I used to think a couple of Oleg Volk's posters were Updated

just a bit over the top. But the more I read about the bullcrap being planned for us in Bali, I think this one's just about right:



















Yeah, does seem to cover it.

At this point, I see that train of blue armor in Rodger's post and think "Bridge, explosives... hmmmm."

And on the front here in OK,

still no power. They seem to have cut the numbers down a lot, but haven't gotten to my street yet. Dammit.

In other news, son in Iraq's birthday was a couple of days ago. With very little room for stuff, mostly got more edibles and some birthday wishes; not many other options. When last heard from he was still working on the books(not much time for reading, busy as hell) and about to get a new vehicle. Which will hopefully not break as much as the last one. Take a vehicle like a humvee, add on a lot of armor, then add a cupola, gun, etc., on top and it really adds to the wear. Also makes the thing top-heavy and slower.

Someday OG&E will finally get around to my area and get the damn power back on. Until then I shall continue to occasionally post as opportunity arises, and try to figure out something for Christmas presents for a few people.

Stealing the identities and screwing up the lives

nobody else does.

You've got two problems here. One is the illegal aliens stealing peoples' identities. The second is the standard-issue IRS bureaucracy that for some damn reason just can't straighten out their own files on this.

Ain't it just a wonderful combination?

And before I have to give back the keyboard, Updated

Chuck Adkins is a vile, steaming pile of excuse for a man.

It's kind of hard to imagine the level of shithead, cowardice and hate it takes to write something like that.


Update: guy posting a comment at Og's place had this link; looks like the heat got just a touch warm for him, hmmmm?

On the lady who whacked the dirtbag in Colorado, Updated

what would we expect? To quote Steve,
I knew this was coming. This brave, selfless lady is going to be punished for showing up the gun control assholes. Why would you investigate a hero's employment history, looking for negative information? Why would that even occur to you? Jesus; they didn't do that to the killer. No one is digging into the termination of his McDonald's job to see if he deserved it. They didn't do it to famous scumbags like Scott Peterson and Timothy McVeigh. So why do it to a wonderful lady like Jeanne Assam? We all know the answer.

As to the "He actually killed himself, so her actions don't really count" bullshit, he about covers it:
They're even trying to take the credit away from her, telling the world the psycho she shot killed himself. Listen, she shot that little son of a bitch to pieces. "Multiple times," the story says. Thanks to Jeanne Assam, he was a helpless pile of bleeding meat when he did the world a favor and killed himself. And he was going to do it regardless; these punks always commit suicide because they don't have the spine to face justice. There was never much doubt that he would kill himself; what was uncertain was how many people would die before he did. Jeanne Assam is the reason so few died.

True words. Also, I like the idea of his celebrity pledge:
I have a suggestion, in the interest of peace and love and being green and empowering little brown people and women and being nice to all the fuzzy puppies and kitties and worshiping Mother Gaia. How about if every celebrity who supports gun control publicly signs an oath, swearing he or she will refuse the protection of any person--private citizen or public employee--armed with a gun? I mean, hell, we all saw Charlie's Angels, where they proved three unarmed girls can beat up a whole roomful of men with guns. Surely George Clooney is as much of a man as Drew Barrymore. Come on, guys. You want the rest of us to be willing to die for gun control. Here's my challenge: lead by example.

In fact, you have to swear off bodyguards too, you pansies. Come on, Clooney, you fairy. The rest of us can't afford to pay other men to supply the toughness we lack. If you want us to live your fantasy, you have to live our reality.



Update: It seems the idiots saying she was fired didn't bother to actually, oh, check the damn records.

Yes, I'm still in the dark

Shut up, Og, I mean physically.

Shut up, dammit.

Still can't get any actual information from OG&E, just 'we appreciate your patience'. Which is rapidly wearing out. I know fixing this crap takes time, I also know that being stuck with a human parrot who has no interest in even trying to give you any actual information does NOT incline you toward happy feelings toward the company.

I did notice one interesting thing today: while reportedly being super-busy clearing limbs out of the streets(which they did do) the crew also took time to put up a sign of the 'thanks to your councilman and Mayor, this street will be improved!' variety up. Right next to the stump of the street light pole that's still laying there. Just bloody wonderful.

Supposedly it's down to about 150k homes/businesses without power in the OKC area. I just wish I wasn't one of them. This is seriously inconveniencing me, which makes it a serious matter, dammit.

