Honoring the Fallen

Nelson & Cook's Logs Yield Climate Clues

nobody@vox.com(Wilford Tibbetts) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:48:24 -0800

Was combing through an e-mail conference I frequent and found something interesting. In one of the e-mails an article was posted from the Times Online - a paper from the United Kingdom.

In that article is stated that scientists in Great Britain were reading through logs of ship Captain's from the 1600's to about the 1750's. In it, it states as a reminder that a small ice-age - also known as The Little Ice-Age - occured between about 1600 to about 1850. Among the logs reviewed were those of Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson - which is to your left - and Captain James Cook, one of the most famous explorers of that age - I will post a pic of his portrait below. To see their ships, HMS Victory, commanded by Admiral Nelson at Trafalgar - and Captain Cook's first ship - HMS Resolution. You can view them in my photo section to the right of the main page. Here is the first article:

Records kept by Nelson and Cook are shedding light on climate change by Jonathan Leake
Britain's great seafaring tradition is to provide a unique insight into modern climate change, thanks to thousands of Royal Navy logbooks that have survived from the 17th century onwards.

The logbooks kept by every naval ship, ranging from Nelson’s Victory and Cook’s Endeavour down to the humblest frigate, are emerging as one of the world’s best sources for long-term weather data. The discovery has been made by a group of British academics and Met Office scientists who are seeking new ways to plot historic changes in climate.
“This is a treasure trove,” said Dr Sam Willis, a maritime historian and author who is affiliated with Exeter University’s Centre for Maritime Historical Studies.
“Ships’ officers recorded air pressure, wind strength, air and sea temperature and other weather conditions. From those records scientists can build a detailed picture of past weather and climate.”
A preliminary study of 6,000 logbooks has produced results that raise questions about climate change theories. One paper, published by Dr Dennis Wheeler, a Sunderland University geographer, in the journal The Holocene, details a surge in the frequency of summer storms over Britain in the 1680s and 1690s.
Many scientists believe storms are a consequence of global warming, but these were the coldest decades of the so-called Little Ice Age that hit Europe from about 1600 to 1850.
Wheeler and his colleagues have since won European Union funding to extend this research to 1750. This shows that during the 1730s, Europe underwent a period of rapid warming similar to that recorded recently – and which must have had natural origins.
Hints of such changes are already known from British records, but Wheeler has found they affected much of the north Atlantic too, and he has traced some of the underlying weather systems that caused it. His research will be published in the journal Climatic Change.
The ships’ logs have also shed light on extreme weather events such as hurricanes. It is commonly believed that hurricanes form in the eastern Atlantic and track westwards, so scientists were shocked in 2005 when Hurricane Vince instead moved northeast to hit southern Spain and Portugal.
Many interpreted this as a consequence of climate change; but Wheeler, along with colleagues at the University of Madrid, used old ships’ logs to show that this had also happened in 1842, when a hurricane followed the same trajectory into Andalusia.
The potential of Royal Navy ships’ logs to offer new insights into historic climate change was spotted by Wheeler after he began researching weather conditions during famous naval battles. Later, as global warming moved up the scientific agenda, he and others realised that the same data could shed light on historic climate change.
He said: “British archives contain more than 100,000 Royal Navy logbooks from around 1670 to 1850 alone. They are a stunning resource.”
Most of these earlier documents contain verbal descriptions of weather rather than numerical data, because ships lacked the instruments to take numerical readings. However, Wheeler and his colleagues found early Royal Navy officers recorded weather in consistent language.
“It means we can deduce numerical values for wind strength and direction, temperature and rainfall,” he said. The information will ultimately contribute to the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmos-phere Data Set, a global database maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a US government agency.
Wheeler makes clear he has no doubts about modern human-induced climate change. He said: “Global warming is a reality, but what our data shows is that climate science is complex and that it is wrong to take particular events and link them to CO2 emissions. These records will give us a much clearer picture of what is really happening.”
The Met Office has also set up a project, part-funded by Defra, the environment ministry, to study 900 logbooks kept by the East India Company on voyages between Europe and the Far East between 1780 and 1840. Its vessels carried thermometers and barometers so the data is of higher quality.
Faced with logs taken over so many voyages, the researchers have had to be selective. One of the most avid recorders of such data was Nelson himself, whose personal logbook records the air pressure and other readings he took up to several times daily.
Explorers with a weather eye
Britain’s explorers left vital records of weather around the world
— Robert FitzRoy was captain of HMS Beagle on two expeditions in the 1820s and 1830s. Charles Darwin was his passenger
— Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson’s voyages took him to the Arctic, the East and West Indies and the Mediterranean before his death at Trafalgar in 1805
— Captain James Cook mapped much of Canada and the Pacific in the 1760s and 1770s.

