Dead Horse Theory

The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that "When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount."

However, in government more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:

1. Buying a stronger whip.
2. Changing riders.
3. Appointing a committee to study the horse.
4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses.
5. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.
6. Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired.
7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.
8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.
9. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase the dead horse's performance.
10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance.
11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.
12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses.

And, of course...
13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position.

Federal Budget Situation Explained - Dummy Version

The U.S. Congress sets a federal budget every year in the "trillions" of dollars.

Few people know how much money that is so we created a breakdown of

federal spending in simple terms. Let's put the 2011 federal budget into perspective:

• U.S. income: $2,170,000,000,000
• Federal budget: $3,820,000,000,000
• New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
• National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
• Recent budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000 (about 1 percent of the budget)

It helps to think about these numbers in terms that we can relate to.

Remove eight zeros from these numbers and pretend this is the

household budget for the fictitious Jones family.

• Total annual income for the Jones family: $21,700
• Amount of money the Jones family spent: $38,200
• Amount of new debt added to the credit card: $16,500
• Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
• Amount cut from the budget: $385

Now it all makes sense.

(sent to me in an e-mail - too good not to share.)

Golf Balls - we've all played em'

Israel - Even Gene Simmons Understands what Obama cannot.

Just one day ... then a week of no power

Although my area was hit hard, it did not get a visit from the President, or even the Secretary of Homeland Security. Some say it was because we only had about 25 dead and hundreds injured, fewer than other areas and so the media and the President ignored us. That's what the conventional thinking anyhow.

It is likely a good thing we got ignored anyhow. Few want to see the "Big Sis" waddle by or hear PresBO mouth his rhetoric while what people really need is their debris cleared, rubble moved, and downed trees cut away.

All know why they didn't come though, despite what the "apologists" want you to believe. It wasn't because of the lower fatality count. It was because the Obama-Biden ticket lost the now hurting counties during the election. Its simple payback.

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After the tornadoes

First off to friends and family who check up on us this last week, we thank-you for thinking of us! We and the rest of our family here made it through unscathed. Some friends lost everything. As you know, hundreds of homes were either destroyed or rendered uninhabitable. We know how lucky we are that no one we knew were among the dead or injured.

No power for 7 days, but with a safe water supply that was mostly inconvenient, not that big deal. However, I discovered that cold showers still DO SUCK! We ate MREs and other emergency food we had in our emergency food storage, cooking on a backpacker's stove. We saw stars at night that normally we could not, because of city lights. We talked with our neighbors that generally before, we only slowed to wave at as we passed by each other.

So although we were uncomfortable at times, it was very manageable. But, we were so lucky. Many people’s lives will not be the same for months, if ever, after last week.

By day #5-6 of no power, many city businesses were up n' running using generators. People adapted well to no traffic lights and the curfew.

Crime rates plummeted and everyone pretty much stayed mellow. I was appalled to learn that some scumbags actually were such low-life's that they would loot homes and businesses that had been reduced to rubble. It was a reminder that with all the good people here, there were some of the other kind too. With the horrific destruction limited to a few places, a lot of the town volunteered to help with recovery.

With all that destruction we know how well we had it compared to those who lost so much. We got power back Tuesday afternoon and cable/Internet again the next afternoon.

Surviving as an Airline Passenger (To my kids)

Some will say if you crash in an airline crash, you're gonna die. Perhaps, but in too many crashes there are examples of many who did die and should not have. Far too many hours on airplanes recently reminded me of an old themes I keep harping on to my kids for years and they seem to get it now, mostly.

It's about what they wear when they fly. It's not about fashion or comfort, it's about enhancing one's chance of survival when they put their lives in the hands of a couple of well trained, but fallible and often fatigued pilots sitting up front of them working in an ATC system that seems to fail as often as it works. 

It was a message I wanted to deliver to the young guy and his lady companion last week flying out of St. Louis. Both were wearing polyester t-shirts, nylon shorts and shower shoes. I didn't say a word ... but I so wanted to. I wonder whether their parents give a damn about them, not educating them on how to enhance their survival when things go wrong during an aircraft flight.

