And It Happened Peacefully

I guess the fact that things like this take place in Iraq is something else we can blame on Bush.  How come the new president doesn't care to acknowledge it? Hmm...

Newest Toy

Yeah, I just had to do it before my Constitutional right to do so no longer exists. It's a 1971 Browning A-5 Light 12 made in Belgium.  Pretty sweet!  I'm going to take it here to try it out pretty soon.

She likes to pose!

I like my new toy

Be sure to read the next post, too.  I know that's two posts very close together, but I'm trying to make up some since I've not written in nearly a week.  Oh yeah, Sarah (BC's twin sister) is visiting us right now and wanted to be mentioned on here.  We've been having a lot of fun, but I think I have to take her shopping in a bit since Betty Clair is at work and not able to do so herself.  Those twins sure are good at getting what they want!

What If...

Imagine that Obama did not win the election in November.  Instead, imagine that the country elected a man or woman who secretly hated America.  

Let's assume this new "president" had such a strong disdain for the country that his only reason for being in office was to cause as much damage as possible while the opportunity was available.  This person would immediately set forth with an extreme agenda that would  cripple the economy and weaken our military defense. Perhaps, he might even be open to the idea of simply killing millions of innocent Americans every year.

Now that you have an idea of this person in your head, can you think of any way at all the policies of a genocidal maniac such as this would differ from those of Obama himself?

First of all, this $819 billion tax theft in which he takes so much pride is just the type of thing our worst enemy would like to see happen to our country.  We will be so preoccupied spending gross amounts of taxpayer dollars with unnecessary construction projects and bailing out ACORN that we won't have any money left to stop a silly terrorist attack.  It's very likely that ol' Bin Laden is getting pretty excited in some cave right about now.  Then again, Bin Laden is just one little guy over there... or is his capture the only measure of success?  Obama kept changing his mind so much on that topic that I don't remember which is true.

Secondly, his promises (a.k.a. threats) to weaken our defense system are also the same type of thing that the other person I described would plan to do with the position Obama now holds.  Unless you've been living under a bridge in India, you're well aware by now that he doesn't plan to keep military funding at its current level.  See video.  I'm just hoping he is not a man of his word, because some of those promises he has made are quite frightening.  Then again, his message is sometimes hard to pick up on because everything he says is so pretty that I just get overwhelmed by it all.

I'm going to assume you already know what I'm referring to when I mention his openness to killing innocent Americans.  If not, then I'll just let you know I'm hitting on the abortion issue again.  Just like an America-hating tyrant, his conscience seems to find nothing wrong at all with the mass murder of the most helpless Americans of all.  How a man with this view can ever be considered compassionate is far beyond my comprehension.  But, I guess I'm just a dumb guy from Alabama.

More Change

Another fine use of your tax dollars (click here)... especially considering the economic "crisis!"  Need I even discuss how asinine it is to shut down Guantanamo Bay?  I miss W.

Ski NC '09

Since I now have the ski trip pictures uploaded to the computer, I figured I could post an update about how the trip went.

The six of us (Britt, Katie, Trey, Laura Beth, Betty Clair, and myself) all arrived on Friday night and made out our plans for the next day over a thrilling game of Cranium.  These plans mainly consisted of sleeping late, eating a late breakfast, and making it to the slopes when we felt like it.  So, after lunch on Saturday we were finally energized enough to get properly equipped and dressed to give this skiing thing a shot.

Just as a background note, every girl on the trip had more individual experience with skiing than all the guys had combined.  It was actually the first attempt ever for Britt and myself.

Getting on with the story, my first trip down the mountain wasn't very enjoyable.  After falling on my face a mere 912 times, I wasn't feeling very confident I would enjoy this new activity.  However, after each consecutive trip up the ski lift and back down the mountain, I grew more comfortable in my ability to handle this task.  At the end of the day, I was flying down the mountain past my companions who apparently stopped to watch in amazement.  It was even reported that there were comment such as, "Was that Ross?"  The answer to this question was, of course, "Yes."  I'm sure it was hard to recognize me, though, as I probably just appeared to be a red blur.

Okay, that probably sounds a bit exaggerated, but I actually did catch on to the whole skiing thing rather quickly and was able to beat everyone of my fellow travelers down the mountain with ease by the end of the day.  That doesn't mean I still wasn't falling on my face in my speedy efforts, however.  My quickest run of the day was the only one that caused me injury since I still have this habit developed in childhood of sticking my tongue out when concentrating.  This habit didn't lead to nice results when a fall caused my left knee to slam against my chin, causing me to bite my tongue, and subsequently leaving my DNA all over the fresh snow.  I'm just calling that little mess "leaving my mark."

In all, everyone seemed to really enjoy the trip.  We were even contemplating things we could do for our next endeavor, such as a cruise, a beach trip, or returning to Maggie Valley in the Summer for white water rafting and fishing.

Okay, I'm tired of writing and I probably need to get on with my day.  Check out the pictures below, though.  I apologize for not having this post more consolidated and organized.  I'm still trying to figure out all the intricacies of working the Mac.

