8/25/2013

Thoughts On A Sunday

It's another summer weekend and another weekend of insane drivers here in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

The same craziness that has plagued us all summer continues and, it seems, has gotten worse. Maybe it's the weekenders trying to cram in as much vacation as they can before Labor Day weekend and the 'end' of summer.

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Speaking of traffic woes, a co-worker was delayed in arriving at work one morning last week because for most of his drive he was stuck behind a gazebo.

No, that isn't a typo. A gazebo.

Apparently it was being delivered to someone in the Lakes Region and my co-worker was stuck behind the truck and low-boy trailer carrying the gazebo. He had to follow it for over 20 miles at speeds between 25 and 30 mph on a highway with a posted speed limit of 55. With very few opportunities to pass and limited visibility past the truck hauling the gazebo passing was not an option.

The trip took twice as long as it usually did for him, meaning he got to work almost 20 minutes late.

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Oh, this will really help us.

It looks like the State Department may be putting off its decision about the Keystone XL pipeline until some time next year.

Frankly, I don't understand why the Obama Administration is waiting. We already know Obama hates the idea of the pipeline despite the jobs it will bring. He's delayed it on environmental grounds once even though the EPA admitted all of the necessary environmental impact statements had been filed, reviewed, and approved.

Obama should just tell the State Department to inform the Canadians that they can go pound (tar) sand and be done with it. Then the Canadians can build the pipeline themselves, but it will go to British Columbia (instead of to Texas refineries) where they will be able to load it onto oil tankers bound for China, Japan, and the rest of Asia.

Pretending that he really wants that pipeline built isn't playing well with anyone any more, even the MSM.

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With reports that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against their own people brings to mind Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons against the people in Hadditha, Iraq. Pictures of the Syrian victims was eerily reminiscent of pictures from Hadditha.

If anyone still claims that Saddam never had WMD's (which he did have after Desert Storm as UN Inspectors actually counted them), then point to what happened in Syria. If you want to know where the chemicals for Saddam's weapons went, it was suggested more than once that they were loaded on to 4 tractor trailers and moved to Syria. The use of chemical weapons is Syria implies that Saddam's missing WMD's made their way to Syria.

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This ought to go over well with the general populace.

From Glenn Reynolds comes this warning: Beware of those crazy people who still believe in the Constitution.

Apparently anyone who does is considered an extremist that belongs to some type of hate group. It doesn't help matters that the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center is being used as a reference to help identify hate groups. I guess that includes all of the Tea Party groups, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and a whole host of other hate groups.

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David Starr is asking questions about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It's years behind schedule, billions over budget, and now some are calling for the Marines and Navy versions to be canceled as a cost savings measure.

I had been enthusiastic about the Joint Strike Fighter concept when it was first laid out, but as time went by I started seeing a program that was in deep trouble. From a number of reports it wasn't going to be as capable, as fast, or as maneuverable as some of the aircraft it was supposed to be going up against, or even as capable as the aircraft it was supposed to replace. About the only thing going for it was that there would be economy of scale because the Air Force, Marines, and Navy would all be buying the same aircraft, though each had its own variant. (This was tried once before with the F-4 Phantom, with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordering all three services to use the same airframe as a cost savings measure. While the F-4 was a capable aircraft, it wasn't really suited for all the missions it was supposed to perform.)

The F-35 was a great concept but the reality is that it isn't as good as it was supposed to be. Maybe it's time to scrap it and start over again.

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Dishonorable Dimwitted Left indeed!

For them it's always about race, particularly when it isn't about race.

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And that's the (abbreviated) news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where summer is holding on, the summerfolk are driving stupid, and where the kids go back to school this week.