Man on the Street Confidently Predicts an Obama Landslide

Well, of course, he's nuts. That's his picture below.

Telecommuting and Working From Home

I am working from home this week, logging into the network at work via logmein.com (it's great for remote working).  I found out that I can even turn on my camera at work and see who's in the conference room (where I generally work).  My associate was surprised when I described to him what he was wearing.  "I was watching you in the conference room" I explained.  "You sneaky devil you," he exclaimed.

I am actually getting work done from my home office and it is pretty cool.

Logmein is free to try and they don't bug you about becoming a paid subscriber.  I will though, it's worth the price of $69 per year per computer.

Better Men Than I: Memorial Day 2012

The men above, and many thousands like them, are better men than I. I never served my country, never went in harm's way. I regret that. For most of my life my eyesight was horrible, up until I had lasic surgery late in life.  My childhood dream of serving in the US Navy was never to be realized.

The military cemetery featured above is one at Cambridge, England, where 3,812 American casualties of World War II are buried.  Superimposed are the images of Americans (and one Canadian) who died in war.  They are, top, left to right:

Alan Seeger was a Harvard Graduate, Class of 1910, who wrote stunning poetry, including the famous war poem "I Have a Rendezvous With Death."  He joined the French Foreign Legion to fight in World War I. He was killed on July 4, 1916 by German machine gun fire as his French Foreign Legion unit charged German positions near Belloy-En-Santerre, France.

General George S. Patton was an aggressive American general in World War II who won many victories for the allies.  My Uncle served under his command, as a private and medic in the 2nd Armored Division.  Patton was killed in December 1945, just after the war had ended, in a jeep accident.

Doris Miller, a Navy sailor and cook, was a crew member of the USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941.  As Japanese planes dove all around the ship, dropping torpedoes and bombs, Miller found a loaded machine gun that had been dropped on the deck.  He picked it up and began firing at the Japanese planes, possibly downing one, until he ran out of ammunition.  Cited for his bravery in the heat of battle, Miller was awarded the Navy Cross.  He was killed in action later in the war.

John McCrae, a Canadian officer in Europe during World War I, was a surgeon who treated the wounded in the Flanders section of Belgium.  Outside of his dressing station was a makeshift cemetery where red poppies naturally sprouted in the freshly overturned soil of the graves.  McCrae was inspired to write possibly the most famous war poem of all time, "In Flanders Fields."  McCrae later died of pneumonia before the war's end.

Pat Tillman, a professional football player who abandoned a lucrative sports contract to serve his country, died in Afghanistan by "friendly fire."  Pat's father was my youngest son's coach in Pony League baseball in Almaden Valley in 1993-94, and I saw Pat once at one of the practices.

William E Shipp, a lieutenant in the US Army, served with the Tenth Cavalry during the Spanish-American War.  He was killed in the charge up San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898.

Nathan Hale, Captain in the Continental Army, served in the Revolutionary War for American independence.  He was hanged by the British as a spy on September 22, 1776.  Reportedly his last words were "I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

John  Morreale, Staff Sergeant in the US Airforce in WW II, was a radio operator with a 10-man crew flying a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.  He was one of the men who flew combat missions from bases in England to Germany, bombing Nazi munitions factories, railroad yards, and submarine pens in preparation for the June 6 invasion.  His bomber the "Fancy Nancy III" was shot down over Brunswick, Germany on January 30, 1944.  Five members of the crew were able to bail out before the plane crashed.  Unfortunately, Sgt Morreale was not one of them.

*******

These are but a very small few of the American and allied heroes who gave their lives in war.  Each of the thousands of white crosses in military cemeteries around the world represents one precious human life.

They gave all of their tomorrows for all of our todays.  Let us never forget what their lives have bequeathed.

Memorial Day: the Vietnam Wall

With thanks to Larry Bovshow

The Daily Beast is Actually the Daily B.S.

I took a look at the Daily Beast website today.  It is a cesspool of Democrat B.S. and distortion.  In their article on Obama insulting Romney they write:

“I know Gov. Romney came to Des Moines last week,” the shirt-sleeved, sweating Obama told a crowd of fervent supporters. “Warned about a ‘prairie fire of debt.’ That’s what he said. ‘Prairie fire.’ But he left out some facts. You know, his speech was more like a cow pie of distortion.”

Taken at face value, the president was simply quoting his Republican opponent to buttress his argument that Romney’s economic proposals were nothing but a throwback to George W. Bush’s disastrous policies that produced financial meltdown and a near-depression.       

