America's Obama Buyer's Remorse

News of polling this weekend indicating a sense of buyer's remorse, in that in a head to head, Mitt Romney would beat Barack Obama.  Interesting, but irrelevant.  Our system has no "do overs".  That said, we are watching the Obama Presidency unravel and there is growing affinity/wistfulness for Governor Romney.  Big Brother Jim continues to believer Mitt will run....and win.  I'm not sure of either.  Polling elsewhere indicates Romney loses to Hillary--though Hillary is having her own issues right now.

The normal apolitical Kitten laid it out pretty squarely for me the other night.  In her mind, the Republicans should nominate Romney, and Romney should announce very, very early in the process, his running mate.  The Kitten insists the path to victory is for that running mate to be an EXCEPTIONALLY WELL QUALIFIED woman.  When I mentioned Condi Rice, she pounced on it.

I say all this because The Kitten doesn't swim in the same cesspools of politics that I do.  She's moderate, centrist to liberal, but often votes Republican.

CW Rockin' His Day Job....

Got an hour and a quarter to waste?

Stop Discriminating Against Racists!

So much of the liberal/progressive agenda is race driven. It's their primary motivator and certainly their tactic of last resort. Anything they can turn into a race issue they will, be it supposed environmental issues like the Keystone pipeline (blacks suffer from pollution more than whites),  gun rights or even municipal services run primarily by blacks for a majority black population. The Race Card is to American leftists what Hyperdrive is to Star Wars characters; get your ass in trouble you can't get out of then HIT THE BUTTON and bam, you're good to go!

To win this country back, to restore the American dream we have to kill the Race Card. We have to make the world safe for racists. In other words we have to understand that freedom is the primary value here, NOT JUSTICE!

Of course we want a colorblind, just society, but we cannot fall into the trap of trying to have a perfect society to the detriment of the good. Freedom is freedom, we know how to do free, but what exactly is just? Justice is a very subjective and selective thing. It's a plasticized, ethereal, indeterminate good that nobody can describe. It's like porn, they know it when they see it, but the "they" is always changing. For example, is it just that Lebron James can play basketball extremely well and I can't? Is it just that Suzie is more attractive than Sarah, but Sarah is better at math? Freedom allows us to use our talents (and God given advantages) to our own personal and society's benefit. The pursuit of justice however, taken to extreme, results in a theoretical world (as yet unrealized) as described in Vonnegut's excellent Harrison Bergeron but to date is more like Kafka's The Trial (most certainly realized). Have a look at the Cultural Revolution or Stalin's purges if you doubt me.

The whole Civil Rights Movement was based on FREEDOM! It was a movement to free blacks from the shackles of Jim Crow. "Give us our freedom" they said and we'll do the rest, or as James Brown put it: "Don't give me anything, just open the door and I'll get it myself". Well too many didn't get it themselves, too many expected payback, too many wanted handouts. Why you ask?  Because leftists and "civil rights leaders" profited by their victimization. What could be MORE unjust or racist?

The 'justice trumps freedom" argument is being made today by people like the Rev. William Barber. This is an opportunity to burn the race card. We should absolutely engage the enemy on this issue with the moral authority of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as our witness. Freedom is real, freedom works and ultimately freedom is the only justice.

Paul Ryan is the Leader of the Republican Party

How many times will we have to be reminded of how right Mitt Romney was?  Well, yesterday was one of those times, when Romney's hand-picked running mate took to the stage at the American Enterprise Institute to offer his agenda for reducing poverty in America.  Simply put, there is no smarter Republican on the scene today, not a single legislator who understands root causes and conservative solutions, no one better than Paul Ryan.

Yuval Levin has a nice piece at National Review on what he calls Ryan's "Mobility Agenda".  Here is a link to the plan itself--well worth some time in the hammock this weekend to review.  And here's a video of the speech he gave at AEI.



Spend some time familiarizing yourself with these points.  Remember that Mike Lee, Marco Rubio, and other Republicans are saying many of these same things. Arm yourself with the facts so that the next time a whiny liberal says that Republicans don't have serious policy prescriptions, you can beg to differ.

Big Fat Friday Free For All

An unidentified fat man and Tigerhawk

What's got you down, friend?  Another defeat in court for your signature legislative achievement?  A little "shoot down" get in the way of your fundraising fun?

Share, people.  Share.

If you have a kind bone in your body, send out cosmic good wishes to my paterfamilias Jimmy Wires who is recovering from some manner of arterial procedure.  It is a necessary predecessor to upcoming back surgery, which is necessary to his getting back on the golf course.

No weigh in today, on the road.

But a new photo of a fat person (me) after dinner with the famous Jack Henneman, a.k.a. Tigerhawk, latest addition to the team here at the CW, the inspiration for my becoming a blogger, and a damn fine dinner companion.

