long term. Ever-increasing costs, a large part of which is rooted in generous pension and health care plans, are slowly pushing the Postal Service toward insolvency.

Also contributing to this is the fact that younger people tend to depend upon the Postal Service less than older generations. There are still millions of older Americans who have never touched a computer, and as such still use the Postal Service for much of their correspondence. But even some of these folks use snail mail less than they did in years past. My mother is pushing 90, but she's learned to appreciate the convenience of using auto-pay for her monthly bills. She likes the fact that she doesn't have to buy "those expensive stamps" or worry over forgetting to pay a bill. These options serve her better than using the Postal Service, so she "naturally selected" the better option.

In a USA Today article from last year, a USA Today / Gallup poll asked respondents how many of them had not sent a letter or paid a bill via the Postal Service in the previous two weeks. The results bear out the trend mentioned above.

While these numbers are not catastrophic, they do show a definite connection between age and usage of the Postal Service. As older generations die off, it's a good bet that the Untied States Postal Service will die with them. The Postal Service does not depend on tax revenue. But as it declines in future years, it is reasonable to expect that the federal government will prop it up with tax dollars for a time. As usage nears the zero mark, it's likely that the Postal Service will be allowed to die a quiet death.

This would not be the end of related taxpayer expense, however. Taxpayers would still be expected to fund the retirement benefits of former postal workers until all of them have died. I cannot begin to estimate the overall cost of such an undertaking (I know, bad pun), but I'd be willing to guess that costs would reach somewhere into the tens of billions overall.

Consider this bit from the Kansas City infoZine from December, 2010:

First-Class Mail volume continues to decline, with year-over-year declines of 6.6 percent in 2010, 8.6 percent in 2009, and 4.8 percent in 2008. This trend is particularly disturbing as First-Class Mail, the most profitable product, generates more than half of total revenue. Volume for Standard Mail showed improvement during the year, reflecting some signs of economic recovery in late 2010, but, in total, was flat in 2010, compared to 2009.

In its report on the financial statements contained in the Postal Service’s 2010 report, independent auditor Ernst & Young is expected to issue an unqualified audit opinion that will emphasize that questions remain about the ability of the Postal Service to generate sufficient liquidity to make all of its future payments, including the $5.5 billion [Retiree Health Benefits] pre-funding payment due on the last day of fiscal year 2011.

Not a pretty picture. It's possible of course that someday one of its competitors may buy the remaining assets and operate it profitably. But I wouldn't bet on it. Like the dinosaur, the wooly mammoth and the honest politician, it's likely the local post office will someday vanish from the American landscape.

Discussion of this post at: FreeRepublic.com

Sources:

Photo Credits:

Original T-Rex in front of building (used in composite image)
Postal Truck (used in composite image)
Post Office sign (used in composite image)
Oregon Post Office
Polling data for graph image pulled from USA Today/Gallup (see source link)

My Way, Dammit

2010-11-28T15:18:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

America has become politically polarized to a degree I never thought I'd see. We've reached a point where the old "Us versus Them" attitude between the political left and right is nearing open warfare. Whether it's one of the New Black Panthers intimidating potential Republican voters at the polls or a Tea Partier putting his foot on the neck of a counter-protester, the signs are obvious: America is becoming a dangerous place.

We've labeled and categorized ourselves and each other. We've divided ourselves into inimical groups and occupy ourselves with hateful and fruitless pursuits, each group trying to discredit the other. We are no longer just citizens with differing opinions. We are a nation of mindless ideologues, each of us intent upon shouting down anyone else who might have a different opinion. People show up at protests with little idea of the hard facts (if any exist) regarding what they're protesting. And read the comments following op/eds on websites that support comments. The utter ignorance and hate (and poor spelling / grammar) are disheartening to say the least.

The politically active among us were once all considered to be "concerned Americans." Nowadays we are tea baggers, enviro-nazis, birthers, gay liberators, gay bashers, femmies, etc. We're divided along ethnic lines as well. African-American, Latino, Native-American, the list is endless. Divided into so many different factions, it becomes impossible to have a national identity. We are becoming a land of tribes, not a nation of one people.

A few years ago when I was still writing my weekly column, I caught hell any time I dared to write a balanced piece. It was the same thing every time: The hard righties accused me of being an evil liberal. The hard lefties accused me of being some kind of neo-Nazi. I stopped writing regularly because I grew weary of being expected to choose which choir I'd preach to.

In case no one has noticed, America's problems are not being solved. They're getting worse. While (mostly) well-meaning Americans continue to box themselves into smaller and smaller factions, the country continues to spiral down the drain. Both Barack Obama and George W. Bush claimed to be "uniters and not dividers." Both failed miserably as the people continued to move farther apart. The incoming Republicans have made the usual promises. I expect the usual results.

What happened to our willingness to work out our differences and seek solutions? Why do we insist upon an all-or-nothing approach to problem solving that can only lead to the exacerbation of our troubles? If I may be blunt, why have we become pig-headed to the point that we behave like a pack of brainless dupes? Are we all destined to become like the junior-grade Nazis from Westboro Church?

I can't provide a definitive answer. I can only offer my always-humble opinion based upon what I see.

I see a nation of grossly uninformed people, of all political stripes, dissatisfied with the state of the nation. And those people, as per human nature, look to their leaders for solutions. But the leaders by and large have no real solutions. What they do have is a desire to attain / retain a place of power while feeding their respective followers a steady stream of unadulterated bullshit to keep them happy. With few exceptions, we are not served by those we place in power above us.

And of course, there are those who flood the print media, the airwaves and the Internet with their opinions (yeah, I know this sentence makes me a hypocrite – sue me). Opinionators ranging from Ed Schultz to Rush Limbaugh constantly spew a stream of "My way or the highway" rhetoric that leaves little room for compromise. Limbaugh of course loves to point out that one gets run over when he stands in the middle of the road. And we all know what happens to your rhetorical nether regions if you straddle the political fence.

But the concept of a political road or fence is part of the problem. It's the first divider in the vast container that day by day grows more complex. Each side of the divider contains yet more divisions, separating us by race, political party and religious beliefs. We are then further separated by beliefs on individual issues, which leads many people to become single-issue voters who consistently fail to look at the larger picture when selecting a candidate for public office.

It's both natural and harmless for like-minded people to gather together and form groups working toward common goals. But such gatherings fail when they descend into absolutism. We must never lose sight of the fact that most everything is a matter of degree. When we isolate ourselves from other groups we lose the ability to reach out to those groups and seek common solutions. We instead end up at loggerheads and accomplish nothing.

The problem of course isn't limited to private citizens. Imagine if Republicans and Democrats had actually worked together to create a common-sense solution to the problems we face with the delivery of health care. A reasonably simple system of delivery with elements of both private and public sector involvement is eminently possible (something better than the equally nightmarish Medicare/Medicaid systems). But the party in power ignored all contrary opinion and created a regulatory nightmare that most Americans believe will only make things worse. Anyone surprised by this has obviously never seen our federal tax code in printed form. It probably weighs more than my car.

We as a people must swallow our misplaced pride and disavow our misguided loyalties and again learn how to work together. Our loyalties should rest with our nation as a whole, not to some group formed in your neighbor's garage over beer and pretzels. The guide to how those loyalties should be applied is found solely in the Constitution of the United States. Our current political and cultural tug of war will only result in finally breaking the rope, leaving the lot of us sitting on our backsides wondering how it could have happened to us.

Of course, the first compromises necessary would be the goals themselves. Imagine a town divided into two groups: One wishes to paint the courthouse black, the other insists it be painted white. As they dig in their heels and shout each other down, the old paint on the courthouse continues to peel. Finally someone looks up and sees the old building sitting there looking dilapidated and wonders how it ever reached such a state. If only, that one sensible person realizes, we'd just agreed on a different color.

Shall we join together as Americans and solve our problems, or shall we indulge our egos and allow the greatest nation in planetary history to crumble into mediocrity? The clock is ticking, the paint is peeling, and we have scant little time left to us to stop our bickering and behave responsibly. Stop waiting for someone else to blink and let's fix what's broken.

Matthew 12:25
And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand...

[Canadian author] Hugh MacLennan
The trouble with this whole country is that it's divided up into little puddles with big fish in each one of them.

Winston Churchill
If we are together nothing is impossible, and if we are divided all will fail.

We Won. Now What?

2010-11-03T21:30:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Everyone knows what our country's central problem is: Money. Or the lack thereof. The American rank and file is beset with foreclosures, bankruptcies, and a general lack of disposable funds. Our currency is nearly worthless and we have a federal government that's more determined than ever to tax away the lion's share of what funds we have left.

Unreasonable environmental regulations, miles of red tape, poor oversight and the worst tax code on the planet have all played a role in us being where we are. Throw some good old-fashioned job outsourcing and corporate corruption into the mix and it becomes a problem of Godzillian proportion.

We've all heard the promises of Republicans regarding fiscal reform. And we all know how well politicians keep their campaign promises. I am not terribly optimistic. Right now we have the ability to stonewall anything else the left tries to push through. That's a start, but there is much more to be done. And no one can guarantee that the Republicans will get it done. It will be necessary to ride herd on them for as long as they're in power. Otherwise, the party will go back to the same old big-spending nonsense that got them booted out of power before.

Allow me to be blunt: Right now I don't give a damn about "family values" or "moral compasses" or any of the rest of the "moral conservative" talking points. I could not care less about any given politician's religious views or whether he or she practiced witchcraft as a teenager. I don't care about gay marriage. I don't care if a 55 year-old politician smoked pot when he was in his thirties. Or if he smoked it yesterday. What I care about is responsible fiscal policy that allows America's economic engine to function at peak efficiency.

If this country is to avoid going down the drain it's presently circling, Washington must get the money back into the hands of the people where it belongs. And they can best do that not by passing yet more laws, but by repealing the laws that created the problems to begin with.

How hard will it be to repeal harmful legislation (ObamaCare comes to mind) with a Democrat-controlled Senate and a full-blown Socialist in the White House? Give yourself an A+ if you guessed "next-to-impossible." We have taken a step in the (no pun intended) right direction. But do not delude yourselves into thinking that all is well on Capitol Hill. Until fiscal conservatism becomes the norm in Washington, our problems will continue.

And, it's completely reasonable to think that we'll still have at least most of our problems when election time rolls around again in 2012. Why? As I said above, because the left is still in control of the Senate and the White House. The Republicans, if they have the stones to do so, can prevent any new bad legislation from passing. But this requires that the Bush-era "go along to get along" modus operandi is no longer followed within the Republican party. And, the Republicans themselves must not write any legislation that increases spending. Dollar for dollar, government spending must decrease. Some of us will get hurt in the short term, but it's always the best medicine that tastes the worst.

Any legislation that increases government spending or broadens the bureaucracy must not be allowed to reach Obama's desk. If the Republicans fail this task, then they have failed utterly.

Fighting Fires

2010-10-18T15:56:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

In modern-day America one of the things most of us take for granted is the ability to punch "9-1-1" on any phone and instantly call for help during an emergency. Be it a burglar, a heart attack or a fire, help can be on the way in short order.

We all know that medical professionals attend school for years to be able to do what they do. We know that law enforcement requires rigorous training to do the often dangerous work of patrolling our streets and helping us stay safe. But have you ever wondered just what a fire fighter endures to become certified? How much work and study must one accomplish before being allowed to run into a burning house to drag your unconscious form to safety?

In Mississippi this starts with 40 hours of classroom training. And assuming you get through that, then the real fun begins when you visit the Fire Academy.

I have a good friend who is a 12-year veteran of "Fire Station Seven" near Magee, MS. He recently shared with me some great photos from a training day at the Mississippi State Fire Academy in Pearl, MS. Many attendees (from Station 7 and other stations) were there for their first certification. Others like my buddy (name withheld for his privacy – just call him “D”) were there for required periodic recertification. Here then, is a sample of what a fire fighter goes through just for the privilege of saving your home, and perhaps your life.

A Day at the Academy…

D getting suited up for the recertification exercises

On average a fire fighter’s gear weighs 60 to 70 pounds. It’s of prime importance for a fire fighter to be able to quickly suit up and to be agile while wearing it. The gear is heavy, bulky and often uncomfortable. Imagine wearing all this stuff in an environment where temperatures can approach 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

The first pictured exercise is called a "platform fire." The area is covered with diesel fuel and set ablaze. The intent here is to simulate fires at oil wells, refineries, etc.

SUCCESS!

It gets even more interesting when fighting a natural gas fire.

In the above image, you can see a small propane tank in the foreground. Closer to the fire, there’s a small torch propped up on a concrete block. Once the torch is lit, a gas valve beneath the big metal box is opened and the gas is allowed to accumulate. When it finally reaches the torch the gas ignites with explosive force. This is done with the fire fighters nearby so they can see and feel the explosion. The device with the gas valve is barely visible in the flames. The above image was shot at the instant of ignition.

Look at the heat waves rolling off the box. Got marshmallows?

So… Just how does one put out a natural gas fire in a house when there’s an open valve spewing gas into the air? That’s a little tricky. See, someone has to actually reach out and close the valve. Any volunteers?

To accomplish this small task, fire fighters employ a “fog pattern” with their hoses. They slowly approach the fire two or three abreast and use the wide (but still powerful) fog pattern from multiple hoses to push the fire back from the valve. Once the valve is accessible, some lucky guy gets to crawl beneath the box and close the valve. The crawling around in the training exercise is intended to simulate the act of reaching behind a machine or appliance to reach a valve in a “real” fire (as if this isn’t real enough). Did I mention that the valve can still be hot enough to burn their gloves?

Anyone for a steam bath?

Regarding the fog pattern…

The modern nozzles on fire hoses provide a variety of options for most any situation. The fog pattern as shown above is just one. A “power cone” is another hollow cone of water but narrower and far more powerful. It’s often used inside buildings to sweep objects out of the way to provide access to the fire. It’s also used to sweep leaking fuel and debris from under burning vehicles. The pictured nozzle is a “TurboJet" Model 1763” from Akron Brass. It’s typical of the nozzles used at Station Seven and other fire stations around the country.

The flow from this nozzle can reach 200 gallons per minute. I’m not a fire fighter, but I’m guessing you’d want to use both hands.

One of the perks of being a fire fighter is that you get to jump off buildings. Here’s a series of photos of D and another fire fighter rappelling off a training structure.

What? Did you think only men were fire fighters? According to 2007 US Census information there are about 14,000 female firefighters in the USA. Hats off, ladies. You’re braver than I.

At least during training you get to land on this monster air mattress.

When others run out, they run in…

Think about this for a moment – would you enter a burning building? Really?

Consider what awaits you inside. It’s not an oven. It’s a blast furnace. Without the protective gear you’d be cooked alive in seconds. The air tanks fire fighters wear supply breathable oxygen for about half an hour. During a visit to D’s home some weeks back, he showed me an old visor he doesn’t use anymore. He had to replace it because it had partially melted – while he was wearing it.

And in many cases you’re blind. The thick smoke and distorted air make seeing anything nearly impossible. And yet when people are trapped inside they have to find them and get them to safety. D tells me that in many cases, by the time you can see the glow of the fire through the smoke, it’s close enough to burn your shoes. This is another situation where the fog pattern is vital. It’s how they force the fire back until they can see it well enough to deal with it.

In many of the training exercises, fire fighters are made to crawl through a simulation (I’m told it’s not actually on fire) complete with overturned furniture, wires hanging from the ceiling to the floor, sudden drop-offs and various other hazards. And to better simulate the visual aspect of a real fire, often the fire fighters have their visors taped over. They’re totally blind. And you have three minutes to find a “victim” (usually a life-size dummy) and get out. Yeah. Go try that and let me know how it goes.

At the end of the day…

Just another day at the office, right?

Keep in mind that the vast majority of fire departments and fire fighters are volunteer. Small towns cannot afford paid fire departments. Volunteer fire departments have three main sources of financial support: Unsolicited donations, fund raising efforts and modest government grants. Volunteer fire fighters don’t get a dime for what they do. This is by no means a knock on paid fire fighters, but consider the commitment necessary to walk into a burning home when you could just as easily ignore the radio on any given day.

Volunteer fire fighters are the people you see on the street every day. Plumbers, truck drivers, factory workers, etc. Ordinary people performing an extraordinary service for their communities. Thank one when you have the opportunity.

Photo Credits:

Images from MS Academy: Thanks to my buddy “D”
Fire Fighting Nozzle: Akron Brass Company (.pdf)
Burning House: Momboleum’s Flicker Page
Creative Commons License (Momboleum’s Image)

Sources:

Related Reading

Thanks:

To Akron Brass Company for letting me use the nozzle image.

Tires and Train Wheels

2010-10-01T22:32:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Since getting laid off in July, I’ve been taking pretty much whatever work I can scrounge up from one week to the next. It hasn’t been all bad. While full-time positions are scarce, there’s always someone who just “needs something done.” I’m not especially proud, so I can keep the bills paid and the lights on.

I’ve done a bit of work for a guy who buys and sells all manner of used equipment (cars, trucks, construction machinery, etc). Since I’m a “professional” driver, I pick up various vehicles at auctions around the Southeast and bring’em back to his business in Mississippi. The pay is pretty good, and usually whatever I’m driving is a decent ride. Usually.

The other day I rode with another driver to Charlotte, NC to pick up a “crane truck.” It’s an old railroad construction vehicle with a small crane and a “man bucket” like those used by utility companies to lift a line technician up to a power line. The truck also has small railroad wheels underneath. These are lowered hydraulically to allow the truck to travel on the railroads just like a train.

So there I was, tooling along I-20 through Tuscaloosa, AL. The MS state line was only 71 miles away. It was early afternoon and I was already thinking about what I was going to fix myself for dinner when I got home. Then all hell broke loose.

The tires had good tread, but the truck had been sitting a long time so dry rot was a factor. All involved felt the old girl would make it home and I wasn’t terribly worried about the tires. The right steering tire blew. It’s always an adventure when this happens with a truck, but in this case it was even more interesting. When the right side lost height due to the blowout, the railroad wheels on that side bit solidly into the asphalt, making the truck almost impossible to steer.

The truck was doing its damndest to rumble off into the steep, 75-foot ditch along this section of I-20 (just west of exit #71, if you’re familiar with Tuscaloosa). I had to turn the wheel a full turn to the left just to keep it straight. I-20 is a fast and busy highway through Tuscaloosa. The speed limit is 70 mph and most folks roll along about 75 or 80.

Funny thing… when I finally got stopped in the breakdown lane, NO ONE was going by me. The whole westbound side just stopped, evidently for fear that the truck was going to spin around to the left due to how I had twisted the steering wheel to hold it straight. Once I was stationary, people started easing on by and in short order all was back to a normal level of mayhem.

Anyway, I got the old ~~bitch~~ girl off the road and into the breakdown lane. The equipment dealer I was working for is a helpful and concerned sort of guy, but in spite of his best efforts it still took 2 hours until a service truck arrived with another tire. Then three and half more hours until I arrived at the equipment dealer’s sale lot. Then a 40 minute drive home. And here I sit, with a cold glass of my own iced tea and relaxing in my comfy “executive” leather office chair. Home never felt so good. :-)

What Drove James Lee?

2010-09-02T16:59:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

On Wednesday, September 1 James Jay Lee stormed into the Discovery Channel’s office and took several hostages. He had a long list of grievances, most related to the human population and the environment. His rhetoric made him sound more like a real-life Kodos the Executioner than an environmental activist. To put it mildly, Lee was a man with an ax to grind. People will argue for months as to whether the guy was a leftist or a rightey, and it's a good bet that neither side will be willing to say, "Yeah, he was one of us." Who'd want to?

Lee's principal complaints center around the positive population growth of the human race. Some of those complaints seem left-leaning while others resemble arguments made from the right. Here are a couple of excerpts from his Internet manifesto:

5. Immigration: Programs must be developed to find solutions to stopping ALL immigration pollution and the anchor baby filth that follows that. Find solutions to stopping it. Call for people in the world to develop solutions to stop it completely and permanently. Find solutions FOR these countries so they stop sending their breeding populations to the US and the world to seek jobs and therefore breed more unwanted pollution babies. FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THEM TO STOP THEIR HUMAN GROWTH AND THE EXPORTATION OF THAT DISGUSTING FILTH! (The first world is feeding the population growth of the Third World and those human families are going to where the food is! They must stop procreating new humans looking for nonexistant jobs!)

Never mind the spelling errors and bigotry. In his own words, he regarded humanity as a form of "filth" and "pollution." While firm immigration control is generally the province of the Right, population control is normally an idea that floats in from the Left.

6. Find solutions for Global Warming, Automotive pollution, International Trade, factory pollution, and the whole blasted human economy. Find ways so that people don't build more housing pollution which destroys the environment to make way for more human filth! Find solutions so that people stop breeding as well as stopping using Oil in order to REVERSE Global warming and the destruction of the planet!

In item #6 he demanded "solutions" for human-caused global warming. While most of his extremist views are somewhat aligned with fringe-left environmental fear mongering, I don't see Mr. Lee as a leftist in the purest sense. I believe he was instead a man consumed with hatred for humanity. Mainstream liberal environmentalists seek ways to make the Earth safer for all life, including humans. I often disagree with their ideas and tactics, but for the most part they are well-intentioned.

Lee's feelings toward humanity are best summed up from this final excerpt:
The world needs TV shows that DEVELOP solutions to the problems that humans are causing, not stupify the people into destroying the world. Not encouraging them to breed more environmentally harmful humans.

Saving the environment and the remaning species diversity of the planet is now your mindset. Nothing is more important than saving them. The Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies, Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Bears, and, of course, the Squirrels.

The humans? The planet does not need humans.

James Lee was a man who saw humanity as a blight upon the world. He believed that the Earth would not survive humanity's presence and saw our extinction as the only solution to the perceived problem. The fact that his views often reflected those of the extreme (not the mainstream) Left was a coincidence. Had the Right espoused such views, Lee would have still been in agreement. It was his hate, not his concerns, that drove him. Whether he realized this or not will likely never be known and at this juncture it doesn't really matter. Frankly, I'm rather grateful that he served humanity by dying.

But – Lee did in fact have a point...

Follow positive human population growth to its logical conclusion and there could indeed be an unhappy ending. The more people expand our habitat, the less space that is left for other creatures. This is why some folks out west find mountain lions in their back yards. Destroying the natural habitats of other animals ultimately has a negative effect on the food chain. I can remember Limbaugh a few years ago stating that the spotted owl could live just as well in a hole in a K-Mart sign. While I generally agree with Rush, this represents myopic thinking. We damage the food chain when we wreck the habitats of other creatures.

Look back at species-specific population explosions in the animal kingdom to see the sort of mass die-offs that can occur. When the numbers of a particular animal in a given region begin to overwhelm the local ecosystem, nature takes its course and thins the population. It's a sad and ugly thing when it happens, but necessary to protect animals from extinction.

When we continually shrink the limits of a specie's habitat via our own growth and expansion, we increase the population density of that species in the affected area. And it is that density that triggers the adrenal stress in many animals that leads to mass die-offs. That which is normally caused by over-breeding in animals can occur by our own expansion. As of July 2010, the global human population was 6,768,181,146. That's a lot of people.

We have an advantage over the animal kingdom. Unlike jack rabbits and armadillos we have the ability to reason. We can look ahead and reasonably predict what may be coming around the bend. The time will come for us to manage our numbers, and it's coming within the next couple of centuries, I think. But when it does we'll do so in a way that reflects our desire to survive as a race, not like James Lee or Kodos the Executioner.

Related Reading:

August Adventure

2010-08-28T13:08:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

As some of you already know, I’m currently unemployed and hunting a new job. This has actually proven to be more work than having a job. It’s the first time I’ve been out of work for longer than a week or two, and it’s frustrating. The whole process of applying for unemployment, wallpapering the town with job applications and stressing over bills is frustrating to say the least. For me, it’s uncharted territory.

Anyway, one of my best friends recently had a death in his family. He’s an independent trucker and was already under a load bound for South Carolina. He called me to inquire if I’d be willing to deliver the load and bring another load back to Mississippi. Two friends in need: One needing some extra cash to get through the next week or so, and the other needing someone to deliver his load to keep the customer happy. Problems solved. I packed my duffel and made the 50-minute drive to his house to grab the truck.

The delivery was simple. One piece (a small dredging tool), two chains, no problem. I delivered during the morning while the weather was relatively cool. Then I was off to make the 150-mile trip to Hazlehurst, GA and reload at an equipment auction.

