Next quarter's offer

Have you made your $3 donation for a chance to have dinner with President Obama?
The campaign pulled out all the stops to bring in more donors.
What can they offer in the next three months?
Maybe a shopping trip with Michelle at Target. She obviously knows where the bargains are.

We got the power

Fishersville and surrounding areas lost power for over two hours Friday evening.
I called my brother in Baltimore but didn't get much sympathy - his power was out for six days after Hurricane Irene passed through.
His theory with the power outage - our area didn't vote for President Obama.
Could be.
But if the Obama campaign fails to meet its September 30 fundraising deadline, it can blame our power outage. They always need a fresh excuse.

Bush's military killed another bad guy

How come it's still Bush's economy, but killing another terrorist is something Obama gets credit for?

Weekend watchdog

Are you ready for some baseball? Not so fast, Red Sox and Braves.
The 2011 postseason opens Friday on TBS with the American League playoffs. The Yankees, with the best record in the league, play Detroit at 8:37 p.m. Tampa Bay, winners of the wild card berth in the final inning on the final day of the season, head to Texas at 5 p.m.
The two National League series begin Saturday. The Diamondbacks visit Milwaukee at 2 p.m., then St. Louis heads to Philadelphia at 5:30 p.m. The second games of the American League series happen Saturday (7:30 on TNT from Texas and 8:30 p.m. from TBS in New York), then it's off until Monday for Game 3.
Game 2 for the National League series are on Sunday - 4:30 p.m. in Milwaukee and 8 p.m. in Philadelphia - then back for Game 3 Tuesday.
October also means top college teams stop feasting on cupcakes and battle some real competition. ABC brings Nebraska's Big Ten debut at Wisconsin Saturday at 8 p.m., while Virginia Tech meets unbeaten Clemson on ESPN2 at 6 p.m.
The weekend begins Friday at 8 p.m., when it's the battle of Utah as Utah State hosts Brigham Young.
CBS has a big Saturday of football, starting at noon with Air Force visiting Navy. The SEC afternoon slot goes to Auburn's meeting with South Carolina, and Alabama has a prime-time battle with Florida.
ABC has three choices in the late afternoon slot, with ESPN showing a second choice among Georgia Tech-N.C. State, Michigan State at Ohio State or Baylor against Kansas State.
ESPN starts the day with an future SEC matchup - Texas A&M vs. Arkansas - at noon while ESPN2 shows Northwestern at Illinois. In primetime, Notre Dame heads to Purdue on ESPN while ESPN2 follows the Hokies with Mississippi at Fresno State.
Comcast goes from coast to coast to show four games Saturday. The day begins at noon with Texas Tech heading to Kansas, then Maryland tries to bounce back against in-state rival Towson. Washington heads to Utah in a Pac-12 contest at 7 p.m., and UCLA-Stanford will be joined in progress at 11 p.m.
Boise State plays Nevada at 2:30 p.m. on Versus.
Which Ravens' team will show up Sunday? The home crowd hopes for a reprise of the opener on the NBC stage, with the Jets visiting at 8:15 p.m. Monday night, the Colts try for their first win of the season at Tampa Bay on ESPN.
The Redskins try to bounce back at St. Louis Sunday at 1 p.m. on FOX, while CBS has the doubleheader. Most of the country gets Pittsburgh-Houston at 1 p.m., followed by the Broncos' visit to Green Bay.
Tony Stewart takes his points lead to Dover for the third race in NASCAR's Chase for the Cup. ESPN has coverage Sunday at 2 p.m., after the Nationwide racers take the track Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Indy Car racers roll into Kentucky Sunday at 2 p.m. on Versus.
The WNBA opens its championship series Sunday at 8:30 p.m., with Minnesota at Atlanta.
D.C. United and Philadelphia take their battle for an MLS playoff berth to ESPN2 Thursday at 8 p.m. Comcast offers ACC men's soccer Friday at 7 p.m. when Virginia goes to Clemson. For soccer across the pond, ESPN2 shows Real Madrid vs. Espanyol at 3:55 p.m.
There's college volleyball Sunday at 2 p.m. as Michigan meets Nebraska on ESPN2.

Maine man

Who's the only person in New England not to comment on the failure of the Red Sox to make the playoffs? DaTech Guy, hanging out in Maine without his laptop.
But he left some thoughts to consider during his trip. Including
You know you’re a geek when you can watch The Big Bang Theory and say “hey, they’re playing that game wrong!"

More traffic than cash

Checking Sitemeter, I've had some traffic with this post from last week.
People wanting to donate to President Obama get sidetracked coming to my blog - sweet.
The Other McCain and many others have posts about the Obama push for money before the next reporting deadline.
Things must look bad for the Obama crew. If there's not a great pile of money coming in the last three months, the goal of a $1 billion raised may fall short. And failure to meet that goal may mean failure to meet their goal of voters in November, 2012.

Song for the coming campaign

Thinking about the 2012 presidential election, I think I came upon the perfect song to capture the likely theme.
From Johnny Hates Jazz, it's "Shattered Dreams."


I thought about doing an Obama parody based on the song, but the lyrics sum up the unhappiness of both parties with the present administration.
The left had great hopes for what Obama could do.
He's failed.
The right doesn't want to see more shattered dreams.
See for yourself.