Oh really?  So it was Bush's "disastrous policies" that moved the country into a near-depression?  Will some Democrat explain exactly what those policies were and the mechanics of how they caused the housing bubble, the burst, and the subsequent failure of thousands of mortgage companies, banks and investment firms?,

No, it is clear that the near-depression was caused by Democrats and Democrat policies, namely, forcing banks and mortgage companies to make bad loans, first to minorities and then to everyone. This was going on well before Bush was president; it started mainly with Clinton.

Yet the Daily Bee Ess mouths the above drivel without any kind of support for it.  They believe on faith and faith alone, the anything bad that happens was caused by a Republican and only good stuff flows from Democrats.  Like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd who vigorously defended this reckless policy, which blew up in their faces.  Now Democrats achieve some really incredible contortions to blame their mess on Republicans.

Don't believe them.

Democrat Mystics (Cartoon)

Why We Stand With Scott Walker in Wisconsin

Things Liberals Hate: Ethnic Humor

I thought this was quite funny!!

San Francisco Names a Street for Nancy Pelosi

Fancy that, San Francisco will name a street for Nancy Pelosi.

Instead of calling it "Pelosi Parkview" or "Nancy Lane," perhaps they could call it "Airhead Avenue" or "Beotch Boulevard."

To really make it memorable, it could end at the poor house.

The Demise of White America

Recently it was disclosed in the news that white births in America are now less than 50% of all births.  Many conservatives find this fact depressing, as do I.  I am far from a "white supremacist" or "white centrist," but I find myself struggling to understand the far-reaching implications of white decline.

Around 1965 the left changed America's immigration policy to allow in far more non-whites, thus setting in motion long-term demographic change in the United States.  The America I grew up in was overwhelmingly white, or "European-American" if you prefer the polite term.  Today we can foresee a time when white people will be a minority in America.

I think there is a Marxist component to this managed change in our demographics, changing the population and its basic political beliefs, its long held culture, so that a new, emerging demographic might be more open to radical changes in the American system of government.  If the population wouldn't hear of these changes, then you simply change the population.  It's worked before, particularly in China, where conquered or dissident regions are simply bred out of existence.  Move in a few million Chinese and in a generation or two, the old population has been effectively subsumed.  I understand the Chinese are now doing that to Tibet, engulfing it slowly the way a Boa constrictor swallows and assimilates a rabbit, through Chinese immigration therein.

In centuries past, many Muslim populations were once Christian, Jew or Hindu.  The Muslim invaders who conquered those regions did not win over the hearts and minds of the newly conquered.  However, they did win over the hearts and minds of the generations that followed.  The old populations were simply bred out of existence.  They were replaced.

However, the truth is that culture is the real target here.  There is nothing inherent in the genes of Asians, Arabs, Hispanics, East Indians or other minorities that compel them to embrace collectivism and strong central governments.   However, many migrate from countries where these things are a concrete fact, and the immigrants less reticent to accept such change in their newly adopted home.  Many come from countries and cultures outside of western traditions, values and beliefs.  The tolerance for large scale immigration of Muslims in Europe is undoubtedly the most disastrous for the long-term survival of western civilization -- not because of the immigrants' race, but because of their customs, traditions and beliefs, all of which are hostile to western values of constitutional government, free markets and pluralism.

That is why liberals enthusiastically accept Hispanic immigration, legal or not.  They surmise, quite correctly, that these immigrants will vote for the Democratic Party.

The real enemy, however, is white people themselves.  Not because they are inherently evil as many radical Hispanics and blacks want to believe, but because we are breeding ourselves out of existence.  Whites are not reproducing themselves.  Whites are no longer having babies like they did in past decades.

The goal for me is not racial purity -- we are all human beings.  To me the goal, probably unachievable, is to graft western values -- republican, constitutional, limited government and capitalism -- onto populations that have not previously valued these ideas and institutions.

If that could happen then all peoples and races would be subsumed...by freedom.

The Song Feminists Hate: "Wives and Lovers"

Jack Jones recorded this song in 1963 and it was a best seller. Back then, of course, the "average American family" (if there was one) consisted of a man who went to work and a wife who stayed home, raised the kids, cooked the meals and did the shopping.  Today such families are rare, because wives have to be workers too in order to survive economically.  Feminists hate this song (and I love it) because it casts women in  a role where their main objective in life is pleasing their husbands.

I actually like women to be more of a partner than an underling, but I still like the old-fashioned romance of this song.

How Voting For Obama is Reminiscent of the Titanic (Cartoon)

I'm off to visit the grandkids and my middle son and my daughter-in-law.