En route, I stopped in some little community at the junction of US Hwy 1 and I-16 for a quick pit stop. It’s a tiny little country store with a 10-ft grocery aisle, a 20-ft beer cooler and a pool table. Now folks, I’ve been driving trucks for 30+ years and I have seen some truly revolting public restrooms in my time. This one was less than pristine, but not so filthy that I feared catching leprosy from the door knob. However, as public restrooms go, it was a tad too “cozy” for my taste. Note in the image the charming “shared” TP dispenser. I was unsure if the brush between the toilets was for cleaning, or if it was assumed one might want to scratch his back whilst using the facility. Thank God the door had a functioning lock. Otherwise I’d have been forced to go find a tree.

By the time I arrived at the auction yard, it was 3:45 pm and the sun was like a blowtorch. High humidity, few clouds, no breeze. I backed up to the dock and a guy brought out the three pieces I was to haul: An asphalt roller, a street sweeper, and a Ford L-9000 dump truck. He drove the stuff onto the trailer, bid me a fond farewell, and I began tying down the load.

This was when I was reminded that:

I’m not as young as I used to be
I’m not as slim as I used to be
My gimpy leg (broke my ankle last February) doesn’t like jumping and climbing
I am, after all, a heart patient and,
I’m way out of practice tying down machinery

I became fatigued almost instantly. So, I pulled outside the auction yard to an open area with lots of welcome shade. I cranked up the a/c, stole one of my buddy’s Dole fruit cups from his cooler, and settled in to wait for the sun to drop a bit lower.

Once the sun dropped behind some convenient clouds I crawled out of the cool of the cab and set to work. I got the load secured with little trouble although I was exhausted by the time I was done. While I don’t plan to return to machinery-hauling (which I did for a living in the 80’s and early 90’s), it was fun to get to mess with it once after all these years. Had I taken better care of myself in the intervening years, I’d still be able to do it without it being such a chore. But those days are behind me and I fear best left behind. Hindsight is always 20-20 as the saying goes.

The trip back to MS took me through Plains, GA. For some reason, this town still seems to think it’s a good thing to acknowledge its one famous resident. At least Jimmy-Boy can legitimately claim that he is no longer the worst president in US history. He’s 2nd worst, or perhaps third, depending upon your opinions of Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Or, did you think I’d be able to write a blog post completely free of politics? Me???

Not a chance.

Freeper Comments: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2579247/posts

Bugs for Dinner

2010-08-04T13:05:00.000-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

One of the few constants in our chaotic world is the meddlesome nature of many people – usually, but not always liberals, to try to change the way we do things in the western world. We eat too much. We use too much oil and gas. We spew too many toxic fumes into the atmosphere. We're too wealthy. We're a bunch of arrogant, greedy people who just don't care about the world we live in. And now we have the ultimate insult. The UN is considering a policy paper stating that we don't eat enough bugs. No, I'm not making this up.

According to a Popular Science article posted August 2, 2010 western culture's general abhorrence of insects is a contributor to man-made global warming. We should be, says the policy paper in question, eating slugs and crickets instead of beef, pork and chicken because of the supposedly lessened environmental impact that would result. And of course, bugs are healthier than the diet of meat we've lived on since time immemorial.

From the Popular Science website:

The raising of livestock consumes two-thirds of the planet's farmland, and is a major source of greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, tons of edible, sustainable protein swarms all around us, free for the taking. In a new policy paper being considered by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Belgian entomologist Arnold van Huis makes the sensible recommendation that the western world eat more insects.

Farming edible insects like mealworms and crickets would produce far less greenhouse gas -- 10 times less methane and 100 times less nitrous oxide -- than the large mammals we currently farm. Insects are metabolically much more efficient, which makes them far cheaper to feed and raise; and, since they're so biologically different from humans, they are less subject to contagious disease scares like mad cow. They are high in protein and calcium, and, with over 1,000 edible species, offer plenty of delicious variety.

----------

Let's face it – the Popular Science article gave itself away right from the get-go. This isn't about conserving farmland or healthy eating habits. It's just more of the same old claptrap from the glo-warmers. Evil Man is frying the planet like a cheap steak with all that carbon dioxide and whatever else we pump into the atmosphere, right? Try to remember the simple fact that human activity contributes about three percent of the so-called "greenhouse gasses" to the atmosphere. The rest comes naturally from Mother Earth. Human-caused global warming is the biggest scam in planetary history, intended specifically to line the pockets of a select few (Al Gore comes to mind).

And friends, I am not blind to what goes on in the rest of the world. I fully realize that in some corners of the globe bug-eating is a perfectly acceptable practice. This occurs for two reasons: First, some people just like bugs. That's okay by me. If you wish to consume crickets or roast roaches, it's your business. Second, some parts of the world are so impoverished that people eat bugs simply to survive. Give someone in that second group a choice between a big old juicy bug or a big old juicy cheeseburger and see which one they choose.

Thus far, even in a free-falling economic disaster like our current state of affairs, I still manage to keep some 93% lean ground beef and a pound of mesquite-smoked shaved turkey from the Kroger deli in the fridge. I've got some canned chili and beef tamales in the cupboard, too. If worse comes to worse, I’m a fair hunter. Now that I think about it, some tender rabbit or squirrel doesn't sound too bad. I'll even eat a baked armadillo (down south we call it "possum on the half-shell"). But I won't be eating any bugs (or Opossum).

And of course, the busybodies have an agenda for coercing us to eat bugs. More from van Huis in a related UK Guardian article:

..."I can see a step-by-step process to wider implementation."

First, insects could be used to feed farmed animals such as chicken and fish which eat them naturally. Then, they could be used as ingredients.

Van Huis adds: "We're looking at ways of grinding the meat [bugs] into some sort of patty, which would be more recognisable to western palates."

----------

Oh yeah, you betcha. Feel free, Mister van Huis, to bring that stuff down here to Mississippi. Be sure and get back to me on how that works out, okay? Bring on the bug burgers!

It boils down to a simple fact: What each of us eats is our business. We don't need a bunch of snotty academics trying to become the world's dietary dictators. I find it impossible to think that I might find a grasshopper appetizing after watching them get smashed on my windshield all day. And I do not equate setting an ant trap under the kitchen cabinet to trapping game animals in the woods near my home.

Do not hit me with phony science about climate change and then tell me eating "scorpion on a stick" (this happens in Asia) will somehow help save the planet. I hope someday enough people will get enough of this nonsense and react to it in a sufficiently hostile manner that people like Arnold van Huis will retreat back under whatever bug-infested rock from which they emerged. If you like eating bugs, that's your business. I prefer beef, and that's my business.

Sources and Credits:

Image #1 Credit: BugMan50's photostream
Image #2 Credit: istolethetv's photostream
PopSci Article
UK Guardian Article

A Nation at the Crossroads

2010-06-29T20:26:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

There was a time when America was a nation that, for the most part at least, respected its own laws. Those days seem to be fading. In more recent times laws seem to be open to interpretation by whoever happens to be in power at the time. The rapidly heating debate over illegal immigration is the most obvious example of how our laws are misinterpreted and even ignored outright by those in power.

Let's compare the state of Arizona to the city of San Francisco, CA. San Francisco a couple of years ago proudly announced that it was a "Sanctuary City" for undocumented (illegal) aliens. Illegal aliens were assured that no one in power in that city would enforce federal law and deport them. And the Left cheered San Francisco's actions as being humane and "pro-immigrant."

But more recently, the state of Arizona passed a law granting police the authority to enforce federal law by questioning the immigration status or citizenship of people they'd already stopped for other reasons. This, cried the left, was out of bounds. Arizona, they claim, does not have the authority to to do such a thing even though the city of Phoenix is the kidnapping capital of the USA thanks to drug and human smugglers from Mexico.

In essence, the federal government under both Bush and Obama has welcomed illegal immigrants. Never mind the fact that legal Americans are having trouble finding work. Illegal immigrants stream across the border by the thousands every day and do their part to make sure jobless Americans remain jobless.

The federal government is not enforcing immigration law to any significant degree. And evidently Obama and company don't want the states to enforce it either. So just who is supposed to be enforcing federal law? The states? The federal government? You and me? Who???

When California legalized medicinal marijuana, the federal government under George W. Bush was quick to assert itself by raiding a number of the state-sanctioned distributors. Of course, the fed still takes a strong stand against marijuana in any form for any reason (though not so much under Obama). But what about the screaming silence of the fed regarding sanctuary cities? Or Obama's threat to sue the state of Arizona over its new law?

That's easy enough to pin down: Both parties want more, not fewer, illegal immigrants in our country. Why? Because Republicans see a wave of cheap labor for their principal donors. And the Obama Regime sees a wave of ready-made Democrat voters. Give them food stamps, free school and medical care and tell them who to vote for. Soon as amnesty rolls around they'll be the most uneducated, uninformed and slavish voting block in America. Every Democrat's wet dream.

Federal law gets enforced according to who happens to be running the government at any given point in time. Laws, not just federal but state and local as well, are no longer enforced for the sake of law and order. Laws are enforced or ignored according to the agenda of those in power. Be they Right or Left, the Powers That Be enforce the law as they see fit.

In a situation such as this, we are not citizens. We are subjects in a kingdom, and like all kings, Clinton, Bush and Obama have all been in the habit of making up the rules as they go along. We are peasants in a kingdom of snotty little rich boys who spend our money like water, send our youth to die in questionable wars and inflict more and more restrictions on the freedom of the peasantry. Our concerns receive little more than lip service, our votes are wasted on broken political promises.

But the peasants are pissed. The unrest is growing. If the law is meaningless to the American royalty inside the moat (aka I-495), then it is only a matter of time before those who reside in the kingdom begin taking matters into their own hands. The Minute Men and the Tea Party are but two examples of Americans who have had enough of Washington's unwillingness to respect and enforce our Constitution. Arizona's new law and their governor's feisty attitude toward Washington is another fine example.

We are nearing a crossroads. The Republicans had their pompous asses kicked out of Washington for their foolishness. The Democrats evidently were not paying attention to specifically what got the Republicans booted from power since they've taken many of the same bad ideas and made them worse. Many so-called experts from both parties are predicting utter carnage in the midterm elections. It's a good bet that the Republicans will regain the majority in at least one house of Congress. Possibly both.

And that my friends is when we reach critical mass. The American people by and large have reached the boiling point. Should the Republicans regain power but then return to their old habits, or if the Democrats retain power but fail to change their socialist ways, a revolt will be in the offing.

We are facing crises of epic proportion. A failing economy, a bloody war, a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (with hurricane season upon us), an unsustainable new healthcare bureaucracy and trillions of dollars in new debt have combined to become too large of a burden for us to bear. If faced with no viable options from either party, Americans will take matters into their own hands.

Do you doubt me? Look at the anger and frustration across the nation. Look at the lack of faith Americans have in their government. Listen to the voices of those who shout their protests against the wasteful and corrupt ways of Washington. The unrest of the 60's will pale in comparison to the unrest that lies just around the corner.

We have been painted into a corner by a government as corrupt and inept as any on the planet. If there is still such a thing as American Exceptionalism, it does not exist inside the Beltway. We are for the most part a decent and civilized people. But everyone has limits to their patience, and I fear a large number of Americans, this writer included, is nearing the end of our collective fuse.

Washington, you have a problem.

Photo Credit: live w mcs' photostream

So SUE Me!

2010-05-31T21:55:00.000-05:00

I am beginning to think we live in a nation divided not between liberals and conservatives, or Christians and Atheists, or citizens and non-citizens. No – we live in a nation divided between plaintiffs and defendants. Every time I read the news, there is yet another story about another lawsuit. Mind you, some of those lawsuits are perfectly justified. When one is wronged, one has the right to seek redress. Then again, some lawsuits defy the imagination.

You Snooze, You... Sue?

Consider the case of Ginger McGuire, who nodded off during a flight to Philadelphia. According to an article at the Washington Times website:

A Michigan woman who fell asleep on a United Express flight to Philadelphia says she woke up and was shocked to find she was alone on the plane.

Ginger McGuire said no one had awakened her when the plane landed more than three hours earlier. She said she paced the aisle for about 15 minutes early Tuesday until the locked door opened and police demanded identification.

So, Ms McGuire slept on the plane for 3 hours after it landed, and was then somehow traumatized by being stuck on the plane for the fifteen minutes she was awake.

Now friends, I would heartily agree that someone in the flight crew should have waked her. Let's be honest here: Passengers are freight. When you take a bus, train or plane you are a commodity being transported from Point A to Point B. When I deliver a load of freight (I'm a trucker, for those of you who didn't already know), it's part of my job to check the trailer to be certain it's empty. How hard is it for a flight attendant to just walk down the aisle and make sure no one is happily snoozing away in one of those (ahem) ultra-comfy airline seats?

So yes, this was worthy of a complaint. Apologize, give Ginger a free flight to the destination of her choice and forget about it, right? Wrong. Here's another tidbit from the Times article:

McGuire's attorney, Geoffrey Feiger, said his law firm filed a lawsuit against United and Trans States, alleging negligence, false imprisonment and distress.
"For a crew to leave her there and lock her is beyond a gross abuse," Fieger said.

Negligence? You betcha. I'm good with that. Distress? Maybe. But fifteen minutes out of a lifetime? Gimme a break. False imprisonment? You got to be kidding. Most people would have laughed this whole thing off, been slightly embarrassed for snoozing so long in a parked aircraft, and moved on. But not Ms McGuire. She's decided to make herself a victim.

A Step in the Wrong Direction
Lauren Rosenberg used Google Maps to get walking directions between two points in Park City, UT. Unfortunately those directions led her down highway 224, which does not have pedestrian walkways. Ms Rosenburg was struck by a vehicle and severely injured. Before we go on, note that I do not find this humorous in the slightest. Ms Rosenburg has been badly injured and my heart goes out to her. Okay, moving right along...

Now admittedly I do not have all the details on this incident. Perhaps she had reached a spot where there simply wasn't enough room to walk safely along the roadside. I have encountered pedestrians in some damnably tight quarters and on occasion have actually slowed to a crawl to allow him / her to reach a spot with enough room for me to pass.

Perhaps she was walking with rather than against the flow of traffic, which means she might not have been aware of an approaching vehicle. Maybe the driver was drunk or high or engrossed in sending a text message. The possibilities are endless. Certainly, unless she was actually walking in the roadway and not beside it, she has a legitimate complaint against the driver of the vehicle.

But Ms Rosenburg is not just suing the driver. She's also suing Google for sending her down that road. According to AOL News:

"As a direct and proximate cause of Defendant Google's careless, reckless and negligent providing of unsafe directions, Plaintiff Lauren Rosenberg was led onto a dangerous highway, and was thereby stricken by a motor vehicle, causing her to suffer severe permanent physical, emotional and mental injuries," the complaint reads.

Now please allow me to pose a question here. Let's suppose that it's 1980 instead of 2010. No Internet. No Google. No billboards advertising lawyers with phone numbers like "800 Hurt 911" (no, I didn't make that number up). How might Lauren have mapped her route across Park City? Isn't it entirely possible that she'd have taken that same route? Maybe, maybe not.

But Lauren is an adult and should be able to make a judgment call as to whether she can safely walk along a particular path, Google or no Google. People walk along roads every day that do not have accommodations for pedestrians. The bottom line here is that Google provided a route for her with a service that is still in development, and she evidently depended upon that service instead of her own judgment and instinct.

Sue the driver, Lauren. Google did you no harm.

Enfield Moves to Left Field

For as long as America has existed, communities have used churches as gathering places for events and functions totally unrelated to worship. It's a common practice and churches are generally glad to provide the use of their facilities for various groups.

But recently in Enfield, CT two students and three of their parents sued two of the schools because they had contracted to use a local church for their graduation ceremonies. And a judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. There were no religious overtones. No plans to hold mass or pass out Bibles. Just a simple graduation ceremony.

According to an article at Fox News:
A federal judge has ruled two Connecticut public high schools can't hold their graduations inside a church because that would be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall made the ruling Monday in the case of Enfield High School and Enrico Fermi High School, both in Enfield.

Huh? How does a graduation ceremony constitute an endorsement of religion? How is it that in a supposedly free country, two students and their crass, mindless parents can muck up a one-in-a-lifetime experience for all the other kids? And the really sad part is that the other students don't dare haul these two malcontents behind the gym and give'em an old fashioned teenage butt-whupping (remember those golden days?). Nowadays you get sued for "bullying" when you do that.

What a world we live in.

Sources:
Woman left on plane recounts 'horrifying' experience:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/27/woman-left-plane-recounts-horrifying-experience/

Woman Hit By Car Sues Google Maps Over Directions
Article: http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/lauren-rosenberg-sues-google-maps-over-walking-directions/19497640
Complaint: http://www.scribd.com/doc/32136379/Rosenberg-v-Harwood-Google

Conn. Town Can't Hold Graduations in Church, Judge Rules:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/31/conn-town-hold-graduations-church-judge-rules/?test=latestnews#content

800 Hurt 911 Website:
http://www.hurt911.org/getclient.php

Cannibals!

2010-04-02T23:18:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Okay, I am fully aware that the country is in a crisis. The economy is a train wreck, we have a shameless Marxist for a President, and arguably the most inept Congress in our nation's history. I write about this stuff twice a month. I try to do my part. But right now I need a break from politics before my head just explodes. Admit it: You do, too. So at great risk to my own credibility I offer what might be my all-time most pointless bit of writing.

A good friend of mine called me a few days ago wanting me to help him find a particularly obscure movie. He didn't remember the name of the flick. He didn't remember any of the cast. But for some reason he wanted to see if he could lay hands on a copy. It was a B-grade horror flick that involved cannibals, and the story evidently takes place in Colonial America. We never found it at Internet Movie Database (imdb.com), so if you happen to be familiar with it, do drop me a line.

What we did find, and spent a half hour chuckling over, was an abundance of truly bizarre and funny movie titles involving cannibalism. Here are the best (worst?) of the bunch for your... consumption:

"Dr. Butcher M.D." (1980)
"Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals" (1977
"Eaten Alive by the Cannibals!" (1980)
"Cannibal Apocalypse" (1980)
"Life Among the Cannibals" (1996)
"Planet of the Cannibals" (2001)
"Kung Fu Cannibals" (1980)
"Hillside Cannibals" (2006)
"Catwalk Cannibals" (2002)
"Shocking Cannibals" (1975)
"Papaya: Love Goddess of the Cannibals" (1978)
"Alice Cans the Cannibals" (1925)
"Feed Them to the Cannibals!" (1993)
"Summer Cannibals" (1996)
"National Geographic: Are We Cannibals" (2004) (TV)
"Shipwrecked Among Cannibals" (1920)
"Shorty Among the Cannibals" (1915)
"The Cannibal's Liver" (2007)
"Cannibal Hookers" (1987)
"Cannibal Girls" (1973)
"Cannibal Capers" (1930)
"Cannibal Rollerbabes" (1997)
"Satan's Cannibal Holocaust" (2007)
"The Long Island Cannibal Massacre" (1980)
"Bloodthirsty Cannibal Demons" (1993)
"Cannibal Cheerleader Camp" (2008)
"Interview with a Cannibal" (2007)
"Camels to Cannibal" (1927)
"Cannibal Cult" (1999)
"Cannibal Doctor" (1999)
"Cannibal Jane" (2007)
"Cannibal Lovers" (2008)
"His Cannibal Wife" (1917)
"The Adventures of Willie Woodbine and Lightning Larry -- A Joyride to the Cannibal Islands" (1915)
"Cannibal Sisters" (2006)
"The Brothers Cannibal" (2010)
"The Cannibal Twins" (2009)
"The Captivatin' Cannibal" (1924)
"The Nutzoids at Cannibal Cove" (1989)

I saved my favorite four titles for last:

"Curse of the Confederate Cannibals" (1982)
"Cannibal Hillbillies" (2003)
"Lieutenant Pimple, King of Cannibal Islands" (1914)
"Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death" (1989)

And there you have it: Proof that there are some sick individuals in the movie business. But who am I to judge? I did after all laugh my ass off for twenty minutes over this stuff.

Later y’all!

Alan

No, Mister Obama

2010-03-19T19:50:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

The clock is ticking down toward Zero Hour in the Great American Health Care Debate. With almost every public opinion poll in the country showing a heavy bias against the left's so-called health care reform, the Democrat party continues to forge ahead with a legislative monstrosity certain to finish breaking the US economy.

At this point, Obama, Pelosi and Reid have shown a willingness to circumvent every rule, payoff who they must, and gleefully lie to everyone within earshot to attain the leftist nirvana of government-run health care. And they will succeed, at least in the short term. I'd love to be wrong, but I truly fear this bill will land on President Obama's desk.

My friends, what I am about to say is not something I say lightly. I am a believer in the rule of law and the benefits of a peaceful and orderly society. But we are faced with an unprecedented violation of the core principles set down by our Founding Fathers. By pushing through this vile, costly and completely unconstitutional legislation our government will have stepped too far over the line. If this legislation passes, the time will have come for the American people to stare our government in its impudent face and simply say, "No."

As of this writing two states have passed legislation to deny the federal government the ability to inflict its punitive and costly health care agenda upon them. Thirty-five other states are seriously considering similar measures. But that is not enough. That still leaves matters in the hands of politicians. Americans must speak with one voice and refuse to be bullied. The legislation is questionable at best, criminal at worst. There is therefore no reason why any of us should allow ourselves to be subjected to it. The federal government must be reminded that they are our employees, fully answerable to the people and the Constitution they supposedly defend.

Imagine for a moment if a significant majority of individuals and businesses simply said, "No." Imagine doctors and hospitals refusing to jump on the band wagon and continuing with business as usual. Imagine employers all around America refusing to pay penalties or to alter their employees' coverage. Imagine the frustration of the left when they realize that their collectivist pipe dream, after so much blood, sweat, and bribery, was summarily shrugged off by the American people. How comical would it be to watch Harry Reid stomping his tiny feet in impotent rage on the sidewalk in front of the Capitol while better people ignored him for the insignificant little man he truly is.

Our government governs only by consent of the governed. It's past time we revoked that consent and showed President Obama and Company their proper place in the greater scheme of America. They cannot arrest an entire nation (especially if most law enforcement ignores them, too). They cannot even begin to ask the military to act against the people – the mutiny would be almost instantaneous. They would, after a time, be forced to concede defeat and crawl back under their slimy socialist rock.

No one needs to pick up a gun or hurl Molotov cocktails at the White House. Peaceful disobedience will suffice. If Americans respond in sufficient numbers, the Great American Health Care Debate will be resolved with finality, and the Obama government will fade into obscurity even while he is still in office. What a grand thing that would be.

Such an act would be perhaps the greatest thing we can do for our future and the future of our children and grandchildren. We are not the Europeans. We are not a third world socialist republic. We are not a welfare state. We are the people of the United States of America, and we conduct our business a bit differently than the rest. We do not need nor should should we tolerate a nanny state government running our affairs.

The time has come to remind Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid of who they work for. Just say, "No" to Obamacare and let the chips fall where they may.

Common Sense Solutions for the Health Care Crisis

2010-03-07T23:57:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

The biggest fiscal and political boondoggle in US history, the Democrat's so-called "health care reform," is coming down the pipe. Barring a miracle, it's coming soon to every home in America. A tragedy, that. We could have done so much better.

What led the left in this country to create such a monstrous and patently unsustainable legislative behemoth as this? I for one do not believe the blather of the extreme right any more than I do the braying of the extreme left. Sure, the left craves power like an addict craves his fix. But the right is nearly as guilty as the left in that regard. No, this all comes down to the mindset in Washington: The left loves to tinker. They love to meddle with the laws that govern our society like a dog worries a tasty bone. The resultant complexity that maddens most of us is fascinating to them. You and I see the United States Tax Code as a bloated juggernaut. The left sees it as a job well done. And the health care legislation, should it happen, will be to them what "Return of the Prodigal Son" was to Rembrandt: A masterpiece.

Imagine, given the momentum the Democrats had a few months ago, what they might have accomplished if they'd exercised some restraint and written legislation that made sense. Instead, they've done what they always do. They've created yet another Frankenstein monster that is already causing an uproar among the people and likely will catapult the Republicans back into power.

There is no perfect solution to the health care problem. But there are steps we could have taken. And those steps might yet be taken, provided the Democrats fail.

Mandatory Purchase of Health Insurance...
As people's money problems worsen, they're more likely to drop their health insurance to save money. This causes a trend toward a larger percentage of high-risk and high-expense policy holders with whom the insurers often lose money. Their only recourse is to raise the premiums on their existing customers. This isn't greed or gouging. It's survival. Insurance companies are businesses, and businesses have to make a profit to stay alive.

With much misgiving and a sizable chip on my shoulder, I am forced to concede that perhaps making coverage mandatory is a possible solution. This would have the effect of enlarging the pool of customers, and as long as people are free to shop for their insurance - just like we do with mandatory car insurance - the natural forces of free market competition would drive premiums down.