So much for your promises They died the day you let me go
Caught up in a web of lies But it was just too late to know
I thought it was you who would stand by my side
And now you've given me, given me
Nothing but shattered dreams, shattered dreams
Feel like I could run away, run away
From this empty heart
You said you'd die for me
Woke up to reality And found the future not so bright
I dreamt the impossible That maybe things could work out right
I thought it was you who would do me no wrong
And now you've given me, given me
Nothing but shattered dreams, shattered dreams
Feel like I could run away, run away
From this empty heart
You've given me, given me
Nothing but shattered dreams, shattered dreams
Feel like I could run away, run away
From this empty heart
From this empty heart
I thought it was you who said you'd die for love
And now you've given me, given me
Nothing but shattered dreams, shattered dreams
Feel like I could run away, run away
From this empty heart
You've given me, given me
Nothing but shattered dreams, shattered dreams
Feel like I could run away, run away
From this empty heart
You said you'd die for me

An Orioles finale matters

Usually, there's very few SportsCenter highlights of the Baltimore Orioles in September. Who care about a losing team?
But tonight, the AL wild-card goes through Baltimore. An Orioles win could knock the Red Sox out of the playoffs.
Four games will determine the two wild-card slots tonight, while four other games set the second and third seeds.
An hour before gametime on the final day of the season, and only one team knows the date and time of its first playoff game. Should be an interesting night.

Let's throw money at this guy

I wonder if anybody from the Obama Energy Department has seen this Geico ad?


They probably thought "What a great green technology.
"I bet he could use $100 million in guaranteed government loans.
"We could train guinea pigs to say "row" in four months with our government help."
I know, don't give them any ideas.

Let the Lilys bloom

Fishersville's Daylily festival will continue next summer, while the Augusta County Chamber of Commerce adds a new event to its calendar.
There's always lots of traffic headed to the Viette farm for that festival. It should be big for years to come.

And so it goes in Oktoberfest

Want to know about Oktoberfest? Pat has all the answers, and more.

Let's go Caps; stop this crap

The viral column of the day goes to Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis - Obama supporter but not a fan of "class warfare."
Economic Success has somehow become the new boogie man; some in the Democratic party are now casting about for enemies and business leaders and anyone who has achieved success in terms of rank or fiscal success is being cast as a bad guy in a black hat. This is counter to the American Dream and is really turning off so many people that love American and basically carry our country on their back by paying taxes and by employing people and creating GDP.
If you've seen the prices to attend a Capitals' game, you'd know it takes rich people to pay the freight for tickets.
Leonsis knows his fan base.
If only Obama knew his country.

He's back

Smitty returned from Afghanistan today.
Democrats don't stand a chance.

Tax cuts for poor people

Rich guys like Warren Buffet think tax rates should rise because they could pay more.
What about the poor people who can't pay their taxes now?
Why doesn't Buffet write a large check and tell the IRS to refund money to needy people struggling with their tax burden?
Where are the poor people writing editorials, saying their experience shows the need for lower tax rates?
Right. They are too busy working to make ends meet.
Too busy to hear politicians claim their burdens as their own, when they cause plenty of burdens on the poor and lower middle class.

Today's Tied with me

Are you paying off your credit card bill each month?
This blogger plans to pay now, not continuing to play through 2033.
Holy Calendars Batman!!!! 22 years? Aye Carumba, that is an astounding time frame. So my estimation if we were making this same payment that the effective yearly rate is about 22% and I’d end up paying in total about 500% of the initial amount on the credit line once all payments are made, pretty cool eh?
This is atrocious, and makes me wonder how folks can do this? I have a line of credit that charges me currently 4% interest and if I was a bad bank customer I guess they might charge me 8%, but the Credit Card company can charge 22% (or so)? Wow, I guess I should start my own credit card company, if I want to get rich? Yes, I know that is unlikely or illegal or both.

12 crazy people

The Obama campaign keeps gearing up for 2012, sending an email today with the number of my neighbors who have already contributed to their cause.
12.
Every area has their share of people who don't know what's really going on.

How to lose customers

The Baltimore Sun is the latest newspaper trying to monetize its website.
The plus side of joining - you could use their pictures for Rule 5 Sunday.
Minus side - there's other ways to find Baltimore and Maryland news.
My folks gave up on the paper recently. I'll see how long it takes for me to hit a monthly limit.

Unbeaten teams watch

Only three teams made it through the week 3 undefeated - Bills, Lions and Packers.
The Redskins try to join them Monday night.
Will the Bills-Patriots game be the last meeting between undefeated teams this season?
How will Buffalo fans feel if the Bills and Redskins are undefeated - when they play in Toronto Oct. 30?
Maybe the Lions and Packers will keep on winning.
That will be a real Thanksgiving Day treat.

Our facts must be accurate

AttackWatch hasn't tweeted in 12 days. Guess nothing any Republican has said since then is wrong.

Can't be fixed

Dustbury offers high-end and low-end examples of items that can't be fixed.
Does the "throw it away, buy another one" help or hurt the economy? I'm sticking with stuff that this works until it falls apart.

Fail faster

The guest speaker at church Sunday had an interesting theme - Fail Faster.
He wasn't encouraging you to fail.
But to quickly learn from the mistake.
Not to wallow in the mistake, spinning your wheels.
Has President Obama learned to Fail Faster? The new stimulus, same as the old stimulus, makes it look like he hasn't.
Will Governor Perry learn to Fail Faster? The debate performances have taken some of the luster of his candidacy. But he still has time.
He just has to learn from his mistakes.
Governor Romney seems to be learning from his mistakes.
If we don't learn, then we'll have to bail faster. As the world economy takes on water.

What the ACC didn't steal

Watching the end of ESPN's College Gameday Saturday, a brief glimpse of a sign caught my attention
"The ACC stole my other sign."
The ACC added two Big East teams last Sunday.
This afternoon, two ACC teams lost non-conference games at home.
Having more teams doesn't mean having more winning teams.

Pay your fair share

You may think it's a little, but it's a lot.

Facebook quote of the week

My father once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition. ”

Saturday song

President Obama likes the bridge backdrop of his speech this week.
Too bad it's a bridge over troubled waters.
How about hearing Elvis sing the classic song?

Watch for falling prices

Everybody was talking when gas prices rose quickly in the winter and spring.
This week, the gas price dropped 10 cents overnight in Fishersville.
I haven't seen anything on Facebook about that. And I doubt it's because of the Facebook changes.
I'll celebrate when I see gas under $3 a gallon. Is that coming soon?

