Set Um Up Joe

Welcome to Utah - set your clocks back 24 years.

When you are having a glass of wine with dinner think of what state you could be in.

Bad year for wine license plates in Utah

Law banning alcohol terms leaves merlot fan with bad taste in his mouth

SALT LAKE CITY - Merlot can be a variety of grape or a type of red wine, but not an acceptable personalized license plate in the state of Utah.

Glenn Eurick’s 1996 Mercedes has had the license plate reading “merlot” for 10 years. He says the plate never got a lot of notice until the Utah Tax Commission told him last week that he had to remove it because the state doesn’t allow words of intoxicant to be used on vanity plates.

Six or seven-letter words like liquor or whiskey probably wouldn’t make it through the state screening process before the plates are issued. But merlot did and Eurick was fine until an anonymous caller told the state that merlot was also an alcoholic beverage.

Eurick’s car with the offending plate is dark red, like the wine.

Sounds like sour grapes to me!!

OK, in Utah why did the offended anonymous caller think of wine instead of grapes?

No church member in Utah knows what wine is, well unless they went on a mission in which case they were well aquatinted with wine prior to their mission!!




Party on Dude:

'Gin and Tonic' Bandit Arrested

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A scofflaw who came to be known as the gin and tonic bandit went to the same restaurant each Wednesday, ordered two drinks and a rib-eye steak, then skipped out on his $25.96 bill.

Each Wednesday night for four weeks running, the same man came into the same O'Charley's restaurant and ordered the two drinks and the steak,

At the end of each meal, the wait staff would present him with his bill for $25.96, and he would excuse himself to use the restroom, then skip out without paying.

His dining, drinking and dashing days may be over.

When his server presented the bill, he again claimed he needed to use the bathroom.

But when he walked out of the restaurant, four employees were waiting for him.


Hee hee, there must have been a group of well-educated employees at that restaurant that it took them that long to stop the guy!!




I gotta get drunk and I sure do dread it:

Beer, Bubbles, and the Perfect Pint Formula

CHICAGO - A mathematical formula can now predict how the frothy head on a beer changes over time, a finding that may have a wide range of commercial uses beyond pulling the perfect pint, U.S. researchers said.

The formula explains how the tiny bubbles that make up foam grow -- an explanation that could lead to the development of products such as metal shrink wrap.

The possibilities include "the heat treatment of metals or even controlling (the) head on a pint of beer," Robert MacPherson of The Institute for Advanced Study in New Jersey, and David Srolovitz of Yeshiva University in New York report in the journal Nature.

Foam is made up of many tiny bubbles that scientists think of as cells with boundaries. The new formula calculates how these microstructures grow.

These tiny structures or grains are abundant in nature, making up the foam on a beach or the pebble in your shoe. They also can be found in man-made materials such as ceramics or metals.

"What the theory does is it tells you how the size of every single bubble will evolve in time," Srolovitz said in a telephone interview.

David Kinderlehrer, a mathematician at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, said the finding will help materials scientists concoct a number of newfangled materials by rearranging the grains in various materials using computer simulation.

You see, beer is good for a lot of things.

Watching sporting events, relaxing after a hard day at the office, cooking, makes an introvert an extrovert and as we all know, after enough of them it improves ones looks.

Now even the scientists are on board with beer. I can see them all now at the bars talking to each other about the size of their bubbles.




Finally some good news from Washington:

Fruity Cocktails Count as Health Food

WASHINGTON - A fruity cocktail may not only be fun to drink but may count as health food, U.S. and Thai researchers said on Thursday.


Researchers discover adding alcohol to fruit increases the antioxidant nutrients.
The study did not address whether adding a little cocktail umbrella enhanced the effects.

Adding ethanol -- the type of alcohol found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits -- boosted the antioxidant nutrients in strawberries and blackberries, the researchers found.

Any colored fruit might be made even more healthful with the addition of a splash of alcohol, they report in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

Any colored fruit or vegetable is rich in antioxidants, which are chemicals that can cancel out the cell-damaging effects of compounds called free radicals.

