Nice Deb wonders at what point Americans will get tired of President Obama's constant lying.

Well, just under 50% already are fed up to the gills.  However, the other "47%" or however you want to measure them cares not a whit about his lying.  Their only concern is how much free stuff their President can steal from the productive taxpayers, and give to them.  As long as the free goodies keep coming, they will keep voting for him.

It is as simple as that. His lying is beside the point.

A black bear casually opens a truck door, using the handle as the designers intended.  He's done this before.

Via Borepatch, a great story of honor between enemies in WWII.

December 20, 1943 saw one of many bombing raids over Germany.  It saw, like many of those raids, bombers shot down or very badly shot up.

Ye Olde Pub, a B-17 piloted by LT Charlie Brown was one of those badly shot up.  His tail gunner was dead and most of the flight crew were wounded by the mauling that Me 109 and FW 190s that tried to finish off what the German Flak had started.

One of those fighter pilots was Franz Stigler, a veteran and Ace who, with 22 kills only needed one more to see his name submitted for the Knight's Cross.  But Stigler was a true knight, in the most chivalrous sense of the term:

Remembering the words of one of his commanding officers from the Jagdgeschwader 27, Gustav Rödel, during his time fighting in north Africa – “You are fighter pilots first, last, always. If I ever hear of any of you shooting at someone in a parachute, I'll shoot you myself." Stigler later commented, "To me, it was just like they were in a parachute. I saw them and I couldn't shoot them down."

Instead, Stigler escorted them to the English Channel, where they flew back to England and safety. It could have been a much different ending, but the German at the very least was a true and honorable warrior.

Heh, bingo.

Take that, Fascists.

Via here.

Tastes like chicken...

Via Wirecutter

From an era when the US built real he-man strategic bombers, the Convair B-36 Peacemaker.

 I'd surely make peace if I saw that thing flying my way with a full load of ordnance.  And I seem to recognize Col. Potter from MASH as the flight engineer, do I not?

 Massive protests in Egypt today, so far mostly on the anti Morsi, anti Islamist side, but the Brotherhood can and has mustered huge numbers in the past, and probably will again.

Obama has thrown the US into this mess on the side of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, and against the more secular, more liberal ( in the traditional sense ) Egyptians.

Smart power!

That sort of blindness results in this, a group of people demanding that our ambassador, Ann Patterson, be ejected from Egypt.  Good work Obama!

Because they are more ruthless, the Brotherhood has a good chance of prevailing, although the Egyptian military may turn the tide by weighing in on one side or the other, but no matter who wins, the country's underlying problems will remain intractable.  The nation is broke, unable to feed itself, or pay it's bills.  There will be no solution to those problems no matter who is in power, although the Brotherhood can take full credit for ruining the tourist industry, which was probably the only money making industry in the country.

Good luck, Egyptians, it's going to be a bumpy and likely bloody ride.

Meanwhile, could this be true?

 President Mohammad Morsi is hiding out in a palace. A plane is ready in case he needs to evacuate.

Al Ahram reported:

President Mohamed Morsi is currently at the Hadayek El-Qoba presidential palace, an anonymous source tells Al-Ahram Arabic news website. Morsi is keeping a close eye on events and stresses the need to prevent clashes, the source adds.

A plane is reportedly at the palace ready to evacuate the president if required.

Regular auto maintenance is very important.

Especially when it comes to adding oil to the engine.

Watch to the end.

A surprise waits for the casual rose sniffer.

Ha, exactly correct.  

Via Ninety Miles From Tyranny

Dream time swimming hole.

When Irish eyes are smiling....

Christian Begeman took this image of the northern lights in South Dakota, as the Earth passed through a pulse of magnetic energy which erupted several days ago from the sun.

Remember how the Obama administration and his "Ready!" Secretary of State Hillary would move the reputation of the US away from the "cowboy" era of President Bush, and bring the world to respect America?  How there would be a "reset" with Russia?

Guess not.

   "The document outlines how the NSA bugged offices and spied on EU internal computer networks in Washington and at the United Nations, not only listening to conversations and phone calls but also gaining access to documents and emails.

The document explicitly called the EU a "target".

A spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence had no comment on the Der Spiegel story.

Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said that if the report was correct, it would have a "severe impact" on relations between the EU and the United States.

"On behalf of the European Parliament, I demand full clarification and require further information speedily from the U.S. authorities with regard to these allegations," he said in an emailed statement.