Good end to a work week

After a rainy Friday, it's great to see the sun shining through your window right before quitting time.
Happy Friday, it's 5 o'clock now.

Weekend watchdog

It's the last weekend of the major league season - plenty of opportunities to see the teams you'll see more of next week.
The Yankees and Red Sox, closing in on postseason berths, battle Saturday on FOX and Sunday afternoon on TBS. And they will likely be playing next Friday when the American League Division Series starts.
TBS gets a second game in the late Sunday afternoon, bringing the Giants' game at Arizona at 4:10 p.m.
The Orioles face AL Central champion Detroit in a series on MASN2. The Nationals take on the Braves at home over the weekend on MASN.
The Redskins get Sunday off, facing the Cowboys Monday night on ESPN for the first road game of the year.
NFC East rivals New York and Philadelphia play Sunday at 1 p.m. on FOX, while the Packers and Bears battle in the late afternoon slot. CBS in Washington shows the Ravens' 4:05 p.m. game in St. Louis.
NBC's Sunday night game features the floundering Colts hosting the Steelers.
The college football weekend begins Friday when Central Florida goes to Brigham Young at 8 p.m. ABC has another tripleheader Saturday. Notre Dame kicks off the day by facing Pittsburgh at noon, followed by either Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M or Colorado-Ohio State at 3:30 p.m. (the other game will be on ESPN2 in your area). The primetime matchup brings LSU to West Virginia.
CBS has a top 20 battle between Arkansas and Alabama at 3:30 p.m.
Comcast gives fans Conference USA and Virginia football Saturday. The C-USA matchup between SMU and Memphis starts the day at noon, followed by Southern Mississippi heading to Charlottesville to play the Cavaliers. At 7 p.m., James Madison visits William & Mary.
The ACC network gives fans Temple at Maryland Saturday at 12:30 p.m. What uniform combinations will the Terps wear this week?
ESPN has two ACC games in the afternoon. North Carolina goes to Georgia Tech at noon, then Florida State heads to Clemson. It's SEC in primetime with Florida meeting Kentucky, then the nightcap brings Southern Cal at Arizona State at 10:15 p.m.
ESPN2 has Eastern Michigan's contest with Penn State at noon, then Vanderbilt plays at South Carolina at 7 p.m. Oregon travels to Arizona at 10:15 p.m.
Versus offers three games Saturday, starting with Cornell-Yale at noon. Florida A&M meets Southern at 3:30 p.m., followed by Nebraska's game at Wyoming at 7:30 p.m. FX has a Big 12 (for now) game between Missouri and top-ranked Oklahoma.
Tony Stewart takes his lead in the Sprint Cup chase to New Hampshire this weekend. The race coverage starts Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN.
The PGA closes its FedEx playoffs with the Tour Championship this weekend on NBC. The top 30 golfers of the year - Tiger who? - compete for the title, with coverage starting at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
The WNBA conference finals continue Sunday on ESPN2. Atlanta hosts Indiana at 3 p.m., followed by Phoenix-Minnesota at 5 p.m.
It's ACC volleyball Friday on Comcast, with North Carolina traveling to Maryland at 7 p.m.

Democrats' last gasp

Rush had lots to say about Elizabeth Warren's Democratic rant Thursday.
Warren focuses on what government does that provide the foundation for success.
And not the parts of government where the foundation is cracking.
Government schools educate your employees - and fail many of our kids.
Government protects our interest - but in same areas, you still need your own security to feel safe.
Some succeed thanks to government help.
Some struggle due to government meddling.
Progressives wish Democrats would push their line harder.
Why don't they?
It doesn't really work.
It hasn't worked since President Obama took over.
It won't be working for years to come - it's math.
Past governments promised more than future taxpayers can pay.
You can't talk about the goodies you'll give when you've given away the store already.
And using guilt won't get politicians enough to make more promises.

Look out above

The NASA satellite is looks ready to drop from the sky Friday afternoon.
No, you can't call it an early Friday to watch out for the pieces.

Pay your share fair. They'll waste it

President Obama and friends love to talk about paying your fair share. More taxes.
Yes, paying taxes gives us important services.
And important flops

• Solyndra
• Overpaid union bosses
• $16 muffins
• Poor decision making, even at local levels

If you'd admit to the failures, you might be trusted with more tax money.
Til it's waste not, we won't want to pay more.

The Big Zooey Theory

It's the first week of the new TV season - which shows will catch our favor and which ones will be forgotten in November?

We know Dustbury likes "New Girl." People have noticed.

Is the show any good?

We know it's not reality-based. Cute girls just drop in on a group of guys and bring their friends. All. The. Time.

Big Bang Theory started with one girl and now has one for every nerdy guy.

Zooey's new show has Hannah Simone as the first of many potential models to visit the apartment.

As long as the ratings stay high enough.
UPDATE: Dustbury has an eye on the opening show's ratings.

I wuz gonna donate

but I'll need the money for your tax increases. Sorry, Obama campaign.

Don't care, doesn't matter

Smitty offers his take on the passing of "Don't ask, don't tell" from Afghanistan - where you don't want to be on other side of the fence when the question is asked.

See that guy?

A proposed Obama 2012 bumper sticker from Doug Ross.
UPDATE: Paco likes.

From the suburbs of Fishersville

It's almost time for fall foliage in the area.
Fishersville has a good view of Shenandoah National Park, but you must pass through Waynesboro to get to that tourist mecca and Skyline Drive.
Does Waynesboro get any love as a fall foliage destination?
Not according to Chris Graham of the Augusta Free Press.
Here's what's going on in Staunton.
Or Department of Foresty Valley tours that go without mentioning Waynesboro.
When you're on the mountaintop near Fishersville, it's hard to miss Waynesboro. These Virginia entities did.