Here's a funny to prove I am still alive.

The Sphinx: Beard or No Beard? You Decide!

While waiting for my boss to get out of a meeting, I decided to answer the most stirring archaeological controversy since John Kerry's claimed trip to Cambodia: did the Sphinx have a beard? Some scholars say yes, pointing to the remains of a giant beard found in the vicinity of the Sphinx. Others say no, pointing to a giant safety razor also found in the vicinity of the Sphinx (still others claim the razor to be a cleverly fashioned hoax). Now you can decide: Did the Sphinx have a beard? And if so, should he shave the darned thing off in order to be more popular with the ladies? YOU DECIDE.

H.L. Mencken's Thought for the Day

California Exodus (Cartoon)

California Here I Come Go!

Atlas is Shrugging in France: High Earners Prepare to Depart

The U.K. Telegraph reports that the affluent of France are preparing to depart their new socialist president and move elsewhere, mainly to England.  Just as in "Atlas Shrugged," those capitalists who are robbed of their production by socialist greed will simply move their wealth, their productivity, their jobs and their tax revenues, elsewhere.  Atlas is shrugging in France.

The Telegraph reports:

Mr Hollande plans to implement a 75pc tax rate on earnings over €1m (£800,000), on top of a 45pc rate for people making €150,000 or more. He is also expected to raise "wealth taxes" on property assets and end his predecessor's tax incentives to lure bankers back home.

In addition, France's high earners feel increasingly unwelcome in a country now led by a man who has admitted: "I don't like the rich." So where are they looking? London. It comes as no surprise – while Hollande prepares to raise taxes, over here David Cameron is cutting the 50pc tax rate for income above £150,000 to 45pc.

Read it all here. 

Governor Jerry Brown Calls for Higher Taxes and Deeper Cuts for California

All is not well in the Land of Fruits and Nuts.

Governor Brown announced that the California budget deficit has now reached 16 million dollars and that deeper cuts may be necessary.  He said:

"This means we will have to go much further, and make cuts far greater, than I asked for at the beginning of the year."

Of course, we can always raise taxes and that's exactly what Democrats prefer when the credit card has been maxed out -- just increase the max.  The article continues:

Brown has said there will be even deeper cuts, mostly to public education, if voters do not improve tax hikes in November. He is seeking a quarter-cent increase in the state sales tax for four years and a seven-year hike on incomes of $250,000 or more that will range from 1 to 3 percentage points. He says the measure would raise $9 billion in the upcoming budget year.

Read it all here.

I intend to vote against the tax increases, as I always do.  Instead of tax increases on an already outbound business population, who are moving in droves to more business-friendly states, we should simply curtail the state employee labor unions.  Reduce the size of their salaries, benefits and certainly their retirement, which greatly exceed that for similar work in private industry.

However, to do so would be to alienate a key Democrat constituency, which has no problem with draining the state coffers dry and taxing the public until they bleed.

Digital Enhancement Shows Mona Lisa To Be a Beautiful Woman

I saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in 2007.  I had always thought that the painting was of an older woman, a bit on the dowdy side.  Yeah, I have often heard people say that the Mona Lisa (whoever she was) was a beautiful woman.  I just thought that they had a different idea about beauty five hundred years ago.

Just relaxing on a Saturday afternoon, I decided to do a quick digital enhancement of the Mona Lisa. Since the picture was painted in 1506, it has darkened and dulled and cracked over time. I removed the cracks in the paint, lightened it, enhanced the colors and added some eyebrows (experts say she had them but they have all but faded away).

The result is a rather stunning revelation, i.e., that Mona Lisa really was a beautiful young woman. This young lady wouldn't want for dates even in 2012; her beauty seems timeless.

She appears a bit shy but coquettish with her shy smile.  I'll bet she knew how to work those eyes to make men do what she wanted.

 Original is on the right for comparison.

Update to my Digital Reconstruction of the Sphinx

Ever so often I like to meddle with my Photoshop reconstruction of the Sphinx.  That reconstruction is one of my most popular posts, with students of ancient Egypt viewing it regularly.

The last time I updated the reconstruction, I was somewhat satisfied with it, but not completely.  There's always something that's not quite right.  Today I fixed the chin a bit and reduced the size of the eyelids so they look more natural.  I also slimmed the nose just a tad and worked on the mouth.  Now it really is much closer to what I imagine the original Sphinx looked like.

Have a look here if interested.

I read somewhere that the ancient Egyptians forbade artistic depictions of people in anything but glum, expressionless poses.  That explains why the Sphinx appears stoned, with his very stoic expression.