Dispatch from the Land of Poetry

This dispatch comes to you from the living room couch of the McGrath Family ancestral seat in Johnston County, North Carolina, where I am reliably informed a great literary debate rages over this State's obvious love of poetry. It is written on my iPad, so please forgive the mistakes. I arrive yesterday, after a deliciously selfish evening of steak and conversation with a brilliant friend, and then sweet repose in the luxe bunk afforded me by a posh hotel in Arlington, obtained for fifty dollars and some Hotels.com reward points.  I rose early (for room service breakfast) and then got on the road for Chesterfield Va and the home of much older brother Tom.  There, slightly younger brother Pat and his family were abiding, waiting on my arrival to whisk his issue to NC to consort with their cousins and grandparents for the week.

Puberty is an awesome force, demonstrated by little Liam greeting me at Tom's, a manboy of 14 and somewhere north of five ten.  From his angelic face boomed the deep yet unready voice of manhood, and I found I conversed with him differently than I had in the past, as if his explosion of hormones had somehow qualified him for a new level of intellectual access. His sister Emma is a girl of interesting depth, and I aim to plumb a bit of it while I am near.

I am here for a periodic visit, timed somewhat to coincide with my sainted mother's 79th birthday. Both she and my Dad are well, in full possession of their feisty spirits, but also dealing with a variety of skeletal maladies that mark the passage of time. Dad hasn't golfed since February, but I have confidence he will be back swinging again in a few months.

There is little on my agenda for the day, save for a nap later in the afternoon. I arrived here yesterday at quarter past two, and was sound asleep by half past three. The room they put me in seems to exert an oddly gravitational pull in the afternoon, and I am powerless to resist. My folks have become used to my post arrival naps, and take no offense therefrom.

Now I will put this down and watch golf with my Dad, something I've done periodically for my whole life.  With great pleasure.

This is How You Get Sucked In

Into poetry? Me too. Nobody likes a good poem more than the Hammer household.

There once was an artist named Saint
Who swallowed some samples of paint
All shades of the spectrum
Flow out of his rectum
What a colorful lack of restraint!

Well, it seems there's much hubbub in the Old North State about our Republican Governor's choice of "Poet Laureate". What's that you say? What's a "poet laureate" and why do we need one? You must be kidding you uneducated p.o.s. redneck, of course we need a state poet and I'll tell you why...MORON! We need a Grand Master Poet Czar  for the very same reason we need a state flower or state color or state bird...because everybody else has one and Goddamnit we ain't getting left behind!

There once was a fellow McSweeny
Who spilled some gin on his weenie
Just to be couth
He added Vermouth
Then slipped his girlfriend a martini!

Anyway Gov. McCrory (a stupid ass Republican!) went out and appointed some self-published "poet" (I use the term loosely) by the name of Valerie Macon, and guess what? Our REAL poets ain't having none! Just who the hell ever heard of Valarie Macon anyway? She's obviously a tool of the right, why else would she be appointed? I'm sure she thinks she's Emily Dickinson (the stupid bitch) but we ain't impressed...besides she's not in "The Club". As you well know our past Mac Daddy poets have been household names. Who can forget Kathryn Stripling Byer or Cathy Smith Bowers (all women of importance have THREE names, preferably hyphenated). I don't know about you but when I think highbrow I 'm not thinking Tennyson, Dryden or Pope, I'm thinking Bowers! And to prove my point here's just a sample of the genius of Cathy (winner of the coveted Texas Tech Poetry Award).

I had a boyfriend once, after my mother 
and brothers and sisters and I 
fled my father’s house, who worked 
at the Piggly Wiggly where he stocked 
shelves on Fridays until midnight 
then drove to my house to sneak me out,
take me down to the tracks by the cotton mill
where he lifted me and the quilt I’d brought 
into an empty boxcar. All night 
the wild thunder of looms. The roar of trains 
passing on adjacent tracks hauling 
their difficult cargo, cotton bales 
or rolls of muslin on their way 
to the bleachery to be whitened, patterned 
into stripes and checks, into still-life gardens 
of wisteria and rose. And when the whistle 
signaled third shift free, he would lift me 
down again onto the gravel and take me home. 
If my mother ever knew she didn’t say, so glad 
in her new freedom, so grateful for the bags 
of damaged goods stolen from the stockroom 
and left on our kitchen table. Slashed 
bags of rice and beans he had bandaged
with masking tape, the labelless cans, 
the cereals and detergents in varying
stages of destruction. Plenty 
to get us through the week, and even some plums 
and cherries, tender and delicious, 
still whole inside the mutilated cans 
and floating in their own sweet juice.

BRILLIANT!

