I also have cats. So years ago, after the second doggy door was knocked out of the door between the TV room/library and the laundry room, I had a pass-through put in the wall so the cat pans can be hidden in the laundry room.
Unfortunately some dogs view litter pans as tootsie roll dispensers. Copper is one of those dogs and has recently discovered the pass through. I'm now keeping the pans super clean. And he's providing me with no end of entertainment.
Text from neighbor today: did I see a guy walking past the house a little while ago? No, I was on the back side of the house. And Copper was engrossed in a frozen soup bone and didn't bark. Seems that she saw guy walking by the house and then turn off and go into the bushes. She went out and asked if she could help him. He brushed her off with a nonsensical answer, then walked on. Shortly after, a pickup truck pulled up, the driver went into the bushes and returned with a pouch, then left.
Uhhhhh. Yeah. Since she wasn't expecting such a flagrant bit of drug transfer she doesn't have enough info to feel it can be reported to the Sheriff. Now we're waiting for them to be dumb enough for a repeat so info like plate # can be snagged.
Update: Bad guy was accidently released by the VA county next to us. Has been seen a couple blocks down from me. Doors are locked, guns are checked.
Update to update: Bad guy is back in custody.
This whole dust up over the Mar-A-Lago raid and "we're scared he has classified documents" reminds me of long long ago in a galaxy far far away when I worked for a gummit agency that was involved with Nike missile bases. Specifically, positioning the launch sites. Eventually, some years after the Nikes were decommissioned, our work was declassified. A gummit spook came in and used a black magic marker to mark out the super secret stuff. And because the spook was taking the originals my agency made copies. There were a lot of documents so everybody was detailed for shifts of copy detail. And I quickly realized that things went faster if I didn't close the copier lid at each page. So I watched the light flash under each sheet.
I'm still laughing 40 years later.
Did I mention 1) the "classified" work had been stored in folders that everybody had access to all the time? or 2) that by law all our work had to be in PEN? Which makes an impression on paper. That isn't hidden by magic marker. And because of that every time the copier light flashed the blacked out data was clearly visible.
I've been dubious about the classified/declassified thing ever since.
Watch Biden's face in the video. Do you really think he doesn't have dementia?
Tweet of The Day… | Weasel Zippers
Hat tip to Weasel Zippers
The good news: The US Stasi have probably handed the presidency to Donald Trump in 2024.
The bad news: they've probably already hired their shooter.
And if you don't think elements within the US government would use assasination to get what they want then you haven't been paying attention.
Just as I will no longer use the term "pro-choice", since "pro-abortion" is more accurate, I will no longer use the term FBI. "US Stasi" is more appropriate.
And please stop with the "so many good people there" stuff. The ENTIRE agency is corrupt.
David McCullough has died. One of the best at making history accessable and exciting.
I have a degree in geology. I love science. But I also love history. I thought about getting a degree in history after I retired. Then I found out what that would cost even for a senior retiree. Never mind. I'll just keep on keeping on reading what interests me.
And I'll miss McCullough's books.
But a biography of Harding is awaiting me by my bed and a history of the patent war between Edison and Westinghouse is on its way.
I've gotten into the habit of carrying a pocket knife of a certain size. It wasn't expensive but it clipped to my pocket and I could keep the blade sharp enough for my uses. Didn't realize how much I used it until I lost it.
And part of that was "Didn't guys used to always carry a pocket knife?" I kept asking guys when I needed one and they didn't have one. Dad always had one and I have a couple of his but I don't want to risk losing them.
Although, really, I knew it, you knew it, the January 6 committee knew it, and everybody that supports the January 6 committee knew it.
'BREAKING: Internal email reveals day before Jan 6 riot, US Capitol Police intel unit warned "BLM from Baltimore" was bussing in rioters: "BLM/Antifa will wear MAGA hats, wear camo, and attempt to blend in with MAGA crowd" so violence blamed on Trump supporters attending Trump rally'
And who is in charge of the Capitol Police? Why, Nancy Pelosi. Who, I suspect, PAID for it as well.
... it gave Thurgood Marshall a case of Forest Whitaker eye...
"Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in as the first Black Supreme Court justice in U.S. history," GMA tweeted at 1:46 p.m.
