Hot Rod Fever

The preliminaries, called "qualifying," of the NHRA Finals at Pomona, are going on as I write this. I'd rather be there than here, but where's the time, where's the money? Qualifying goes on for three days, and is both exciting and fun. The fourth day, Sunday, is Final Eliminations, in which the race winners in each of four classes are determined. It's all very noisy and very exciting. If you've never heard (and felt) the roar of a 8000+ horsepower engine covering a quarter-mile from a standing start in four-and-one-half seconds, you've missed an extreme assault 'pon your senses.

A story in the LA Times Sports section the other day reminded me of the long history drag racing has in Southern California. It started here, as did many things, in the wake of World War II, with surviving veterans looking for outlets for the excitement to which they'd become accustomed while slogging through the mud and sands of faraway places.

There were the bikers, and there were the hot rodders.

Hot rodders would work on their cars, making them lighter by taking off superfluous parts and faster by installing bigger engines, modifying them and by using different tire/wheel/brake/suspension combinations. Naturally, they'd race against each other to measure the success of their efforts.

At first, the races were on rarely used roads ans streets. After a number of collisions and pileups, when the local police started cracking down, enterprising individuals started setting up dedicated race tracks around the Los Angeles area, for use by area hot rodders for a reasonable fee. For years, these tracks thrived. Between 1950 and the early 1980's, there were as many as eleven drag strips in Southern California.

Now, they're all gone but one, and that's at Pomona. It's not available for today's young hot rodders to use on any weekend.

Some say they all closed because of the rise in land values in Southern California. Others cite high insurance costs, in an era when a signed release of liability by an adult means nothing in a court of law.

Meanwhile, thrill seeking young men (and now, young women) still want to race. With no drag strips available this side of Bakersfield, where do they race? The streets. At night. In the normally quiet suburbs.

Since Southern California has a far denser population than in the late 1940's, quiet roads and streets are increasingly harder to find. There are more racing collisions, some involving the public, and some involving death.

But for an unknown and unknowable government regulations, edicts and unneeded laws, insurance organizations would be willing to write policies for reasonable prices, and in the absence of draconian taxes, land would be more available at lower prices.

I don't know if an absence of government intervention would mean more drag strips or not. A favorite theory of mine is that cars would soon become obsolete in favor of personal aircraft. That process was begun (by some of those same post WWII thrill seekers) and quickly squelched by the evil Civil Aeronautics Board in the 1950's. It will still happen, once government is gotten out of the way. And then, it won't be any time at all before aero hot rodders will be racing 'em.

Feeling the need for speed.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Darwin Was Wrong

Early last week, I got into a little fender-bender on the way home from work. Not much damage, but a little. You should see the other car. That silly plastic bumper broke clean off into several pieces. So, I'm taking the car to the body shop tomorrow to have the deep scratch fixed up and repainted.

I went to the shop Friday to set myself up with an appointment, and scope out the joint. Not having had a traffic dust-up since the mid-1960's, I don't know any body men. My insurance company recommended a shop in North Hollywood, so that's where I went.

Turns out I like the owner. He talks straight and is in his late fifties, so he's been around the block a couple of times. He has an East European accent, and fairly reeks of old world craftsmanship.

This leads me to ask myself why I find these things so comforting.

I've spent a lot of time fooling around with cars and motorcycles, including some years working in and managing gas stations. Years ago, I knew a young line mechanic who claimed he didn't care if he got the job done correctly, as long as he could get it done fast. If he could beat the Flat Rate Book's time, he'd get paid as a percentage of the flat rate, rather than his hourly salary.

Follow me on this, for those of you who aren't familiar. The mechanic's Flat Rate book shows how many hours it should take to do a particular repair. Let's say a brake job, four wheels, no complications, should take 2 hours, according to the book. Let's say my mechanic friend blows through the job in one hour. Instead of getting $30 for two hours' work, he gets the same $30 for an hour's work. He can go on and do another brake job in the next hour and get another $30. Not all auto shops work this way, but some do.