I Love My Granddaughter

This is one of my favorite pictures of my granddaughter and me.

AP's Propaganda Piece Poses as Criticism of Obama, Actually Advocates His Re-Election

Drudge has linked this subtle Obama advocacy propaganda from the Associated Press, "Around World, Obama's Presidency a Disappointment."  In spite of the misleading title, the article is actually propaganda for Obama.  I knew this by the end of the first paragraph. I dissect the article and expose its biases below.

The Associated [Obama] Press gave these reasons for the disappointment in Obama:
1.  He didn't close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay as he promised. [Aha!  So the World is disappointed in the failure to achieve a key leftist objective:  to free terrorists to keep killing infidels.]

2.  He hasn't forged closer ties with the Islamic world in spite of his promise during his Egypt speech [i.e., he hasn't sold Israel down the river yet, imposed sharia, or instituted halal meals in the White House cafeteria.]

3. "In a world weary of war and economic crises, and concerned about global climate change, the consensus is that Obama has not lived up to the lofty expectations." [The key giveaway here is the absurd notion that the world is "concerned about global climate change." Almost no one anywhere is worried about this non-existent threat except leftists, who see it as a way to control the means of production and redistribute wealth.  Also, the phrase "Obama has not lived up to the lofty expectations" is really an indirect indictment of those with the unrealistic expectations -- their fault, not that of Obama.]

4. "Many in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America were also taken aback by his support for gay marriage, a taboo subject among religious conservatives." [Only religious conservatives in third world countries are offended by the idea of gay marriage -- the use of the word "taboo" conjuring up associations with witch doctors and primitive superstitions.]

5. [Now we are getting into the real message of the article, the main point its authors were trying to make all along]: "But the Democrat still enjoys broad international support. In large part, it's because of unfavorable memories of his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, and many people would still prefer Obama over his presumptive Republican challenger Mitt Romney." [The World likes Obama because he isn't Bush? Ah yes, it's all Bush's fault...]

More AP propaganda:

6. "America's stature has taken a hit in Japan since the 2008 financial meltdown, which highlighted the excesses of U.S.-style capitalism to many Japanese." [Capitalism is evil. Capitalism caused the melt-down, not (Democrat) governmental interference in the housing market.]

7. "Democrat presidents tend to be a little bit more hesitant to define the world as good and evil, which tends to be more attractive to Australian ears." [The actual message:  Republicans are cowboys, neanderthals who are insensitive to the fine nuances of global  politics and our shared humanity with other peoples (like Al Quaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah) who merely have a different perspective.  If they saw off your head or fly planes into skyscrapers, hey, who are we to judge?  It is this flaky, indecisive, self-doubting inability to take a stand that so appeals to leftists everywhere.] 

Conclusion:  This AP article is a Red Herring. It pretends to discuss the world's disappointment with Obama, but its real goal is to diffuse that disappointment and redirect it towards reelecting Obama. The piece is a textbook study of liberal propaganda in the mainstream media.

yippee I got a job

Did I get a job?  Well I have work in any case, on a contract basis, working for the same friend and fellow CPA in Millbrae, a small city right next to the San Francisco International Airport and just a few minutes from downtown San Francisco.  I worked for him during the busy season, which technically ended three weeks ago.  I was looking forward to marathons of napping, watching TV, smoking cigars and seeking the outer bounds of worthlessness.  Alas, it is not to be.

The long and the short of it, my friend really liked my work.  He says he can keep me busy all summer.  The best part is that I can work from home every other week, working remotely by accessing his network via the internet.  I like that.  I can sit outside in the backyard, smoke cigars, drink coffee, and work.  We'll see how that works.  When you are at home, even though working, wifey thinks you are available for errands, and the bed upstairs whispers, "naaa--aaa-aaap!   naaaaaaaaaap!"

This might be harder than I think.  What the heck, I'll give it a shot.

Obama and Biden Come Out for Gay Marriage...and Here's Why (Photoshop)

VP Joe Biden recently discussed the desirability of gay marriage with President Barack Obama.  Not surprisingly, they then both came out in favor of gay marriage!

Someone snapped the pic at the left which makes it obvious why they did.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Cher Hates Republicans, Doesn't Want to "Breathe the Same Air" (Photoshop)

Cher's new song, "If I Could Turn Back Time":

If I could turn back time,
Then I wouldn't slime
All the GOPeeze
Who Used to Buy My CDs....

Yes, if you are a Republican, then
Cher hates you....oh well, it's not
like there are any other singers selling records out there....