Berries, for instance, contain compounds known as polyphenols and anthocyanins. People who eat more of these fruits and vegetables have a documented lower risk of cancer, heart disease and some neurological diseases.

Now this has to be the best news ever. The government health gurus and doctors all tell us to eat more fruit.

Now is our chance and no one can say we are bad.

Set um up bartender. Squeeze a quarter glass of juice from the orange and top it off with sloe gin.

For my car, top off my tank with ethanol and for me add a twist of lime to my glass of ethanol-based rum and Coke!!

Wine is from grapes so set me up with a glass of Ripple!!

Forget going to the gym, now you know how to shape up and get healthy, go to the taverns!!!



Come back again tomorrow because you never know when I will have more educational material to assist you.

Let Me Say This About That - Part 2

Welcome back to part 2 of Let Me Say This About That.

Cinch that seat belt a little tighter as we continue.


Yesterday I ended with the story about the professor that was fired for his discussions about the Virginia Tech Massacre.

In that story I told you he talked about the number of soldiers killed in Iraq.


Today let me show you a different prospective from a soldier. For that story I have included rules for flying the American Flag at half staff.

Flying the American Flag at Half Staff
From The 'Celebrating America’s Freedoms’ Series

When should the flag be flown at half-staff?

A relatively easy way to remember when to fly the United States flag at half-staff is to consider when the whole nation is in mourning. These periods of mourning are proclaimed either by the president of the United States, for national remembrance, or the governor of a state or territory, for local remembrance, in the event of a death of a member or former member of the federal, state or territorial government or judiciary. The heads of departments and agencies of the federal government may also order that the flag be flown at half-staff on buildings, grounds and naval vessels under their jurisdiction.

On Memorial day the flag should be flown at half-staff from sunrise until noon only, then raised briskly to the top of the staff until sunset, in honor of the nation's battle heroes.

In the early days of our country, no regulations existed for flying the flag at half-staff and, as a result, there were many conflicting policies. But on March 1, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower issued a proclamation on the proper times.

The flag should fly at half-staff for 30 days at all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and its territories and possessions after the death of the president or a former president. It is to fly 10 days at half-staff after the death of the vice president, the chief justice or a retired chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, or the speaker of the House of Representatives. For an associate justice of the Supreme Court, a member of the Cabinet, a former vice president, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, or the minority leader of the House of Representatives the flag is to be displayed at half-staff from the day of death until interment.

The flag is to be flown at half-staff at all federal buildings, grounds and naval vessels in the Washington, D.C., area on the day and day after the death of a United States senator, representative, territorial delegate, or the resident commissioner from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It shall also be flown at half-staff on all federal facilities in the state, congressional district, territory, or commonwealth of these officials.

Upon the death of the governor of a state, territory or possession, the flag shall be flown at half-staff on all federal facilities in that governor's state, territory or possession from the day of death until interment.

The president may order the flag to be flown at half-staff to mark the death of other officials, former officials, or foreign dignitaries. In addition to these occasions, the president may order half-staff display of the flag after other tragic events.

The flag should be briskly run up to the top of the staff before being lowered slowly to the half-staff position.

OK, now you have an understanding of the proper etiquette for flying the American Flag at half staff.

As a continuation of my two part post about expression and freedom of speech, I submit to you the following story:

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Army sergeant complained in a rare opinion article that the U.S. flag flew at half-staff last week at the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan for those killed at Virginia Tech but the same honor is not given to fallen U.S. troops here and in Iraq.

In the article issued Monday by the public affairs office at Bagram military base north of Kabul, Sgt. Jim Wilt lamented that his comrades' deaths have become a mere blip on the TV screen, lacking the "shock factor" to be honored by the Stars and Stripes as the deaths at Virginia Tech were.

"I find it ironic that the flags were flown at half-staff for the young men and women who were killed at VT, yet it is never lowered for the death of a U.S. service member," Wilt wrote.