Big Fat Friday Free For All

What's got you down, Chum?  Did a craven attack on a civilian airliner get in the way of your fundraising?  Are you forced to lay off 18,000 people a week after publicly advocating for increased immigration?  Share your pain, friends.

After ballooning to 191.6 on vacation, a week of moderate eating and exercise has me down to 187 today.  Brother Tom has continued to provide both an excellent example of the benefits of diet and exercise and of the need for more effective psychotropic drugs to control personality disorders.  And yes, Tom, I do believe that my propensity to post a timely BFFFFA is correlated with weight loss that week.

I'm working with a bunch of "young gun" right of center defense and foreign policy types in DC today and then carousing with them a bit in the early evening. Rather than fight the beachgoers all the way to Easton, only to get up at the crack of dawn for my drive to the ancestral center of the McGrath order (North Crack-a-lina), I shall hole up for the night in a posh spot in NoVa for a pittance after having redeemed Hotels.com stay points.

Heading down to see Ma and Pa, the former having turned a sprightly 79 on Wednesday.  I'm rolling through the Capital of the Confederacy in the AM, there to accumulate the spawn of younger brother Patrick, the artist formerly known as "Goldwater's Ghost".  Young Liam and Emma will be at brother Tom's house with their parents for a visit, and then I'll convey them down for a longer visit with their sainted grandparents.  I do hope they won't mind my propensity to blog at 100 mph.

Be well, friends.  Be well.

GODSPEED IDF

Israeli Defense Forces have entered Gaza to eliminate the vermin threat inside Gaza.  I wish them every success and, despite what our Hamas-loving Administration and most American leftists believe, I am confident the IDF will, while ridding the earth of their neighboring pestilence, take considerably greater measures to protect Gaza civilians than Hamas themselves have ever done for their own people to date.

And thank God there are still men of principle and conviction in this dangerous world who were able to fill the gaping hole that our nation has dug for two elections in a row.  I never thought I'd see the day when I would salute the leaders of Canada, Egypt and Israel for bucking a global shamefest and standing firmly united against the Hamas terrorists while our milquetoast, inept, unqualified and shame-worthy tyrant in chief votes "present" on the world stage. 

What in the hell are we doing, America?

...BUT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL THEY USE THESE CARDS TO VOTE (because that would be racist)

From the Washington Times:

NYC Creates ID Card So 500K Illegal Immigrants Can GetServices New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law a measure that creates a municipal identification card that can now be used by illegal immigrants to access government services, rent an apartment and open a bank account.

...because you are ignorant enough to think it's really free and you don't care about whether you remain free

On Getting Older

I was filling out some TSA Frequent Traveler thing last night, and I had to indicate my hair color.  Until last night, I had always checked "Brown".  The survey last night had a the choice "Grey/Partially Grey".  Yep.  Picked that one.  Getting Old.

Politics or Duty: Should Obama Be Impeached?

I was never a fan of impeaching Bill Clinton. I thought it would turn out much like it did; no conviction, a political wash at best and in the end just a huge waste of time. Did I think he was guilty? Oh hell yes! He was clearly guilty of obstruction of justice, subornation of perjury, sexual harassment, abuse of power and a host of other crimes too numerous to mention. The man and his administration pushed the envelope of propriety, custom and Presidential privilege laying the groundwork for the current administration's abuse of power. If I had had a vote I would have asked myself what would Jefferson or Madison do? In terms of duty, honor and fidelity to the Constitution and Republic I think I would have reluctantly voted yes concluding it had to be done. So, the question today is should Barack Obama be impeached?

The liberal law professor (and Obama supporter) Jonathan Turley has been a very vocal critic of President Obama's lawless abuse of power. He is set to testify before Congress today urging Democrats and Republicans to unite in their opposition to what he calls "...one of the greatest challenges to our constitutional system in the history of this country".  Sounds pretty harsh to me, especially from a supporter.

Now I'm not a Constitutional scholar like Professor Turley, I'm just your everyday drunk at the bar spouting political opinions out my ass until I'm asked to leave. So take what I have to say with a grain of salt. But the President has a duty to defend and protect the Constitution, to enforce our laws fairly and appropriately and to do all this in good faith, in other words with an eye toward maintaining our liberty rather than subverting it. From day one and at every turn Obama and most especially his Attorney General Eric Holder have politicized the law to the point of dictatorship. From election law to IRS abuses to the the arbitrary negation of whole swaths of laws and regulations passed by the Congress, this administration treats the US Code as a cafeteria buffet where one chooses this or that depending on the current political calculation.