Leave Businesses Alone...
The fed's ridiculous idea of requiring employers to provide "free" insurance to employees must be tossed out the window. An employer should provide a good wage for good work. Beyond that and a safe work environment an employer has no obligations to those in his or her employ. If a company wishes to provide insurance as a perk, that's their business. It should not however, be the business of the federal government to require it. That requirement is, by the way, one the ideas the left is floating around.

Mandatory Coverage by Insurance Companies...
It must be required of the insurance companies that they cannot refuse to cover anyone for any reason. No preexisting conditions limitations, no dropping coverage on high-cost customers. Everyone must be eligible for coverage as long as they pay the bill. The whole idea behind insurance, after all, is that it be there when you most need it. Perhaps someone might ring up a few insurance providers and remind them of that little tidbit?

For those who are incapacitated by illness or injury, and therefore unable to pay their premium, Medicaid can pick up the bill until that person returns to work. This assumes that the federal government will find a way to return Medicaid and Medicare to profitability before they go bankrupt. This is one of the few instances when government intervention is justified. Health care is a system of goods and services. And goods and services cost money. Someone must pay bill. It is also reasonable to think that once one is back to work, those premiums paid by Medicaid should be reimbursed.

Trial Lawyers...
We need real tort reform. The junk lawsuits against doctors and hospitals must go. Realistic limits on damages that are fair to all parties must be put into place. One of the reasons for higher priced care is the unbelievable cost of malpractice insurance. Tort reform would help with that. If the danger of catastrophic lawsuits lessens, the cost of malpractice insurance will begin to decrease. That in turn will lower physician's fees.

Keep the Fed out of the Way...
Contrary to the wishes of Obama, Pelosi and Reid, government involvement must be kept to an absolute minimum. Given the first two items above, insurance costs would go down within a year or two as long as Uncle Sam stays out of the way. The left often refers to the fact that most other developed nations already have government health care. But look at the cost. They're taxed unmercifully, resources are limited, and long waiting lines for treatment are common. Why do you think that a Canadian Premier came to the US recently for heart surgery? The Fraser Institute estimates that 41,000 Canadians sought health care in the US during 2009.

The minimization of federal involvement would be best accomplished by leaving enforcement issues to the states. The federal government's tendency to micromanage every aspect of anything it touches has always been a recipe for disaster. Give the states the autonomy to execute the law as works best for each. Each state is different, and a one size fits all plan wouldn't be a fit for anyone.

The Bottom Line...
There is no reason for anyone to see a tax increase with the simple ideas above. Costs would go down, quality of care would likely improve, and Americans would continue to enjoy the benefits of the world's best health care.

We don't need a massive new bureaucracy to manage our health care. We only need a handful of common sense reforms that benefit both the industry and its customers.

Sources and Related Reading:

Polar Bear Politics

2010-03-01T23:39:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Throughout the last several decades, one of the environmentalist left's trademark tactics has been to use symbolism instead of substance. This, as any thinking person already knows, is due to the fact that the extreme left, as it becomes ever more extreme, finds it increasingly difficult to push its agenda based on its own merit. This leaves them little choice but to use smoke and mirrors to foist their remarkably bad ideas on the rest of us.

In the debate over human-caused global warming, aka "climate change," perhaps the most overused and exploited symbol is the polar bear. We are bombarded almost daily with images of polar bears struggling to stay afloat on comparatively tiny chunks of arctic ice. We hear about their struggles to find food and shelter for themselves and their young. Climate change, we are told, will be the death of the mighty polar bear.

However...

Funny thing. It seems that climate change was responsible for the birth of species. The discovery of an ancient jawbone at Poolepynten on the Arctic island of Svalbard by Professors Olafur Ingolfsson, of the University of Iceland, and Oystein Wiig, of the University of Oslo has yielded new insight into the evolutionary history of polar bears.

Previous estimates as to the date of origin of the species ranged from 50,000 to one million years ago. A series of DNA tests on the jaw bone has revealed that polar bears are much closer kin to brown bears than previously believed, and they're especially similar to a population of brown bears in the "ABC Islands" of Alaska.

The age of the jawbone fossil and other evidence makes a strong case that the polar bear evolved from brown bears trapped in the onset of an ice age that began about 190,000 years ago. The fossil is believed to be between 110,000 and 130,000 years old. This also means that polar bears likely have already survived at least one period of global warming that took place approximately 115,000 years ago.

This notion does come with a caveat:

Professor Chris Stringer, of the Natural History Museum in London, an expert in ice ages, said: “Early polar bears would not have had all the specialisations of modern animals and we know nothing about their behaviour. Living through a warm period back then does not mean they are resilient to climate change now.”
---TimesOnline

Interesting to note however, that his tone is one of gloom and doom for modern polar bears even while admitting that "... we know nothing..."

Then again, knowledge, or the lack thereof, has never been an impediment to climate alarmists. According to a study by American and Canadian scientists in 2006, the shrinking ice pack was leaving polar bears less and less space in which hunt seal. As a result, they claim, polar bears were resorting to cannibalism. Such a proclamation doubtlessly sent climate change true believers and animal activists into a frenzy of demands for new legislation to save the hapless bears.

But...

Inuit leader Jose Kusugak, the president of the Kivalliq Inuit Association, told reporters: “A male polar bear eating a cub becomes a big story and they try to marry it with climate change and so on. It becomes absurd — when it’s a normal, normal occurrence.”
---TimesOnline

And...

"Both Inuit and scientific knowledge show that cannibalism in polar bears happens, and it probably always has," said Steve Pinksen, director of policy and legislation for Nunavut's Department of Environment.

The concern over cannibalism comes after a tourist group witnessed adult male bears attacking cubs for food. There have been at least eight reports of similar sights from Churchill, [Manitoba]. The photos accompanying stories on the issue show bright-red remains strewn across blankets of snow.

Mr. Pinksen, however, called the incidents an "act of nature," and said the public reaction has been taken out of proportion.
---Signs of the Times News

Stop the presses!

This is a classic example of what I'm talking about. A few isolated incidents of people stepping out of their normally well-insulated lives and seeing nature at its most brutal results in the notion that a catastrophe is occurring within the polar bear population. This is the kind of knee-jerk reaction that the environmentalists feed on to push public opinion in directions that work to their advantage. Happens every day.

Pinksen continues:

"Maybe if you're sitting in an armchair in the city somewhere these pictures would be a shock, but people up here see these things all the time," he said, adding residents that are out hunting animals for food, clothing and income have seen evidence of these attacks in the past. “A bear eating a bear is not a pretty picture, but nature is not really a pretty thing all the time," Mr. Pinksen said.
---Signs of the Times News

In short, the fact that polar bears sometimes eat their young isn't news. Other predators are known to eat their young as well. Male African lions for example, will eat the cubs sired by competing males to protect the dominance of their own bloodline. Fears that polar bear cannibalism will contribute to the death of the species are greatly exaggerated and based upon false assumptions and the politics of shameless opportunism.

Another assertion by leftist environmentalists is that polar bears are drowning in great numbers due to the melting ice, and that this of course will contribute to the eventual extinction of the species. According to various observations, polar bears are having to swim farther than ever before to reach sources of food, and many of them drown or die of hypothermia in the open seas.

According to the new research, four bear carcases were found floating in one month in a single patch of sea off the north coast of Alaska, where average summer temperatures have increased by 2-3C degrees since 1950s.

The scientists believe such drownings are becoming widespread across the Arctic, an inevitable consequence of the doubling in the past 20 years of the proportion of polar bears having to swim in open seas.
---TimesOnline

That these bears died in search of food is certainly a sad occurrence. But is man at fault here? According to many credible scientists, the answer is a resounding "NO."

Is the Arctic ice melting? Yes, although there is some debate as to the rate of melt vs. the rate of refreezing. Most agree that there has been a decrease in total ice coverage since the early 1970's. Climate alarmists of course would have us believe this is due to human activity. The hacked e-mails from East Anglia strongly suggest otherwise. How does one trust the science behind temperature monitoring stations when many of those stations were located (perhaps intentionally?) in areas affected by unnatural heat sources? One of them was even located near an industrial incinerator. Accurate science? Hardly. But the most recent IPCC Climate Report was based on data taken from those weather stations.

Consider this excerpt from an article by Jonathan Leake:

The IPCC faces similar criticisms from Ross McKitrick, professor of economics at the University of Guelph, Canada, who was invited by the panel to review its last report.

The experience turned him into a strong critic and he has since published a research paper questioning its methods.

“We concluded, with overwhelming statistical significance, that the IPCC’s climate data are contaminated with surface effects from industrialisation and data quality problems. These add up to a large warming bias,” he said.

Such warnings are supported by a study of US weather stations co-written by Anthony Watts, an American meteorologist and climate change sceptic.

His study, which has not been peer reviewed, is illustrated with photographs of weather stations in locations where their readings are distorted by heat-generating equipment.
Some are next to air-conditioning units or are on waste treatment plants. One of the most infamous shows a weather station next to a waste incinerator.

Watts has also found examples overseas, such as the weather station at Rome airport, which catches the hot exhaust fumes emitted by taxiing jets.

In Britain, a weather station at Manchester airport was built when the surrounding land was mainly fields but is now surrounded by heat-generating buildings.
---Climate Change Fraud

The shameless, heavily politicized pseudo-science of climate change is making a select few people very wealthy and simultaneously creating a heavy burden on everyone else. The simple fact is that given what we now know after the break-in at East Anglia, human-caused global warming is a fraud. People like Albert Gore, Jr. are making a lot of money via panic mongering and intentionally faulty research.

Back to the bears...

Let's look at the flip side of the coin for a moment. Polar bears are supposedly drowning while trying to reach better feeding grounds. But do we hear much about grizzly bears moving northward into areas formally dominated by polar bears? Are the grizzlies in dire danger?

Polar bears face a new threat besides melting ice — male grizzly bears are moving into their territories, competing for food and are even mating with their females.

Scientists have already discovered one case of a hybrid “grolar” bear and are circulating requests to hunters and polar tour operators to look out for more.

One possible explanation for closer interaction between the species is climate change, which has allowed grizzlies to move north into areas that were once too cold for them.
---TimesOnline

So... grizzly bears are actually benefiting from climate change. And we have already learned that it's highly likely polar bears are an evolutionary split-off from another species. And according to the article quoted above, grizzlies and polar bears have been mating at least in some areas. It’s also interesting to note that in spite of the gloom and doom rhetoric surrounding the polar bears, their population is actually increasing in some areas. Hard to reach extinction when your numbers are growing.

The bottom line...

We all know that the climate in virtually every part of the world has changed many times over the centuries. Ocean currents, solar and / or volcanic activity, even earthquakes can have long term effects on the climate of a given area. Carbon dioxide, that most reviled of all greenhouse gasses, is as much or maybe more the product of heating, rather than the cause.

Nature, in all its facets, moves in cycles. And like the climate, the animal kingdom also goes through changes. Species come and go. Habitats change. And life nearly always finds a way to adapt to new circumstances. The brown bears that were the forerunners of the polar bear adapted to their new environment. There is no reason to believe the bears and other animals of today will not do likewise. There may be a completely new species of bear someday, spawned by the current state of the climate patterns. What we are seeing, in our brief time on this world, is a small part of the great cycle of nature in action. Only human vanity could assume that we are somehow responsible for it.

Sources and Related Reading:

The Bears...

Skeptical Scientists, Legal Action, etc...

Photo Credit for “Smoke and Mirrors” – Alex Clark

Liberals Never Learn

2010-02-20T20:53:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

There is an old saying that goes thusly: "It is a form of insanity to keep doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result." Or as I prefer it, "If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keeping getting what you've always got."

A valid test of a person's overall intelligence and common sense is how well he or she learns from experience and mistakes. Even the lower animals learn from their life experiences. Laboratory rats navigate mazes and water tanks with hidden exits. Dogs learn their limits in yards with "invisible fences." House pets learn from positive and negative feedback about not getting on a particular piece of furniture.

Evidently the average laboratory rat is smarter than most of the liberals in Washington. For half a century, the American Left has failed to learn one simple lesson: You cannot tax a nation into prosperity.

You'd think it would be simple to understand. The more money you take away from people, the less they have. In that grand socialist experiment known as California, businesses are leaving in droves for friendlier climes. Unemployment is continuing to climb. More and more people are forced to seek government benefits when they cannot find work. And every time the money runs out, which is often, the state government raises taxes yet again to make up the shortfall. And yet the state government continues to wonder why people are packing their bags for greener pastures.

On the national level, Barack Obama's nascent empire is already starting to crumble. Independent voters and some Democrats are feeling the pangs of voter's remorse and the Democrats are sagging badly in the national opinion polls. The principal reason the Dems are losing ground is that most of the American people have in fact learned that simple lesson I mentioned above. Our Democrat leaders unfortunately have not.

Exactly what "change" have we seen in the Democrats? After all the promises of bipartisanship and transparency, the Left simply defaulted back to its decades-old agenda of environmental extremism, wealth redistribution and massive government programs. There has been no change. We're seeing the same tired old liberal policies as before, even in the face of strong opposition from the people. The Democrat party is gleefully flushing America down the financial toilet with trillions of dollars in new debt.

I've never been one to pay much heed to an individual poll. But I do watch the trends of all the polls. There is no mistaking the evidence - the Left is on its way to a well-deserved train wreck in the midterm elections. My only hope is that the Republicans can muster enough opposition to hold the line until that time, and that they'll have the good sense (a lot to ask, I know) to not repeat their own mistakes that got them kicked out of power before.

We do not need out-of-control government spending at any time, and certainly not with our current bleak economic climate. We need government, regardless of which party is in power, to rein in spending and cut taxes so both individuals and businesses will have money in their pockets. We need government to cease and desist its class warfare politics and recognize that businesses, both large and small, are the backbone of our economy. There is nothing inherently evil about being wealthy as long as that wealth is honorably earned.

We need the Left to own up to its culpability in the subprime lending fiasco instead of blaming the banks for making loans in which they had no choice but to make. Or, does anyone remember the Community Reinvestment Act, signed into law by Jimmy Carter? Does the Left remember how leftist "community organizers" pressured and threatened banks into making loans to people who had no chance of repaying them? And now Obama and his cronies are blatantly lying about where the fault lies, blaming the banks for a mess not of their making.

We need the Left to come clean about its environmental agenda. Even some of the IPCC's own scientists are now backtracking on the most recent UN climate report. Evidence is mounting that the entire concept of human-caused global warming is a fraud, pushed onto world in the name of a globalist political agenda. Al Gore, who has made untold millions pushing his "Inconvenient Truths" should be hauled away in chains. And yet the Left continues to push this false agenda - an agenda that will finish crushing our economy if they succeed.

Barack Obama once said he wanted to "fundamentally change" this country. This country doesn't need his kind of change. We need to get back to the basic principles that made America great. The Left and the RINOs in the Republican party need to learn that the money they're spending doesn't belong to them. The money, and this nation, belong to the people. That's a change I'll believe in when I see it.

Winter Powerhouse

2010-02-06T17:55:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

On February 5th and 6th, a raging winter storm dumped God only knows how much snow from the Midwest to the Atlantic. The Weather Channel referred to the storm as a “Winter Powerhouse.” I can vouch for this. You know me – always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

My dispatcher thought I’d lost my mind when I told him I was booking a load from La Grange, GA to Martinsburg, WV. I promised him I’d watch my P’s and Q’s, grabbed the load and headed up I-85. According to NOAA, the storm would be heading out to sea by late Saturday so I stopped in South Carolina Friday evening to allow it to clear out.

When I headed out Saturday morning the weather was good through Charlotte, NC but began to deteriorate a bit as I approached Virginia on I-77. At this point eastern Virginia, Maryland, northern West Virginia and the Eastern Seaboard are still getting hammered. Power was out along the interstate in Wytheville, VA. I’m now reclining in Elliston, VA waiting for the rest of the thing to move out of the area. The images below were taken in on I-77 and I-81 in Virginia between the NC state line and Elliston (I-81 exit #128).

The first two images are of a mountain pass on I-77

The biggest issue on I-77 was the fog, but it was thinning when I went through

Leaving I-77 for I-81

The next images are from I-81

Lastly, one of a low, fog-covered mountain across from the truck stop in Elliston

Stay warm! – Alan

It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over

2010-01-21T22:42:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Okay boys and girls, it's time to slow down and take a deep breath. And while you're at it, a healthy dose of reality would be good, too. The pundits and bloggers are going bonkers over Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts. I'll admit to being glad he won for the simple reason that we'll have one less Democrat in Washington once he's sworn in.

But contrary to the gushing headlines proclaiming the end of the Left's agenda and the political demise of the Democrat party, Scott Brown is just one guy. He isn't the second coming of Ronald Reagan and he cannot guarantee that the Left won't still find a way to shove their agenda down our throats between now and November. There is still plenty of fighting left to be done.

Massachusetts is not a conservative state. The majority of voters there are independents. In all likelihood those independents range from centrist to liberal with a smattering of conservatives. Only 12 percent of the voters there are registered Republicans. Scott Brown won because he claimed to respect the will of the people and because those who met him could actually relate to him. Unlike cold fish Martha Coakley, Scott Brown is a regular Joe. That, at least, is refreshing.

In a previous posting, I stated that the Right would likely slaughter the Left in the midterm elections. I still believe that's true. But November isn't here just yet and the Democrats still hold strong majorities in both houses of Congress. They and their puppet in the White House are still determined to push through the biggest political boondoggle in our history before they potentially lose their majorities after the next election. Over the next few days you can expect them to become even more extreme than what we've seen thus far. Their rhetoric will almost certainly change to a more populist tone, but the underlying agenda will be the same.

Now, more than ever, it's time for the Tea Partiers to hit the streets. It's time to flood the email, fax machines and phone lines of wavering centrist Democrats. It's time to make sure they understand that a vote for this patently unconstitutional healthcare legislation or continued tampering with banks and the economy is a nonstop ticket to the unemployment line.

We have a real opportunity to block the Left's agenda. Scott Brown's election, along with recent Republican gubernatorial victories are signs that America is waking up and realizing what a dreadful mistake was made in giving so much power to the Left. The Democrat party mistook voter anger at the Republicans' ineptitude for carte blanche to send America lurching off into socialism. In a way, the last year has been a good thing because Americans are at last seeing the Democrats' true colors. And a lot of Americans don't like what they see.

But if the Republicans do gain a majority, then the people will have to ride herd on them to make sure they don't lapse back into their bad habits of the last ten or so years when they became little more than Democrat Party Lite. The big tent mentality must go if we are to have a truly conservative Republican party.

Assuming that the Soros-funded political machine does not find a way to bastardize the election process in the midterms, we'll see a Republican (and hopefully conservative) majority in at least one house of Congress next year. But as the saying goes, it ain't over 'til it's over. Now, grab your signs and get yourselves back into the street.

We still have work to do.

Do You Feel “Special?”

2010-01-16T21:00:00.001-05:00

Funny how things work sometimes. The Democrat party has played class warfare politics for decades. They’ve managed to divide the American people into so many fractious special interest groups that not even the powerful leftist political machine can manage them anymore. Everyone is a minority, and all minorities are special interests since they lobby for their own benefit.

Yes, YOU are a member of a special interest group. Even if you didn’t know it. Even if you do not wish to be a member. You’re stuck there, and you cannot escape. As a native-born white male, I belong to the “Native-Born White Male” special interest group simply because I don’t qualify for any other. White males are the only cross-section of society not considered by at least some to be a minority. And that, by definition, makes me a minority and therefore part of a special interest. Senator Ben Nelson even managed to turn the entire state of Nebraska into a special interest group. Insane, isn’t it?

And the insanity is a beautiful thing to watch.

It’s beautiful to watch because as a partisan conservative I love watching the Democrats’ plans blowing up in their pudgy faces. I love hearing even some of the Democrats’ cheering section in the MSM questioning their motives and their competency. And question they should. The current administration and its partners on Capitol Hill are sending the nation on a one-way trip to financial Armageddon. Never in our history have we seen the like of what we’re seeing in current times.

The health care boondoggle is a classic example of how special interest politics has backfired on the Democrats. Extreme leftists are decrying the Senate and House bills for giving breaks to “Big Pharma” and the death of the Public Option. Groups on the right see the plan as not giving enough protection to the investment and research Big Pharma engages in to create new products (products, by the way, that save lives). The left objects to supposed sweetheart deals given the insurance companies, while the right (and many of the insurance companies) fear the upcoming legislation will send them into insolvency.

And even though a majority of Americans oppose the legislation (RCP Average: 51% against, 40.7% for), the Democrats are forging ahead, evidently unmindful of the fact they’re committing political suicide. Barack Obama and Congress have attempted to appeal to everyone, but in the process they’ve alienated far too many people. That’s what happens when you stand in the middle of the road: You get run over.

They’ve no one to blame but themselves for their sagging poll numbers. In a frantic scramble to find ways to pay for this latest intrusion upon the rights and privacy of the citizenry, they’ve discovered that while a lot of people claim to want health care reform, few if any want to help pay for it. One of their first intended victims was of course their favorite: The Evil Rich. The Dems assumed they could tax so-called “Cadillac” insurance plans to generate revenue.

But hold the phone, Harry. Seems that the unions, who are of course huge contributors to the Democrats, also have rather lavish and expensive health insurance plans. So in a recent closed-door session the Dems bought off the unions by giving them an exemption from the tax. This of course has the potential to increase union membership (seeking cheaper insurance), thereby further empowering the unions, which by extension would further empower the Democrat party. Perhaps someone should remind them about equal protection under the law?

Unions had objected strongly to the proposed tax on high-value insurance policies, fearing it would hurt their members, and they won several concessions from the administration. Under the deal, if it becomes law, union workers will be shielded from the 40 percent tax for five years -- until 2018. The threshold for the tax also was raised so that it will kick in for plans worth $24,000 instead of $23,000. And dental and vision coverage will not count toward that threshold.

But what about everybody else?

The unions, traditional supporters of the Democratic Party and a major factor in Obama's political infrastructure, got a deal, but Republicans said that non-union workers will still have to pay the tax from the get-go starting in 2013.

"I guess this bill is only good if it doesn't apply to you," GOPAC Chairman Frank Donatelli said. - Fox News

Religious groups have long been powerful special interests. Even the humble Amish. Turns out that the Amish have religious objections to paying for insurance. So, the Amish will be exempted from being fined (you get fined if you don’t have insurance under the plan) for not having the required insurance if this insanity passes.

However…

…But if the Amish can opt out, then some civil libertarians say they want out, too -- not for religious reasons but because they don't think the underlying health insurance mandate is legal.

"If they can do it for religious objection, well, I have a different type of objection," said Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the libertarian Cato Institute said. "I think I'm being coerced into doing something against my will, and so the challenge would be from a different perspective." – Fox News

Back to the pharmaceutical companies…

They’ve been on board with the plan for months since the mandatory coverage provision would likely mean more paying customers for the bio-tech sector. However, the bio-tech sector’s support hinged on a 12-year minimum period in which competing drug makers could not produce generic versions of expensive new medicines. This is to allow the companies who develop the drugs time to recoup their investments. Still other special interest groups oppose this measure because they feel the public shouldn’t have to wait that long to get cheaper meds.

Any compromise bill, though, will face a nail-biting trip through Congress, where Democrats got barely enough support when they pushed initial versions of the bill through the House and Senate. If the drug industry decided to pour money into advertising opposing the legislation, that could give some lawmakers second thoughts about supporting the bill.

Ken Johnson, a senior vice president of PhRMA, declined to comment on the e-mail. But in a written statement, he said, "Fair data protection of at least 12 years for new, innovative biologic medicines is critically important to the future of medical progress in America."

In a written statement, [Henry] Waxman said the overhaul should be "to help struggling families, not to enrich the drug companies."

Last June, the industry agreed to actively support Obama's health overhaul in an agreement with the White House and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., to limit the cost to drugmakers to $80 billion over next decade.

But as Democrats craft their compromise health bill, they have begun looking for additional sources of revenue to pay for changes they are making. That has included pressing the drugmakers to contribute an additional $10 billion -- another factor that might be part of PhRMA's decision to threaten to withdraw its support. – Fox News

It’s also a good bet that insurance companies would be 100% in favor of shortening the timeline for patent protection, since that would mean they could sooner lower their costs associated with paying for the new drugs.

The list goes on. Abortion rights groups want federally funded abortions. Pro-life groups of course vehemently oppose such a measure. Medical professionals have come down all over the playing field, some for, some against. Pro-Amnesty groups want coverage for illegal aliens while pro-constitutionalists do not.

The problem here is that the Democrats have too long been burning the political candle from both ends. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of divergent special interest groups. Each group was created either to push a particular agenda forward, or to push back against an agenda they do not favor. The Dems have long worked to play one group against the other – blacks against whites, rich against poor, citizen against immigrant, liberal against conservative, religious against atheist. With so many special interests, it is unavoidable that when you favor one, you step on another.

