tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78011771325269708282024-03-08T08:01:10.815-08:00Waites and BalancesThoughts on Rights, Government, and a Changing World by a conservative from the Northwest.bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-67791423788351729522012-07-03T09:46:00.002-07:002012-07-03T09:46:53.462-07:00I know, I haven't blogged in a while, life has been busy, we've added a son in law, the kids have all moved, and all the other things that allow life to get in the way have happened.<br />
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I'll be better! <br />
<br />bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-3210647733974652812012-07-03T09:38:00.000-07:002012-07-03T09:44:40.098-07:00Before the 4th<b>Our Constitution is a practical application of a universal truth, confirmed by centuries of human experience. I would paraphrase it, but the book of Romans in The Bible says it so succinctly: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Or, as Isaiah, a prophet from long ago, put it, all of us have turned away from God and none is righteous. Those fundamental understandings do not elevate any of mankind; they recognize a tragic flaw infecting us all. For practical men and women, that flaw then leads to the question: How do we then govern? How do we live? </b><br />
<em><strong>MJ Mollenhour </strong></em><br />
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Read the entire thing, its critical to understanding where we are, how we got to this point, and where we are headed if we continue down this path as a Nation. <br />
<br /><a href="http://mjm.luckygunner.com/2012/07/01/president-obama-returns-to-his-roots-the-french-revolution/#more-4806">http://mjm.luckygunner.com/2012/07/01/president-obama-returns-to-his-roots-the-french-revolution/#more-4806</a>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-62264140889198429022011-09-11T09:53:00.001-07:002011-09-11T09:53:43.025-07:00Sept 11, 2001As I opened my computer and saw all the mainstream media tributes today, I realized that I don't feel patriotic today... that's how I feel on July 4th. <br />
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Today, I still feel angry!<br />
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I'm angry that 10 years ago men who had never met those that they would kill, never saw the faces of the fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers, the friends and children, the hard working heart of our country, would do so in such a cowardly manner. <br />
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I'm angry that our government, supposedly a government of the people and for the people, would choose to use the crisis to increase restrictions on us, the American Citizen. Choosing to invade our lives in ever increasing ways, restricting our freedom of movement, continually searching us, inquiring about our activities, even assaulting us with searches of our person that would be considered sexual assault if it were performed outside of an airport by someone not in a TSA uniform. All of this to supposedly find terrorists, but after 10 years, not one has been found in this manner! Security Theater...As Benjamin Franklin said, "Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security." We are it! <br />
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I'm angry that our soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors are continually placed in danger by rules of engagement that are both senseless and craven. I'm angry that the best military minds are stifled by politicians who have never stepped on a battlefield, and who surround themselves with armed security, while demanding that the rest of us give up our own weapons. I'm angry that the same military minds who conceived the brilliant battle plans responsible for the overwhelming victories of Desert Storm and Desert Shield, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan are hobbled by small minded men who sit in comfortable chairs in the Senate, House, and White House. <br />
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I'm fortunate, I lost no friends or family that day. A great friend was sick, and because of that was not where he might have been, and was thus spared. <br />
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But I am angry that so many other friends of mine did lose loved ones, and still bear those scars. <br />
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I am proud that Americans did not lash out at Muslims here. That we did not take out our anger on fellow citizens, simply because they were members of the same religion or race as the 19 cowardly fanatics who destroyed so much.<br />
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I am proud that we have tried to make the world a better place, not always succeeding, but we have tried. <br />
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I am proud that our military men and women have, by and large, acted appropriately when faced with very difficult decisions. That they have represented all that is best about America, while our politicians often represent all that is worst.<br />
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I am proud too, that we have sustained the war against those who would destroy our way of life, who would, given the opportunity, drive liberty and freedom from the face of the Earth.<br />
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I am hopeful. Hopeful that we can right the wrongs, find our way out from the cloud that hangs over us. That we can finish this job, and make American secure once more in her strength. <br />