Today's Tied with me

Checking Technorati, I find my buddy Paco holds the same authority and rank today.
Paco's thinking of his options of leaving northern Virginia.
How about Fishersville? We're far enough from northern Virginia, but you can still watch the Washington news and laugh at the people you left behind.

Walls come tumbling down

Time for change at Fishersville's Wilson Elementary School.
The gym went down Monday, opening space for a new classroom wing and more students.
The oldest had his fifth grade graduation in the old gym. The youngest and his classmates will have to find another space this spring.

Homeward bound

Smitty's tour of duty in Afghanistan is coming to an end.
Much to look forward to in the coming months, including training the world's youngest blogger.

It's a little too late

Some good back-handed smacks at President Obama in Dana Milbank's coverage of Monday's speech.
Is it a little too late for Obama?
Whether his plan to tax the wealthy ever could — or should — become law is not really the point. Obama finally gave his side something to stand for after too much uncertainty. He also showed that he is finally learning to negotiate.
Had he called for a single-payer health-care system, he might have been able to win Republican support for the reform that was actually enacted. Had he held his ground earlier on tax increases for millionaires, he might have won more concessions from the GOP in the debt fights of the past year.
How about that inspirational talk?
Instead of launching into a Hugo Chavez stemwinder, Obama arrived 26 minutes late and began with a deficit discussion that put a woman in the second row to sleep.
Fans think Obama is putting Republicans in a trap. More likely it's the scene in this Toby Keith video.

It's not the taxes...

...it's the spenders.
People paid their taxes to the government.
The government gave money to Solyndra.
Solyndra went bankrupt.
Any questions?

Undefeated teams watch

NFL week 2 started with 16 undefeated teams.
It's now down to seven.
Buffalo, the New York Jets, Washington, Green Bay and the Lions stand 2-0 after the early games - the first three handing their opponents their first loss.
The Patriots and Texans won in the late afternoon.
Next week, New England visits Buffalo in the only meeting between 2-0 teams.
The number of undefeated teams dwindle, and the 1972 Miami Dolphins are watching.

Obama - one and done?

Ed at HotAir reports on the latest person giving President Obama the advice to give it up.
It’s one thing for John Fund, Allahpundit, or me to speculate on whether Barack Obama will bother running for a second term.  It’s another when one of the editors of a home-town newspaper tells a President to pull out.  Stephen Chapman of the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board writes in today’s paper that it’s time for the battered champ to hang ‘em up:

Pass the bill song

President Obama keeps getting crowds to chant "Pass the bill."
He needs a song - a classic song
How about Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill?"

I'll find my thrill
when you pass my bill
Please pass my bill
I need you to

Economy stood still
It's why I need a bill
It'll linger until
my term is through.

The word on the street is
it's stimulus two
All of the vows we made
We just go repeat

We're far apart
I'll chant more still
It's Democrat swill
Just pass my bill





UPDATE: Linked by the MindNumbed Robot.

Man, are you crazy?

Obama for 2012 wants supporters to put their magnet on their cars - or bicycles.
Why?
When people see us out in the neighborhood showing support with our clothing, our dog leashes, our cars, or our water bottles, it starts conversations.
Obama's work the past few years does start conversations. With many words not fit for the ears of children.
Maybe they can create jobs helping people to get rid of the Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers off their cars.

Facebook quote of the week

My son is going to write up a contract with me. He gets straight A's all 4 quarters of 8th grade, he gets a new computer. Not sure what I get, but straight A's will make a Mom very proud.

Saturday song

President Obama's "love" speech inspires this week's selection, immortalized in "Dirty Dancing."

Who'd be a better president?

Troglopundit finds some contenders for doing a better job than President Obama.
The U.S. might be better off now if I’d become president. We might be better off if a soggy green pepper had become president. That’s not saying much.

Pass the American Jobs Act of 2011

We need to pass the bill -that's been filed in the House.
Not the same one the President is talking about.
Although he might be better off with the House version.

Happy Friday

Need more enjoyment for your Friday?
Check Iowahawk's thoughts on Twitter about Attack Watch.
Like this:

What's hairy, smelly, lives in the woods, and reports you to the government? Attacksquatch! #AttackWatch

Weekend watchdog

It's time for NASCAR's Chase for the Cup - also known as Jimmie Johnson season.
Twelve racers begin the chase for the cup Sunday at 2 p.m. at Chicagoland. ESPN has the coverage.
Johnson has won the past five Cups, dominating the last 10 races of the season. With only one win so far this season, Johnson starts the 2011 Chase in fifth place. Throughout the changes in point structure over the past few years, Johnson still manages to find the top spot.
The Nationwide race goes Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Indycar drivers are across the Pacific, racing in the Japan 300 Saturday at 11:30 p.m. on Versus.
Michael Vick returns to Atlanta for NBC's Sunday night game, bringing the Eagles to battle the Falcons at 8:15 p.m. The Rams travel to New York for ESPN's Monday night game.
The Redskins host Arizona Sunday at 1 p.m. on FOX, forcing WUSA to leave the timeslot empty. CBS has the late afternoon contest, with the Chargers in New England.
CBS starts its run of SEC football Saturday at 3:30 p.m., with Tennessee heading to Alabama.
ESPN kicks off the weekend Friday when Boise State visits Toledo at 8 p.m., while Iowa State takes on Connecticut on ESPN2.
ABC has three contests throughout the day Saturday. Auburn visits Clemson at noon, then the 3:30 p.m. features either Texas at UCLA or Washington meeting Nebraska (the game ABC doesn't show in your area appears on ESPN). Primetime brings top-ranked Oklahoma taking on Florida State.
There's an ACC doubleheader on Comcast Saturday, starting with Kansas taking on Georgia Tech at 12:30 p.m. Virginia Tech hosts Arkansas State at 4 p.m. The ACC Network offers Duke at Boston College at 12:30 p.m.
Notre Dame tries to get a win Saturday at 3:30 p.m., taking on Michigan State on NBC.
At noon Saturday on ESPN, Penn State battles Temple while ESPN2 has Pittsburgh-Iowa. ESPN's Primetime coverage has Ohio State going to Miami at 7:30 p.m., followed by Stanford-Arizona. ESPN2 goes with Navy at South Carolina at 6 p.m. before Utah tackles Brigham Young.
Versus heads west at 3:30 p.m., with Texas Tech taking on New Mexico. FX goes with Southern Cal's game with Syracuse at 8 p.m.
MASN has MAC football Saturday at noon, with Central Michigan meeting Western Michigan.
Tampa Bay, trying to stay in the playoff hunt, meets Boston Saturday on FOX and Sunday afternoon on TBS. FOX also offers the Mets vs. Braves, while ESPN goes with the Cardinals heading to Philadelphia. The Orioles have a weekend series on MASN, while the Nationals host Florida on MASN2.
The PGA tour has the third week of its four-week playoff round, with the BMW Championships. NBC has coverage Saturday at noon, with the final round starting Sunday at 2 p.m.
The WNBA playoffs begin this week, and Sunday ESPN2 has Connecticut at Atlanta at 3 p.m. followed by San Antonio-Minnesota.
D.C. United heads to Seattle Saturday at 9 p.m., facing the Sounders on Comcast.
ACC volleyball gets coverage Friday at 7 p.m. as Duke visits Wake Forest.