And so President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress are trying to please everyone. Their polling data tells the story of just how badly they’ve failed. If they pass health care reform, the right will slaughter them in the 2010 and 2012 elections. If they do not pass it, the loony left will come unhinged and help vote them out in 2010 and 2012. Either way the very groups they helped to create, either in support or opposition to one boondoggle or another, will be their downfall in the coming months.

Failure, when it’s on the left, is a beautiful thing.

Sources and Related Reading:

Health Care Mandate Applies to All -- Except the Amish

[Senator Ben] Nelson Asks Senate to Withdraw Nebraska Medicaid Deal

Drug Industry Threatening to End Support for Obama's Health Bill

Democrats Hammered for 'Back-Room' Deal With Unions on Health Care

Polling Data: Obama and Democrats' Health Care Plan

Dems Weigh Other Options for Passing Health Care if GOP Wins Kennedy's Seat

Final Frantic Run for Health Care

PhRMA

Posted at FreeRepublic: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2430230/posts

Climbing Monteagle

2010-01-11T20:28:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

I’m presently en route from Lawrenceville, GA to Kansas City, MO, which takes me up I-24 through the town of Monteagle, TN. Monteagle sits at the top of a small mountain pass, and the frozen springs in the rock walls along the highway caught my attention. So, I have dutifully provided my typical low-resolution images in bad light for my faithful readers. The road appears icy in the images, but it’s actually just leftover brine solution that’s dried to the road surface (nasty, crusty stuff).

I also tossed in an image of the little country road I had to travel a few days ago to deliver to a north Texas tree farm. I am truly glad I didn’t meet anyone. It would’ve gotten crowded pretty quickly. Anyway, hope you enjoy the images.

Give Stoopid a Chance

2009-12-08T22:20:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Throughout our history, we have seen the office of the President of the United States occupied by some of the most brilliant and well-educated people on the planet. They come from a variety of backgrounds – some from wealthy political dynasties like the Kennedy family, others from relative poverty like Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Most had a college education. Some, like Zachary Taylor did not. Many also served with honor in the US military.

The same can be said of the 535 members of Congress. Most of them are well-educated, and many hold law degrees. A good number of them are fabulously wealthy.

My thinking in times past is that it was amazing our country could be in such a mess when we have all these supposedly smart people running the show. More recently I have come to the conclusion that things are what they are because of, not in spite of, the geniuses inhabiting the White House and the halls of Congress. We've all seen people with degrees in everything from rocket science to brain surgery who couldn't balance their checkbook or change a flat tire. What we're lacking in Washington is plain old everyday horse sense.

If you, Mister or Missus Ordinary Citizen, do not have enough money to pay your bills, are you still going to have that extravagant dinner at Waffle House? If the rent is a week past due will you still buy that 6-pack of Bud Lite? No, you won't. You're smarter than that. And you won't go borrow the money, either.

But Washington? Every US dollar printed is a dollar we owe someone else. We outran the value of our gold reserves many years ago. The elite professionals running the country are like a bunch of ten year-olds set loose in a candy store. And when they need more money, they'll either raise our taxes yet again or print out another billion dollars in play money. Or both.

Why do we hire, via the vote, such idiotic and immature people to run our country? We've done it for generations. There's an old saying my father was fond of: "If you want it done right, you gotta do it yourself."

We've been programmed to believe that only the elite, wealthy and scholarly are capable of running the nation. Those of us who dig the ditches, drill the oil wells, drive the trucks and hammer the nails have no place in Washington except as tourists. We, you and I, are too stupid to know what's good for us.

But "Stupid" is beginning to push back. Ask any politician who received an earful at a town hall meeting or was confronted by vocal tea partiers. I am fed up with my taxes being raised by someone who has no concept of frugality. I'm sick of seeing laws passed that affect my life when the people voting the legislation into law are too lazy to actually read it. My famously volcanic temper is nearing eruption because of the idiots both in Washington and in the media, from the left and the right, who tell me exactly what they want me to hear so I'll shut up and behave.

You know I who want in Washington? I want people who know how it feels when times are tough. I want people whose hearts are larger than their egos. I want people who have shown that they are both willing and capable of managing their own lives before they try to manage mine. I want the guy who stops to change a tire for an elderly lady on the side of the road. I want the woman who raised two kids and managed a household and made sure the bills were paid on time. I want people who go out like I do and work up a sweat to make a living. I want fidelity (at least to the Constitution if not their spouses), decency, and most of all, common sense.

We, the citizens of Flyover Country, deserve better than what is currently being shoveled out of Washington. We deserve people who will watch our money as closely as we do. And we need people who do not forget that it is in fact our money. There is no such thing as "government money."

The geniuses on both sides of the fence have had their chance, and they've blown it in spectacular fashion. It's time to revert back to the time when the "common" person ran for office, served a few years, and then returned to private life. This notion is part of the bedrock of our republic. The Framers envisioned a nation of people governed by their peers, not by a bunch of ivory tower elitists.

Our government and the bulk of the media are rife with smooth talkers and shifty operators who create crisis after crisis to keep us believing our world will end if they're not there to save us. We don't need to be saved or "bailed out" by the buffoons in Washington. If anything, we need to save ourselves and our children's future from a corrupt and inept Washington culture that long ago ceased to resemble what the Framers intended.

I for one have had enough of their kind of salvation. Hopefully, in 2010, we'll have at least a few viable options instead of the usual suspects to vote for.

Posted @ FreeRepublic: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2403428/posts

Why Computer Programmers Would Make Good Legislators

2009-11-22T23:12:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

No clue why this occurred to me, except that I stopped working on a programming project (my hobby) to read the news, which these days is almost all political. I read yet again about the sheer size (2000+ pages) and cost (who knows? Probably trillions) of the so-called health care reform. And as I read I began to wonder just how much of the final bill will be legitimate legislation and how much will be end-runs, workarounds, patches, what-ifs, and so on.

Every time a new law is created, whatever problem they were trying to solve usually gets worse (and more expensive). But, rather than repealing or rewriting the buggy law, they just keep piling on more legalese and spending more money until the original problem finally goes away. But as we all know, in the process of writing all this massive, mindless legislation, they invariably create a brand new mess of problems.

And of course, they now feel the need to write yet more laws to solve the new problems (that they caused), and the vicious circle continues. The bank failures, courtesy of The Community Reinvestment Act, come to mind.

Imagine if a programmer behaved in such a way...

You write a block of code to access a certain file, but in the process you create a bug in another part of the program (a common occurrence). What do you do? You remove the offending code to eliminate the problem, then you think it through, and then you write new code that accomplishes your purpose of the moment without creating the problem.

But what if instead you simply applied some sort of cheap workaround instead of properly fixing the code? In all likelihood, you'll have broken another part of the project without even knowing it. You don't find out until a week later, and by then you've forgotten the aforementioned workaround and have no clue why the program is behaving so badly. So you write a workaround for this, too. You end up with twice as much code as you should have and the program is a house of cards – subject to falling apart at any moment.

Am I stretching my often-questionable logic too far here? Maybe. But imagine for a moment if legislators wrote legal code like most of us nerds write computer code. When (not if) a new law totally screws an unrelated sector of society, you go back and remove the block of legal code that caused the problem. And then you figure out how to rewrite the law without causing collateral damage. You don't just pile on hundreds of lines of lawyer-speak until the problem goes away. Imagine – sensible, constructive legislation that pays Paul without robbing Peter.

The health care legislation currently being debated in the Senate is in excess of two thousand pages. That's a lot of legal code. I wonder how many "bugs" that'll cause? I daresay a system-wide crash will be just around the corner if it passes.

Perhaps before passing a new law to solve a problem, our legislators should consider instead repealing the law that caused it.

Discussion at Free Republic: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2392407/posts

Discussion at The Code Project: Click here

(Pocket) Change You Can Believe In

2009-11-20T22:56:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Times are tough right now. Few and far between are those who haven’t felt the economic crunch. I don’t mind admitting that times are pretty darn tough here at Burkhart’s house.

Those of you who’ve been comfy all your lives might not know what a CoinStar machine is. It’s a kiosk found in grocery stores and big box department stores like Wal-Mart that allows you to dump all the coins from your piggy bank in a chute. It counts your money then spits out a voucher that you cash in at the check out. A small and reasonable fee is attached.

People like me who hate rolling coins love the CoinStar machine. My bank won’t take unrolled coins, and there’s a CoinStar machine at Kroger near my home. In the past, I’d hit the CoinStar about three times a year with a small fortune in pocket change in a big cookie tin. Walk out of Kroger with an “extra” $100 in my pocket. Smiling all the way to the car.

But now?

You can end up standing in line for a half-hour waiting to get to the kiosk. Or you show up and it’s full, so you can’t use it. In my town there are three CoinStar kiosks. I was seriously broke last week and had a little change in a coffee can. So off I go to Kroger. It was full. So I head down the block to Wal-Mart. Not only was it full, but there were several people at the Customer Service Desk inquiring as to how long it’d be before the guy showed up to service it. I drove across town to the local SaveRite store, and thankfully that one was still working.

And this wasn’t the first time lately I’ve seen the kiosk at Kroger shut down because it was full. And I’ve been subject to standing in lines to get to it, too. Never had to do that until about a year ago when things began really tightening up around here.

So why the run on the CoinStar machines? Answer: Those piggy banks (or coffee cans or cookie tins or whatever) are no longer just fun little ways of saving back a few bucks. They’re grocery money, or school supplies, or maybe the electric bill. People are being weighed down with bills they can’t pay and the load is getting heavier. I took my big $22.68 and bought food. It was either that or draw money against my next paycheck.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out this is a bad sign. People are running out of money. And what money we have has nowhere near the buying power of years past. How long has it been since milk was under $2 a gallon? Not all that long. Now it’s $3 here, and I’ve seen it higher. Try to buy a loaf of bread for under $2.50. Try to buy a decent used automobile for under $15,000. And gasoline is again crawling upwards toward $3 a gallon. Maybe it’s already there where you live.

I’m not an economist, and I don’t know the answer. You can blame Bush or Obama or your neighbor’s grandmother. It doesn’t really matter. What I do know is that the root of this mess goes all the way back to the 70’s and the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. That was the beginning of the days in which government and “community organizers” began pushing financial institutions to make home loans to people who had no chance of ever paying them off.

In later years, politicians like Barney Frank would chortle and tell us that the economy was strong, the banks were sound, and there was nothing to worry over. They ridiculed people like Ron Paul, GW Bush, John McCain and others who tried to sound the warning that we were headed for tough times. And now we’re in those times, and guess who’s in charge of fixing it?

Answer: The same idiots who got us into this mess to begin with. And Barney Frank is right in the middle of it, telling us how Obama and Congress will hold financial institutions accountable for their misdeeds. Well Barney, maybe you should look back at your own record. You helped put the financial institutions in the very mess you’re blaming them for being in.

Oh, and those evil, excessive corporate bonuses the Left was screaming about? Try to remember that those executives were under contract, and contracts must be honored. And, many of them only got the so-called “bonus.” That was their only income. All the screaming about bonuses was smoke and mirrors to keep Americans from figuring out who the real culprits are.

And don’t give the Republicans too much credit, either. They had more than a decade of being in the majority and did little if anything to fix it. Paul, McCain and Bush were part of only a handful with the gumption to try, and they weren’t enough. And Bush once even boasted about how minority home ownership had soared during his presidency. I guess he momentarily forgot that the main reason for those numbers was a lot of dirt-poor African-Americans who jumped at the chance to leave “poor town” and live in a nice neighborhood. Who could blame them? And guess who’s losing their homes nowadays? If you guessed, “those dirt-poor African-Americans” give yourself an A. It’s what happens when you live beyond your means.

Now the country is in a gigantic mess, and the only people who won’t get blamed for it are the main ones who caused it. We have the option next year to vote out the ones who caused it, and vote back in the ones who did nothing about it. Ah, yes. Opportunity knocks.

But that’s politics. I don’t expect accountability or honesty from the Left or the Right. And they always meet my expectations. What the hell. My change is all gone, but the pawn shop is open. Funny… I used to go to the pawn shop to buy stuff. Times change.

See y’all on the road

Alan

Ain’t No Fanatic Like a Religious Fanatic

2009-10-22T16:40:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

People can always find an excuse for killing each other. It’s human nature. But I find it doubly disturbing when someone feels wanton murder is somehow an act of righteousness. Faleh Hassan Almaleki and Yasser Said stand accused of attacking their daughters. The fact that as of this writing, both are still on the run pretty much cinches their guilt.

Almaleki’s daughter, Noor Faleh Almaleki, is alive but suffered life-threatening injuries when her loving father ran her down with his car. Said’s two daughters were shot a total of eleven times in his taxi cab.

PEORIA, AZ. - Peoria police are looking for a father suspected of running down his daughter because she was becoming too "westernized" and was not living according to their traditional Iraqi values.

Peoria police say 48-year-old Faleh Hassan Almaleki of Glendale allegedly ran his daughter down Tuesday at an Arizona Department of Economic Security parking lot in Peoria. - KSAZ Fox 10

LEWISVILLE, TX. - An honor killing. That's how the mother [Patricia Owens] of two girls murdered in their father's taxicab last year describes their deaths.

Amina and Sara Said's father, Yasser Said, is wanted for capital murder for allegedly shooting them 11 times on New Year's Night 2008.

Owens says their father was offering the girls a night out on January 1, 2008. Amina had even come home from a friend's house. "Amina said she was hungry and he said he was going to take them to eat," Owens said, "and the next thing I knew the Lewisville Police was at my door."

The officers were there to notify her of a 911 call that had come into Irving Police, in which one of her daughters screamed she was being shot. - CBS 11 TV

That much of Islam’s teachings reduces women to little more than property is beyond debate. We see and hear evidence of this sad fact around the world almost daily. Those who adhere to and believe in a strict Islamic lifestyle cannot help but regard Western culture as decadent and obscene.

This of course gives rise to the question: “If we’re such a rotten bunch here in the USA, why do Muslims flock across our borders in such great numbers?”

There are many possible answers to that question - some right, some wrong. Many Muslims come to America and other Western nations to escape the violence and poverty often present under Muslim rule. One can hardly blame anyone for wanting to get out of Afghanistan.

Why then, do some Muslims insist upon bringing with them the thing that destroyed their lives overseas? No one expects them to completely leave their culture and religion behind, but it should be obvious to these people why their home countries are in such a sorry state of affairs. The so-called Religion of Peace is little more than a death cult.

One needs look no further than the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan to see the carnage wrought upon innocent people, especially women, by Muslim fanatics. Women are feared and mistrusted, seen somehow as predators preying upon the weaknesses of honorable men. For this, the Taliban denies them almost all basic human rights. They aren’t even allowed an education under the Taliban’s primitive interpretation of Islamic law.

These beliefs and the resultant abuse and murder bear a disturbing resemblance to the treatment of blacks during America’s dark past. When blacks were finally granted citizenship and voting rights in the US, many backwards-thinking whites were loathe to see blacks become their cultural equals. Much violence was done against blacks as they sought to emerge from the shadow of slavery and live lives free from the fear of harm.

Racial prejudice has gradually faded in America, though it still rears its ugly head from time to time. Trouble makers, both black and white, find excuses to stir the racial soup to see what rises to the top. How fortunate we are that such human debris are the exception rather than the rule.

Perhaps some Muslim men feel similar fears upon coming to America. Centuries of being taught that women are unworthy of respect, that their lives have less value than primitive notions of “honor” can be difficult to leave behind. Change can be a frightening prospect.

But what can be done under US constitutional law to protect Muslim women from harm on our soil? Non-Muslim men commit violence against their families every day. Domestic abuse is rampant in America, so we can’t exactly look down our noses at Muslims in particular. Many innocent American women are murdered without any connections to religion, Islam or otherwise.

I think a broader problem, of which domestic abuse specifically by Muslim men is a symptom, is the mindset that is created by adherence to strict interpretations of the Muslim faith. Apostasy, for example – leaving the Muslim faith for another religious faith – is punishable by death under Muslim law. And in many Muslim nations, Muslim law is the law of the land.

In Western civilization, law is not based solely on religious beliefs. Any government that respects all religious beliefs must by definition be religion-neutral. This isn’t to say that lawmakers should not be allowed to follow their beliefs, but rather that no religion be allowed to trump the rights of the citizenry. And our rights are guaranteed via the limits placed upon government in our Constitution.

(Note to President Obama: Please memorize the previous sentence. There will be a quiz.)

This is the dilemma we face as a free nation in allowing religious extremists into our society. We cannot ban Muslims because of their faith, nor can we routinely intrude into the homes of Muslims just because they’re Muslims. But we must remember the fact that the same extremist mindset that led Yasser Said and Faleh Hassan Almaleki to attack their daughters, is that which led 19 Muslim terrorists to kill 3000 Americans on September 11, 2001.

BOSTON — Tarek Mehanna grew up in Boston's upscale suburbs, earned a doctorate in pharmacology, taught religion and math at a Muslim middle school and was considered a typical American kid by those who knew him. Yet Mehanna, who had Egyptian and U.S. citizenship, told a friend he felt out of place in America, according to documents filed in court. And prosecutors say he used his hostility toward this country in a plot to kill U.S. troops in Iraq, assassinate top politicians and shoot down shoppers in U.S. malls.

Mehanna, 27, was arrested early Wednesday at his parents' home in Sudbury, an affluent town around 20 miles west of Boston. He was charged with conspiring with two others — Ahmad Abousamra, an American now in Syria, and an unidentified man who is cooperating with authorities — to support terrorism. – Fox News 10.22.09

Islam, in the mind of a devout Muslim, supersedes any and all other laws. This is why it is considered a crime in some Muslim nations to practice a non-Muslim religion, and why non-Muslims are often treated badly under Sharia law.

And, it is why innocent young women like Sarah and Amina Said were struck down in the flower of their youth. It’s why Noor is fighting for her life after her father ran over her. It’s why Fathima Rifqa Bary ran away to Florida to escape her father after she converted to Christianity. Whether her fears were justified, only time will tell. But the fact that she has those fears is significant.

Western culture is far from perfect, but we abhor and punish those who commit violence against the innocent. Muslim culture, whether it openly embraces it or not, is at least tolerant of violence against women and non-Muslims. Peaceful Muslims living in the US, Canada and other civilized nations have done little to persuade their fellow immigrants to embrace the West’s more tolerant way of life.

Until Islam moves forward and joins the rest of the world in the 21st century, women will continue to be in danger from Islam’s warped sense of honor. And the world at large will continue to be victimized by violent Muslim fanatics who kill at the urging of their false god.

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FreeRepublic Post: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2368764/posts

Naked from the Neck Up

2009-10-04T23:50:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

For the last several years I’ve been despairing over what to do about my hair. I used to wear it long, but it grew too thin, so I briefly tried wearing it short with a rat tail (remember those?). I quickly decided that this looked ridiculous and clipped it off. Grew it out long again, whacked it off short, back and forth. By the time I hit fifty the top of my head was pretty much a clear landing strip for insects and small birds.

I have several friends who shave their heads and all of them are happy with it. I considered trying it more than once but chickened out each time. Last Saturday night however, I decided to take the plunge. Perhaps I’d become obsessive about it. I spent an hour looking at images of some of my favorite action heroes with shaved heads, along with photos of some of my friends who shave theirs (you know who you are). What the hell, I decided. If I don’t like it, it’ll grow back in a few days.

I went to Wal-Mart and purchased a Norelco electric shaver so I wouldn’t have to lather up my head every day, and headed home to get started. As with most new things, there was a learning process involved in getting it done.

My plan was to use my trusty old beard trimmer with no attachment and just mow it all off (my hair was still thick on the sides). But this was like chopping hay. The trimmer was pulling, catching and bogging down and causing me all manner of grief. So, I resorted to Plan B – after I figured out just what Plan B was going to be.

I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the scissors. Once back in the bathroom I began whacking merrily away. It’s a miracle I didn’t do a Van Gogh on one of my ears. After chopping it short enough for the beard trimmer to deal with it, I returned to my original plan and it worked well. Lastly, I went over my head with the aforementioned Norelco shaver. Smooth as a baby’s butt!

After a quick shower to rid myself of all the stray clippings, I stood before the mirror to admire my handiwork. That’s when I realized that the part of my head that hadn’t been bald for several years hadn’t gotten nearly as much sun as the rest. Now I have a two-tone head. Sort of like a Volkswagen Beetle with a half-vinyl roof. Nothing a little sun won’t fix.

I quizzed a friend for tips regarding proper scalp care, and he informed me that after each shave he applies witch hazel to his head, and that it’s quite soothing. How convenient for me, since I already have Tucks Pads in the medicine cabinet. Oops… You probably didn’t really want to know about my Tucks Pads. Oh well. Too late now.

Everything feels different. Just going to bed that night, the sensation of the cool pillow against the back of my head was noticeable. Baseball caps feel different than before. Rain feels different. For someone who values sameness in my daily routines, this was quite a change.

But I like it. I’d recommend it. Before going to work today I spent some time working in the yard, and when I came inside to shower I was immediately conscious of the fact that I did not have a mop of smelly, sweaty hair. An old fat country boy like me won’t look as cool as Yul or Telly or Bruce, but I’m not out to win any beauty contests (And NO ONE looks cool like Yul Brynner anyway - he was the King of Cool). It feels great, and it doesn’t look half bad. Who knows? Maybe I’ll dig around in the bedroom dresser drawers and see if I still have any of my old ear rings from my hippie days. Then again, maybe not.

See ya’ll on the road.

Alan

BLAM!!!

2009-09-29T22:45:00.001-05:00

During the recent storms and floods that besieged the state of Georgia, I had occasion to drive all the way across the state on I-75. Beautiful sunny weather down south, but as I neared Atlanta the skies were darkening and the wind was bending the trees along the roadside. By the time I reached Atlanta, I was in the midst of a chain of raging thunderstorms.

You would think that people who live in the rainy Southeast would know how to drive in the rain. But no, they were sliding and spinning all around me. The rain was worsening and visibility was reduced as badly as if I were driving in thick fog. After one stretch in which I witnessed three accidents in about five miles, I found myself a truck stop and called it a day. I’m way too old to play bumper car.

Sitting there in the Pilot Travel Center in Cartersville, GA, I began thinking back about some of the accidents I’ve seen – and the handful I’ve been involved in. A traffic accident is something you don’t forget – especially that sick feeling at the last second when you realize there is nothing you can do to avoid the collision. I’ve logged about two million miles in thirty years of trucking, and I’ve had my share.

Don’t Cross That Line…

In 1986 I was hauling glass for a living. A “sling pack” glass hauler is a specialty trailer with a large rack in the center for hauling uncrated glass. As you can see in the image, the middle of the trailer is quite low to the ground.

I had delivered in Ford City, PA and was headed home empty. Passing through east Texas on a dark two-lane road late in the night, I was just humming along thinking about nothing in particular. I was meeting a car when it drifted across the center line and impacted the lower part of the trailer. Sparks flying, the car ground itself to pieces against the trailer, spun around behind me a slid off into the ditch.

I stopped and ran back to the car. An elderly gentleman who’d been about a half mile behind me and lived nearby said he would run home and call the police. I dashed down into the ditch, and here is this guy, about 19 or 20 years old, walking around the remains of what had been a really slick Olds 442. The whole driver’s side was basically missing. He had plenty of scrapes and bruises but nothing life-threatening. The kid smelled like a brewery and the back floorboard was full of Milwaukie’s finest.

I walked up and introduced myself, and the guy actually asked me if I had seen what hit him. I replied that yeah, in a manner of speaking I had seen it.

“Well, what was it?!”

Yep. He was that drunk.

When a Texas state trooper arrived he took one look at the guy and deposited him in the back of his patrol car. I limped on home, and the trailer required quite a bit of work before I could load it again. The Olds, I’m sure, was a total loss. Too bad – those were great cars.

Things That Go Bump At The Light…

In 1988 I was in southeastern North Carolina – I don’t recall the town – sitting at a traffic light. I was pulling a 48-foot steel flatbed loaded with lumber. Imagine my surprise when I felt a rather solid impact from behind. I jumped out and ran to the back of the trailer where a crowd of people was gathering.

There was this old Buick, a big late 60’s road yacht, crammed into the back of the trailer. The man and wife inside were hurt although not terribly so. But behind them was the little Datsun pickup truck (remember those?) that had hit the Buick hard enough to shove it into my trailer. The two girls inside were badly injured. The driver’s forehead had been essentially peeled back and the flap of skin was hanging down over her face. I eased it back into place and held it there to slow her bleeding until an ambulance arrived. The other girl’s legs were bleeding freely, the dashboard having been pushed down on them just above her knees. Both were unconscious.

It was about nine o’clock in the morning. According to a county deputy I spoke to a few days later, the two young gals were more than a little intoxicated (beginning to see a trend here?). I never found out if they’d just gotten an early start or were still drunk from the night before. I don’t suppose it matters at this point. Hopefully they recovered from their ordeal, and perhaps learned from it.

