Hey y’all in the SF Bay Area! How was traffic this morning? Bet that the traffic this afternoon will be a bear too.

$787 BILLION in Stimulus Funds. Infrastructure touted as a “large part” - all those “Shovel Ready” projects and such.

Now the Bay Bridge is closed indefinitely. Awesome.

But all is not lost. You can spend all these hours stuck in gridlock with a smile - knowing the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse is being tended to.

Again, Congratulations, y’all. You elected her. Not me.

This is just a quick entry, but it came to me as an epiphany.

I was thinking, why on earth would anyone buy an underpowered, POS Malibu without an engine for $40k each?   Then I realized that “no one” was the answer, but the Volt was not made to be purchased - except by idiot tree-huggers.  The real reason it was made was to “buy” CAFE leverage.  By making just one - NOT selling, just MAKING - GM can make 11 other cars [averaging 15 mpg, like the Camaro or Corvette - cars people WANT to buy] and remain below the 35 mpg CAFE standard, set for 2016.

The jury is still out on the Camaro, but without Pontiac and Hummer dragging down the corporate line, the VOLT, even if NO ONE EVER purchases ONE, will allow GM to continue [or start to] make real vehicles that everyone outside of the city limits of SanFran wants and needs.

At 235 miles each, one can make a whole lot of other gas guzzlers and keep below the 35 mpg CAFE standard.  $40K is a cheap write-off.

Nikki Haley, with 44%! Henry McMaster was the runner up with 23%, and he is our AG. Lt. Gov Bauer [aka Speed Racer] managed third place with 18%.

Nikki still suffers from a lack of name recognition, however she is a strong, fiscal and social conservative that wishes to continue [current] Gov Sanford’s key policies (Corporate Tax Reform, transparency in government, smaller government) but distances herself from some of his more unsavory practices [think: Argentina].

Please contribute to her campaign here.

From the WA Times Editorial Pages today:

….Then there is the catalogue of Mr. Obama’s embarrassing moments on the world stage, a list which includes: giving England’s Queen Elizabeth II an iPod with his speeches on it; giving British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a collection of DVDs that were not formatted to the European standard (by contrast, Mr. Brown gave Mr. Obama an ornamental desk-pen holder made from the oak timbers of Victorian anti-slaver HMS Gannet, among other historically significant gifts); calling “Austrian” a language; bowing to the Saudi king; releasing a photo of a conference call with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which the president was showing the soles of his shoes to the camera (an Arab insult); saying “let me be absolutely clear. Israel is a strong friend of Israel’s”; saying the United States was “one of the largest Muslim countries in the world”; suggesting Arabic translators be shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan where Arabic is not a native language; sending a letter to French President Jacques Chirac when Nicolas Sarkozy was the president of France; holding a town-hall meeting in France and not calling on a single French citizen; and referring to “Cinco de Cuatro” in front of the Mexican ambassador when he meant Cinco de Mayo. Also of note was Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton giving Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a “reset” button with the Russian word for “overcharge.”

All this and he has only been in office for 215 days. That equals an embarrassment once every 18 days or so.

Kinda makes you proud to be an American, eh?

That is it.  I am done.

I am no longer just going to sit idly while the world comes crashing down around my three young children.

I am 36 yrs old.  My father is 67 yrs old.  My oldest son is 5 yrs old.  My middle son is 4, and youngest daughter is 2 (almost).  There is 31 years between all three generations on my line of the family.  Two days ago, my father confessed to me that he is worried for me that he will not recognize America by the time he departs.  That got me to thinking…long and hard.  I have my three children that I care for and I am watching a “Representative” from the Left-Coast proposing to spend their futures into oblivion.  I want Congress and the Administration out of my kids (and grandkids) piggy-banks!

So, I am done sitting.  (but I hit a road-block of sorts….)

I cannot locate a way to contact my local GOP committee chair to become a committeeman.  So, out of frustration, I have contacted my Congressional Rep., Henry Brown, Jr (R-SC1).  Here is my letter to him.

Rep. Brown,

I would like to become a Republican Committeeman for Berkeley County.

However, I cannot locate (other than a Facebook Page that my office firewall will not allow me to penetrate) a webpage to contact the Republican Committee Chairman to place my request.  If you could provide some assistance to me in some contact information, I would appreciate it.

I am interested in furthering our shared Conservative Principles within the Republican Party, and I feel that we must do everything in our power to save this Great Republic and our children from the corrupt and morally bankrupt Progressive and Liberal agenda.

Furthermore, thank you for standing beside Rep. Wilson this week and remaining steadfast in your opposition to the Speaker’s and other Democrat Leadership’s reckless spending.  You justify my vote with your every vote in opposition.

Thank you, sir.  You are a credit to our District, our State, and the United States.

Here is to a speedy reply.

Anyone else have any ideas or offer any assistance?

I live in the First Congressional District for South Carolina, Berkeley County.

Thanks All….

I guess that ‘Pro-Choice’ now, according to this perp, extends well beyond the womb.  Shot dead in front of a school for his advocacy of ‘Pro-Life’.

It must have been his sign - large, graphic, and I assume, hand made.

And seen on Drudge.