And, depending on which forecast you listen to, anywhere from 2-5" of snow forecast tomorrow. "Happy Holidays", bah humbug.

Still alive, and still cold

Just to add to the joy, the weather weenies are now predicting snow Friday, and lows in the low 20's Friday & Saturday nights.

Just to check I called OG&E to ask. Please note I did NOT say "When will my power be on?"; I told them my neighborhood and asked if they had any estimate when they might be getting there? Only reply: "The only estimate we can give you is that all power will be restored in seven to ten working days." Two things bother me about this: first, on Monday they were saying 'seven to ten days', and while speaking of all the extra line crews pulled in they're still saying that; second, take note of that 'seven to ten working days'. Which kind of pisses me off, because that would seem a way to add days to their count while not actually saying it.

The joys of things this time of year...

And about 20 minutes after my previous post

I joined the ranks of the powerless. Which now, in OK alone, are estimated between 600-650k.

So far, the house is chilly but I'm fine. The propane burner works very well for making tea, the lamps take care of lighting(enough, anyway). Haven't broken into the MREs yet, and probably won't need to.

I'll have to qualify my last statement that this wasn't as bad as could have been: a few degrees colder or strong winds would have made this a large-scale as opposed to a mid-scale disaster. As is it's a pain, and if I don't have power by midday tomorrow I'll get some dry ice to put in the freezer to make sure things stay frozen, and reading by oil lamps isn't much fun. Oh, and if you're travelling there are a couple of turnpikes where you'd better not need gas as the stations have no power. But this is primarily tree and line damage, as opposed to the storm in 2002 which took down power poles by the thousands; a lot faster and easier to repair. Then it took damn near two months to get power back to everyone: with the crews being pulled in from surrounding states they're currently figuring a week to ten days, quite possibly less.

Pictures and further updates will have to wait until I have time again at a place with electricity.

As you can see from the bird feeder,

it's kind of nasty outside. And this particular bit the birds are really pissed about.

You can't really tell in this shot, but it's raining again. It's kind of a pain because the temp is just low enough for it to freeze on things, but just high enough that it's melting on the carport, and the streets. If it'd go up just a couple of degrees(which it's supposed to) it'd start melting a lot of this, which would take a lot of stress off things.

'Stress' as in there's almost 200k(update: radio just said 250k) people with no power right now, and as I took a few pictures out the front door I could hear limbs breaking off trees down the street: NOT a nice thing to listen to. Most of the power lines run across the back yards on my street, where there was an alley before everyone moved their fence back a few feet, and back in late spring the electric company did a lot of pruning to clear around the lines through the neighborhood. I'm hoping it makes the difference.

The joys of winter,

and Kim's favorite weather*, the bastard.

So far the ice has been not too bad in the Oklahoma City area: icy in some spots, less so in others on the way to work this morning. I went out about nine to scrape my windows and discovered that it was thundering like a spring storm and sleeting. A bit south & east of here the freezing rain was heavier at the time, more stuff moved through during the day. Right now they're still saying more off & on light freezing rain through tomorrow, heavier in some areas. I think the big thing saving this area is that the temperature is just at or a couple of degrees below freezing; if it were, say, 28 or below we'd be screwed. As is, a lot has melted after landing on the roads, and the trees right here just have a thin coat of ice.

By the way, just in case any of the people involved read this, I'd like to pass on something you seem to have forgotten since last winter(assuming you learned it then):
DON'T HIT THE BRAKES WHEN YOU'RE GOING UP AN ICY HILL. You have this thing called 'momentum' when you start up, and if you use the brakes, you slow down. And get stuck. And EVERYBODY BEHIND YOU gets stuck, too.

There. Isn't that simple?

I'm hoping for the best out of this, which would be nasty roads but no huge power outages. I hate having no electricity anytime, winter being right up there with mid-summer for the worst times.

After thinking about things to do after last years' storm, I realized a while back that that little two-burner unit I use for bluing will work very nicely in the house for cooking if need be, and I've got one full and one mostly-full bottle that'll run it or the grill outside. Also on the 'hoping I don't need them' list: a gallon of lamp oil for the two lamps and lots of candles, half a dozen small propane bottles for the lantern, and several good wool blankets. And half a dozen big bottles of water and a case of small bottles. I've been saving bleach bottles for emergency water storage, and may fill a few more when I get home. Just in case. And food, including a case of MREs.

