Guard Dog

It's raining like hell here today. I need to grade the dirt road up to the mailbox but that isn't going to happen. Looks like today will be spent eating grilled cheese sandwiches and coffee and watching college football.

Well as you all know I am neither. I am a card carrying dues playing member of the Libertarian Party of Tennessee (and Florida). I dislike Republicans but I end up voting for them because the Democrats slide towards favoring authoritarian government and the general curtailment of free speech and individual liberty just scares the hell out of me. Not that the Repubs are a whole lot better but voting these days has become and exercise in selecting the lesser of two evils I am sorry to say.

You are correct. Being a doctor, no matter how able, does not qualify someone to be President. Surgeon General maybe. That's why I'm not voting for him. If the candidate make Carson his running mate that's all fine and good.

You were right, they don't work. Otherwise I would be asleep right now rather than typing on my laptop while watching ESPN.

The Grizz got a win over Portland tonight. Although it's a good thing an NBA game is 48 minutes long and not 49 or that might have gone the other way, They were gassed in the 4th period. On to Minnesota.

I just find it amusing how every detail of this man's life and every word he ever uttered is under such a microscope yet all of Hillary's whoppers are just accepted with a smile. Like how she tried to join the Marines, how she was named after Edmund Hillary after he climbed Everest (wonder what her parents called from ages 0-6 then), or how Chelsea was jogging at the world trade center when the first plane hit, how she was under fire from snipers during her trip to Bosnia, how they were dead broke when Bill left office (I guess $12M in book advances don't count), Benghazi was caused by a video, Vince Foster committed suicide, etc. But hey, she's got a D after her name so pay no attention to all this... but look over here at this Carson guy. He's encouraged to apply to West Point and then 40 years later makes a quip about having a full scholarship (well no one actually pays for West Point with money, they pay with time) or he has a religious affiliation, or believes things that may not be historically accurate, or believes Adam and Eve were actual people. Well, we can't have HIM in the White House. And while yes he is black he isn't really because he has a R after his name so it's ok to hate him. All this is crap is just political tribalism. Those on the left hate Carson because he's not on the left. Why not just admit that? There is actually nothing wrong with that. I don't like Barack Obama for no reason other than that. He's probably a nice man. I don't care about his religious affiliations, I don't care what his opinions on God or the origin of our species is. I only ever cared about what he would do with political power once he had it. I have heard a lot of people say he's a Muslim. So what if he were? That alone would not be relevant to his job as President. He can't make anyone else Muslim so what do you care? If an atheist were to run I would still vote for them if I wanted someone of their political leanings and ability. They can't outlaw religion or force anyone to be atheist so why is that a problem? If Ben Carson becomes President he can't force you to believe the earth is 6000 years old or that the Garden of Eden would have been visible on Google Earth. So why do you care what he believes? Him believing that will not change the outcome of a single decision he will have the power to make other than what church he attends on Sunday if any. The point I'm trying to make here is it is not necessary to dissect someone's entire life to find reason to justify why you don't like them or won't support them. If you want a big government and Carson wants a small one, well that is enough reason right there. He's against abortion and you're for it. There you go, that is a good reason not to support someone if that is an important issue to you. This obsessive dissection of every utterance in an attempt to discredit the man only sets the left up as hypocrites when they gloss over the lies their own people tell. I want a small government, I don't want gun control, I want lower taxes, I want a closer adherence to the US Constitution. All that means I'm not supporting anyone with a D after their name. I don't care what God they pray to or who they say caused Benghazi. I don't care if Hillary dressed up in a Supergirl suit and saved a mother dog and her puppies from the 10th floor of a burning building. I'm still not voting for her. Just my $.02.

I almost choked on my tuna sandwich reading this!

Booze is the worst possible way of treating insomnia. No argument there. Plus hangovers hurt now. The didn't use to but somewhere around age 35 they went from being a mild inconvenience to a seriously debilitating condition. That's why I don't drink to excess anymore. well, one reason anyway. Tonight I'm taking melatonin.

Ok Rostere being factually incorrect about something is not necessarily an indictment of someone's intelligence. Carson grew up in poverty, excelled in school, earned admission to and graduated from Yale & University of Michigan and went on to became a world famous neurosurgeon. Yes, I would call someone who was able to do that intelligent. It doesn't mean he knows everything or that everything he thinks he knows is factually correct. Heck I consider myself to be reasonably intelligent, a have a BS in Electronics Engineering and I can (and have) design a wireless network from the ground up. But the first two years I lived here in Tennessee I thought the state capital was in Knoxville. It's not. It didn't make me stupid it just meant I was wrong about something.

Ah man that sucks. Lots of bad news on the board lately..

I won't be surprised if it comes out that many of these animals that struck tonight came in as refugees. I have nothing by sympathy for the innocents in the middle east but the truth is I would not trade the life of one American, or Canadian, or Frenchmen, or Russian, or Briton or (insert European/African/Pacific nation here) if it would save every man woman and child from Syria to Tehran. You can't keep the roaches out unless you shut the door.

The NFL is definitely trending towards ugly uniforms. Not as bad as the NCAA, but bad. But watching the Jets & Bills play in what looked like footie pajamas last night was just brutal on the eyes. It doesn't help the game was a stinker anyway but those were the worst, Worst. Looking. Uniforms. Ever. I didn't think it was possible to out-ugly the Steelers throwbacks but they found a way. As Volo would say: FACT!

I've had insomnia real bad the last few weeks. I think it's stress. I can't beat it into submission with booze because I have to work tomorrow. It's becoming a problem though.

