John, You're Freudian Slip is Showing...

Telling.

Just an honest mistake, due to nervousness, I'm sure.

Riiiiii-iiight.

HT: Breitbart.com

Presently in the Past ( 1st impressions of the Obamessiah)

Just for fun I thought I'd search the archive on Free Republic to see what kind of comments were made on their 2004 Democrat Convention thread during Obama's debut as keynote speaker.
This was when the nation was first introduced to the future Dem. Presidential 'hopeful', Barack the-candidate-formerly-known-as-Hussein Obama.

(Presented in no particular order. Although I saved my favorite for last.)

"This kid is smooth..."

"He's a duded-up Kirby vacuum cleaner salesman."

"Don't ignore this guy......he is THE FUTURE STAR of the Democrat Party."

"Barack Obama is going to run for President someday."

"Or ..... is this guy a Muslem brother?"

"He kind of reminds me of one of The Nation of Islam guys"

"God, it will be funny calling him Osama when he does run for Pres. (It will happen. The dems are grooming him now.)"

"Every black preacher in America could get up on that stage and be just as dynamic as this guy.
He hasn't yet been co-opted by the Rainbow Coalition, but that's inevitable. He'll make it to the Senate, and be the great black hope for the Democrat Party.
But, if he stays in that party, he'll be Al Sharpton in 10 years."

"Obama spoke well and represented the beliefs and ideals of 40% of the country.
Hopefully that % won't grow, because those ideals are more Socialist than Democratic."

"The guy is a really good speaker, if you believe that the delivery counts more than the actual words said. ...but thankfully, there are very, very few people who would vote for an OBAMA. Sounds too much like Osama."

"If the media and the party get behind him, the world may be his oyster. Wonder what Hillary thinks of him?

BTW, IS he a Muslim? Just wondering."

"We have to find the dirt on this guy.
No worries...Hillary's on it!"

"Danger signals coming off him in waves. That's why I wish we could recruit him to our side; it would be a coup. VP for Hillary in '08?"

"Obama is probably as far left as they go. But he's telegenic, he's a good speaker and he's educated. In today's political environment, that makes him dangerous to the GOP."

"If Obama made a strong lurch to becoming a centerist instead of hardcore Liberal....the country would be well served by him. At least he is an articulate idiot."

""How and why does Obama come from nowhere and end up speaking at the convention? Someone has plans for him!"

This is the Great Reinvention part of the convention. Preaching unity, we're ALL Americans, there's no difference in idology (BS!!) We must all stand together, yada yada....He'll probably be the most quoted. Then people will start looking at him more closely. And there had BETTER be someone there.

BACK TO FEAR, FEAR, the only thing we havw to FEAR is FEAR ITSELF...SO BE AFRAID!!!"

"He sure is trying to cover all the bases tonight. Even got the crowd to chant once. Hope, hope, hope.... he needs to take a breath."

"they are actually saying that he will be running for PRES in 2008....Yeah, seriously!!"

No Wonder the Germans Hate Scientology

Could it be because L. Ron swiped the idea from one of their own?


HT: Boing-Boing

Our New Local Cham'peens

Been awhile since I did any obligatory Mom-braggin' 'bout the younguns.
My youngest's basketball team won the tournament last night. And it was a surprizingly exciting game and a hard fought victory. These lil' gals earned the spot.

Popcorn League is a big deal here in the middle of nowhere. Thanks to some really piss poor financial management by the school board years ago, we lost high school football, so the only sport that the kids have to look forward to in the upper grades is basketball. Young potential high school talent is groomed in the elementary grade Popcorn League. It only runs for about 6 weeks in the dead of winter, but the kids all look forward to it and the final tournament is a major event in this 'burg of about 700. The really good players can later vie for a spot on the "traveling team" which pits the younguns against other local elementary schools and is yet another favorable addition to their resume' later on. My youngun wants to make the traveling team. After last night, she may get her wish. (Although Mom ain't looking forward to those 6 a.m. practices!!! Oy! A 20 mile drive to school at 5:30 in the morning? You're kidding, right? I think I like being a band mom better, the hours are more civilized.)