But at least he's cute.
And hope we don't have to pass the ammunition.
There are 3 things about the pro-abortionists that are very true: 1) They are exactly the same as the nice Germans who let 6 million Jews go to their deaths. Nice people. Next door neighbor people. Who "othered" a whole group of human beings because the campaign to do so was so well done. And that othering led to an unbelievable slaughter. 2) They think women are sluts lacking in self control. Yes, they do. They'll scream about rape and incest and the mother's life all the while knowing that those situations are a very, very tiny percentage of abortions. In reality, they just think women are sluts who can't keep their legs closed. And 3) the biggest beneficiary of abortion has been men. By far. Play all you want, then crush the heads, pull the legs and arms off, suck it into a bucket, and voila! Free to play again with no ties to bind. No responsibility involved.
40 years ago I used to do my own oil changes. And spark plugs. And tire changes. And we had to be able to identify parts of an engine to pass Driver's Ed.
Today I was 60 miles from home at a doc appt. Note to self - pay more attention to the addresses of referrals next time. Just before I got there the oil pressure light on my Subaru came on. I had to use the 2 inch thick car manual to find the hood latch. And then I realized that I didn't even remember where the oily stuff is supposed to be on the dip stick.
It's nice to have a little bit of money so you can pay other people to do grunge jobs like car repairs for you. But I couldn't remember what the dip stick was supposed to tell me. Feeling facepalmy now.
A lot of people seem to think that posting various permutations of "since we have a militia nobody else needs guns" and "they didn't have AR-15s when the Constitution was written so they aren't covered by it" is original thought. As if nobody seriously contemplated the 2nd Amendment until they came up with THIS. Whatever the latest not-well-thought-out THIS is.
And we won't even get into how obvious it is that many people have no idea what type government we have -"It's a democracy so let's just vote to get rid of it!"- or what the president's powers are -"Biden should just sign an executive order banning guns!". Or how screamingly lacking in critical thinking many people are.
I suppose they'd be a bit shocked that, yes, yes, all this 2 A stuff has been thought of before. In detail. And to all the folks from disarmed countries who are telling us how much better and more peaceful their society is, I say, fine. You stay THERE and I'll stay HERE.
"This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty... The right to self-defence is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine the right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any colour or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction." St. George Tucker (1752-1827) Blackstone's Commentaries: with Notes of Reference, to the Constitution and Laws, of the Federal Government of the United States; and of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As quoted in the majority opinion of the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008.
...and a whole bunch of mistakes, maybe this first time dog parent is getting it right.
From what I've read, a big hound is absolutely not the dog for a first time dog owner. And to tell the truth, occasionally I'd happily trade 70 lbs of young hound for a chihuahua. Which is not the same as giving up Copper - aka Knucklehead, Bozo, Bubby, and NoNoNoLeaveIt!
I understand that when dogs sleep on their backs it indicates that they are happy and feel safe. But I have to confess that I'm thinking "That's...undignified." And "I wish he'd stop snoring." And "Oh gawd he's farting!"
Even though he's been leaving for a long time.
I'm not much for mega-stars in the music world. I kinda stopped paying attention after the 80s. But I'm a festival goer and one of the great things about the modern music world is that people who don't play to mega-stadiums can still get their music out there. And years ago I fell in love with one particular performer, Alex Beaton. So many wonderful Celtic musicians out there, but Beaton, ah, Beaton made my heart soar. I knew it wasn't any use to sit down in whatever tent he was performing in. I always stood to one side. I can't dance. I can't sing. But I would be so lost in his music that I would sway and move and sing and just...be...gone.
In 2011, Alex and his step-son were sitting on their patio. His step-son went inside and when he came back Alex was on the ground with a spinal injury that left him a quadriplegic. I don't know if they ever figured out exactly what happened. He and his wife still attended festivals, still kept up his newsletters after, but it was a struggle.
I learned today that Alex passed away on May 27. And I cried. His Scottish heart spoke to my West Virginia hillbilly heart in a way no other musician ever has and probably never will again. And years ago he gave me what I want on my gravestone when I'm laid to rest in our little family graveyard in the back of beyond in Preston County, in the farming settlement where the happiest times of my life were spent.