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I salute those who protect us. Not the phony security theater of the TSA, but the men and women of the Armed Forces, who stand on the wall in the dark and say, "Nothing will hurt you tonight, not on MY watch!" <br />
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I TOO WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER!bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-1409210963403432942010-08-20T12:43:00.001-07:002010-08-20T12:43:59.294-07:00Reagan again!!<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7wusgcG4rfo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7wusgcG4rfo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-4215430496268964032010-08-08T21:47:00.001-07:002010-08-08T22:14:20.397-07:00The Broken Window FallacySaw this mentioned somewhere, perhaps by John Stossel, but YouTube has a great video about it, click on the video to watch in high def:<br />
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<object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ceSOoSLbIkI&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ceSOoSLbIkI&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-90225066653896768262010-07-28T19:12:00.000-07:002010-07-28T19:14:34.877-07:00Every once in a while, the Republicans get it right!After the last election, I began to think the Republican Party might be better referred to as "the stupid party", since they couldn't figure out a way to find an electable candidate to run against a junior congressman with no experience.<br /><br />Maybe they are STARTING to figure it out.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=13674670&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=13674670&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/13674670">14 Weeks</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/repgovs">Republican Governors Association</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-32201283030659981992010-07-22T13:12:00.000-07:002010-07-22T13:55:10.998-07:00Good Bye, Red Robin.....It has recently come to my attention, and been confirmed by corporate Red Robin Restaurants in an email, that:<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Hello xxxxxxxxx,<br /><br />Thank you for your e-mail. We appreciate your comments and feedback.<br /><br />Red Robin company policy prohibits our Team Members, Guests and Vendors from possessing weapons on Red Robin premises regardless of whether or not the person is licensed to carry the weapon.<br /><br />The only exception to this policy is those individuals employed in local, state and federal law enforcement that are required to carry a weapon as part of their duty to protect and serve the public.<br /><br />Thanks again for your comments.<br />Red Robin Guest Relations<br /></span></strong><br />Note that this eliminates even RETIRED police officers from carrying in their restaurants.<br /><br />It has also been noted that Fuddruckers and Buffalo Wild Wings also have similar policies, though I have not personally confirmed that as I have with Red Robin. I have spent fairly significant sums of money at Red Robin over the years, and have eaten multiple times at both the others, but that is all in the past unless they choose to revisit their ways.<br /><br />They are certainly within their rights to do so, it is private property, after all.<br /><br />But when any business chooses to eliminate one of the rights given to us by the Constitution, and only very recently reinforced by the Supreme Court, I have the right, even the obligation, to take my business elsewhere.<br /><br />Ignoring these little revocations of freedom by those who do not revere the very document that allows them the opportunity to pursue economic activity is admitting that those rights are not important to us all.<br /><br />If they were to deny entrance to blacks, or Jews, there would be widespread public criticism, but when they do so to a group that is not quite so easily identified, there is minimal complaint.<br /><br />As for me, well, there are still plenty of other places to eat!bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-78279567244454272232010-04-04T13:36:00.001-07:002010-04-04T16:40:41.661-07:00WE ARE AMERICANS!!!!In light of the earlier post below, and the Colonels appeal, I have been considering our past, and our ancestors response to difficult circumstances.<br /><br />We have the words of Patrick Henry, uttered before the Virginia House of Burgesses while they dithered over whether to mobilize to fight the encroaching forces of the Kings military, (He was born in Studley, Virginia, can you think of a better name for a place which produced such a man?):<br /><br /><strong>"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!"<br /></strong><br /><br />We have the words of John Paul Jones, while his own ship was sinking around him, and the British demanded surrender:<br /><br /><strong>"I have not yet begun to fight!"</strong><br /><br />3 hours later, the British flagship, <em>Serapis</em>, surrendered herself, and the new American Navy had won perhaps the most astounding naval victory in history.<br /><br />Have we committed ourselves to those same levels of determination and persistence to rid ourselves of the self imposed tyranny we are witnessing?<br /><br />We have the actions of militia men at Concord, where 200 or 300 militia men sent 3 companies of the Kings men in retreat, to be rescued by reinforcements, and then harassed them all the way back to Charlestown and Boston, firing what would later be called. <strong>"The shot heard round the world".