Pictures from Ski NC '09

Our cabin... not really.  They did have Lincoln Logs there, though!

This was actually our cabin.  BC did a nice job picking it out.

Me standing on the ice in the river.

Me and Trey hanging out on the big rock.

Me and BC waiting in line at Cataloochee Ski Area

Still waiting...

Yes, the snow was coming down pretty good when we were leaving.

The cute couples back at the cabin

Everyone showing off in the hot tub.  

I'd never been in a hot tub when it was snowing.  Kind of cool!

The view from the big rock on our last day

Pomposity

Is there anything at all this guy does that doesn't just reek of elitism.  It makes me feel nauseated.  Just check out some of the pictures.

We'll start with the classic "Obama Chin-lift."  This just seems to happen way too often.  I mean, I know he looks down on people like me, but he could at least try to hide it a little better.

I'm not even sure what's going on here.  Definitely doesn't look very "down to earth," though.

And this?  Who wears jeans and tucks in their POLO shirt when riding a bike?  This is the first time I've ever seen it.  At least the bike doesn't have the little frilly things on the handlebars.

Yet another first for me.  Wearing pants while playing basketball?  Not something a grown man should do.  I've only seen 6-year-olds do that.  Heck, he's not even looking at the goal here.  What kind of shot is this?  Furthermore, he's wearing running shoes.  Shouldn't he be worried about breaking an ankle with his wicked moves?

Even the old white dude looks more like he knows what he's doing than B. Hussein, who is again wearing pants.  I guess he is a bit ashamed of his chicken legs.

A Momentous Occasion

Today, a remarkable and exciting thing happened in America.  No, I'm not talking about about B. Hussein Obama getting inaugurated.  The adjectives I use for that event are actually tragic and devastating.  There was another event that took place today that has been a long time coming.  Betty Clair and I have anticipated this moment for months.  

At approximately 2:32 p.m. central standard time, I put her car through yet another emissions test, which it had failed yet again last week.  This time, however, it passed with flying colors and we will finally be allowed to get her a Tennessee car tag.  It only took several months of mechanic work and hundred of dollars to get to this point.  (Thank you again for your influence, Mr. Gore.)

Inaugurating the Anointed One

Another example of American tax dollars hard at work...

Now, I'm off to North Carolina for a little ski trip.  Be back next week!

The Maids

I know this story is a couple of days old, but I saw it again today and it still makes me want to vomit.  Some people just need to get over themselves!

O' Christmas Tree

It seems the country (or at least a sample consisting of the people that read this blog) can not come to a conclusion as to which is better, real or artificial Christmas trees.  This being the case, and with my lofty position as author of the blog, I have decided to cast the deciding vote.  All things being considered, I officially declare that real Christmas trees are better.  End of Debate... unless you want to leave comments defending your position and try to change my mind.  Be warned... that's not an easy thing to do.

Shock and Awe

I knew it was going to happen.  It was obvious from the beginning.  I even told Betty Clair exactly how it would play out.

Don't know what I'm talking about?  I'm referring to the reactions of democrats in Congress to the appointments of Roland Burris to the Senate and later Leon Panetta as CIA director.  Allow me to elaborate a little.

I'll start with Rod Blagojevich's selection of Roland Burris for the vacant Illinois Senate seat left by PEBO.  At first, Congressional leaders were shocked (note the title) that the dirtbag governor would exercise his power and proceed with this appointment during such controversial times.  They promised to refuse to seat Burris because his selection would be so tainted.  With such turmoil and controversy surrounding his appointment, democrat leaders like Harry Reid wanted to be sure to show the country that they in no way wanted to be part of such egregious dealings.  However, they have recently backed off a bit from these threats because, in reality, these types of dealings don't bother their conscience at all.  They just want you to think that.  Truth be known, they're just glad to have another liberal goofball in the Senate.  That's why their "shock" seems to have toned down so much over the past few days and transformed into a sense of "awe."  Harry Reid now even refers to Burris as "extremely nice."It was all just a show to make the country think they were opposed to corrupt, amoral scenarios such as this, although it is their normal method of conducting business.

The scene has pretty much played out the same way for Leon Panetta and his being named CIA director.  Republicans are outraged, as they should be, because the guy has no experience in intelligence and is way too soft in the way he has promised to treat terrorists who might have some information on pending attacks.  Democrats pretend to be disappointed also due to his lack of experience in this field, but deep down they're actually excited because now the government will probably free all the captured terrorists in Guantanamo and maybe even give them jobs here in America.  Hopefully they're union jobs.  I wouldn't want them to not get paid when a plant is shut down.  How could they send money back home to fund jihad?  I actually think Panetta's technique for getting info out of Muslim terrorists might be to tickle them.  Then the rest of the world might not think we're so mean here in America.  Isn't that all we want anyway... to be liked by everyone else?

I have to wrap this up now because I'm being pressed by my wife to go get some dinner.  Forgive me if it seems less organized than usual.  I didn't get a good chance to proofread.