This tournament had been delayed 3 times due to the weather- we have had a spate of almost weekly ice storms, dumping sleet, ice and snow for nearly the entire month of February-always hitting either right on the weekends or close to it. Finally enough of the glop melted off and the weather stabilized long enough to get the games back on, and the tournament was hastily arranged for Monday night.
Naturally, my youngest had an orthodontist appointment that day as well, so Mom had to really hustle. I had to get her to her appointment by 2:50 (a 50 mile drive, one way) and really hope it was a quickie so that I could shuttle her back to the school by the 4:30 start time. We made it with 15 minutes to spare-enough time for her to get changed and warm up.

They beat their first team easily, 25 to 14. (My youngest making about 10 of those points!) Now we had a long spell to cool our heels while the other 2 girls teams and the boys teams duked it out. We cruised into town for some dinner.

When we got back we found out who they would be playing against- no surprize. It was the team they had just narrowly beat a few weeks ago, in overtime. These lil' gals play hard. And they have a not so secret weapon- The Moose.
The Moose is the unflattering nickname given to a 6th grade girl on that team who is about 5'8" and weighs nearly as much as a large adult. I'm guessing about 185. I'm not kidding. Every time I see her play I'm reminded of that basketball scene in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", where Nickleson's character is trying to teach the mute and mountainous "Chief" how to play. She's not fast, not aggressive...she's just, well, HUGE. And all the other lil' gals are scared to death of her. And like "Chief" she just lopes along and consistently makes baskets, simply because no one can even get near her reach. She towers above her teammates and all the other 6th grade girls. Most of them barely come up to her shoulder...on tippy-toes!

And mine always gets stuck with guarding her when they play, because she is the tallest on her team...but Moose has about 90 pounds on her. Mine fears the worst if Moose should lose her balance.

Nevertheless, our spunky lil' team went at it with all they had. Moose's team matched them point for point all 4 quarters. By the second half, Moose's face was a bright purple red. A good indicator how hard she was pushing her massive frame. We were giving them a run for their money. Possesion was rapid fire, and most of us looked like we were watching a ping-pong game rather than basketball. Mine got in her licks, making quite a few hoops. I was cheering myself hoarse from the stands. At the buzzer one of ours made a brave toss from half court, but missed- the score was 16 to 16. My youngest had earned 6 of those points. She was tired but psyched, had that crazed squirrel look. Like the others, she wanted this win...bad.
Now into over time.
Once again they went at it with all they had. Once again it was like ping-pong. Moose was wearing out. I could see her downcourt, hands on her knees, hunched over, breathing heavy. This was quite a workout for a very overweight 13 yr. old, they had played her for the entire game, she hadn't once had any bench time.
As the clock ticked down, neither team had scored! Then, just before the buzzer, divine intervention.
The Moose went down!
No one saw it, since all our attention was at our hoop where our kids were trying like heck to make a basket, rebounding like crazy to no avail-maybe that's why they call it Popcorn- all you could see was a cluster of kids, all bobbing and leaping. Moose was loping along just past half court and then -BOOM- on the floor, howling in pain. She was clutching her right knee. They stopped the clock with 6 seconds. I felt bad for the Moose. Her knees just couldn't cart all that weight any longer. It had to hurt. All the girls were visibly shakened.

The girls and boys P.E. coaches helped her up and lugged her to the bench. Moose was loudly sobbing. Ice was immediately administered. Play resumed. At the buzzer, still no winning points.
Now into sudden death. Geez! What a game!
With Moose out of the picture, our gals scored quickly. Game over...finally! The place erupted in hoots and cheers.18 to 16. WooHoo!
This had to have been one of the most exciting Popcorn Girls Leagues games ever in recent memory. In all the years mine have been playing I cannot ever recall one that went into sudden death and only one that went into overtime before.
I'm so proud of those kids.
And I really do hope Moose's injury ain't too severe. Poor thing.

Damn! I'm Hungry!

...and I didn't even know it!!

The worry-wort, hand wringing, do gooder social scientist bunch at the U of Mo. in Columbia have released a groundbreaking new study proving that once and for all that Missouri is almost as bad as Biafra was in the 70's.

OK, so I exaggerated a bit. But that's what they do, too. So sue me.

