173 years ago today

a small band of brave men gave up their lives at the Alamo. Robert has been blogging the Texas Rev for the past couple of weeks - head on over and see what all the fuss about being a Texan is all about.

Is it just me,

or do you get the feeling this is like rats jumping off a sinking ship?

Treasury nominee bails out.

The person Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wanted as his chief deputy withdrew from consideration Thursday, dealing a setback to the agency as it struggles to address the worst financial crisis in decades.

Surgeon General nominee bails out.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, has withdrawn his name from consideration as surgeon general of the United States, he said Thursday.

And I'm sure we all remember the Commerce nominee bailing out.

New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg has withdrawn his name from consideration as President Obama's commerce secretary, a major blow to an administration seeking to put a series of Cabinet problems behind it.

I guess none of these guys wanted any more Hope and Change?

Conference Call with Senator John Cornyn Today

I got a late invitation this morning to attend a conference call hosted by Senator Cornyn this afternoon at 1:15. What's cool about his conference calls is that they're real conference calls - open mike, basically. No muting or stuff like that, and you can hear the chatter in the background. Someone was listening to Rush Limbaugh - that cracked me up.

He was a few minutes late, and things sounded really busy there inside the Beltway. He opened with a couple of statements regarding the situation on the border and the spending frivolity in D.C. He is very (and rightfully so) concerned about the situation with the drug cartels and the running gun battles between the Policia Federal and the druggies. He invited the President down to get a first-hand look at the situation. I'm curious to see if the President cares enough or knows enough to worry about a potential war on our borders. In case you've not been keeping up with the news, it's a very bad and potentially catastrophic situation there. 7,000 people have died in drug-related killings since the beginning of 2008. Thousands of Federal Police have been rushed to Ciudad Juarez (across the Rio from El Paso) to help quell the violence. It's bad. He did mention that he's glad it's President Calderon in charge, and not his Chavez-sympathetic opponent from the last election. I thought that was an interesting and revealing comment.

Next topic was about spending, and the ludicrous amount of money being thrown about not only in the so-called economic stimulus program, but now in the equally ghastly $410 BILLION omnibus spending bill. At least they have the decency to call it what it is.

Finally, the "fairness" doctrine was discussed. Don't know what that is? I'm going to do you a favor: LOOK IT UP. Stupid is as stupid does, people.

The Senator then opened the line for questions and comments, and I was the first to chime in. I took the opportunity to express my concern over Attorney General Eric Holder's exploitation of the current situation in Mexico as an opportunity to introduce anti-gun legislation and to attempt to resurrect the so-called assault weapons ban. I opined that it was quite a stretch to blame the current situation in Mexico on the legal sales of semi-automatic weapons that looked scary. The Senator pledged full support of our Second Amendment rights, as he has in the past.

There were a couple of other questions, but nothing of note.

Here's what I took away from the meeting: the Senator sounded a bit...exasperated. I think he's a bit frustrated as a senior Senator in Washington, who's typically correct in his position, fighting against an irrational, emotionally-charged Senate. He's in the minority in more ways than one. Nonetheless, he was positive and clearly energetic.

I certainly appreciate his taking the time to talk to his constituency, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to particpate in that process.

Salvation

Looks pretty damn good.

Independence Day

Happy Birthday to Texas and General Sam Houston.

I'll be having a drink for ya tonight, General.

baaa baaaaa baaa baaaaaa

"Grandmother, what big teeth you have got."
- Little Red Riding Hood

Kenneth Davis swapped two rifles that he inherited and a handgun. "They're just taking up space around the house," he said. "So, I brought them in.

"It's a worthwhile cause," said donor Cal Nunnally. "They were sitting around. It's in my best interests just to bring'em down."

"We weren't using it. Too much crime out here anyway," said donor Roy Collier. He and his family gave up a sawed off rifle.

"Got my grandkids staying with me," said donor Wayne Lovell. "I don't need them messing around with the gun, and I've got no use for it."

Bryron Goebel has daughters aged 3 and 6, and now no longer owns a rifle. "Too many guns out there that are not properly protected from kids or from society, so this is a great event," he said.

So, you've got some folks who would give up their right to self defense and others who are too lazy to teach their children how to act responsibly around firearms.

What a bunch of retards.

There's just

something about log cabins that I like....