Enemies of Obama

Want to see a gathering of people President Obama would like to put out of business?
Bluefield, W.Va. is hosting a Coal Show this week, bringing together coal vendors from across the nation.
Imagine what these guys could have done with the money given to Solyndra.

Building bridges

It's an interesting take for Democrats on the new stimulus bill - pointing out how many bridges need help in John Boehner's district.
Nice to know.
Too bad the Obama package will focus on environmental impact studies and building bike paths up to the troubled bridge. No rebuilding actual bridges.
Bait and switch, not hope and change.

Another football season

Baltimore has another football team this fall - the Charm.
Stacy Moon plays quarterback, and the team has a weekend date with Orlando.

Making that Love Connection

Don Surber loves a video by former Love Connection host Chuck Woolery.
We'd love to see Warren Buffett stop talking about paying more taxes and start doing it.

Barack Millstone Obama

Instapundit has a nice new name for the president.
Helps the Richard Milhous Nixon vibe.

Thanks, Rep. Weiner

The Republican wins in NY9.
Does it mean anything for President Obama?
Did the Republicans losing the western New York district mean anything in the spring?
If it's an anti-incumbent mood, than that's not good news if you're the incubment president and his party.
Republicans, do the happy dance.
And marvel how someone hitting the wrong key on their smartphone can change history.

Today's Tied with Me

Technorati lets me check bloggers from across the world with the same authority and rank as mine.
Sometimes, a blog from across the county has the same authority and rank - SWACgirl today.

Overheard at the Solyndra plant

"Why yes, Mr. President, we all worked at Enron.
How'd you guess?"

Remember looking for answers

Troglopundit remembers the glorious days of his youth - when you had to ask someone for an answer.
Or worse, look it up in a reference book yourself.

Another important anniversary

Monday is the second anniversary of the 9-12 gathering in Washington, D.C.
And who can forget the boob czar?

Developing good websites

The city of Waynesboro is slated to vote on a city economic-development website project Monday.
One local website knows how to promote the area. And has a track record.
That website didn't get the bid.
It's all probably a waste anyway.
What attracts business to an area?
Free stuff (tax breaks et al.)
Good location.
And they need to be there.
Often, government economic development isn't about developing new things in your area.
It's about stealing somebody else's idea once it's ready to go.
Virginia can get companies to move to be near the federal government.
Waynesboro has I-81, I-64, Charlottesville and Shenandoah National Park nearby.
For five bucks you can probably develop a decent website to highlight those strengths.
Hopefully, this new economic development website will have an appropriate link to websites about local activities/interests to attract people to our area.
The link will showcase the work of a local who loves and knows the area. And should have gotten a better shot at this website.

Not enough new suckers

Whenever someone says "don't worry about Social Security. It's fully funded to 2035," I wince.
Sorry buddy, but that money was spent 30 years ago.
Ace has the reality check.
Seems kind of worse than a Ponzi scheme -- in a Ponzi scheme, at least, it is hypothetically possible you can find new suckers and keep the boondoggle running. In the case of Social Security, it has long, long been known as an absolute mathematical fact that there were not enough new suckers in existence to make it work.

Other days to remember

DaTech Guy offers other days to remember from the past 10 years.
The days we need to be remembering are the fall of Saddam (April 9th); the fall of the Taliban government in Afghanistan and Tora Bora (Dec 17th); and the death of Bin Laden (May 2nd). We should hold those days high, and make sure that not only do we remember and celebrate those days—but those we defeated remember it as well.

Tales of the jumpers

What's the least talked about part of 9-11?
The people who jumped/fell to the deaths before the towers fell.
This Daily Mail story focuses on them, with two closing paragraphs that ought to be higher up in the story.
It seems a harsh fate for those agonised mortals who faced the naked terror of that ten-second plunge to certain death. For the jumpers saved lives even as they were losing theirs.
In testimony after testimony, survivors of the South Tower say they only realised they had to ignore the official safety all-clear and get out fast when they saw those terrible shapes tumbling past their windows.

Instapundit remembers

Instapundit puts up a series of links about 9-11.

Saturday song

Alan Jackson's song about 9-11, "Where were you when the world stopped turning?"

These dogs ain't kosher

Look out, but a Republican might win in New York City.
If the Surfing Rabbi has anything to say about it.

