Hey Dan! I realize that the Republicans are just the second head of the same evil snake, but why no major network coverage of the Republican Convention? It turns out that RUDY was a very entertaining speaker...
Aren't you and the big CBS news guys tired of being accused of liberal bias? You covered every night of the Democratic Convention... hmmmmm...
UPDATE- more on DAN!
THIS is just plain weird, but of course, to each his/her own... 1,900 piercings? JEEZ!
Today, in my little corner of the web, I fly the Union Jack. I do it to say thank you to the Brits for standing with us in our current terrorism entanglements. More specifically, thanks to Mr. Blair for having the understanding that regarding Iraq, any free country is within its moral and legal rights to eliminate a despotic regime at any time it chooses, whether or not weapons of mass destruction exist. Unlike many of your weaker European counterparts, you understand that the terrorism problem belongs to all civilized countries, not just the U.S., the U.K., and Israel. Mr. Blair, your IRON WILL in the face of intense dissent around the world and at home is reminiscent of Churchill, a man we Americans are still fascinated with even today...
My prediction regarding the genocide in Sudan: after weeks of ceaseless hand-wringing at the United Nations and a number of pointless meetings, your weaker-stomached European counterparts will throw up their hands after all their token efforts to stop the genocide have failed. Guess who will get the call to clean the mess up? The only two major industrialized countries with the spine to clean it up. The Brits and the Yanks. My bet is that the phones of Mr. Blair and Mr. Bush will be ringing soon. Mr. Annan will be on the line.
It's no wonder to me that the United States has become such a powerful and dynamic nation. My opinion is that it's because we come from good stock. So thank you from this American. You can bet that my tourism dollars won't be spent in Paris...
THIS picture will likely spur lots of additional interest in the sport, especially among young males...
For those of you who are interested, here's a LINK to help the hurricane victims...
Just back from the Socialist Workers' Republic of Illinois- had to go to pick up my stepdaughter K.
It's good to be home, where people at least pretend to be Capitalists!
THIS PHOTO shows what we will probably have to do to quite a large number of radical Muslims before it's over. I am a Neal Boortz Libertarian, and so I believe that we are within our rights to eliminate this threat, no matter where it is. It is truly unfortunate that people do such stupid things in the name of religion (any religion, not just Islam), but I guess the human race has a lot to learn...
For those of you who missed it, Mr. Boaz strikes again with THIS STORY that every Republicrat and Demublican should read... enjoy
Near Lucea, Jamaica. May 2004.
Just another little confirmation that no matter how poor a country is, no matter how many governmental regulations you try to impose- the free market in ANY country will always find a way to deliver the goods and services that people want. Even those 'services' that many people find distasteful: gambling (the picture above is a betting parlor), drugs, prostitution, etc.
No government will ever succeed at completely stopping the free market, so bureaucrats, forget about it!
I took this picture of the Temple at Chichen Itza (Yucatan, Mexico) in September, 1999.
Just back from an open martial arts tournament in Jonesboro, AR. I went to check it out and see some friends (from a different style than mine) competing. The Taekwondo/Karate division had some really good action, but I found myself at the grappling ring for most of the day. It's amazing to me how jiu-jitsu has transformed the martial arts world. Everyone seems to cross-train in it now. I wonder if Bruce Lee were still alive, would he train so heavily in the ground game? My guess is that he would...
I was disappointed with the weapons competition, however. It seemed the emphasis was all on forms with lots of flash and speed, not so much about the practitioner's ability to actually use the weapon against an opponent...
Sparring versions of the popular weapons are available for competition, so it would be much more interesting to compete with/watch combatants actually spar with sticks/etc.
All in all, it was a good tournament, and some of my friends did well, so not a bad way to spend the better part of a day...
To add to my post of 3rd August, 2004, I discover in my local newspaper, the Democrat Argus:
According to the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the unemployment rate for Pemiscot county was 10.4% for June. Almost double the national rate...
What a great pick for CIA chief in Mr. Goss- this guy may be the most qualified person for the job in the history of the CIA... I can't believe that a President (ANY President) actually picked a real spy for the job! It almost gives me hope for our government, but I can't be tempted that much. Link below:
Back from Lake Norfork, AR, one of the premier freshwater scuba diving locations in Arkansas... Wife J. and stepdaughter K. both had a great time hanging out and swimming with the extended family. All the kids really wore themselves out, which was great!
Of course, I did a little bit of scuba diving, but I chose the wrong end of the lake to dive in this time. The north side was all mucked up, so visibility was horrible... Sometimes, you can learn things about yourself and your diving when the visibility is only a few feet. How you handle claustrophobia and compass usage quickly come to mind.
Naturally, a bad day diving is better than a good day at the office, so I still had a blast... Now back to the grind, back to listening to all the election B.S., back to day-to-day life! Remember, the vacations make all the work worthwhile...
Mini vacation on Norfork Lake, Arkansas starting tomorrow. No blogging
(unless I decide to call in with audioblogger) and no martial arts, but
a lot of scuba diving, eating, movies, and quality family time... Maybe
some pics when I get back...
I've been noticing something about Southeast Missouri lately. Consisting of many small towns, we rely heavily on agricultural business and on small factories for the survival of our economy. Many of our small towns are in rapid decay. The small factories are disappearing.
Why? One observation rapidly springs to mind. Small factories can no longer afford to remain in this state. The union pinheads in St. Louis and Kansas City have a stranglehold on the weak legislature in Jefferson City. For years, rural Missouri has cried out for our becoming a 'right to work' state, but to no avail. It's common sense to those of us in third-world Missouri that if you want to attract industry to the area, you don't slap them in the face with onerous regulations and artificially high labor prices (unions).
On the flip side of the equation, the legislatures of Tennessee and Arkansas had the wisdom, foresight, and frankly, the balls to become 'right to work' states. Strangely enough, each of Western Tennessee and Northeast Arkansas' towns seem to have one or more factories or large businesses. In both states, their small towns are growing, and a thriving labor, housing, and service market exists. Go figure...
A picture included on the next post...
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