Butch Needs A Ride…

In 1980 I was still trucking in the oilfield, having not yet “graduated” to cross-country trucking. I was pulling a tanker for a large oilfield construction and service company in Palestine, TX. On this particular morning, all of the drivers were as usual hanging out in the “driver’s room.” This is where we waited for the various truck foremen to come out and send us to wherever they thought we needed to be that day. My foreman, a very cool dude named Gary, sauntered in and asked me if I knew where Butch lived. I replied in the affirmative and he said Butch had called and asked for a ride because he’d had car trouble.

I grabbed one of the company pickups – a painfully stripped down, no-frills Chevy half-ton, and headed out US 79 to Butch’s house. Butch lived right alongside highway 79, and so I’m sitting there waiting for traffic to clear so I can make a left into his driveway. Let me add here that highway 79 is the main drag through Palestine. A very busy road in the morning. Butch is standing there in his driveway, lunch pail in hand, when I saw him get this horrified look on his face. I instinctively knew what was coming. I thought, “Oh man, this is gonna hurt.” I was right.

The 3/4 ton Ford pickup plowed into me from behind, literally knocking the bed completely off the truck I was driving and shoving me about fifty feet ahead. My head snapped back and hit the rear window, then forward so my eyebrows could kiss the steering wheel (yes, I was wearing a seatbelt). Somehow, I also managed to yank my left pinkie finger out of socket. Never did figure out how that happened.

As you might imagine I was rather dizzy and uncomfortable at that point, and feeling like I’d just picked a fight with the wrong locomotive. I got out of the truck and promptly slid to the asphalt. The woman in the other pickup was screaming as if the Hounds of Hell were after her, so when Butch came to my side I asked him to check on her.

He came back a moment later and helped me to my feet. He said the lady had not one scratch, but was bawling her eyes out because she’d just wrecked her husband’s brand new truck. I was less than sympathetic, as were the cops. According to a motorist who was following her in traffic, she’d had a newspaper open across the steering wheel when she hit me. Excuse me for thinking perhaps the radio would have been a better option for getting the morning news en route to work.

She actually fought the ticket, claiming that I had pulled out from the shoulder in front of her. Never mind the half-dozen or so eye witnesses who testified against her. As I recall, she ended up going to a defensive driving school. I spent a few days at home. It’s hard to drive a truck with both your eyes swelled shut. Hey, anything for a day off, right?

Turnpike Turkey…

During the busier parts of the day, the intersection of I-84 and I-90 near Sturbridge, MA. is a nightmare. I-84 is a free road, but I-90 is toll. Traffic backs up for miles waiting to get to a toll booth. In fall of 1999, I was creeping along, having covered about 200 yards in 10 or 15 minutes. There is this little import car – a Honda if memory serves – beside me. The lanes narrow down from 6 or 8 to about 4 or 6 (I forget exactly how many) before the booths, so people are constantly jockeying for position.

I was aware of the car. But I was already in a lane that would roll me through a booth. This guy was determined to get ahead of me. He was evidently planning to intimidate me with sheer size and brute strength of his vehicle. Interestingly enough, he’d had several opportunities to move to the right and get into a lane. But he seemed especially enamored of the lane I was in.

At about walking speed, the guy just drove into the right front wheel of my truck. The lugs chewed up his left fender like so much soft taffy. I rolled on through the booth, got my toll ticket and stopped on the other side. The Honda comes through behind me, stops and the guy jumps out hopping mad. I ignored him while I walked around to the right side of my truck to check for damage. Aside from some blue paint in the threads of my lug bolts, all was well.

The whole time I’m inspecting the truck, this four-eyed human hemorrhoid in a cheap suit is ranting and raving, telling me about his high-dollar lawyer and all his friends on the Sturbridge Police Department. I called the Mass State Police and informed them of the incident. They asked if anyone was injured. When I replied that no, we were fine, they said, “Thank you and have a nice day.”

I told him the same thing before I drove away.

Oops, My Bad…

Lest you think I am concealing evidence - I will admit that yes, I did cause an accident. Back in 1988 I was in Upstate New York in some little backwater town. I was hunting a small pre-fabricated steel plant where I was to pick up a load bound for Topeka, KS. I reached a “T” intersection and was looking both ways to hopefully see the place (my directions weren’t exactly of Rand McNally quality). I spotted it down the street, but needed to make a right turn to get there. As luck would have it, it was a narrow intersection and I needed to swing wide to make it.

For reasons unknown, my common sense, experience and training all chose that moment to forsake me. I glanced in the mirror, saw nothing, and backed up so I could swing wide to the left to make the turn. And of course, there was car right behind me – too close for me to see it in my mirrors. Crunch time.

I pretty much annihilated this girl’s bumper, hood and grill. No one was hurt since I was moving quite slowly, and she apologized for being too close. But I told her no apologies from her were warranted. This one was on me. It would have taken perhaps 10 seconds for me to have stepped out of the cab to properly look behind the trailer. But it never even occurred to me to do so.

Amazing how dangerous even a momentary lapse of judgment can be. And I promise I’ll always get out and look in the future.

See ya’ll on the road.

Alan

No Dumpster Diving Allowed

2009-09-25T14:35:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

This is one of those can-you-tell-I’m-bored-out-of-my-mind posts. I’m sitting here in Jacksonville, FL, waiting to pick up a load of rolled paper bound for Missouri. I rushed over here to pick it up only to be informed that the load won’t be ready for three hours.

So I sat here. And sat. And sat some more.

Then I noticed the sign by an entrance, which is next to a dumpster. I read it twice, certain I’d misread it the first time. But no. So now I’m wondering: Is this so much of a problem that they had to post a sign about it?

And I also have to wonder: Why would anyone want to crawl into this particular dumpster?

Something tells me this is one of those liability-related things like the

Caution – Hot Liquids!

signs we see on coffee dispensers in convenience stores and truck stops. Or, maybe the dumpster is more comfy than the employee break room. I feel it prudent to refrain from asking. At least until AFTER I have the load in my trailer. ;-)

Suppose It Was True

2009-09-20T14:43:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

I have watched with interest and no small amount of skepticism the goings-on regarding Barack Obama’s citizenship. For those of you who’ve been living under a stone, there are literally millions of people demanding proof of Obama’s legality as President. What they want is simple: They want to see his long form birth certificate. And that is one of a number of records, unfortunately, that Obama refuses to share with the American people.

The supposed “birth certificate” provided by a handful of left-wing blogs wasn’t an actual long-form birth certificate, but rather a “certification of live birth.” This is a short form of the actual document. I find it odd that the certificate number was blacked out. Even if it’s genuine, and many say it isn’t, it is impossible to verify without the number. This along with other inconsistencies in its appearance have led to allegations that the document is a fake.

Also removed from scrutiny are much of Obama’s college records, his health history (only a brief summary was provided) and other personal information. We know less about this president than any other in the last 100 years.

Think back to the 2008 presidential campaign. When John McCain’s eligibility was called into question he quickly provided all necessary information. The issue was quickly laid to rest, because McCain’s parents were US citizens and US military bases abroad (he was born on a base in Panama) are considered US soil. There was no hesitation on McCain’s part.

So why hasn’t Barack Obama done the same?

A number of people, including Alan Keyes and especially Doctor Orly Taitz have doggedly pursued a court hearing to clear the air, but have met fierce resistance. One would think the President would simply provide the necessary proof and lay the matter to rest once and for all. You know, transparency in government and all those other campaign promises.

Instead, both Keyes and Taitz have been demonized by much of the media, and Doctor Taitz has allegedly received death threats. It also doesn’t help when a staunch conservative like Ann Coulter refers to the “birther movement” as a bunch of “cranks.”

While I remain skeptical on this matter, a recent email from a good friend regarding current court actions on the issue prompted me to wonder upon the consequences of Barack Obama being proven an illegitimate president by a court of law and removed from office. I was chilled by my own revelations, and as a result I believe I have a better understanding of the “cover up” if indeed there is one.

Consider the fanatical support Obama receives from the fringe left and minorities, the “thug politics” environment from which he hails and his association with various radical leftists (including former Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers). I doubt Obama would willingly resign even if it was proven he's not a natural born citizen. He and his political machine would instead conjure up yet another racist conspiracy and incite those who have been brainwashed to believe the Ku Klux Klan and the Border Patrol are hiding behind every tree on Martin Luther King Blvd.

Imagine the scene if Obama is removed from the White House by law enforcement: In an instant, the issue would cease to be about the truth and instead would be solely a matter of skin color. Thousands, perhaps millions, of angry African-Americans and Hispanics would clog the streets in violent protest. Pennsylvania Avenue would become a war zone (white liberals are sissies - they won't be anywhere in sight). It would be the second American Civil War, and that war would rage all across the nation. The death and damage would be beyond that of any previous conflict on American soil.

And that, in my opinion, is why this whole thing is being swept under the rug by our court system, politicians, and media talking heads on both sides of the political fence. Hurts to think it, but Orly Taitz’s remains could end up under that same rug if she is correct in her suspicions. In this regard, it matters not whether Obama is legally able to occupy the White House. Of those in power, some (the fringe left) simply want to keep him in office for the sake of their political agenda (and yes, I know the left isn’t the only group with an agenda). Others, including at least some conservatives, likely fear the strife that would follow his ouster and feel they're choosing the lesser evil by not insisting upon an investigation. And many of course feel the whole thing is nothing more than paranoid conspiracy theory.

I am understandably curious about his refusal to provide concrete proof of his citizenship, but I will not personally believe Obama is an illegitimate president unless it's proven in a court of law. I fully suspect that there is something amiss with his personal history, and that the real birth certificate may bring it to light. As to just what that something is, I will not speculate.

Time will, hopefully, tell.

What Exactly, is the Government's Job?

2009-08-24T09:34:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

With each passing day the federal government takes on more and more responsibility. And with each new obligation it assumes, the quality of the services We The People receive declines.

Health care is no exception. I'll be honest: If government could offer a viable, affordable, effective, simple and expedient method of health care delivery I'd be tempted to join up. But no government is capable of doing such a thing. The impending insolvency of Medicare and Medicaid, along with the overall shoddy performance of the Veterans Administration should be ample proof of this fact. The United States Government is incapable, regardless of whatever benevolent intentions it may have, of implementing and managing a nationwide health care system. The so-called "public option" should not be an option at all.

The sheer size and scope of the plan put forth by the House of Representatives is a prime example of government incompetence. The massive bureaucracy defined within this bill would add thousands of new government employees, dozens of counter-productive new regulations and trillions of dollars in taxpayer expenditures. This is the only way our government knows how to operate. Long gone are the days of a lean and effective government that understood its own limits. Today's federal government is a blind, one-legged hippopotamus hopping about in the china closet of the US economy. These people are incapable of managing their own expenses, and yet they wish to run and over-regulate a gigantic segment of the economy? Frightening to contemplate.

Certainly, there must be laws in place to ensure proper protections for the people where health care is concerned. But like all things, it is a matter of degree. There is a fine line between proper governance and intrusive government. Our government has crossed that line so many times that its footprints have almost completely obliterated it.

It is not the federal government's job to take on such huge responsibilities. It is not the place of Congress and the President to attempt to run the lives of every American, and assuming this level of control over our health care system would amount to exactly that: Government control over a large and growing portion of our private lives. President Obama can deny it all he wishes, but more and more people are reading the text of the House bill and finding that its passage would be a life-altering event for every American.

What then, is government's job?
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

That's not my opinion. It's the law, stated clearly in the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. No where in the Constitution does it state that government has the right to meddle in our health care system. No where in the Constitution does it state that government should be bailing out failing businesses or robbing Citizen A to pay Citizen B.

The federal government's job is to maintain a strong national defense, a national system of highways, and a framework of laws to protect the rights of the citizenry. It is not the place of the federal government to micromanage the lives of the populace.

Mister President, I like my health insurance just fine. The absolute best thing you and your cronies on Capitol Hill can do for health care is Nothing At All. We don't need, or want, your "help."

I’ll Keep My Clunker

2009-08-11T19:50:00.001-05:00

One of President Obama’s great ideas for our country is that we should trade in our “clunkers” for modern fuel efficient cars. “Clunker” in this case is defined as anything that doesn’t get fuel mileage comparable to that of a bicycle, or perhaps an ox-drawn cart.

My first concern with what I drive is safety, followed by comfort, the “fun factor,” and finally……. fuel mileage. A vehicle must deliver on all the former before the latter becomes a consideration. Sorry folks, but that’s just how it is.

Regarding safety versus fuel economy, I have from day one wondered why anyone in his or her right mind would drive one of the tiny sub-compacts. While I’m sure environuts like President Obama love these things, they’re little more than a go-karts with air conditioning. Consider the so-called “Smart” car: I’ve passed them with my truck running down the interstate and watched them in the right mirror when they bobble to the right from the wind of my passing. And mind you, that’s with me driving the speed limit. I rarely get over 65 or 70 mph. The little car just doesn’t have enough mass to be stable on the road.

At the Smart website, the Smart is described as follows:

Discover a car that has been perfectly designed for your everyday life. A car that offers maximum comfort, agility, safety, ecology and driving fun. A pioneering vehicle concept that is one of the best with its low CO₂ emission figures.

Safety? Gee, really? How the hell can you be safe driving a pregnant roller skate? And I’ve never seen one traveling over about 60 or so. Are they really that slow? This is not a safe car. It’s not even a speed bump.

The sole legitimate criteria for the safety of any vehicle is how well it protects its occupants. There is no other criteria. And in terms of protection in an accident, regardless of who’s at fault, the more solid the vehicle, the safer you are. The left is of course fully aware of the safety factor. But they’re more concerned with a pile of agenda-driven, bogus environmental propaganda than the safety of the driving public. Their actions in this regard make it obvious.

The facts behind an Internet rumor…

Today my good friend Nita emailed me a picture of a Ford Escape that got crunched between a couple of dump trucks in Louisiana. This is the image purported as being a Smart car on various blogs. I first checked at Snopes to see if it was really a car or just a garbage can, but Snopes was still investigating the rumor. Being the epitome of accuracy and run-on sentences, I tracked down the truth by calling the Jefferson Parish, LA Sheriff’s Office and speaking to an officer who was present at the scene of the accident.

Incredibly, the lady driving the Escape… escaped. The officer (I don’t have permission to use his name) informed me that the impact was offset to the passenger side. The driver’s side (not visible in the photo) wasn’t as badly damaged. According to the officer, she has since been released from the hospital. But still folks, LOOK AT THE IMAGE. The vehicle was utterly annihilated. How much pain did she suffer from her injuries? Far more I would imagine, than had she been driving an Expedition or a Suburban. I’m glad she survived. Were I her, I’d definitely sue the jackass driving the red Mack. But consider for just a moment: What if the rumor had been true, and she was driving a Smart? Think she’d be alive today?

I drive a totally pristine 1983 Chrysler New Yorker. Uses no oil between changes. Still gets decent gas mileage. But by Obama’s standards, it’s a clunker. You know what? I’ll keep my clunker with its reliable old 318 cubic inch V8. I like the plush, roomy interior. I like the smooth ride. I like the thoroughly bad-assed Chrysler factory stereo. I like the fact that I scarcely feel the bumps on the county road where I live. And, I like the fact that I am protected by a veritable fortress of good old-fashioned American iron. If you want to drive a sardine can on wheels for the sake of saving three or four bucks at the gas pump, go ahead. But for your own safety please don’t get off the go-kart track.

See ya’ll on the road

Alan

Conscience or Career?

2009-07-26T20:11:00.001-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

More and more often we encounter news of an employee forced to choose between his or her job and performing an act which that person finds morally reprehensible. This occurs most frequently in the medical and pharmaceutical professions.

Consider the case of Catherina Cenzon-DeCarlo, a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. According to a recent article in the New York Post:

A Brooklyn nurse [Cenzon-DeCarlo] claims she was forced to choose between her religious convictions and her job when Mount Sinai Hospital ordered her to assist in a late-term abortion against her will.

"It felt like a horror film unfolding," said Catherina Cenzon-DeCarlo, 35, who claims she has had gruesome nightmares and hasn't been able to sleep since the May 24 incident...

Cenzon-DeCarlo is a devout Catholic and niece of a Filipino Bishop. Given the Vatican's strict interpretation of scriptures regarding abortion, it's easy to see why the young lady was so upset by the situation.

From the Vatican's "Declaration on procured abortion":
You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb and you shall not murder the infant already born."[6] Athenagoras emphasizes that Christians consider as murderers those women who take medicines to procure an abortion; he condemns the killers of children, including those still living in their mother's womb, "where they are already the object of the care of divine Providence." Tertullian did not always perhaps use the same language; he nevertheless clearly affirms the essential principle: "To prevent birth is anticipated murder; it makes little difference whether one destroys a life already born or does away with it in its nascent stage. The one who will be a man is already one."

However, the abortion in question was evidently not one sought as a matter of convenience or after-the-fact birth control. Was this case justifiable as a "clinical" abortion? That depends upon whom you ask.

Mt. Sinai Hospital staff allegedly told Cenzon-DeCarlo that the patient was suffering from preeclampsia and required immediate treatment in the form of a late-term abortion (the patient was 22 weeks into her pregnancy).

Cenzon-DeCarlo claims that the patient was not taking magnesium treatments – the standard therapy for preeclampsia – and showed no outward signs that she was in immediate danger.

WebMD has the following to say regarding preeclampsia and eclampsia :
Also referred to as toxemia, preeclampsia is a condition that pregnant women can get. It is marked by high blood pressure accompanied with a high level of protein in the urine. Women with preeclampsia will often also have swelling in the feet, legs, and hands. Preeclampsia, when present, usually appears during the second half of pregnancy, generally in the latter part of the second or in the third trimesters, although it can occur earlier.

Eclampsia is the final and most severe phase of preeclampsia and occurs when preeclampsia is left untreated. In addition to the previously mentioned signs of preeclampsia, women with eclampsia often have seizures. Eclampsia can cause coma and even death of the mother and baby and can occur before, during, or after childbirth.

Cenzon-DeCarlo has filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming her religious rights were violated.

There also have been several high-profile cases in recent years involving pharmacists who refused to sell female customers a "morning after" pill to terminate a possible pregnancy.

Where do we draw the line between legal / ethical responsibility and religious freedom?

Where do we draw the line regarding an employee's rights and the rights of the customer and the employer?

While I am admantly pro-life, I cannot agree with those who attempt to alter their workplace to fit their own personal beliefs. Let's consider some admittedly over-the-top examples:

If you object to pornography, should you apply as a salesperson at "Ample Annie's Triple-X Emporium?"
If you're vehemently anti-gun, why are you working at Smith and Wesson?
If you're a card-carrying member of PETA, should you be working at a slaughter house?
If you are a nurse and you object to abortion, shouldn't you be working at a facility that does not perform abortions?

A business, any business, reflects the personality and beliefs of its owner and management. It is not the place of employees to attempt to fundamentally alter that business. If you're offended by the fact that your boss sells Cajun-Grilled Breast of Spotted Owl, you do not have the right to refuse to serve it. Either take care of the customer, or hunt a new job.

Walgreens sells the "morning after pill." They recently fired several pharmacists who refused to dispense the drug because of their pro-life views. In the moral sense, I agree with the pharmacists. But no one was twisting their arms to make them work at Walgreens. If they found the practice unacceptable, they should have simply moved on.

True enough, President Bush strengthened the rules protecting employees whose conscience was at odds with employer policy. It's also likely that President Obama will undo those rules. And I will find it impossible to disagree with him if he does. The inmates cannot be allowed to run the asylum. For a business to provide goods and services consistent with its mission statement and advertising, everyone has to be on the same page.

As a trucker, if I object to the consumption of alcohol but go to work for a company that routinely hauls beer, how can I complain? When my dispatcher tells me to head over to Miller Brewing Company, shall I tell him, "Sorry, I don't do beer loads?" Do I have that right?

No, I don't. I'm basically asking to get fired and will probably get what I asked for.

If you want your views to be respected, then you must be willing to respect the views of others. Whether you agree with those views is irrelevant. Respect is a two-way street. That's not to say that you can't try sitting down with your boss and discussing the matter. But if your boss says you have to be willing to do whatever it is you find objectionable, then you have two options: You can comply, or you can hit the help wanted section in the classifieds.

The boss may not always be right, but he's always the boss.

Sources and Related Reading:

NURSE 'FORCED' TO HELP ABORT
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07262009/news/regionalnews/nurse_forced_to_help_abort_181426.htm

SHIELDING 'CONSCIENCE' WORKERS
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07262009/news/regionalnews/spotlight_on_fed_rule_shielding_conscien_181424.htm

Catholic DECLARATION ON PROCURED ABORTION
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19741118_declaration-abortion_en.html

ACLJ sues Walgreens over ‘morning-after’ pill firings
http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Feb06/Art_Feb06_11.html

How Did I Get Here?

2009-07-13T20:54:00.001-05:00

How did I get here?

That has to be the question Staten Island teen Alexa Longueira was asking when she suddenly found herself down a New York City manhole.

According to MyFox New York:

Alexa Longueira was walking down Victory Boulevard and getting ready to text-message when she fell into an open sewer manhole. Now the city is trying to figure out why the manhole was left open and unblocked. Alexa suffered some cuts and scrapes but is otherwise OK.

So just how did Alexa end up in a manhole?

Seems the young lady was too busy texting to pay attention to where she was going. Pardon me for saying so, but given that she was walking around in one of the world’s largest and busiest cities, shouldn’t she have been paying attention to her environment? Perhaps I’m being unreasonable.

It’s a given that the manhole shouldn’t have been uncovered. The city workers involved say they’d left it open only for a moment to grab some cones. They probably assumed that people walking down the street would be paying attention. Perhaps they were being unreasonable, too.

Here’s an interesting thought: Had Alexa sauntered down the street a few seconds later, there is every chance she’d have tripped over the cones and gone head first into the manhole. She might have died, and this story would have lost all of its entertainment value. Do you doubt me? Think about it – she was obviously paying zero attention to the path ahead of her. If she didn’t see that gaping hole, why would she see a rubber cone?

And of course, Alexa’s parents say they plan to file a lawsuit. If they cared one whit about their daughter, they’d apologize to the city and thoroughly discipline poor Alexa for being so careless with her own safety.

Every day I see people texting while they’re driving. It’s insane. Many areas have enacted laws against texting while driving, which is a good indicator of just how serious the problem has become. Mind you, I love my little Motorola cell phone. And yes, I send the occasional text message. But if I’m walking, I stop. And I never… NEVER text while driving. You should be very relieved about that since I drive an 18-wheeler for a living. Remember: I’m out there. Somewhere. Always.

And please explain to me how you can be watching where you’re going while concentrating on making a smiley face on a 3-inch screen? Answer: You can’t. And that’s why sooner or later you’ll crash into the back of my trailer at 70 mph. Perhaps your family will have “LOL! :-)” etched on your gravestone.

Come on people, grow up just a little bit, okay? I’d hate to meet you by accident.

Related Reading:

MyFox article

Absent Friends

2009-07-02T22:32:00.006-05:00

NOTE: Because a police investigation is ongoing and the person described in this post is charged but not yet convicted, I am not using her name. She is referred to here simply as “XXX.”

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

I have had a death in my family. Sammi, my 4-legged feline companion died sometime Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Had she died of natural causes I could deal with it. But Sammi's death was anything but natural.

For 7 years, I had trusted XXX with a key to my house and each day (while I'm on the road) she would come over and feed her and scoop the litter box and spend some time with her. XXX also would let me know when the electric bill arrived and tell me how much it was so I could get it paid, often by sending her the money via ComChek (a money transfer service). I paid her for her time each month, and for 7 years she took reasonably good care of Sammi. It was an imperfect but workable arrangement.

Tuesday I was unable to contact XXX. I knew the electric bill was due. So I called the electric company to find out the amount. That’s when I discovered the previous bill was never paid and the electricity had been off for several days. I was over 400 miles away from home in Tennessee. I contacted a friend and sent her the money and she paid the bill for me. But no one had a key to my house. No way to check on Sammi.

I drove nearly non-stop from TN to my home in MS. I found Sammi dead in front of her EMPTY water dispenser and EMPTY food dispenser. Whether it was starvation, dehydration, or cooked alive by the searing heat inside a mobile home with no a/c (100+ degrees OUTSIDE), I'll never know. It hardly matters at this point - Sammi died alone. And she suffered horribly. She died wondering why neither XXX or I was there to help her.

XXX, a neighbor, mother of two young children, and the woman whom for 7 years I had trusted with the well-being of a cherished pet, went down in one of the largest drug busts in the history of the state of MS - fifty people taken into custody and over a million dollars‘ worth of meth confiscated. My understanding is that she is accused of being a transporter.