Chick-fil-A breakfast vs. Obama

I just enjoyed my free breakfast item at Chick-fil-A. And the promotion got me thinking.
They offered a free breakfast item for the week, but you had to reserve a spot.
Chick-fil-A couldn't offer free items without preparation. You can't have 1000 people showing up for a free sausage biscuit when you only have 500 in stock. That would be a disaster instead of helping the company.
They needed to plan the website and promotion.
They needed to make sure they had enough breakfast supplies on hand.
They needed the proper staffing for a good promotion - one where people leave feeling better about Chick-fil-A.
Now look at President Obama's jobs speech.
Where's the preparation?
Pass the bill.
You gave a speech. More specifics, please.
Pass the bill.
That didn't work well for you last time, did it?
Pass the bill.
What are the spending reductions to offset this plan?
Pass the bill.
If the point behind the jobs speech to make you feel better about President Obama, or worse about Republicans?
If it's to make you feel better about Obama, you plan better.
You put things in writing, to show seriousness.
If the plan is to make Republicans look bad, no real planning.
Just slogans.
Hoping to deflect blame from the lack of preparation.
I enjoyed Chick-fil-A and will go back.
I'm hoping with all my might that there's no going back to President Obama in November 2012.

Facebook quote of the week

Scratch-n-sniff Craig's List would save us ALL alot of time.

What speech did they watch, anyway?

It's fun to get the email from Obama for America. You can read this insight on Thursday's speech.
It's the kind of speech you watch and think, "I'm so proud this guy's our President."
I'll let GrandpaJohn serve up the punch line.

Pass a dud, or stand strong

What should be the response by Republicans to President Obama's speech?
After the laughter dies down.
Do you pass the dud and give Americans two views of failed stimulus?
Or vote it down.
Would that put the blame on Republicans? Or show that Republicans really need a Republican president to turn things around?
I don't think he can go around in the fall of 2012, complaining that Republicans didn't listen to him. When he's not listening to the people.

What's for lunch

How about a Pokeball pizza?

Ten years is a long time

The News Leader visited Fishersville's Wilson Elementary to talk about 9-11.
A school full of young kids, almost all born after the attack.
Most fifth graders had just been born.
Thinking about 9-11, it can seem like just yesterday. But ten years is a long time.

Pass the bill. Eat your vegetables. No smirking.

Instapundit has a roundup of President Obama's lousy speech.
Mickey Kaus leads off.
More effective than expected. Would have been even more effective if he’d stopped about halfway through.
a) His speaking style has deteriorated since taking office. He’s phonier than in 2008, reading with forced emphasis. At times he achieved the rare, magical combination of seeming desperate and condescending at the same time.
Sunday, you can watch Desperate Housewives. You've just seen the season debut of Desperate Democrats.

If MSNBC's unhappy, it's a good thing

President Obama had his speech.
Did I miss anything?
I've taken to watching some MSNBC the last few weeks. They are so enjoyable when they're unhappy.
Guess I'll be watching more the next 14 months.

Here's a business name

Ntelos announced the name of its landline business when it splits from the wireless business.
The CFO and president of the new group?  Mike Moneymaker.
That's what you call branding.

Weekend watchdog

The NFL's labor war is over, and now it's time to play.
The 2011 season kicks off Thursday at 8:30 p.m. when Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay hosts Super Bowl XLIV champion New Orleans on NBC.
NBC goes again Sunday night, with the Cowboys hosting the Jets. ESPN has its doubleheader on the opening Monday night - New England at Miami at 7 p.m. followed by the Raiders at Broncos.
FOX has the doubleheader games Sunday afternoon - Philadelphia heads to St. Louis in the early game, with the Giants taking on the Redskins at 4:15 p.m. Locally, CBS features the main national game between the Steelers and Ravens at 1 p.m.
The college football weekend kickoffs off with a pair of PAC12/Big 12 showdowns - which might become conference rivalries shortly. Arizona checks out the stadium at Oklahoma State Thursday at 8 p.m. on ESPN, while Missouri heads to Arizona State Friday at 10:30 p.m. Is there room for Mizzou out west?
ESPN starts the night with Louisville hosting Florida International at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, ABC has the big battle between Alabama and Penn State at 3:30 p.m. ESPN starts the day at noon with Oregon State heading to Wisconsin. South Carolina goes between the hedges at 4:30 p.m., followed by Notre Dame's night game at Michigan.
ESPN2 shows Tennessee-Cincinnati at 3:30 p.m., then BYU takes on Texas. Versus has a doubleheader - TCU taking on Air Force at 3:30 p.m. before Utah meets new conference foe Southern Cal at 7:30 p.m. The ACC network offers Rutgers' visit to North Carolina Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Comcast opens Saturday with Iowa facing Iowa State at noon. This rivalry had a trophy attached, but it and the replacement were mercifully replaced. The Hokies head to East Carolina at 3:30 p.m., followed by a Conference USA matchup between UTEP and SMU.
MASN2 shows West Virginia taking on Norfolk State Saturday at 1 p.m. May the rain be gone this weekend.
FX adds Nevada's visit to Oregon at 3:30 p.m.
The U.S. Open closes its run, hopefully Sunday afternoon with the men's final at 4:30 - weather permitting. ESPN2 shows play Thursday starting at 11 a.m., with the night session at 7 p.m. CBS brings Friday's play beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Super Saturday is scheduled to have the two men's semifinals starting at noon, with the women's final set for 8 p.m. Sunday, the men have their championship after ESPN2 shows the women's double final at 1 p.m.
It's the final race before NASCAR's Chase for the Cup. ABC shows the action from Richmond Saturday at 7:30 p.m., after the Nationwide racers hit the track Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
FOX sticks with the American League Saturday afternoon, offering Indians vs. White Sox, A's at Rangers and the Twins taking on the Tigers. TBS has the Phillies' visit to Milwaukee Sunday afternoon, while ESPN's Sunday night game offers the Cubs at Mets.
Hurricane Irene forced the Orioles and Yankees into a Thursday makeup game. They play at 1 p.m. on MASN2, while the Nationals close out a series with the Dodgers on MASN. The Nationals host the Astros on MASN this weekend, while Baltimore visits Toronto on MASN2.
D.C. United heads to the west coast, facing Chivas USA Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on Comcast.