He noted that Bagram obeyed President Bush's order last week that all U.S. flags at federal locations be flown at half-staff through April 22 to honor 32 people killed at Virginia Tech by a 23-year-old student gunman who then killed himself.

"I think it is sad that we do not raise the bases' flag to half-staff when a member of our own task force dies," Wilt said.

According to the Defense Department, 315 U.S. service members have died in and around Afghanistan since the U.S.-led offensive that toppled the Taliban regime in late 2001, 198 of them in combat.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said that the flags of all its troop-contributing nations are flown at half-staff for about 72 hours after the service member's death "as a mark of respect when there is an ISAF fatality."

Sgt. 1st Class Dean Welch, who works with Wilt at the U.S.-led coalition public affairs office, said the essay is a "soldier's commentary, not the view of the coalition and not the view of the U.S. forces."

Welch added that such outspoken opinion pieces are rare.

Wilt suggested that flags should fly at half-staff on the base where the fallen service member was working and in the states where they hail from. He said some states do this, but not all of them.

He wrote that the death of a U.S. service member is just as violent as those at the university last week, but it lacks the "shock factor of the Virginia massacre."

"It is a daily occurrence these days to see X number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq or Afghanistan scrolling across the ticker at the bottom of the TV screen. People have come to expect casualty counts in the nightly news; they don't expect to see 32 students killed," he wrote.

"If the flags on our (operating bases) were lowered for just one day after the death of a service member, it would show the people who knew the person that society cared, the American people care."

Of course this story has not been picked up by the main stream media or the military probably would start Court Martial proceedings on this soldier.

Note how fast Sgt. 1st Class Dean Welch jumped in to say "the essay is a soldier's commentary, not the view of the coalition and not the view of the U.S. forces."

I wonder how Sgt. 1st Class Dean Welch would know the view of the entire coalition and the U.S. forces?

If someone somewhere out there disagrees with what Sgt. Jim Wilt said, and they have the political power, his military career is doomed.

There are a lot more problems facing our society that we should be concerned with. It's time to quit worrying about who said what and who did it offend!!!

To me, the three most haunting statements are:

"I find it ironic that the flags were flown at half-staff for the young men and women who were killed at VT, yet it is never lowered for the death of a U.S. service member."

"People have come to expect casualty counts in the nightly news."

"It would show the people who knew the person that society cared, the American people care."

Those three statements serve as a stark wake up call for us all.

For the record Sgt. Jim Wilt, I care!!!!!!


At this point I was going to end today's post but since we were on the topic of flying the Flag at half staff and in line with the previous story, I thought I would add the following.

In December of 2004 a U.S. Flag above Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, flies at half-staff on Sunday, hours after the death of Reggie White.


Who was Reggie White some of you may ask?

White, played for the Green Bay Packers from 1993-98. The former Tennessee star was a 13-time Pro Bowler, a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the league's 75th anniversary team.

When asked about flying the Flag at Half Staff the team president Bob Harlan said, "We have done this through the years and we are going to continue to do it."

"Is that what you are getting at, that we are not obeying the flag codes?"

"Well, we are going to do it."

Harlan acknowledged the flags are not lowered when a local soldier is reported killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The American Flag, so why should it be shown any respect, this is football.

I don't know about you but it gives me such a great feeling to see that we here in America have our priorities in order.

Football players are held in much higher esteem than our military personnel past and present!!

The next time you see someone who served or is serving in the military be sure to ignore them.

On the other hand, the next time you see a football player make sure you thank them and shake their hand.

I got what Sgt. Jim Wilt was saying!!!!

Agree or disagree, I hope the last two posts have at the very least given you food for thought.

If either of the past two posts have struck any kind of nerve, I encourage you to share them with others.

That's it for this week and if you didn't like what I say, have me fired!!!!!!!!!

Let Me Say This About That - Part 1

OK, buckle up, this may be a bumpy ride but stick with me to the end of my two-part post.

Feel free to comment if you do or don't like what I say!!