Gotta justify all that thar Fed dough rolling in on the war on poverty, dontcha know.
(Which, by the way, has become the longest "war" in U.S. history...going on over 40 years now. Anyone know who's winning?)

According to their press release "food insecurity" is an issue:
(I love that phrase! Leave it to the pointy heads!)

"During 2004-2006, an average of 4.4 percent of Missourians experienced hunger and the physical, psychological and social harms of not having enough food,” Rikoon said. “Regretfully, recent trends in hunger are not positive ones for the state. Current averages for hunger represent a more than 20 percent increase over the averages for 2001-2003. That increase is one of the highest in the nation. (ed note: ONOES!!!) It is likely that food insecurity and hunger needs will keep rising in the near future."

I must confess, I may have had a hand in this study. I recall about 2 years ago getting a survey that was focused entirely on food. I can't recall exactly which state department sent this thing to me, but since we are still on the books around here as being officially "poor" I reckoned I'd go ahead and play the game and answer the questions as honestly as possible. I can recall one question in particular, because it was worded so ridiculously anal and in light of the questions about the accuracy of the number of "un-insured" in this nation and just how that number was arrived at, I now can see how these "hunger stats" have been played fast and loose to indicate a "crisis".
The question had asked IF, for any reason whatsoever, I, as the head of household, had ever skipped a meal in order that my dependents might be able to eat, even if it was only once.

Honest answer: Yes. But they don't allow you to explain (of course!) In retrospect maybe I should have answered No, because that is more closer to the truth. But since the incident was still fresh in my mind at that time, I went ahead and answered Yes. (stupid me!)

Here's what happened:
We all were in town, it was past lunchtime, the younguns were getting antsy and wanting something to nosh on. I took 'em to the Subway shop.

As they were ordering, I fumbled about in my pocket to see just how much cash I had left on me after a morning of errands and shopping. I scanned the menu board and quickly mentally calculated that I would be about 2 bucks short for all of us to eat. Since I really wasn't hungry anyway, I didn't order. So, Yes, I did skip a meal. But No, it wasn't critical to my health and it wasn't the noble, yet tragic sacrifice that they tried to make it appear.

So there. I wonder how many others who had answered that survey had had similar incidences. Something to think about. Kinda like those unemployed people who were uninsured for about a week in between jobs. Get enough of them and you can create a crisis of medically uninsured on paper.

I found it interesting that of all the counties in Mo. the south east and south central counties were cited as being the best about addressing the needs of the hungry.
"The areas of highest need, such as southeast and south central Missouri were also high performers in meeting hunger needs,” said Sandy Rikoon, co-author and director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security."

Well, DUH! Ever been to a VFD potluck? A local Pig Roast? Believe me, hunger is not an issue around here!

Seriously, the main reason we do so well in that area is simple: We're rural. Churches are involved and folks still take an interest in the well being of their neighbors. We give 'til we don't got no more just about. The Angel Food ministry is big around here, too. I use it and I can easily afford groceries at the local store, but the program does save us some major cash monthly. In short, we just take care of our own-on a local, private manner.

But to the eggheaded researchers who are looking to preserve their gravy train, that concept is just too bizarre to even consider! By their understanding, most po' folks are just on the verge of feasting on lead paint chips and eating play-dough to survive...and the gub'mint MUST do something! See? We have the stats to prove it!!!

The war on poverty is too lucrative to 'win'.

Karma

Yep, Karma's a bitch, ain't it, Johnnyboy?

HT: Hot Air

The nation’s top federal election official told Sen. John McCain yesterday that he cannot immediately withdraw from the presidential public financing system as he had requested, a decision that threatens to dramatically restrict his spending until the general election campaign begins in the fall.

The prospect of being financially hamstrung by the very fundraising system he helped create is the latest in a series of bitter challenges for the presumed GOP nominee, who still faces a fractured conservative coalition as he assumes the mantle of party leadership.

******************
If the FEC refuses McCain’s request to leave the system, his campaign could be bound by a potentially debilitating spending limit until he formally accepts his party’s nomination. His campaign has already spent $49 million, federal reports show. Knowingly violating the spending limit is a criminal offense that could put McCain at risk of stiff fines and up to five years in prison.