Rub it in, rub it in

Instapundit defends his smackdowns on President Hopey-Changey.
Well, I am quite deliberately rubbing it in, as the ridiculously inflated expectations for Obama are regularly and repeatedly exposed as . . . ridiculously inflated.

Almost time for a big bang

Just two more Kaley Cuoco Thursdays until the new season begins on Big Bang Theory.
Katie Leclerc appears to have gained a guest star slot early in the season. A show based on the lives of four nerdy guys sure has a lot of women getting screen time.

Debate loser

The Republicans debated Wednesday and the MSNBC talking heads had their opinions to offer.
Jonah Goldberg wasn't impressed.

How about a real jobs speech

President Obama will speak to Congress Thursday about jobs.
He might be better served to watch Travel Channel.
He can get job tips from Truck Stop Missouri.
Or the local food places where Adam visits on Man vs. Food Nation.
Any of the restaurant owners knows so much more about business than President Obama.
And they're more entertaining, too.

Demand

In economics, supply and demand means
Demand for your products by other people.
Not
Demand that other people do things your way.
Maybe that's what trips up President Obama.

Thanks, Jimmy Jr.

Going into President Obama's speech Thursday, who's fired up and ready to go.
The Tea Party.
Thanks, Jimmy Hoffa Jr.

What's the market for this?

Driving home, the FM station had an ad for Identigene - the only paternity test sold at pharmacies.
There's enough market for paternity tests that they can advertise on the radio?
How many people are trying to prove who's the daddy of their baby?
Enough to keep Maury busy, but I didn't think enough to stock your local store.

How does Obama win?

Now that we're only 14 months to Election Day 2012, it's time to begin looking more seriously at President Obama's chances of re-election.
Larry Sabato sees seven swing states making the difference.
At Ace of Spades, there's a more Republican friendly prediction.
But do polls and prediction show the depth of President Obama's support?
Ace links a post by Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi.
I just don't believe this guy anymore, and it's become almost painful to listen to him.
How can Obama win when his 2008 supporters are so disappointed in his performance? Being against the other guys won't motivate as much as it did when George W. Bush was the other guy.

Today's tied with me

Baseball is down to the final month of the regular season.
Technorati gives this blog a ranking among baseball blogs, which includes blogs that mention baseball along with their regular content.
The Woodson Art Museum in Wisconsin has a blog, and one of the employees celebrates getting a September callup to join the team.

Summer's over

It's cool and rainy today.
It's dark when you get up in the morning, where last month you could see the sun coming up.
Put away the summer things.

Will he mention Lily?

I wasn't feeling well Monday afternoon, so I listened to President Obama's Labor Day speech from Detroit.
As he listed his accomplishments, he brushed over the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. He mentioned Fair Pay, but not the name of the bill.
Will he use her name Thursday?
If you hear it, you can ignore the rest of the speech. Nothing special to say if he keeps bringing Lily Ledbetter back into the conversation.

Think different please, Obama

While channel surfing Monday morning, I found Turner Classic Movies showing some silent movies - from almost 100 years ago.
It was cool to see "A Trip to the Moon" from 1898. They followed with "Conquest of the Pole" from 1912.
Less than a decade after the Wright Brothers' first flight, they featured an airplane to get the men on their way.
How do you carry six men to the North Pole? It looks like they took a old west stagecoach and attached wings, a motor and long tail for the flight.
How well does it work to create new technology by adding new things to your old staples?
That's pretty much Obama's economic plan. This worked some in the past - labor unions and big government - and trying to attach new items to that won't get off the ground.
New technology takes new thinking.
New ways to do things for a new era.
Sorry, buggy whip guys, but we won't be needing your services as much.
Look at the new technology and fit yourself into that, not force the old technology into your way of doing things.
Want to revive Detroit? You'd be better off turning it over to Wal-Mart than using the old labor things that have failed in recent years.
Please see what has produced the recent failures, and recent successes.
It's a new day. You're not going to the North Pole in a stagecoach.
Even if the stagecoach got you places in the past.

Thanks, Blue Jays

Sunday ended the first season of the Bluefield Blue Jays' team in the Appalachian League.
The Blue Jays had only one hit and lost the championship series to the Johnson City Cardinals.
They didn't win the title, but did much better than Bluefield teams had done in the last nine years as a Baltimore Orioles affliate.
The Bluefield Orioles made the championship series in 2002, the year Baltimore added another short-season team - Cal Ripken Jr.'s Aberdeen Ironbirds.
You can't blame Baltimore for hooking up with Ripken. But that meant more experienced players were placed in Aberdeen instead of Bluefield, and the less experienced players struggled on the field.
Not many players from the Bluefield teams of 2003-2010 have made it to the major leagues.
Hopefully some of the 2011 Bluefield Blue Jays will in the future.

Perry's weakness

If Texas governor Rick Perry is so great, how come the major college conference of Texas is falling apart?

Recovery via food

Instapundit linked an interesting Wall Street Journal article - the Waffle House index.
It helps FEMA focus its recovery efforts.
"If you get there and the Waffle House is closed?" FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has said. "That's really bad. That's where you go to work."
We went out to eat last Monday at a local Ruby Tuesday. They advertised a seafood special, but due to the storm they didn't have all three items in the special the oldest wanted.
Or several other menu items we wanted to try.
We're several hundred miles from the coast, but the storm impacted the supply chain to the restaurant we visited.
Food's a good place to gauge what needs to be fixed.

No respect

Surely a theme of the Sunday talk shows will be President Obama's speech move to Thursday.
The Republicans aren't showing respect for this president.
No respect, no respect.
This president is like Rodney Dangerfield, just not as funny.