Captain Cook's weather reports from Discovery and Resolution, made at noon each day on his voyages to unknown lands, William Bligh’s Bounty and 300 other vessels are being transcribed and digitised.
The project will allow climatologists to trace weather patterns and climate change .
The log books, stored in the National Archives at Kew, contain a unique and highly accurate account of temperature, ice formation, air pressure and wind speed and direction in remote locations all over the world.
Now the UK Colonial Registers and Royal Navy Logbooks project, a partnership that includes the Met Office Hadley Centre and the University of Sunderland, is making all the logs available online.
The weather reports are being charted to allow instant comparisons between past observations and current conditions.
Dennis Wheeler, the project leader and a climatologist, told The Times: "Reading these logs gives me a growing respect for the navigation skills of these captains and officers. The lives of everyone on board often depended on the accuracy of their observations.
“Their conscientious and remarkably detailed reporting has given us an invaluable data resource which fills huge gaps in our knowledge about the history of the climate.”
Victorian logs being digitised under the project include those from the Beagle, the ship that carried the young Charles Darwin on a five-year expedition around the world.
A fully searchable version of the logs will be available on the National Archives website next year.

Hmm... Interesting information, no? Could it be that this has all happened before, and will happen again - even without blaming Humanity for the end of the world? Sorry for the Battlestar Galactica reference, but it sure seems to fit, doesn't it?

With the revelation that previous "evidence" may not be entirely accurate, this should come in quite handy in gathering the data once more. This time, preferably, without an organization who is for one point of view over another. It seems to me that one good thing has come out of the leaked e-mails regarding "global warming". It will allow us all to look at the supposed "hard science" regarding "global warming" - er, sorry, that's "climate change" now. Convenient how they slipped a name change in there, eh?

Anywho, I look forward to the coming years - and with any luck, decades - of new research on the matter. Maybe we'll finally begin to hear the truth about all this "climate change" mumbo-jumbo.

As always, I look forward to your comments. Until next time...

-Wil

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Help these SEAL...( The Next PC Sacrifice could be YOU ) please sign petiton,,

nobody@vox.com(EagleII) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:52:26 -0800

please help this go viral.. ( just in )

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

If you've not signed this petition please do so....this is just what I've been screaming about....okay folks, if we don't stand up for our warriors who will????? Susie

DYING FOR FREEDOM ISN'T THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN....BEING FORGOTTEN IS
Susie Stephens
State & Region 1 Coordinator, National League of POW/MIA Families
President, Georgia Committee for POW/MIA INC.

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

So this is the thanks our brave troops get for putting their lives on the line on a daily basis??? Brings to mind Marcus Lutrell and his fellow Seals - LONE SURVIVOR.

I am outraged - enough of this political correctness bull crap. Are we at war or not? This great country of ours is headed straight for hell.

If you are not aware of the charges brought against 3 Navy Seals and if you have not already signed the online petition, PLEASE take a few moments of your time to:

1. read this article http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/09/clubbing-seals/

2. sign the online petition for the Seals at http://gopetition.com/online/32541.html

3. forward this to everyone in your address book.