'Gayest' Hillary Campaign Song Vid-- EVAH!

I always wondered what happened to "Up with People".

Disabling the comments was a wise move.

CNN, Obama pWn'd by C/C Typist!

Oh dear, someone is outta a job today. But if you're going to do something that will get you canned- go big- and give 'em something to talk about!!

This screen shot is making the rounds this morning. At the time A.C. Cooper was saying that Hillary had called Obama to congratulate him on his win in Wisconsin, but the closed caption typist decided to have some fun and insert their own editorial comment.



HEH!!!!


HT: FreeRepublic

Dead Castro "Resigns", Obama to Gain New V.P. Choice?

Woo-Hoo!
Keeping with the old school of Commie power transistions, El Presidente released a letter stating his intentions not to run for an upteenth re-election.
The language in the letter is a little weird to me. Not the usual Castro lingo we've seen in letters to the people before, so it's safe to say he's dead, I think--been dead. They were just trying to get the new power structure in place these past few months.

Expect a news flash about the beloved tyrant of the island "passing quietly in his sleep" in about a week. By March at the latest.

The Lovely Michelle has the story and a very funny "Castro Zombie", compliments of Babalu-Blog.

Chavez said to be inconsolable.
Hollywood elite are openly weeping.
Michael Moore drowning his sorrows in a case of Krispy Kremes.

My Secret Life...

Why, yes, I do have a life other than just fiddle fartin' around here wasting bandwidth. Not that you asked.

Back in the fall of last year it seemed like a great idea. But, now depending on who you choose to listen to or believe about the current economic climate, there are times I wonder if I'm doing the right thing. But those times only last a nanosecond. In my gut I know this will be a smart thing. I have to think of my financial future and that of my kids. ( And, I myself, personally feel that a lot of the doom and gloom is just manufactured for the election season.)
Besides, I really need something to do. I have a big wad of cash just laying here screaming, no, begging to be thrown down a rathole and since Thompson out of the race, I just figured this would be the best use of the dough. And oft times the best job is one you create yourself, eh?

So without any further ado---
BEHOLD! MY BIG, FAT WHITE ELEPHANT!

In 9 Months...

The other week a caller to Limbaugh's show made the comparison of McCain's inevitable nomination to finding out you're pregnant.
She said something to the effect that a lot can change in 9 months- at first you're scared and confused-worried that you'll be a lousy parent, upset at all the radical changes this event will do to your familiar routine. But then as time wears on, you accept and even anticipate the birth. It's all good in the long run.

She does make a good point. As a woman, who has been through that process, I can appreciate the analogy.

However, perpetual cynic that I am, may I offer a contrasting view?

What if, instead of finding out you're knocked up, you're told you have cancer?
In that case, 9 months could be a death sentence.
Instead you would do everything in your power to be rid of it- surgery, chemo-what ever it took, and you would take action as soon as possible to stem the disease.
You wouldn't dare take the foolish route of waiting 9 months to "get used to" the idea of having cancer.

Would you?

From the "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" File...

HT: ReuterNews, via the Lovely Michelle

I'm thinkin' of something along the elegant and austere lines of the Berlin Bunker...

What if you could redesign the White House for the 21st century?
Storefront for Art and Architecture wants your ideas!!
And hey, it's a competition.
Submit your best ideas here.

HT: Boing-Boing

Death, Destruction, Mayhem Sweeps the South, Midwest

Today citizens of the Southern mid-west states climbed out of the debris at dawn's light, dazed and bewildered from the onslaught that began at approximately 7 p.m., central time. The massive freak cold front slammed into the Midwest and onward to the Mason-Dixon line with a ruthlessness rarely seen in these parts and most terrifying of all it came without warning for some citizens.

There are reports of many deaths, upteen injuries, and the damage done to the region is breathtaking and shocking.

"I had just come home from voting," says Ira Evinrude of Door Knob, MO. " and had settled in to watch the national returns on the T.V. and then- BOOM! no warning at all, the whole damn house fell in on me. I felt like my world had come to an end. I don't know what all I'm gonna do now. All I got left is this here turkey sammich I was eating when the storm broke." Mr. Evinrude was pulled from the wreckage of his home by a neighbor, who also assisted in saving Evinrude's wife, Charlotte, who had hunkered next to the Frigidaire when the roof gave way.

