Voter ID

ID voting

You need an ID to buy alcohol, cigarettes, adult content, drive a vehicle, get on an airplane, and conduct business in the United States. Why wouldn't you need ID to vote?

The reason Democrats don't want voter ID laws because they want to have the ability to commit voter fraud whether they need to win an important election.

Chicago's motto for voter fraud - vote early, vote often.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/14/politics/federal-judge-wisconsin-voter-id/

http://www.wpr.org/federal-judge-orders-state-expand-clarify-voter-id-outreach

http://www.newsy.com/videos/missouri-gop-voter-id-plan-is-generous-activists-disagree/

School lunch = Hunger Games or Get the Obamas out of our lunches!!!!

"Don't disturb me until lunch. Lunch is disturbing enough."   Hawkeye Pierce, M*A*S*H, Season 7 Episode 1      "Commander Pierce"

Michelle Obama does not realize that Washington meddling in the school lunch program is causing it to become more unpopular than ever before. Schools are spending more money on something that is basic for education.  Participation for the program is going down due to the fact that the government is not allowing local schools to control what they serve at lunch.

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2016/10/1_alabama_school_system_is_req.html

http://www.medicaldaily.com/michelle-obamas-2012-federal-lunch-guidelines-are-already-improving-school-401197

http://www.dailycommercial.com/news/20160930/students-saying-yuck-to-school-lunches

Immigration

When it comes to the law, it should be simple: if you are in the United States illegally, you must be sent back, especially if you commit a crime on American soil. No lawyers, no court rooms, as soon as officials find out, the illegal alien is out.

The United States government must also secure the border. Build a big fence and guard it with either National Guard and/or the military with the order to shoot all people coming across the border via jumping the boundary fence.

Finally, I would send hippies and other people with problems to Mexico. If the Mexican government is allowing people from south of their border free access to ride into the United States, we should be allowed to send all of our drugged-out bums and freeloaders to other countries via Mexico. I would send the hippies to Honduras and all the drug-user population to Venezuela.

Global warming

When it comes to the science of global warming.....I mean climate change, it's just a big joke. Summer is hot, winter is cold, and the fall/spring months are transitions. It has been that way since the beginning of time and nothing humans can do will change it.

Algore goes around the world spreading his ideas of rising sea levels and the extinction of the polar bears. I think he is still mad that he didn't become president after the 2000 election, so he hates everybody in the West. He especially hates America and wants revenge!!!

Prince Charles wants to end capitalism. Somebody needs to remind him that capitalism is the only way his family gets money to subsidize their lifestyle. The British royals live in luxury as long as others prosper under a capitalist society. The end of capitalism will lead to revolution and the end of the royal family in Great Britain. I guarantee it.

http://news.sky.com/story/charles-syrias-war-linked-to-climate-change-10338610

https://www.algore.com/project/the-climate-reality-project

Sports

General Sports

Commentary on sports

1. NFL - The NFL is the best sports league in the United States and will stay that way for a long time. The only thing that can bring it down is left-wingers trying to destroy the game by regulating it to death. Concussion rules and other regulation will hurt the product.

The NFL should expand the fan base - that’s a given. However, no NFL team should EVER be based outside the United States. No teams in England, Europe, Canada, Mexico, anywhere else other than the good ole US of A.

Favorite Team: Green Bay Packers - 13 time world champions.

2. MLB - Baseball is as American as apple pie. However, the season is too long. I would cut the season in half - make every game count even more. I would get rid of inter-league games and the Chicago Cubs (joking on the Cubs)

Favorite team: Minnesota Twins

In terms of New York City baseball franchises, I would root for the bubonic plague over the Mets and the Yankees.

3.  NHL - I understand that hockey is a Canadian sport but it is more entertaining to watch live than most sports. Hockey has speed, excitement, and fighting, along with the punishment system second to none.

Favorite team: Rapid City Rush

4. NBA - Basketball is a sport that I used to enjoy but now with the players making stupendous amounts of money and the sheer arrogance of most of them, I don't watch it unless I'm bored or in the middle of the playoffs.

I cannot stand Lebron James - he flips and flops more than a house of pancakes, both on and off the court

Favorite team: No NBA team wants me as a fan, Spurs if I had to choose.

Finally, a dishonorable mention: Soccer is an international sports for countries that don't have a decent military and can't win wars. If you can't use your hands (unless you're SPECIAL and call yourself a goalie), and the time clock goes the wrong way, it should not be called a sport. It in the same category as cheer-leading for sports - on the margins.