Elizabeth Warren of the Fullabaloni Indian Tribe (Photoshop)

Life Among the Loons of Massachusetts: A Few Patriots Remain

I received this message from Tom Davies of Massachusetts, who like I, lives within one of the most extreme leftwing states in the Union.  

****************

The Concord Bridge, Scene of
"The Shot Heard Round the World" - April 19, 1775

Greetings from the People’s Republic of Massachusetts where all the crazy stuff that happens out there on the left coast is born! Hello,my name’s Tom, happened upon your blog whilst surfing and as all the best sites I’ve discovered it was serendipitous for sure.

As I said I live behind enemy lines but love this state as much as I love the US and am making my stand here amongst the loons. I live a short distance from the old North Bridge where the shot heard round the world was fired. Massachusetts is a small state and wherever one is there’s something historically connected to our nation’s birth yet the loons are oblivious to it.

I’m a teacher and have worked in schools where there are no American flags displayed and the pledge is verboten as is God (but not Allah). We have a mosque that was built with public funds, the loons defended that with “building a diverse community”, not long after the Imam and others associated with the mosque were outed by the FBI as connected to al Qaeda -- nice huh? 

The liberal that’s running against our Republican senator Scott Brown has for the last couple of decades claimed minority status, turns out she’s 1/32 Cherokee if even that can be substantiated. She used this status to enhance her educational and employment opportunities. The Dems are desperate to spin this one but it doesn’t look good for her. 

I’ve pointed these things out because our beloved Republic is fast becoming Massachusetts and it now comes down to November being our only hope. Good on you and all of the conservative bloggers, the internet is going to change the face of American politics. I suspect that like conservative radio audiences readership eclipses anything the loons have to offer. What’s important is that readers are sharing this info and links as well to counter the lies and subterfuge of the MSM. I’m including a few links to East Coast bloggers that I follow, they’re very good. Thank You for what you do. – Tom Davies

http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/

http://americaswatchtower.com/

Stogie:  Thank you Tom for being there.  With you in Massachusetts and me in California, we have the loons surrounded!

Democracy Doesn't Work

Greek Ruins

France and Greece, both insolvent or nearly so, have rejected austerity measures and candidates in their recent elections.  By "austerity measures," they mean living within your means, reducing "free" government services so prior services provided on credit can finally be paid for.

Alas, in a Democracy, the masses can vote themselves the keys to the Treasury.  Now there are only dead moths in the French and Greek treasuries, but that's okay, because the credit cards are still there.

Liberalism leads only to ruin.  It teaches the simple-minded masses that the world owes them a living, that government has endless free stuff to hand out, that there are no consequences to living like the proverbial drunken sailor.  Right now the French and Greek voters are like drug addicts; they don't care if stealing the rent money from mom's purse will result in homelessness, they must have that heroin hit RIGHT NOW.  Let tomorrow take care of itself.

Hmm, if the Left was to have a motto, that would be it.  Let tomorrow take care of itself.

I am almost at the point where I have concluded that democracy doesn't work, at least not in its present form.  Critics of democracy point out that it carries the seeds of its own destruction, and perhaps that is an accurate observation.  Democracy is the rule of the mob, and mobs are extremist and psychotic.  The French peasants who stormed the Bastille were such a mob.  Instead of celebrating July 14th as Bastille Day, it should be a day of national mourning in France.  It was a day when madness replaced civilization.

Perhaps democracy could work, if there were legally enforceable bars to leftism, liberalism and socialism.  Some examples might be (1) allowing only those who own property to vote (as in the early days of our founding); (2) allowing only those who are self supporting to vote; (3) assessing an equal tax on everyone, including the so-called poor, i.e. by a flat tax on gross income, so that those who vote for higher taxes will feel the effects of it in their own pocketbooks.  When people are spending their own money, rather than someone else's, they tend to be a lot more conservative.

In Western Civilization, our societies have devolved, thanks to "progressive" politics, to a self-consuming, self-destructing mob.  Ruin is inevitable.  This is not what the Founding Fathers intended.  They did not intend to establish a mobocracy, but a Constitutional Republic, wherein the rights and property of the individual were protected against the caprice of the mob, where even the majority is limited in what it can do.

Many Jews Preparing to Leave France for Israel

Far left Francois Hollande has many ties to anti-Israeli populations, and as a result many Jews are now preparing to leave France for Israel.