Liking or disliking someone because of their political leanings makes no sense to me. It's like disliking someone because they cheer for a different sports team than you. Aside from making entertaining discussion fodder politics really should not play a significant role an anyone's life unless you are running for office. If it does and it is not your profession then you are wrapped WAY too tight. Ktchong's post is wrong headed for a couple of reasons. One he makes an assumption of what a stranger's politics based on what he knows about her back ground. Second his respect for her goes up when he finds out she cheers for the same team he does. Well buddy your respect is a cheap commodity indeed if that is all it takes to earn it. Another thing I don't get is why anyone give a crap what celebrities think about anything? Not to generalize here but a great many of them are not what I'd call educated, well rounded people. I guess for some to find out a famous person agrees with them on something it validates their beliefs somehow. But if someone is having the political views shaped by people insulated from the real world by money and privilege please do us all a favor and sleep in on election day.

So here are my odds on who will be the next to drop out: Trump: 100:1 He's going to the last bell Carson: 100:1 I don't know if he expected to be where he is but no sense in quitting now Rubio: 100:1 He is the rising star right now Cruz: 99:1 So far so good Bush: 75:1. Jeb, we hate you. Go away. If we wanted a democrat we'd vote for Hillary. But he won't. Paul: 20:1 Rand is not a man to chase quixotic causes. I think he will exit after New Hampshire if he has a poor showing. Kasich: 10:1 After Tuesday night he's done. He might not know it but his campaign is toe-tagged. Fiorina: 30:1 she is tenacious by nature and her campaign has money and that translates to time. But she needs a break and needs it quick. Huckabee: 100:1 He doesn't expect to win and really isn't even campaigning. I think he actually likes this s--t. Christie: 15:1 Ok Chris you 15r minutes are up. Jindal: 4:1 We like you Bobby but this ain't gonna happen. Santorum: 10:1 See my reply on Huckabee. Pataki: 2:1 Is he still here? Graham: 2:1 Why the f--k did you even run you piece of s--t? You are the most hated Republican since Arlen Specter, for all the same reasons.

Carson seems like a genuinely good and decent fellow who is just in over his head. His intelligence and temperament are his strengths but being a world famous neurosurgeon does not prepare you to be President of the US. The President does not need to be an expert on every nuance of policy. Indeed some of our best have been "big picture" guys who assemble the most capable team of advisors and cabinet officials, tells them what he wants in general terms, then gets out of their way. Reagan, Kennedy, Teddy Roosevelt are some examples. Some of the worst have been the micromanagers like Carter, LBJ, GWB. Of course there are exceptions. Clinton & FDR were micromanagers who turned in successful presidencies and Obama and Nixon were 'big picture" guys who made a mess of things. I think by necessity from his lack of experience Carson would be a "big picture" type and his success would depend on the quality of the team he can assemble. But this is where is outsider title becomes a liability. If he is the nominee he will have won over the candidates the notoriously patriarchal "Republican Establishment" would have rather had. So there is a question there as to how much help they would be to him. Unlike the democrats the republicans are all too willing to cannibalize their own when they don't get their way. You can win as an outsider but you can't govern as one. Without that assistance how would Carson even be sure who to pick? That is the problem.

100-84. The game was never in doubt. I don't think the Grizz ever had a lead. I know it's too early to panic and I knew they would take a step back this year but 3-6 isn't good. And they have been abused by the Warriors both times they have faced them. They looked sharp in the pre season but the only quality team they have gotten a win on is the Pacers. I'm curious to see what adding Mario Chalmers from Miami will do.

My condolences Azdeus. That's is terrible.

That's it I'm not watching anymore. The Warriors are just making them look bad.

GSWs are in town tonight. Time for some f-----g payback!

After all the financial turmoil of the last two months I started to take a real hard look at where I stand for retirement savings. I'm not in bad shape at all as it turns out. I should be pretty well hedged against any market turn downs. I divested all my commodities a long time ago which turned out to be a pretty good move in hindsight. I can't really claim any credit because I did it when I needed cash. But I'm glad it worked out ok. Plus I took a phone call from someone I told myself I had nothing more to say to. I'm still debating the wisdom of that move. But we'll see what plants sprout from those seeds.

The cats had a disastrous 5 game road trip that saw them go 0 for California. The even looked weak against the lowly Ducks. But they got back on track last night by dousing the Flames 4-3. On a side note, although no one is disputing Jagr's value to the team he's been hurt off and on the last two weeks. The cats are 6-2-1 in games he's played and 0-4-2 in games he didn't. He is leading the team in goals but he contributes just by being there. Not bad for a guys his age... or ANY age.

To Shady Sands & ManifestedISO, Happy Birthday my brothers! Semper Fi.

I'm getting old. It's just starting to sink in. Yesterday I spent the whole day cutting and hauling firewood. One of the guys at the VFW owns three lots that are being cleared, He told me I could have as much of the cut trees as I wanted to haul. So the dogs and I spent the day cutting and hauling six truck loads of oak, ash, & sweet gum and a half dozen good knots of slash pine for kindling. I've got a drying shed but it's not near big enough to hold all that so I was going to build another one today. A bigger one. The only problem is I'm so sore I can't move. I'm pretty physically fit but it's becoming clear to me I'm not what I used to be.

@Orogun I second what my esteemed board colleague Nonek advised: find some small simple thing that gives you pleasure and for the duration of the time you are enjoying it focus on that activity entirely. Put everything else out of your mind for that time. It solves nothing but any respite from the stress you are under is priceless.