I think the worst weather 'event' (as the weather weenies like to put it) I've been through was in the early 70's. I got to sit up late to watch the weather in winter(that part of the state you start paying attention early) and the forecast was for "flurries, we don't think there will be much accumulation." Dad looked out the door and then called me over. Turned on his Kel-Light and shined it out front, and it was showing so hard you could barely see the trees about twenty feet from the door; he announced that it was the hardest flurry he'd ever seen.

Next morning I woke up and it was bright in the room, and my first thought was "I'm late for school!" Jumped up, looked out the window and "Oh no I'm not!" Dad's patrol car was parked at the curb, and the only thing showing was the bubble on top. The fence in the back yard was now six inches high and the dogs were wandering around. In fields around town with no drifts there was an even 36" of snow. The official record says it was only a couple of counties west of us that got that much, but I will state they're wrong. Absolutely nothing was moving, and the National Guard was called out to do helicopter drops of hay to livestock, as on most farms you couldn't even get the barn doors open, let alone a tractor or truck out. It took three days for the county to get enough graders out and working to clear streets and roads in and around Medford. Powerlines generally stayed up, not many outages, and pretty much all the farms outside of the town gas lines had their own propane or butane tanks for heat. First time I'd ever actually been able to dig a tunnel in snow.

Barring the weather weenies blowing it bigtime on conditions, this shouldn't be nearly as bad as the ice storm last year, or the one a couple of years before that: that one put three inches of ice on much of the northwest 1/4 of the state. Power lines weren't just broken, hundreds of poles broke under the stress of the ice and wind. Friend of mine had no power for almost a month.

*Of course, according to a friend in Fort Worth it was 50 and raining there today.

Normally I do my best to ignore idiot celebrities, but

George Lopez Sucks!

George Lopez Sucks!

George Lopez Sucks!

I normally would try to ignore this, too, but this is the second time he's said something along these lines.

And I really used to enjoy his stuff.

Someone should tell the GFW's

that even blue dinosaurs know how stupid 'zero tolerance' is

And you know "can take a 30-round clip" will morph to

"can possibly be modified to take a 30-round clip" and then back to "nobody needs a gun with a magazine for hunting" and then...

Here's another reason not to have 'hate crime' laws

Because when someone in a protected group commits a crime, the weenies dance around trying to decide whether it is a 'hate crime' or not.

To Maryland officious jackassesofficials: knock it off. These little dirtbags committed- at least- assault and battery, and a strong case could probably be made for attempted murder. Stop playing your damned politically-correct games and charge them with the damn crimes. And put their sorry asses in jail.

Malkin also points to this piece of dirtbag behavior and official idiocy:
A Boston firefighter is mending from what could have been deadly stab wounds he suffered early yesterday morning when he was allegedly jumped in East Boston while off duty by a group of Hispanic males who told him they “don’t want any gringo here.”

Though police are not classifying the incident as racially fueled, the Boston Police Department’s Community Disorders Unit is investigating. The 32-year-old jake, whose name officials were not releasing, is white.

Gee, bunch of latino dirtbags attack a white guy and try to murder him, saying they "don't want any gringo here"(any guesses about how many of these little bastards are illegals?), and the Boston PD is playing word games. Note to Boston PD: read the above advice to MA idiots like yourselves.

I'm sure you've heard of the 'puppets' comment

by Sen. Harry Reid(Backstabber-NV), and the response from Sen. Arlen Specter(Two-Faced Weenie-PA). I just love it that after all the crap he's pulled over time, Specter gets so bent out of shape(in a very dignified, senatorial way, of course) over this. Besides that, his response was lame. The PROPER response would be something like:
"That's very interesting. Senator Reid has the hand of George Soros so far up his ass it's tickling his tonsils, and he calls someone else a puppet? Interesting."

"We should be more like England and Canada and Europe:

Things are so much better there!"

George MacFarlane, the Fredericton shopkeeper who discharged his shotgun at departing thieves, should count himself lucky. Found guilty of careless use of a firearm, he's been ordered to take an "anger-management" course (though, in truth, he seems to manage his anger with an impressively cool efficiency). In England, by contrast, a Norfolk farmer who did exactly as Mr. MacFarlane did in exactly the same circumstances (he'd suffered repeated break-ins) now finds himself charged with murder. His victim, a teenage burglar from Nottingham who practised his profession assiduously throughout the English Midlands and East Anglia, was described by his tearful mum as a "lovable rogue" with many redeeming qualities: for example, "he would never steal from the family."