My friend, in order to work this quickly, had to blow through the job, eschewing several checks and cautions in his work. Anything to get the car out of his bay fast, and without any immediately noticeable problems. If something goes wrong day after tomorrow, bring it back; he'll fix it for free.

Often, the work goes well, with no problems. Occasionally, a customer has a problem and returns the car. My friend would then fix it more carefully, at no additional charge. Rarely, the customer has an accident caused by an incomplete repair, but responsibility doesn't come back to the mechanic. Often, to avoid the hassle of losing his car for another day, the customer just drives it as it is, problem and all. The Mechanic wins in almost every case.

Knowing this, I try to do as much of my mechanical work as I can, myself. Otherwise, I look for the old bear, the mechanic who's been at it for thirty, forty years and who takes pride in his ability and knowledge. He'd rather do the job right, than fast. When I find someone like that, he gets all my patronage.

The older guys seem to have grown up in a time when the work ethic was better--not all of them, to be sure, but many. The youngsters now in their twenties and thirties grew up in an atmosphere of quick self satisfaction and spur-of-the-moment pragmatism.

This body shop guy reads like a man who takes pride in a good job. I also met his son, who is a shop manager, and he actually seems the same way. Enthusiastic. Proud of his work.

I hope those work attitudes don't die out.

One's life is best summed up in the quality of his work.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Reporter Ignores Facts, Shows Bias

We're becoming so accustomed to "news reporters" writing opinion pieces and editors placing them on news pages, that the above headline (mine) seems bland.

I haven't read the LA Times for,well, somewhat over ten years, but some leftist at my office brings them in and leaves sections in the "reading room." Since I've recently heard from Larry Elder's show that they've actually had a few un- or less-biased stories lately, I checked it out.

I stumbled into this story in the California section from the 18th of October, this year: "Gov. ignores gun lobby, and condors get lift." George Skelton, writer of the piece, ought to be thrown out on his kiester for having written such a piece of trash--or the editor should be given a mop and told he was hired into the wrong department. Or both.

While I wish none of earth's critters ill, I honestly can't work up a huge amount of sympathy for the California condor. While they look ever so majestic soaring above, even Mr Skelton admits they're ugly when seen up close. And they are. Even the babies are ugly--I saw one once at the San Diego Zoo. They look like vultures on steroids.

Our neo-socialist, neo-conservative Guber, Arnold Schwarzeneggar (a far better action movie star than politician), has signed legislation banning the use of lead bullets for hunting, in favor of copper. Since the Times didn't cite any studies proving that lead is the thing that's causing the low condor population, I'm very skeptical. Also, I'm wondering if they just aren't suited for life in today's world. Even Mr Skelton admits that they seem prehistoric.

If California condors as a species will be saved, it'll be by the efforts of men working very hard at it--not by government edicts. The condors don't seem to care very much. Honestly, I don't either.

I'm not a hunter, being a city boy and all, and so I don't know what might be lost by replacing the lead in bullets with copper. Copper is soft (but not as soft as lead, and copper is heavy, but not as heavy as lead. I do know that government has no business legislating the content of bullets.

Our idiot Guber also signed a bill requiring that semi-automatic handguns must have their chambers stamped with the make, model and serial number of the weapon, so that each shell casing expelled will be stamped with these markings. To help police solve crimes, they say....as if the criminals actually use guns registered to themselves!

Back to new bias: throughout the story, as you can readily see by reading through it, we can readily see the writers opinion. "The gun lobby ranted...." "Schwarzeneggar would have been hammered--and justifiably--if he had vetoed these two bills." (italics mine) "He (Schwarzeneggar) was pandering...." "....22 caliber lead bullets....should be the next step."

The guy might have a point, regarding the lead poisoning of carrion eating birds, but what we need is the facts.....just the facts.

