The Declaration of Independence.

On this fine July 4, 2008 we celebrate by displaying this photograph of the original Declaration of Independence. If you look at the original document today, the thing you notice is that the words have become faded, and are barely readable.

Unfortunately, these words have not just faded on the document, but have faded in our lives, our hearts, and our culture. These words that burned in the hearts of our Founding Fathers have become almost forgotten today. I invite you to join me today in reading and renewing in our hearts the powerful words that were the birth of our country.

I’ve read a ton of web sites today.  This post captured for me the frustration I’ve felt for so long.

I try every single day to be a Citizen.  To look inward and outward and to always try to do the right thing.  To remember the responsibilities, not simply the rights.

Surgeon Ordered to Pay $795G for Cutting Off Man’s Penis - Not worth it, no matter how much you need the money.

Bestiality “victims” to be spared the death penalty. Poor dogs had to have sex with old people.  Unfortunately this hungry dog wasn’t spared.

Obama confirms his flip-flops on the issues by saying his views haven’t changed.

And Up Yours to Belmar, NJ.  You can finally flick someone off there legally.

Pringles aren’t potato chips.  They’re cookies.

Britian’s top judge opines that Sharia law can have it’s place in the UK. Does anyone see a problem with that? And I always that that the British Common Law was enough for Britian. Now, it seems like they think that it would be fine to have two sets of civil laws, operating in the same country.

The Global View reveals the Gospel.

NASA now begrudgingly confirms that the hottest year on record in the continental 48 was not 1998, as previously believed, but 1934, and that six of the 10 hottest years since 1880 antedate 1954. Data from 3,000 scientific robots in the world’s oceans show there has been slight cooling in the past five years, never mind that “80% to 90% of global warming involves heating up ocean waters,” according to a report by NPR’s Richard Harris.

The Arctic ice cap may be thinning, but the extent of Antarctic sea ice has been expanding for years. At least as of February, last winter was the Northern Hemisphere’s coldest in decades. In May, German climate modelers reported in the journal Nature that global warming is due for a decade-long vacation. But be not not-afraid, added the modelers: The inexorable march to apocalypse resumes in 2020.

This last item is, of course, a forecast, not an empirical observation. But it raises a useful question: If even slight global cooling remains evidence of global warming, what isn’t evidence of global warming? What we have here is a nonfalsifiable hypothesis, logically indistinguishable from claims for the existence of God. This doesn’t mean God doesn’t exist, or that global warming isn’t happening. It does mean it isn’t science. So let’s stop fussing about the interpretation of ice core samples from the South Pole and temperature readings in the troposphere. The real place where discussions of global warming belong is in the realm of belief, and particularly the motives for belief. I see three mutually compatible explanations.

That’s the problem I have with those that worship science instead of practice it.  They’ll go on and on about how the scientists have proven global warming.  When no such thing has occurred.

And the scientist, in his holy robes, unpolluted by human desires, speaks from on high the gospel.  This image does not exist.  Each scientist is human.  Most scientific data can be easily proven and repeated.  But not the human caused global warming hypothesis.  Nope, this is to be taken on faith.  Because the promoters are very earnest and truly believe in what they’re preaching.

An Ethics Investigation For Obama?  Where is the outrage? 

Obama is just the latest of bigwig Dems caught getting juicy loan deals from lenders they (1) regulate and (2) condemn publicly. Also busted are former prez candidate Chris Dodd, who chairs the banking committee for cryin out loud, and North Dakota Dem Kent Conrad. Those two are the subjects of Senate ethics investigations for their loans.

Will Obama now be added to the investigation. By any reasonable measure, he should be, as the WaPo story presents a pretty clear case that this is a case of Obama benefiting financially from his office. It is not a case of failure to disclose, because the current law does not require electeds to disclose information on real estate loans. Count on that to change soon.

[http://www.nbc10.com/news/16773793/detail.html?rss=phi&psp=news]

Seems as though there is a brew-ha-ha developing about a new Philly law that would require tour guides to pass a history test.