Mona Quizenberry of Percy, TN. reports that the onslaught sounded like a freight train full of Mexicans, "just a-screaming and a-yelling and raising all kinds of McCain. I ain't never heard anything like it! It was terrifying!" She escaped from the mayhem with her elderly mother-in-law and their plucky 3 legged Boston Terrier, Jeff, who came out of the fray with only a small cut over an eye.

Numerous accounts from all over the area are reporting a similar sound to the storm as it swept through the region. Some have stated that it sounded more like a jumbo jet full of Mexicans, or a platoon of semi-trucks full of Mexicans, roaring through town. The freight train comparison was the most frequent one cited, however.

The entire region suffered wave after wave of assaults into the wee hours. The long term devastation is immeasurable at this point, experts say. "We'll be assessing the damage for weeks, probably months to come," says Ronald Hickoff, a local disaster preparedness official and VFD fire chief for Notting Bluff, TN., "I don't see how we will ever recover from this. We got folks just stumbling about in a daze right now. They just don't know what hit 'em."

Meteorologists are pointing to a freak occurrence of weather fronts converging over the nation that caused last night's relentless destruction. An unusually frigid cold front from the southwest barreled across the Midwest, fueled by a peculiar massive influx of hot air from the east coast region, setting off wave after wave of freak storms that pummeled the country all night long. This phenomenon is so unusual that meteorologists don't even have a name for it.

According to Bob Neverly of the Missouri office of the NWS, "This is unheard of. I cannot recall ever a time when a cold front ever blew in from the southwest with such blatant arrogance and strength with a total disregard for for anything in it's path. Add to that the unbelievable amount of hot air from the east coast that was feeding this thing, it's a wonder anything is left standing. This was a storm of remarkable magnitude and great destructive potential-like a herd of rampaging rhinoceroses trampling across the the African veldt- nothing was safe. We'll be months analyzing the data from this and won't know for sure the long term effects until at least November."

"It's enough to make you cuss like a senator.", added Neverly.

Jeremiah 4:22

My people are fools;
they do not know me.

They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.

They are skilled in doing evil;
they know not how to do good.

Decision Altitude

Hmmmmmm, what to do, what to do...
We have set before us a virtual buffet of choices, strategies and scenarios- bereft of any nourishment or substance. A heaping platter of roasted, slow baked, honey basted crap with unlimited nauseating side dishes has been set before us...do we dig in and happily say "thank you, sir, can I have some more?" or do we just stiff the waiters and walk out without leaving a tip?
Here's some of the select choices and combos on todays menu:

Max Headroom or Mr. Potter

Rufus T. Firefly or Gomer Pyle

Stalin or Hitler

Mr. Potter or The New Messiah

Max Headroom or Nurse Ratched

Rufus T. Firefly or Chthlu

The New Messiah or a multi-headed Hydra

Gomer Pyle or Nurse Ratched

Good or Evil

Us or Them

Bambi or Godzilla

Free or Slave

As disgusting and cowardly as it is, I fear our only choice is: Who do we want to blame come 2012?
Republicans or Dems?

When I awoke this morning this line from Braveheart popped into my head. It's the famous line by Stephen, the crazy Irishman.
It expresses my feelings today perfectly. (caution: language)

Preach It, Brutha Ott!

Another so funny yet so true piece from Scott Ott.

McCain Claims GOP 'Lesser of Two Evils' Mantle

2008-02-04) — On the eve of the Super Tuesday primaries, Republican front runner John McCain said conservative voters should “shut up, suck it up, and vote for the lesser of two evils.”

The Arizona senator refused to specify which of the remaining three GOP candidates is the “other evil,” because he said, “my inner Reagan prevents me from speaking ill of a fellow Republican. But here’s a little straight talk: Fred Thompson is gone. I’m the devil you know, and I’m asking for your vote.”

The candidate who made George W. Bush look conservative by contrast in the 2000 primaries, said he realizes that “a lot of Republicans are reluctant to vote for me because of my stands against tax cuts, against free speech in political campaigns, against aggressive interrogation of al Qaeda terrorists, against former Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld, against drilling for oil in Anwar, and against the rule of law when it comes to illegal aliens.”