Though different in degree, both prosecutions reflect the long-held principle that the Crown should have a monopoly on law enforcement: Relax, goes the argument; the Mounties always they get their man -- i.e., leave it to the professionals. But in practice, in both Canada and Britain, the professionals find it easier to get you instead.

In France?

Frederic Pons, the editor of Valeurs Actuelles, a magazine where Anne-Lorraine had worked as an intern, wrote on the magazine's blog: "When will this rapist with his knife leave prison? After 8, 10, 15 years? Our society must pluck up the courage to remove him from society once and for all. If we do not do this the fathers, the brothers, the uncles will. In the name of justified violence."

The next day Mr. Pons removed his post from his blog. His text was deemed an incitement to violence. It is taboo in Europe to say that if the state fails to protect the citizens, the citizens should do so themselves. There is no Second Amendment in Europe. Even European politicians from the so-called "right," like Mr. Sarkozy, are horrified at the suggestion that citizens should be allowed to protect themselves against criminals. Last year, Mr. Sarkozy told French radio: "Security is the responsibility of the state. I am against the private ownership of firearms. If you are assaulted by an armed burglar, he will use his weapon more effectively than you anyway, so you are risking your life."

Kevin pointed this out in a comment the other day, and it's a truly disgusting example of "Let the State take care of you. Or else." If you are assaulted by an armed burglar, he will use his weapon more effectively than you anyway, so you are risking your life. DAMN it. Mr. Sarkozy, when you're attacked by an 'armed burglar', your life is ALREADY IN DANGER! How the HELL could you make it worse by using a weapon to defend yourself?

Frickin' stupid, dumbass, statist,(mumble, mumble...)

Dumbass legislators are to be found everywhere,

even here.
In response to recent announcements regarding a proposal to make English the official language of the state of Oklahoma, Senator Jeff Rabon on Thursday said he will do everything in his power to ensure such a measure would not win the approval of the Senate.
...
“I feel like this highlights an intolerance and insensitivity to our history and background,” said Rabon, D-Hugo.
...
"We have folks here from all over the world, but we also have more than 40 Indian tribes all with their own unique language. I think we ought to be going the other direction and doing more to honor and highlight the fact that we have so many sovereign nations with their own languages and cultures.”

Left unspoken is how many languages he things drivers license tests should be given in, how many languages voting ballots should be printed in, etc.

Ever read any of the Man-Kzin Wars books?

If not, check them out. Very short version of the beginning:
Distant future, the world is run by the UN: it is THE World Government in all ways. Including the maintenance of and- very vital point here- the teaching of history. It had been determined that it was a Bad Thing for the peasantspeople to have unfettered access to history as They Will Get Bad Ideas.

So all history taught in schools has been edited and rewritten to serve the purposes of the UN. There were never any wars, no, just occasional international arguments back in the inefficient days of national sovereignty(which was done away with very quickly as the UN is so much better); weapons? no, just misused tools; and the only time people are violent is when they have a mental disturbance and need treatment. Competitive games have pretty much been done away with because people who compete and try to win are more difficult to controlguide in the proper paths of life. And anyone who discovers something of past history or turns out to be unwilling to be properly guided disappears into prison camps where they can't infect others.

What's one of the essentials to even approach, let alone run, such a system? Control- as close to absolute as possible- of information. So the UN controls the phones, the data networks, all of it, with constant monitoring for words or phrases that might indicate someone stepping off the reservation. Someone gets caught at such, reaction ranges from a visit from a 'counselor' to nudge them back to the correct thought patterns to a warning to you being packed away.

What brought this to mind was a comment on a radio show a bit ago about all the 'using your cell phone will give you cancer'-type warnings. Somebody said you could make an argument that some people don't want us using a lot of our communications systems so much because it means we're passing information along without it being approved.

Possible? Hell, anything is if you're willing to argue it. Likely? In this case I don't think so. But something that is not 'likely' but is happening is attempts to control this here innernets. The UN keeps having hearings about how they should be in overall control, and I do not believe they have our own good in mind. Just like they want all personal firearms banned(only Minions of Government should be allowed such things), the bureaucrats and wannabe-tyrants want our information controlled. And our communications. And they've got lots of buttmonkeys who want to help.