</strong><br /><br />We have the actions of Andrew Jackson at New Orleans, where 3500 American troops, including freed slaves, Baratarian pirates, Choctaw warriors and militias from Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi not only battled but defeated a force four times as large of hardened and trained British troops, some of whom defeated Napolean at Waterloo.<br /><br />We have the actions of Robert E Lee, who turned down command of the Union Army out of allegiance to his home state, Virginia, then led smaller, poorly equipped Confederate armies to victories at the Seven Days Battles, the Second Battle of Manassa (Bull Run), the Battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and the Battle of Cold Harbor. This was a man who became not only a hero to the South, but who was worshipped in the North as well, because he sought reconciliation and friendship once the last shot was fired.<br /><br />We have the actions of Abraham Lincoln, a farm boy from the midwest, who went on to write:<br /><br /><strong>"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.<br /><br />Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.<br /><br />But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. <span style="color:#660000;">It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth</span><span style="color:#000000;">."</span></strong><br /><strong></strong><br />We have the actions of that same Lincoln, who put in place the framework to heal our Nation after it suffered that great abomination known as the Civil War, which pitted father against son, and brother against brother.<br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;"></span></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Are we now committed to carrying forth those heroic words? Are we now resolved to make sure that those men, indeed, did not die in vain? Are we now determined that our country should have a new birth of freedom, unencumbered by the whims of those who would rule over us, instead of respecting our freedom?</span><br /><br />We have the actions of Teddy Roosevelt at San Juan Hill, which were so valorous as to have him submitted for the Medal of Honor, finally awarded many years later, after his death. Our only President to win the Medal of Honor, and the only man in history to win both the Medal of Honor for his actions as a warrior, and the Nobel Peace Prize for his actions as a President. (Contrast that with the current holder of the Nobel Peace Prize!)<br /><br />We have the words of Teddy Roosevelt, too:<br /><br /><strong>"...the only wise and honorable and Christian thing to do is to treat each black man and each white man strictly on his merits as a man, giving him no more and no less that he shows himself worthy to have."</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />How different from our current state of affairs, where our countrymen seem to want to value some not on merit, but on some other basis, unexplainable, and catastrophic to society!<br /><br />We have the actions of Alvin York, a 20 year old Army sergeant from Tennessee of English/Irish/Cherokee/Choctaw ancestry, who singlehandedly went up a hill covered with German machine gun nests during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. While repeatedly calling for them to surrender:<br /><br /><strong>"And those machine guns were spitting fire and cutting down the undergrowth all around me something awful. And the Germans were yelling orders. You never heard such a racket in all of your life. I didn't have time to dodge behind a tree or dive into the brush… As soon as the machine guns opened fire on me, I began to exchange shots with them. There were over thirty of them in continuous action, and all I could do was touch the Germans off just as fast as I could. I was sharp shooting… All the time I kept yelling at them to come down. I didn't want to kill any more than I had to. But it was they or I. And I was giving them the best I had."</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />His actions took 32 machine guns, killed 28 German machine gunners, and captured 600 prisoners.<br /><br />And they won him the Medal of Honor.<br /><br />We have the actions of the Marines on Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima.<br /><br />We have the actions of Audie Murphy, a 5' 5", and 110 pound Texan, who entered the Army at age 17 after being turned down by the paratroopers and Marines for being too small. He never grew much, leaving the Army at 5'7" and 145.<br /><br />But in between, he became the most decorated American soldier of World War II, earning EVERY medal then available, and having been awarded at least 5 of them twice. As a 19 year old he performed an action of incredible bravery.<br /><br />The citation for his Medal of Honor reads:<br /><br /><strong>"Second Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by six tanks and waves of infantry. 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to a prepared position in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, one of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. 2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire, which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad that was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued his single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way back to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack, which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50. 2d Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective."</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />We have dozens more Medal of Honor winners to pick from, and of whom we should be following example.