Breitbart says:

According to the Jewish Agency for Israel, over 5,000 Jews from throughout France attended a fair in the heart of Paris about immigrating to Israel. The fair was attended by the Chairman of the Jewish Agency, former member of Knesset, Soviet expatriate and dissident Natan Sharansky. “I cannot recall having seen such a massive number of people interested in aliyah [immigration] since the days when lines of people stretched out of the Israeli embassy in Moscow,” said Sharansky. The fair took place the same day as the election that rousted Nicholas Sarkozy, a reliable anti-Iran voice in Europe, from power, replacing him with the far less reliable Francois Hollande, a socialist with heavy ties to anti-Israel populations.

Francistan now is on the verge of becoming both a collectivst, Islamic cesspool.

Read it all here. 

I am happy I was able to visit France in 2007, while it was still part of Western Civilization.

French"citizens" expressed their enthusiasm after the results with red flags and flags from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, and "Palestine" (See photo above).

Carlos Perera, Hispanic-American, Tells Why He Doesn't Like Cinco de Mayo

Carlos presented these thoughts in a comment, but they are so good I decided to make them a full-fledged article in Saber Point. His quote in the blue field below is worth quoting again and again.

*********

Though Hispanic myself--even if not a Mexican-American, rather a Cuban-America, which tends to come with a completely different worldview--I must say the whole Cinco de Mayo thing peeves me somewhat. Some of that irritation has to do with the somewhat ersatz nature of the holiday, which, I am sure you know, is not a big one in Mexico proper, at least outside the town of Puebla, which, my Mexican-from-Mexico acquaintances tell me, does go whole-hog in celebrating it. 

All right, I admit my cavils at the lack of historical perspective are sheer petulance on my part. What does bother me much more is that Cinco de Mayo has increasingly become a celebration of Mexican-racialist irredentism--the whole La Raza-Aztlan thing--instead of the feel-good, healthy-ethnic-pride holiday that I remember Mexican-Americans celebrating in my youth. The change in perspective has not been good for the health of the American body politic; ethnics should, when in the public forum, not displace American traditions and symbols with those of their ancestral homelands. That is not just bad manners, if unchecked it can lead to the eventual balkanization of the society.

Face it: what is most valuable about American culture has been inherited from Anglo-Saxon civilization, going back at least as far as the common law and equity courts of Henry II. The real genius of the American melting pot was to turn all immigrants and their descendants, whatever their ethnic provenance, into civic Anglo-Saxons, with all that implies in terms of respect for the rule of law, the probity of elections, respect for individual rights, etc. Thus, men with last names as diverse and un-Anglo-Saxon as LaGuardia, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Cardozo, Nixon, Dukakis, and, yes, even Schwarzenegger (I know--I was disappointed in him too!) could become important American political and juridical figures, in the Anglo-Saxon civilizational mold.

Shut Up, Schwarzennegger

The big blowhard Arnold Schwarzenneger, who as Republican governor of California became a lap-dog for the far left Democrats, is now opining on what's wrong with the Republican Party.  According to this blowhard, who quickly sold out every Republican principle as soon as he got to Sacramento, the GOP is "rigidly ideological" and more wedded to dogma than finding solutions to problems.  Or so he says in the Los Angeles Times column "GOP, take down that small tent."

This isn't a new phenomenon.  Other failed Republicans, seeking to curry favor with the liberal media or the Democrat powers-that-be, begin to talk like Democrats.  They repeat Democrat talking points as if they were great insights and true wisdom.  Colin Powell is a case in point.  Both of them agree with Meghan McCain, a really airhead blonde and daughter of another failed Republican, John McCain:  in order for the GOP to win elections, it must become a carbon-copy of the Democrats.  I disagree.

Yes, Arnie, we are rigidly wedded to such dogma as balanced budgets, living within your means, being friendly to businesses and jobs and prosperity, and not chasing every really stupid far-left idea that comes down the pike -- like gay marriage, global warming, laws enforcing transgender equality, what Sacto considers a proper diet, and what propaganda should be included in school textbooks.  Really solving California's problems would include a major decrease in spending, reigning in the public sector unions who are strangling the state, lowering taxes and less red tape -- all of which you failed miserably to do.

So how are we faring after eight years of this counterfeit conservative?  The state is more socialist than ever, sinking in oceans of red ink, its economy is a basket case and the Golden State the laughing stock of the world.  So much for Arnie's openness, his willingness to be flexible on policy, his urgent need to bend over whenever the Democrats in Sacto asked him to.

I voted for Arnie twice, but it was a mistake.  After his second term, I decided I would never vote for him again for any office, any time.

So to your latest vanity piece, in which you pose and posture as some great man of enlightenment, I can only say this:

SHUT THE HELL UP, SCHWARZENNEGER.   Idiocy doesn't sound any better though an Austrian accent.