When our freedom of speech is gone and we no longer are allowed to express ourselves, we will be nothing. Wag 2007

When we are no longer able to listen to others and make our own judgments, we will be ineffective. Wag 2007

When we are unable to listen and speak, we will no longer be able to think. Wag 2007

When we are no longer able to think, we will be non-productive. Wag 2007

When we are non-productive, we will cease to exist. Wag 2007

Who changed the rule to say you can only say what I want to hear and I can only say what you want to hear?

Why have we become so sensitive to what people say that we insist on punishing the person?

Anyone can be can be offended during a normal conversation if they are looking to be offended.

I am so tired of not being able to talk for fear of alienating someone.

I have a right to say it and you have a right to disagree.



Let's start with the Imus debacle.

Did I like what he said? Of course not. It was ignorant, insensitive and offensive.

But so are many of the words that come out of the mouths of radio shock jocks/comedians.

The only people that had a legitimate complaint were the girls on the Rutgers basketball team. The rest of the people that jumped on the bandwagon had no right to, period.

You don't have to agree or like what was said but he had a right to say it, and the only ones that had a right to complain were the girls affected.

They did not ask that he be fired!!

Imus was hired to do exactly what ABC/CBS hired him to do (Shock) and the sponsors knew that when they forked up the money to be on his show.

Someone in the media picked up on what only about 5% of the people in the United States had heard on the Imus show and then rebroadcast it over and over to make sure the other 95% of the people could hear it.

Then Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton started flexing their muscle knowing they would have one more platform so they could continue blackmailing white America for profit and attention.

Once again it worked. The Corporation and Sponsors couldn't run fast enough.

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton long ago lost touch with what Martin Luther King stood for.

Businesses, corporations, schools, you name it, have all got a fear factor that if someone working for them thinks or expresses themselves, and God forbid, someone somewhere out there is offended, then those businesses, corporations, schools think they must distance themselves by firing that person.

ex·pres·sion

1. The act of expressing, conveying, or representing in words, art, music, or movement; a manifestation
2. Something that expresses or communicates
3. Mathematics - A symbol or combination of symbols that represents a quantity or a relationship between quantities.
4. The manner in which one expresses oneself, especially in speaking, depicting, or performing.
5. A particular word or phrase

freedom of speech

Right, as stated in the 1st and 14th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, to express information, ideas, and opinions free of government restrictions based on content. A modern legal test of the legitimacy of proposed restrictions on freedom of speech was stated in the opinion by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in Schenk v. U.S. (1919): a restriction is legitimate only if the speech in question poses a "clear and present danger" — i.e., a risk or threat to safety or to other public interests that is serious and imminent.


Follow along with this next exhibit:

Professor Fired After Mock Student Shootings

Pretended to Shoot Students During Virginia Tech Talk

BOSTON - An adjunct professor was fired after leading a classroom discussion about the Virginia Tech shootings in which he pointed a marker at some students and said "bang."

The five-minute demonstration at Emmanuel College on Wednesday, two days after a student killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus, included a discussion of gun control, whether to respond to violence with violence, and the public's "celebration of victimhood," said the professor, Nicholas Winset.

During the demonstration, Winset pretended to shoot some students. Then one student pretended to shoot Winset to illustrate his point that the gunman might have been stopped had another student or faculty member been armed.

"A classroom is supposed to be a place for academic exploration," Winset, who taught financial accounting, told the Boston Herald.

He said administrators had asked the faculty to engage students on the issue. But on Friday, he got a letter saying he was fired and ordering him to stay off campus.

Winset, 37, argued that the Catholic liberal arts school was stifling free discussion by firing him, and he said the move would have a "chilling effect" on open debate.

The college issued a statement saying: "Emmanuel College has clear standards of classroom and campus conduct, and does not in any way condone the use of discriminatory or obscene language."

Student Junny Lee, 19, told The Boston Globe that most students didn't appear to find Winset's demonstration offensive.

The Virginia Tech massacre is something that needs a lot of discussion.

It is apparent the students did not try to engage the shooter or defend themselves. It is also clear that all students will need / want to discuss what took place at VT.