<br /><br />These were men who risked their lives, and many whom <strong>gave</strong> their lives, to defend the freedoms that we seem so determined to allow politicians to legislate from us.<br /><br />WE ARE AMERICANS!<br /><br />We are the offspring of the Greatest Generation, the descendants of heroes like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock, and others.<br /><br />We are a country that started in the small states of New England on the edge of a vast continent, and grew to occupy that continent from Atlantic to Pacific, and then beyond.<br /><br />We have an unmatched history of heroes. Men like Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Sam Houston, Alan Shepard, Buzz Aldrin, Chuck Yeager, Carlos Hathcock, Chesty Puller, Douglas MacArthur, Jimmy Stewart (did you know he enlisted as a private, earned his pilots wings, was commissioned an officer and then flew more than twenty bombing missions over Germany? The exact number is unknown because he, acting as commander, made sure they stopped counting at 20. He rose to Colonel from private in 4 years, and eventually was promoted to Brigadier General.)<br /><br />We have so many heroes that I can only begin to barely scratch the surface.<br /><br />Name a problem, and it appears that God put Americans on Earth to solve it:<br /><br />Need a mechanical manner to harvest cotton when slavery doesn't work? We've got Eli Whitney.<br />Need a sewing machine to decrease labor and increase production? We have Isaac Singer and Elias Howe.<br />Need electric lighting? We've got Thomas Edison.<br />Need cheap mechanical transportation? We've got Henry Ford, who put America on wheels while the rest of the world looked at the car as a curiosity.<br />Need to fly? We have to brothers who made that happen, the Wrights.<br />Need to end large scale war, and do it in 3 years? We have the Manhattan project, which brought together geniuses from all over the world in a collective effort. ONLY IN AMERICA!<br />Need to win a war on TWO fronts literally halfway around the world from each other, against two war machines that have marched through dozens of other countries? We have the men and women of the US military.<br />Need a man on the Moon? We've got the collective geniuses at NASA, who before they were a bureacracy, were able to solve problems that no one else could even envision.<br />Need TV? We've a got Philo Farnsworth, a Mormon farmboy from Utah and Idaho.<br /><br />And it goes on and on an on and on!<br /><br />WE ARE AMERICANS!<br /><br />We are faced now with issues that many of us never dreamed would be a problem. A country founded on the principal of less government interference is rapidly becoming one of gross oversight by those whom we elect to serve us. Instead, we find ourselves increasingly enslaved by their decisions. Decisions which we may not agree with, but which we find almost impossible to change.<br /><br />NOW is the time, HERE is the place, WE are the people, and WE must change this progression, or OUR children and grandchildren will live in a place that will be so foreign that those great men, the Founding Fathers, will not recognize it.<br /><br />Thomas Paine said:<br /><br /><strong>"If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."<br /></strong><br />NOW we must begin to say, "NO"! It can go no farther if we are to have any hope of avoiding the crushing bootheel of legislation that will undermine are very lives.<br /><br />NOW is the time to say, "If you voted against what I believe are the principles upon which this country was founded, you have no right to office."<br /><br />NOW is the time to become involved, to get off your couch, and to VOTE. VOTE for those who represent what YOU believe in, and when someone does not represent your view, VOTE them out of office by electing someone who will<br /><br />WE ARE AMERICANS and we can change the direction our country is going. WE have done more difficult things, WE have accomplished more difficult things.<br /><br />WE MUST change this!<br /><br />WE ARE AMERICANS and there is NO IMPOSSIBLE!<br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong><br /><br /><br /><br /></strong></span><span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span><span style="color:#000000;"><strong></strong></span>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-14714146093828600622010-04-04T10:13:00.000-07:002010-04-04T10:16:46.978-07:00The Battle for America as we know it!It is on, and unless a whole bunch more of us step up to the plate, it will gone forever!<br /><br />Here is one man who is willing!<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VP2p91dvm6M&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VP2p91dvm6M&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-47010621279739357482010-03-10T15:42:00.000-08:002010-03-10T16:27:49.936-08:00Fed Up Yet?From Mostly Cajun, read the whole thing, its worth it:<br /><br /><a href="http://mostlycajun.com/wordpress/">http://mostlycajun.com/wordpress/</a><br /><br /><br /><strong>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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,…</strong><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#990000;">"So I listened to Obama speaking (first mistake, I know) and he tells the Republicans “You had ten years” to straighten out the health care system.<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#990000;">........