My kids chide me about having some eccentricities and they are right. But those don't include my oft intoned comments about "dressing appropriately" when one flies. In my post Dress to Crash, a couple of years ago, I wrote how irritated I was with fellow passengers when we made that emergency landing in Louisiana - so few of them were prepared to crash. Fewer of them were prepared to live had we done so.

Many would have suffered severe injuries and death because of decisions they made in how they dressed if that day had all turned out differently than it did that day. There has to be no greater expression of failure to take responsibility for one's actions than to maximize the opportunity to become a fatality in a survivable airplane crash.

First off, wear closed leather shoes during take-offs and landings and cotton clothing, not man-made fibers such as nylon and polyester. You fashion conscious types can't run in a lot of the shoes you wear. And trust me, you don't want to run bare footed from a burning crashed aircraft. For those who think Crocs and shower shoes are cool and comfy, I'll wave as I run past you as you and your shoes stick to the ground and you become a crispy critter.

Wear clothes that have a lot of skin coverage. That means jeans, not shorts, shoes or boots not sandals. It means no cute tank tops and "Bratz" type outfits. I would prefer that none of my girls ever fly in a dress or skirt ... maybe its that image of the old Army aviator who was so terribly burned in a fixed wing crash who briefed us a zillion years ago that causes that bias. It was one of the best safety briefs I ever got and has stuck with me vividly over the years. It was as well a testament to that man's courage as to how he had gone on to have a very productive and instructive life despite what terrible things he endured.

When we first moved from cotton flight suits to nomex ones I remember at Ft. Rucker holding a lighter under my Nomex covered arm to demonstrate it was "fireproof." The second degree burn from that demonstration healed in a couple of weeks, but the lesson was stark. Nomex isn't fireproof, it just doesn't burn off like cotton or melt into your skin like man-made fibers do. That's why if you can't fly in Nomex or the like, cotton clothing is best. Yep, it will burn, but the cotton will provide some protection and not burn into one's skin like polyester and nylon does.

That old aviator once said to us that you only get out of a crash with what you have on your body. A lot of us realized that is exactly what happens the first time we ended up on the ground somewhat stunned to realize we were not flying anymore. It was something the email from the guy who survived the US Air flight that ended up in the Hudson observed as well.

Think about it when you dress for that next flight. I admit I don't listen to the pre-departure safety briefing any more when I fly. I know it by heart. Most of us do. But it doesn't mean a lot of your fellow passengers do or worse, understand it.

But that doesn't mean one should "zone out" when the briefing is given. Use that time to count the number of seat backs to the nearest exit. It's a number you want to know if you cannot see when you want to exit a smoke or water filled cabin, particularly when that "escape path lighting" doesn't work as designed. Use that time to reach under the seat and see if the flight is one with life vests under it. Some have them, some don't depending on the route the aircraft has been flying. The airlines prefers to not have them - they represent extra weight and costs they want to avoid. I prefer the vest to the seat cushion, which is hard to get when one is unassing the seat to egress the fuselage.

Which reminds me. Have you ever removed your seat cushion in an aircraft? Try it when you are waiting for your row to fill up. It might surprise you that it can be tougher than you realize or the airlines want you to know. The other thing to do is bend over and take the brace position for an instance. Lean forward and wrap your arms around your legs for just a second. Doing that means that you can identify all the pointy things you don't want impaling you in a sudden impact. For me, it usually means I remove my pens and sunglasses from my pockets.

Lately that move also made me realize I am finding it tougher to take that position than a couple of years ago. "Staying in shape," is easy to do when young, but as we get off the merry-go-round, it is too easy to lose the zeal for fitness or as one of you pointed out with a mischievous grin - "waist management."

If sitting in the exit row, look at the door placard to see how the door works. Some aircraft doors open a wee bit differently from others. Some will tell ya to toss the door out, while others tell you to put the door inside ... which has always struck me as creating an obstruction where you want it least. But, I'll follow the placard, unless the situation at the time or the cabin crew says otherwise.

One other thing. Wear your shoes on take offs and landings. If you want to loosen them, do it after you get hear the "level off - cruise" chime that always goes off in the cabin. That "10k chime" is also a good sign to use to put em' back on as you approach your destination.