We report. We decide. You shut up, turn off your mind, and absorb.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag california

You Coulda Had A V-8

As I've mentioned many times, because of all the bureaucratic foolishness in the evil Patriot Act, the equally evil TSA and Homeland Security in general, I've vowed to stay the hell off commercial airliners except in the most dire emergencies. What constitutes a dire emergency? Hard to say. One hasn't come up yet. I suppose I'd fly if it was required by my job (not likely) and there was no other way.

A trip to Europe? We've been planning one (loosely) but the ongoing turn from historic playground to islamic wasteland tends to lessen the trip's desirability.

Perhaps a family emergency, but most of my family resides within driving distance.

The notion of having to beg permission of the government to travel at will is not only unConstitutional, but essentially evil and against everything for which America's Founders stood. Each elected representative who voted for the establishment of Homeland Security, the Patriot Act and every atrocity committed by their membership, by commission or omission, should be prosecuted to the fullest degree the law allows, for egregious violation of his Oath of Office.

Yesterday, there was yet another in a long line of incidents that illustrate the inconvenience that occurs when utterly incompetent bureaucratic parasites (but again, I repeat myself) attempt to do that is well beyond both the scope and mandate of government, and the intelligence and ability of the civil servant. They seem to be trying to provide security to individuals in a situation whose technological nature is far beyond the ken of the bureaucratic mind.

The situation, as described by Andrew Kirtzman in a WCBSTV story here, involved someone spilled tomato juice 'pon an xray machine.

A TSA thug said that 'twas a vendor who committed the spill, but government thugs lie. Additionally, if the alleged security of airports can be so easily interrupted, isn't that a problem in its own right?

I'd wager that 'twas actually one of the dopey civil servants who committed the horrid act, and I'd further wager that said thug will not be punished, with the possible exception of a verbal admonishment to be more careful next time. That is, if you want to put an xray machine out of commission to score a longer break, don't let anyone see you do it.

Meanwhile, hundreds of travelers were inconvenienced, and many probably missed their flights. Doubtless, millions of dollars have been lost by the airlines and by lost business.

It'd be nice to hear the airline corporation executives raise some hell about these very common delays caused by bureaucratic fumbling, but they're largely spineless empty suits and live in fear of even more draconian regulation.

They've killed Freedom! Those bastards!

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Giving Thieves a Free Hour To Work Their Magic

In a useless gesture designed to make parasitic politicians (but, I repeat myself) feel useful, algorians around the Stalag are calling for residents of Los Pueblos de Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Francisco to turn out their lights between 8 and 9PM today to save enough electricity to light 2500 residences for an entire year. So far, I've not been contacted to be one of those who is to receive a year's free power.

According to a Reuters story, lights in Alcatraz, the Los Angeles International Airport and the Golden Gate Bridge, along with most lights in city buildings (all with exceptions for safety considerations) will be turned off for this hour. Imagine how much more money we'd save if they did this during what the city sniggeringly refers to as "working hours."

This gives thieves and burglars an entire hour to work their magic in a more nearly ideal environment, and one can only imagine what sorts of things might go on during this hour in San Francisco!

El Pueblo de Los Angeles runs its own power operation, which was founded under the proposition that a city-owned power company, divorced from the profit motive, will cost consumers less and be more responsive to consumer demands. Of course, we all know how that worked out. Power is every bit as expensive in LA as it is anywhere else, and more expensive than most localities, and you can't get anyone on the phone. Power transmission is still done by means of unsightly and dangerous overhead wires instead of underground, as has been done in most surrounding areas for decades.

The real answer? Privatize.

Unfortunately, because of state and federal regulation, competition is not only nonexistent, but prohibited by law. Were the industry privatized and deregulated (truly deregulated), each household would be capable of picking and choosing among several power suppliers. We could shop price, or service, or even set up our own individual home power plant (as long as it doesn't disturb the neighbors).