I didn’t find out about the bust until Tuesday evening, and by then it was too late. Sammi was trapped here in the house for over a week before I even knew there was a problem. The drug trade has claimed yet another innocent life, and deprived me of one of my best friends.

I have no words to describe how I feel, except that it feels as if I have been poisoned. Everywhere I look, I see something that reminds me of her. I cannot bear to look at her scratching post, yet neither can I bear to dispose of it. I cannot walk into the kitchen without seeing her tiny form lying there where I found her, even though I’ve laid her to rest. I still catch myself looking at the floor before I move my office chair, because one night I rolled across the tip of her tail as she slept near my feet.

If I have learned anything from this, it is that none of us lives in a vacuum. What we do, or do not do, affects others. I could blame all this on XXX. I could rant and rave about her criminal activities and how Sammi’s blood is on her hands. And to a degree I would be correct. But, no. I grew complacent, content to let someone else tend to my affairs in my absence, and Sammi paid the price for that complacency. And I also will pay a price, tendered in haunting “what-if” questions that will gnaw at me for years to come.

Hindsight is always 20-20. Perhaps had I paid a bit more attention, I'd have questioned how XXX could drive an expensive SUV on a fixed income. Perhaps I’d have picked up on some hint that things were not as they appeared. Then again, perhaps not. I'll never know, but I'll always wonder. I'll not bury myself in guilt, but Sammi was my charge. I can’t help but wonder if there wasn’t something I could have done differently that might have saved her.

Warm thanks to all of the friends and family who’ve been so supportive over the last 24 hours. Some may be curious as to why I’ve posted this, given how (very) unpleasant it is to write about it. Three reasons: To let the rest of my good friends know what’s transpired, to attempt to clear my head a bit by articulating what’s spinning around inside it, and lastly because it’s a good reminder of just how painful the consequences can be when we behave irresponsibly.

Related:
The link below goes to a news video (it's a pop-up window) regarding the bust. XXX is among those shown walking in chains into the courthouse. I’ll not say which is her, because she is not yet convicted.
Click here for the video.

Religious Freedom versus Parental Responsibility

2009-05-16T20:55:00.009-05:00

For generations, free nations have recognized the individual’s right to believe and worship as he or she sees fit. In the United States it is considered to be among our most sacred constitutional protections. Our own Declaration of Independence makes a direct and undeniable link between our nation’s religious heritage and the basic human rights Americans hold dear:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

How unfortunate it is then, that in recent times we have seen an upswing in cases where religious freedom and human rights have come to be at loggerheads.

In spite of its numerous flaws, the USA has the finest healthcare system in planetary history. Why then, do some parents subject their children to the twenty-first century equivalent of witch doctors and faith healing? What part of “Thou shalt not kill” do they not understand?

Certainly, parents’ rights to raise their children as they see fit must be protected. It is not the business of government to dictate what values a child is taught in the home, how they are disciplined (excepting abuse), and what spiritual teachings parents share with their children. But as in all facets of a civilized society, lines must be drawn. And when parents step over those lines, authorities must step in to protect the children.

Such is the case with respect to two children currently in the news.

Thirteen year-old Daniel Hauser, of Sleepy Eye, MN suffers from Hodgkin's lymphoma. Due to their religious beliefs, his parents stopped his chemo-therapy and decided to pursue “alternative treatments” as defined by a Native American religious group called the “Nemenhah Band” to which they belong. As a result of this decision, Daniel’s tumor is growing. Daniel’s parents claim their affiliation with the group does not conflict with their Catholic faith.

Fortunately for Daniel, a Minnesota judge has stepped in to save his life. According to an article at FoxNews.com:

In a 58-page ruling Friday, Brown County District Judge John Rodenberg found that Daniel Hauser of Sleepy Eye, Minn., has been "medically neglected" and is in need of child protection services. Rodenberg said Daniel will stay in the custody of his parents, but Colleen and Anthony Hauser have until May 19 to get an updated chest X-ray for their son and select an oncologist.

For Daniel, there is hope.

The same cannot be said for Madeline Kara Neumann of Weston, WI. The personable, popular eleven year-old girl died from diabetic ketoacidosis in 2008. Diabetic ketoacidosis is completely treatable if one acts promptly. I know: I am a diabetic and developed the same condition in 2007. When I think of the nausea, the loss of control of bodily function, the thirst and the sheer blinding pain I went through, I cannot bear to think what this innocent girl must have suffered. That she did so needlessly only makes it worse.

In an AP article from 2008, Police Chief Dan Vergin had the following to say:

Vergin said an autopsy determined the girl died from diabetic ketoacidosis, an ailment that left her with too little insulin in her body, and she had probably been ill for about 30 days, suffering symptoms like nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness.

The girl's parents, Dale and Leilani Neumann, attributed the death to "apparently they didn't have enough faith," the police chief said.

They believed the key to healing "was it was better to keep praying. Call more people to help pray," he said.

The mother believes the girl could still be resurrected, the police chief said.

Madeline’s parents now face charges of reckless homicide and could end up spending the next twenty-five years in prison. But no prison sentence can resurrect their daughter.

A worthy question at this point is: “When are authorities justified in usurping the religious rights of parents to protect their children?”

To me this is not a complicated question. Here’s why:

Refer back to the excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. Our founding documents recognize that we are guaranteed - not by our government but by our Creator - “certain unalienable Rights, [and] that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

By allowing a dependent child to suffer or die, a parent is in direct conflict with this most important line from the Declaration. It is the parents’ charge to protect the God-given life and liberty of their children. Should they fail in that charge and place their children in harm’s way, they have effectively forfeited their rights as parents by defaulting on their responsibilities.

Mainstream Christianity and Judaism have no reservation about protecting the lives of the innocent, including those still within the womb. But groups like the Nemenhah Band and others have become more prevalent as the years go by.

Regardless of one’s faith, common sense should tell these people that anytime a so-called “spiritual leader” deviates wildly from well-known and established teachings, questions should be asked. There is nothing wrong with healthy skepticism. Christians are in fact warned of this in Second Peter:

“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.”

Minor children are for the most part unable to speak for themselves in legal matters. They cannot make major decisions regarding their own healthcare. They have neither the legal authority nor the necessary life experience to make such decisions. It is a parent’s most basic responsibility to make those decisions in the child’s stead. When a parent, through either malicious intent or outright stupidity puts a child’s life in danger, the rights of the child must take precedence over those of the parents.

Any parent who allows a child to die for “religious reasons” is as guilty of murder as one who puts a gun to the head of a toddler, and deserves to be dealt with accordingly. Hell isn’t hot enough for people like Leilani Neumann.

UPDATE (May 17/09):
Check out the story of 10 year-old Hannah Powell-Auslam. Try to imagine being only 10 and having breast cancer. Her parents are seeing to her medical care (which unfortunately included a mastectomy) and she's doing well.

Hannah's Blog: Click here
FoxNews Article: Click here

Sources:

Daniel Hauser article

Madeline Kara Neumann article (mother‘s trial - 2009)

Madeline Kara Neumann article (about her death - 2008)

Declaration of Independence

Quote from Second Peter

Nemenhah Band Website (how to become a medicine man)

Photo Credits:
Daniel Hauser & Madeline Neumann: The Associated Press
Cross & Declaration of Independence: USA.gov & public domain image combined

Money? What Money?

2009-02-02T10:44:00.003-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

I've been reading this morning that frugal Americans are hurting the economic recovery efforts by saving our money instead of spending it. Last time I checked, Americans were holding the line on spending because we don't have nearly as much (if any) discretionary spending ability as before. Money is tight and times are hard.

What are we supposed to do? Shall I take the cash I'm holding for my next house payment and buy a new Nintendo? Shall I skip the water bill in favor of a couple of 12-packs of Miller Lite?

Here's an idea: If the government and the various economic "experts" around the country think I need to go blow some money on consumer goods, then take that so-called stimulus money – from $800 to $900 billion depending on who you listen to - and send us all a nice tidy check. That'd get things rolling again a lot faster than spending $150 million on honeybee insurance or $650 million on government employees' cars or $650 million for TV converter boxes.

According to what I've seen, just slightly over ten percent of the stimulus plan would actually have the potential of boosting the economy. The rest is nothing more than pet projects and pork. Is this the fiscal responsibility promised by Barack Obama? Is this the Change We Can Believe In? I was under the impression that Barack Obama was against wasteful spending and huge government debt. Oh, wait... I heard that in a campaign speech. I keep forgetting that campaign promises don't count after the election. You'd think that after all these years I would know better.

Mister President, if you want me to go out and spend some money then send me some. Divide that $900 billion dollars by 330 million and send us each a tidy little check for about $2700 bucks. THEN I will go spend some money. Unlike the U.S. government, I am unable to spend money I don't have. Unlike the U.S. government it is illegal for me to print new money at will. I have to actually earn my way through life. If I borrow money, I have to pay it back. If I skip a payment on something, I have to make it up the following month or risk getting a big hickey on my credit rating.

The economy will grow when everyday people have money in their pockets to spend. Dumping money on the pet projects of politicians and funding The National Endowment for the Arts does little for the average consumer. Mister President, it was government's tampering with the economy that got us into this mess. If you feel you must continue the long and hallowed tradition of meddling in matters for which your qualifications are at best questionable, at least do something sensible. You want me to spend some money? Send me a check. And since it's my money anyway, don't expect me to include it when I file my taxes.

Images From Missouri Ice Storm

2009-01-29T20:53:00.000-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Thursday (01.29.09) I traveled up I-55 through Arkansas and Missouri on the heels of a rather nasty winter storm. From just north of Blytheville, AR to a bit north of Charleston, MO the storm dropped an unbelievable amount of ice. The results were devastating. Thousands of people without power and significant damage to homes, trees and power lines.

Being the shutterbug that I am, I grabbed my digital camera to get images for my blog. But the batteries were dead. And since no one had power and all the stores were closed, I could not get any batteries. So, I was reduced to walking around in the cold snapping low-resolution pics in bad light with my cell phone. Most of them came out too crappy to use here, but I've managed to salvage a few. Most of these were shot at or near the Pilot Travel Center in Hayti, MO. A few others were shot north of Hayti after I hit the road again.

Trees along I-55 just smashed to bits by the ice

Look at this tiny twig encased in so much ice...

Uh oh! Better call GEICO

Another crappy image (crappy cell camera)
This was at the exit of the Pilot Travel Center

(Above & Below) Decorative trees at the Pilot ruined by the ice

One of hundreds of power poles snapped by the ice

No power = no gas.
While at the Pilot, I was approached by dozens of motorists looking for
ANY PLACE they could find some gas.
Also an elderly fellow whose generator had run out of fuel.

(Above and Below)
There is a tree under all that ice.
Really. No foolin'

See ya'll on the road.
--Alan

Fighting Fire with Fire

2009-01-27T01:11:00.002-05:00

In a recent article posted at truthout.org, Phillip Butler makes a case for the arrest of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld for crimes against the U.S. Constitution. Butler is a veteran military pilot and was a POW in Vietnam for 2,855 days. Since his repatriation in 1973, he has earned a PhD in Sociology and according to his author bio, "he mentors business and organization leaders and is a community activist."

His article is well-written and thorough, using the Third Geneva Convention and its rules regarding the interrogation of POWs as the basis for his assertions. In the article, Butler accuses the Bush Administration of "gross attempts to institutionalize torture." In addition to being well-written, the article is also gravely out of step with the times.

Article 17 of the Third Geneva Convention states:

"No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind."

In a war between two legitimate nations, each with a well-organized and identifiable military, this is an acceptable practice. Unfortunately, such is not the case in the war being waged against the free world by Islamic fundamentalists.

In Article Four of the Third Geneva Convention, "Prisoner of War" status is defined as follows:

A. Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy:
(1) Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict, as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.

(2) Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, belonging to a Party to the conflict and operating in or outside their own territory, even if this territory is occupied, provided that such militias or volunteer corps, including such organized resistance movements, fulfill the following conditions:[
(a) that of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;
(b) that of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;
(c) that of carrying arms openly;
(d) that of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.

(3) Members of regular armed forces who profess allegiance to a government or an authority not recognized by the Detaining Power.

(4) Persons who accompany the armed forces without actually being members thereof, such as civilian members of military aircraft crews, war correspondents, supply contractors, members of labour units or of services responsible for the welfare of the armed forces, provided that they have received authorization, from the armed forces which they accompany, who shall provide them for that purpose with an identity card similar to the annexed model.

(5) Members of crews, including masters, pilots and apprentices, of the merchant marine and the crews of civil aircraft of the Parties to the conflict, who do not benefit by more favourable treatment under any other provisions of international law.

(6) Inhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces, without having had time to form themselves into regular armed units, provided they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war.

Simply put, the above stipulates that to qualify as a prisoner of war and be guaranteed rights under the Geneva Convention, one must be either:

A member of a uniformed military representing a nation or state,
a volunteer working with said military – and with proper identifying documents,
or one who spontaneously takes up arms against an invading military and carries weapons openly in accordance with the customs of war.

The vast majority of Muslim terrorists fall under none of the above. As such, one can credibly make the case that they are not qualified for the protections provided to soldiers of an honorable military. The Geneva Convention does not apply to them.

In his article, Butler discusses the fact that he faced horrific treatment at the hands of the North Vietnamese. I am awed that he could retain his sanity under such conditions. But while I have tremendous respect for him, his views on the Bush Administration's policies regarding captured terrorists are flawed.

He bases his assertions (that Bush and Company should be prosecuted) on his loyalty to the Constitution and the pain he suffered at the hands of the Viet Cong. What he has failed to think about is the fact that the Vietnam War was different in several key ways from the war on Islamic terrorism.

Like Islamic terrorists, the Viet Cong had no honor. Their capacity for cruelty knew no limits. They were completely comfortable with the idea of slaughtering their fellow countrymen in the name of their cause. But the Viet Cong were not interested in world conquest. There was never any chance of a Viet Cong soldier showing up on American or European soil with a bag of explosives.

Honorable military units struggle to avoid civilian casualties in Muslim nations. All the while suicide bombers gleefully detonate their bomb vests and truck bombs in heavily populated areas with the goal of killing innocent women and children. In Gaza, Hamas has stated publicly that they will rearm even after Israel agreed to end their retaliatory strike. And you can bet that Hamas will continue to launch their missile attacks from civilian areas, specifically so Israeli counterattacks will harm civilians in Gaza.

Terrorists streamed into Iraq to fight Coalition forces even after the Iraqi people voted in a democratic government to replace the fallen regime of Saddam Hussein. Iran and Syria continue to fund and arm Hamas and other terrorist organizations. Around the world, the influence of Islamic Fundamentalism continues to build a vulgar legacy of death, destruction and denial of basic human rights. And all the while, they call Islam the Religion of Peace.

The simple unpleasant truth is that Islam will continue to compromise the safety and even the cultures of free nations until sufficiently drastic measures are taken to stop them. While it sickens me to say it or even think it, there is only one way to stop the spread of Islamic Fundamentalism and the destruction it brings: Civilized nations must be willing to be as ruthless as our enemies.

George Bush had the right idea. Shock them. Water-board them. Do whatever it takes, but wring what information we can from them and then stuff them back in their cells. And then use that information as a tool in the War on Terror. How unfortunate that our new President fails to recognize that Gitmo has been a rousing success.

Radical Islamics see humane treatment and diplomacy as signs of weakness. We have tried diplomacy. We have acted with tolerance. We have shown compassion. We have extended the hand of friendship to our Muslim brethren and we have seen that hand chewed away by the mad dogs who crashed commercial jets into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.

George W. Bush was not a great President, and to be honest I'm glad he's done. But he was absolutely right to use harsh treatment against captured terrorists. It's the only thing they understand.

The world is changing. Phillip Butler and others like him need to pull their heads out of the sand and understand just how evil the enemies of freedom have become. We cannot, dare not, continue to treat Muslim extremists humanely. Until they are made to feel a level of fear that outweighs their lust for barbarism, we have no choice but to be worse barbarians than they are. The survival of the free world depends upon it.

Either we kill them, or they kill us. Pick one.

Related Reading:

The Folly of Fanaticism

2009-01-13T21:25:00.003-05:00

One would expect that as time goes by and mankind progresses and hopefully becomes wiser, we'd be more likely to take a logical approach to all things. And while some do exactly that, a disturbingly large and I fear growing number of people are retreating into fanaticism.

WordNet 3.0 (2006 by Princeton U.) defines fanaticism as an "excessive intolerance of opposing views." Know anyone who fits that description? I'm not talking about a fanatical Steelers or Cowboys fan. I'm referring to those who reject out of hand any view contrary to their own personal dogma, be it religious, ideological or political.

We live in a supposedly modern and enlightened culture. Intelligent and open-minded debate on important issues should be the naturally-occurring result of a mutual desire to find the truth. Sadly, all too often this is not the case.

Whether it's the fanatical proponents of human-caused global warming, religious fanatics blowing themselves up in the name of Allah, or mindless followers of the latest "Bush did it" conspiracy theory, too many people have closed their minds to the fruits of knowledge and reason. Preconceived notions become fact, religious dogma trumps reason, and science is forced into consensus and compromise to suit a political agenda.

Global Warming Fanaticism
Never mind the fact that the world has been far warmer in the past than it is at present. Forget that sea ice coverage has made a nice comeback. Ignore the fact that we're halfway to our next ice age. And for Pete's sake don't mention how cold it's been for so early in the winter. Forget all of that. After all, these are just facts, and facts are always trumped by computer models and carbon footprints.

Every time a new UN-sponsored "consensus" hits the press, the climate change fanatics loudly proclaim that the debate has ended. Now, they'll tell you, there can be no doubt that mankind is directly responsible for global warming. If we don't downgrade our standard of living in the name of being good little greenies, we'll all suffocate when the Ozone Layer burns away or we'll be washed off the face of the Earth by rising oceans.

The comparison of scientific findings by credible experts on both sides of the debate isn't an option for these people. Those who raise questions regarding the validity of the latest assertions of the mostly-leftist environmental activists are regarded as heretics and infidels. They're denounced and ridiculed, and occasionally face overt hostility from those who ignore the obvious benefits of healthy debate. For these people, human-caused global warming is the equivalent of a religious doctrine, and they do not tolerate heresy.

Obama as the Messiah
President-elect Barack Obama has gained more followers with less substance than any other national figure in my lifetime. Crowds swooned and chanted and genuflected at his rallies as if he were some hero of myth come to life. He has rarely taken a clear stance on issues, instead making vague and malleable promises of "change." On more than one occasion during the campaign I asked Obama supporters exactly what sort of change they were expecting. The answers were generally as vague as Obama's promises, and most of them grew quite uncomfortable when pressed on the matter. The pathetically obvious truth was that they'd never considered the specifics of what they were advocating. "Change what?" I would ask. They had no clue.

“To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists.” - Barack Obama, writing about his college years.

I also asked a few of his supporters how they felt about Obama's well-known ties with Marxists like William Ayers. Roughly one in three knew what I was talking about. Two out of five didn't know the meaning of the term "Marxism." Of those who did, few cared. Nearly every one of them I spoke with around the country reacted with either defensiveness or hostility when I pressed them a bit to explain their reasons for favoring Obama. Thinking is such a difficult, painful thing.

Meanwhile Obama continues to play the role of the Pied Piper, and millions of Americans follow him blindly toward the river. In truth, I wish him well. The nation is a mess at present and we all want it to get better. But given that fact, is a presidential election the proper time for blind faith?

And speaking of blind faith...

Religious Fanatics

"Where is the [Islamic] nation? If 20 million people can encircle the Earth, then 20 million people could also drown Israel in a sea of blood." Egyptian cleric Sheikh Muhammad Mustafa

There is a thin line between being devout and being a religious fanatic. To follow the teachings of one's religion and simultaneously exist in harmony with the secular world can be a challenge, but most believers get it done.

But then there are those who don't. The most obvious examples of religious extremism are found in the Middle East, where radical Islamists espouse hatred and exhort their followers to maim and murder those who do not share their world view. How does one reason with people who truly believe themselves to be on a mission from God?

Consider these excerpts from the Hamas Covenant:

"[Peace] initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement... Those conferences are no more than a means to appoint the infidels as arbitrators in the lands of Islam... There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are but a waste of time, an exercise in futility." (Article 13 of the Hamas Covenant)

"The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: 'O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him." (Article 7 of the Hamas Covenant)

And you wonder why Israel has finally had enough? Islamic clerics routinely teach their followers that waging holy war against non-Muslims, strictly because they're non-Muslims, is a high and holy calling. They're taught that jihad against the infidels is as right and proper as Christians see acts of charity and social work. Freedom of religion? Not in an Islamic nation.

Islam however, doesn't have a lock on the market where religious fanaticism is concerned. While Christians (and I use the term quite broadly here) typically don't engage in beheading infidels, killing teenage girls for family honor, suicide bombings and genocide, they do have their fair share of nutty buddies in their midst.

David Koresh and Fred Phelps come to mind. Both have been guilty of engaging in behavior no mainstream Christian would ever condone. Koresh (who thought he was Jesus) led his faithful down a tragic path to destruction, albeit with the "assistance" of Janet Reno and the BATF. Phelps, of Westboro Baptist Church fame, is busily engaged in promoting homophobia, and firmly believes that Aids, Hurricane Katrina and other calamities are God's punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuals. He also believes that his is the only congregation that will end up in Heaven when all is said and done.

While neither Koresh or Phelps could possibly be described as existing within mainstream Christianity, their perverse pseudo-religious teachings and charismatic leadership built them both a strong following. Many of Koresh's followers perished with him in Waco, TX. Fred Phelps still tends his small flock near Topeka, KS. Phelps' congregation is best known for their picketing of US Military funerals with hateful signs regarding America's tolerance for homosexuals.

What's the common thread?
Obama has done nothing to make me believe he's a fanatic of any kind. But many of his followers certainly fit the bill. They wholeheartedly embrace his vague message of "Change We Can Believe In" while having little idea what, if anything, the slogan actually means. They reject any and all contrary opinion of their new messiah in a manner markedly similar to hard line religious fundamentalists. Blind faith, pure and simple.

The global warming crowd likewise rejects credible scientific evidence that human activity is not a factor in climate change, and often reacts badly when challenged on their beliefs. For them, global warming is dogma, not science.

Hamas rejects any possibility of peace with Israel (or anyone else for that matter) because they firmly believe they are doing Allah's will. They and other terrorist groups have broken every treaty, truce and cease fire in the name of their so-called "Holy War" against the infidel world. The fact that they're currently having their heads handed to them on a tin plate by Israel strengthens their resolve rather than giving them pause. The reason? They believe that murdering Israelis is justified because Allah does not approve of Israel's existence. The result of this pigheadedness is the death of thousands of innocents on both sides of the barrier between Israel and Gaza.

Religious fanatics who subscribe, however loosely, to other faiths are little different in their maniacal devotion to their beliefs. It's worth noting that most of the more fanatical religious groups espouse hatred and violence to one degree or another, often at odds with the mainstream teaching of that faith. Nearly all abortion clinic bombers, for example, profess to be Christians. I have many Muslim friends who are just as saddened by Islamic terrorism as I am. And as a Christian, I find Westboro Baptist Church and their troll of a pastor thoroughly repulsive.

The productive sharing and debate of ideas is essential to the growth of any culture. In a civilized society, there is always room for another opinion. Always a reason for magnanimity. Always a chance to grow and evolve. And, always the possibility of being proven wrong. But as we become more and more polarized on so many levels, we begin to lose our ability to entertain ideas that conflict with our own. We fall victim to our own preconceived notions and refuse to consider that we could be mistaken. And that my good friends, is as dangerous to our culture as any foreign enemy.

Allow me to plagiarize WordNet 3.0 one more time.
fa-nat-i-cism
NOUN: "excessive intolerance of opposing views."

Are we there yet?

Sources and Related Reading:

Cynthia McKinney: Blockade Runner

2008-12-30T15:17:00.003-05:00

How is it that liberals like Cynthia McKinney almost always end up on the wrong side of important issues? From global warming to taxation to foreign affairs, far too often they come down across the fence from the best interests of America and her allies.

The present conflict between Israel and Hamas is a fine example. Essentially surrounded by enemies, Israel is a peaceful nation in a rather unfortunate location. Through the course of their history, virtually every truce, treaty and cease-fire agreement has been broken. Not by Israel, but by their Muslim neighbors.

Why? Because Israel is not a Muslim nation. As such, radical Muslim nations seek no less than the complete destruction of Israel. These are the same religious fanatics who find the destruction of the US and the "Islamification" of the civilized world an appealing notion. They're the same people who attacked the World Trade Center not once, but twice. And they're the same people who routinely murder innocent Israelis without provocation. Islamic fundamentalism represents bigotry and religious hatred at their absolute worst.