Saturday song

It's hard to think about Labor Day without thinking about Jerry Lewis.
I guess we'll start after this year's telethon.
But we'll always have his song on the internet, and in our hearts.

Problems at the drive thru

You can learn a lot by reading Mark Steyn.
I didn't know about the song "Drive Thru."
We visited a drive thru in Waynesboro Saturday evening.
There were five people in the car, so it took a while to get their order done.
The coffee delivered, we waited for them to pull ahead. Nope.
They had turned the car off at the drive thru window, so had to restart it before moving on.
I've put the car in park at the drive thru. I don't think I've ever turned it off.

Celebrate the holiday

Instapundit reminds us it's International Bacon Day.
Cook up a plate.

Facebook quote of the week

At 6:50pm the gasoline generators fell silent.

No holiday for McCain/Palin

The Other McCain won't be resting this weekend - it's off to New Hampshire to cover Sarah Palin's visit.
DaTech Guy will be providing the McCain/New England translation services.

Build Red Iguanas, not mass transit

Best of the Web linked a story about a Utah restaurant that built a second location just a few blocks from the original.
Why did the restaurant need an expansion? Construction of a light rail system in front of the original.
Q: How bad has the disruption caused by the light-rail project been?
Mr. Coker: We estimate we lost about $300,000 over the last 12 months. Primarily it impacted our lunch numbers because a lot of our business, probably 10 to 20 percent during the week, was business meetings from downtown. We’d call them the “suits.” We’d look through the room and you’d see a sprinkling of suits.
Light rail construction has finished. The restaurant has seen revenue grow $2 million in two years, despite the work.
President Obama should ask that more restaurants be built as part of Thursday's speech.

Use the logo

NBC29 reported on the successful challenge by Flucoblog to the Fluvanna County's policy banning use of their logo.
This logo. As a former Fluvanna County resident, I proudly join in using the logo.

Sunset on solar

If solar power the wave of the future, or the end of President Obama's future?
Rich Lowry talks solar failure.
If solar is the future, Solyndra will not be part of it.

Weekend watchdog

Twenty-seven years ago, the Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis.

This weekend, Indy cars come to Baltimore.

 Versus has coverage of the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix Sunday at 2 p.m. The road course travels past Oriole Park at Camden Yards and near Ravens Stadium before heading to the Inner Harbor. And back again. And again.
NASCAR spends Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, with ESPN at the Sprint Cup race Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ESPN2 has the Nationwide race Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Labor Day means the midway point of the U.S. Open. CBS has coverage Saturday, Sunday and Labor Day starting at 11 a.m. ESPN2 shows the action Friday, with afternoon coverage at 1 p.m. and prime time at 7 p.m.
College football kicked off on Thursday, and the ACC network gets going Saturday at 12:30 p.m. as Virginia Tech hosts Appalachian State.
The big game of the weekend features a pair of top 5 squads - Oregon at LSU at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Friday, ESPN offers TCU and Baylor at 8 p.m.
Saturday at 3:30 p.m., the country has a choice of Minnesota at Southern Cal or Western Michigan at Michigan - one will be on ESPN2 and the other on ABC. ESPN starts the day at noon with Akron taking on Ohio State, while ESPN2 has Utah State-Auburn.
Notre Dame opens its season Saturday on NBC, facing South Florida at 3:30 p.m.
ESPN goes with BYU-Mississippi at 4:45 p.m., followed by Boise State's visit to Georgia at 8 p.m. ESPN2 closes the night with Colorado at Hawaii at 10:15 p.m.
FX gives top-ranked Oklahoma coverage, as the Sooners meet Tulsa at 8 p.m.
Comcast has James Madison visiting North Carolina Saturday at 3:30 p.m., after Miami of Ohio takes on Missouri at noon. The conclusion of Louisiana Tech vs. Southern Mississippi airs at 10:30 p.m. Sunday, SMU takes on Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m.
The weekend continues with Marshall facing West Virginia Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN, and the ACC takes the stage when Maryland plays Miami Monday at 8 p.m.
There's high school football from Pennsylvania Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN2, with Archbishop Wood taking on Pittsburgh Central Catholic.
ESPN2 has the Tigers meeting the White Sox Sunday at 8 p.m., while the Rangers meet the Red Sox on TBS Sunday at 1:30 p.m. FOX on Saturday afternoon offers games between those sets of games, along with Cincinnati at St. Louis.
The Orioles go to Tampa Bay on MASN2 for the weekend. The Nationals host the Mets on MASN Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
The PGA has a rare Friday through Monday tournament, with the Deutsche Bank Championship. NBC has coverage Sunday and Monday at 3 p.m.
ESPN2 shows an international friendly between the United States and Costa Rica Friday at 11 p.m.
As the WNBA season winds down, Connecticut takes on the Mystics Sunday at 4 p.m. on Comcast.

The cost of regulation

A simple sentence about incentives from Forbes.
Every business owner knows the subsidies are temporary, while the new costs and regulations are permanent—at least as long as Obama is in office.

All my rowdy friends

Will President Obama's job speech work?
It sure has some bloggers working hard.
Wyblog gets the party started.
GrandpaJohn finds the picture to get the faithful excited, and Don Surber finds it GOOD.

From the Carolina shore

Visitors have returned to Duck, N.C.
When you last saw it a week ago, Al Roker had five more feet of sand to stand on.

Not much room for beachgoers, especially at high tide.

We shall overspend

Ace simplifies the "who's a racist" bit when coming from the Congressional Black Caucus.
OUT: We shall overcome.
IN: We shall overspend.

President Norma Desmond

Poor President Obama.
The world has changed and he hasn't.
It's still 2008, when he had potential and power.
He gave speeches in the past and people loved him. Why don't people love him now?
I'll give another speech and it will be just like it was.
President Obama, meet Norma Desmond.