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I’m Available

Thomas Nelson over at The American Thinker is discussing possible candidates for vice-president on the Republican ticket next year.  He seems to favor either Marco Rubio or Condoleeza Rice.  I’m more familiar with Rice’s beliefs and accomplishments, but from what I can tell, Rubio would also make an excellent VP.  There are some who question whether or not he’s a natural-born citizen, but from what I’ve seen, he was born in the United States, has always lived in the United States, and seems to hold no allegiance to another country, so by my understanding of the Constitution, he’s a natural-born citizen.

Nelson assumes, of course, that Candidate X is a mid-west or north-eastern white guy who needs to balance the ticket with someone from the South and whose ancestors came from a more southerly latitude.  
If Herman Cain is Candidate X, I agree with Nelson that he’s going to need someone with foreign policy experience, but I don’t necessarily agree that his running mate will need to be of European ancestry.  Yeah, there will be people who won’t vote for a black man who doesn’t have a white running mate, but those people will have trouble voting for a black man no matter who he runs with.  
As for me, if I’m not the VP candidate, and I surely hope that Candidate X makes that call from the convention next summer (I’m not in the book, but I’m not that hard to find), then I don’t really care about the ethnic heritage of the candidate, so long as they fulfill the constitutional requirements for being president.  I’d vote for Cain/Rice just as easily as I would hold my nose and vote Perry/Pawlenty or Romney/Gingrich, so long as their platform and stated plans for the country conform with what I believe and think is important for the president to do.  
Which is another thought – Why aren’t people considering the current Republican candidates who might not win to be the VP  candidate?  It worked for Kennedy and Reagan, so why not for Cain, Romney,  or Perry?
But I really want to be the VP.  I’ve trained my whole life to be someone’s attack dog, and this is my one shot at the big time.  Like I said, I’m just waiting for the call.
by daddybear71 on November 13, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Politics

Posted by daddybear71 on November 13, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/13/im-available/

Today’s Earworm

7 years ago today, Irish Woman and I committed to make each other crazy, put up with each other, support each other through everything life can throw at us, to raise my brood and the children to come, and to grow old together.

So far so good.  She’s only tried to take my life twice, and I’m pretty sure both times were accidents.

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

by daddybear71 on November 13, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Earworm

Posted by daddybear71 on November 13, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/13/todays-earworm-90/

Quote of the Day

Yet when we strive to hold true, to stand firm to our beliefs as free men and women, as a group, to carry our weapons and defend our land and our homes, the weak become strong, and the wandering hold together as one.

Brigid, “Why I Support the Second Amendment”

by daddybear71 on November 13, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Quote of the Day

Posted by daddybear71 on November 13, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/13/quote-of-the-day-40/

The Marriott Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine is run by unpatriotic jerks

Borepatch gives a pretty good run down of freedom.  The owners of the hotel have the freedom to tell their employees what not to wear on the job and to fire them when the employees don’t comply.  We, as consumers, have the freedom to point out this ass-hattery and take our business elsewhere.

by daddybear71 on November 13, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on November 13, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/13/the-marriott-casa-monica-hotel-in-st-augustine-is-run-by-unpatriotic-jerks/

Finally Calmed Down

Friday evening, I read through the grand jury report about the child rape* investigation at Pennsylvania State University.  In a nutshell, one of the coaches in the football program is accused of abusing young boys he found through his own charity for underprivileged youth over the space of a couple decades, the head football coach and other senior members of Penn State leadership are alleged to have known about it and done nothing, and no-one knows for sure how many young boys were harmed due to evil and indifference.

To say that my blood was boiling and I wanted to throw up by the time I was done would be an understatement of unbelievable proportions.  It took me an hour of talking with Irish Woman and doing other things before I felt better.  Now remember, I only read about it in a report that was pretty dry and legalistic.  I didn’t actually witness the acts, or have a trusted subordinate come to me with detailed allegations of horrific abuse. But I was still ready to lash out over it.  If what is alleged is true, then the people involved failed to protect children who were put under their care or the care of their organization.  While I was outraged and upset over reading about it almost a decade after the fact, everyone from a janitor to the university president chose to do next to nothing to stop it while it was occurring.
If the allegations are proven to be true, those involved need to go to prison.  No deals to admit fault and pay a fine and pick up gum wrappers on the weekend should be made.  In order to deter other adults from failing to protect the innocent, they need to serve hard time in a way that others can see is the consequence of doing nothing in the face of evil.  End of discussion on that point.  One of the sacred responsibilities of any adult, and an educator particularly, is the safety of children.   Willful ignorance or outright indifference to the plight of a horrifically abused child is not only criminal, it is evil.  My gut tells me that the alleged actions were taken so that the Penn State football program and the university itself wouldn’t look bad, a motivation that in the end perpetuated the abuse of children and will probably tarnish Penn State for decades to come.
Over at In From The Cold, George Smiley suggests that the football program at Penn State be taken down entirely, and I agree wholeheartedly.  The leadership of the program appears to be either rotten through and through or is ignorant and incompetent.  Either way, there is no way in my mind that current coaching staff and management did not know of at least past allegations and still did nothing to stop the abuse or report it to the proper authorities.  If Penn State wants to keep its standing as both a respectable educational institute and a top-tier athletic program, it needs to thoroughly gut its leadership corps and bring in an entirely new slate of coaches and administrators.  Keeping even one person who either knew or should have known about the abuse on the payroll delegitimizes the entire organization.
Failing that, the NCAA would do itself credit by disassociating itself from Penn State entirely. 
I hope that before he goes to his appointed place roasting over a coal fired spit, the filth that committed these horrific acts has the decency to provide the names of his victims so that they can be offered compensation and support.  I hope that the people who saw this abuse and did nothing can realize just how wrong they have been and try to make amends.  I also hope that the victims of this evil can find peace and healing in their lives.  But most of all I hope that this tragedy is used as a negative example by all who take responsibility for the most vulnerable members of our tribe so that they can better protect them from the savages and predators in our midst.
*I hate the soft words molestation or sexual abuse.  Having or attempting sex with a child or anyone else who is incapable of giving consent to sexual contact of any kind is rape.  Period. Dot.  Softening the term just makes it sound like something much less horrific.
by daddybear71 on November 13, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Penn State