Like all those 'professional journalists' who get in such a snit over blogs. We aren't one of Them, so we cannot be trusted to handle information properly. Of course, their idea of 'properly' means "We decide what you need to hear about, and in what form, and with what slant." So having a bunch of unlettered commonersuntrained non-journalists digging things up and passing information around and factchecking the ass of the 'professionals' just Should Not Be Done. Or rather, Should Not Be Allowed. After all, we don't have the 'layers of editors'(who either don't know their ass from a hole in the ground or have a viewpoint to push), we don't have the 'training in ethics'(which doesn't keep them from violating those ethics on a regular basis, and defending themselves and their cohorts for doing so). And having the UN, which is also so 'progressive'-minded, in charge of the net would be quite helpful.

Added: managed to locate this:

Q: Do you think technology is changing [journalism]? That a good reporter will always find a venue because there are so many media outlets now?

Thomas: No, but I do think it is kind of sad when everybody who owns a laptop thinks they're a journalist and doesn't understand the ethics. We do have to have some sense of what's right and wrong in this job. Of how far we can go. We don't make accusations without absolute proof. We're not prosecutors. We don't assume.

Q: So if there's this amateur league of journalists out there, trying to do what you do...

Thomas: It's dangerous.

So are you, you sorry old bitch.

And let us not forget the islamists. They hate and detest the UN and all the other boards and committees of modern society, but they're quite happy to use them. They take the standard "Anything bad said about any muslim or act thereof is proof you are a racist/bigot/want to destroy Islam!" and run with it to the EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security or the Canadian “Human Rights Commissions” to screw over anybody who dares to speak in any way they don't like.

Do I think the UN would love to control and censor the use of the internet? Hell, yes, just like they want ownership of arms banned. Would a lot of journalists like it? Hell, yes. And a lot of national governments have been working at in on their own, usually in connection with some version of 'human rights and hate crimes' bullcrap from the EU, the UN or both. In Canada, quoting a passage from the Bible that offends someone can get you jailed. Mark Steyn has their damned 'Human Rights Council' trying to figure a way to, metaphorically or literally, keelhaul him for daring to write something that upsets the islamists. And the terminally PC go running right along with it; after all, to them 'free speech' means 'speech which we approve of and doesn't hurt the feelings of any protected species', and since they can't get everyone to agree to censor themselves, it's necessary to have the government do it.

Long ago in the 'citizen journalist vs. professional' arguments someone pointed out that bloggers are like the pamphleteers of the Revolutionary War. As a general thing I like being associated with such: just as they drove the British authorities to fury, we collectively- and some in particular- do the same to governments and tyrants- current, wannabe and information type- worldwide. Because one man or woman standing on a soapbox or doorstep telling people about something has a quite small audience, and is fairly easy to shut up if a government or thugs so decide; someone with a digital soapbox calling journalists and politicians to account and spreading information has a much larger audience and is NOT easy to shut up.

And I like that.

Ah, yes, the UN is considering

both sides:

The United Nations has rejected all attempts by a group of dissenting scientists seeking to present information at the climate change conference taking place in Bali, Indonesia.

The International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) has been denied the opportunity to present at panel discussions, side events, and exhibits; its members were denied press credentials. The group consists of distinguished scientists from Africa, Australia, India, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

"We are fair and seek all information on matters. Except that which doesn't agree with us."

A group of reporters representing the conservative newspaper Environment & Climate News were refused press credentials to attend the U.N.’s climate change meeting in Bali this week.

That wonderful UN at work protecting you. From information and reporting that doesn't go along with them.

Well said, Phelps!

Well said!
"Well. Let me break it down for you, Duhrlene. If you — my servant — are going to pass a law — and enforce that law using guns — and that law makes me and my fellow permit-holding constituants (who as I mentioned are more law abiding than the average person) so pissed off that we decide to shoot you dead over it — don’t you think that maybe, just maybe, you should rethink your position on that law?"

I realize this probably comes under what Uncle refers to as 'scaring the white people', but... I'm sick to death of being told I practically have to crawl on my belly saying "Please listen, master!" when I speak to or write to a politician. So right now, I really don't care.