Senor Antonio Vinaigrette, el Alcalde del Pueblo de Los Angeles, still maintains that a cure for all our power shortages is that we should replace out incandescent bulbs with rotini light fixtures, and just limit our use of electricity 'twixt the hours of 3PM and 7PM (or something like that). As we say in the Valley, "Like, I'm sure!"

It's now a little after 9PM and I still haven't been notified about my year of free power.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

It's A Dog's Life!

If you've been listening to news or talk radio these past couple of days, or watched any tv news shows, you've probably heard about the tears shed by Ellen Degenerate about this puppy, Iggy, she "adopted" from a private rescue shelter in Southern California.

The whole story was covered in the LA Times, here.

She cried and whimpered and admitted repeatedly that 'twas all her own fault, but why did they have to take Iggy away from her hairdresser's kids?

According to the story, Ellen adopted Iggy, got him shots, neutered and a chip, and had him trained. After a couple of weeks, she found that Iggy couldn't get along with her cats. She gave Iggy to her hairdresser and his family.

Problem was, the contract she signed required her to return the dog to the shelter, if for some reason she couldn't keep it. The shelter people picked Iggy up from the hairdresser's home and returned him to the shelter.

So, Ellen wants to know why they can't bend the rules: the hairdresser's children love Iggy. The shelter's policy is that they don't adopt small dogs to families with children under 14--kind of a bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all policy, as I see it, but 'twas in the contract and Ellen knew it.

The women who run the shelter have withstood every kind of abuse by phone, email and in person since Ellen made her televised plea. Tons of it. Death threats and the whole bag.

Let's step back a bit. Ellen Degenerate is a comedienne (a bad one, in my estimation), and an actress. She can switch on the crocodile tears. I think she staged this entire controversy deliberately out of anger over the shelter people having taken Iggy back. I think she knew what that outburst would do and wanted to punish the ladies at the shelter for not having acceded to her wish. How dare they!?

Hell hath no fury than a Hollywood leftist denied.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

When "No Law" Means Some Laws

I was listening to Michael Medved this afternoon, intermittently, whenever I was in my car. At one point, I turned the radio on and heard him talking about islamic fascists. I think he was talking about some islamist recommending martyrdom, or something like that. Not terribly important to my point.

What was important was what he said immediately afterward. "There can be no debate over the fact that free speech is not absolute." Or something very like this.

Let's parse this just a little. "There can be no debate...." is a very interesting phrase. It's designed to cut off argument before it can be born. It's the very same phrase the algorians use to cut off discussions about "global warming" and discredit the "deniers." It's very insidious, the way this works. I don't buy it for an instant.

"....Over the fact that free speech is not absolute." I've heard variations of this phrase dozens of times in the past five years or so. It's usually conservatives that say it. Leftists, on the other hand, say they're for free speech, to counter the position of the conservatives, but they're lying.

So, let's see what the Bill of Rights says: Amendment the First: "Congress shall make no law....abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble...."

The Founders wrote that Amendment to counter the British tradition of prosecuting political dissent.The First Amendment serves to protect the purveyor of controversial expression; to protect the holder of unpopular opinion.

And Michael Medved, a radio talk show host, one of a very few conservative movie reviewers, and a writer, fully ignoring the letter of the Bill of Rights, has the freedom to say that the First Amendment doesn't mean what it says. I've also heard Sean Hannity express the same sentiment. He ought to be ashamed. If he and others continue to ignore the meaning of the Constitution, he may find himself limited as to what he can say, as might we all.

They do this while, out the other side of their mouths they disparage the leftists for suggesting that they ought to provide balance on their shows.

I'd suggest that we ought to hold to the letter and meaning of the Amendment absolutely, lest we let this precious freedom be gradually nibbled away.

They've killed Freedom! Those bastards!

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Let Them Snort Salt

In yet another step in the government's march to take over the rearing of children from their parents, the evil FDA is about to order toddler's cold medicines off the shelves, in the interest of protecting little children from the bungling stupidity of the adults who gave them life. According to a story in the Modesto (Stalag California) Bee, cowardly attorneys for drug makers are pulling the medicines off the shelves now, preempting FDA action.