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told Der Spiegel: "If these reports are true, it's disgusting.

"The United States would be better off monitoring its secret services rather than its allies. We must get a guarantee from the very highest level now that this stops immediately."

I guess our allies don't like being spied on, ignored, disrespected and misused.  Things really have been "reset."

Related:  Respect from Hong Kong.

Hemi under glass.  Oh yeah!

Crocker Motorcycles, once upon a time made in LA.



And might be made again.

A while back, I posted on a large New England gun manufacturer that was seriously considering moving it's operations to the Carolinas.

Now that company can be identified as Sturm Ruger, no small potatoes.  

Thanks to Brock over at Free North Carolina for the info.

If true, that would be a huge blow to tax hell Connecticut, which was the birthplace of this manufacturing giant, and American firearms icon, but then the idiots in government there have brought this on themselves.

There was a time when Democrats were in full support of the Second Amendment, gunowners and manufacturers.  That time is long gone, and now they are truly the enemy of any American who holds fast to the Constitution, the family and the values that made this country great.  The Detroitization of Connecticut is moving forward, and will result in the same destruction of that beautiful state unless the voters there wise up.

Friday open road

An excellent way to end a week, with a victory for the constitution and for freedom.

Court: Gov’t Must Halt Enforcement of Sterilization-Contraception-Abortifacient Mandate Against Hobby Lobby 

At least for now, the district courts have put a stop to the Obama Administration's attempt to force their morals on the rest of us.

In addition to moving their business out of state, with it's employees and tax revenue, Magpul industries has decided to stick it's finger, one last time, into the eye of liberal Colorado.

This weekend, just before it becomes illegal to sell them on July 1st, Magpul will give away 1500 of their 30 round magazines, and then sell as many as they can to anyone who wants to pony up the money.

Take that Colorado.  Then enjoy the slow descent into Detroit, unless you change your political ways.

A thing that is not what it seems.

                 Sarge has the Friday Flyby up a day early, so we can enjoy it on a Thursday.

                                           Go over and enjoy some P -51 Mustangs.

David Gonzalez was demolishing an old house when he discovered a treasure.

Stuffed in a wall for insulation, among the newspapers, was an Action comics #1 from 1938 featuring a new character called Superman.

Some interesting chapters to this story:

The comic could have been worth more had it not been for a heated argument with one of his in-laws... When his wife’s aunt grabbed the comic book amid all the excitement of the discovery, he grabbed it back and tore the back cover. Experts downgraded the comic book’s condition to a 1.5 on a 10-point scale.

He and his wife went to the Grant County courthouse and researched the owner, who told them a neighboring restaurant had offered $10,000 to buy it. They planned to demolish the house and put in a parking lot. “So I offered $100 more and got it for $10,100,” he said.

He sold it at auction for 175,000 dollars.

Smile

Very worrisomely, it is quite possible to hack the computer in your car to take complete control of it.

Even remotely.

Does not that fact, coupled with this story, bring to mind some concerns that in any time but our own would be considered wholly paranoid?  Especially given his last communications to his friends?

Ok, this is cool



More here.

Pathetic.

The state's star witness in the Zimmerman trial can't read the letter she says she wrote because she can't read cursive.

The best she could do is recognize her own name.

A bit of light entertainment for your Thursday.  

Democrat Joe Manchin is shocked - shocked! - that President Obama is waging a war on coal, and thereby a war on Americans. 

It's about control Joe, not what's the best for your neighbors and friends.  Plus, Obama said he would do this, and now you seem surprised that he actually is

In Joe's defense, Obama is a different kind of politician than what we have seen before. He is a radical Ideologue, willing to pursue policy purely because it is something that he thinks must be done, not because it will help anyone.  I recall in the 08 election he was being interviewed about some tax hike he was advocating, and when it was pointed out that the hike would actually bring in less money to the government, he responded that that didn't matter, because the hike made things more fair.

So enjoy the destruction of your state's economy, Mr. Manchin, because although it will impoverish virtually everyone, it's both good for the environment and it's fair.

Related: coal produces 42 to 44% of electricity in the U.S., so Obama will have to find some other source of power to charge up all those Chevy Volts he is making GM produce.

Meanwhile, a humorous interlude via the Lonely Libertarian

An ancient Egyptian statue has spooked museum bosses – after it mysteriously started to spin round in a display case.

