Tyler's first birthday

Testing to make sure I can blog some pics for the new arrival in the
family. The Internet will know about it before most of the family... :)

Penn Jillette on leaders...

We don't need great leaders...that's exactly what screws over Americans, power in the hands of someone with ambition to "fix it all".  Bush may be stupid, but Obama is not, and handing the reins of power to him just might be worse in the long run.  Penn Jillett expounds:

"I don't want anyone as president who promises to take care of me. I may be stupid, but I want a chance to try to be a grown-up and take care of my family. Freedom means the freedom to be stupid, and that's what I want. I don't want anyone to feel my pain or tell me to ask what we can do for our country, or give us all money and take care of us.

...I think Ron Paul and Bob Barr mean it when they say they want much smaller government. But the government is already big enough, powerful enough and bipartisan enough (and "bi" means exactly two and no more) that Ron and/or Bob won't even be in the debates. People won't even hear someone suggesting that our president should do less and individual citizens should do more for themselves.

The choice shouldn't be which lesser of two evils should have the enormous power of our modern presidents. The question should be, who would do less as president? Who would leave us alone? "

Waiting, waiting...

Well, updates around here might be thin for a while. Waiting for the new addition to the family, so we'll see how much time I get to post stuff. Check back for pics of the new baby and stuff....they're typically posted on the right under 'latest photos', or on the Picasa albums, under 'Photos' on the left navigation.

As to politics? Sarah Palin...meh. Some people say McCain just killed his campaign picking an inexperienced "nobody"....although I have to say she's more libertarian than any of the other guys in either the blue or red camp. I suppose I could hope for McCain to win and then die? :) Of course, when you get into that position of power...things tend to change. Suddenly you can make the world better, if people would JUST see it YOUR way. "Let them eat cake." "But sir, the peasants don't want cake." "CAKE OR DEATH?" Ah, nice choice you've given me.

See the problem? Much as I would like, I can never enter politics. My first act after winning an election would be to absolve my position and make the government smaller by one person. :)

Memorable quotes...

Currently in my email signature, I'll post them here so they stick around for a while... :)

"There is no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is to crack down on criminals. When there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking the law. Create a nation of lawbreakers and then you can cash in on the guilt."
-Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged"

"No party holds the privilege of dictating to me how I shall vote. If loyalty to party is a form of patriotism, I am no patriot. If there is any valuable difference between a monarchist and an American, it lies in the theory that the American can decide for himself what is patriotic and what isn’t. I claim that difference. I am the only person in the sixty millions that is privileged to dictate my patriotism."
-Mark Twain

In some small corner of the world...freedom rears its head. And gets stepped on.

Awesome quote from an interview with the President of Georgia...you know, the country that's getting invaded by Russia? Yeah.

Although the name Georgia is familiar to the United States, the country isn't. Most Americans don't know its remarkable story. The first time I spoke to [President] Saakashvilli a few months earlier, it was under much more pleasant circumstances. I found him to be a young, energetic and well-spoken reformer who in many ways understands our founding fathers better than most Americans.

He spoke to me about his vision for Georgia, the vision that transformed it from a failed state to a burgeoning democracy with a quickly growing economy.

He said, "the government is going to help you in the best way possible, by doing nothing for you, by getting out of your way. Well, I exaggerate, but you understand. Of course we will provide you with infrastructure and help by getting rid of corruption, but you have all succeeded by your own initiative and enterprise, so you should congratulate yourselves."

Also, McCain is a damned hypocrite: "Speaking to reporters about the situation in Georgia, Sen. John McCain denounced the aggressive posture of Russia by claiming that:"in the 21st century nations don't invade other nations." (link to the actual video)

THIS...IS...SPARTA!!!

Just in case you wondered how Michael Phelps was doing on his quest for olympic gold:

Drug busts...going to the dogs.

Sorry, couldn't resist the post title above. But really, is it worth busting down a door and shooting the mayor's dogs for some pot?

"Police officers stormed the house after Calvo picked up the package -- containing 32 pounds of marijuana -- off his front porch and walked inside. Officers fatally shot his two Labrador retrievers, Payton and Chase, and detained him and his mother for questioning for hours."

Turns out his wife was a victim of identity theft...and now also a victim of the Prince George's County police.  I know there are cops who do a good job out there, but there's no way to compensate the family in this case.  Better make sure you look at your mail a little closer.  Big Brother is watching it too.

(U.K version of the story gets an honorable mention for artichokes: "Seeing the masked gun-toting officers, Porter, who was in the kitchen cooking artichokes, screamed.").  Dramatic British reporting.  :)

Audio blogging? Typing out posts is *so* last century...

Uploaded by www.cellspin.net

A moment of brilliance in a sea of blond-ness...

I'm hating the election fluff, but this has got to be teh win. If you've been under a rock and missed the McCain ad comparing Barack to Paris and Britney...well, the normally-vapid Paris apparently wasn't gonna take that sitting down. Touche'.

Wait, she's sitting down in that; I stand corrected. At this point, I'd pick her over McCain. "Legally Blond 3:Paris does Washington" anyone? :)

Testing again from teh iPhone...

Yep, got me a new toy, but awesomely powerful. Posting this from blogger.com on the built-in Safari browser, not too bad...we'll have to see how posting pics on vacation works.

In other news, still prepping the house for the new addition on the way, so as usual, updates are far between, but hopefully will keep everything here up to date.

In still other news...do I really care who wins the election, with this crap being used as the campaign ads? Barack = More spending, more taxes...more war. McCain = More spending, more deficit...more war. Either one of them lowers the dollar's power, and hurts my paycheck. Let people be responsible for their own lives, and get the hell out of my way.

I'm trying to build a family here. I don't WANT "help" from Uncle Sam. Go. A. Way.