It's my understanding that 60,000 signatures are required by Friday (tomorrow) and as of last night there were just over 21,000.

Thank you,

Maria Johnson

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The American Form of Government...

nobody@vox.com(Wilford Tibbetts) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:17:13 -0800

The American Form of Government

I figure this video speaks for itself...

Until next time...

-Wil

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Free Speech for Me - Not for Thee...

nobody@vox.com(Wilford Tibbetts) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:59:23 -0800

Democrat-Crybaby-Seal-001

While checking my e-mail, I came across someone's e-mail post to a political conference I participate in from time-to-time, and I saw this article from American Thinker. I'd write more, but my nephews are here and it's difficult to concentrate. lol... Here's the article:

By Mark J. Fitzgibbons
I recently received a direct mail fundraising appeal from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) that contained a premium (direct mail term for ‘freebie'). The letter was signed by Senator John Kerry. The premium was a flexible magnet, the type people put on their refrigerators and such.

The magnet read: STAND FOR CHANGE -- SILENCE GOP LIES -- www.dscc.org.

I've never received a fundraising appeal that expressly urged censorship, even from any group not officially affiliated with a national political party. To urge that anyone be "silenced" is a call for censorship. If challenged, the DSCC will assuredly claim their message is merely that Republicans shouldn't lie (and, of course, Democrats tell the truth).

That this came from a committee of a national political party is more than shameful. It is downright scary and ugly. Without holding my breath, I await the cries from leftwing civil liberties groups.

I wonder who among the Democrats' donors will post this message. Next time you're at the home of a Democrat, check out what's on the ‘fridge.

I also wonder which paragons of liberte, egalite and ‘civilite' in newsrooms and on editorial boards who received this direct mail appeal, since many are Democratic donors, will object to this fundraising tactic -- and who responded with a contribution.

All I can say is... What the fuck!? Are you serious?

Until next time...

-Wil

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Colonel Barfoot Ordered to Take Down Flagpole...

nobody@vox.com(Wilford Tibbetts) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:36:21 -0800

Colonel-Barfoot-001

Fox News posted an article back in November of this year regarding an elderly gentleman's fight with his Home Owners Association. His name is Colonel Barfoot, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and a veteran of World War Two, Korea, and Vietnam. Here is the citation written for his Congressional Medal of Honor:

Second Lieutenant Barfoot's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 May 1944, near Carano, Italy. With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot (then Tech. Sgt.) moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans. He continued along the German defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his tommygun Mark VI tanks. From a distance of 75 yards his first shot destroyed the track of the leading tank, effectively disabling it, while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the crew of the disabled tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them with his tommygun. He continued onward into enemy terrain and destroyed a recently abandoned German fieldpiece with a demolition charge placed in the breech. While returning to his platoon position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his Herculean efforts, assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a position of safety. Sgt. Barfoot's extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of pointblank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers. killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machinegun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17. Later that day, after he had reorganized his men and consolidated the newly captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored counterattack directly at his platoon positions. Securing a bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed position directly in front of 3 advancing

Here is the first article:

Colonel-Barfoot-003

A Medal of Honor winner in a dispute over his right to fly the American flag in his yard will have another week before D-Day -- when he'll be forced to take down the Stars and Stripes or face legal action.

Ninety-year-old Col. Van T. Barfoot, a veteran of three wars, initially was given a 5 p.m. Friday deadline to dismantle his flagpole or face a legal battle over violating an order from his townhouse community association in Henrico County, Va.

John K. Honey, who is part of Barfoot's pro-bono legal team, said the homeowner association's board told him Thursday that it would push the date back a week to Friday, Dec. 11, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

"There's not going to be an announcement anytime this weekend," Honey told the paper. "We can all get some breathing room."

