Mobile Blogging

This is a test of the mobile blogging system. Repeat. This is only a test.

Had this been a real blog post, there might've been something worthwhile to read.

Mandatory Volunteerism?

I couldn't make this stuff up!

The Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, known as the GIVE Act, was passed yesterday by a 321-105 margin and now goes to the Senate.

Under section 6104 of the bill, entitled “Duties,” in subsection B6, the legislation states that a commission will be set up to investigate, “Whether a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people could be developed, and how such a requirement could be implemented in a manner that would strengthen the social fabric of the Nation and overcome civic challenges by bringing together people from diverse economic, ethnic, and educational backgrounds.”

Section 120 of the bill also discusses the “Youth Engagement Zone Program” and states that “service learning” will be “a mandatory part of the curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local educational agency.”

Have these people never read a history book?

Coincidence? I think not!

Remember during the Presidential campaign when John McCain was absolutely crucified for saying that he thought "the fundamentals of our economy are strong"? Liberals tore into him for being "out of touch" with normal people. I mean, he owns how many houses?! Obama even made it a bullet-point in his stump speech, constantly railing on McCain and stopping just short of calling him an idiot.

McCain defended himself by saying that by "fundamentals", he meant "the American worker and their innovation, their entrepreneurship, the small business, those are the fundamentals of America and I think they’re strong."

The DOW was at 11,000 points back then.

Fast forward a few months, and we have President Obama saying that "We are keeping focus on all the fundamentally sound aspects of our economy."

Hmm.

President Obama's Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, Christina Romer, was on Meet the Press this weekend. She was asked, basically, "Isn't that the same thing John McCain said during the campaign?" Her reply? "Of course fundamentals are sound. In the sense that the American workers are sound, we have good capital stock, we have good technology."

Huh.

The DOW, by the way, is currently at what... 7,300 points?

In another stroke of irony, President Obama looks like he now wants to tax our health insurance benefits to help cover the cost of (or force us all to) nationalized healthcare.

It's funny how Obama criticized John McCain for proposing the same sort of tax on health benefits during the campaign, touting them as "a huge tax increase on the middle class." The difference was that McCain was also proposing a tax credit for the middle class people affected by the tax on benefits.

With Obama, we just get the extra tax, hold the credit!

I hate to say "I told you so", but here it comes!

The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today.

"As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters.

There are so many flaws in their logic that I don't even know where to begin.

Thomas Jefferson: Clairvoyant?

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." - Thomas Jefferson, 1802

A Little Fiber in My Diet!

The upgrade is complete! The office's internet connection went from a business class cable connection:


To a dedicated fiber connection:


Time to fire-up those game and Bittorrent servers!

That didn't take long!

So much for Obama not wanting to take your guns. He hasn't even taken office yet, and he has already set his "gun control" agenda. Surprise surprise, it is EXACTLY what I was screaming from the mountain-tops... Which is NOT a good thing!

Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign slogan, "the audacity of hope," should have instead been "the audacity of deceit." After months of telling the American people that he supports the Second Amendment, and only hours after being declared the president-elect, the Obama transition team website announced an agenda taken straight from the anti-gun lobby--four initiatives designed to ban guns and drive law-abiding firearm manufacturers and dealers out of business:

A few people told me they were voting for Obama because they cared about more than just the Second Ammendment. Fair enough, but with this sort of "gun control" agenda and the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine not far behind, the first and second ammendments will be taken care of... How many are left?

Spread the wealth around...

Energy Independence

McCain's Energy Plan in a Nutshell:

- More (of our own) oil
- Nuclear
- Solar
- Wind
- Tidal
- (Clean) Coal
- Natural Gas

Obama's Energy Plan in a Nutshell:

- Solar
- Wind
- Ummm...

Some would argue that Obama and Biden have mentioned (clean) coal. They have. They want to help other countries (China, India, etc) develop clean coal technologies, but for us they say "there is really no such thing as clean coal".

