Proud To Be A Midwestern Boy!

You look at this image and it tells a lot. There is a lot of heart, determination, and good old-fashioned stubbornness shown here. I went through the Fargo Flood of 1997, the one they thought would never be surpassed...I remember that feeling. Once again, when Mother Nature reared her ugly head, residents of the Red River Valley said, "Bring it on!" Instead of crying out "Where is the government, where is FEMA?" and pointing fingers to blame someone for their misery; they grouped together, sometimes a few...sometimes hundreds...to save "their" city. There is no spirit like the spirit of a Midwesterner. You wonder why people like hiring folks from the Midwest...this is why. That drive, that determination to never quit. I am proud of all the people in the Red River Valley, I have a few friends still there. I wish them continued luck against that damned river...and keep them in my prayers....please do the same.

UPDATE: Just saw this slideshow on CNN.com...Awesome!!! http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/03/30/fargo.slideshow/index.html

He's Back!

It's official...at least in my book. Tiger Woods is back!!! I watched part of the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational yesterday and watched Tiger and Sean O'Hair tee off. I knew when I saw that O'Hair only had a 5-stroke lead that he was in trouble. With Tiger in second place just 5 shots back, you could smell the blood in the water and know that Tiger would bring the heat. Of course, O'Hair made a comment that all naive and non-winning players make..."I'm not playing Tiger Woods, I'm playing the course." And thus his downfall began. By the time I stopped watching, Tiger was down by two strokes with another 10 holes to go. O'Hair had already begun to unravel and Tiger was getting in the groove. It is nice to see Tiger get a win under his belt so he can let the PGA know that all is well in the golfing world again.

Early, But a Good Story...

I know Father's Day isn't until June, but I saw this story today and thought it was pretty cool...and unfortunately, very true! Like Valentine's Day, men take a backseat in the importance placed on their particular day. Mess up Mother's Day and suffer until you have enough "ata-boys" to overcome that "OH S%#T!" But men tend to have Father's Day treated as nothing more than a day for a special meal. I have had it told to me that on Mother's Day, it is a time for mom to have "alone time", but on Father's Day, I should want to spend it with my kids...which I do...and want to...at a baseball game! Anyway...here is the link to the story...a good read:

http://www.parenting.com/article/Mom/Relationships/Dads-Deserve-a-Day!?cnn=yes

Historic Run!

They didn't make it past the second round, but the Lady Jackrabbits from South Dakota State University (my Alma mater) made a good showing in their first appearance in the WNCAA Basketball Tournament. Of significance is that this was their first year of eligibility since becoming a Division 1 school just a few years ago. They were 32-2 for the year, seeded 7th in the tournament and ranked 17th in the Nation. In defeating TCU in the first round, 90-55, SDSU had made 16 three-point shots, tying a WNCAA record. It was awesome to see a school such as SDSU make such a splash in the tournament. They lost to Baylor, but it was hard fought. Losing by two is so difficult, but I am sure we will see SDSU again...and hopefully the men's team will get their chance too.

Save the Children!

OK, this is getting beyond ridiculous! The state needs to take the children away from this woman. She has now FIRED the neonatal nurses a non-profit group was providing at a cost of over $40K/month. They had four nurses on staff at all times. She accused them of spying on her for Social Services. It is their responsibility to report anything harmful to the children. She is now going to "pay" for help herself...with what? She is unemployed and has very little income from welfare. They need to take these children away from her NOW and place them in foster homes where they can grow up safe and healthy. She is obviously not mentally stable.

Obama and Jay Leno

Last night I watched the President on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Though I have heard some who said he should not have gone on there, I thought it was just fine. For one thing, he explained a couple of things with the whole AIG debacle that I now understand much better. He also appeared human as he relaxed and joked around...maybe a little too much. When he made the offhand remark about his bowling being like the Special Olympics, I thought to myself that we would hear about that real fast. We did. His office immediately put out the standard apology, but the most relevant comment came from the Special Olympics people. Instead of jumping on the President and being extremely negative, they followed the usual attitude of the Special Olympics and said that this was an excellent learning opportunity that words can hurt. They met what was a poor choice of an example by the President with class. My hat is off to that spokesman for the Special Olympics.

Veterans United

President Obama had proposed that military veterans use their private insurance when being seen at a VA hospital, even if for a service related injury. Veteran's Service Organizations, and in particular the American Legion, rose up in protest. They believed, as do I, that no veteran should have to pay one cent to be treated for service related injuries...that care was promised to us in our contracts. One of the biggest fears was that in the case of coverage caps for a family, the veteran could use the max allowed for the family and the insurance coverage for the year could be gone. Thankfully, it has just been announced that the President has withdrawn this plan from consideration...he actually listened to the Veteran's groups.