September 11, 2001 marked the beginning of “COMPTUEX” for the crew of the USS Kennedy and the airmen of CVW-8, of which I was a member of VF-143 “Pukin’ Dogs”.  This started just like any other at-sea period I had been on, and I remember that I was not really looking forward to re-visiting St. Maartin and St. Thomas for the 5th or 6th time.  I had a newly-wed wife at home in Va. Bch. and this was to be my last work-up of my career, so I was anxious to get it over with.

Everyone knows what happened that morning, so I will not comment on what I was not a part of in NYC, DC, and PA.  There are many people who were there who do not deserve what would be my woefully inadequate narration.  However, I was on board a US Naval Aircraft Carrier, in full battle dress, answering our call and performing what we had been trained to do.

The Kennedy went to General Quarters while we were still tied to the pier in Mayport, FL.  The base cleared the pier of wives, children, and other non-military personnel; all under the ’shadow’ of the Kennedy.  Looking back, most of them had no idea why we were kicking them off the base and suddenly pointing guns at them….

Most of the squadron personnel flew in the night before, from Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Whidbey Island, WA; however there were almost no squadron aircraft, as they were scheduled for ‘CQ’s’ later that day.  The only thing we had a contingent of were the EA-6B Prowlers, setting at the Terminal of NAS Mayport - across the port basin.  Within 10 minutes, the crew had the Kennedy unlashed, spun, and headed past the Jetties of the St Johns River.  Within another 30 minutes we were at Flight Quarters with our two F/A-18 squadrons overhead, fully armed, preparing to qualify for carrier landings.

As cliche’ as it sounds, it was a day that started like any other.  The night before was spent at the Grill (I cannot REMEMBER the name of it) on the pier, having a beer or 4 with your friends, shooting pool, and generally not looking forward to the next 45 days or so of 13 hrs on-11 hrs off.  Just like we had always done before - and never do again.

I remember the next two weeks as a blur.  Emails back and forth with my wife….  Non-Stop coverage of “Why”…..  Somebody called “Osama”…..  Afghanistan?  Where is that?

But what I remember the most is how we were all AMERICANS.  All of us.  Here we sat, steaming off the coast of the Virginia Capes, flying Combat Air Patrols over DC and Norfolk, united against a previously unknown enemy, and wanting to kill them all.

And here we are, Eight Years Later, and it isn’t even a ‘War on Terror’ any longer.  We have a sitting President declaring this ‘Patriot Day’ or some other crap like that, when this should be the ‘We Still Remember Day’ for all of those who died, needlessly, for a homicidal/suicidal cause of a ‘Religion of Peace.’

May God Bless America, Keep Our Fallen, Protect Our Warriors.  Grant us the strength to conquer the oppressive, and reap upon our enemies 10 fold what they inflict.  Amen.

AT2 Greg R., VF-143, 1999-2002

I have posted a few comments today, based on the latest drone-fest from Dear Leader.  And as most of them relate to Obamacare, I would like to consolidate some of those thoughts here.

I have three kids.  Ages 5, 4, and 2.  And like most responsible Dads, I worry and plan for the future of my kids.  Now I am worried that they will have no future….

Something that has not gotten much fluff from the MSM, especially in light of the latest ramblings, is that the WH has asked for a raise in the debt ceiling.  REALLY?  Do they really think that we do not have enough debt?  We need more????

That aside, WHY do we need more debt?  I was told last night, along with the rest of the world, that we are going to be just fine.  It is all sunshine and roses (wait, or was that just Joe’s teeth and Nancy’s Botox behind him….?)  This ‘plan’ is not going to add “one dime” to the debt.  So why the increase request?  Why is 10 Trillion not enough?

Let me break it to you, in case you don’t already know the answer….  10 Trillion isn’t enough, cuz, he has doubled-down on this debacle passing both houses and he KNOWS (this is me calling him a Liar…  “LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE!!!  RUN AWAY BEFORE THE LIGHTNING STRIKES HIM AND KILLS US ALL!”) that this will add to the deficit.  But, true to his word, it will not be “one dime”.  It will be 100 Trillion dimes.

But, I digress.  “Better to Shut Up” is the title, and back to that.

My son (the 5 yr old) talks less than this guy.  And like my son, he gets in trouble when he talks to much and starts ticking off the parental units.  Unlike my son, however, he does not shut up when he gets in trouble.  For some damn reason, he talks MORE.  Where I am from (West-By-God-Virginia) we call that a vicious circle.  The more he speaks, the more he gets in trouble, the more he speaks….  It is like Meth Logic.  “I do meth so I can work longer hours so I can get paid more so I can buy more meth so I can work longer hours…….”  You get the point.

What makes it worse, it isn’t only THAT he is still talking, it is also WHAT he is saying.  Calling the very people who elected you LIARS is not very smart for a Harvard University educated individual.  Especially if you are lying about the liars and those ‘liars’ can prove it.

Also, ultimatums do not go over well.  Telling us “people will die” while we debate his plan doesn’t go well when everyone knows NOT ONE SINGLE PART OF THIS PLAN GOES INTO EFFECT FOR ANOTHER FOUR YEARS!  Your urgency, Mr President, seems misplaced.

In closing, an old Maintenance Master Chief Petty Officer once told me:  “AT2, don’t go about making waves.  You will sink your own boat.”

President Obama:  Wave Maker-In-Chief.  …Fair Winds and Following Seas, USS Obamacare.

My advice?  Abandon ship, Blue Dogs.  Abandon ship.

–> Greg