This senseless massacre is on the minds of the youth in the United States and should be discussed in open forums.

Here is a case where the school instructed the teachers to engage the students on the issue and then fired him because they didn't like what he said.

For the record and to put things in perspective, he told his class that more U.S. soldiers would die in Iraq in a week than students died at Virginia Tech.

He also told them more people in the United States would die in one day from Aids than died in the Virginia Tech massacre.

To me that does not diminish what happened at VT, but as a comparison serves to enlighten the students of other serious issues they need to be aware of.

If Professors are fired for that type of demonstration, then our educational system is in serious peril!!!!


I'll say it again, "God forbid" if someone somewhere out there is offended.

That is the end of part 1 of "Let Me Say This About That."


Tomorrow I will continue with a soldier's free speech comment regarding the student deaths at Virginia Tech.

From Hither to Yon

Wow, I saw the following headline and thought they were still talking about the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby.

"DNA to Clear 200th Person."

But then I read on: 200th person exonerated by DNA evidence that had to do with crimes.




New York Duo Sets Sail on 1,000-Day Cruise

HOBOKEN, N.J. - He's a veteran of long-distance sailing voyages in all kinds of weather. She's never sailed outside the Hudson River.

But together, 55-year-old Reid Stowe and his 23-year-old girlfriend, Soanya Ahmad, embarked Saturday on a voyage that they intend to take them three times around the globe and last 1,000 days and nights -- nonstop, with no port calls for supplies or a walk on solid ground.

One of those previous voyages was a 200-day trip with his wife in 1999. They're divorced now, but she gave him and Ahmad a life raft for their journey, and joined his mom and dad on the Hoboken dock to wave goodbye Saturday.


I ask you, would you accept that life raft?

Wait til they try to inflate it and it has holes in it.

Who is so stupid as to trust an ex?

She had a big smile on her face as she waved good-bye!!!!





Jeep runs over man while he’s in bed

Vehicle crashes into apartment; victim ‘lucky to be alive’

ROANOKE, Va. - The underside of a car is a familiar sight to auto mechanic Dean Blevins. Seeing one on top of him at 2:30 in the morning, while he was in bed -- that was new. A Jeep crashed through a wall of Blevins' apartment early Tuesday and pinned him in his bed. It took firefighters an hour to free him, but he suffered only minor bruises and scrapes.

As he saw the vehicle's engine above him and felt hot antifreeze splash onto his face, Blevins said, his initial thoughts were less about his injuries than about going after the driver.

Now that's a real wake up call.

Beep Beep here comes the Jeep!!





Speaking of wake up calls:

Woman Dies on Flight, Gets Upgraded

A first-class passenger on a flight from New Delhi to London awoke to find the corpse of a woman who had died in the economy cabin being placed in a seat next to him, British Airways said Monday.

Paul Trinder, 54, said cabin crew moved the body of the elderly woman from the economy section where she had died after take-off.

"The corpse was strapped into the seat but because of turbulence it kept slipping down on to the floor," Trinder , a businessman, was quoted as saying. "It was horrific. The body had to be wedged in place with lots of pillows."


How would you like to get on a nine hour flight, doze off, and then wake up with a dead person next to you?

Especially one that keeps falling down to the floor.

I would demand her mileage points since she no longer would have a use for them!!!!!




Speaking of flying:

Does anyone know someone like this?

A 136-kilogram pig, was allowed to fly first class on a six-hour flight from Philadelphia to Seattle.

Its owners claimed it was a ''therapeutic companion pet'' and produced a doctor's note.

The pig rampaged through the aisles, and at one point attempted to enter the cockpit by charging the door.

It took four cabin attendants to remove the pig from the aircraft, but once inside the terminal it escaped.

Funny how people can con their Doctors!!

Flew first class no less!! Well, when he was in his seat that is!!!




In closing:


As I'm sure you have all heard by now, the world renown Blue Angels Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron lost one of their own this weekend.

In Memoriam
Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis
Blue Angels' No. 6






He now flies with God's Angels.