SLIDESHOW: Medal of Honor Winner Col. Van Barfoot

Barfoot, who fought in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, was told in July that he could not put up his freestanding flagpole in his Sussex Square neighborhood — but he installed it anyway.

On Tuesday, he says, he got a letter from the homeowners' association telling him the 21-foot pole he erected in September violates the community's aesthetic guidelines.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., has gotten involved in the dispute in the hopes of coming to a settlement.

"We intend to get to work right away to try to come up with a solution that’s acceptable to both Col. Barfoot and to the Homeowner’s Association," Warner's office said on his blog.

The American Legion also has joined Barfoot's fight.

"The association underestimated the fight left in this elderly veteran, and now they have to contend with the determination and persistence of Col. Barfoot's 2.5 million friends in The American Legion," National Commander Clarence E. Hill said in a statement.

But the homeowners' association defended their position, saying the issue wasn't Barfoot's right to fly the flag.

"This is not about the American flag. This is about a flagpole," the association said in a statement, insisting that Barfoot directly violated its board's July ruling.

"Col. Barfoot is free to display the American flag in conformity with the neighborhood rules and restrictions. We are hopeful that Col. Barfoot will comply."

Barfoot told the Times-Dispatch that he's faithfully displayed Old Glory every day since he served in the Army.

"There's never been a day in my life or a place I've lived in my life that you couldn't fly the American flag," he said.

Click here for Col. Barfoot's Congressional Medal of Honor Citation.

Click here for more from the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Here is a second article from NBC:

Colonel-Bargoot-004

HENRICO, VA (WWBT) – When Col. Van T. Barfoot raises the American flag, it's a special moment, in a life that's full of them.

“Just, one of the most beautiful things we've got on our side. It really is,” said Col. Barfoot.

In 1944, as a 25-year-old, he received the military's highest award: the Medal of Honor, for an act of heroism in World War Two. That makes him now, at age 90, a living legend.

To put that in perspective, when Col. Barfoot attends a Veterans Day service, he's the only one to receive a standing ovation. So when he was told that flying his American flag this way could lead to a fine of up to $10 a day, it was all so confusing.

“To tell me that I can't fly that now, after 90 years is a little bit, more than I can really just sit back and take it,” he said.

Colonel Barfoot and the homeowner's board where he lives are at odds. The by-laws don't permit flagpoles...most neighbors just attach flags to the front of their houses. But the colonel doesn't believe in flying the flag any other way. His daughter wrote the board, hoping for a one-time exception.

“I presented the one and only exception that I thought would never ever happen again, and that was having a Medal of Honor recipient living in this community,” said Margaret Nichols, Col. Barfoot’s daughter.

The request was politely denied. The colonel raised his flag anyway.

“That's my dad. Ha-ha. He's never run from a fight in the past and he’s not gonna run from this one,” said Margaret.

He says it will "stay" that way, for as long as he lives in the house.

“I feel that I’ve earned the right to have it fly...regardless of what they say,” said Col. Barfoot.

The board has thanked Col. Barfoot for his bravery and service to the country, but maintains that the flagpole is against a longstanding neighborhood policy. If the fines actually do come down, several other people have offered to pay them.

This brave man has served his country with honor, going above and beyond the call of duty to take the fight to the enemy, and to save those under his command. If he wishes to have a flagpole and fly the American flag each day, then by god let him do so. He has earned that right.

I am proud of this man who once stood up to Nazi Germany, North Korea, and the Viet Cong and basically told them to go do something with themselves. I've never been a fan of HOA's, they seem like little dictatorships to me, and therefore, I am hoping this brave soldier - and those standing with him - will kick this particular HOA's ass.

Until next time...

-Wil

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J.R. Salzman(U.S. Army) and PTSD...

nobody@vox.com(Wilford Tibbetts) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:10:38 -0800

Walter-Reed-Medical-001

A soldier by the name of J.R. Salzman - I am unsure of his rank - was wounded in Iraq a few years ago and has PTSD from the events that occured there. This month he wrote a blog post about the attack at Fort Hood, and the MSM's reaction to it. I am going to repost his words here in their entirety, as he has already said them far better than what I fould come up with.