If you are too lazy to ask why, when 50 years ago guns were common, kids learned to shoot, and schools had shooting clubs, but kids weren't walking into places and opening fire, then just shut up. If you are too lazy to ask why you ignore the weekend slaughter in our big cities, then just shut up. If you are too lazy to ask why certain shootings (including Chicago and Baltimore weekend tallies) are ignored, then just shut up.
And if you are pro-abortion, you definately just need to shut up. Because you are a part of the problem.
Pulled into the Walmart parking lot today and parked next to... a Tesla. With a "Friends of Coal" license plate.
I'm pretty sure I know who that belongs to, and he gets it. Tells people he drives a coal powered car. Looked around for him but could have been his wife and I wouldn't recognize her. But he's a great guy. And he gets it.
If the kids slaughtered in Texas had been slaughtered 1 week short of birth they would have been fine with it.
And if that offends anybody, too bad. Because it's true. The difference between an abortuary and Ulvade is that people have to look the Ulvade victims in the face. In an abortuary the victims just go into a trash can.
Found out this morning that 2 of our St. Simon of Cyrene Trucking Ministry trucks have had things like catalytic converters stolen out of them and the third has been vandalized. We use these trucks to deliver fresh produce and household goods like toilet paper to food pantries throughout WV as well as parts of VA, MD, and PA.
We also are the only charity in the county that picks up and delivers large furniture and appliances to needy folks.
If it was just theft, I would think it was just that. But the vandalization of the third makes me wonder if the pro-aborts (and since the one who dies has no choice, there's no such thing as pro-choice in abortion and I will not use the term), knowing that they would be quickly bundled out the doors and into the arms of local police if they interrupted Mass, have chosen to attack us this way instead.
I also wonder if any one of the screamers currently stomping around at any time in their lives has ever done as much as we do to make sure that women really DO have a choice. I wonder if any of them has ever been as willing to spend their time painting walls for someplace like St. Joseph's Mary's Refuge as they are to scream about the right to kill an innocent and defenseless human being.
...the Winter of Death, but I guess now we will have to survive the Summer of Mostly Peaceful Protest.
Abortion will not end. It will go back to the states, which is actually how the Constitution is supposed to work.
Which means getting involved locally and state level.
...but I took this pic right after I read Tam's post. So this one's for you, New Jovian Thunderbolt.
Rest in peace. Cancer sucks, and we can't shoot our way out of it.
April 18, 2022. Just so you know. After I spent Friday and Saturday digging up and replanting part of the front flower beds.
..I said that I would prefer to spend the 80% of my property taxes that goes to county public education on things like private schools for my granddaughter or someone else's kid's private school education. You know, choosing the best for our kids. Since I don't have any family in this county's schools but I pay for them.
And I was informed that "the collective" is what's important.
I can't go back out there right now because I'm going to be traveling and won't be able to get to confession tomorrow afternoon. And if I give my full and unexpurgated opinion on "the collective" I'll really, really need to go to confession.
With no apologies to Helen Reddy. Because I need to get this straight.
Women are strong and independent and have their identities separate from men...
... but a black husband should be fired for what his white wife said... (isn't that racist too?)...
...and a wife needs her husband to smack someone for her because she feels a joke was insulting...(shouldn't she have smacked Rock herself?)...
...and a guy who is a failure as a guy can pretend to be a girl, steal trophies from them, and parade around naked in a girl's locker room clearly displaying that he finds females arousing (complaints have been made and ignored) and it's ok with Mom...(let alone with Dad?)...
And schoolhouse rapes are OK as long as the guy is wearing a blouse and skirt at the time 'cause he's transgender, you know...
The Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) did not tell the school community when the May 2021 rape happened, and instead, sent out an email saying that if students noticed police on campus, they should rest assured that it was not because of anything that threatened student safety. Police logs show that police were dispatched to the school to deal with an angry parent: Smith, who was unsatisfied by how the school was handling the rape.
Soon after, the school board sought to pass a policy that would permit transgender students to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. To address concern by parents that this could cause a safety issue, Superintendent Scott Zeigler said definitively that there had been no bathroom sexual assaults in the Loudoun schools.