Republicans turning into RINOS

Note: This post was originally written in 2014, after the Cantor primary defeat.

Peter Beinart wrote a piece stating that the Republican Party must change policies to get more minorities into the party. Coming off the heels of Cantor's defeat, it sounds like a person that is shocked that a politician that does not represent a district well lost to a person who can articulate their core principles.

Why should we fall for this trap of appealing to small group of people? People won't respect the person that calls themselves Republicans but mouth Democratic ideas and principles. Why should be try to appeal to these groups and treat them like their problems are unique. Democrats promise everything to all these victim groups and never deliver. Why we emulate that solution and put the GOP brand in jeopardy.

Republicans need to stand up for conservative principles. We need to give the country the opposite of what Obama and his minions have been doing for the past 5 1/2 years. Free market solutions that encourage liberty and creation of wealth. A tax structure that encourages innovation and economic growth. Energy policy that lowers the price of gas and other basic essentials. A foreign policy that is clear and consistent with American ideas and principles. A government that knows its boundaries and represents the people that elected them into higher office.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/mutiny-in-the-gop-the-end-of-authority-in-the-republican-party/372654/

Addendum:

Since 2014, the Republicans have taken control of Congress. However, with Donald Trump as the face of the Republican Party for this electoral cycle, the RINOs in the party have taken control. Trump, the narcissistic, ego-maniacal scumbag, has killed the modern day Republican Party and turned it into a cult of personality around himself. Trump, the ultimate RINO, is the reason why I left the Republican Party, a party that has been my home since I registered in 2003.

TFA

Education is a bedrock of American society, allowing the current generation to teach the next generation the knowledge and skills necessary to keep society continuing. However, there is a threat to this basic tenet of a free society. This enemy is called Teach for America.

Teach for America is a cancer on the American education system. Allowing people with little training to teach in the most impoverished areas of the United States is a huge mistake. It takes away jobs from qualified teachers and lowers the wages of all teaching staff while imposing a northeast liberal viewpoint on the students.

Let us restore our education system by eliminating TFA and redirect our effort to train better teachers.

http://columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2016/10/12/dont-teach-america-teach-real

http://www.alternet.org/education/teach-america-covertly-privatizing-public-education

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/02/teach-america-most-divisive-education-reform-group

NCAA

In recent years, the push to pay college athletics, particularly basketball and football players, is coming from all the national media. Athletes are complaining about going hungry while playing games on national TV. The proponents argue that everybody but the players are making a lot of money on the back of these athletes, thus the athletes deserve a cut of the money.

However, I think that this is a bunch of hogwash. We are talking about paying a group of people who are getting their education paid for, they are given the best training money can buy, and they potentially could get millions that they would not receive if they did not go to college. The NCAA should not pay their athletes beyond scholarship for room, board & tuition.

If we start giving athletes a "salary" for playing a sport, where does it stop? Do the colleges have to pay every athlete in every college sport? Resources will be drained from other departments of academia to pay for sports. Other students that are not related to sports will lose money. Also, I thought the concept of student-athlete meant that the athlete was a student first.

On top of that, the NCAA lost a lawsuit where the athlete now can receive money if the computer game use their likeness as part of the playing experience. Personally, I have never bought a computer game with college players in them. I buy games that are based on the professional sport.

The NCAA is in a dire position. The major conferences are consolidating teams so they can make even more money, the athletes demanding money and even collective bargaining rights, and the major television networks demanding a product they can sell to the public. The NCAA is in an unenviable position of either carrying the flag of amateur sports against the wave of public opinion or be exposed as hypocrites by allowing the college athlete to be paid for playing sports.

http://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/court-shuts-down-plan-to-pay-athletes-says-ncaa-violates-antitrust-law/

http://www.si.com/college-football/2016/02/24/northwestern-union-case-book-indentured

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/09/sports/a-way-to-start-paying-college-athletes.html?_r=0

Gun control

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution.

With a string of gun violence and school shootings in the past 20 years, some people including members of Congress want to ban certain types of firearms from being sold to the common citizens. Certain weapons such as the AR-15 and handguns are targeted because of their effectiveness as a weapon. These weapons, they claim, should not be sold on the open market.