This is not how the system works. All Presidents are given a certain amount of leeway in terms of enforcing the law, but no President has the right to ignore or replace the law as a matter of policy. It was wrong when GWB chose not to enforce immigration law and it's wrong now that Obama has taken it to the next level and opened our borders wide open. Turley is right, the system must be respected regardless of political considerations. Boehner has taken the first step by suing the President. If Obama doesn't get the message then impeachment is the Constitutional obligation of Congress. It's a question of duty.  

Ruminations From Operation Bumblebee (as was)

CW and many clear thinking, independent Republicans who happen to NOT be called before House committees on a regular basis and are therefore free to express any opinion (and piss off anyone) they like, have been having a debate lately about the direction of the Republican Party. Should it be a tool of the establishment and big business or should it be the party of freedom and middle-class prosperity? Should special interest rule the day or will the rule of law? Does cheap labor trump immigration law? Bra snaps in the front or back?
A case right on point is the current fiasco happening on our southern border. Quite obviously this is a multi-facited disaster the most immediate of which is public health. Reportedly there are diseases we haven't seen in decades being imported in handy little vectors which will need to be feed and housed and educated (along with their extended families) to the tune of trillions of dollars no doubt.
So where are the screaming Republicans? In my state where is Thom Tillis? My God he should be hanging this around Kay Hagan's neck! This is the mother of all wedge issues for her. Most African-Americans see Latinos as a threat and they are as upset as Rednecks over the mayhem down in Tejas. Many liberals (not progressives mind you) are at the end of their rope. Teachers see only expense, and that expense will be funded from their hard fought pay raises. Medicaid funding is a real issue here so if we get an influx of diseased children (and adolescent MS-13 gangbangers) this could tip the balance back to recession (well worse recession). There's only so much artificially low interest rates and arbitrarily printing money can do.
But not a word from Speaker Tillis. Hagan must be beside herself with glee. The supercilious Republican Party establishment sits by and simultaneously screws the middle-class, does the bidding of the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world and ignores a game changing issue ALL AT ONCE! That's a pretty talented bunch we got running the show (thanks to David Brooks and guys like CW). We'll be lucky if WE don't have to learn Spanish. How do you say chagas disease in Mexkin?

As you well know I'm a little slow, but I eventually get it. I think I've finally figured out President Obama's political strategy. Let me see if I can describe the process...
Q:We want to "transform" the country into our progressive/fascist/socialist/communist vision. Some of the things we will have to do will be outside the law, and big things mind you. So, there is no way we can we hide all this scandalous behavior and law-breaking and they will hit the papers and we will have to deal with them. So how do we do it?
A: Scandal fatigue.
Have you noticed we've gone from one scandal to another every month or two? When the IRS and Lois Lehner becomes news we get Bo Bergdahl. When Bergdahl gets hot we get border crisis. Walk it back and you'll see it's one thing after another. The press and the American people are like the fat guy at Golden Corral... spoiled for choice. Before he can murder the chicken fried steak the mac 'n cheese with the corn flake topping catches his eye, then the sweet potatoes with the marshmallows and raisins jumps up, then the jello with the gummy bears inside...and on and on; consequently nothing gets the attention it deserves.
I underestimated Obama's team. Of course a compliant media is an absolute must for this kind of strategy. Just think, can you imagine if Bush had denied them access to a "refugee" camp like this administration did?

And last but not least a shout out to the bubbly Miss Charlotte who will be competing in the Miss World pageant in London.
I like these kinds of competitions...they're more honest. None of this playing Chopin (badly) on a borrowed Steinway, no tap dancing while waving a skimmer cap about (one of CW's favorites I hear) or embarrassing ventriloquist acts (dummies with dummies). No friends, this is all about the bikinis and if you ain't got the lungs for it you might as well stay home. They're not looking wholesome they're looking hot. So, Rose of Tralee it ain't and I think our representative has just enough slut appeal to pull it off plus if it doesn't work out Twin Peaks in the heart of the Queen City has a job waiting.

That's it from the barrier islands, now get back to your spreadsheet dipshit.

On the Tea Party (Yet Again)

Michael Gerson (RINO, Country Club Republican) has an Op-Ed in this morning's Washington Post that really sums up the way I (RINO, Country Club Republican) feel about the modern instantiation of the Tea Party.  I posted it on Facebook this morning and predictably raised the ire of this blog's most prominent Tea Partier, The Hammer.  So let's transfer the debate here, where it belongs.

The Tea Party was a wonderful thing when it began.  I attended a rally here in Maryland in 2009, and what I saw there were politically un-involved people who had had enough--enough spending, enough taxes, enough government over-reach--enough.  They wanted to be left alone, and they saw the ascendance of Barack Obama as the clearest threat to that impulse.

These were limited government people who were dealing with basic issues of economics and freedom.  I watched the movement grow and I asked very basic questions about it--here in the blog.  One of the points I made early on was my fear that the Tea Party movement would be hijacked by social issue conservatives.  I felt then (and feel now) that the movement would be weakened by diluting its brand, and would likely just appear to be a place for the crankiest among us.

