Farewell, Tim

I always like Tim Russert, even when i didn’t agree with him.  He was dedicated to both his family and his work, which he did as conscientiously as anyone.  He’ll be missed.

Free Bud Wiser

Looks like Anheuser Busch is in play, as Gordon Gekko might say.   InBev, a Belgium company, offered 65 bucks a share for the brewing giant.

This has the Governor of Missouri quite concerned, and he has asked the Gubmint to stop the sale.

Damn the free market!  We’re keeping this American icon!

Good Lord.

This is what happens when the dollar is weak.

Flop, Turn, River

I played Texas Hold-em last night.  Got wind of a game not far from here, with a cheap buy-in.  I’d forgotten how weird the experience can be.  Walking into a game, cold, especially in that part of town, is not for the feint of heart.  Plus, Hold-em is unique among poker games.  Community cards, and forced bets, called blinds, changes the psychology of betting quite a bit.  In Low-Ball, (what I’ve played most of my life) there is only two rounds of betting, and sometimes its possible to “protect” your bet if you are aggressive enough.  Big Blinds change all that.

Anyway, what an odd collection of souls that was.  There were pimps, dealers, lawyers, mechanics, cattle rustlers and horn-swagglers.  And that was just the women.  Every person at the table chain smoked.  My eyes were burning when I left.  And, of course, there was The Talker.  You’ll find one at almost every game.  He or she will keep up a running monologue the entire game.  This can distract less disciplined players, at that is obviously the point.   Sometimes, I’m The Talker.  Last night I was pretty tired when I started, so i was content to let someone else annoy the other players.

I busted out pretty early.  Like i said, I was tired, so i was very aggressive and caught a beautiful second-place hand, went all-in.  (pocket tens)

O/T, but does anyone know an Avon rep?  I need a boatload of Skin so Soft.  Even with Frontline, our dogs were suffering from fleas, until i bathed them with that stuff.  Wow, what a difference.

My Bad

Some friends have inquired as to the state of the Herd.  I think we are fine now.  No signs of colic, and they have pooped enough to float an aircraft carrier.  They seem content, and gobble up the cupful of vitamins and minerals each day with much gusto.  Thankfully, our Vet is swift and sure, and the Primary wife is rock steady about medical stuff.  Thank you to everyone that sent well wishes, or prayed, or sent money.  (ok, no one actually sent any money, much to my dismay.  I’m anticipating a vet bill roughly the size of Guam’s GNP.)

Thanks again.

No Surprise, Really.

I made Obama’s short-list.  Never underestimate the Gentleman Farmer vote.

Ethical Quandry

Oh, Dear Readers, what to do?  I live in a town that doesn’t seem to place much importance on, oh, lets say, reading, so I don’t usually make friends easily here.  I don’t want to be branded as an elitist, (well, maybe I do) but really, if someone has no idea whats going on the world outside of their own zipcode, i probably will find very little in common with them.

So, I am fiercely protective of the few friends i have.  Yesterday, I was visiting The Missus and her hard-working, rock-solid husband.  Try to understand, we spend alot of time with this family.  We hang on weekends.  We vacation together.  Our daughters share a birthday, and a love for reading.  In short, we are pretty dang close.

Well, when their eldest daughter, a beautiful, complicated, incredibly talented sweetheart of a girl greeted me yesterday, she did something so shocking, so anti-American, that I am torn between my love for this family, and my love for this country.  What did she do, you ask?

She walked up and gave me a terrorist fist-jab.

She’s 12, y’all.  A pre-teen mini-jihadist.  Our Liberal ,appeasement -oriented public school system has produced our first, but probably not our last terrorist sympathizer.

Is it on me, then, to notify the authorities, or, at least Bill Hobbs?  I’m concerned that silence is indeed tacit approval, and I cannot stomach the thought that she may only be the one that slipped up by giving “the sign”, that there could be dozens more like her right here in our God-fearing community.  I hate to suspect that The Missus and her hard-working, rock-solid husband might be aiding and abetting a home grown terrorist cell.

But, suspect them I must.

p.s.:  I DID notice her wearing a scarf once.  (smacks forehead)

Crisis Mode-Day Two

Thank you to everyone that commented, emailed, or called with well wishes.  There seems to be little or no signs of colic, and usually, when one or more of our herd is in distress, they tend to want to stay right up under us.  We actually put a saddle on Aras today, and he quickly learned to accept direction from reins.  Lena had someone on her back for the first time in 7 years.  They reluctantly accept their yucky medicine, and they were happy to be groomed this morning.  We may just be in fine shape, though I am hesitant to let my guard down until Day Three or Four.

Its amazing how excited we all are to see them poop.  I think I need a trip to the city….