The 10-inch tall relic, which dates back to 1800 BC, was found in a mummy’s tomb and has been at the Manchester Museum for 80 years.

But in recent weeks, curators have been left scratching their heads after they kept finding it facing the wrong way.  Experts decided to monitor the room on time-lapse video and were astonished to see it clearly show the statuette spinning 180 degrees – with nobody going near it.

The statue of a man named Neb-Senu is seen to remain still at night but slowly rotate round during the day.

Egyptologist Mr Price, 29, said: “I noticed one day that it had turned around. I thought it was strange because it is in a case and I am the only one who has a key.

“I put it back but then the next day it had moved again. We set up a time-lapse video and, although the naked eye can’t see it, you can clearly see it rotate on the film. The statuette is something that used to go in the tomb along with the mummy.

“Mourners would lay offerings at its feet. The hieroglyphics on the back ask for ‘bread, beer and beef’.

“In Ancient Egypt they believed that if the mummy is destroyed then the statuette can act as an alternative vessel for the spirit. Maybe that is what is causing the movement.”

It's the curse of the mummy!  Creepy, no matter what you think causes it.

Andrew Branca over at Legal Insurrection is doing an excellent job covering the Zimmerman trial, offering trenchant commentary on each day's testimony.

Today, and tomorrow, the lowlight is the testimony of Trayvon Martin's erstwhile girlfriend, who appears to be making every effort to come across as a card carrying member of the underclass.

Although the defense was gentle with her today, it is anticipated that her contradictory testimony will be called out tomorrow, and that in turn should be quite entertaining.

Michael Totten visits the "Hezbollah Disneyland" in south Lebanon.

Henry Kissinger once said that the main job of Anatoly Dobrynin, the perennial Soviet ambassador to Washington, was to tell the Kremlin leadership that whenever they received a proposal from the United States that appeared disadvantageous to the United States, not to assume it was a trick.

No need for a Dobrynin today. The Russian leadership, hardly believing its luck, needs no interpreter to understand that when the Obama team clownishly rushes in bearing gifts and “reset” buttons, there is nothing ulterior, diabolical, clever or even serious behind it. It is amateurishness, wrapped in naivete, inside credulity. In short, the very stuff of Nobels.

Charles Krauthammer

Paul Mirengoff over at Powerline had this to say back in 2009:

If my Russian sources are reliable, the answer is that Obama is viewed there mostly with amusement. Some of the amusement stems from his trip to Russia this summer. My sources were amused by the flotilla of Air Force jets that brought him and his entourage to Moscow. They were also taken with (but not necessarily impressed by) the fact that Obama and his crew took over the Ritz Carlton hotel, where rooms start at around $1,200 per night and the presidential suite goes for $13,000.

The Marriott had been good enough for Presidents Clinton and Bush. Rooms there — described as similar to Marriott rooms in the U.S. — can be had for around $350. I was also told (but have not been able to confirm) that Bush himself stayed at the Ambassador’s residence, rather than in a hotel as Obama did.

Russia has seen self-aggrandizing, luxury loving heads of state before. What really has turned Russian heads, according to my sources, is Obama’s eagerness to give things away. The Russians, you see, are hard-nosed. They drive hard bargains in their dealings with themselves and perhaps harder still with outsiders. They may even take what they can’t get through hard bargaining when you’re not looking.

Throughout the Cold War, except to some extent during the Carter years, the U.S. responded more or less in kind to Russian hard-bargaining. In the modern era, President Bush, prodded by Vice President Cheney, eventually did so as well.

It probably never occurred to the Russians that a U.S. president would come to power hoping to “reset” relations with Russia on some basis other than the hard bargain and the “trust but verify” mentality. Yet this is precisely what has fallen into the Kremlin’s lap. From what I’ve heard, the Russian elites can neither believe their good fortune nor hide their amusement.

What does 750 bucks worth of firecrackers look and sound like going off?

Like this!!

Dude rocks.

Via Bayou Renaissance Man.

As to why the Russians ( or pretty much anybody nowadays) don't respect us, this says it all.

Via American Digest.

Smile.

Food for thought

First Hong Kong, a pathetic semi autonomous city-state which exists purely at the pleasure of the Red Chinese, and now the Russians, have blown off the Obama Administration's demands the they arrest and deliver whistleblower/hero/treasonous traitor Edward Snowdon.

The prestige of the United States just isn't what it used to be.