I hesitate to put immigration in the category of "social issues", but for some reason it smells an awful lot like it.  At the end of the day, there is someone doing something that we feel is wrong, and there are others who are trying to tell us how wrong we are for feeling that way (i.e. gay marriage, abortion, etc).  Naturally, the modern Tea Party has jumped on it like a hobo on a ham sandwich.  Don't get me wrong--what is happening on our Southern border is an absolute disgrace, brought on by the President (and to some extent, John Boehner).  But the rhetoric is divisive, and the attacks on anyone looking to actually SOLVE PROBLEMS rather than just round them up and deport--only serve to once again, make the Republican Party look like a bunch of unsympathetic old white guys.  We need to calmly, and factually, move forward.  We will give you comprehensive immigration reform if YOU build a fence.  Yes, that means those that are here now are likely to be able to stay.

Where else has the Tea Party gone astray?  Contrary to their tendency to expropriate Ronald Reagan for their own purposes, they have made league with the enemy (Liberal Dems) to emasculate our defense budget, treating defense spending as if it is just another line item to be cut, rather than the very basic duty of our government.

The Tea Party of 2014 is a mirror image of the "Occupy" movement.  It eschews rationality, logic, and data in favor of emotion and resort to ad hominem attacks--the only difference being that the Tea Party's tactics  seem generally to support policies that at least appear to be conservative in nature.  Don't get me wrong--what the GOP did in the Mississippi Senatorial primary run-off was despicable and low-down.  But what this election showed me (as did the Virginia governor's race last year) was that responsible states have closed primaries.  Mississippi's ridiculous system that allowed Democrats to vote in a Republican primary is silly, and Virginia's even more ridiculous caucus system (as in, no primary at all) seems ripe for oldboyism and cronyism.

What is lost in this whole debate though?  The fact that the original Tea Party-- the 2009/2010 version--has changed the Republican Party for the better, which was always my hope.  Republicans today get squishy on taxes and the role of government at their own peril.  The party IS more conservative on economic matters, and that is a very, very good thing.

So that about does it.  I was very sympathetic to the Tea Party four and five years ago.  Today, not so much.

Standing by for enfilade from Mudge, Hammer.

Dispatch from the Farm

At war again with the crepe myrtle

The two weeks I took off for vacation have taken their toll.  I am underneath a ton of work and am only now beginning to climb out from the pile.  The Kitten took Kitten 2.0 away for a horse show this weekend, and so my domestic responsibilities declined dramatically at a key time.  I have been invited to testify before the House Armed Services Committee, Sub-committee on Seapower and Projection Forces this coming Wednesday, and my written testimony is due to the Committee tomorrow.  Yesterday was spent on draft one, today will be spent cleaning it up.  On Friday I'm moderating a little think tank gathering at Heritage, and then doing so again on the 24th at Hudson.  In the meantime, I'm working three different study proposals and chapter for a book being produced in Germany.  All of which comes AFTER I've done all I can do to serve my paying clients, several of whom are deeply engaged in incredibly interesting stuff.  I love what I do...but every now and then, the piper must be paid.

None of this stuff was worked on while I lollygagged on a boat, and so the chickens have come home to roost.  Yesterday's labors were particularly oppressive, as I had yet to bring the A/C down from the garage attic.  I rectified this failure this morning, and the box is now in the window providing me with aid and comfort necessary to attack the mountain.

No time of year is quite like the summer here on the Farm.  The renovation we did a couple of years ago, together with the Kitten's natural good taste in landscaping, makes this a pretty nice place to bunk, all in all.  I have renewed my ongoing battle with the crepe myrtle which befouls our lovely pool in a way that the Kittens all feel "looks pretty" but which if left un-policed, renders the filter inop.  Kitten 1.0 approached me yesterday with a moneymaking scheme that included regular pool maintenance, and so we are in heated negotiations as to scope, cost, etc.

Of course, some of you may be saying, "CW, if you're so damn busy, why are you blogging?"  Easy.  Because I like doing what I want to do.

Cheers.

Big Fat Friday Free For All

What's the matter, chum?  Can't figure out what to do with tens of thousands of illegal aliens?  Your team get shellacked in the World Cup?  Did you gain five pounds on vacation?

Share, friends.  Share!

Weighed in this morning at 191.6, a gain of five pounds.  Back to the salt mines...

Dispatch from the Tropics Part VII--End of Journey

In the past I have failed to bring "closure" to these travelogues, and then heard about it from readers.  In an effort to give the people what they want, I round out the trip to the Caribbean.