However, when it comes to guns, the 2nd amendment is clear when it states that the right of the American citizen to keep and use guns shall not be regulated by the government. An armed citizenry is a free citizenry. Guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens is the best defense against tyranny whether at home or in Washington D.C. More guns in the hands of citizens is better than any guns in the hands of criminals

If celebrities can have armed guards, citizens should have arms. It seems hypocritical to me when Rosie O'Donnell was hammering away against gun rights then turns around and requests that her bodyguard get a concealed weapons permit. Even gun control advocate need the comfort of a weapon in their hands to feel safe.

http://humanevents.com/2012/03/19/rosie-odonnells-hypocrisy-finally-caught-up-to-her/

In recent months, after the Orlando shootings, Democrats want to strip people of our rights without due process. Linking the no fly list to the ability to purchase a firearm without being able to challenge either one is plain stupid and borderline tyrannical.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/22/politics/john-lewis-sit-in-gun-violence/

Sesame Street

Mitt Romney was right back in 2012 when he said that PBS needs less support from our nation's capital. Sesame Street does not deserve government money. It should be able to fund-raise and get sponsors by itself rather than rely on Washington to fund them.

After the last few years, maybe Sesame Street should just quit. They have changed the Cookie Monster by making him eat more vegetables (doesn't that make him just a "Monster"?), Elmo's puppeteer has turned out to be a pedophile, Bert & Ernie are becoming a more corrupt gay couple, and Big Bird is now transgender. Sesame Street has jumped the shark and should be removed from national airwaves.

http://nj1015.com/big-bird-comes-out-as-transgendered/

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/elmo-resigns-new-accusations-article-1.1205034

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Is_Cookie_Monster_now_the_Veggie_Monster%3F

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/big-bird-in-the-presidential-debate-mitt-romney-advocates-cutting-funding-for-sesame-street-pbs/2012/10/04/f7f280ba-0e1f-11e2-bb5e-492c0d30bff6_story.html

http://fortune.com/2016/05/06/sesame-street-bert-ernie-std/

joker

Joker's bank heist

Ron Paul is right

Since the economic collapse of 2007-2009, the Federal Reserve has created money to "pump" the economy and keep it stable. Where is the money going? I believe it is time to audit the Federal Reserve and base the US Dollar on an asset (gold, silver, etc.). We need a strong dollar to maintain the world economy and for a prosperous America to counter our enemies' desires to bring us down.

Bernancke: gold is not money

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NJnL10vZ1Y

Reversing federal growth

"I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people.' To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition." Thomas Jefferson 1791

I agree with Jefferson's assessment that the 10th amendment, as quoted above, is the bedrock of the Bill of Rights and the foundation of the Constitution. The Constitution and especially the Bill of Rights were founded on the basis that the federal government does certain specific things and the rest belong to the states to run as they see fit.

Today, it is the reverse and our country is suffering because the federal government has taken too much power that was meant for the states. My proposal is for the federal government to eliminate certain cabinet departments - education, energy, HHS, HUD, and Commerce - along with the EPA. These departments and agencies are infringing on the rights of American citizens and a federal intrusion into areas that the states should run.

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty, than those attending too small a degree of it." Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Archibald Stuart, Philadelphia (23 December 1791).

September 19 - Talk Like a Pirate

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Ahoy Matey, Shiver me timbers

http://talklikeapirate.com/wordpress/

Obamacare

In 2009 & 2010, the president with the help of Congress passed the biggest overhaul to health care since Medicare. Ever since, health care has gotten worse. When the power to determine one's health is transferred from individuals and doctors to bureaucrats in Washington DC, medical care gets worse. Quality of care goes down while premiums go up.

I disagree with President Obama on many issues concerning medicine. Obama believes that health care is a right. I believe it is a privilege of those who take care of themselves and a responsibility of individuals and society to take care of those less fortunate than ourselves.

I also disagree about the economics of current medical care. Obamacare goes against American ideals of individual liberty and capitalism. It punishes innovation and rewards bad health (unless you're a smoker). Obamacare will lead to European/ socialized medicine like Great Britain's NHS or the VA system in the United States.

After 6 years of the lies and misinformation about its effects (you can keep your doctor & plan, premiums will go down, it will save the government money, etc.), isn't there a better solution out there? Many states have tried to undermine certain aspects of its at every turn. The Supreme Court is the only reason why Obamacare is still on the books because of their twisted logic on cases brought before them.