Now, normally, I am all for getting the govenment out of my business. But, I think this time the government has a point. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to some, but it seems as though some of the tour guides were rather lacking in the history department. One guide was overheard telling their group that George Washington and Abe Lincoln had dinner, together, at the location that they were visiting. Somehow, I don’t thing that the tourists were getting what they paid for on that tour.

So, now some tour guides are suing, claiming that the test requirement is against their first amendment rights. Myself, I think that this problem could be taken care of at the time of employment. The tour guide’s employer could administer a history test during the interview. And, possibly the City is the employer of the tour guides at this point. This would not cover self-employed tour guides, however. So, maybe a license is the only way to do it (and the City would love those license fees, also). But, I think that the consumers should be protected in this case. When you come to a strange city and hire a tour guide, it is reasonable for you to expect that the tour guide knows what they are talking about.

Call me Ahab has the link to the ACLU blog.  I won’t dignify their stance with a direct link.

The ACLU interprets the Second Amendment as a collective right. Therefore, we disagree with the Supreme Courts decision in D.C. v. Heller.

So the next time you hear an ACLU parrot going off about protecting rights, remember, it’s not about your rights at all.

It’s about rights that fit their communist inspired agenda.

Yet more proof that the environuts believe that humans are the virus that the Earth needs to rid itself of.

Evidently, Spain can’t.

Evidently, even pictures of Fido are offensive.

Now, who is crazier - the person offended by a dog picture or the person that actually takes down the picture…

Doesn’t this picture…

Remind you a bit of this picture:

Read the rest of this entry »

Obama supports religion? Well, a religion besides himself being the chosen one of his followers?

Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand President Bush’s program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and - in a move sure to cause controversy - support some ability to hire and fire based on faith.

I can imagine the horror going on with the atheist/agnostic/separation of church and state groups today!

The wife is in the hospital with meningitis. Spent all day in the ER doing the very not fun tests. We find out tomorrow if it is viral or bacterial. Either way she’ll get several days of IV injections and hopefully as many pain meds as she can take.
So blogging here by me will be pretty light this week.

“Huffington Post started as a hoax.”

Tearful Onion intern admits guilt

Johnny Knuckles Exclusive Report

Two years ago, an idealistic Jenny Trenton accepted an internship at The Onion, self-described as “America’s Finest News Source.”

…

“I had an idea that I though was funny as hell. I’d start a hoax site where I’d write fictitious articles under the name of dim-witted celebrities about the most important issues of our age… or the very least important issues. Brilliant, huh? What could go wrong?”

Using nothing but her pluck and ability to write inanities in the name of others, Jenny started the Huffington Post.

“I named it after this dopey foreigner I caught on a cable talk show.”

You gotta read the rest.  I just love this kind of stuff.

Below is a letter that a CA woman wrote to her local paper. The paper refused to publish it, since the letter expressed opinions that the paper did not support. Her husband has since sent the letter to his entire email list, many of whom then sent it further. I got the copy from my uncle. Here it is, in full, with no further comment from me.

From: ‘David LaBonte’
My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to ‘print’ it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined. Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:

Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren’t being treated the same as those who passed through Ell is Island and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today’s American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented . Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.

They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.
Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people.

When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German-American or the Irish-American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country’s flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are in 2008 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I’m sorry, that’s not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900’s deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.

And as for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn’t start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte

Not only does the guy have an interesting point, but he has a great sense of humor. Typical Texan, wow, they just don’t have many guys like him in the NorthEast (we are cursed with Biden, Kerry, Kennedy, etc…)

Friday night I noticed the central air conditioner doesn’t seem to be working well.  A quick check on the thermostat shows that while it was set for 74, and running, it was 78 in the house.  It’s never done that before.

I turned it off, waited a few minutes for the compressor to shut down, then started it back up again.  Grabbed the infra-red thermometer and started checking vents.  The same temperature was going in the returns as coming out.  Not a good sign.

Checked outside, the compressor was running.

Went to the basement and found all the copper tubing coated in a thick coat of ice.  That’s not right at all!

Seems the whole thing froze up on me.  Now, air conditioners are supposed to cool the air, but making ice isn’t a good thing.  Chipped off a good bit of the ice and I knew parts that should be warm were iced up also.  The fan was also struggling to move the air.