Of interest, I dropped my phone into the turquoise waters off Salt Island, and so my love affair with the Blackberry has come to an end, as I am now the proud user of an HTC ONE M8.  Quite a piece of gear, I gotta say, though I miss my keyboard.  So in answer to the Hammer, the pics I took went to the bottom with the Blackberry, though the Kittens may have a few I could kadge.

We headed to Pirate's Bight, Norman Island for our last night, and I had a beautiful lobster dinner.  My eating on this trip was truly over the top, and aside from two hikes, I was largely sedentary.  Brother Tom is rooting for me to tip the scales at over 2 bills, but I don't think that's going to happen.  We all ate pretty poorly, so I got back on the right foot today back in Easton.

Yesterday was our travel day.  We got underway at 0800 from Norman Island and sailed to Road Town, Tortola, to turn our boat over.  It was a great ride, but the more I looked around, the more I realized that the days of monohull pleasure yachts are behind us...we were surrounded everywhere we went by catamarans, both sailing and motor yachts.  Catherine is a purist, and would not be a part of renting a Cat....though I am inclined to do so if any of my cash goes into the next deal.

We docked at Road Town and lugged our stuff off the boat, leaving a team of locals to descend upon the boat to make it ready for the next group to take it out.  We hopped into a cab for our trip to the airport late morning...and after seven days of sailing without even a hint of woosiness, I gotta tell you, the cabbies in the BVI can get you motion sick in a heartbeat.  I can't begin to describe how fast they drive on these hilly, narrow roads, twisty and windy.  By the time we got the airport, I felt like hurling.  But I was strong.

The rest of the day was spent negotiating airplanes, customs, immigration...you know, that kind of stuff.  I was able to gain a new appreciation for just how much crappy candy two 100 pound girls can eat...there wasn't a moment in our layovers where it didn't appear that some bit of chocolate or sugar was being consumed.  We landed at 2240 hrs and then drove home to Easton.

I was up early today in order to discharge my two labs from doggie jail.  Seriously, we had a great kennel for them and I was confident in their care...but man, did I miss those dogs.  And they missed me!  The scene at pickup was awesome, with the little girl ZuZu making noises I'd never heard before.  They are very much back to normal here at the farm today, and it is great to be back with them.

Some closing thoughts:

--Air conditioning is not a luxury.  It is essential.
--The Caribbean in summer is superb.  I kept hearing how much more crowded all of the moorings were in the winter time, and it caused me to think I'd prefer not to be there under those circumstances.
--The travel together, separately, plan worked for the Kitten and me.  Although our flights were the same on the way home, I cleared security/immigration in BVI solo and then sat apart from the girls for the San Juan/DC leg.  No one cramped anyone's style and we arrived happy and content.
--One must be very dedicated to fitness if one intends not to take a step back physically on a cruising trip.  The two hikes we went on were great, but there was very little else in the way of moving my mass around.
--A 15 percent service charge is added to all meals bills in the BVI, with the proviso on the bottom of the bill that if a customer felt it was excessive, they should bring it up with management.  I wonder how that works out for the waitstaff....something tells me that they aren't working under the same hourly structure that waitstaff do here, so the predictability of the tips (and the reportability) probably works against them.  But I do not know.  I do know that I generally and a 20% of the pre-tax total tipper, and was too lazy to figure out the difference when the 15 percent was already figured for me.

That's all for now.

The Latest Communique From Redneckistan

Big business people have had it rough in recent years. I don't think we fully appreciate the humiliation and ridicule they've had to endure as Americans. How would you feel? You're a big-bidnez dude, worked hard at Sidwell Friends and Yale, the youngest VP in company history (with a little help from mummy and daddy and all your wonderful friends) and this evil system REQUIRES you to compete in the marketplace! Ok fine, competition is great, as long as you win but why should the system demand you go toe to toe with some, well PERSON who is obviously not of your (for lack of a better word) significance. Look around you. European business people don't have this burden. Governments and politicians understand the needs and concerns of (don't repeat this) the aristocracy. But now thanks to our President, American business people are a protected class (well some of them). Finally government get it! This administration has recognized the need and works with certain business entities to ensure their relevancy (and dominance) regardless of market conditions...in perpetuity we all hope. But all credit cannot go just to President Obama and the Democrats, the Republicans did their part too. At long last American business can now compete on an even footing with the other nations of the world as we have removed the uncertainty and chaos of free enterprise capitalism and extended the much needed and appreciated hand of security and protection from our federal government... with one caveat, reciprocation.