Government Gone Astray

Gather around my friends as I spin a sad tale!!




Possibly our future Government definitely not at work.

Clinton says husband would be ambassador

Ex-president's popularity would be leveraged to help with U.S. image

Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday that if she is elected president, she would make her husband a roaming ambassador to the world, using his skills to repair the nation's tattered image abroad.

"He has said he would do anything I asked him to do. I would put him to work."

Although former President Clinton was impeached after an affair with a White House intern, he remains a very popular figure in much of the world and is considered an effective diplomat.

"I'm very lucky that my husband has been so experienced in all of these areas," said Clinton.

Wow, double dip on paychecks and interns as well as getting him out of the house - what a sweet deal for them both!!!




Our Government at work:

Wiccan symbol OK on military headstones

Families of fallen soldiers reach settlement with Veterans Affairs


Roberta Stewart looks at the veterans memorial wall in Fernley, Nev., in March 2006, when she was fighting for the right to put the Wiccan symbol on a plaque honoring her husband, National Guard Sgt. Patrick Stewart, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2005.

The VA sought the settlement in the interest of the families involved and to save taxpayers the expense of further litigation, VA spokesman Matt Burns said. The agency also agreed to pay $225,000 in attorneys' fees and costs.

The pentacle has been added to 38 symbols the VA already permits on gravestones. They include commonly recognized symbols for Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, as well as those for smaller religions such as Sufism Reoriented, Eckiankar and the Japanese faith Seicho-No-Ie.

"This settlement has forced the Bush Administration into acknowledging that there are no second class religions in America, including among our nation's veterans," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which represented the Wiccans in the lawsuit.

And the VA was fighting this for what reason? Another government debacle and waste of taxpayers' money!!!!!





A follow up to a subject I touched on my Wednesday 4-18-07 post.

Our Government not at work:


U.S. food inspectors overwhelmed by imports

Billions of dollars' worth of foreign ingredients slip by without safety checks

Billions of dollars’ worth of foreign ingredients that Americans eat in everything from salad dressing to ice cream get a pass from overwhelmed inspectors, despite a rising tide of imports from countries with spotty records, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal trade and food data.

Because these oils, spices, flours, gums and the like haven’t been blamed for killing humans, safety checks before they reach the supermarket shelf are effectively the responsibility of U.S. buyers. As the pet deaths showed, however, that system is far from secure.

Over the past five years, the AP found, U.S. food makers prospecting for bargains more than doubled their business with low-cost countries such as Mexico, China and India. Those nations also have the most shipments fail the limited number of checks the FDA makes.

1 percent of shipments checked
By its own latest accounting, the FDA only had enough inspectors to check about 1 percent of the 8.9 million imported food shipments in fiscal year 2006. Topping the list were products with past problems, such as seafood and produce.

“I don’t ever remember working on ingredients,” said Carl R. Nielsen, a former FDA official whose job until he left in 2005 was to make sure field inspectors were checking the right imports. “That was the lowest priority, a low priority.”

“You don’t have to be a Ph.D. to figure out that ... if someone were to put some type of a toxic chemical into a product that’s trusted, that could do a lot of damage before it’s detected,” said Michael Doyle, a microbiologist who directs the University of Georgia’s Center for Food Safety.

Demand spiking with changing tastes
Doyle sat on several federal task forces studying threats to U.S. food security; while they discussed ingredients, he said, their findings are classified.

So just like most things our Government has done since 9-11-01, they formed task forces to study the potential problems but have not enacted any of the findings regarding safeguards.

All the political parties are guilty. They study things to death. It's a typical ruse to give us all a warm and fuzzy feeling, but they never implement any of what they find because it might upset the delicate balance we have with some other nation!

Oh yes, and after we spend all that money and time studying the issues, do we the public see the results? No, their findings are classified.



The following propaganda is what the Government and big business want us to believe:

In 2001, the United States imported about $4.4 billion worth of ingredients processed from plants or animals. By last year that total leaped to $7.6 billion — a 73 percent increase. Other food and drink imports rose from $38.3 billion to $63 billion — up 65 percent.

