Friday, September 30, 2005

Importing products:good, exporting services: bad. Or is it the other way around?

This opinion piece from The Economist clears some of the fog, and dispels some myths about the US reduction in manufacturing employment. The Economist makes the case that, ultimately, this is good for our economy, and we're still more productive than anywhere else -- even China. The real problem? Change is always scary, and leads to bad economic policy if we're not careful. Thanks to Daniel Drezner's Blog for pointing this one out.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Things that Offend Islam

ChronWatch has this, which I found kind of interesting. This is illustrates what indignation, carried to an extreme, can lead to. (Take note, members of the PC crowd).

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Deconstructing the Blame Game

From TheAtlasphere.com, an Objectivist/Ayn Rand oriented site I've recently discovered, Peter de Jager discusses how the "let's just move on" proponents try to avoid blame for their own benefit and everyone else's peril.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Stopping Comment Spam

Just when I thought blogging was fun again, I started getting comments that were actually spam messages. Cute. These people have no shame at all. Anyway, I activated Blogger's word verification feature to see if this solves the problem (it should.)

Dave (as Nicky, aka Maynard G. Krebs). Posted by Picasa

Talashia and Elmer -- casting a spell... Posted by Picasa

Talashia and Lance... Posted by Picasa

Lance, Talashia and Paul Posted by Picasa

Geneele, Talashia & Dave -- doing "magic..."  Posted by Picasa

Here are a few of the BBC pix. Geneele here... Posted by Picasa

Curtain Closed

Bell, Book and Candle, the show I just recently directed, closed last weekend. Wish more people had seen it. It was good. We had respectable audiences but no sellouts, unfortunately. The cast and crew was great fun to work with. Photos are at the Elkhart Civic Theatre web site, in the photos section.

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Hitchens/Galloway Debate

Hear it or see it at Democracy Now. Hitchens makes the cogent, reasonable, yet passionate case FOR the war in Iraq and the positive outcomes of it. Galloway just blares leftist/socialist invective. It's hard to doubt who makes most rational case.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005


Another nice shot in the southern end of the Napa Valley. Posted by Picasa

Here I am suffering mightily in the wind near the bridge. Posted by Picasa

From the Sausalito side of the Golden Gate. It was cold and windy up there, but the fog rolling over the cliffs was spectacular, as is the bridge from this angle. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, September 15, 2005


Another roadside shot Posted by Picasa

The source of it all Posted by Picasa

Conn Creek near Napa Posted by Picasa

Near St. Helena, California Posted by Picasa

Now Entering Napa Valley Posted by Picasa

Roadside North of Napa Posted by Picasa

Napa Valley -- looks and smells like God's country to me...

Here are a few shots I took yesterday morning driving up and back down the Napa Valley. Kind of a gray day, but the scenery is still pretty nice. More to come, probably.

Friday, September 9, 2005

Second amendment takes another hit in NOLA.

This from a story in BREITBART.COM:
On Thursday, in the city's well-to-do Lower Garden District, a neighborhood with many antebellum mansions, members of the Oklahoma National Guard seized weapons from the inhabitants of one home. Those who were armed were handcuffed and briefly detained before being let go.
"No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons," Deputy Chief of Police Riley said.
It seems to me that being able to defend one's home is exactly WHY we have the second amendment. Disarming law-abiding citizens in an area where looting is likely enables criminals and denies rights to the good guys. Arrest people who commit crimes, not those who are simply defending themselves in a situation where police are helpless.

Thursday, September 8, 2005

Iraq isn't Viet Nam

Peter Kann, in OpinionJournal today, tells why.

Wednesday, September 7, 2005

And, speaking of despicable ...

There's this on BREITBART.COM: "Dean: Race Played a Role in Katrina Deaths."
"We must ... come to terms with the ugly truth that skin color, age and economics played a deadly role in who survived and who did not," Dean said.
Howard Dean has always struck me, from the way he tosses out little jabs-as-fact during whatever media face-time he gets, as an unfunny smart-ass. The jerk who can't quite control his mouth. This, however, is race-baiting of the worst sort, untrue, inflammatory and what's more, cruel to the people it's supposedly designed to champion. Dean was, of course, speaking to a largely black audience. To tell people a lie like this is incredibly unfair and insulting to them, not to mention the fact that it simply fuels race hatred. Is this what Dean truly wants?

And, by the way, what does he MEAN, "come to terms"? Does this mean we're just supposed to believe this drivel is true? I don't think I'd actually know if I "came to terms" with something, because the phrase is so hackneyed it's meaningless to me. This guy SHOULD be considered an embarassment to the Democratic Party, but apparently they like him. How politically desperate do you have to be to put up with this?

The article also reports: "Dean said Americans have a moral responsibility to not ignore the devastating damage caused by Hurricane Katrina when it struck the Gulf Coast."

Well no damn kidding. Has anyone said we SHOULD ignore it? The implication is that SOMEone (obviously George Bush) WANTS to ignore it. Again, another cruel lie. The people of New Orleans were FIRST let down by their incompetent city government and indecisive state government. Was the MAYOR wanting to let blacks, the poor and the elderly die?

He also goes on to say that tax cuts (for the "rich," of course) should be cancelled -- "Shall we give that to the wealthiest people in the country, or should we rebuild New Orleans?" he parrots. As if this is the choice we have (it's not). A strong economy, stimulated by tax cuts (for all taxpayers) will do more to help Gulf Coast recovery than any amount of Howard's histrionics.

Democrats wonder why they're not in the majority anymore. It's because they keep letting destructive dimwits like Howard Dean speak for them.

Yahoo Helped China Jail Journalist

If this is true, it's despicable.

Monday, September 5, 2005

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