And on the subject of this Edward Snowdon and his revelations, a few questions:

1)  How was this guy given clearance to access, record, and exit with, apparently at his leisure, such a wide range of secrets?   If this is the state of our vetting of those given such extensive access to our government's innermost acts and plans, can we really say there is such a thing as a state secret at all?

2)  Who of us voted to allow our government to record and retain every single electronic communication we make, at our expense?

3)  Now that our president, the Light Bringer, has had sand kicked in his face by two separate nations, what is he going to do about it?  Is the answer, in fact, nothing at all?

Related:  the government can watch you through the camera and the microphone in your computer, and even the "smart meter" on your house.  1984, anyone?

Some good news for a Tuesday.

The Supreme Court has struck down key parts of the voting rights act that required certain disfavored states to get federal government approval for any change in voting laws, and even redistricting. 

This is important as it allows states to pass laws requiring real voter ID, which in turn will help eliminate the vote fraud mainly practiced by the Democrats.

Further, it will allow redistricting in these states without the necessity of approval by the federal government.

Finally, from a broad perspective, it will return power to the states and away from the cesspool that is Washington DC.  That is not to argue that the states involved are as pure politically as the whitest snow, but just that they are more likely to be somewhat better than the feds.

We should also keep in mind that once again, this was a 5 - 4 decision.  There is such an ideological divide on the court that it would take the loss of only one centrist/conservative justice to lose entirely the ability of the court to protect the constitution, as they have done in this instance.  If even one is lost in the next three and a half years, Obama and his thugs will be able to appoint a liberal, and there will be no further check on his power from this branch of governments.

I think the conservative justices really ought to arrange for food tasters.

A Harvard professor serving as a White House advisor on energy has stated that the government ought to "have a war on coal," during which process all coal fired energy plants should be shut down.

  “Everybody is waiting for action,” Schrag tells the paper. “The one thing the president really needs to do now is to begin the process of shutting down the conventional coal plants. Politically, the White House is hesitant to say they’re having a war on coal. On the other hand, a war on coal is exactly what’s needed.”

Why yes, let's shut down our largest source of inexpensive energy in service to the unscientific fantasy of global warming.   The fact that cranks like this are purposely put in a position to "advise" the president simply illustrates the insane ideology that drives our current administration.

It's as if Obama's goal is to impoverish us all, leaving us stunned, penniless and sitting in the dark and cold, wondering what happened. 

Are people paying attention to this sort of thing?  I certainly hope so, since once the coal industry is destroyed, it will be quite hard to build it back.  For Obama, destruction will be victory.

Related:  76% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.  And we re elected this guy, and his thugs.  I wonder what this statistic will be in three and a half years?

Dan Collins over at Conservative Commune posts an epic rant on why he has zero trust in this government:

Look at the immigration bill. Look at the one in 1986. Look at Napolitano's declaration that the border is secure, and that agencies like hers have the right to determine which laws shall and shall not be enforced. Look at Benghazi. Look at Fast and Furious. Look at ObamaCare, and how it was rammed through, and all its promises, and behind those Obama's 2008 campaign rhetoric about the individual mandate, and keeping your doctor, and bending the cost curve. Look at the IRS, and the story about low-level employees, and the audit that wasn't an investigation, and the preliminary results that weren't communicated to the congressmen who asked for them, and the FBI's lack of follow-up. Behold Pigford, with the DoJ coordinating with trial lawyers and community activists to trawl for fraud in black churches. Behold DoJ lawsuits designed to prevent states from ensuring that the rolls are clean, or that voters are who they claim to be, or that addresses given for registration are valid. Hurry, hurry, step right up and see Catherine Engelbrecht, the woman targeted by multiple federal agencies at the behest of low-level IRS employees who were just a little overzealous about doing their jobs. Watch in amazement as the IRS head approves $70 million in bonuses for a job well done, despite the sequester, while VA employees are furloughed. Feast your eyes on the spectacle of ICE agents suing the government for the right to do their jobs, and fulfill their oaths of office. Be dazzled at the EPA creating its own laws, at the DHS and lobbyists writing health care regulations, at ideologues deciding on the basis of campaign donations who will and who won't be permitted to continue to deal GM vehicles, giving preferred stock interest to unions who helped their boss become Chief Executive of the country, creating massive subsidies for Chevy Volts. See the State Department squelch its internal investigations and persecute those who inform on Ambassadors trolling in public parks for sex with underaged girls, security agents frequenting prostitutes, abusers of female staff, under the direction of Hillary Clinton, who would like to be the first female President, because it sends the right message. Watch as Smart Power reshapes the Middle East, and leads to a general jihad of Sunni against Shiite. See the Jews and Christians evicted and murdered, watch their synagogues and churches burn at the hands of aherents of the Religion of Peace. Marvel at the lack of coverage in the MSM. Get a front-row seat to watch as military functionaries institute anti-Christian policies on behalf of Muslim extremists. Watch them all lie, lie, lie, and get away with it.