To me, coal is the second most important natural resource, right behind oil. Why? Because it is not only our most plentiful natural resource, it is also responsible for 80% of the electricity generated in my state (Ohio). The numbers are similar for most of the midwest, but Ohio and Pennsylvania rely on coal more than most.

Nuclear power is the cleanest, cheapest energy we have. They've been doing it for years safely with technology that is 30+ years old. Obama doesn't like it (neither do the other people in his party), though... Because you have to have a "safe" way to store the waste. I agree. Everyone agrees. The issue is that the definition of "safe" differs on each side of the aisle.

So let's just not do anything! Great plan! (Sarcasm!)

Having long-term goals for energy independence is nice, but we also need something to bridge the gap in the short-term until we get to where we want/need to be. Drilling for more oil is one way to help. Hell, increasing production of ANY of our OWN resources is a help, regardless of what it is.

Trick-or-Treat!

Latest Toys

All those who know me know that I am into guns. I have been for most of my adult life, and I hate to think of the amount of money I've wasted... err... invested in them over the years. I always have a few "projects" going and, last week, two of those projects were finally completed.

Savage 10FCP HS Precision


This gun started out as a completely stock Savage 10FCP. I ordered it in .308 Winchester with a 24" barrel, the upgraded HS Precision stock and the new detachable box magazine. Before I even took it out to shoot it, I dropped it off at my gunsmith for some work. Before it was all said and done, he...

- Skim bedded the action
- Installed a Sharp Shooter Supply recoil lug
- Installed a Sharp Shooter Supply "tactical" bolt handle
- Recrowned and threaded the muzzle
- Indexed the Primary Weapons System FSC30 (flash-suppressing compensator)
- Bedded the Farrell Industries scope base
- Mounted and lapped the Tactical Precision Systems TSR "W" scope rings
- Mounted and bore-sighted the Pride Fowler RR800-2 scope

So far I've had limited time to shoot the thing so, to date, it's only had 60 rounds of (cheap surplus) M80 ball ammo through it for barrel break-in. Once the barrel is sufficiently worn-in, I'll break out the (expensive) match ammo and see what it can do. So far, though, I am really impressed.

Ruger 10/22


The Ruger 10/22 is one of those guns that everyone should own AT LEAST one of. For some reason, I had fought the urge to get one for a long time. Unfortunately, while my Savage project was off at the gunsmith for 6 weeks, I succumbed to the urge for a new project and "impulse bought" a little 10/22 carbine. Not one to leave anything stock, I quickly began ordering parts. Before I was done, not much of the original, factory rifle remained. I added...

- Volquartsen trigger group
- Tuffer Buffer
- Hogue stock
- Hi-DesertDog 16" spiral-fluted, threaded bull barrel
- Tactical Precision Systems TSR "W" scope rings
- Pride Fowler RR22LR6X40-2 scope

The first trip to the range with this little monster got boring quick. It consistently puts all bullets through the same ragged hole at 25 yards. At 50 yards it is more of the same, albeit a slightly larger ragged hole.

Now that those two things are finished it is time to move on to the next project. As it happens, I just happen to have one in mind. Stay tuned!

Why don't we see this on CNN?

The latest addition to the family!

I'd like to introduce the latest addition to the Schmidt family, a Jack Russell Terrier named "Ryder". She was born on July 3rd and became a member of the family last weekend!

We've been thinking about getting a small dog for a while, but we decided that if we got a small dog, it had to be a big dog at heart. So far she is acclimating well to the new digs, and she is already letting the big dogs know what's what.

Bleeding Black and Gold!

I haven't taken the time to lavish MASSIVE* praise on my favorite soccer team for a while, so I figured it was about time.

If you notice the (single) table to the right, you will see that the beloved Black-n-Gold are sitting all alone at #1! With 22 games played by ALL teams in the league, there is no "game-in-hand" funkiness going on. The Crew have the best record overall, and league lead is their lead to lose.

