- From the “Classy” Department – A Secret Service agent in the middle of the kerfluffle over the use of prostitutes by members of the President’s security detail reportedly ‘checked out‘ Sarah Palin while protecting her. He has posted about giving Mrs. Palin the once-over during the 2008 presidential campaign. Now, I’m a heterosexual male, so I can sympathize with him for taking in an eyeful of a mature, attractive woman, even if he did it on the job. But you don’t go up on Facebook and brag about it. Apparently discretion isn’t taught at the Secret Service.
- From the “Dumbass” Department – A teacher in Virginia is in hot water after lining up his class and then firing blanks at them. Someone needs to take Mr. Braincramp out and teach him that a gun is a tool for protection, not something to punish students or get their attention. For those of you who say “It was just blanks!”, I have four words for you: Brandon Lee and Jon-Erik Hexum. Gun owners will not be judged on the merits of those who are responsible and safe, we will be judged on the merits of our dumbasses.
- From the “What’s in a Name?” Department – The state of Alabama has denied access to its alcohol markets to a brand of beer called “Dirty Bastard”. The justification for the denial was the use of the term “Bastard” on the label, which has been known to cause the heads of six year olds to explode and make little old ladies spontaneously burst into flames. I suggest that the company that makes the beer rebrand it for Alabama with a title of “Narrow-minded Fascist” and see how that flies.
- From the “Coffee Buzz” Department – Starbucks has responded to consumer outcry over the use of a red dye made from beetles and will be re-formulating its pink drinks and food this summer. The original complaint was that the products would violate the vegan lifestyle, but it quickly spread because someone started yelling “Soylent Pink is bugs!” on Twitter or something. I don’t have a problem with the use of insects. It’s just protein. Someday I’ll tell y’all how one of the best meals I ever had was based mainly on boiled ants, prickly pear, and Arby’s sauce. I’m still waiting to hear back from Starbucks on my suggestion to sweeten their coffee drinks with the tears of free-range hippies.
- From the “Mare Nostrum” Department – The Coast Guard has reported that it has sunk its 30th drug smuggling sub. This particular submersible was scuttled by its crew off the coast of Honduras. For the moment, let’s drop the debate about the novelty of using submarines to smuggle drugs and the whole war on drugs. My question: When did the Coast Guard get authorization to operate what pretty much amount to combat interdiction patrols off the coast of another sovereign country that is located a couple thousand miles away from our most southern coast? I know, better on the beaches of Honduras than on the beaches of Texas, but at some point I have to ask why we’re enforcing our drug laws so far from home. And what happens when the drug runners start buying cheap torpedoes for the Uboats?
News Roundup
Posted by daddybear71 on April 20, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/04/20/news-roundup-6/
30 Days of Shakespeare – Day 16
Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot
That it do singe yourself. – Henry VIII, Act I, Scene I
My Take – There’s a lot of hatred in the news lately. Maybe it’s the controversy over the Martin/Zimmermann affair down in Florida, or it’s the upcoming election, or it’s conflict over which part of our society is paying their fair share. Either way, we have to make sure that we don’t let our emotions get the better of us and in trying to vanquish our opponents we don’t destroy the better parts of ourselves.
Posted by daddybear71 on April 20, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/04/20/30-days-of-shakespeare-day-16/
Always Fight Back
A boy in Colorado has been suspended from school because he hit a bully back.
“One kid kicked me in the back, then punched me in the face. Then I punched him in the face and then I got in trouble,”
Posted by daddybear71 on April 20, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/04/20/always-fight-back/
Thought for the Day II
Last week, Ambulance Driver observed that a man can tell he’s getting old because a pretty young thing smiles at him because he reminds her of her father.
DaddyBear’s Corollary –
A man can tell he’s reaching a certain age when the head trainer assigns the pretty young thing to work with him so she can pretend to be his daughter during a training mission.
Yeah, I got reminded of my age tonight.
Posted by daddybear71 on April 20, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/04/20/thought-for-the-day-ii/
Thought for the Day
The only thing more nerve racking than going through a job interview with complete strangers is going through a job review with people you’ve known and worked with for years. They already know your strengths and weaknesses and will definitely know if you BS your way through a question.
