Good News

Your quality of life as a consumer will improve tomorrow. Why? Several textile quotas and tariffs expire tonight. Bottom line, clothes will be cheaper! VIVA Free trade...

US Divers Survive Tsunami

Check out this story about divers surviving the tsunami... As a fellow diver, all I can say is that these divers were in the best possible place to be during this disaster (other than higher ground) ... What a ride they must have had! I'm always glad to hear a survival story.

Howard Stern, Freedom Fighter

I love it when a big-wig like Howard Stern gets riled up about civil rights. It sometimes takes a civil rights victim with tremendous influence to finally affect change. Howard's free-speech rights have been violated by the FCC on a number of occasions, and he's going to do something about it...

This year, Howard finally had enough, and actively worked against the re-election of President Bush. What I think Howard doesn't understand is that he'd be fighting the same battle, no matter which Demublican or Republicrat is in the White House. Both major parties are perfectly happy with too much governmental influence in our lives...

Despite the infancy of satellite radio, Howard is making the switch to Sirius satellite radio, at tremendous risk to his own career. Good for Howard. I hope he and Sirius make a mint, if for no other reason than to stick it in the eye of the FCC and all the naysayers...

I'm not a big listener of Howard's, but free speech is free speech. Each of the Bill of Rights should have equal importance. Hey Howard, take a look at the Libertarian Party- we don't care what you say or do, and as an added bonus, we don't care how much money you make!

And in the Karma Department...

An old woman nearly collided with me on the road today. Apparently, I didn't get the memo that the United States switched to driving in the left lane, as the Brits do. Fortunately, she finally saw me and swerved back into the right lane, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision (Thanks, AARP, for actively working against various proposals among the states to retest drivers at certain ages- my kids thank you for their increased risk due to your pandering to the elderly).

Needless to say, I was briefly angry, but later saw the same woman stopped by a policeman- apparently receiving a ticket for running a stop sign... My day has been made!

Assailants Kill 28 in Honduras Bus Attack

Let's see- we're against the death penalty, so let's Kill 28 people! That, my friends, is hypocrisy...

I May Have Coined a Term

Which is a first for me- In my previous post, I use the term 'blogshot' as taking a stab at, opposing, or just insulting a person or topic. A quick google of the term produces little, except someone's use of it synonymously with 'earshot.' You may have heard it here first? Doubtful, but cool if it's true.

My Blogshot at Putin

Is over at Framptonia. Take a look.

Something New

I'll be occasionally contributing a post to the blog Framptonia, at least until they vote me off the island. Framptonia is run by a guy named Nathan who seems to be fairly Libertarian leaning in his politics, hence my interest.

Nathan is trying to make the blog about big ideas and issues, so no day-to-day stuff going on over there... The current contributors are clearly better writers than I. Hopefully I'll chime in with a good point or two...

Buy Stock, Don't Take It

I forget who originally wrote those words, but that quote has become one of my favorites, and is very appropriate for all the upcoming New Year's resolutions. The upshot is this: if you want to make an important change in your life, don't wait around for a New Year to start. Make your change today.

Welcome

According to my Stat Counter, this blog has received some international traffic lately, particularly from South Korea... Welcome to my little corner of the web. I'd like to learn more about Korea and its language, since I am actively studying three of its traditional martial arts... Any comments or emails are appreciated.

The French Have Spy Satellites

Check out this story: Yahoo! News - French Spy Satellite Travels Into Orbit

I wonder how long it will be before we have the ability to take out other countries satellites at will? Now that the Euros and the Chinese have these abilities, when will a 'space cold war' start? I predict a long and stable future for the American Defense Industry...

Proof that Sunday Boredom is Setting In

I think that all these blog quizzes are quickly becoming the 'jokes by email' that everyone used to see fit to send to their entire address book... That being said, I found this quiz today, and I post it, not because I think it's accurate, but

1. I like the result
2. It's amusing that someone thinks they've accurately classified all souls

You Are a Warrior Soul

You're a strong person and sometimes seen as intimidating.You don't give up. You're committed and brave.Truly adventuresome, you are not afraid of going to battle.Extremely protective of loved ones, you root for the underdog. You are picky about details and rigorous in your methods.You also value honesty and fairness a great deal.You can be outspoken, intimidating, headstrong, and demanding.You're a hardliner who demands the best from themselves and others. Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

State Farm- Sticking it to the Man

State Farm plans to defy state regulations, and compete head to head with the big banks. A more competitive banking industry. How could this be bad for consumers? Rest assured, the whining bureaucrats will have their say...