If Cats Get Nine, He Deserves Ten

Some of you will remember ARAS and hIs Mother from this pic taken a day before she died. There was little time to mourn her, as Aras was a newborn, and had to be fed round the clock. The whole family took turns preparing his formula and getting up every four hours that entire Summer. Fortunately, his mother had seen to it that she gave him just enough colostrum to get his immune system established. He made it, and is a healthy two yr old.

We may yet lose him, and possibly our entire herd. One of the horses managed to break into the can where i keep their feed, and they ate close to ten pounds of 11% sweet feed apiece. 5 pounds can be catastrophic. I immediately called our vet, and we sedated them all and ran a tube through their noses into their stomachs to pump the full of mineral oil. The hope is that by coating what is in their stomachs, they will pass it quickly instead of having it rot and making them founder. We will also have to keep a close eye on them for the next three days or so, and try to keep them on their feet.

I’ll have to administer other meds on a regular basis for a week or so, but the rule of thumb is three days and you’re out of the woods. I’m a nervous wreck. He’s only two.

Lex Parsimoniae

In my previous lives, I think I skipped the entire 14th century.  Had I not, I would have heeded William of Ockham’s philosophy of nominalism, because I’m pretty sure we would have hung out.

So, today, when my coveted time on my tractor was abruptly interrupted by engine trouble, I did the following:

Cursed.  Removed the entire engine guard to troubleshoot.  Used The Google to find out if anyone else has had this happen.  Called every tractor dealer on the planet to get advice from their service dept.  Dropped the deck to gain access to cable assemblies.  Removed drive belt.  Changed the air, fuel, and just for good measure, the oil filters.  Ridiculed The Primary Wife for suggesting “something might be loose.”

Tightened throttle body screw.

Got back on, and resumed working.

Sigh.

From Shrill, To Imbecile

For quite some time I’ve ignored the poison coming from Egalia over at Tennessee Guerrilla Women.  Her tagline is “Fighting the radical right in Tennessee and the nation”.

How, exactly?  By helping them elect their candidate?  Brilliant!

I know that Egalia takes blogging very seriously, and is dogged in her pursuit of readers.  I know she knows all the tricks to improve her standing in Technorati, and I have no problem with bloggers working the system to sell ads and whatnot.  She is very smart, and, 99% of the time, I’d bet our policy positions run parallel.

So, i understood her passion for Hillary.  Like I have repeatedly said, I like and admire Hillary Clinton.  I had to choose, and I chose the candidate i liked better this time.  I did this without ever bashing Hillary or Bill.  I remember cornering Braisted at a get-together and asking him to re-think his public flaying of Hillary Clinton, because I felt it unwise if not unfair.  In short, I tried to conduct myself in a manner I would expect back from another Democrat.

I had to remove TGW from my reader, it reminded me a little of watching someone slowly lose their lucidity as they age or from some disease.  The wallering became unbearable.  Had I been a Clinton operative, I’d have asked her to shut it all down and take a vacation.

So today, I’m rummaging around in the wreckage of MCB, and i glance over at their aggregator and see that Egalia is now staking whats left of her credibility on a massive withdrawal from the Democratic Party by angry white women. She sees this as something positive.  The idea actually appeals to her.

Never mind that in past elections, people of color, members of the GLBT community, and organized labor have all had their candidates marginalized and their concerns tossed overboard both in the Primary AND General elections, and managed to buck up and help keep the Party strong.  Hells bells, I’m a Liberal with a capital L, and I worked my ass off in 04 trying to help Kerry get elected.  He ain’t exactly Dennis Kucinich.

So, I’m left to ponder what it is that Egalia seeks to do.  Does she intend to punish every Democrat by actively supporting a wave of defections?  What about the millions of female Obama supporters?  Millions.  What is she saying to women like Ginger, who waited, watched, listened, inquired and finally chose to support Obama?  Is she not angry enough?  Not White enough?  Not woman enough?  (Yea, ok, I know Ginger, and she isn’t particularly angry, but theres no question that shes a woman, (I mean, shes given birth and everything) and good God Almighty the woman is most definitely White.  Egalia, are you telling her shes misguided?  If that doesn’t smack of elitism…

Did misogyny play a role in Hillary’s defeat?  Sure, particularly in the media.  There is every reason to be mad about that.  Work to change it.  How many candidates of color went down in flames simply because of their race throughout the years?  We’ll never really know, but one cannot credibly argue that misogyny was more rampant than racism.

Meanwhile, as Egalia continues to don her blinders, oppressive legislation continues to be proposed by her supposed enemy, The Radical Right.  How does widespread disunity among Democrats help to combat it?

I’m really disappointed by all this.