</span><br /><span style="color:#990000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#990000;">I’m tired! Call a spade a spade. Show there’s a difference. Most of America is tired of one rule for all of us, another rule for them. do you think the IRS would have been as congenial with a tax error with ol’ Joe Schmucj as they were with Obama’s pick for TREASURY secretary, Tim Geitner? I’ve dealt with the IRS over tax errors and there was nothing “nice” about them.<br />Public health care? I’d think very well of “public health facilities” if the public health facility I used was the congressional wing of Walter Reid. </span><br /><span style="color:#990000;">.........<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#990000;"><strong>I am an American. I do not ASK for privilege. I was born to my OWN “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” And I do not do “classes”. I expect to work for me and mine, and I expect others to do the same for theirs. I will extend a hand to the unfortunate, but not the lazy.</strong></span><br /><span style="color:#990000;"><strong><br />And I am keeping close eye, as Claire Wolfe says, because “America is at that awkward stage. It’s too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.”</strong><br /><br /></span><span style="color:#990000;"></span><span style="color:#990000;">And it may be later than we think."</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#990000;"></span>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-46185666193368323482009-11-23T21:15:00.001-08:002009-11-23T21:19:07.930-08:00Because when seconds count, the police are only minutes away!<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kTAADW9wNvk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kTAADW9wNvk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />No matter how effective the police are, they CANNOT be everywhere. Everyone has a responsibility for their own protection. Thankfully, this woman accepted that responsibility!bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-89609337355407571342009-08-27T11:44:00.000-07:002009-08-27T11:45:21.550-07:00Almost 50 Years Ahead of His Time, but Still Right!<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oNOzUL6c4SI&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oNOzUL6c4SI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-58835494588658766252009-07-27T18:49:00.000-07:002009-07-27T20:37:55.714-07:00A few months agoBack in April, my son and I were offered the opportunity to shoot a .50 BMG. This is the cartridge that was made famous by the M2 or "Ma Deuce". John Moses Browning, often called "God's Own Armorer", designed the M2, along with a design that may be the most beloved firearm ever, the 1911 Government Colt .45. It is probably about the largest cartridge I'll ever have the chance to fire. Because of the muzzle brake, it was comfortable to fire, very comparable to a 12 gauge shooting slugs. The bullet is about as big around as my little finger and the cartridge is 5 1/2 inches long. <br /><br />Unknown to me at the time, the experience was being videoed, and fortunately it was recently posted on another blog. The owner was kind enough to present a high quality version for me and I've posted it for your entertainment.<br /><br />The first shooter, and the 10 year old (or so) who shoot last were other shooters given the chance to do so.<br /><br />Bill<br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-9b3130dd127bbc3e class=BLOG_video_class width=320 height=266 contentId="9b3130dd127bbc3e"></OBJECT>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-38567554170691409842009-05-07T07:18:00.001-07:002009-05-07T07:20:41.506-07:00Couldn't GM solve it's financial problems....Very easily if they would just start building primers and making brass?<br /><br />All that capacity, all those workers, surely they could be fairly easily converted over to manufacturing something that people actually want!!<br /><br />I know, it's been 2 months, but I'm very close to completing a VERY long term project, and I've been VERY busy at work!bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-46275782342402226202009-03-02T19:45:00.000-08:002009-03-02T19:47:04.404-08:00Quote of the Day!<em><strong>The only difference I ever found between the Democratic leadership and the Republican leadership is that one of them is skinning you from the ankle up and the other, from the ear down.</strong></em> - Huey P. Long<br /><br />Tip of the Hat to http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-40486025155490365182009-02-26T14:43:00.000-08:002009-02-26T14:48:50.975-08:00Here we go!!!!<em><strong>Update: Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters Wednesday that President Obama would like to "reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons" that expired in 2004 under the Bush administration. Holder said the ban would not only be a "positive move" by the United States, but would help reduce the trafficking of guns to the drug cartels in Mexico. It looks like the gun boom is far from over.</strong></em><br /><br />From this article: http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/topstocks/archive/2009/02/25/fear-of-obama-drives-gun-stocks-higher.aspx<br /><br />And no one can even define "assault weapons"! Is an AR15 in semiautomatic an "assault weapon"? How about a Ruger 10/22 with a 30 round clip? Or a bolt action .308 with a 15 round clip? Or a .40 caliber Springfield XDM pistol with a 16 round clip?<br /><br />Here comes the nightmare, are we ready?bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-39520389797389065422009-02-10T12:43:00.000-08:002009-02-10T12:55:58.778-08:00As I Age....I find that I am becoming less and less tolerant of the evil I see around me in the world. I see how it affects others, and think how easily it could affect those I love and respect. <br /><br />A friend emailed me to tell me that a man was assaulted and stabbed in his home by thugs looking for his supposed pain medications. No mention was made about whether the man actually had pain medications, just that they were looking for them.