Naturally, you have to read the rest!

And now a message from the candidate...



"I'm John McCain and I approve this message."

On the Eve of Sooper Dooper, Whamadyne, Extraspectacular Whizbang Tuesday

Lem, at Hillbilly White Trash has some thoughts on what McQueeg would have to say in order to win his vote.
(Bottom line: Liars always lie.)

For what it's worth, Fred! is still on the ballot here in Missouri.
Just after Ron Paul, who has the top spot on the ballot. (Just how is the order determined, I wonder, since it's not alphabetical-by filing date?)

There's also a juicy lil' story starting to float around about McCain's time as a POW. Damning to beat the band, but unfortunately just vague enough on the details to easily be dismissed. Lem picked up on it and when I saw it the other day I gave thought to posting it. If you haven't seen it yet, one of the many places you can find it is here.
We know what McCain's mom thinks about him- but has anyone asked his ex-wife to opine?

"...But McCain was making bold career moves on the home front, hotly pursuing a 25-year-old blond from a wealthy Arizona family -- while married. Carol, his wife at the time, had once been quite a babe herself apparently, until a near-fatal car accident (while her husband was in Vietnam) left her 4 inches shorter, overweight and on crutches. The couple had three children, whom Carol cared for alone while her husband was in Vietnamese prisons.

McCain's strategy worked perfectly: After chasing Cindy Hensley around the country for six months, he closed the deal late in the year, had a divorce by February and was married to Hensley shortly thereafter. Bingo! McCain was a candidate for Congress by early 1982, his coffers full, his home in the proper Arizona district purchased.

The story is compelling -- and repellent -- for a lot of reasons. And it raises some familiar questions. We have to wonder why Americans are able to excoriate a presidential candidate (or president) who cheats on his wife but accept one who did the same thing with the concentration and energy of a military strategist. Is it because McCain didn't get caught? Is it because he married his mistress? At this point, after much navel- and penis-gazing, it seems like a moot question, if only for reasons of sheer exhaustion."

(Link- yeah I know it's Salon.com, but hey, it's still a good story.)
Jeez, Johnny-boy, why didn't you just go out and buy a red Corvette like everyone else? As one of the female gender, I find this to be especially repugnant and this alone speaks-no, screams loudly-of his character.


Now, I never claimed to be an expert, not even the slightest bit bright-I'm just some lout with a keyboard and internet access having some fun here- sometimes serious, most times cynical. I'm a glass-is-half-empty-and-someone-put-a-cigarette-out-in-it type person. So needless to say I'm finding this 'shoving a candidate down our throats' approach by the media suspect.

Have any of you nose holding, shit eatin' grinning I'm voting for McCain types ever wondered why he's the darling of the media?
You, who previously have grumbled and moaned and wailed about the bias of the mainstream media against conservatives, going so far as to say they are all in bed with the socialist agenda and that they are all tools and hate anything right and pure and good and moral, falling just short of claiming that they are all the spawn of Satan, Hisself, now for whatever curious and peculiar reason suddenly decided TO BELIEVE THEM WHEN THEY PROCLAIM MCCAIN AS OUR CANDIDATE????!!!!!
W. The. Fuggety-Fug-Fug???!!!

I for the life of me can't understand that. What the hell is wrong with you people?
Doesn't it strike you just a bit odd? McCain is in like Flynn because he is the one they Dems CAN beat. They want an easy target and gawdnose, he's that to a T. The guy's got more skeletons in his closet than Forest-Lawn.
Besides that, it's a WIN-WIN for the Dems. No matter who wins the big cheese in November, the left agenda will roll on. A McCain win will assure they have a useful idiot in the white house who has his nose so far up their butts it's a wonder any of them can sit down. If he implodes by November (which I confess, would be absolutely delicious to watch) and Mrs. Clinton gets in or Mrs. Obama is picking out the drapery colors, it's all good, by their reckoning.

It comes down to who do want to take the blame for the next 4 years?
The GOP or the Dems?