Congressional Priorities

I know that I'm a little late to the topic here, but does anyone find it strange that Congress will foist upon us and leave intact a retirement scheme so corrupt that it will make Enron look like child's play, but will spring to action when Major League Baseball has a steroid problem? Congress has as much business sticking their nose into this matter as I do conducting the safety checks for the next space shuttle mission.

Some comments from our lofty leaders:

"They have a responsibility, not only to the sport, but to the children of America who look up to these players," Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said on Fox News Sunday. "Quite frankly, it's overdue."

Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said the problem "could be ended, bang, just like that, if everybody from the owners to the unions just step up and face the reality that we've got a huge problem."

Appearing on ABC's This Week, Frist said, "I'll support being very aggressive if it cannot be addressed at the more local level, which again, I would much prefer."

After the Army-Navy game, McCain said he wanted immediate action "to restore the integrity of baseball" or Congress would act.

"I warned them a long time ago we needed to fix this problem," McCain said. "It's time for them to sit down together and act. And that's what they should do. If not, clearly, we have to act legislatively, which we don't want to do."

I'm all for the MLB cleaning up its act. It's time for the players to face the music and take some action. The problem can be solved, without the help of a bunch of pinheads from Washington... Mr. McCain, we also don't want you to act legislatively. You have a big mess to clean up yourself.

Wake Up, Congress!

THIS article in Foreign Affairs is a pretty good read. It explains how we could lose our competitive edge to Asia if Congress doesn't maintain or more likely improve our scientific/entrepreneurial environment here in the US... If we want to remain the biggest kid on the block, we'd better start thinking about our competitive advantage and how to keep it...

Congress, get the hell out of the way, and let Americans do what we do best!

I'm Upset

Not because of anything major, but I accidentally ran over a dog on the way to work Friday. I tried to avoid it, but to no avail. The dog just didn't see that my brilliant plan to avoid each other would have worked, had he run the other way... I like dogs, and when something like this happens, it puts me in a bad mood for a while. I wish the owner would have kept it contained...

Grappling

Lately, I've been teaching some of the kids at the local martial arts school some basic grappling (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu)... I have to admit, it's been a blast so far - the look on some of those kids faces when they take a big guy down or put on a good submission hold is rewarding in itself. When they get the basics and some of the intermediate techniques down, I will point them in the direction of some grapplers who can really take them to the next level...

Personal Responsibility: What a Wonderful Thing

I see that charges are being filed against the players and the fans involved in the NBA brawl. I've written about this before, but have to give kudos to you, Mr. Prosecutor - maybe the players will think twice and maybe the fans will stop being idiots in the future (doubtful, but a nice thought)

Random Picture of the Week

Some of the catfish farms near Caruthersville, Missouri...

Vote With Your Wallet - And Quit Whining!

Somebody has to stand up for Target and their decision to boot the Salvation Army bell-ringers... The media has been all over Target about this - quite predictably.

The storefronts are the property of Target, and if they don't want people standing around outside hassling their patrons for money, then they have the right to prevent them from doing so. If this is a big deal to you, then by all means, stop whining and vote with your wallet. One of the benefits of a free market is that you don't have to buy anything from Target if you don't want to. Maybe you don't like the hassle of charity requests, and will choose to do most of your shopping at Target.

Even though I will probably surrender some of my change to the Salvation Army this year, I happen to like Target and will continue to shop there this Holiday Season.

Now That's a Shipwreck Worth Diving

Diving shipwrecks is always an amazing experience, but this: Yahoo! News - Entertainment Photos - Reuters would take it to an entirely new level...

Nearly Half of Britons Unaware of Auschwitz?

I thought it was America that had the lock on ignorance, not the sophisticated Euro types! (end sarcasm) Yahoo! News - Nearly Half of Britons Unaware of Auschwitz?

The Jeopardy Guy Took a Dive

I smell a rat... There is no way you can convince me that someone smart enough to win 74 Jeopardy games in a row would miss such an easy question about H&R Block... Any high-school skull full of mush could have answered that question- I wonder if he just got tired of the game and decided to go home? Could he have been 'encouraged' to quit?

I Thought Iraq was a Total Meltdown...

Dan Blather and his colleagues have been telling me for months now that Iraq is a total failure... In this photo gallery, it looks like life has improved dramatically for these kids... Daily Dunklin Democrat: Photo Gallery : Robert "Oney" Pruett in Iraq