Why, you might ask? Because an FDA report found 54 reports of child deaths linked to decongestants and 69 to antihistamines from 1969 to 2006, many of them younger than 2. That's a total of .... let's see....carry the one....123 dead babies in....um....37 years. While one must grieve the early death of even one youngster (unless it's a noisy one in a theater), where's the perspective? How many toddlers drowned in the bath in 37 years? A lot more than 123, I'll wager.

A more important thing to note is: how many toddlers have been helped by these medicines? A second thing about which to pay attention is: How many of the parents of the unfortunate babies were actually following the manufacturer's instructions? And a third: Just how much of the responsibility for bringing up our children are we willing to cede to a bungling, wasteful organization whose members' most urgent mission is to work as little as possible and retire with as large a pension as possible?

The solution offered? Stuff a rubber syringe full of salt water in the little tyke's nose to either drown him, collapse his lungs or rupture his bronchial tubes.

Fortunately, Modesto-area parents interviewed by the Bee's reporters seem to be more skeptical of this foolishness than, for example, people who live in El Pueblo de Los Angeles.

Granted, parents should carefully choose a pediatrician (I always get this mixed up: is a pediatrician a foot doctor?) and follow his advice. Some doctors believe these patent medicines are ineffective. Perhaps some of them are, but I'd rather the parents make the choices than Washington bureaucrats two intellectual steps away from the post office stamp window.

They've killed Freedom! Those bastards!

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

We're In A Drought, and The Glaciers Are Melting--Disaster or Opportunity?

I first became aware of Dr. Walter E Williams by having viewed the 1980 PBS documentary series, Free to Choose, by Dr. Milton Friedman. Dr. Friedman would give an economics "lesson" for the first half-hour of each episode, which was followed by a discussion with Dr. Friedman and a number of other intellectuals of the left and right. Dr. Williams was one of these people. Throughout the length of the series, Dr. Williams seemed consistently one of the more articulate members of a very prestigious group.

Since then, I've followed Dr. Williams' career as best I can. When I found out he writes a column, I started reading it. When I learned he occasionally subbed for Rush Limbaugh, when he takes a day off, and I learn that Dr. Williams is subbing, I make plans to listen.

Williams is almost always right on the money on most subjects, and his take on the global warming hoax. His latest statement on the subject can be found here.

I highly recommend the pamphlet "A Global Warming Primer," to which Dr. Williams refers, as it's a quick read, yet it's packed with facts that can be analyzed rationally (as opposed to the algorians' religious emotionalism).

Every month the algorians look more and more stupid.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Banking On Failure

I very recently switched to a new bank. My old institution was fine, but doesn't have a branch here in the San Fernando Valley. Sometimes you actually want to go there. My new bank is the one that reminds one of San Diego's Sea World.......Wamu the Killer Whale. Actually, I sort of prefer the more generic "Wash Mutt."

Our new arrangement--the one in which I let them store my money, and they let me have it as I need it--is already wearing a mite thin. I had an account at Wash Mutt once before, but unfortunately, there seems to have been a change in their branch operations, and not one for the better.

They've decided not to trust their clients.

They've decided to treat every client as if he is a criminal, and up to no good.

They've taken a number of pages from the American Paranoid Airport Book of Security. You open a door and enter. There's a second door that remains locked until the first door closes and locks. At this point, you're locked into a five-by-eight-foot cell.

What if something goes horribly wrong? There is no food nor water. You can see out--the cell is walled in with (presumably bulletproof) glass--and others can see in, and watch the claustrophobe scream and pound vainly 'pon the glass with bruised and bloody fists.

Then, you have to pass through a metal detector to get to the second door. Only Odin knows what will happen to you if you happen to have a particularly robust ring of keys hanging from your belt. Knockout gas? A trap door and a ride down a slippery duct to a pool of hungry crocks?
Next, if you are not wearing your Rodeo Cowboy's Association bull riding trophy belt buckle, you may proceed to the second door. If you've passed all the tests, you may enter and face the Minotaur.