As I realized on my recent flight, the hardest thing is to bite your tongue as your fellow passengers exhibit mindless behaviors inside the aircraft that maximize their opportunity to become a fatality on that flight. But one cannot save humanity but one at a time in an aircraft cabin ... and as we have seen recently there seems to be a whole bunch of em' recently hell bent on self-destruction.

But you, my precious kids, and your wee ones are too damn precious for me not to continue to repeat this admonishment over and over when you guys hop on an aircraft for business or a vacation so often now.

Tell ya what ... next time we talk about an upcoming airline flight, just tell me you have "Briefing Alpha" and I'll know I don't have to repeat it all again and be accused once more of being a PITA Dad.

Why I love Rep. Maxine Waters

It's easy to be fascinated by Maxine Waters. Listening to her one always finds themselves wondering what kind of education, what kind of life does someone have that molds a twisted worldview such as she presents? Want to know what a well intentioned altruistic progressive socialist looks like? Simply take a look here and you will know.

Statism In Today's America

Are today's DemoRats and Ripofflicans both statists? You betcha. Wake up and smell the reality of our world today comrade. It's the reality they don't teach you in a PolySci course.

Statism - it is probably not what you thought it was! But baby, it's all around you today!

Here is the real bottom line. It's not a Republican thingy, or even a Democratic thingy, even though both parties will accuse the other of it. It's a feature of both parties. Oftentimes it's a "plank" in their platform, but of course they don't call it "statism." Oh no, as politicians they know better.

Until we realize that and return our government to it's proper role and function, each man, woman and child will continue to suffer under the yoke of more of it.

President Reveals Place of Birth - Really?

I am not a birther, but have often wondered why President Obama continues to not address the uncertainty of his place of birth. My curiosity grew after hearing Mrs. Obama call Kenya Obama's "home country."

After watching this video you have got to ask whether this this video a fine, fine fake or real? Is it actually off of Saturday Night Live where the President agreed to come on and say this for some cute punch line later? Or, is it true and the vast left wing media have simply ignored or covered it up as some who detest Obama like to charge? Actually, it is finely crafted fake one can find on Youtube and a reminder that about the only thing that can't be crafted to mislead is DNA evidence ... but they are probably working on that too.

It is the work of a YouTube contributor that calls themselves "Obama Snippets". It is a reminder that if you have enough audio out there, you can be caught saying anything they want after a little cutting and pasting here and there.

Here is a recent example of "Obama Snippets" work in which the President is seen on video acting like a lush. It's well done, and will fool the casual viewer.

Meat Glue - are you eating it?

Soldier for a Day

4 more years for Barry Soetoro (aka Barack Obama)?

Thinking like a Terrorist

A friend sent me an e-mail today. In it he said that the threat of a WMD attack is 100% in America. I'm not sure I agree. Had he said 100% chance of terrorist attack in the days ahead, I would have not disagreed.

What is WMD anyhow? How many do I have to maim/kill to be “mass destruction?” Or can I simply hit you with a dose of Polonium or Thallium for the terror effect, kill a couple of hundred over a number of media frenzied weeks as they track the deaths by radioactive poisoning - does that count as WMD?

Can I just explode a couple of hospital radioactive waste containers, create a contaminated area on the Capital Mall and panic everyone while they take weeks to clean and decontaminate it all. Is that WMD? 

On the other hand, how about some good ol’ fashioned Islamic martyrs infecting themselves with some disease as Bubonic Plague or a viral hemorrhagic fever and go flying in and out of Newark, LAX, DFW and the like? Is that WMD? 

If it’s body count that is key to the definition, I suggest that the return on the effort to use “WMD” is not economical with most easily available things people call “WMD.” Or does the terrorist need to do a “Tom Clancy” and smuggle a 25 megaton weapons into a city center or the middle of a major metropolitan port such as Baltimore, Long Beach or LA?

Everybody likes to call chemical weapons WMD and while you can kill a thousand or more if you can get targets to bunch up in a perfect environment like a sports stadium or arena. But the truth is that is it darn tough to get a group of people to stand still that long once the delivery begins. 

That stuff is hard to transport and some of it, as you know, not very persistent at all. Prefer Mustard or Lewisite instead? Those are tough to deliver effectively, except by spray equipped airborne systems.

How about phosgene? After all, we can make that in the basement using commercially available chemicals that law enforcement traditionally does not track in terms of sales and shipments.