I, myself, would rather be able to sleep at night knowing I voted my conscience, despite the outcome. I survived the Carter years. And although I'm much older now and will be more affected by any dumbass decisions that hail from Washington that most assuredly will be far worse than the peanut farmer ever dreamed up, I can get through this.
You know, maybe my problem is that I have never, ever watched one episode of American Idol. I guess if I had, this all wouldn't seem so damn weird to me.

I haven't canceled my coach seat reservation on the Handbasket to Hell just yet. I just hope I get a window seat.

The Whistle Pig Report, 2008

Well, dangit, the day broke bright and sunny here in the Ozarks, which means any whistle pig/ground hog so inclined to creep out of its' burrow on a 20 degree morning will see his shadow upon the crusty hard snow that remains around here.
No hope 'til late March.

I've been tracking the Feb. 2nd magic date ever since I moved here and I've found the old wives tale to be somewhat accurate-even without hunting down the old wife to verify.

If it's cloudy on the 2nd, temps begin to moderate and warm about 1 to 2 weeks after that day, by the end of February, the daffodils are already in full bloom around here and the greening has begun.

Bright and sunny- wretched weather and temps follow. Some more snow, sleet, cold hard rains and general ickiness well into March. We might have daffodils after St. Pat's Day...if the ground thaws enough.
Damn groundhog!

So in honor of the dire prediction, let's have some roasted whistle pig! (And don't drive angry!)

GROUNDHOG AND SWEET POTATOES

1 Groundhog
Cold water
Salt
Pepper
Sweet potatoes or white potatoes
Cornbread

The animal should be dressed as soon as possible, all scent glands removed and well soaked for several hours in cold, salty water. All excess fat may be trimmed off after the meat is cold. Parboil to remove and remaining fat and drain well. Place in a moderate oven and pack sweet potatoes or even white potatoes all around. Salt and pepper the meat and bake until brown. Be sure the potatoes are thoroughly cooked. Serve with cornbread and use the heavy gravy that forms during baking.

SHOCKING COMMENTS

Ok, since we're on our 2nd snow day here, let's play a little guessing game.
See if you can figure out which site these comments about the Republican Debate the other night came from. No fair scrolling down ahead of yourself!
Here we go:

McCain has particular problems... for the last week, in his speeches and TV appearances, he's started to look and sound tired -- really, really tired. Even his Florida "victory speech" sounded like he would have rather been in bed. If this keeps up, he's in trouble -- so far people are giving him the benefit of the doubt, on his health, but if he continues to look like he's maybe not up to the task of campaigning, it's going to become an issue.

Is it just me. Or does McCain sound like a tired, cranky, mean old man? He's positively gleeful about being mean!

God McCain looks old and sounds like my late grandfather meandering off aimlesly. Can anybody say Bob Dole?

Did anyone see the Straight Talk Express go by? Because all I'm seeing is McCain blow smoke about his record on Bush's tax cuts.

Question to McCain: If your immigration bill came to the floor of the Senate, would you vote for it?
Mr. Weasel Word Express refused to answer the question, twice saying his bill won't come to the floor as a way to avoid the question.

McCain just doesn't have the oomph needed to keep up with Hillary or Barack or any other Democratic candidate. He sits hunched over the table and speaks in a phlegmatic manner that is downright soporific.

Romney Scored with the right. McCain looked like a sociopath. Huckabee sounds like a talking, Basset hound faced Hallmark card. Paul is fun and crazy



So, where did these come from?
Free Republic?
Hot Air's live blogging?
Michelle's live blog thread?
(Insert name of any other conservative blog here) live debate thread?

Oops, so sorry-if you guessed any of those above blogs, you're WRONG! (we have some lovely consolation gifts for you to take home, thanx for playing.)

These comments, along with many more just like them were gleaned from...(are you ready?)

THE DAILY KOS!!

I shitteth thou not.

My God, it is yet another sign of the impending apocalypse...moonbats agreeing with conservatives!!

7 Good Reasons to Vote for Elmer Gantry

Has Jim Robinson, the owner of Free Republic.com gone completely insane??!!
Not so fast kiddies- as they say in the movies and cartoons: It's a crazy idea...but it just might work!
(In the spirit of full disclosure, it should be noted that Jim was/is a huge Fred! supporter.)