No single reason explains the increase. Profits are one factor; changing consumer tastes play a role, too. There’s a growing expectation that seasonal products will be available year round, while immigrants may hanker for familiar flavors and others want variety.

So U.S. food makers head overseas, where labor-intensive ingredients can be cheaper to produce in low-wage countries. They’re not expensive to ship, either, because they’re relatively compact and don’t spoil easily, said David Closs, an expert in global food supply at Michigan State University.

Yeah right, like we can't live without the imports. Well, think about this - because of the imports we may not live.

That's a lot of money and jobs lost right here at home. I ask you who will buy anything when we don't have incomes from jobs to purchase.

I often wonder if we stopped the worthless foreign aid and kept it here and actually went back to growing our own, building our own, and making our own then would we be a strong nation once again?

I'm not an educated person, but from what little I can remember of history, if you can't feed and clothe your troops and you don't have fuel for the military vehicles, you will be defenseless when you are invaded by another country!!

We are headed down a perilous path and I don't understand why. What has changed the way we think and act?

The least-read document in Washington D.C.:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.



If we the people of the United States are not careful, we will no longer be the number one country in the world - we will no longer be a country!!!

In Memoriam

My post today is in honor of the innocent victims of the Virginia Tech massacre.





The Legend of Cho (Brought to you by NBC)

The demented Cho has managed to become not only a household name but also a legend in record time.

Showing his film only served the purpose of making a martyr for someone else to try to outdo.

NBC should be ashamed!!!!!!!!!!

The following is what NBC should have rolled across their screens. Instead of glorifying Cho, they should have honored the following:

Ross Abdallah Alameddine, 20, of Saugus, Mass. He was a sophomore English major.

Christopher James Bishop, 35, was an instructor in German and German literature.

Brian Bluhm, 25, was a graduate student in water resources.

Ryan Clark, 22, from Martinez, Ga., was a biology, English and psychology major.

Austin Cloyd, 18, was a freshman majoring in international studies and French.

Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, age unknown, was a French language teacher.

Daniel Perez Cueva, 21, a student from Peru was studying international relations.

Kevin Granata, 45, was an engineering science and mechanics professor.

Matthew Gwaltney, 24, was on the brink of finishing his graduate degree.

Caitlin Hammaren, 19, of Westtown, N.Y., was a sophomore majoring in international studies and French.

Jeremy Herbstritt, 27, of Bellefonte, Pa. was a graduate student in engineering.

Rachael Hill, 18, of Richmond, Va., was a freshman studying biology.

Emily Jane Hilscher, 19, from Woodville, Va., was a freshman majoring in animal and poultry sciences.

Jarrett Lane, 22, from Narrows, Va., was a senior majoring in civil engineering.

Matthew La Porte, 20, from Dumont, N.J., was a sophomore attending Virginia Tech on an Air Force ROTC scholarship.

Henry Lee, 20, of Roanoke, Va., was a freshman computer engineering major.

Liviu Librescu, 76, was an engineering science and mechanics lecturer.

G.V. Loganathan, 51, was an Indian-born lecturer.

Partahi Lombantoruan, 34, of Indonesia, was a civil engineering doctoral student.

Lauren McCain, 20, of Hampton, Va., was an undergraduate majoring in international studies.

Daniel O'Neil, 22, of Lincoln, R.I., was a graduate student in environmental engineering.

Juan Ortiz, 26, was a graduate student in civil engineering.

Minal Panchal, 26, was a first-year building science student.

Erin Peterson, 18, graduated in 2006 from Westfield High School.

Michael Pohle, 23, of Flemington, N.J., was expected to graduate in a few weeks with a degree in biological sciences.

Julia Pryde, 23, was a graduate student from Middletown, N.J.

Mary Read, 19, of Annandale, Va., had yet to declare a major.

Reema Samaha, 18, from Centreville, Va., was a freshman who performed with the school's Contemporary Dance Ensemble.