<br /><br />My friend then pointed out that people wonder why he always carries, even when he is alone in his own home. Now he has a newspaper article to hand them!<br /><br />Another friend emailed me this piece:<br /><br /><strong>Why I Carry a Gun <br /><br />My old grandpa said to me, "Son, there comes a time in every man's life when he stops bustin' knuckles and starts bustin' caps and usually it's when he becomes too old to take an ass whoopin'." <br /><br />I don't carry a gun to kill people. I carry a gun to keep from being killed. <br /><br />I don't carry a gun to scare people. I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be a scary place. <br /><br />I don't carry a gun because I'm paranoid. I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world. <br /><br />I don't carry a gun because I'm evil. I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to see the evil in the<br />world. <br /><br />I don't carry a gun because I hate the government. I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government. <br /><br />I don't carry a gun because I'm angry. I carry a gun so that I don't have to spend the rest of my life hating myself for failing to be prepared. <br /><br />I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone. I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed, and not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon. <br /><br />I don't carry a gun because I'm a cowboy. I carry a gun because, when I die and go to Heaven, I want to be a cowboy. <br /><br />I don't carry a gun to make me feel like a man. I carry a gun because men know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love. <br /><br />I don't carry a gun because I feel inadequate. I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I AM inadequate.<br /><br /><br />I don't carry a gun because I love it. I carry a gun because I love life and the people who make it meaningful to me.<br /><br />Author Unknown</strong><br /><br />I would add a paraphrasing of something I heard a long time ago and for which I don't remember the source:<br /><br />I don't carry a pistol because I expect trouble, IF I EXPECTED trouble, I would carry a rifle!!bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-26924747351254867212009-02-07T17:13:00.000-08:002009-02-07T17:14:53.745-08:00An old Indian said:From http://www.softgreenglow.com/wp/<br /><br /><br /><strong>It’s late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild.<br /><br />Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn’t tell what the winter was going to be like. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.<br /><br />But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He called the National Weather Service and asked, “Is the coming winter going to be cold?”<br /><br />“It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,” the meteorologist at the weather service responded. So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.<br /><br />A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. “Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?”<br /><br />“Yes,” the man at National Weather Service again replied, “it’s going to be a very cold winter.” The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.<br /><br />Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. “Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?”<br /><br />“Absolutely,” the man replied. “It’s looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we’ve ever seen.”<br /><br />“How can you be so sure?” the chief asked.”<br /><br />The weatherman replied, “The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy.”</strong>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-16630046912907958872009-02-05T20:17:00.000-08:002009-02-05T20:18:13.733-08:00Another thought on the Stimulus Package<strong>“You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that, my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.” <br /><br />--Dr. Adrian Rogers<br /><br /></strong>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-72286698810468960052009-02-05T20:00:00.000-08:002009-02-05T20:03:05.693-08:00Why the "Stimulus Package", isn't!!Joe Huffman, from "The View from North Central Idaho" says it much more succintly than I have been able to. The Whole post is here: http://blog.joehuffman.org/<br /><br /><strong>Suppose my family was deeply in debt, income was trending down, and some members of my family were unemployed. Would it improve matters if we borrowed a bunch of money and spent it on things like painting the house, new clothes, and a new car?<br /><br />I don't think so.<br /><br />Suppose it was my little North Central Idaho town of 20K people that was deeply in debt, income was trending down, and unemployment was trending up. Would it improve matters if the town borrowed a bunch of money and spent it on random stuff?<br /><br />I don't think so.<br /><br />Repeat at the large city level.<br /><br />Repeat at the county level.<br /><br />Repeat at the state level (California for example).<br /><br />Is it going to make things better in any of those cases?<br /><br />If not, then why would it make sense to do it at the national level?