"My friends, I have to admit that I've been in a bit of a quandary since the Real Conservatives ® Thompson and Hunter dropped out of the race leaving us to to place our bets on one the four headless horsemen. But after having a day or three to sort it all out, I'm beginning to see a ray of hope.

Number one, my worst fear that the pro-abortion, pro-gay, anti-gun social liberal Rudy Giuliani might be nominated, and thereby bring an abrupt and unholy end to the pro-life conservative movement within the GOP has been allayed. His evil culture of death platform has been soundly rejected by the Republican voters. Thank God! If nothing else is gained, that alone is a huge victory for us!

And that leaves us with the unwelcome slippery task of having to determine and select the least evil of the three remaining RINOs. But wait! When choosing between evils, why not choose the good?

McCain is insane and there are many good reasons not to choose him, but I'll list just five: McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy, McCain-Lieberman, the Keating 5, and the Gang of 14. No thanks. McCain is out!

Romney ran on a pro-abortion platform, is pro gay rights, is prone to BIG government solutions, promises anything to anyone for a vote, and flip-flops on important issues. Can't trust him.

Now Governor Huckabee. Could this be the good vs evil? He's a Baptist minister. A genuine 100% pro-God, pro-life, pro-family, pro-gun, Southron Christian social conservative!

And that would be my reason no. 1 to support Huckabee. He has the trust and backing of the Christian evangelicals and the support of the Bible Belt. You cannot win the presidency without the South, and I believe the pro-God, pro-life, pro-family, pro-gun, pro-America Mike Huckabee is the most likely of the three GOP hopefuls to carry the South. And that's a pretty darn good reason!

My number two reason is that he is NOT McCain (and that's a pretty darn good reason too).

Number three (and this will be a tough one for a lot of my FReeper Friends) is that he is NOT Romney.

Numbers four and five are he's NOT Hillary and NOT Obama. Oohrah!

Number six, he plays a mean bass and he's a traditional favorite at Free Republic's infamous quadrennial Inaugural Balls in Washington, DC. Perhaps we could persuade President Huckabee to drop by our ball and perform his rocking rendition of "Sweet Home Alabama!" Now, wouldn't that be a hoot!

Number seven, if we can keep Huckabee in the race all the way through, thus preventing McCain or Romney from gaining enough delegates to win the nomination, then maybe, just maybe a deadlocked convention might seek out another candidate. One who can re-unite the Reagan Coalition, save the GOP, and put us back on the conservative track. Of course, my personal favorite to be that man would be FRed Thompson.

Woo hoo!!

Let it ring out through grassroots America and on to the convention! Support life! Support the GOP! Support Huckabee! And re-draft FRed Thompson!!

Never give in, never give up, and never lose hope.

Long live the Reagan Revolution!"



UPDATE: This thread on FR has over 800 comments so far, ranging from Yeah, sounds good to me! to You're friggin' nuts, dude!

Jim steps in with further 'splainin':

If Huckabee gets knocked out or quits early, then it’s very likely that his delegates could go to McCain and he becomes the nominee with no challenge at the convention. It’s beginning to appear that, short of a miracle, McCain is going to win this thing hands down anyway. I can’t see Huckabee’s Christian pro-life evangelical supporters suddenly jumping ship to Romney with his pro-abort record, so Huckabee can probably stay in the race all the way through, even on a shoestring budget. If he wants to. And if not, who knows how his supporters will split. Chances are most will not go to Romney. McCain is in like Flynn unless we have a brokered convention. Even then, he could still get it. There’s only a slim chance that someone else would be drafted. It’d have to be one heck of a knock ‘em down drag ‘em out fight.

Look, this thread was done kind of tongue-in-cheek and I’m not really asking anyone to vote for Huckabee or even support him for his sake, or vote for anyone else for that matter. I no longer have a dog in this race other than I’m hoping our eventual RINO nominee is at least pro-life and is one who can carry all the Red states, including the bible belt. We’re going to need them. I just think the possibility of a brokered convention where there could be a possibility of pulling in a well-rounded reliable conservative is an interesting development and is worth the discussion.