Thoughts On A Sunday

We knew it had to come to an end, but Beezlebub was devastated by the fact that his regular employment at the farm has ended for the year. It left him a bit directionless as he really didn't know what to do with his free time. He will be helping with building a roof over the outdoor coolers sometime later this month, but it isn't quite the same thing as working in the fields or running one of the tractors.

To help with his feelings of loss, we ended up making a trip to the WP In-Laws for the day, something that always makes him feel better.

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Speaking of yesterday, the weather was definitely schizophrenic, with the day looking like it should have been a cool, windy, rainy day. Instead it was a very warm, windy, rainy day. Coats and sweaters were not required because it was in the upper 60's/lower 70's. The Official Weekend Pundit Woodstove was allowed to go cold and wasn't restarted until late today. The brief reprieve from the cool temperatures lasted until today, when things returned to normal.

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As often happens during family trips, discussions about various topics take place. During our trip home from the WP In-Laws I made mention that I was having trouble seeing because of the dark and rain. At first I thought it was just me and my aging eyes. But both Deb and BeezleBub said they were also having a tough time seeing as well. The recently painted markings on the roads were barely visible (the rain deflecting the reflections from the markings), the winds causing the rain to wash across the windshield in ways that made it difficult for the wipers to keep it clear. It quickly became apparent we weren't the only ones having that problem as more than one car or truck we encountered on our trip home were driving slower and more carefully that they otherwise might have.

New pavement was more difficult to see because it is darker than older pavement, making it tougher to see the edges of the road. There was lots of new pavement along our route of travel (so maybe it's Obama's fault we couldn't see because of all the ARRA funds made available for road construction/reconstruction!).

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Oh, yeah, like this bodes well for the state of California.

Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners -- holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear.

Technically, it's not a tax increase, even though it may feel like one when your next paycheck arrives.

Think of it as a forced, interest-free loan: You'll be repaid any extra withholding in April. Those who would receive a refund anyway will receive a larger one, and those who owe taxes will owe less.

Yeah, like that will happen. Knowing California's deep budget deficit, I doubt they'll have the means of paying that money back any time soon, if ever.

(H/T Instapundit)

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Tammy Bruce confirms a prediction I made way back when that the Cash For Clunkers program would end up screwing both the taxpayers and the used car market.

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I just upgraded our Linux computers to Ubuntu 9.10. The laptop had no problems and sailed through the upgrade with no problems. BeezleBub's computer, on the other hand, is now reporting a number of bad sectors on its primary hard drive. It also freezes when he tries to start an application. Ironically, it only happens on his account. When I log onto his computer on my account, everything seems to work just fine.

And people wonder why I hate and love computers at the same time.

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First, there was Bush Derangement Syndrome. Then came Palin Derangement Syndrome (an ongoing affliction). Now there's (Liz) Cheney Derangement Syndrome.

Those hate-filled misogynists at MSNBC just can't handle it when a conservative woman dares utter an opinion. After Liz Cheney rightfully criticized Barack Obama's cheesy photo-op at Dover AFB the other night, MSNBC clown Lawrence O'Donnell, filling in for the insane Keith Olbermann, goes on this lame rant last night. O'Donnell is technically correct on one point: Yes, neither George W. Bush nor Dick Cheney ever pulled a stunt like Obama's. Likely because they realized buffoons like O'Donnell would have gone wild about "monsters" like Bush and Cheney showing up to greet the soldiers "they killed" in their "illegal war for oil" or some such nonsense.

'Nuff said.

(H/T Pirate's Cove)

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The White House has claimed a large number of jobs have been 'saved' by the stimulus bill. What they don't tell you is that most of them were government jobs.

It sounds like they've been taking a page from the book of New Jersey governor John Corzine.

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Speaking of John Corzine, the gubernatorial race in New Jersey is a close one.

Corzine has ponied up over $30 million of his own money, while Republican challenger Chris Christie has been using public funding. Ironically, in a state with a 2-1 advantage of registered Democrats to Republicans, Christie is giving Corzine a run for his money. It all comes down to who the voters believe can turn New Jersey around and help the state economy recover. If Corzine's record in that regard were the only criteria for deciding who to vote for, he'd lose by a landslide. Unfortunately this race is about more than that...and that's the problem.

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Has anyone else other than me and Don Surber noticed the White House really doesn't like criticism?

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Ford Motor Company managed to avoid bankruptcy, managed to stay in business, and is making and selling cars consumers want to buy. So what happens?

The UAW figures Ford must be punished for its success.

With the rank and file voting down a contract negotiated between the unions and Ford, I would not be surprised to see demands for high pay, a wider swath of benefits, and more crippling work rules. The UAW played its part in bringing down Chrysler and GM, now they want to do the same thing to Ford.

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Bruce points out the greed of Massachusetts shoppers crossing the border into New Hampshire to do their shopping, depriving their beloved Commonwealth of much needed revenue required “For The Children!”

In the photo included in his post, you see the owner of the vehicle is a proud member of a union, an Obama supporter, and definitely not a fan of George W. Bush. To me it illustrates their hypocrisy, apparently being for all kinds of liberal spending (and the taxes that go with them), yet stiffing their own home state of tax revenues to benefit themselves.

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Bogie and her WS are making preparations for the coming winter, getting their firewood supply stacked and under cover. As she says, “This is stuff of warm and cozy winters!”

Here at The Manse we have two-thirds of our firewood supply stacked and ready to go, with the last third being delivered sometime in the next week or so.

Unlike last winter, we will be doing almost all our heating using the Official Weekend Pundit Woodstove. About the only time we'll turn up the thermostat is when it is below zero outside (the woodstove can't quite keep up when it's that cold) and when we leave The Manse for more than a day, like over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (we'll be at the WP In-Laws). We plan to limit our use of our propane supply to the water heater and the clothes drier. If this winter's usage holds to previous winters when we used only wood to heat, we won't go through more than 200 gallons of propane between our last fill up in September and our next one in late April/early May next year.

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Are this week's elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and upstate New York a prelude to 2010? They will certainly be an indicator of whether President Obama still has any pull with the electorate. If Republicans win in all three races it would show the luster has begun to fade from Obama and that independents and moderates are abandoning in large numbers the left-center shift they showed last November. If Republicans win in two of the three races (figure Virginia and upstate New York) it points to the growing problem the Democrats have been having with independent and moderate voters. If a Republican wins only one of the races (likely Virginia), then it means Obama still has some pull, Corzine's millions spent on his own campaign notwithstanding.

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One of the aforementioned races – New York's 23rd Congressional District - has had a number of twist and turns, one being the GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava dropping out of the race, leaving the way open for Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. A lot of people thought Scozzafava was more of a RINO (Republican In Name Only), so her backing by the state GOP and RNC was puzzling (the county GOP endorsed Hoffman).

The latest twist: Scozzafava has endorsed the Democrat candidate. Scozzafava made fools of the GOP, and particularly Newt Gingrich, who endorsed her over Hoffman.

I'd say this shows the RNC is seriously out of touch with the rank and file.

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One thing I must admit: I hate having to change clocks twice a year, particularly from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time. I'd rather keep the extra hour of daylight in the afternoon and deal with the extra morning darkness. The shift from DST is always the most difficult one for me, the family, and particularly the feline members of the household. (Dinnertime is very important to them, but with the change to Standard Time their dinnertime has been delayed an hour because no one is home to feed them. They aren't happy about that at all.)

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where Standard Time has returned, the weather has been kind of weird, and where our firewood stacks are getting bigger.