"Atlas Shrugged" the Movie Part II Due Out in October 2012: Too Late for France But Not the USA!

Some good news:  they finished Part II of the movie "Atlas Shrugged," based on the novel by Ayn Rand.  I really enjoyed the book and I watched the movie, Part I on Netflicks.  I thought the film was true to the book and well made.

Now it has been announced that Part II of the film will be due in theaters in October 2012 -- just in time for the presidential elections!  Great timing.

You can learn more about the movie and get on their newsletter list at the site "Who Is John Galt?"

"Atlas Shrugged" is a novel written in 1957 by libertarian Ayn Rand, a refugee from communist Russia.  She was an ardent believer in free market capitalism and limited government, but she was not your average conservative.  Rand was an atheist who opposed American intervention in the Korean and Viet Nam wars, even though she hated communism for the brutal evil that it was.

"Who is John Galt?" is a famous line from the novel; supposedly it became a popular saying meaning "Who knows?"  The saying existed only in the novel but has since become a kind of motto for free market capitalists who oppose socialism and government intervention into the marketplace.

John Galt was a capitalist character in the novel, who became disgusted with endless government meddling and intervention in the economy, so he drops out of the economy, stops producing goods and services.  He then starts his own private society, hidden in the mountains of Colorado, where pure capitalism reigns.  He encourages other capitalists to drop out as well, and soon captains of industry are disappearing along with the wealth they produce.  This causes great consternation among the socialists and statists in government, because if no one produces the wealth, there is nothing to appropriate or redistribute.

Today, in our increasingly socialist economy, the producers are dropping out.  Not to join private societies in the mountains, but to either take their productivity elsewhere or slow or even stop producing.  When this happens, they say that "Atlas is Shrugging" -- a reference to the mythical Atlas who held the world on his shoulders until he said to hell with it and let the orb free fall.

Currently, pundits are wondering if the French rich will cross the Channel and move to England or elsewhere, to prevent the new Bolsheviks from appropriating their wealth.  With regard to France we may ask, "Will Atlas shrug?"

Hollande, Captain of the Titanic?

Here's an excellent Photoshop from France, regarding the recent election of socialist Francois Hollande as President of France (and Captain of the Titanic?).

It reads:  CAPTAIN OF TITANIC - Ready for Departure?

Ah yes, French voters.  Enjoy your voyage...to the bottom.

French Electorate: "Socialism Has Never Worked, Let's Give It Another Try!"

France has again shot itself in the foot by electing a socialist president in Francois Hollande. This French conservative cartoon tells the story. It reads: "The catastrophe was announced 3,000 years ago. The Mayans were right!"   The Mayan reference is to the ancient Mayan calendar which foretold the end of the world in 2012.

Yes, people are basically greedy and lazy...they want what others produce. They want free stuff. They are always in search of economic perpetual motion, in which lots of goodies flow from the destruction of the goodie-makers, productivity is punished and sloth rewarded.  They never seem to learn: If you want more you must produce more.  That would, however, require work.

Barack Obama Begins Re-Election Campaign to Overflow Crowd! (Photoshop)

I am such an awful liar.  Here's the real story of Obama's enthusiastic fan base as he begins efforts to convince the American voter that poverty is a good thing!

If you like this graphic, feel free to republish on your site.

Photograph of Big Foot: REAL OR FAKED? You Decide!

I was inspired to go looking for Big Foot after watching the 998th episode of "Hunting for Big Foot" on television tonight.  998 episodes, and they ain't found him yet.  Just a lot of weeds and mountainous terrain and guys in plaid shirts saying "There Be Squatch in These Woods!"

Now Big Foot is also known as Sasquatch, or if you are on really close terms with him, you can call him "Squatch" like they do on the TV show.  Yep, if you don't know Big Foot, you don't know Squatch.  Heh heh, a little humor there.

Since the makers of the program still haven't found the hairy monster, I decided to take my digital camera into the woods and capture an image of ol' Sasquatch himself.

Well it didn't take long.  I just called out "heeeere Biggy Foot Foot Foot" and before you knew it, there he was.    He was nice enough to pose for a picture for me.  Now this is the most realistic image of Big Foot seen to date.  The image is copyrighted, but you can republish it for only $10,000 for each showing.  Contact my agent.

P.S.  We accountants get a bit silly after the tax season ends.

"No God But Allah" Advertisement on Dollar Bills

It appears that Muslims have found a new way to advertise their religion: on the backs of dollar bills. Bills have been found in circulation with a rubber stamped message on the back: "No God But Allah." Personally I think they just got the message garbled. It should read "No God Named Allah!"