Actually, he's a very old minotaur, usually with no horns and with a gray, balding scalp, and he's usually about 5'6" tall, with a bored, but strangely welcoming smile and a deceptively "Walmart greeter-like" aspect.

He's the Security Guard. Against all reason, he's also unarmed. No one says it, but they put him there to be the first one shot--a sacrificial herald, as it were--should all other devices fail. The guard gets shot, you push the alarm button. Simple.

I think they keep the line fairly long, to make the prospective robber get more and more nervous should he get by the Minotaur unscathed (and without having raised the alarm). Wash Mutt has cleverly introduced the DMV method of helping its clients: each time the length of the line increases by ten individuals, they send another teller on break.

At length, well after you've finished reading Atlas Shrugged, or whichever novel you've brought along to help pass the time, you get to greet the often-pretty smiling face of the empty-headed teller. She (sometimes he) might be very nice, and even smart as a whip, but Wash Mutt doesn't want smart tellers, they want tellers who'll follow procedure. Always.

Make every arrangement possible that your transaction is simple and that your deposit slip is in order: t's crossed and i's dotted, and that all arithmetic is correct. Miss Teller will know if you've added 9 and 3 and got 13. They're trained to see these things. If she ever misses one, it'll be caught by the Supervising Teller watching on the monitor behind the wall. The teller will then be fed to the crocks in the pool under the bank.

Exiting the bank is exactly the same as entering: two doors enclosing a little cell--except here, there's no metal detector. A word of caution, though. If you've passed through the first door, then remember something, you can't go back! You'd have to go through the second door, then return through the first entrance door, with all the dangers and pitfalls enclosed therein.

I already know that I don't like this kind of treatment. I don't know how long I'll remain a client of Wash Mutt.

Ok, here's the deal, and this is the same at all banks and most other business locations: nobody is armed there. As I mentioned, not even the Ancient Minotaur.

How long has it been since someone robbed a shooting range? A gun store?

In a shooting range, everyone has a gun. In a gun store, all the employees are armed and trained in firearm use. Were I desirous of committing armed robbery, a gun store would be the last place I'd think of going.

Banks have a lot of money inside, and no one inside has a gun. All the robber has to do is get past those damned doors. Thus, a bank is like a school: if the evil-doer can get inside the premises with a gun, he's free to kill as many as he wants, without fear of opposition.

Yet I, who have no intention of ever robbing a bank, have to put up with this inconvenience, not to mention the presumption of guilt, this impersonal (yet very personal) system imposes 'pon me and every other honest client.

Every year, hiding my cash under the mattress looks better and better.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Big Brother is Alive and Taking Notes

In order to gauge the willingness to comply with outrageous demands, presumed to come from the federal government, an evil corporation by the name of PIRE (Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation) has managed to convince Gilpin County (Colorado) Sheriff Bruce Hartman that there'd be federal money in it for his county if the Sheriff set up a few roadblocks in which PIRE would be allowed to voluntarily take blood, saliva and breath samples from the occupants of travelers.

The fit hit the shan (thanks, Larry) when drivers later reported that PIRE examiners, dressed in "official-looking" blue uniforms, became insistent that reluctant drivers comply and be sampled. Some were detained for as long as forty-five minutes while PIRE examiners repeatedly and sternly asked them to submit.

At no time were law enforcement officers brought into play, except to handle traffic control.

Sheriff Hartman, who had apologized for getting involved in this scam, has been interviewed by Charles Goyette, for broadcast on The Charles Goyette Show Monday, Sept 24th. Details here. There are some relevant links in the story and further details, as well. The interview will also be available on the Freedom's Phoenix website after the broadcast.