So shut off the entire system for at least 24 hours to let everything melt.  Luckily there’s a drain right there so no giant basement puddles for me.

Now, generally three different things could be the reason behind this.

• Blocked air vents.  Too little air flowing through the system is bad.  You should leave most of your vents open, even in rooms not being used as often.  If not, too little air circulates.  I went around and checked and all vents were clear.
• Leaking freon.  This isn’t a good thing.  Requires a visit and expensive coolant refill charges.  Won’t know until everything has melted, and we fire it all up again.  If it immediately freezes up again, then get on the AC contractors schedule.

Now, those are the major causes for 99% of the cases.  Wasn’t blocked vents, and was hoping it wasn’t a leak.  After restarting the system a few hours ago, and checking everything, my cause was the third reason:

• The vent for certain types of humidifier was open.

Yeah, that’s what I did.  The vent goes between the immediate exhaust back to the humidifier, and then back to the intake of the unit.  This way in the winter, hot air will travel from the exhaust through the humidifier area, sucking up moisture, and then get cycled back through the entire system.  In my case, cold air was immediately going back through the intake system.  While no water was in the humidifier, there was enough humidity to slowly build up.

So after all that, I’ve got the nice 18 degree difference between the returns and the vents, and things are back to where they should be.

Steven Den Beste is worried his server can’t handle the heat that he’s getting.

Long time ago I was a contract sys-admin for a nuke plant in south east Pennsylvania.  It was a nice cold day in February, about 18 inches of snow on the ground.  That’s when the heating system that fed the area of the building that held our server room decided to get stuck on full blast.

We had about 30-35 OS2 servers, lots of external full height 1gig drives (I said this was a long time ago!) in the center of the building on the third floor.  We opened the one door to the room, had a fan going full blast, but couldn’t do much.  The windows wouldn’t open on that floor of course.

It hit 115F in that server room.  Being a nuke plant, we couldn’t just turn everything off unfortunately.  So I’m on the phone with IBM asking a tech rep just how hot the servers could handle.  They said at 85F ambient they’d recommend shutting down.  I explained why we couldn’t shut down, and about every 10 minutes you’d hear the whirring grind of another drive biting it permanently.

We lost 18 drives that day before they were able to get the power to the heating system just shut down.  Lots of restores the next few days!

TIME interviews one of the stupidest people of the decade.

FIRST PERSON WITH: Taylor Leming, college grad, 21

Created Facebook group I Text Message People While Driving and I Haven’t Crashed Yet!

Alaska and Louisiana just became the latest states to pass laws banning text-messaging behind the wheel. It’s a popular activity: YouTube has videos of young adults texting while driving, and about 600 Facebook members have joined a group called I Text Message People While Driving and I Haven’t Crashed Yet! TIME’s Sarah N. Lynch contacted the group’s founder, Taylor Leming, 21, of Round Hill, Va., who submitted her responses via e-mail:

Why did you start this group?

My friends and I were laughing about how we sometimes text and drive, and how we know it’s dangerous and have nearly rear-ended people because of it. I made the group mainly as a joke among us and a few of our friends. And gradually people invited their friends, and so on.

She’s supposedly a college grad.  And is so damn stupid.  I hope she gets run over by a car driven by one of her dumbass friends that’s text messaging her “i b over u” while driving the short bus they must all be riding.

This persons reason for being so damn greedy that she can’t control herself?

Do you think texting while driving is a problem?

Yes. Unfortunately, people still do it. I still do it. Sometimes it just seems easier to text “Be there in 5″ instead of calling.

What are they teaching kids in college these days that she can’t make the logical assumption that you don’t have to text “be there in 5 unless i rear end someone” and instead can just show up in 5 minutes?  What’s the major malfunction in this persons brain that she can’t call before she leaves, say she’s gonna be there in 30 minutes, and just show up?

I can’t wait for the lawsuit for the first person she hits.  Text messaging or not, I hope the victim read this and sues her for all she’ll ever be worth in her lifetime.

Pretty nice huh