Well, if liberal women are curious, no, I do not respect them. And they give me reason after reason not to, day after day after day.
... if major media - after, what, 2 years? - is finally hopping on the Hunter-Biden-laptop-is-real train because they see that Biden and his policies are going to absolutely destroy the Dem brand and they are preparing to get on the 25th-Amendment train? And they have to get on THAT train because there is info about Joey B. on that laptop that would inevitably lead to an impeachment train?
Speaking of which, the ever-plummeting-in-ratings CNN decided to start a pay-for streaming channel. I guess maybe the execs never considered that if your ratings are in the toilet when you are free it's unlikely people will pay for you either. Heard something today about big layoffs coming maybe as early as May.
And I read HB 1557 today - the Florida law that everybody is screaming about. I assume that all those doing the screaming have also read it, so I don't get where the "Don't say gay" moniker comes from: "gay" does not appear in the bill. Nor do "homosexual" or "transgender". What it DOES say is that sex-ed cannot be taught before 4th grade and it must be age-appropriate when it is taught. But the main thing the bill lays down in law is that the school is not the parent and may not interfere with the parent without legal and financial consequences. Of course, now the challenge will be to enforce the requirements of the law. In little ol', theoretically conservative West Virginia, no sooner does the legislature pass a law then school boards figure out a way of dodging it. But then WV keeps electing Joe Manchin and RINO Shelley Moore Capito, too, so the title "conservative" is a bit dubious.
Heard some teacher whining that he couldn't tell his students about things like what he and his boyfriend did over the weekend. I don't remember ever knowing ANYTHING about any of my teacher's private lives in any grade. They were there to teach. And that's IT. And my education didn't suffer for it.
"Do I use my $0.10 in grocery point discount to top off the tank now while I'm in town or risk the price shooting up $0.30 while saving points for a $0.20 discount?"
On the other hand, thanks to senators like Patricia Rucker, there was a little bit of good news for WV today:
"On Saturday night, the Legislature adjourned sine die from its 2022 session. During this session, they passed House Bill 4048, the WV Keep, Bear and Drive with Arms Act, and sent it to Governor Jim Justice for his signature. On March 9th, Governor Jim Justice signed HB 4048 into law. It will go into effect on May 24th, 90 days from passage
The WV Keep, Bear and Drive with Arms Act affirms that it is lawful to possess loaded and/or uncased long guns in vehicles. This ensures that law-abiding citizens may carry the firearms of their choice, in the manner of their choosing, with them in vehicles. Given that West Virginia already has constitutional carry, law-abiding gun owners should be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights with long guns while traveling throughout the state."
...like shooting bangity things at a nuke plant would generally be considered unwise.
Even if it IS in the country you are invading.
Just sayin'.
Well, no, not really. Anybody with half a brain has seen this coming because we've been seeing the "breakthrough" cases:
Caused by conservatives. If I understand correctly, there is much rejoicing among some because "Encanto", a Disney animated release, crashed and burned in China.
Deep breath now. Thinking about the fact that South American culture is way different from China's. Might think about that. Might influence their preferences.
I'm having to defend my appreciation of it. Very pretty with good music. My favorite from this season is still "Sing 2" and I need to catch up on the Toy Story series because, well, watch the previews. I love the previews.
But, really. When a company does a good thing let them know. They are in it for the money. At some point they will do more good things because the bad things cause them to go out of business. It may take decades. But eventually the worm will turn.
During a time of extreme stress and pressures brought on by soaring gas and food prices, the powers that be thought it wise to spend a day screaming about something that was pretty small compared to what was going on in the rest of the country. We're tired of covid, we're tired of mandate stupidity, we're tired of paying taxes for our kids to not be in school. We're tired of being called Nazis and racists and white extremists and any bad thing some liberal clown comes up with. That was BEFORE today. And that screeching bunch thought it would be a good idea to publically pummel us all day long? They thought it would raise their chances of getting re-elected?
I don't think they read the crowd right.
...and I don't trust anybody anymore. But at I am at least comfortable with any conspiracies the fur balls come up with.
They, at least, are only impinging on my freedom to have more than a tiny slice of my queen sized bed.