On top of that, Obamacare allows the IRS to collect the penalty/fee/tax of not being in compliance with Obamacare. The same people who lost six months of e-mail that demand 7 years of tax returns if you're under audit is now going to hound taxpayers even more, especially those against the ruling class in this country.


http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/09/obamacare-health-reform-insurance-economics/500348/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2016/09/15/new-york-revolts-against-obamacare-component/#79ef08d83c0a

http://time.com/3937366/john-roberts-obamacare/

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/20/irs-more-paid-obamacare-fine-than-expected.html

Funny UFO

Wall Drug donuts

In the world of doughnuts, there are many chains that offer many kinds of donuts. However, in my experience, there is only one place where the doughnut is just part of vast array of products sold. I am, of course, talking about Wall Drug.

Wall Drug, situated in the middle western South Dakota, is a tourist trap for people heading to Rapid City. Wall Drug offers products unique in this area of the world. It also has a backyard where every few minutes a model T-Rex springs to life and roars at the people traveling through his area.

Wall Drug began its road to fame for offering free water to travelers. Today, with expensive bottle water everything, it is comforting to know that the best water is not Aquafina or Dasani but Wall Drug water.

In terms of donuts, Wall Drug doughnuts are the top product to be made in that store. A cake doughnut with a light layer of frosting of either vanilla, chocolate, or maple, these donuts offer the best of Wall Drugs. With over 300,000 doughnuts sold every year, no wonder they are a hot commodity.

http://rapidcityjournal.com/blackhillstogo/arts-music/west-river-eats-wall-drug-doughnuts-a-treat-that-can/article_83445e1e-f2da-50da-860c-cd375fc54aa7.html

http://www.walldrug.com/

http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2009/9/22/pastry-road-trip-deliciously-dense-donuts-at-wall-drug-south.html

Bad Movies

Worst movies I have watched

I have seen my fair share of bad movies. I'm not a connoisseur of bad films but I do enjoy watching some bad films and somebody make fun of the films that were horribly (and somewhat horribly) made. Here's my list of the twelve of the worst films I have ever watched.

12. Batman & Robin (1997) - The movie that killed the franchise, starring Clooney, Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, and many others that overacted and made Batman a laughing stock of a franchise until it was rebooted. Mr. Freeze's puns and the overall direction of the film was cringe-worthy from beginning to end.

11. Elmo in Grouchland - a horribly made movie by a puppet handled by a pervert, this movie should have been rewritten to eliminate Elmo and replaced him with some other puppet. 

10. Howard the Duck - George Lucas is known for his award-winning and financially successful movies. This is not one of them.
Hopefully when Marvel/Disney make a new Howard the Duck, they don't repeat the same mistakes as this 1986 monstrosity. The whole premise of the film made no sense and the costume for Howard was horribly done.

9. Plan 9 from Outer Space - a movie made by Ed Wood, the
 godfather of bad movies, this movie has an odd plot involving space aliens animating the corpses of Tor Johnson and Vampira to take over the world. If this the ninth plan, how bad were the first eight? Bela Lugosi was in the beginning but was replaced by a guy who tried miserably to act liked him. 

Disaster Movie (8) & Meet the Spartans (7) - These two parody movies should be scrapped into the ash-heap of history. Poorly made, produced, and written by two dumb screenwriters who try to make fun of movies with horribly executed jokes and puns.

6. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians - Christmas films are hit and miss. This one is a pure miss. Martians wanting to bring Santa Claus to their home planet is about as entertaining as watching grass growing. Jamie Farr is in this movie but shows up almost at the end as a lacky for the bad guy

Hobgoblins 1 (5) & Hobgoblins 2 (4) - I watched Hobgoblins on MST3k, it made the movie entertaining. However, this does not make up for the fact that these are awful film. My first attempt at watching the sequel, I fell asleep. I eventually watch the film all the way through. I wish I hadn't.

3. Beast of Yucca Flats - a  Coleman Francis film with Tor Johnson
as a scientist that was hit by an atomic blast that turned him into a mindless Beast. The actors could not speak on screen due to a lack of film dubbing so any voices were heard off screen. The plot meanders like the Beast and had certain holes that were not resolved.

2. Monster a Go-Go is one of the worst films because of the production problems and the fact that the

end - "there was no monster" - made this a candidate for worst film ever. I have only watched this film via MST3k. I don't think I could survive watching this without the MST3k commentary.

And the top worst film..............