Crazy California Assesses Tax For Whimiscal and Frivolous Reasons

California:  We Know We Should Leave But She's Just Too Darned Pretty

I live in crazy California.  If California were a person instead of a bastion of liberal bombast and baloney, it would be assessed as insane and locked in a padded cell for its own protection.

Of course, California is amazingly beautiful.  So if it were a crazy person, it would be a beautiful woman in a bikini, perhaps one who hides a meat cleaver under the bed so after making love to you, she then executes you with a couple of hard whacks.

Let me explain why I think that.

As a tax accountant, I and my associates have witnessed some shockingly despotic behavior on the part of the Franchise Tax Board (California's version of the Gestapo IRS).  Let me give you a real life example.

A client didn't file a California individual tax return a couple of years back.  He wasn't required to file, because he had no income.  However, he did have a mortgage, which he continued to pay from his savings.  The FTB traced his mortgage statement and found that he didn't file a return.  So, putting two and two together and getting fourteen, the FTB figured he must have had income in order to pay the mortgage.  So they divided their license plate by their address and multiplied the result by their telephone number, and voila!  They came up with a theoretical number of income that this man must have earned in order to pay the mortgage.  They assessed a big tax, and proceeded to levy his wages (since he did gain employment in the years after the tax year in question).

My associate called the Franchise Tax Board and asked them why they levied the man's wages for a tax he didn't owe.  They explained their wild imaginings to my associate.  She asked, "So you just made up a number??"  The FTB representative said, "Well yes, that's about it."

My associate has prepared the missing tax return to prove that the man didn't owe any money in the first place.  The Franchise Tax Board then promised to refund his money.

The moral of this story is to always check under the bed for meat cleavers before making love to beautiful women.  They can be insane.  Like California.

Cinco de Mayo!! Hola, Hispanics!

Ah, it's that storied day of celebration of a Mexican victory over the French, Cinco de Mayo.

Good thing it falls on a weekend, otherwise lots of high school students wearing American flag t-shirts would be scolded and sent home.

Just for the record, I have come to know a lot of Hispanics, many of them from Mexico, here in Hollister.  For the most part, they are very good people:  hard workers, good friends, good neighbors, and good customers.  When they learn that I am studying Spanish, that I think Spanish is a beautiful language, and that Hispanic culture has a lot of worth and beauty, they respond with warmth and friendship.  I don't view Hispanics as "the enemy."  Some are, most are not.

My Spanish teacher at Gavilan College and I have become rather close friends.

Do you know that I can sing "Besame Mucho" and "Cielito Lindo" completely in Spanish?  Also "Rancho Grande" and some other tunes.  When I sing these songs, the alley cats of Hollister join me in the chorus until someone calls the police.  It's fun anyway.

Does this mean that I support illegal immigration?  Not on your life.  But the great majority of Hispanics I have met over the past year are here legally.

One more thing:  Hispanic women are hot, hot, hot!!  Just the facts, ma'am, that's all.

Yes, race is often important -- but it is not all-important.  Keep things in perspective.

Pretty Girl, Weird Swimsuit

From OMG, a series of photos called "What Were They Thinking?" I liked this one best. Although I heartily approve of the contents, the packaging looks downright uncomfortable.

World Renowned Neurosurgeon Doesn't Believe In Evolution

Dr. Ben Carson

Dr. Ben Carson has a sterling reputation as a surgeon and an inspiring personal story to boot.  He is to give a commencement address at Emory University in Atlanta.

However, academicians are in a lather when it was revealed that Dr. Carson doesn't believe in evolution.  A very devout man, Dr. Carson's views are apparently based on his religious beliefs.   The biology professors at Emory are quite upset.  Whatever happened to Group Think?  So what do you do with a black man who isn't solidly rooted in the liberal plantation?

I don't care what the good doctor believes about evolution (I have serious doubts about it myself).  However, it is amazing to me how the Biology professors at Emory are all in a lather because someone holds a different belief than they do.

Read more about it here.

The Message of the Occupy Protestors

The real message of the occupy-poopers is this:  WAAAH!  I WANT FREE STUFF! I WANT TO BE SUPPORTED!  Sniff, sniff!  I want to be shielded from personal responsibility and accountability!  GIMME GIMME GIMME!!

I am up here next to the SF Airport but haven't seen any over-aged crybabies yet.

I also forgot my laptop this trip so can only post intermittantly on this old desktop here.  Nuts.