<br /><br /></strong>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-27466613410885177852009-01-27T21:18:00.000-08:002009-01-27T21:47:57.097-08:00Arabs vs. Jews, a view on accomplishment.This is not intended as a comment on the contrast, but as a rather interesting point of view of the two groups. <br /> <br />The Global Islamic population is approximately 1,200,000,000 ONE BILLION TWO HUNDRED MILLION or 20% of the world's population.<br /><br />They have received the following Nobel Prizes:<br /> Literature:<br /> 1988 - Najib Mahfoo<br /><br /> Peace:<br /> 1978 - Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat<br /> 1994 - Yaser Arafat:<br /> 1990 - Elias James Corey<br /> 1999 - Ahmed Zewai<br /><br /> Economics: (zero)<br /><br /> Physics: (zero)<br /><br /> Medicine:<br /> & nbsp; 1960 - Peter Brian Medawar<br /> 1998 - Ferid Mourad<br /><br /> TOTAL: 7 SEVEN<br /><br />____________________________________________________________________________<br /><br />The Global Jewish population is approximately 14,000,000 -- Only FOURTEEN MILLION<br />or about 0.02% of the world's population.<br /><br />They have received the following Nobel Prizes:<br /><br /> Literature:<br /> 1910 - Paul Heyse<br /> 1927 - Henri Bergson<br /> 1958 - Boris Pa sternak<br /> 1966 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon<br /> 1966 - Nelly Sachs<br /> 1976 - Saul Bellow<br /> 1978 - Isaac Bashevis Singer<br /> 1981 - Elias Canetti<br /> 1987 - Joseph Brodsky<br /> 1991 - Nadine Gordimer World<br /><br /> Peace:<br /> 1911 - Alfred Fried<br /> 1911 - Tobias Michael Carel Asser<br /> &nb sp; 1968 - Rene Cassin<br /> 1973 - Henry Kissinger<br /> 1978 - Menachem Begin<br /> 1986 - Elie Wiesel<br /> 1994 - Shimon Peres<br /> 1994 - Yitzhak Rabin<br /><br /> Physics:<br /> 1905 - Adolph Von Baeyer<br /> 1906 - Henri Moissan<br /> 1907 - Albert Abraham Michelson<br /> & nbsp; 1908 - Gabriel Lippmann<br /> 1910 - Otto Wallach<br /> 1915 - Richard Willstaetter<br /> 1918 - Fritz Haber<br /> 1921 - Albert Einstein<br /> 1922 - Niels Bohr<br /> 1925 - James Franck<br /> 1925 - Gustav Hertz<br /> 1943 - Gustav Stern<br /> 1943 - George Charles de Hevesy<br /> &nbs p; 1944 - Isidor Issac Rabi<br /> 1952 - Felix Bloch<br /> 1954 - Max Born<br /> 1958 - Igor Tamm<br /> 1959 - Emilio Segre<br /> 1960 - Don ald A.. Glaser<br /> 1961 - Robert Hofstadter<br /> 1961 - Melvin Calvin<br /> 1962 - Lev Davidovich Landau<br /> 1962 - Max Ferdinand Pe rutz<br /> 1965 - Richard Phil lips Feynman<br /> 1965 - Julian Schwinger<br /> 1969 - Murray Gell-Mann<br /> 1971 - Dennis Gabor<br /> 1972 - William Howard Stein<br /> 1973 - Brian David Joseph son<br /> 1975 - Benjamin Mottleson<br /> 1976 - Burton Richter<br /> 1977 - Ilya Prigogine<br /> 1978 - Arno Allan Penzias<br /> 1978 - Peter L Kapitza<br /> 1979 - Stephen Weinberg<br /> 1979 - Sheldon Glashow<br /> 1979 - Herbert Charles Brown<br /> 1980 - Paul Berg<br /> 1980 - Walter Gilbert<br /> 1981 - Roald Hoffmann<br /> 1982 - Aaron Klug<br /> 1985 - Albert A. Hauptman<br /> &nb sp; 1985 - Jerome Karle<br /> 1986 - Dudley R. Herschbach<br /> 1988 - Robert Huber<br /> 1988 - Leon Lederman<br /> 1988 - Melvin Schwartz<br /> 1988 - Jack Steinberger<br /> 1989 - Sidney Altman<br /> 1990 - Jerome Friedman<br /> 1992 - Rudolph Marcus<br /> 1995 - Martin Perl<br /> &n bsp; 2000 - Alan J. Heeger<br /><br /> Economics:<br /> 1970 - Paul Anthony Samuelson<br /> 1971 - Simon Kuznets<br /> 1972 - Kenneth Joseph Arrow<br /> 1975 - Leonid Kantorovich<br /> 1976 - Mil ton Friedman<br /> 1978 - Herb ert A. Simon<br /> 1980 - Lawrence Robert Klein<br /> &nbs p;1985 - Franco Modigliani<br /> 1987 - Robert M. Solow<br /> 1990 - Harry Markowitz<br /> 1 990 - Merton Miller<br /> 1992 - Gary Becker<br /> 1993 - Robert Fogel<br /><br /> Medicine:<br /> 1908 - Elie Metchnikoff<br /> 1908 - Paul Erlich<br /> 1914 - Robert Barany<br /> 1922 - Otto Meyerhof<br /> 1930 - Karl Landsteiner<br /> 1931 - Otto Warburg<br /> 1936 - Otto Loewi<br /> 1944 - Joseph Erlanger<br /> 1944 - Herb ert Spencer Gasser<br /> 1945 - Ernst Boris Chain<br /> 1946 - Hermann Joseph Muller<br /> 1950 - Tadeus Reichstein<br /> 1952 - Selman Abra ham Waksman<br /> & nbsp; 1953 - Hans Krebs<br /> 1953 - Fritz Albert Lipmann<br /> 1958 - Joshua Lederberg<br /> 1959 - Arthur Kornberg<br /> 1964 - Konrad Bloch<br /> 1965 - Francois Jacob<br /> 1965 - Andre Lwoff<br /> 1967 - George Wald<br /> 1968 - Marshall W. Nirenberg<br /> 1969 - Salvador Luria<br /> &nbs p; 1970 - Julius Axelrod<br /> 1970 - Sir Bernard Katz<br /> 1972 - Gerald Maurice Ed elman<br /> 1975 - Howard Martin Temin<br /> 1976 - Baruch S. Blumberg<br /> 1977 - Roselyn Sussman Yalow<br /> 1978 - Daniel Nathans<br /> 1980 - Baruj Benacerraf<br /> 1984 - Cesar Milstein<br /> 1985 - Michael Stuart Brown<br /> 1985 - Joseph L. Goldstein<br /> 1986 - Stanley Cohen [& Rita Levi-Montalcini]<br /> 1988 - Gertrude Elion<br /> 1989 - Harold Varmus<br /> 1991 - Erwin Neher<br /> 1991 - Bert Sakmann<br /> 1993 - Richard J. Roberts<br /> 1993 - Phillip Sharp<br /> 1994 - Alfred Gilman<br /> 1995 - Ed ward B. Lewis<br /><br /> TOTAL: 129 ONE HUNDRED TWENTY NINE!<br /><br /><br />The Jews are NOT promoting brain washing children in military training camps, teaching them how to blow themselves up and cause maximum deaths of Jews and other non Muslims!<br /><br />The Jews don't hijack planes, nor kill athletes at the Olympics, or blow themselves up in German restaurants. There is NOT one single Jew that has destroyed a church. There is NOT a single Jew that protests by killing people.<br /><br />The Jews don't traffic slaves, nor have leaders calling for Jihad and death to all the Infidels.<br /><br />Perhaps the world's Muslims should consider investing more in standard education and less in blaming the Jews for all their problems.