Here are his words - if you wish to read peoples responses to his blog post, the link is provided above(his words are italicized):

I’m more than a little angry right now. Yes, I’m irate that some sh-tbag Major (“sh-tbag” is often used as a technical term in the Army) opened fire on a group of his fellow Soldiers killing 12 and wounding 30. But that’s not even what is under my skin right now. What is bothering me is the general reaction of our media and those stupid enough to think this was not an act of terrorism, but was caused by supposed PTSD caused at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

You want to know what PTSD is like? I'll tell you. You have nightmares that go on for weeks. Mine would always be the same. Wherever the window was in the room in which I was sleeping I would see a bright white flash. I would wake up screaming to my wife “Get up! Get the f-ck up! An IED just went off!” Sometimes I would just wake up screaming in agony as I relived the moment where my right arm was ripped from my body by an Iranian shape charge. (I may not know what childbirth feels like, but I know what it's like to go an hour with my arm ripped off without painkillers (I'm allergic to morphine).) PTSD makes you paranoid as hell. “Why is that person staring at me? Are they a threat? Where is the nearest exit? Why are these people so close to me? Why is no one pulling security? What was that noise? Where is the nearest cover?

I need to get out of here.” You lie wide awake in bed at night wondering if it's safe to go to sleep or if you should get up and start pulling security. When I got home from Walter Reed and started college (a week later, stupid idea) I would often stay up for days at a time without sleeping. Eventually my body would completely shut down from exhaustion and I would sleep for 12 hours or more only to complete the cycle all over again. (I still cannot believe I got all As and Bs.) Since I was injured in a humvee I am especially susceptible on the road to the effects of my PTSD. I still get nervous and hold my breath every time I drive by a piece of trash or tire debris on the shoulder or median. I avoid guardrails and broken down cars on the side of the road. On a couple different occasions I yelled out “tire!” to warn my wife (who was driving) of a potential IED in the road. There was nothing there (no tire, no nothing). One late night while driving home completely exhausted on our small two lane country roads at slow speed I locked up all four tires on my car to keep from hitting a cardboard box in the middle of the road. At that moment I would have bet the contents of my bank account it was an IED. That's what PTSD is like. At no point in time have I ever felt the desire or need to grab a weapon and go shoot someone or something up. At no point in time have I ever grabbed a weapon and broken a law because I felt the need to protect myself. PTSD urges you mitigate the risk of events that happened in your life. But if you've never had anything traumatic happen in your life, you can't have PTSD.

If you can get PTSD from treating soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center then why the hell haven't more people snapped? Why haven't all the therapists in physical therapy and occupational therapy, and all the staff on Ward 57 ran around shooting up the place? They have seen far more wounded Soldiers than this POS ever did. My occupational and physical therapists, like many of the civilian personnel at Walter Reed, have been there since the beginning of OEF. They have taken care of countless (probably hundreds) Soldiers with a variety of different injuries. Missing arms (like me). Missing legs. Missing both. Missing parts of the face. Severe burns. Whole chunks of the skull missing. Missing jaws. Ears. Eyes. Severe PTSD. Severe TBI (traumatic brain injury) to the point that Soldiers would forget where they were going while walking the 50 feet from physical therapy to occupational therapy (they would be found wandering the halls unsure where they were supposed to be going. I had a buddy who used to do that walking the 20 feet to prosthetics. My TBI is bad, but not that bad).