Some Sports Stuff

College Football

Okay, so Florida won the national championship game last night, but are they undoubtedly the best team in the country and most deserving of this reward?  I honestly don't know, and I don't think anyone can say for sure.

I'm well aware of the fact that I'm not making some remarkable revelation here by saying that the BCS is flawed, but something has really got to change with the way it all works.  This year laid out an ideal scenario to show just how weak it really is.  With an undefeated Utah and three more one-loss teams, it can in no way be truly stated who is the best team in the country.  USC and Texas both have legitimate arguments as to why they could claim the title of number one, and Utah may have an even more valid point since they never lost a single game.

Unfortunately, it still looks like things won't be changing anytime soon because this system makes the NCAA a whole lot of money and we know that's all that really matters.  

My thoughts on this issue do at least give me one thing in common with PEBO.  However, I think his comments are only being made in an effort to make him look more like a guy and not such a little girl.  (I've decided to use the term PEBO for the nomenclature of B. Hussein Obama until he is actually inaugurated later this month.  Why?  I just think it sounds funny.)

There are a couple of things that I do think are irrefutable as the football season comes to a close this year.  1)  Tim Tebow is one of the best college football players of all time.  Two National Championships and a Heisman Trophy (should also have two of those) look pretty impressive on a player's record.  2)  Both Oklahoma and Ohio State were again overrated by the media, and it was proven so as they both lost their respective bowl games again this year.

Now, I'm just wondering when Alabama will claim another national championship from this season as they so love to do when other teams finish with better records and higher rankings.

Major League Baseball

On a disappointing note, it looks like John Smoltz (probably my favorite baseball player of all time) will no longer be playing for the team I've pulled for since childhood.  The Atlanta Braves ultimately decided not to offer him a contract that was comparable to other offers he received, so he signed a 1-year deal to become a member of the Boston Red Sox, yesterday.  Chipper Jones was also a bit frustrated when he heard the news.  Here's a quite from the interview in the link.  

We've made so many gambles on players that haven't panned out over the past few years and if there was one guy in that clubhouse that I'm going to gamble a couple of million dollars on, it's going to be that guy.

I can't help but agree with Chipper on that one.

Barkley the Bum

This guy makes a good point... click here.

Bubble What?

This past Thursday night, Betty Clair and I went out for a drive to find a new place to try for dinner.  What we eventually found was a place called Elena's Cafe east of here in Brentwood.  It was a rather unique little restaurant that served a few foreign dishes I didn't recognize or even care to consider.  As you could probably guess, BC was a little more adventurous with her meal selection and decided to eat some kind of wrap, while I went with the more traditional dish of chicken alfredo.  (I did eat a salad, though).  

But neither her wrap or my salad were the most unique parts of the dining experience.  The owner there offered us a sample of something interesting called bubble tea.  He explained to us that is a new type of drink that originated somewhere overseas (my words, not his) and is growing in popularity here in America.  There are a few different versions of the drink, but the smoothie was the variety we were given the opportunity to try.  I will admit it was very tasty, but I have to point out the most distinct characteristic of these drinks.

Mixed with your drink, be it the smoothie or whatever, are little, gelatinous tapioca bubbles at the bottom of the cup that are apparently meant to be sucked up through the straw.  They are about the size of a small marble and, as you can imagine, require rather large straws to transport them from the cup to your mouth.  One place here in Nashville that specializes in these drinks is actually called Fat Straw after the utensils needed to enjoy this delicacy.

After enjoying our free sample, we decided to go back and purchase an entire drink to give it a legitimate shot.  Our sample was a kiwi smoothie, so we chose the peach smoothie to share on the ride back home.  The smoothie part was very delicious, and the bubbles (a.k.a. pearls) were kind of fun to suck up and chew on like gummy bears.  There did seem to be too many of them in our drink, though, as it became almost tedious to chew enough bubbles just so we could savor the drink itself.  Maybe he was just trying to make our first experience with bubble tea really fun.

To be honest, I did rather enjoy the drink.  I am definitely planning on going back to Elena's to try another one sometime soon.  I'll probably just ask him to go easy on the bubbles this time, though.

Side Note:  I am probably way behind on this phenomenon, but it was new to me... so don't make fun!  At least I was trying something new.

Side Note #2:  Check out what I was able to get early on Wednesday because Kroger doesn't know how to wait until the release date, i.e., January 6!  Very Cool!

New Links Added

I added a couple of new sites to my list of "Sites I Visit on a Regular Basis."  See them?  Over there on the right ---->

The first one deals with global warming.  It's listed under Dr. Roy Spencer.  It contains a blog, some articles, and other information.  His blog post from today is pretty funny.

I also added a link to Macho Sauce Productions.  I check this one regularly to see if there is anything new to watch.  It's a site made by Alfonzo Rachel and contains a lot of his videos that address various political and religious topics.  The video work seems a bit amateur, but he makes a lot of good points if you take the time to listen.

I also put up a new survey that I stole from Laura Ingraham's site.  Be sure to vote in mine!  It's also over there on the right. ---->

Hope you enjoy!

Happy New Year!