After Hamas repeatedly violated the most recent truce by dropping hundreds of missiles on southern Israel, the Israeli government finally had enough. Israel has launched a devastating offensive into Gaza, targeting every known Hamas facility. It is unfortunate that civilians on both side have been killed in the conflict, but that is the nature of war. I despise the term "collateral damage," but it is impossible for the innocent to escape harm in a conflict of this magnitude.

The saddest part of all this is that it didn't have to happen. All Hamas has to do to stop the violence by Israel is stop their violence against Israel. Israel rarely strikes preemptively. They only attack when attacked or when attack is eminent, and over the decades they have shown admirable restraint.

Who can blame Israel for defending themselves?

Evidently former GA congresswoman Cynthia McKinney does. Cynthia has called upon President-elect Barack Obama to "speak out against the attacks on Gaza."

Not only is she running her mouth, but she had the poor judgment to join the crew of a 60-ft yacht carrying humanitarian supplies to Gaza. And, they tried to run an Israeli naval blockade. Now she's complaining because the yacht, the Dignity, was damaged in the attempt. Cynthia of course claims the Israelis rammed the yacht.

Says Cynthia:

“Our boat was rammed three times, twice in the front and one on the side,” McKinney told CNN Tuesday morning. “Our mission was a peaceful mission. Our mission was thwarted by the aggressiveness of the Israeli military.”
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Says Israel:

Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, says, "...there was no response to a radio warning to the Dignity, and the vessel then tried to out-maneuver the Israeli patrol boat, leading to the collision."
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Perhaps Cynthia and her friends thought the Israels would ultimately give way to them. Or, perhaps the collision was the result of poor seamanship by the pilot of the yacht. We may never know. What Cynthia needs to understand is that the purpose of a blockade is to prevent marine traffic in or out of a particular area. Doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

Further, Cynthia claims the Israelis rammed the yacht not once, but three times. Let's get real a moment, shall we? Does a yacht survive being rammed three times by an armored patrol boat? Nope. Sorry Cynthia, but you're lying. You weren't rammed three times. Maybe once, but you and your friends tried to run a naval blockade, and whoever was at the helm of the yacht made a very poor decision in trying to our-maneuver a craft designed specifically to intercept other boats. You and your friends earned the consequences of your actions.

One must wonder why these people, all members of the "Free Gaza" activist group, sought to bypass the normal channels for delivering aid. Israel isn't denying aid to Gaza. The Red Cross and the World Health Organization are actively delivering humanitarian supplies to the Palestinian people. And Israel is allowing it even though they know at least some of that aid will be used by Hamas. Could the Free Gaza folks not have donated supplies to either of these respected and credible organizations? Had they done so, whatever was in the cargo hold of the yacht would likely be in Gaza by now.

Most disturbing is the fact that Cynthia and her liberal shipmates obviously see Israel as the villain in this affair. Israel is fighting for its survival. They have been a staunch ally of the United States over the years, and are deserving of our support during these trying times. One can only conclude that Cynthia McKinney, a former Georgia congresswoman and Green Party presidential candidate, has chosen to side with our enemies.

In my mind, that makes her an enemy as well. A comically inept enemy perhaps, but an enemy nonetheless. Wake up Cynthia, you're playing for the wrong team. Again.

Related Reading:

Bodacious Woodwork

2008-07-29T22:43:00.000-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

One of my favorite places to eat is "Bodacious BBQ" near Tyler, TX (I-20, exit #562). Aside from the fact that the tender, melt-in-your-mouth BBQ is always just right, the place has a homey, rustic atmosphere with lots of cool antiques and knick knacks on the walls. Friendly service, too.

Outside, there's this old tree, long since pruned down to the trunk and probably transplanted to its current location. Someone named "Giss Rutledge" has turned it into a work of art. No clue who Giss Rutledge might be - couldn't find the name on the Internet and Mr. Genius here keeps forgetting to ask about him inside. I did however, remember this time to take a few photos of his work. They didn't turn out quite as well as I'd have liked due to the light, but you can still see the quality of the work. The animals carved into the wood look almost real enough to hop off the tree and head for the woods.

The raccoon is my personal favorite. There's also a roadrunner on the backside, an eagle up top, an armadillo, a woodpecker and a coyote.

See ya'll on the road.
Alan :-)

Big Al's Big Mistake

2008-06-10T21:13:00.000-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Well folks, I've now officially learned the lesson that most of us have to learn sooner or later: All that stuff the doctor tells us about watching what we eat really does matter.

You'd think that as a Type II diabetic I'd have learned that lesson already. And I do (really, I do!) watch my sugar and calorie intake. I avoid sugared cereals, honey buns and Krispy Kreme donuts. I rarely cook with butter or margarine. I never have bread and potatoes with the same meal. And my blood sugar has stayed well within the limits set by my doctor (91 when I last checked it). I told myself I was doing just fine, thank you very much.

What I wasn't doing was watching my cholesterol. I'd still have the occasional sausage -n- gravy breakfast, bacon cheeseburger, or cheese omelet. I'd drink whole milk when 2% wasn't available. I'd still eat a ton of smoked sausage along with all those healthy green vegetables. And I just knew that those Lipitor pills the good doctor gives me were all I needed to counteract my dietary indiscretions.

Last Sunday night, I paid the price for my stupidity. I was in Fairfield, TX at a little Shell truck stop. I have family in that town - I was born and raised there. But I arrived rather late in the evening and Mom doesn't see well enough at night to drive. I would have to leave rather early to make the last 50 miles of my trip (to Waco) anyway, so I elected to stay in the truck.

About 10:30 that night I was all comfy in the bunk, watching a concert DVD ("Steppenwolf - Live at Louisville") and tapping my feet to the rock-n-roll beat. That's when someone grabbed my heart and lungs and dropped them in a steel vise. Whoever it was also saw fit to hit my chest cavity with a blow-torch and stick my left arm full of knitting needles. No one had to tell me what was happening - I figured that much out for myself.

I remember being incredibly weak at that point; I couldn't pull myself up to a sitting position. And I remember thinking about how I’d planned to visit my son in Waco after delivering Monday morning, and how I might not get to see him or his family again if I couldn’t manage to reach the phone. I finally just rolled off the bed and plucked the phone from its belt pouch on my pants and called 911. I was shocked at how weak I was. My voice was barely audible as I explained to the operator that I was fairly certain I was having a heart attack. She kept me on the line while radioing for an ambulance to visit my location.

Two cops and an EMT helped me down from the truck and onto a gurney. In short order I was rolling toward East Texas Medical Center whilst two EMTs checked my vitals and administered my first dose of nitro. If you're unfamiliar with nitro pills, they're a tiny oblong white pill that you put under your tongue whilst having chest pains. All I can say here is that nitro pills evidently stop a heart attack by transferring the chest pain to the top of your head. That was the damndest headache I've had in a long time. They also had me chewing copious quantities of children's aspirin for the same purpose.

At the hospital, I was fitted with one of those sexy night gowns and subjected to a variety of torture methodologies which included drawing out most of my blood (after first rooting around for a vein), fitting my arm with a blood pressure cuff meant for a #2 pencil and attaching electrodes to my somewhat furry chest which of course would be unceremoniously ripped off later. And more aspirin. And hospital food. And more nitro (and more headaches).

In the end, they decided that I didn't quite have a heart attack, but that I have an artery very nearly totally blocked. As such I am soon to be back home so that I may be subjected to the medical equivalent of a Rotor-Rooter in my veins, followed by a procedure to install a stent to get rid of the blockage. By all accounts, I will feel much better than I'm feeling right now once all this is done.

Look folks: If you're still eating gravy on everything but ice cream, still chomping down those sausage biscuits and chili-fries, you have two choices: You can moderate your cholesterol intake, or you can end up where I am right now. Lord willing, I'll be home in a few days and have the procedure done. But at the moment, I can't even walk more than a few yards without being out of breath and feeling like an anvil is perched upon my chest. And just in case of emergencies, I have a tiny bottle of nitro pills in my pocket. Heaven above... the last thing I want is to endure another bone-crushing headache. They hit within five seconds of placing the pill in your mouth and last 15 or 20 agonizing minutes. You literally feel your heartbeat in your eyeballs.

So is that second round of hamburger/cheese/macaroni casserole really worth what it's doing to your innards? I used to think it was. Now I know better. Please do consider what you're pumping into your bloodstream before you revisit the buffet. I’d not want to see any of my friends (and only a few of my enemies) in the situation I was in last Sunday.

See ya'll on the road
Alan

UPDATE:
I'm feeling fine and back working. Had a stent procedure done once I got back home. Took 10 days off from work and then another week at work on "light duty." I now take a boatload of pills every day to stay alive, but that's ok given the alternative (being dead).

Each day I take the following:
>Metformin (2)
>Januvia (1)
>Lipitor (1)
>Metoprolol (1)
>Isosorb Mono (1)
>Plavix (1)
>Aspirin (1)
>Chantix (2)

All the above, plus a total of 3 vitamin pills each day. Plus a fairly strict diet (I've dropped close to 30 pounds!) and drinking a minimum of 1 liter of water per day.

The up side is that I'm no longer fatigued like before. I can work longer, which is $$$ in my pocket. And even with the good insurance at my job, I'll be needing some hard cash to pay the bills I've run up after all this.

Best -
Alan

Rainbow Cruisers Car Show

2008-05-17T22:54:00.000-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Stopped by the Rainbow Cruisers car show today in Alabama. Lots of cool cars, great food and friendly folks. A guy at the show told me the show takes place the third Saturday of each month from April through October.

If you'd like to check it out sometime, here are the directions: From Birmingham, take I-59 north to exit 181 and turn right. You'll immediately see the Petro:2 Travel Plaza and Austin's Steak House on the right. The show is held in Austin's parking lot. This is near Gadsen, AL.

I won't intrude with a lot of comments here. Enjoy the images of all the cool cars, and do drop by again sometime.

--Alan

Gotta love those classic Mopars. Ain't nothing like'em!

Slick old Packard 120

Now, one thing here requires some clarification. As you can see, my reflection was caught whilst snapping the picture of the "427" emblem. It must have been a combination of the setting sun, the glossy paint and the curvature of the fender that somehow caused me to look short, fat and pale. I am in reality of course tall dark and handsome. Really. No foolin'.

For a moment I thought I'd seen a pink elephant. That's one big old Caddy!

SWEET!!!

This beautiful old '58 Chevy was my personal favorite of the show.

Pictures, Etc for May '09

2008-05-02T21:27:00.004-05:00

Hello All...

Haven't posted in awhile so I thought I'd catch my millions (OK, dozens) of fans up on what's been happening in the World of Big Al.

On Thursday I rode with another of our drivers to Baytown, TX to pick up a truck that had been in a repair shop. The thing was just sick. No power, no throttle response, no nada. Took about two hours longer than normal to make the trip from Baytown back to our facility in Magee, MS. This is usually a seven and a half hour trip.

When I first arrived in Baytown, we discovered that the truck wouldn't start. Took a couple hours to finally get the thing going, and then discovered that the computer in the engine was shot. Dead batteries, too. The image here shows one of the mechanics basically burrowing his way under the cab to replace the battery cover after we got the thing to start. This dude was way over six feet - no clue how he managed to squeeze under there.

The reason I had time to do all this was because my truck was due for an oil change, and I had a tiny leak on the bottom of the oil pan. When I got back to Magee Friday morning, they'd pulled the oil pan off and found about a pound of metal shavings and a few chunks of metal inside. This was not good news to me since it means several days driving a spare truck whilst mine is repaired. I am of course thankful that this was discovered here at home and not in B.F.E. or some other equally unappealing place.

Today (Friday) I stopped in Laurel, MS on my way to load to grab something to drink. Spotted this old Mercedes sitting in the parking lot and shot a few pics. No clue as to the year model, although I'm assuming it's fairly old. This is due to the fact of it having a 3-speed standard shift on the column. Never seen that before on a Mercedes. The old girl is evidently road worthy, though; it has a New Mexico tag.

And hey! Who sez a trucker can’t thread a needle?! This image is from a customer of ours in Winchester, VA. Nice folks, but I hate their dock. It’s inside the building, and designed so that they can side-load a flatbed trailer, or rear-load a van. As such, the dock is ridiculously narrow. Check the microscopic amount of side clearance once the trailer clears the outer door. Worse, when backing in during daylight hours, the dimmer light inside creates a situation like backing into a black hole. You can see very little down the side of the trailer.

So far I’ve loaded there 5 or 6 times without destroying a trailer door.

Thanks to everyone who wished me well during my recent battery of tests. I'm back on my regular meds and no longer having to poke myself with a needle. My trucking career is, for the moment at least, safe.

Leaving MS Saturday morning for Clinton, IA (near Davenport), and after that points as yet unknown.

See Ya'll on the Road
Alan

Religious Freedom or Murder?

2008-03-29T19:18:00.003-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

In the USA, our Constitution guarantees our right to worship as we choose. We do not however, have the right to force harm upon others in the practice of those beliefs.

Eleven year-old Madeline Neumann is dead because her parents refused to get her the medical care she needed, deciding instead to stay home and pray for her. She died a painful death from diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition resulting from low insulin. Symptoms include severe dehydration and painful thirst, nausea, vomiting and unbearable fatigue.

Fifteen month-old Ava Worthington is dead because her parents declined the simple antibiotics that would have saved her life in favor of faith healing. Ava died from bacterial bronchial pneumonia and infection. According to an Oregon deputy state medical examiner, both conditions would have been treatable with antibiotics.

According to an article at the Fox News website:

The Worthingtons belong to Oregon City's Followers of Christ Church. According to church tradition, when members become ill, fellow worshipers pray and anoint them with oil.

Ava's parents, Carl Worthington, 28, and Raylene Worthington, 25, have been indicted by a grand jury on charges of manslaughter and criminal mistreatment. At the time of this writing, Madeline's parents have not yet been charged.

Regarding the Followers of Christ Church, consider this excerpt from an article by Oregonian reporter Mark Larabee:

At least 21 of the 78 children who have died at the church since 1955 likely could have been saved with routine medical care, The Oregonian reported earlier this month following a two-month investigation.

Thirty-eight children buried in the church's cemetery outside Oregon City never reached their first birthdays. An additional 15 are listed as stillborn. Doctors say the lack of prenatal care and trained assistance during the deliveries probably contributed to the deaths. Officials suspect many of those died needlessly, but they can't be sure because government investigations of the deaths were either inconclusive or nonexistent.

While fanatics like the Worthington's and the Neumann's certainly do not represent the majority of believers in America, they do represent a clear and present threat to the lives of innocent children. In my humble opinion, all four parents should be brought up on murder charges. To allow one's child to wither away and die when medical treatment is readily available is no different, and perhaps worse, than putting a gun to the kid's head and pulling the trigger. The God I worship would never countenance the needless death of a child.

We live in a constitutional society, not a theocracy. True enough, many of our Founding Fathers were believers and much of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence is rooted in those beliefs. But, the Declaration of Independence clearly states that we all have the “unalienable right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” There is no exception made for children whose parents object to medical treatment on religious grounds.

As a society, we must not allow religion – any religion – to be an excuse for the mistreatment of a minor child. It doesn't matter one whit if the parents sincerely believe they're doing the right thing by withholding medical care. It doesn't matter what church, if any, they attend. It doesn't matter whether the parents were raised under the same set of beliefs. Our system of laws is designed to protect the innocent from wrongdoing, and allowing a child to die a painful death when she easily could have been saved is among the most heinous crimes imaginable.

There should be no question of religious freedom concerning such cases as these. As I stated earlier, we have the right to believe anything we wish, but we do not have the right to harm others while practicing our beliefs. If these four murderers are not found guilty of the crimes they have so obviously committed, then our culture is little better than backward Muslim nations in which young girls are stoned to death for giving a teenage boy a passing glance and a smile.

Had Madeline Neumann been allowed to live into adulthood, she might have decided on her own as a responsible adult that she would follow her parents' teachings. At that point, it would have been her decision to make. She won't get that chance, and neither will Ava, thanks to parents who decided for them that their lives were not their own.

Related Reading:

Death of child may put Oregon faith healing law to test

Oregon Couple Charged in Daughter's Faith-Healing Death

Wisconsin Parents Didn't Expect Daughter to Die During Prayer

Aunt Pleaded in 911 Call for Help in Saving Sick Niece From Religious Mother

Doubt, Secrecy Circle “Followers of Christ”

Ketoacidosis Explained

Racial Memories

2008-03-27T20:57:00.003-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Here we are again in an election year. The political mud is flying, the talking heads are having a feeding frenzy and every pollster on the planet is playing with the numbers. For the first time in our history there is a realistic possibility of a US President who is something other than a white male. Oh sure, Jesse Jackson once sought to be the first black president, but no one ever believed he had a snowball's chance of winning. Good thing, too.

Barack Obama, on the other hand, is a charismatic and easily likable guy who who has an excellent opportunity to ruin The Shrew's chances of being our first female president. Politically speaking, both of them frighten me. But if I had to choose between the two, I'd choose Obama.

It hasn't been that many years ago that America was still too backwards for a black man to have any chance at our highest office. But in spite of the incoherent rantings and ravings of so-called “black leaders” ranging from Obama's own Jeremiah Wright to the quirky Louis Farrakhan, America has indeed rounded the corner. Politics aside, I am proud of the fact that an African American can actually run for high office with a legitimate chance of victory. Mind you, I'd prefer Alan Keyes, but we're not debating Left versus Right here.

I am old enough to remember the last remnants of overt racism in the little Texas town that spawned me. I remember the “Whites Only” signs outside the public restrooms at the fairgrounds. I remember the old wooden sidewalks behind downtown businesses – blacks weren't allowed to walk out front with the white folks. And I remember the little sitting areas in the kitchens of local restaurants; blacks weren't allowed to sit out front. If you were black, you could eat at most any restaurant you could afford as long as you didn't mind sitting in a dilapidated chair with your plate in your lap and dodging the busy cooks and servers while they worked.

I was blessed with parents who had little, if any, of the redneck prejudices that permeated that town. When our schools integrated in the mid-60's, I regarded “those black kids” as being new friends with whom I'd not yet become acquainted. It was an adventure for all of us, and to this day I have warm friendships with many of those same timid, deer-in-the-headlights black kids who braved those first days of attending school “in town.”

One of my dad's most senior employees was an old black gentleman named “Watt.” Dad had a garage and tow truck service and as a young boy I loved to go out on a “wrecker call.” Quite often that meant spending some time on the road with Watt.

One summer afternoon when I was about twelve years old, we were on our way back from dragging a truck out of the mud and it was well past lunch time. Tired and hungry, we stopped in a small restaurant about twenty miles from home for a bite to eat. Watt headed around back to enter through the kitchen. Having no clue at first what was about to happen, I walked around back with him.

My dad had a solid business and was well-known in the area. He was especially popular with blacks because he treated them the same way he treated everyone else; fairly and honestly. When we came through the back door, the cook (also black) stopped what he was doing to greet us, then grabbed a couple of chairs for us. The two men knew each other, and after a moment he asked if I was “Mister Clay's son.” I replied in the affirmative and was quickly included in their conversation. There were several other African Americans in the tiny “Colored” dining area and all of them seemed just pleased as punch to have me sitting with them.

Then in walked a white waitress. She did a double-take at this single grain of salt in the pepper shaker, grabbed her order and sauntered out the door, glancing back over her shoulder as she went. Watt and the cook both chuckled at the woman's discomfiture, and that's when I realized I was about to become a bone of contention.

There was a long narrow window that ran almost the full length of the wall separating the kitchen from the dining area, and I noticed that there were now a lot of people just happening by and glancing through the glass to see this weird white kid hanging out with the Negroes in the back. Was I (gasp!) white trash? Was I a runaway child who'd been picked up by this now-suspicious old black man? Why on Earth wasn't I sitting up front with the white folks?

Easy answer: My good friend and occasional mentor wasn't up front. If the front dining area was too good for Watt, then it was too good for me as well. Watt and I finished up our burgers and headed for home, giggling all the way in over the confusion we'd created simply because I'd elected to sit in the fine company of one of my best childhood friends.

I'd like to think that America has come a long ways since that incident nearly forty years ago. We still have our troubles as a nation, and racial tension will persist at some level from now to Doomsday. And yes, bigotry exists in the hearts of some blacks as well as whites. But regular everyday people don't have the time or patience for such foolishness. We're not worried about each other's skin color, and we're smart enough to realize that what happened back in America's dark days should remain in the dark. Wounds don't heal if you keep picking at them.

Perhaps troublemakers like Louis, Jesse and Jeremiah should spend some time here in Mississippi and watch how blacks and whites work side by side. They won't see us sniping or backstabbing or making trouble for each other. We're too busy working, playing and living our lives to engage in childish hate. On the other hand, they just might see us sitting down to lunch together at Waffle House or McDonald's. But these days we'll all be out front with the white folks.

Pics from the Port of Mobile

2008-03-13T20:17:00.000-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

I've been running locally for the last few months, hauling out of the Port of Pascagoula, MS and the Port of Mobile, AL and delivering to our customer in Laurel, MS. Here's a few shots of the St Cergue, a Swiss flagged freighter that caught my eye today in Mobile. According to an entry at shipspotting.com, she's 222 meters long, and packs 34,300 horsepower. Not the biggest ship to be sure, but when you're standing a few feet away watching the tugs laboring to spin her around in the canal she's rather impressive.

And look at all those 40-ft freight containers she's carrying - and that's just the ones on deck. Plenty more down below. From where I was standing, I couldn't get a good image of the whole ship with my wimpy cellphone camera. The truck docks where I pick up are out on the pier.

For a better image of the St Cergue, visit www.shipspotters.com.

Why Your Groceries Are Costing More

2008-03-07T16:24:00.002-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Everywhere you look, people are wringing their hands over the economy. I'm not immune to this. We appear to be teetering on the edge of a long fall, and I'm not looking forward to it.

The media has a habit of quoting numbers and then citing the same tired old sources as the main cause of our current economic decline. Corporate greed, the declining dollar, weather-related issues, or "just blame Bush" get tossed out on the airwaves every day. Allow me to give you something different to worry over: The cost of commercial transportation. Having been in the trucking industry for three decades, this is something I'm qualified to talk about.

A few years ago trucking companies large and small could make money hauling freight for about $1.20 per mile. This includes food items, paper goods, structural steel, agricultural products and pretty much whatever else you can think of. Fuel of course was a good bit cheaper during this period, averaging around two dollars per gallon. Modern commercial trucks generally get about six miles per gallon, which is a vast improvement over the 3.5 mpg back in the 70's when I started driving a truck. Six miles per gallon is an average, with some getting more and others getting less. The cost per mile for fuel at 6 mpg / $2 a gallon was thirty-three cents per mile.

As of this writing, the national retail average price for a gallon of commercial diesel is $3.77. Connecticut is currently at $4 per gallon (that's not a misprint. That $4 per gallon), and Oregon is the cheapest at "only" $3.57 per gallon. The $3.77 average (AK and HI are not included) for 48 states translates to an average cost of sixty-three cents per mile - almost twice the cost as a few years ago.

Add to this amount the driver's salary - a minimum of about 35 cents per mile with most companies paying in the 40 - 45 cents per mile range and the cost per mile goes over a dollar. To that, add in the necessary per-mile computation for permits, insurance and truck / trailer registration. Registration for a commercial truck-tractor, by the way, costs $1000 to $1800 depending on where it's registered and a handful of other considerations.

But we're not done yet. Now consider that freight revenue also has to pay the wages of mechanics, dispatchers and administrative personnel. Then allow for keeping the lights on and the water flowing, property taxes, facility maintenance and whatever other requirements an individual company may have.

And did I mention tires? Depending on the type of tire (trailer, drive tire or steer tire), and the part of the country you're in when you buy them, truck tires cost anywhere from $280 to nearly $400 each. That translates to about $5000 to put new tires on an 18-wheeler, and truckers average about 120,000 miles per year. Tires don't last long.

I work for a small company with 30 trucks. We don't leave the office these days for less than $1.75 per mile. If we work for less, we lose money. It's just that simple. In the practical sense, we need about $2 per mile to make it worthwhile. Look at it another way: At $1.20 per mile, the ton rate for a 44,000 pound load of freight is about five cents per mile. At $1.75 per mile, the ton rate increases to eight cents per mile. That may not sound like much, but consider the following tidbit from the US Government's Bureau of Transportation Statistics:

According to the composite estimates, trucking as a single mode was the most frequently used mode, accounting for an estimated 70 percent of the total value, 60 percent of the weight, and 34 percent of the ton-miles. In 2002, the trucking industry, both for-hire and private own-use, transported over $9 trillion worth of shipments, weighing over 11 billion tons and generating about 1.5 trillion ton-miles. Measured by ton-miles, trucking was followed by rail at 31 percent, pipeline at 15, and water with 11 percent.