JRSalzman-001

So why haven't they gone crazy? Because you don't get PTSD from sitting on your ass around Walter Reed. Not only is it not possible to “catch” secondhand PTSD, but it is not that kind of a place. I would know, I was a patient there for nine months. The place is simply not that stressful or chaotic. When I was there my PTSD got better, not worse. And I would be willing to bet my dog tags that I saw far more wounded Soldiers than sh-t bag Major did during our overlapping time there in 2007. I regularly visited Ward 57 to give advice to the new wounded. Other Soldiers and amputees did it for me when I was there so I considered my visits “paying it forward”. I had daily physical and occupational therapy with other Soldiers. I regularly partook in activities in and out of Walter Reed with present and past wounded Soldiers. To say that this guy got PTSD from being stationed at Walter Reed is an absolute farce. The people who are making this sh-t up have never set foot on Walter Reed, let alone met a soldier with PTSD.

If you can get PTSD from treating soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center then why the hell haven't more people snapped? Why haven't all the therapists in physical therapy and occupational therapy, and all the staff on Ward 57 ran around shooting up the place? They have seen far more wounded Soldiers than this POS ever did. My occupational and physical therapists, like many of the civilian personnel at Walter Reed, have been there since the beginning of OEF. They have taken care of countless (probably hundreds) Soldiers with a variety of different injuries. Missing arms (like me). Missing legs. Missing both. Missing parts of the face. Severe burns. Whole chunks of the skull missing. Missing jaws. Ears. Eyes. Severe PTSD. Severe TBI (traumatic brain injury) to the point that Soldiers would forget where they were going while walking the 50 feet from physical therapy to occupational therapy (they would be found wandering the halls unsure where they were supposed to be going. I had a buddy who used to do that walking the 20 feet to prosthetics. My TBI is bad, but not that bad).

JRSalzman-002

First, I would like to thank everyone who has been reading my thoughts and passing them around the web. When I decided to write this it was not my intention to create something that would go viral. I was simply blowing off steam and debunking yet another ridiculous claim by our fact-less media. Second, I feel it is necessary to address my rather colorful language in this post. A day or so after I wrote this, I went back and reread it and thought “wow… I sure did swear a lot!” As regular readers (all three of them) can attest, I almost never include such expletives in my writing. So how did they come to be? It has to do with the way I “type.” The IED that almost killed me left me with four remaining fingers, only three of which somewhat work (my pinky is just “along for the ride”). So when I type something long like this blog post, I use my voice recognition software. So I'm not actually “typing,” I'm talking. When I'm very angry and I talk I tend to throw around an expletive here and there, like any good combat Soldier should to prove his worth with the English language. Unfortunately, such language tends to turn off much of the general public, and tends to retract from the overall statement being made. So I decided to clean up the language to a more PG-13 rating so that it will possibly get bit more exposure. Please realize I am not doing this so that I can get more attention, but rather to protect the good name of my fellow Soldiers and all the hard-working folks at Walter Reed Army Medical Center by debunking some of the BS being perpetuated by our media. (If you're the kind of guy (or gal) who likes a bit of vulgarity in what you read, you can still view the unedited version right here. Proceed at your own risk.)

I thought others would like to read this as well, however, I posted the "cleaned-up" version instead. If you want to read it raw, the link has been provided. As for the pics, they are - of course - of Mr. Salzman while he was at Walter Reed Medical Center. They, too, were posted on his website.

Until next time...

-Wil

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A Joke I Just Read...

nobody@vox.com(Wilford Tibbetts) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:00:54 -0800

President-Obama-001

And had to share with folks. Some won't think it's funny, of course, but others will. I remember quite a few jokes I read/heard/watched about Bush and almost busted a gut laughing at them. So here's the new joke in Maxim Magazine:

Barack Obama visits a classroom and asks the kids if they have questions. A little girl raises her hand and says, "A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat grass. But a deer poops pellets, cows make patties, and horses crap piles in dried grass. Why is that?"

Obama thinks about it and finally admits, "I have no idea." The little girl replies, "OK, second question: Do you really feel qualified to run America when you don't know shit?"

