Thoughts On A Sunday

Spring-like weather has been the rule over the past week, doing a serious job melting the snow cover around the lake. The snowmobile trails are showing a lot of bare ground, so that particular sport has ended in this part of New Hampshire.

With the warm weather a lot of the ice fishermen have moved their bob houses off the ice in anticipation of the ice melting and breaking up. All bob houses must be off the ice by April 1st. There are more than a few procrastinators that like to wait until the last minute to pull theirs off the ice. The problem is that sometimes they can't reach them due to open water between them and their bob houses or they can't drive their vehicles out on the ice to tow them off because the ice is too thin.

It's been warm enough to eschew firing up the Official Weekend Pundit Woodstove over the past few days, though we'll need to fire it up later today as colder weather moves in this afternoon.

Last winter we used almost 7 cords of wood to heat The Manse. This winter we'll use just under 4 cords. I don't know if it was because we sealed up the house in a smarter fashion (we sealed the sliders and only a couple of the windows as compared to sealing all the windows last winter) or whether it was not as cold as last winter. Maybe it was a combination of both. We did use more propane this winter, but not a whole lot more. (It helped that propane was a lot cheaper this winter as compared to last year.)

Knowing Mother Nature can be fickle, I am under no illusion that she won't throw another snowstorm or two our way before spring establishes itself in earnest. But for now we'll enjoy the weather we have.

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“Tea Party” protests are becoming more numerous and attracting larger crowds. The question is whether Congress and the President are paying attention. Of the former, I'd say more are taking notice. Of the latter, I doubt it's even on his radar.

When Tea Party protests are drawing far more participants than anti-business (AIG) protests, you know the public is getting fed up with the spend, spend, spend and tax, tax, tax plans of Congress and the President. What is really illuminating is the protesters comprise people from across the age spectrum and includes not just conservatives, but a growing number of moderates. Another sign: polls show Republicans have pulled even with Democrats , with the economy and Congress' mishandling of the situation being one of the main factors in this swing. As more taxpayers show their displeasure with the Democrat controlled Congress at the Tea Party protests, I have no doubt that even more will swing towards the GOP. This spells trouble for the Democrats.

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There's more fallout to be expected from Congress's drive to punish bonus recipients at AIG, including foreign banks looking to poach workers from AIG and other American financial institutions.

Congress's plan to use taxes as punishment is also hypocritical, particularly in light of Charles Rangel (D-NY) saying one thing yet doing just the opposite. (Is that really a surprise?)

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Another problem with the punitive tax on bonuses is how it will fall under sway of the Law of Unintended Consequences, particularly as it will apply to the rest of us. Never mind that it is clearly unconstitutional. That's never stopped Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid before.

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How embarrassing!

Researchers trying to prove Arctic ice is melting away and will soon disappear found themselves being frozen out by well below normal temperatures and rapidly thickening ice.

Ironically, US Army buoys monitoring ice flows and thickness in the Arctic have shown that average ice thickness has grown by half a meter since last March.

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This is just plain stupid.

(H/T Maggie's Farm)

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Now Obama seems to think the Constitution allows him to regulate the pay of executives of financial institutions. How long before he tries to extend that regulation throughout the entire economy, for businesses large and small?

I give it six months.

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This is outright scary.

My answer to these Obama Jugend will be in two parts:

First, I will say I swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I will not swear an oath of loyalty to become a member of the cult of personality that is President Obama.

Second, I will tell them to get the hell off my property and not return. While saying this I will let them see the firearm hanging at my side in its holster.

That's all the answer they will get from me.

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GraniteGrok reminds us of Obama's campaign and inaugural promises and how we've learned those promises come with an expiration date.

What's worse is that Obama isn't even sorry he's going back on his promises, particularly the ones dealing with bipartisanship, lobbyists, and open and transparent government.

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Like a number of other Republican governors, Governor Sarah Palin isn't drinking the stimulus kool aid.

She is accepting only those funds that are temporary and come with no federal strings.

"We will request federal stimulus funds for capital projects that will create new jobs and expand the economy. We won’t be bound by federal strings in exchange for dollars, nor will we dig ourselves a deeper hole in two years when these federal funds are gone. For instance, in order to accept what look like attractive energy funds, our local communities would be required to adopt uniform building codes. Government would then be required to police those codes. These types of funds are not sensible for Alaska.”

Frankly she sounds more sensible than the present occupant of the White House.

(H/T Granite Slate)

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The annual Ice Out guessing game has started again here at Lake Winnipesaukee.

Ice Out is defined as the date when the cruise ship M/S Mount Washington can make all five ports of call on Lake Winnipesaukee.

I'm shooting for April 21st.

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A question relevant to Obama's push for socialized medicine in the US: Did Canada's universal health care system kill Natasha Richardson?

According to Montreal's head trauma physician, the answer is most likely yes.

Do we really want to emulate the Canadian health care system? Not if this is an example of the quality of health care we can expect.

(H/T Bob Parks)

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Finally, ACORN is in the sights of a Congressional probe, looking at ACORN's illegal activities, from voter fraud and running a mob-style 'protection' racket. Ironically, the Congressman calling for the probe is Michigan Democrat John Conyers, Jr., Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Does this mean they may have to give back the $2 billion their mentor got for them through the stimulus bill?

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the ice is melting, the mud is forming, and summer can't get here soon enough.