Posted by daddybear71 on April 19, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/04/19/thought-for-the-day-7/
Today’s Earworm
Posted by daddybear71 on April 19, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/04/19/todays-earworm-11/
NIMBY in the Bluegrass
NIMBY stands for Not In My BackYard, as in:
- I know we need a new school in this area, but Not In My BackYard
- I want a grocery store closer to my home, but Not In My BackYard
- I want a new playground that my kids can use, but Not In My BackYard
- I support the troops and all that, and I agree that Louisville’s veteran’s hospital is old and needs to be replaced with a new one, but Not In My BackYard
That last one is playing itself out as we speak. The veteran’s hospital here is over-used, under-maintained, and undersized for the wave of older veterans of Vietnam and younger veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who are expected to be using the VA system more and more in coming years.
One of the places where a new hospital may be built is where one of the local major highways intersects with a major local artery. There are already two hospitals in the area, including one specifically for children, many doctors’ offices, and restaurants. There are also some very nice places to live, and that seems to be the sticking point.
The requirements for this hospital, as I understand them, are:
- Easy access from major highways
- Room for ample parking
- Parking where veterans and their families, many of whom are physically disabled, can easily get to the hospital
- Room to build a facility that can grow as demand for services grows
- Easy access to support facilities such as hotels and restaurants
The other two options are to either renovate the existing hospital or to build a new hospital in downtown Louisville. The existing hospital site cannot be improved enough to have room for demand and the parking area is tiny and badly graded. Building downtown would restrict the site to one or two places, parking would be a nightmare, and would cost much more than building out in the suburbs.
Some people who would live near a new VA hospital in this area are raising concerns about traffic, light pollution, and noise. To them I say this: Shame on you.
I am a veteran, and I am grateful that I do not need the services of the VA. Yeah, I have aches and pains that I can attribute to one or two things that happened in uniform, but they pale in comparison to the wounds and ailments that the VA treats. Our veterans deserve the best facility we can provide.
I also live a few miles from this facility. I drive past the site I think they’re talking about pretty often. Will a new hospital cause some traffic congestion? Yes, it probably will. Was I raised right and know that my inconvenience is a small price to pay for proper facilities to treat and care for those who gave up their youth and their health for me and mine? You bet I do.
It shouldn’t take a Medal of Honor recipient like Dakota Meyer to stand up and shame those who are more worried about property values than debts of honor and blood before people start doing the right thing. I am reaching out to my Senators and Congressmen to support this building site for the new VA hospital in Louisville, and if you have a mind to, I ask that you do so as well.
Posted by daddybear71 on April 19, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/04/19/nimby-in-the-bluegrass/
Photo of the Day
Seen at the NRA store in St. Louis. Nothing bad can happen here.
Posted by daddybear71 on April 19, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/04/19/photo-of-the-day/
30 Days of Shakespeare – Day 15
O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t! — The Tempest, Act V, Scene I
My Take – This past weekend, I was surrounded by wonderful people. Some of them were close friends, some I had just met, and thousands of them I had never met. But all of them took a step to show their support for an organization that looks out for their rights, to learn more about their sport and the technology and the issues associated with it, and to let the world know that we are a strong, rational movement. O brave new world, indeed.
Posted by daddybear71 on April 19, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/04/19/30-days-of-shakespeare-day-15/
Songs of Two Evenings
Saturday evening, I went to an Irish pub with a group of friends, drank way too much, and between us all we found answers to all of the world’s problems. It was kind of like this:
This evening, I cut up two honeysuckle bushes and bound the pieces up in the manner in which my wife told me it needed to be done so that the nice men will take them away tomorrow. It was kind of like this:
Oh, if only life could be nothing more than looking at guns and gear all day followed by drinking and talking with friends all night? Real life can be such a pain.
Posted by daddybear71 on April 19, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/04/19/songs-of-two-evenings/
DaddyBear
DaddyBear’s Den 