Yeah, I have trust issues.

Mondays, they're like that.

I see our animal friends are picking up some bad habits from their human neighbors.

Leave it to a moose to fall down right in front of one of those Russian dash cams.  Must have been quite the party - someone should have called him a cab.

Found this over at accesstoinfo, and I like it.

   "At a press conference to discuss the accusations, an N.S.A. spokesman surprised observers by announcing the spying charges against Mr. Snowden with a totally straight face.

“These charges send a clear message,” the spokesman said. “In the United States, you can’t spy on people.”

Seemingly not kidding, the spokesman went on to discuss another charge against Mr. Snowden—the theft of government documents: “The American people have the right to assume that their private documents will remain private and won’t be collected by someone in the government for his own purposes.”

“Only by bringing Mr. Snowden to justice can we safeguard the most precious of American rights: privacy,” added the spokesman, apparently serious."

In follow up to the Russell Brand video, here is London Mayor Boris Johnson putting the insult on some hapless council member who was annoying him.

I have no way to verify this, but the story goes that this container ship, loaded with weapons for the Syrian rebels, inexplicably broke in half and sank, strewing the sea lanes with containers. 

If true, excellent. It's speculated that a submarine (Russian?) could have released a bubble of air underneath, which would have risen to the middle of the ship, momentarily causing a loss of buoyancy and breaking the heavily loaded ship's back.  As good an explanation as any. 

Update:This article say it is unknown what the cargo was.

Second Update: the only source claiming there were weapons on board is not really creditable. Not linking it. 

Additional possibilities to explain this mishap:

Or even this:

Over at Legal Insurrection, Professor Jacobson posts photos of bumperstickers sent in by his readers.  This guy from Pennsylvania didn't even bother with that, but took pen directly to tailgate to express his unhappiness.

Classic.

Rand Paul: Our government lied to us, but Mr. Snowden told us the truth.

Exactly right.  Watch the administration try to slander Snowden with any and all sorts of details about his private life, but no matter what they dig up or simply create, remember that Snowden's personal life is entirely irrelevant to the issue of our own government spying on each and every one of us.  Their attacks on Snowden are pure ad hominems, and an attempt to change the subject away from something that they cannot defend.

Cabin porn

There aren't many people in the world that could photobomb Vladimir Putin like this and live for another ten minutes, but Steven Segal is apparently one of them.

If Obama did this Putin would simply reach back and effortlessly crush O's balls.

Via American Digest

This is pretty darned good.  Russell Brand totally overwhelms the Morning Joe hosts, leaving them nervous,  twitchy, and all three with that "deer in the headlights" stare.   I had no knowledge of Russell Brand until watching this, but I gotta say I'm impressed with his gumption, intelligence and flair.  A great watch.



For me, via Ninety Miles From Tyranny.

It's summertime, and things are starting to ripen here at the ranch.  This week we stripped the apricot trees of as many as we could reach, and the farm wife made apricot jam.  The best thing with jam making is you can use the apricots that have a fault, such as a bird peck, to make jam, since you only need to cut out the bad part, and the rest is perfectly good.  This batch is really good, and it will be especially so this winter when it's cold and rainy, to be able to taste a bit of jellied summertime on toast or waffles.

The internet is an incredible resource, and in my travels, I found this post about corn cob jelly.  
Naturally, since corn is abundant this time of year, the wife and I had to try something so off beat, so we acquired some sweet corn and followed the directions.   First time, we got the jelly just about right, and you can see one of the jars above on the left.  The chickens got the last peck at the boiled cobs, and there were no complaints from that quarter when we tossed them into the coop (Chickenmom, I know you'll relate to that).   Talk about dragging the most use out of something!

Next up is probably the figs, and the monstrous fig tree is loaded this year.  I'm really looking forward to that.  After that, Indian Blood peaches, and then finally, the pomegranates.

Friday open road.