Did you catch Germany vs. Brazil yesterday? Germany went blitzkrieg on their Portuguese asses 7-1 with five goals in the first 30 minutes. Look, this kinda thing can happen. Brazil's captain and best defender Thiago Silva was sidelined with suspension and it looks like they missed his leadership (to say the least). But damn, this NEVER happens to a Brazil squad. When Brazil last lost a match on home soil (apart from friendlies) I dear readers, was a strapping 21 year old looking to shag the arse off CW's UVA girlfiend(s), and woulda done it too, but he was, well 11 at the time. Anyway, I sure hope Holland can squeeze past Argentina (and Lionel Messi). I would love to see a rematch of 1974.

Did you notice NC's voter id law was under all out attack by the progressive (communist) left? Eric Holder's Justice Department (otherwise known as the Black Gestapo) has filed suit, the NY Times is bitching up a storm and the leftist media in general is going ape-shit. What's interesting is most of the law was based on Indiana's voter id law which has been adjudicated to death and found absolutely 100% A-OK constitutionally speaking. Plus the leftists doing the most bitching are from states that don't even have early voting etc. which NC hasn't completely done away with but has only cut back a bit. Look, we all know what's going on here. I'd say at minimum 5% of the vote in any given statewide election is fraud. In order to do this the left needs a big window to vote because the logistics of getting all those double voting people to the polls in one day (or even a few days) is too difficult and may attract attention. Plus if you've got a guy who votes in another state as well as NC (the Voter Integrity Project has found 35K so far) then he can't be in two places at once and absentee ballots are too high profile. In addition the left is playing the race card like it's Selma, Alabama 1962, a sure tipoff they're full of shit. This is just mid-term posturing I think. If they win in the courts they win, if not they've got what they hope will be a motivating issue for black turnout. Same old same old.

Have you been reading CW's posts from the Caribbean? It's somewhat interesting having never been. However if I were a Navy Commodore with saltwater in me veins I would be mortified I wasn't running the show. But if CW's comfortable riding in the backseat then suits me. We'll all be expecting a nice photo montage when he gets back and I ain't talking family photos (who gives a shit!). I mean really cool landscape shots, crystal clear blue water and beach babes, that kinda thing.

Well that's it, now get back to work. They ain't paying you to read bullshit all day.

Dispatch from the Tropics Part VI

MOORED, TRELLIS BAY BVI. it is morning here, and the adults are all bestirred while the kids sleep on. It is our last full day here in paradise, and much planning has gone into its discharge...from those prone to such things on vacations. I however, made no input into how the day is spent, as I intend to spend it just as I please irrespective of where we are.

Our victualling effprts for this trip have been relatively successful, though we are in somewhat of a coffee crisis. The Kitten...at my request....ordered instant coffee for me for our sailing, though it was a modest sized container. I fear there are only two manly cups left, and I have had only one today. I don't believe Rob has had any. Catherine has taken our dinghy ashore, and I urged upon her the task of finding more instant coffee at the market. I know it is there, but I fear we are early for island commerce.  I see the distinct possibility of (horrors) going without coffee tomorrow morning until we have docked and begin the boat return cleanup and logistics.  Condiments are a bit of a problem, and unless there is a food bank of sorts on the dock, we are likely to waste some of them.

The lst full day...of a great trip. I will however, be happy to get home. It is hard to imagine having become so attached to two dogs, but I can't wait to get up Wed morning and go pick them up. i also want to return to the steady pace of work, the order and certainty it brings. I realize that I sound like someone on the Prussian General Staff, but I like things to proceed along an orderly path. While this has been relaxing, it has also been somewhat maddening as The Kitten has tried to ensure a very Democratic approach to how things go. Very disorderly.  Fitting in the wants and desires of six human beings, several of whom exercise little or no restraint, turns into an LSAT logic problem on steroids. A bit of "here is where we are going and here is what we will eat" would be fine with me, but then again, I am Field Marshall von Meaniebutt, and I am not in charge here.

Tomorrow will likely offer the opportunity to update you on our travels as a foursome on the way home. Answers to questions like "where in the hell are you going to put all those large shells for transport back, given that you arrived one square of toilet paper away from over pressurizing your two carryons?" and "Oh, did I not tell you that I was sitting up front for the San Juan to DC flight? How silly of me." will be forthcoming.

Dispatch from the Tropics Part V

PUSSER'S COMPANY STORE AND RESTAURANT,  MARINA CAY BVI.  Free wifi is a welcome gift no matter where one is , but here it is of inestimable value.  We are moored off Marina Cay, and five of our six person pary having come ashore for lunch and to avail ourselves of the free interwebs. Rob, the Kitten's co-captain, stayed behind for what appears to have been a devilishly well-planned nap. The ladies ( my three, his one) have gone off on some sort of treasure hunt, leaving me the peace to write while they are off. Though the sound of the rain at my back seems to me to signal a brief treasure hunt indeed.

We retrieved the littlest Kitten from her sailing camp last night, and it was awesome to see her again...so justifiably proud of herself. At this point, she knows far more about sailing than I do, that's a fact.

