Thoughts On A Sunday

The big Nor'easter hammering parts of the Atlantic seaboard and southern New England has left the Lakes Region of New Hampshire untouched. Even the southern tier of the state isn't seeing nearly as much snow as originally forecast. The Weather Guys™ have had to backpedal a bit, explaining the reason why we haven't been seeing the snow amounts expected is because the air is so dry the snow falling from the clouds evaporates before it reaches the ground.

I'm not complaining. Really. I had no desire to shovel snow or fire up the Official Weekend Pundit Snowblower to clear the driveway this weekend. I figure I'll have more than a few opportunities to do so before spring arrives.

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Speaking of the Nor'easter, I had the opportunity to speak to friends living out on Martha's Vineyard Island last night. They were already set for the then approaching storm, having taken care of their shopping and making sure the snowblower was positioned in the garage in preparation for clearing their driveway once the storm passed.

Whenever I think of heavy snow out on the island all that comes to mind is the Stephen King made-for-TV movie Storm of the Century. Hopefully Mr. Linoge has not made his way out onto the island.

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Is there any doubt that Senator Bernie Sanders (Socialist – VT) lives in an entirely different world than the rest of us?

(H/T Maggie's Farm)

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And speaking of Vermont, I'm adding Vermont Tiger to the blogroll.

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For those wanting a better understanding of the TEA party movement and how it is evolving, Skip Murphy has an excellent piece explaining the hows and whys of the movement.

One thing I've noticed is that it is far more encompassing than either the Democrats or the Republicans. Members of the movement come from both parties and a wider range of political beliefs than either of the two major parties. It is a grassroots movement of pissed-off Americans trusting no one in Congress to represent us as they should have, instead taking care of all the special interests and ignoring the wishes of their constituents back home.

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I guess Bogie is suffering from weekend writer's block, so she had to borrow content from one of my favorite websites.

At least of you're going to steal borrow, steal borrow from the best.

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Eric the Viking has a number of links to responses and opinions about the Senate Health Care Reform scam.

The common response: Everyone hates it, even MoveOn.org!

So why does Reid keep pushing this steaming pile of legislative manure?

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It seems poetic somehow the states whose residents report being the happiest tend to be Red states and the least happy tend to be Blue states.

Unfortunately my home state of New Hampshire ranks 28th on the happiness scale (in the past it was almost always in the top 10). That's not all that surprising considering we've been suffering under free-spending Democratic majorities in the New Hampshire House and Senate, a do-nothing Democrat in the Governor's Office, Democrats that never saw tax or spending bills they didn't like occupying both Congressional District seats, and one Democrat in the US Senate. State spending and taxes have skyrocketed over the past 4 years, greatly exceeding the rate of inflation (spending increased 30% in four years, while inflation during the same period totaled 14%).

Is it any wonder residents of all-too-Blue New Hampshire aren't happy?

(H/T Pirate's Cove)

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The New England Patriots played the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo this afternoon.

Buffalo had first possession and it took them almost 10 minutes to make it to the other end of the field only to settle for a field goal. The Patriots' battered defense managed to keep them from scoring a touchdown, and then only because the Bills got a false start penalty on 3rd and Goal.

The Patriots didn't fare any better, their first drive ending with an interception at the Buffalo 40. But at least they were finally able to turn it around, beating Buffalo 17-10.

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The Official Weekend Pundit Woodpile increased in size today, with the last two cords being delivered by BeezleBub's boss, Farmer Andy, this afternoon. One cord will make its way into the garage immediately and the second will be put under cover for use later this winter.

I'm just hoping we'll be able to keep our propane usage to a minimum as it still isn't all that cheap. The cost of the firewood we'll burn this winter will be less than that of a single tank of propane (we'd easily go through three, maybe four tanks if we heated exclusively with propane). If nothing else I can claim that we're using a renewable source of fuel rather than one of those evil fossil fuels.

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Has Duke University learned its lesson in regards to the Duke Lacrosse Team debacle a couple of years ago? Apparently the answer is 'no'.

(H/T Instapundit)

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Free the SEALs!

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Can Dave Bing turn Detroit around? Possibly, particularly if he can get the message across to the municipal unions that the gravy train has derailed and find way to cut the lengthy and expensive processes needed to open a business in the city for starters. He also has to fix the schools, reduce crime, and see about shrinking Detroit's infrastructure footprint (it has the infrastructure to support 2 million residents, but the city's population is half that these days yet it still has to maintain it all).

Let's hope he can pull off the biggest turnaround since Rudi Giuliani revived New York City.

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Daniel Botkin, professor emeritus in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at UCSB, teaches us a simple but no less powerful lesson about nature, adaptability, and its relation to the bugaboo of Anthropogenic Global Warming. It's a lesson many in the AGW camp should learn.

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For the last entry of this week's TOAS, we return to Skip Murphy as he expands on Brent's post from earlier today, digging deeper into the incipient tyranny the Left wants to impose upon us, first by silencing any dissent.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the snow passed to the south of us, the woodpile has gotten bigger, and Christmas is only a few days away.