Manos, the Hands of Fate - created in 1966 on a bet, this movie should be shown in Film Making 101 on how NOT to make a movie. Various errors in plot and storyline, dialogue, production, voice dubbing, lighting, and overall sense of incompetence mires this movie in a cinematic cesspool. The fact that even the director thought it was bad, one of the main actors (John Reynolds - Torgo) commits suicide after the movie is made, and that the only reason anybody remembers this is MST3k making fun of it.

I can list more movies that were awful - Stars Wars I: The Phantom Menace (Jar-Jar Binks), All three Human Centipede movies,  and Cloverfield. But that is for another list.....


https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/25-movies-so-bad-theyre-unmissable/

http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-worst-movies-of-all-time

Thomas the Tank Engine and political correctness

First part is a previous blog post, second part is addendum

I grew up watching Thomas the Tank Engine, especially when it was on PBS as Shining Time Station. I cannot understand people when they take fictional characters and stories and say they are racist, sexist, and anti-environmentalist. Did they experience a gloomy childhood where there was no joy in their lives due to their overbearing parents? Do they criticize everything that people take enjoyment? Apparently these trains are too conservative for liberals to enjoy!!!

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/22/thomas-the-tank-engine-children-parents

Rebuttal of this PC nonsense:

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/383541/defense-thomas-tank-engine-charles-c-w-cooke

Political correctness is an attempt by many to keep people from saying anything. We are told that certain words, actions, and/or phrases are offensive to a minority group. It is patently absurd that people need "safe spaces" to prevent themselves from hearing offensive speech. Instead of debating and arguing, many college students of the liberal persuasion want to muzzle others from speaking other viewpoints.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/opinion/sunday/judith-shulevitz-hiding-from-scary-ideas.html?_r=0

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-19/students-fight-back-against-political-correctness-rise-cultural-libertarianism

Harney Peak

This past week, a federal board decided to change the name of Harney Peak, the highest point in South Dakota, to Black Elk Peak. The federal board, with no accountability and no way to appeal the decision, went against the state and its recommendation of keeping the original name.

Technically, the state does not have to change the name on road signs and state maps. However, the federal government, when creating their own maps, will use the new name.

The way people constantly complain and want to change the names of certain landmarks is patently absurd. I am surprised that a Native-American name was chosen, given that we're trying to remove Native-Americans references everywhere else such as in the NCAA and pro sports.

http://volanteonline.com/2015/04/state-board-takes-input-on-proposed-harney-peak-name-change/


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/08/12/feds-change-harney-peak-black-elk-peak-south-dakotas-highest-point/88619676/

Cola Wars

Coke v. Pepsi v Dr. Pepper -  the debate rages on who has the superior products. Let's look at the various soft drink companies head to head. Each product will be awarded one point per victory in each category. The views espoused in this post reflect one person's opinion and nothing more. 

Energy Drinks - Winner - no one because that's too much caffeine

Sports Drinks - Winner - Gatorade (Pepsi) a classic

Water - Winner - Dasani (C-C)

Iced Tea - Winner - Gold Peak Tea (C-C) is what a tea should taste like, especially unsweetened tea

Juices - Winner - Sunny Delight....oh wait, that's not part of this competition!!

Cream soda - Winner - Mug Cream Soda (Pepsi)

Root Beer - Winner - A&W root beer (Dr. P)

Ginger ale - Winner - Seagram's Ginger Ale (C-C)

Citrus flavor - Winner - Mellow Yellow (C-C)

Lemon-Lime - Winner - Sprite (C-C) is better than Sierra Mist and 7-up

Orange - Winner - Crush (Dr. P) unless Minute-Maid orange pop returns

Pepper-style - Winner - Pibb Xtra (C-C)

Diet  - Winner - Diet Coke (C-C)

Cola  - Winner - Coca-Cola (C-C) over Pepsi and RC Cola

Final Score - Coca Cola  8, Pepsi  2, Dr. Pepper 2

Coca-Cola company takes the gold

BTW, it's pop, not soda, soda-pop, coke, or anything else. If you say soda, you're following the elitist liberal trend. For those who call all carbonated beverages "coke", (a) that's a trademark violation (b) it's not accurate (c) only those who try to sound like southern hicks call it that.

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/rivalries/2013/08/pepsi_paradox_why_people_prefer_coke_even_though_pepsi_wins_in_taste_tests.html

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/coke-ko-vs-pepsi-pep-182306715.html

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Coke_vs_Pepsi

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/12/soda-vs-pop_n_2103764.html

http://twentytwowords.com/map-of-the-u-s-showing-what-people-call-sodapopcoke/