Posted by daddybear71 on November 13, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/13/finally-calmed-down/

Today’s Earworm

Oh, Irish Woman, they’re playing our song!

by daddybear71 on November 12, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Earworm

Posted by daddybear71 on November 12, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/12/todays-earworm-91/

Thought for the Day

It’s not the running through the house naked, the fear he engenders in the cats, the quite artistic graffiti on the wall next to his coloring desk, or even the fighting position he’s digging in his sandbox that worries me about Boo. It’s the maniacal laughter he has while he’s doing it that gets to me.

by daddybear71 on November 12, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Thought for the day

Posted by daddybear71 on November 12, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/12/thought-for-the-day-44/

Shame

A person who wears a uniform was convicted recently of murdering Afghan civilians and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.  This individual was apparently part of a unit that participated in murdering civilians, mutilating the bodies of Afghans, using drugs in the field, and beating up a soldier who reported the behavior.

You’ll notice I didn’t use the title “soldier” to describe this cretin.  A soldier is someone who accepts the responsibilities of the uniform and acts accordingly.  The military has a very clearly defined set of rules to live by, and this guy didn’t even come close.  He’s not a soldier, he’s just a guy in a green suit, and now he wants us to believe that after having some time to think it over, he believes that what he did in Afghanistan is wrong.

What he and his partners in crime did violated the trust of the nation they swore to serve.  Yeah, I’m not a fan of how the war in Afghanistan has been fought, or the goals that have been set for it, but in no way do I think that targeting non-combatants, brutalizing other soldiers, and using drugs in a combat zone can be excused under any circumstances.

What this guy and the bunch of savages he led did was deserving of much more than he or any of them will get.  I’m proud of my service and the service of my family stretching back to the Civil War.  These people put a stain on our uniform.  I’m always overly critical of soldiers who break the law, because I feel that they should be held to a higher standard of conduct than the average citizen.

This guy should be executed in full view of his unit so that they, and the entire world, know that we hold ourselves, and especially our soldiers, responsible for what they do.

by daddybear71 on November 12, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in military

Posted by daddybear71 on November 12, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/12/shame/

News Roundup

  • From the “Get Out The Vote” Department – A poll worker in Ohio showed his appreciation for voter turnout by trying to de-nose a poll-goer with his bare teeth.  Apparently, the man said something that wasn’t appreciated, and the poll-worker strenuously retorted with a head butt and the application of a bite to the nose.  I guess in Cleveland, the saying goes “Vote early, vote often, and bring a bandaid”.
  • From the “Democracy Delivered” Department – A lady in New York gave birth to her child in a fire house in the room next to where the local polls were located.  She named the little girl “Charis”, but I have it on good authority that if it had been a boy, his name would have been “Chad“.
  • From the “Au Natural” Department – A man in New York was briefly taken to a psychiatric hospital after he was accused of walking naked and drunk through the workout area of a hotel.  He denies doing it, of course, and it’s possible he didn’t.  But remember kids, if you’re rich, you’re not crazy, you’re eccentric.
  • From the “Damned If You Do” Department – President Obama recently decided not to decide quite yet on a controversial oil pipeline that would have taken crude from Canada to refineries in Texas while crossing several areas that are considered ecologically sensitive.  This move is considered to be a political punt to move the actual decision to make a decision about the decision until after the decision.  But political mastery of this magnitude is usually a double edged sword.  You see, while this non-decision placates the tree-hugging wing of his party, the President risks alienating the deep-pocketed union wing.  How awful that the evil cabal of hippies and blue collar drones that elected him may blow up in his face!  It’s almost like machine politics and statesmanship are mutually exclusive concepts or something!
  • From the “Close Call” Department – A Florida man continues to draw air after recovering a $10,000 ring that he accidentally threw away.  The man dug through trash at the landfill for about 30 minutes before striking gold.  I assume that the ring has been fully sanitized and returned to his lovely wife.  Some will look at this as a sign of a man’s love for his wife.  I look at this as a perfect example of self-preservation instinct.  I would have been afraid to sleep until I either found or replaced the bobble.
by daddybear71 on November 12, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in news

Posted by daddybear71 on November 12, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/12/news-roundup-67/

A Prayer

Dear Lord,  please watch over our President today as he travels across the waters to Hawaii, Indonesia, and Australia.
Help his pilots to find a smooth path for him and help his ground crew to make sure his aircraft is in good working order for the entire trip.
Lord, please keep him safe from accident, illness, and an assassin’s bullet
I ask this in your name Lord, because I really don’t want this guy in charge of the country:

Amen

by daddybear71 on November 11, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Politics, silliness

Posted by daddybear71 on November 11, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/11/a-prayer-2/

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