Guard Dog

Tell your ladyfriend to bring a friend for you!

I don't think you read my post. Those two links have nothing to do with what we were talking about. To both you & Calax, I am not an anarchist. The Libertarian paradise is not a world with no government. And capitalism would run amok with no regulation at all. You have never heard me argue otherwise. The role of regulation should be one that defines process. Since the LBJ administration in the 1960's the US Government has gone from safeguarding process to trying to control outcome. The confusion of the concepts of equal opportunity with equal outcome is the first step to disaster. Every law I listed above was a step away from the job of "leveling the playing field" and a step towards "rigging the game".

I'm having a grilled chicken salad. But before that I'm enjoying a glass of Four Roses single barrel fine Kentucky bourbon.

Bruce the federal government CAUSED that crisis. At least here in the US it did. It cause it back in 1977, 1980, 1998 and 2002. No they didnt Not the 2008 crisis, yes Clinton insisted on home loans for everyone but this wouldn't have been an issue if people had been able to pay back there loans and we cannot ignore the lack of regulation and toxic debts that the various financial institutions were engaged in. Yes the loans were a contributing factor but it wasn't the only factor In fact a major criticism was not enough SEC monitoring of the private banks.... Not Clinton, Carter. It started with Carter and the Community Reinvestment Act which forced lenders to make high risk loans to unqualified borrowers. It also stems from the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 which was the first step in the repeal of the Glass-Stengal Act which was designed to PREVENT the very things that happened in 1929, 1987, 2008 from happening. Clinton revised the CRA in the 1990's further exposing lenders to risk of defaults by limiting interest controls and also set up Fannie Mae as a lender "safety net". In 1998 the Gramm-Leach-Biely Act eliminated the last of Glass Stengals depository banking protections and allowed banks to merge and spread risk of any aspect of the business to all aspects of the business. In 2002 the CR was revised again and in 2008 the inevitable happened. And since banks were heavily leveraged in real estate and all aspects of the banking business were now under one roof (thank you Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Phil Gramm) the failure of the real estate ventures snowballs into the failure of the whole bank, The problem with government is that it does not attract the best and the brightest. They all go into business and make real money. Government attracts the C students, the ones who could not cut it in the real world. And they are vain, venal, short sighted and have only the most fleeting of understanding of what they are doing and the systems they are messing with. Every step I outlined above was small and probably well intentioned and without them we would not have had the economic boom of the 1990s and early 2000's. But doing so only proves that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Bruce the federal government CAUSED that crisis. At least here in the US it did. It cause the most recent meltdown to happen by actions it took it back in 1977, 1980, 1998 and 2002. And it will likely cause the next on and the one after that because it willfully refuses to learn the lessons on the Great Depression.

Bucs cut Da'Quan Bowers today. Remember when he was touted as the best defensive player in the draft? He may have been talented but his work ethic was awful.

Much as I appreciate the sentiment that just will never happen. Although I do agree with the democrats on a few things hell will freeze solid before I ever cast a vote for one. The two most important things to me are liberty and personal freedom. And although the Republicans make poor champions of these concepts they are usually not hostile to them. The Democrats are controlled lock stock & barrel by the left and they are very hostile to individual liberty, private property rights, etc. The left loves just one thing, government. Not because it is good or because it can help people. They love it as a means to power. They love it because it allows them to assert their will on those they see as lesser. Vote for that? Never!

I got really frustrated with the direction this was going and stopped following it. I had already plunked down my 50 bucks so WTH. While I'm not encouraged by what I've seen and what we bought was definitely NOT what they said they were selling at the beginning of this project I'll swallow my disappointment and keep an open mind.

Got a kindle with a lot of stuff on it too!

Working out a plan to redecorate the loft in my house. My wife and I have an agreement. The rest of the house is her territory. Her design choices are law. But it stops at the stairs. When I had this place built I picked this floor plan specifically for the loft. It's my office, my sanctuary. It's got the big window looking out down the hill towards the creek. A built a big desk in the room (meaning it AIN'T moving). But other than that I never did much with it. Just a few bookshelves over loaded with books. I have too many books, thousands I'd think. Boxes in the closet, boxes in the loft. I had an idea to build bookshelves right into the wall up here. Ceiling to floor, corner to corner. It would look like a library then.

Taking a moral stand however flawed the reasoning is an admirable thing IMO. But the moral choice here is not to refuse to obey the law, the moral choice would be to resign if your conscience will not permit you to do your job. I read elsewhere a blog comparing her to Rosa Parks but the comparison is not valid. Rosa Parks took an affirmative action in defiance of the law for her own liberty. She did not force a white passenger to sit in the back, she did not prevent white passengers from getting on the bus. Kim Davis is taking an affirmative action in defiance of the law that does not enhance her own liberty but restricts someone else's. That isn't moral, it's selfish.

I got the NL Central right. Totally screwed the pooch on the rest though.

Bruce one of the top 10 reasons why the world is a f----d up place is most folks genuinely think that if they're life is a mess it must be someone else's' fault. It's not the #1 reason but it is definitely in the top 10. And nearly everyone who thinks that is wrong.

You beat me to it Raithe. Why is it the defenders of morality seldom are champions of it in their own lives? Or maybe we just are hip deep in hypocrites after all. The truth is if you have a moral objection the right thing to do would be resign. Not pull a Wallace and stand in front of the school house door.

She probably does read this board, she uses the name "obyknven" when posting.

I have an unscheduled meeting in Memphis today. I'm going to surprise my wife with lunch. Good thing she doesn't read this board or it wouldn't be a surprise!

I'll join your group, I love IPAs. I'm the best kind of friend... the one that never comes over! Of course living more than 1k miles away is a hindrance.

You know what is a beautiful sight? A full 12 oz ice frosted glass of really good draft beer. It almost brings a tear of joy to the eye when you set it down and the little ice ring from the bottom floats to the top.

Why didn't I think of this? http://shop.coolmaterial.com/products/steel-ice-cubes I just ordered them on Amazon for a little less

During the spring when caterpillars are doing their thing there is a good chance to lose a whole crop. They are seriously destructive. As for what how much damage the ants can do I don't know. I don't let them get out of control. As par as four legged pests the best repellent for them is dog urine. I think Tommy & Sunny do more the keep rabbits and raccoons away than a fence ever will.

Yeah I use a product made be Sevin, it's a very fine dust. My biggest pest is ants though so I'm actually really lucky. My place is 24.5 acres. When I bought it it was almost all wooded. But I've cleared about 15 acres of it now. That's all though. The rest slants downhill towards a creek bottom that drains into Cold Creek. I like that part being wooded. I like to just sit by the creek down there and listen to the birds. That's great stress therapy I've found.

I've always wanted a completely self sustaining farm. I'm close but not real close.

I've got 2 acres planted in corn right now. I was half considering building a still. I've got plenty of wood, freshwater, & corn. But nah, I prefer aged whiskey.

Nothing tastes better than the stuff you grow yourself. I spent the day, and yesterday, and tomorrow no doubt working on a Method of Procedure to rework the Lauderdale River levee with C350 composite turf reinforcement matting under a karst/silica fill and elevating the breach point .78 meters over a 70 km2 area leading to the Ft Pillow basin. It's not as dull as it sounds but it is a lot of work.

Great performance by the Bucs first team last night. JW looks a lot more comfortable back there. He is still staring down his receivers and not checking off but all and all much improved.