Meanwhile, I hear Tabun & Soman can be bought in some markets particularly in the FSR. By default is a use of a Chem Weapon by definition WMD, even if the body count is pretty small? 

When you read about the use of Chem in WWI remember all the players used Chem in a big scale with chemical and artillery battalions and larger delivering the stuff. I don’t think terrorists really get a good return on their effort using a chemical weapon.

How about a small nuke, you know, the kind we used to call “backpack” nukes and used to play with in Europe in the 1970s. Russians had em’ and I have heard more than one tale of former KGB types claiming that there were many prepositioned in CONUS to destroy key networks and hubs for electricity and communications. 

Unless they hid them so well by now they are lost, or sold them to Achmed and his Muslim terrorist brotherhood buddies, some should have surfaced at one time or another. 

Of course the conspiracy types will tell you that is why Army, BATF, and NRC has EOD teams stationed everywhere across the US – to police them up when they surface. Even if not true, those hubs are still there and relatively soft in terms of vulnerability. It's been more than a decade and if the TSA makes you feel safer, enjoy your delusional state, the rest of us are more concerned about cyber and EMP attacks, both low investment, hi return type attacks.

What I’m thinking about here are electrical grids, telecommunications, internet and good ol’ fashioned land line hubs such as that famous one the NSA used to live at in Denver? But one doesn’t really need a nuke to shut down those hubs.

Timmy McVeigh showed everyone how it can be done. In fact, in many cases some of the hubs can be brought down by a very small, precisely placed detonation. One doesn’t have to kill a lot of people to shut down this country and kill it slowly.

Kill some of those hubs such as those that are vital to ATC and you can kill plenty simply because of the chaos that would ensue. But the real way to kill America continues to be a pair of EMP weapons fired 100 miles high over each coast. That can turn the US into a preindustrial nation, resulting in 90% mortality over a 2-3 year period. In terms of return on investment, max punishment, and asymmetric warfare, I suggest this is the most likely and dangerous attack we face in our nation. It would make 9/11 become a footnote in the history books.

But if you don’t have aspirations to do EMP and just want to terrorize America, shut down the economy, and make her question her values, and turn her back on more of the individual liberties and core values that once made America unlike another place on Earth, one doesn’t need WMD. 

Walk up into the “roped” area where hundreds of us stand densely packed waiting to go thru TSA screening, fire one magazine of AK-47 or AKM and then follow up with two frags while everyone has hunkered down. Actually, I would suggest White Phosphorus Grenades for the horror multiplication effect. 

A frag or two outta do the trick if Mr. Terrorist can’t get Willie Pete. My estimate the last time I stood in that line at 0600 on a Monday at my local airport was that about 200-300 of us would have died or been grieviously maimed in such an attack. 

Then the attacker can walk back outside the terminal, guns blazing, get into their car, illegally parked at the curb and drive home and do it again at another airport somewhere in the US. It is no secret that the best targets are airports in “larger” small towns where they have manpower limitations, good in and out of the airports, and tend to be more lackadaisical in their approach to security.

That is why LAX, NYC, EWR, ATL, DFW are dumb choices for terrorists. Much softer targets exist at Birmingham AL, Richmond, VA, Indianapolis IN, Memphis TN, Columbus OH, San Jose CA, Albany NY. You get the idea. 

Another selection criteria for my super evil terrorist would be to attack airports that have a high use by active duty military such as Norfolk, Charleston, Nashville, and the like. Kill a bunch of young soldiers and Achmed the terrorist would be celebrated from one end of the pending Caliphate to the other.

Any of these attacks outta shut down the system for months, cause a tubing in the stock market and of course the economy and remind us once again that you can’t hug a terrorist like the folks in Berkeley plan to do when they get their Gitmo detainees. 

Any of those is very possible. But in terms of focusing on what is most likely all I can say is “Occams Razor” remains in effect, even for Achmed, but evidently not for “Big Sis” who is worrying about trying to stop the subtle and the sneaky. Funny thing is, attacks by these terrorists are rarely either. 

Instead they use what they have available, recon and hit an asymmetric vulnerability, and worry about the symbolic impact of their attack more than they do the body count. It is a subtle detail that the threat analysts who work for Big Sis tend to ignore. They do so at all of our peril.