Our next game is against the #2 Revolution, at home, on Saturday. We'll be without a few key players who got called-up for National Team duties, but the Revs are pretty beat-up as well. Their whole attacking roster seems to be out with injury save the "too-tight-of-a-jersey-wearing-wrapping-his-thumb-for-apparently-no-reason" Taylor Twellman. We all know that TT is a dangerous player who can change games, but can he do it on his own? And can he do it against the MASSIVELY MASSIVENESS that is the Crew?

It may be a bit premature, but I'm really feeling the Supporters' Shield this year. Making the playoffs will be nice after three consecutive years of missing them, but the Shield would be icing on the cake for what is turning out to be one of the best Crew seasons in recent (and not-so-recent) history.

* "MASSIVE" is an inside joke for Crew fans.

He just doesn't get it!

I'll admit, I watched the entire Obama speech last night and, man, can that guy give a speech. He sure knows how to say what people want to hear. If he wasn't such a freaking Socialist, I might actually consider voting for him.

Before you start in on me about how moderate his platform is now, I'm not looking at what he is saying now. I'm basing my opinion on his extreme left voting record in his short stint as a U.S. Senator and an Illinois Senator. Every liberal to run for office moves to the middle at election time. A blonde can dye her hair black, but she is still a blonde.

While I don't consider myself a single issue voter, there are a few issues that I hold near-and-dear to my heart, one of which (go figure) is the Second Ammendment. Here is what Obama said in his speech regarding the 2A:

"The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than they are for those plagued by gang violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals."

When are these people going to learn... The Second Ammendment has absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH HUNTING!

He won't take guns from hunters, but then again, hunters don't need those nasty semi-automatic pistols and rifles anyway. (SARCASM!)

We already have laws and regulations to keep "AK-47s out of the hands of criminals". We just need to enforce those laws and crack down on the criminals, not the guns or lawful gun owners.

It was a win! Sort of...

I have to say, yesterday's ruling on the DC vs Heller case was a win for the Second Ammendment, but I can't help but feel that it was a bit hollow. A 5-4 decision is technically a win, but it still means that 4 of the 9 most influential people in our government still just don't get it.

The purpose of the Supreme Court is to scrutinize the lower courts' rulings to make sure they fit with the framework set forth in the Constitution, not legislate from the bench based on political leanings. Still, we seem to get a lot of decisions that are obviously split on the party lines. That really scares me, and it should scare you too.

The next President of the United States is probably going to have the opportunity to appoint one (or more) Justices to the Supreme Court. One more left-leaning Justice would've made yesterday a completely different day for millions of gun owning Americans... Think about it.

Today is the day!

The DC vs Heller decision should be coming down in about 29 minutes! For those not familiar, this is arguably the biggest Second Ammendment case ever to come before the Supreme Court. I've been following it pretty closely, and I'm pretty confident that the SCOTUS is going to overturn the DC handgun ban. That's good but, depending on how wide or narrow the ruling is, this could be HUGE for gun owners. From my perspective, the decision could be good, or REALLY good.

I guess we'll see in about half an hour.

The old "flip-flop" trick, eh?

It was only a matter of time before the Democrats started setting their sights on McCain and his, um, "policy reversals". The latest accusation is that he is no longer "for the environment", because he is "for drilling for more oil". They are saying that is a "flip-flop", but I say...

WHO THE HELL SAYS THE TWO THINGS HAVE TO BE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE?!

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a big fan of Mr. McCain (but I like Obama even less), but come on! Why does drilling for oil automatically equate to ruining the environment? We have the technology to drill for oil without disturbing the surroundings much at all. Rest assured, we (the USA) will be infinitely more careful with the OCS drilling than the other countries Cuba is leasing rights to. We can't drill within 125 miles of the Florida coast because of some whacky environmental policy, but China, Vietnam, et al will be drilling 60 miles off the same Florida coastline before long. Umm. Yeah. They'll be a lot more careful to preserve the fragile marine eco-systems than we will.