I find myself somewhat out of step with the rest of the crowd, who appear to have come on vacation to DO things...which is the opposite of why I take vacations. There are occasionally raised eyebrows when I demur from (yet another) snorkling trip In favor of a nap, or some reading. I have decided not to let their jittery need to be in motion sway me from my mission of relaxation bordering on sloth.  I do believe times like this raise questions in the Kitten's mind about my overall suitability, but I bank on my boyish grin and wit to paper over cosmic differences like this.

Unfortunately, I think I might not be cut out for two week vacations, at least not yet. I was told by a wise man that it takes a week to achieve true relaxation, then there is a week to enjoy it. For some reason, i relax pretty quickly...and then start worrying about work.  Maybe what I should do is take more one- week holidays...or maybe I ought to just realize the world won't stop spinning without me.

Our boat is airconditioned, but there is a sea-based repeat of the land-tussels that attend to the use of the device. The good news is that Rob is a rough and tough sailor like Cat, and he loves the AC,so I have a natural ally.

Ok, back to watching Alvin and the Chipmunks before dinner...

The Hammer is Always Listening

One of the truisms in politics is you never pay attention to what someone says, you watch what they do. Well that's usually the case but not always. Every now and then people (or politicians) will tell you exactly what they think and/or intend. It's the herd thing, e.g. when lemurs see a predator they start screeching, or one guy among a bunch of other guys in a bar might send up the alarm; "check out the ass on that babe!" It's built into our DNA.

Well for the Democrats Governor Jerry Brown is the drunk in the bar. He's always had a problem keeping his mouth shut, always giving away the game plan. He's an absolutely dependable 60's radical beloved by the Marxists now in control of the party but their attitude seems to be: Damn Jerry, show a little discretion why dontcha? You want to awake the sleeping masses and gets us fired? Isn't it interesting that Marxism is a movement of the masses but now uses every trick to subdue the will of the masses, but I digress.  

So Governor Brown has done it again with a speech before Latino bureaucrats and politicians in California as reported by the LA Times (and left to die) in their political section (good luck finding it anywhere else). In it Gov. Brown for all intents and purposes concedes the State of California to Mexico..."The Mexicans threw out the Spanish around 1815, and then, of course, the gringos threw out the Mexicans in 1846 or 1848. But the point is you never keep control forever. There's always new waves coming and you've got to stay ahead of the wave". Now forget about the fact that Jerry used a vile racial slur which for any other ethnic group other than caucasian would land the Governor on the front page of every newspaper in the country and mark the end of his political career. Yeah let's just ignore that, but the Governor fails to mention he and his cohorts in the Democrat Party are largely responsible for these "waves". It is they who have ignored their obligation to enforce the law, including immigration law, it is they who have subverted the will of the people with legal challenges to things like Prop 187 (voted on by ALL the people) which barred benefits to illegals etc., it is they who shower tax payer money (and debt) on scofflaws, outlaws and criminals, and it is they who seek the destruction of America and freedom by importing Third World peoples who will eventually and inevitably turn us into a Third World nation led by Third World thugs.

I've been screaming for ten plus years that the goal of Democrats was to break the country apart with immigration, starting with California. For all of you who have dismissed me as a nutcase I will now entertain an apology. But in lieu of that apology I would appreciate it if you would get your head out of your ass and just start listening.

Dispatch from the Tropics Part IV

MOORED, PIRATE BIGHT, NORMAN ISLAND BVI.  We left our little resort yesterday morning to link up with one of the Kitten's sailing scool buddies and his eight year old daughter.  Together we took custody of a sailboat, upon which we will spend the next week. Rob and the Kitten are both excellent sailors, and I am a good cook, so my position as galley slave is well earned.  I arose this morning to gentle rocking and faint generator noise, after a blissful night's rest.

I have never done this cruising thing. So far, I like it. In fact, I like it better than the resort we stayed in because the boat has air conditioning and my pillow is not made of brick.  Rob is a delight, part of a group of friends I acquired along with the Kitten.  He is very much still in the sailing biz, as he owns a yacht rigging outfit in RI.  I could listen to his stories all night long.  He's really self effacing, which can be enormously entertaining in a storyteller.

The kids are asleep still, so the breakfast rush has yet to start. I see in the larder that we have not one but two boxes of pancake mix. Too bad I will not make them. I refuse, on principle. The Kittens make such an enormous mess at home with pancakes that I have become antipancakes. Someone else will have to do that cooking. I will make eggs, bagels, toast, sausage, cereal....but not pancakes.  

I have not heard yet from the Captains where we will go today, as if it makes any real difference. It will undoubtedly be beautiful and I will enjoy being there.  Cheers, Mates.