Now, go ahead and tell me that three cents per mile doesn't matter when you hit the check-out line at Kroger. Also consider that nearly all freight is transported by truck. That's how it gets to and from the rail yards, farms, airports and marine docks. If you've got it, chances are a truck hauled it at some point. Because of this, the cost of trucking affects everyone.

Truck and engine manufacturers and trucking companies are working to find ways to reduce fuel cost, but it's a slow process. The EPA and various politically-motivated environmental groups don't help any. Newer blends of fuel cost more money and have decreased lubricity, leading to increased maintenance costs. This of course has an effect on a trucking company's bottom line and thus affects consumer prices. Newer technology also adds to the price of a new truck. Just try to buy a new over-the-road truck for under $90,000. Then try outfitting a fleet.

Fuel prices have ballooned to a point that filling your car's gas tank is a major investment. Last week it cost me $40 to buy 13 gallons here in Mississippi. This week it'll cost more. But consider the cost of buying 100 to 120 gallons of fuel every day. Where I work, if half the 30-truck fleet fuels today at an average of 110 gallons per fill, and $3.779 per gallon... that's over six thousand dollars a day for 15 trucks. Meanwhile, oil companies are raking in record profits and something tells me they're not terribly concerned over what it costs me to fill the tank of my trusty old Chrysler.

Fuel costs and the declining dollar will render the American middle class extinct if something doesn't change soon. And the only thing that'll help is a decrease in fuel prices. As operating costs increase, unemployment (which is on the upswing now) will become a huge factor. Employers will cut jobs to stay afloat. That doesn't make them greedy; it's just a fact of life. You could also reach a point at which the cost of driving to work renders your job unprofitable. And wouldn’t that be a slap in the face?

By the way... Consider nail-biting as a viable option to hand-wringing. No calluses and your nails stay neat. Just a thought.

Related Reading:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Daily Diesel Prices (state by state averages dynamically updated)
Flying J Diesel Fuel Price Chart
Job losses: Worst in 5 years

Night of the Intruder

2008-02-13T19:23:00.000-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.
H.P. LOVECRAFT

The truck I normally drive is in the shop for a few minor repairs. So - I'm driving a truck that has been unoccupied for a couple of weeks. An inconvenience, but a small price to pay to have Old Blue up and running the way she's supposed to.

Last night was my first night in the "spare truck." I rolled out my bedroll and settled in for the evening about 8:00 pm. A powerful storm front (complete with hail and tornados) had blown through a few hours earlier. It was cold as a witch’s butt in brass bloomers and the wind was howling outside. I was well-insulated from the cold with a good heater. The wind was rocking the truck's air suspension and singing its eerie song in the gaps between my truck and the two parked on either side of me. A few fat raindrops splattered on the "tin roof" above me. In other words, perfect sleeping weather.

About 10:30 I shut down the laptop and had my standard evening snack of Special K and 2%, then gathered up the day’s trash (Subway wrappers, empty milk carton, etc) and dumped it all in my dinky trash can behind the passenger seat. I switched off the interior lights, turned the heat down and buried myself under the blankets. I was snoring in short order.

1:00 AM...
Something startled me awake. Didn't know what it was. I lay absolutely still in the perfect darkness, not so much out of fear but rather from my lifelong cautious nature. Then I heard an unfamiliar sound - and it wasn't from the outside. At this point I realized I was not alone. This truck stop is known for prostitutes (no, that’s NOT why I’m here), and I wondered if some crack whore had made the ill-advised decision to break into my truck.

I tensed, but remained still and quiet. I was parked facing the truck stop, but could not see the lights from the building. This told me that the heavy Naugahyde privacy curtain between the cab and sleeper was still closed. If someone had gotten into the truck, he or she was still in the cab, not in the sleeper with me.

I quietly reached out to the tiny bedside table, picked up my pocketknife and opened it. Not a huge weapon by any means, but razor sharp. The noise came yet again - definitely inside the truck, probably on the passenger side.

Knife in hand, I quickly reached up and turned on the lights. I was perfectly ready to gut and field-dress an intruder if necessary. I threw open the curtain and found the cab unoccupied. Doors locked. Windows closed.

Then the noise came again and I came damnably close to jumping out of my skin. That’s when I realized the noise was coming from the trash can. A tiny little mouse, moving with their unique fluid grace, popped out of the trash and glided out of the can, across my briefcase, over my laundry bag and down into the small closet behind the passenger seat. The whole process took maybe two seconds.

I closed the curtain lest someone see me in my Fruit of the Looms (not a pretty sight, I’m sure) and began a search and destroy mission for the offending rodent. It goes without saying that I’m bigger and stronger than even the largest mouse, and probably smarter than the average mouse, but I was no match for this one in terms of pure craftiness.

Armed with a flashlight and one of my work shoes, I tore open the closet and shined the light around. No mouse. The bed is also the lid of a large storage compartment. I raised it to see if the little guy had escaped the closet to cower behind a dust bunny in this mostly unused space. No mouse (but lots of dust bunnies). Looked behind the seats and under the dashboard. No mouse. At this point I began to wonder if I was on Candid Camera. There I was: Storming around in my underwear with a flashlight and a Justin work shoe on a small game expedition at one o’clock in the morning. Hoping that the little monster wouldn’t decide to snack on my toes, I returned to bed.

I’m rather glad it was just a mouse. Had it been a snake, you’d have seen headlines at Fox News and CNN about a scantily-clad overweight truck driver streaking across a parking lot. Scaring passersby, disturbing the peace, etc. Let’s all be glad that didn’t happen. If I’m ever on the news, I’d rather it was because I won either a Nobel Prize or the Mega-Millions lottery.

7:00 AM...
Alarm clocks are by far the most cruel and arbitrary contraptions ever devised by human ingenuity. They don’t care what sort of night you had. They are indifferent to your fatigue. You will haul yourself out of bed to kill the noise. Resistance is futile.

So there I was this morning, sitting on a dock in Laurel, MS waiting to unload. Slurping coffee and munching on a Hardee’s biscuit. And there was the mouse, peeking at me from beneath the passenger seat. I swear he was laughing at me. I tried to fetch him a kick but he was once again too fast for this aging trucker. Perhaps I should begin keeping one of my cats in the truck for security purposes. Sammi is ten years old, but she’s still a world-class mouser.

Later...
Now it’s approaching 8:00 pm. I’m back at the same truck stop with yet another load to deliver in Laurel in the morning. Haven’t seen The Rodent since this morning, but I can’t help but wonder if he’s still here. If so, he’s traveled farther than most mice since I’ve been down to the Gulf Coast and back today. My truck is due out of the shop sometime tomorrow, and you can bet I will thoroughly check my stuff before tossing it back in my regular ride. I’m all for company, but not when it scares the bejabbers out of me at one in the morning.

See ya’ll on the road.
- - Alan

Now THIS is a Bad Day...

2008-01-30T23:00:00.000-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

I shot these pics today in Greenwood, LA. I didn't see the incident, but I was told that the guy misjudged a turn and slipped off the road. The trailer (I'm told) broke apart while being pulled from the ditch. He was loaded with about 42,000 pounds of plywood.

In the last images you can see the beginning of the operation to transfer the load to another trailer. A forklift with an extendable boom is used to extract the load while a hydraulic wrecker unit maintains upward pressure on the trailer floor while the plywood is offloaded.
I don't wanna know how much all this cost...

Ya know, I'd really hate to have to call my boss with this story...

Seeing is Believing

2008-01-25T18:01:00.000-05:00

Can't help but wonder about all the fuss in Stephenville, Texas. It seems that a number of residents witnessed a large, brightly lit floating object in the night sky back on January Eighth. A few people also claim to have seen military jets in pursuit. Witnesses claim the object was in excess of a mile long.

Predictably, the military concocted a fish story in an attempt to quell speculation on what people might have seen. Of all the many things our military does well, insulting the intelligence of Americans may be what it does best:

Maj. Karl Lewis, a spokesman for the 301st Fighter Wing at the Joint Reserve Base Naval Air Station in Fort Worth, said no F-16s or other aircraft from his base were in the area the night of January 8, when most people reported the sighting.
Lewis said the object may have been an illusion caused by two commercial airplanes. Lights from the aircraft would seem unusually bright and may appear orange from the setting sun.
"I'm 90 percent sure this was an airliner," Lewis said. "With the sun's angle, it can play tricks on you."
Officials at the region's two Air Force bases -- Dyess in Abilene and Sheppard in Wichita Falls -- also said none of their aircraft were in the area last week.
- - CNN

I'm fifty years old and I've seen my share of aircraft and sunsets. Don't recall any of them "playing tricks" on me.

Witnesses of the mysterious floating object insisted that what they saw was not a pair of commercial aircraft, and the story began to draw nationwide attention. Just as predictably, the military changed its story to fit the situation:

"In the interest of public awareness, Air Force Reserve Command Public Affairs realized an error was made regarding the reported training activity of military aircraft. Ten F-16s from the 457th Fighter Squadron were performing training operations from 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday January 8, 2008, in the Brownwood Military Operating Area (MOA), which includes the airspace above Erath County."
- - Dallas Morning News

I have questions regarding this matter specifically and on the subject of UFOs in general.

First, given all of the similar sightings by credible people (including law enforcement and professional pilots) around the world, do we truly believe all of those incidents to be false alarms? How many stories of malfunctioning experimental weather balloons, errant flares or bouts of mass hysteria are we to believe?

How is it that so many different people in so many different parts of the world have seen these unexplained phenomena? Are we to believe that they're all hoaxers in some worldwide conspiracy to make fools of the rest of us? Or, are they all just a bunch of hayseeds, drunk in their front yards and being "tricked" by a pair of passenger jets at sunset?

If we are not alone in the universe, and I do not believe we are, where is the benefit in keeping the populace ignorant of such knowledge?

And, if indeed these are extraterrestrial visitors then why are they buzzing around the planet? If they have the technology to fly across the void to our world, why do they not just land and have a chat (maybe they're afraid of those F-16's)? And why all the lights? Obviously, they don't care to travel with any degree of stealth. They wish to be seen. But why announce one's presence so dramatically and then just speed away?

So many questions.

Some time back, I wrote that there cannot be a massive government conspiracy to keep a lid on knowledge of UFOs because our government cannot keep a secret. I'll admit to having changed my mind. While the bulk of the supposed sightings across the globe are probably either false alarms or hoaxes, too many of them have the ring of believability to be false. Too many people with nothing to gain by fabricating a UFO story have reported sightings in good faith. Far too many of these stories describe one or more of the same types of objects - either cigar-shaped or spherical, and either glowing from within or illuminated by banks of colorful lights.

And, the lies produced by our government are getting sillier by the day. Steve Allen, a pilot who saw the object near Stephenville said, "A bunch of stuff is bubbling up. They may have to tell us the truth."

Don't count on it, Steve.

Related Reading:

Is Chicago Going to the Birds?

2007-12-13T23:14:00.000-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

While it hardly seems newsworthy in a time of strife and chaos both at home and abroad, I believe recent events in the Windy City merit further thought. According to a recent AP article, the Chicago City Council is considering a ban on pet chickens.

This little tidbit of news is indicative (to me, at least) of just how shallow we've become as a nation. Too many of us expect the world to adjust to our every whim and desire. “Grin and bear it” is forever gone from the national lexicon. As a nation, we complain over just about everything.

I realize that under certain circumstances it may be prudent to regulate or even ban certain pets. One can make a case for potentially dangerous breeds of dogs, poisonous snakes and other unconventional pets. It has however been proven over the years that in most cases it is the animal's handler, not the animal itself, that leads to problems.

Chicago City Alderman Lona Lane states in the AP article that the city has received over 700 complaints this year related to pet chickens. Most of these are over foul odors, droppings and the rodents that feed on chicken droppings. A number of complaints also stem from the noise of crowing roosters. As I stated above, it nearly always goes back to the owner of the pet. If one does not take proper care with a pet, problems will ensue. Ask my former neighbor about my low tolerance for the little surprises his collie left for me in my backyard.

First, if you own a pet you should always make sure that it is not creating a problem for your neighbors. Keep your pet on your own property. Keep your pet's area clean and free of odor. This isn't just for the sake of your neighbors, either. It's also a health issue for your pets and for your family.

The flip side of the coin is equally important - be considerate of your neighbors and their pets. If Rover barks at the moon all night, that's a legitimate reason for complaint. If Fluffy leaves little kitty paw prints on your car every night, that's also a genuine problem. But you shouldn’t complain just because you don't approve of your neighbor's choice of pet.

Consider this tidbit from the AP article:

What may doom them in Chicago, say chicken supporters, is that for all the talk about noise, smell and disease, chickens simply do not look like they belong in today's modern city. "It's a gentrification issue," said Erika Allen of Growing Power, a nonprofit group that promotes urban gardening around the country. "People move in and they don't want chickens next to their house so they go and complain."

There was a time when chickens in the back yard were a common sight. During WWII, many people kept poultry on their property right along with their victory gardens. It was a matter of survival. Chickens were cheap to maintain and served as a double food source: eggs and meat. Nowadays, those who support the notion of raising chickens at home point to the freshness of the eggs and the way they aerate the soil in gardens, among other benefits.

Chickens in the back yard are also reminiscent of simpler, friendlier times. When I was a boy, I grew up across from the Richards family. These good folks operated a small game hen facility right in the middle of town. No one gave it a second thought. The place was clean and neat and the birds were kept inside a fenced-in area. Never heard one complaint, but then again people weren’t as bratty back then as they are in current times. The sound of all those little banny roosters in the morning was just another part of the day.

Not to be outdone, at the ripe old age of ten years I got my first chickens: Two little chicks from the local farm co-op. They were prolific laying hens, and I was of course insufferably proud when I could provide the eggs at breakfast time. The two birds had the run of the back yard, and I had the responsibility of making sure no bird poop showed up on Mom’s shiny new ‘68 Pontiac.

About a year later, I got a rooster, whom I promptly named “Brewster.” In retrospect, the only reason I can think of for naming him thusly is that “Brewster” rhymes with “rooster.” He was therefore referred to as “Brewster the Rooster.” Yes, I was rather weird as a child.

Brewster turned out to be an extremely personable guy. He’d come running up to me whenever I ventured into the back yard and follow me around like a faithful dog. When I’d sit on the back steps he’d hop up on my leg and stare at me while making various chicken-noises and stretching his wings. We had some clucking-good conversations on many a hot summer day, and to my surprise he enjoyed being petted and spoken to as much as any dog or cat.

I of course would always make sure his tail feathers were positioned off the side of my leg since chickens aren’t too picky about where they let go. One afternoon I was sitting there with Brewster when my father came home from work. Dad sat down beside me and Brewster hopped over onto his leg. Dad didn’t turn the bird, and I didn’t think about the possible consequences. A few moments later, the laces in Dad’s work shoes had been fouled (fowled?) rather severely.

Had I not scooped up the bird and ran like hell for the back fence we might have had broiled Brewster for dinner that evening. By the time he’d hosed off his shoe he’d pretty much forgiven the bird, and Brewster never had a clue he’d almost become a chicken salad.

The bottom line? Good neighborhoods start with good neighbors, and being a good neighbor starts in your own back yard. Please take good care of your pets, and please also realize that you do not live in a bubble. If your neighbor has a dog, you’re going to hear it bark from time to time. Likewise, if your neighbor has a rooster, he will doubtlessly engage in the roosterly practice of crowing in the morning. Come on, people... if that is the worst thing that happens to you all day, you’ve had a good day.
Related Reading:

Pet chickens may be plucked from owners?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22215439/

Growing Power
http://www.growingpower.org/

Victory Gardens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden

Feather Site
http://www.feathersite.com

Creativity or Chicanery?

2007-11-03T15:18:00.000-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

Cass County, ND Sheriff Paul D. Laney recently used a rather creative sting operation to nab 3 dozen non-violent fugitives. Okay, good for him. Get the crooks off the street. It is important however, to note exactly how he went about it. In a society that believes in and (usually) practices the principle of "equal protection under the law," the means is of equal importance to the end result in law enforcement. One can't help but wonder if the good Sheriff hasn't broken a few laws himself.

Setting the stage...
Shock rock legend Ozzy Osbourne was scheduled to do a concert in Fargo, ND on October 29th. Sheriff Laney took advantage of the opportunity by mailing fake “VIP tour packages” to forty non-violent fugitives. The packages, similar to Ozzy’s actual VIP tour packages, were sent under the name “PDL Productions.” Thirty-six of the forty invited fugitives showed up for the pre-concert party and were promptly arrested.

At first glance, one might simply think that Laney had pulled a smart and effective trick on a bunch of low-level scofflaws. A deeper look, however, reveals much more. It’s doubtful that any criminal charges will be brought against Sheriff Laney. But one cannot help but to call his character into question.

For starters, he grossly misused Ozzy Osbourne’s name. No one asked his permission to use his name in a sting operation of which he had no knowledge. Also consider the possibility that Laney committed forgery by sending out the fake VIP tour invitations. Adding to the insult, Laney held a televised press conference to pat himself on the back for his cleverness.

And Ozzy ain’t happy about it.

Says Ozzy...

"Sheriff Laney went out of his way to tarnish my reputation by implying that I somehow attract a criminal element, which is certainly not true. My audiences are good hard-working people who have been hugely supportive of my music for nearly four decades. They have also been very supportive of my wife Sharon's colon cancer charity by raising over a million dollars (partly through VIP ticket sales) at my shows. It's obvious to me that this sheriff has an agenda and is just trying to make a name for himself on my back." (A-Z Heavy Metal)

And this brings me to a question. First consider this quote from Sheriff Laney:

"Why did we do this? The criminals are creative, so we had to get creative too...'' "They give us fake addresses, fake phone numbers, sometimes their families cover for them, sometimes their employees cover for them." (ABC News)

But Sheriff, if you knew where to send the invitations, why did you need to engage in the misuse of someone’s name to pick these losers up? Could you not have simply gone after them instead of descending into such chicanery? I could perhaps understand his actions had he been pursuing a dangerous and violent felon - and chances are Ozzy would have applauded his actions. But no, these fugitives were dead beat dads, people who didn’t show for court on minor offenses, and other such losers, who while in violation of the law presented no danger to society.

Says Ozzy...

"Instead of holding a press conference to pat himself on the back, Sheriff Laney should be apologizing to me for using my name in connection with these arrests," Osbourne said in a statement released by his publicist. "It's insulting to me and to my audience, and it shows how lazy this particular sheriff is when it comes to doing his job." (ABC News)

I’m not defending Ozzy. The guy has nothing positive to contribute to society and is well-known for his gross and disrespectful behavior. But I do insist upon the proper treatment of all citizens by law enforcement. An out-of-control sheriff is a far larger hazard to society than an over-aged degenerate like Ozzy. And given the apparent size of Laney’s ego, he may well step farther across the line if he’s not put on a short leash.

We The People have every right to hold law enforcement to at least the same standard of conduct expected of the rest of us. To unnecessarily engage in such a deception, and to steal the name of a public figure is simply unacceptable. Shame on you Sheriff Laney, for failing to meet the standards of the uniform and badge the people of Cass County allow you to wear.

Sources

Cars, Trucks, Friends and Family

2007-10-30T17:11:00.000-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

A few friends have been e-mailing me to ask where and how I've been and why I haven't been writing my column. Quick answer: I've been buried in work and the state of our nation has reached a point that I get sick every time I read the news.

As such, my column is on hold until I can actually sit down and write without getting an ulcer. Maybe I'll just write about something besides politics and societal woes.

As to what I've been doing: I've been taking a pretty good stab at learning to program in Visual Basic. I will in fact have a small line of freeware out in the near future. It'll be available for download on my old site (www.alanburkhart.com). I'll announce it here when it all comes together. A way-cool text editor, image batch-processor and a couple of slick utilities are in the works.

Blew the motor in my Eagle Talon. Been wanting a bigger car anyway so I parked the Eagle and went out in search of a deal. Found one, too. My nephew is service manager at one of the larger Chrysler dealers in the DFW area. The mother of one of his mechanics is no longer able to drive and her car had been in storage two years. He said he'd sell it for $400.00. I was understandably skeptical in regards to the condition of the car, given the price. My nephew and his dad checked out the car (I was nowhere near Ft Worth) and informed me that it was an absolute cream puff.

Long story made short, I bought the car - a 1983 Chrysler New Yorker with just about every option one can imagine and only 71,000 miles. I gave my nephew an additional $500 and he applied massive amounts of TLC to the car (new belts, hoses, wheel cylinders, all fluids replaced, a/c reworked, new tires, etc). There is definitely an advantage to having a family member in charge of a repair shop. Lord only knows what all that stuff would have cost me otherwise.

One of my trucking buddies pulls a step-deck trailer and he volunteered his services to get the car from Texas to Mississippi. I didn't want a 500-mile shakedown cruise for a 24 year-old car and gladly accepted his offer. Below are some pics of the car from last Saturday when it arrived where I work.

Here she is just as she arrived on the trailer.

Backing the car off the trailer

A smooth landing

Moral of the Story...
Never underestimate the value of friends and family. Due to various circumstances my money has been uncomfortably tight for about a year. No way I could have come up with a car this nice (and in such good condition) without going deeper in debt than I already am - which ain't an option at this point.

Always think of your best friends as part of your family. And always be proud of your friends who actually are your family.

See ya'll on the road - Alan

Early Expectations

2007-10-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

By Alan Burkhart

The so-called "NFL experts" love to make early-season predictions. Mike Klis of the Denver Post is already pointing to the October 14th match-up between the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots as a preview of the next Super Bowl. Others are referring to the Cowboys as the best team in the NFC and the Patriots as the best in all of football.

Excuse me, but we're only four weeks into a 16-game season. Sure, the Cowboys are 4-0 and the Patriots are 3-0 with Monday night's contest against the Bengals likely to be yet another Patriot victory. But, let's not overlook the fact that both the Packers and Colts also stand at 4-0, and that four other teams currently stand at 3-1.

The season is still quite young.

Both Dallas and New England have posted impressive stats, but neither team has faced an opponent with a winning record. And both teams still have another game to play before the Patriots visit Texas Stadium.

Dallas will almost certainly manhandle the Bills in Buffalo, and it's a good bet New England will defeat the Browns. That, if my own early predictions are correct (keep in mind I'm not an expert) will see both teams standing at 5-0 on October 14th.

On that day in Texas, both teams will be subjected to their first contest against an opponent with a record above .500. A number of questions will be answered:

1. First and foremost - how good is Tony Romo? The Cowboys likeable new QB has torn up the likes of the Giants, Dolphins, Bears and Rams, but how will he fare against the Pats stingy defense? And please don't point to his performance against the Bears. This is this year, not last year. And the Bears are SO last year.

2. And how will the Cowboys' defense stack up against Tom Brady's powerful offense? Can the Cowboys' somewhat suspect defensive backfield continue to improve and slow the Pats' offense while the slow-starting Cowboy offense gets its collective act together during the first half? In spite of leading the league in scoring, the Boyz have yet to score a first-quarter touchdown.

3. Can the Pats' defense contain hard-charging Marion Barber? Terrell Owens? Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton? I remain unimpressed with Julius Jones.

4. Do the Pats have a defensive lineman capable of getting past Leonard Marshall?

5. New Cowboys coach Wade Phillips has out-coached the brain trusts of 4 losing teams. But can he stay a step ahead of Pats coach Bill Belichick?

Neither team has faced a real test thus far in the season, and assuming that the Pats handle the Bengals Monday night, both teams will start next week undefeated. And they'll probably still be undefeated when they finally clash in Dallas. Each team promises to be the acid test for the other. Two explosive offenses, one with an established veteran QB and the other with a young gunslinger who will likely be the next "great" NFL passer. Keep in mind that "likely" means he hasn't done it yet.

The Pats' defense through three games is allowing just over ten points per game. The Cowboys defense started out awful but has improved a bit each week. Neither defense has faced an offense comparable to what they'll face when they play each other.

If it comes down to a defensive contest, the Pats will likely be the winner. In an offensive shootout, I'd give the edge to Dallas, but only barely and only because the game will be on Dallas' home turf. Tony Romo is a gem of a QB, and he has a multitude of tools at his disposal, but he hasn't reached the lofty plateau of Tom Brady. And whether it's fair or not, Romo will be judged by how he compares with Brady on that day.

As a diehard Cowboy fan, I'm waiting for this game to see just how good this latest incarnation of the team will be. So far, all anyone really knows is that they're better than NFL's absolute worst. Any realistic Patriot fan will also be looking to this game as the first true measurement of the character of the 2007 Pats.

When the dust has settled, it will doubtlessly have been one helluva ballgame. Super Bowl preview? Maybe. Maybe not. The season is young.