Right.

AWOL

It probably seems like I went AWOL again recently. I've been really busy around the house and with work, so it hasn't left much time for blogging. A lot has been happening in the world while I've been AFK, though. Where do I begin?

My beloved Crew has been backsliding. They've been on a 4 game winless streak (3 losses, 1 tie), 5 if you count the Open Cup loss to Chicago last night (penalty kick in extra time). Now I've been following MLS for a while now, and at this point in the season a lot of teams start falling apart due to injury. The Crew is no exception, as they are currently missing quite a few starters. If they can get healthy for the back end of the year, they could still easily make the playoffs.

So... I built a deck last weekend. I've been meaning to do it for quite a while and I finally got around to it. Sydney's birthday is coming-up in a couple of weeks and we really need the outdoor space for people to be. We've got a HUGE patio already, but the deck will allow us to accomodate even more people in the yard. Maybe I'll post a picture or two when it is actually finished. Then again, I keep wondering if I really need steps or not :-)

On a firearm related note: Our illustrious Governor signed Ohio's "Castle Doctrine" (aka "Defense of Habitation Law") into law the other day. Basically, what that means...

A Castle Doctrine (also known as a Castle Law or a Defense of Habitation
Law) is an American legal concept derived from English Common Law,
which designates one's place of residence (or, in some states, any place
legally occupied, such as one's car or place of work) as a place in which
one enjoys protection from illegal trespassing and violent attack. It then
goes on to give a person the legal right to use deadly force to defend that
place (his/her "castle"), and/or any other innocent persons legally inside
it, from violent attack or an intrusion which may lead to violent attack. In
a legal context, therefore, use of deadly force which actually results in
death may be defended as justifiable homicide under the Castle Doctrine.

The bill also included some tweaks to our existing concealed-carry regulations which were sorely needed and long overdue. It's kind of strange to have a Democrat Governor who is so pro-gun. Not that I'm complaining or anything!

Thundercloud's Ironman "Oscar"

As pet owners, we all realize that eventually we are going to lose our animals. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop us from spending years getting attached to them and when we do lose them, it is one of the greatest pains we can suffer.

For those of you who don't know, Marlo is a professional dog trainer. We have always had dogs. In fact, dogs are the reason we met and started dating. Our dogs play a pretty major role in our lives. They are our constant companions. Our confidants. They love us unconditionally, no matter our standing in life.

Almost twleve years ago, we went to look at a 7-week-old Boxer puppy. He was a cute little guy, brindle and white and shaped a little like a barrel with legs. I knew that he was going to be my best buddy the moment I saw him, and we took him home an hour later. That's when Thundercloud's Ironman, or "Oscar" as we called him, became part of our family. And I was right... He quickly became my best buddy.

For most of his life Oscar had issues with his health. He was allergic to almost everything. Food allergies and seasonal allergies plagued the poor guy and the allergies led to ear infections which in-turn led to a lot of head shaking and, eventually, three surgeries for ear hematomas. Oscar was also prone, as a lot of Boxers are, to tumors and lumps. He went under the knife multiple times to have things removed, and we often joked that it was a good thing we bought him and not some other family. I mean, who else would invest the time, money and love into such a veterinary cash-cow?

We did, and we never thought twice about it. In return we were rewarded with 12 years with a great dog. Maybe the best dog we'll ever have.

Early this morning, at about 1:30am, Oscar woke us up with his restless panting. Something was obviously wrong, so I carried (all 86lbs of him) to the car and rushed him to the 24-hour emergency vet. Apparently a tumor on his liver had ruptured and was causing some massive internal bleeding. We really only had one choice.

At 2:30am, we gave our old guy a peaceful, dignified and loving end to a life that has been filled, and that has filled us with love for almost twelve years.

Rest in peace, old-timer. We'll miss you.