Waleed Shaalan, 32, of Zagazig, Egypt, was a doctoral student in civil engineering.

Leslie Sherman, 20, of Springfield, Va., was a sophomore majoring in history and international studies.

Maxine Turner, 22, from Vienna, Va., was a senior majoring in chemical engineering.

Nicole White, 20, of Carrollton, Va., was a junior majoring in international studies and German.



In Memoriam



Let us all remember.

Another Doggie Day Trip - Part 2

Welcome back for Part 2 of Another Doggie Day Trip.

From the Valley of Fire we headed on down the road to the town of Overton where we enjoyed lunch at the park.






Little did we know we would encounter another wild animal next to the city park.



She took a look at our party and had a good laugh.




After lunch we were off to our next destination, The Lost City Museum.









Lots and lots of artifacts








The Lost City Museum is well worth the admission price of $3.00 for adults and $2.00 for seniors.

From there we took another step back in time.



We stopped at the former all in one Grade School, Junior High School, and High School for a photo opportunity for one of the school's more infamous graduates.



We were back on the road and headed to our last stop on this fantastic journey, the world famous town of Moapa, Nevada, and its jail.



What tales those walls could tell.



The house of the recluse lady and her crazy daughter



Tom Sloan's general store



Eli's Bar




A few minutes there and it becomes obvious that the town is still waiting for FEMA to arrive.


The travelers were beginning to get weary so it was time to return to home.




As we were loading up to return home we spotted a mouse that must have hitched a ride from Mouse's Tank!!!





Everyone had an outstanding time and were all smiles as our day trip was ending.

What a great way to get out of the house, and when you share it with nice people it is even better!!!

For more pictures of the trip go to http://www.fototime.com/ (Guest Login = waggers2005@aol.com)


See you back here on Monday.

Another Doggie Day Trip - Part 1

Let me tell you what a good time I had last Sunday on our great adventure.

At 8 A.M. we met at the park to let the dogs take care of business and waited to see if anyone else was joining us on our great adventure.

At 8:30 A.M. we fired 'um up and headed out with our dog and friends for a day trip.

As has become a custom, Pat handed us each a bag of cookies to set the tone of the trip.



We are off to our first destination of the Valley Of Fire. In Nevada you have to remember you never know what kind of wild animals will be just hanging out.

Well, before you know it, there along side the road is our first sighting.



What a treat, a sighting of a herd of about 20 big horn sheep.



Then back on the road to the entrance of the Valley Of Fire.






Some of the formations in the valley





Outstanding scenery





As we get a little farther down the road and into the park, the troops gather to devise a plan of attack at our next stop, Mouse's Tank.



Captain Ben orders us all to retreat to the wagons and head on down the road.




On we go to Mouse's Tank to read the Petroglyphs.

As we arrive at the canyon we send Wally and his faithful companion out ahead on the trail as a scout. I knew Wally was in the military, and in fact I think he used to be a Buffalo Soldier.




Wally has read the tracks on the ground and warns us from those tracks, there is a 165 pound man ahead on the trail but he is not so sure about mice.

Armed with that knowledge, we send out our fearless trackers ahead to clear the trail of any mice that may be hanging out.



After their sweep, Wally gathers the troops for praise for a job well done.



Now the path has been cleared and we are checking the messages left here for others.



There are many to study.



We attempt to decipher the writing and we think it said:

"To those who follow, our Homeland Security has let us down."



"Our Chief Whereami led us into this box canyon. It is 130 degrees here, we have very little water, the mountain goats keep us awake all night, and the place is crawling with mice."

"I am afraid of mice so I have climbed up the face of this mountain and am writing this as a warning to those who follow."

"Here in the canyon with our tribe we do have a few Navajos and Arapahos." "May the spirits be with you."

Signed: O Brave Imus."




Ron said he didn't see any mice at Mouse's Tank so he suggested we get back on the road!!






Nothing but outstanding scenery.

That concludes Part 1 of the Doggie Day Trip II. Return tomorrow for part 2.