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

A bit late in the day but a very Happy St. Patrick's Day! You really have to love a holiday that exists almost solely for the purpose of drinking! As a local radio personality said today..."The whole world today celebrates St. Patrick's Day with a lot of drinking...what those in Ireland would call....Saturday"!

"Eyes Right" (From my Brother)

TO ALL in UNIFORM past, present and future and all those deployed. I hope my grandkids and all youngsters learn to appreciate their freedom like this kid.

"Eyes Right" tributeA lone young Belgian waits to salute Canadian Troops who were attending a memorial service...

The "Eyes Right" command is the highest compliment Troops on parade can pay and is reserved for dignitaries at reviewing events.

How's this for class? Watch what they do for this little boy.

Every now and then something just makes you smile.

The Litter Robot!!! Awesome!

I just had to show this thing off. I finally broke down and spent a small fortune on the Litter Robot. It is a self sifting litter box that rolls and dumps the litter into a bin below after the cat has done its thing. Whoever invented this thing is a genius. It works so well. The only issue I have is that the cats (I have 4) do not step out of it, they jump. So location is important since they drag some litter with them. But if my major cleanup is vacuuming some loose litter instead of scooping everyday...I can handle that. We now dump the bin once a week!!! Add a little litter to keep the level up...and BAM! Worth every one of the MANY pennies spent...wish I had gotten it sooner!!!

Send a Message!

I really wanted to write on this. It is about time we let the Chinese and any of these other knuckleheads know that we are going to protect ourselves. The USNS Impeccable is one of six surveillance ships that perform military survey operations. It is an oceanographic ship that gathers underwater acoustic data, using sonar and is mainly manned by civilians and is unarmed. Perhaps we should give her some muscle next time and stick a destroyer next to her or a couple frigates. That way, when the Chinese get stupid again we can send a message across their bows to leave us alone. They have been harassing these ships for the past couple of weeks. How much crap do we take before we slap the crap out of someone. We didn't take action when the Islamists were doing this and we lost two skyscrapers and over 3,000 American lives. Time to use that big stick!!!!

Is There a Plan?

So now that he has been in office for almost two months, it seems like there is really no focus for President Obama. All the talking heads I see on TV say that the economy right now should be his one and only focus because everything else will branch off that. However, in his first two months he signed a non-debated stimulus package that NONE of the Congress had actually even read and has rolled back a couple of policies that kept the government from funding abortions or giving money to those who do. He has also dabbled a bit in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He does not seem to be too focused, although he does keep reminding us that times are hard and it may get worse. Doesn't exactly give me a great amount of confidence in his leadership or those he has chosen to help him.

John Wayne Poll Results

How un-American!!! I cannot believe that the two people who did participate in the poll actually said they did not care for John Wayne! How can anyone who claims to be an American not like John Wayne? He is as American as Mom, Baseball, and Apple Pie! A true American icon!!! Sorry Duke! I hope you aren't rolling over in your grave!

Spring Ahead!

Here is your friendly reminder from your favorite blogger to Spring Ahead this weekend. It's time to lose an hour of sleep but gain some time in the evenings for that much needed yard work or just puttering around the yard. Personally, I think they should eliminate it completely. Loss of daylight doesn't stop farmers from working these days anyway with the new equipment they have. Just seems like a now unnecessary inconvenience.

Show Me the Money!!!

The inevitable is happening. Gay couples in Massachusetts, who recently were awarded the right to marry, are now going after Federal benefits currently only provided to heterosexual couples. As with Federally funding abortions, I have a problem with my tax payer money going toward an issue I do not believe in for moral reasons. I understand that a lot of my taxes are used for things I don't believe in...people are funding a war they don't believe in. But to me this is a different case. Marriage was created by God for the purpose of procreation and the continuing of the human race. When is the last time you heard that sex between two males or two females produced a baby? I am sure some of our "let's play God" liberal scientists will make it happen soon. Do not get me wrong...I do not hate gays, I wholeheartedly disapprove of the lifestyle! I do not think they should be able to file taxes as married/jointly, or get each other's benefits. The STATE allowed them to marry, so the only benefits they should get should be from the state.

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Finally! A little snow for the winter. We haven't had a decent snow here in over two years! This is beautiful! I miss those days in South Dakota when I was young when we were outside playing in the snow after eating Thanksgiving dinner. Here in beautiful Virginia we are lucky to see snow and amazed if we have it for Christmas. This is our first real snow for a long time and all I get is a couple hours late for work which is baffling since they get real nervous here when snow shows up! I would much rather stay home and enjoy my fireplace!