<br /><br />Muslims must ask 'what can they do for humankind' before they demand that humankind respects them!!<br /><br />R egardless of your feelings about the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab neighbors, even if you believe there is more culpability on Israel 's part, the following two sentences really say it all:<br /><br />'If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.<br />If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel'<br />-Benjamin Netanyahubwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-77753784090163409292009-01-27T20:54:00.001-08:002009-01-27T21:04:14.229-08:00Kids know how it works!!I received this from several sources today, but my brother in law Andrew sent it first, so he gets the credit!!<br /><br /><em><strong>Ice Cream & The Election </strong></em><br /><br />Excellent analogy! <br /><br />From a teacher in the Nashville area.<br /><br />Who worries about "the cow" when it is all about the "Ice Cream?<br /><br />The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year.<br /><br />The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest.<br /><br />I decided we would have an election for a class president. <br /><br />We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote. <br /><br />To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have.<br /><br />We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot. <br /><br />The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia's mother.<br /><br />The day arrived when they were to make their speeches Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best. <br /><br />Everyone applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium. <br /><br />Her speech was concise. She said, "If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream." She sat down.<br /><br />The class went wild. "Yes! Yes! We want ice cream." She surely could say more. She did not have to.<br /><br />A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream? She wasn't sure. <br /><br />Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it? She didn't know.<br /><br />The class really didn't care. All they were thinking about was ice cream.<br /><br />Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a landslide.<br /><br /><strong>Every time Barack Obama opened his mouth he offered ice cream and<br />fifty-two percent of the people reacted like nine year olds. They want<br />ice cream.</strong><br /><br /><strong>The other forty-eight percent of us know we're going to have to feed the<br />cow and clean up the mess!</strong>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-27567799517418090292009-01-26T11:05:00.000-08:002009-01-26T11:20:09.747-08:00Supreme Court pat down?The Supreme Court issued a decision today that seems a little out of place.<br /><br />The bare facts are these:<br /><br />A car was legally stopped for an infraction. One of the police officers noted a passenger who appeared to be in gang related clothing. She began a consensual conversation and asked him to exit the vehicle so she could continue the conversation away from the driver. It turns out that the passenger was an Ex-Con. She suspected that he was armed, and so when he exited the vehicle she patted him down, found he was indeed armed, and arrested him for possession of a firearm. <br /><br />The question put before the Supreme Court was whether the search of his person was Constitutional based upon the Fourth Amendment. <br /><br />The Supreme Court held that once the stop was made, as established in previous cases by precedent, that the passengers, as well as the driver were under the control of the officers. <br /><br />The interesting question here is that if he had refused to answer her questions about gang activities and his past, would she have asked him to exit the vehicle? Second, if he had refused to do so, since there was no real attempt at proof or belief at the time that he was involved in illegal activity, could he have been required to do so? <br /><br />You can read the decision here:<br /><br />http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-1122.ZS.htmlbwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-56249183812338590932009-01-19T16:01:00.000-08:002009-01-19T16:02:20.439-08:00All too true!!!A bit of satire about our governments incredible ability to spend the money we earn!<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.theonion.com/content/themes/common/assets/videoplayer2/flvplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="355" flashvars="file=http://www.theonion.com/content/xml/90029/video&autostart=false&image=http://www.theonion.com/content/files/images/MONEY_HOLE_article.jpg&bufferlength=3&embedded=true&title=In%20The%20Know%3A%20Should%20The%20Government%20Stop%20Dumping%20Money%20Into%20A%20Giant%20Hole%3F"></embed><br/><a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/video/in_the_know_should_the_government?utm_source=embedded_video">In The Know: Should The Government Stop Dumping Money Into A Giant Hole?</a>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801177132526970828.post-50235148101517412652009-01-11T17:17:00.000-08:002009-01-11T17:20:25.451-08:00Slingshot?Thanks to <a href="http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/">http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/</a>.<br /><br />This guy was just too much fun to not post!!<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9ieWrWLjii0&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9ieWrWLjii0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>bwaiteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08806525635015134594noreply@blogger.com2