I laughed my ass off at that. It's a stupid joke, I'll admit, but still funny. Hope you all got a kick out of it as well.

Oh, and a special thanks to the Maxim Magazine editors for putting that in the new issue. Too damned funny.

Stay cool. Stay safe. And always remember to keep a sense of humor about things. It's the one thing that can keep us sane in an insane world, especially during times like these.

Until next time...

-Wil

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Dems Alarmed as Independents Bolt...

nobody@vox.com(Wilford Tibbetts) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:47:27 -0800

Senator-Chris-Dodd-001

Politico - via Yahoo News - is reporting that the Democratic Party is worried about the Independent voter shift away from their party. The very same voters that gave the Democratic Party the Presidency and Congress - as well as Governorships - has begum to erode, according to pollsters.

Here is a segment of the article:

Mounting evidence that independent voters have soured on the Democrats is prompting a debate among party officials about what rhetorical and substantive changes are needed to halt the damage.

Following serious setbacks with independents in off-year elections earlier this month, White House President Barack Obama sees no need to reposition his own image or the Democratic message. officials attributed the defeats to local factors and said

Since then, however, a flurry of new polls makes clear that Democrats are facing deeper problems with independents—the swing voters who swung dramatically toward the party in 2006 and 2008 but who now are registering deep unease with the amount of spending and debt called for under Obama's agenda in an era of one-party rule in Washington.

A Gallup Poll released last week offered a disturbing glimpse about the state of play: just 14 percent of independents approve of the job Congress is doing, the lowest figure all year. In just the past few days alone, surveys have shown Democratic incumbents trailing Republicans among independent voters by double-digit margins in competitive statewide contests in places as varied as Connecticut, Ohio and Iowa.

Obama’s own popularity among independents has fallen significantly, too. A CBS News poll Tuesday showed the president’s approval rating among unaligned voters falling to 45 percent — down from 63 percent in April.

Whether or not such a poll drop for the Democrats - or President Obama in particular - lasts until the 2010 and 2012 elections, no one knows. But it could spell trouble for them politically if President Obama and Congress continue to increase the spending that President Bush started. With a trillion dollars already added to the deficit, Obama's push for Universal Healthcare could potentially set the United States back even further financially.

Instead of doing the smart thing and being conservative fiscally, President Bush and now President Obama - and the Congresses under both presidents - have created a monster that seems to be leading us to a collapse of the U.S. Dollar. That isn't good, people. We even have people in our government taking a "meh" attitude towards how bad the dollar is doing on the financial world market.

I think it's time Americans woke up to the fact that, if you are in trouble financially with so much debt, you don't go spending more and putting us even further in debt. No, what you do - and any with half a brain should get this in Washington - is you conserve by spending as little as possible. Meaning you cover the basics that the Constitution says the United States government has to do - defense, interstate commerce, etc - and leave the rest for after the debt is no more. That would most likely mean cutting present spending on all accounts by at least 60-70%. Reduce the number of government employees in Washington, DC, and reduce pay for everyone from the President on down.

Will that take care of our debt right away? Nope. Even if what I suggested was held in place for a couple of years, we'd still have a debt - which currently stands at about 12 Trillion(with a "T") dollars in the red. What would need to happen is everyone be smart with their money. Wait until you have saved enough money to pay a down-payment on something before buying, or, wait until you have all the money before doing so. Cut up all your credit cards and switch to debit/check cards. That way you don't get your ass in debt even more so on a personal level.

In other words, our countries financial security rests on all of us. We must all be smart with our money/spending. Banks must begin upping interest rates to take access dollars - which dilute the potentcy of our currency - out of circulation to be burned. Government must sell all private company assets it has bought with the "stimulus" package and allow people to pass or fail on their own. We already have a way for companies/people to handle financial problems - Chapter 11(etc). So let's allow the system to work and do it's job while we all stop our insane spending - and our government(State & Federal) in particular.

Until next time...

-Wil

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