The only reason I can think of for doing "private" surveys this way is to accustom Americans to the idea of "papers, please?" road blocks at random locations and times around the country. The fascist-oriented officials in government (almost all of them) have an abiding frustration over not being able to keep closer tabs on the movement of Americans.

If there are any federal officials that can be linked to this atrocity, they need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for violating their oath of office, and removed from office, fined and imprisoned. A public hanging would be even better, as an educational aid for others. I imagine, however, that these errant individuals have carefully covered their tracks.

PIRE should have its ass sued off by all travelers inconvenienced.

Americans have to start drawing a line against these trial balloons and forcing the federal government's fascist infiltrators out the door and into the graybar hotel.

People should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

If the Cops Watch the CCTV Screens, Who Watches the Streets?

It wouldn't be so bad, if it were only Britain; theirs is a socialist country already. Big Brother is installing cameras nearly everywhere, the better to see you with, my dear.

The Brit government claims it's to help solve crime. Yet, according to this story in the London Evening Standard, clear-up rates of criminal acts has not improved at all in areas with large numbers of CCTV surveillance cameras. Additionally, areas with very few cameras seem to have slightly higher clear-up rates.

The rational theory is that the cameras aren't there to enhance law enforcement at all. They're there to keep track of us. Now, as I'm reminded by Aurora at The Midnight Sun, new cars in the US all have GPS , which can (and will) be used to track our movements.

This, coupled with police caging themselves up in patrol cars (instead of walking the beat and actually getting to know their neighborhoods) and garbing themselves up in military-style armor (adding to their separation and alienation from their employers), just about guarantees a separation between the resident/working stiff from the main interface between most of us and government--the police. From that separation arises suspicion and distrust.

To add the worst kind of insult to injury, government is continually pressing toward disarming American society, rendering us more and more dependent 'pon people we trust less and less. According to natural rights all men must have to survive, we must be able to defend ourselves from not only a perilous nature, but from individuals who wish to plunder rather than be productive. For the first time in history, the right to self defense is encoded into law in the form of US Constitution and The Bill of Rights--the Second Amendment, to be exact.

Government places itself in the plunderer class when it attempts to deny man is natural rights. As this trend progresses, there's a gradual but constant decline in the quality of life of all. To return to my original example, Britain, this nation has been in general decline for generations as its government moves away from the degree of capitalism that peaked during the Industrial Revolution.

As the government noose tightens around the necks of Americans, the same decline can be seen here in the increasing numbers of the poor, the increasing numbers of inmates in the nation's prisons and the increasing degree of ambient anger in those of us who remain productive in spite of the current state of the nation.

We have to force government to live within the limits imposed by the Constitution (which every elected and appointed official has sworn to uphold--with fingers crossed, in most cases), and give those who resist a hearty "You're fired!"

And let's destroy those big brother-inspired cameras.

Remember, Vote For No Incumbents!

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

A Few Random Mental Meanderings

OJ Simpson was arrested today for Celebrity Armed Robbery, as the cable tv news stations are reporting all day, every day ad nauseum. If Celebrity Drunk Driving, Celebrity Driving Without a License, Celebrity Leaving the Scene of an Accident and Celebrity Possession of Cocaine carries a sentence of twenty-four hours in jail (not each, mind, but for the lot!), what do you suppose will be the sentence for Celebrity Armed Robbery? Forty-eight hours? Or is that too traumatizing?

***

Those who beat their swords into plowshares will plow for those who don't.

***

Women who arrange their clothing so that their underwear--even bra straps--show outside of their outer clothes, ought to be recognized for what they are: stylistically challenged.

***

Men whose drawers show outside of their trousers should be laughed at, mercilessly.

***

Individuals who are psychologically unable to have a cell phone and not be talking to someone, need help.

***

One or more parties in every auto collision has a cell phone, reading material, a shaver, a lipstick, a hair brush or something like that in his or her hand at the time of the collision.

***

An armed society is a polite society. --Robert A Heinlein

***

The first requirement for membership in the Republican Party is to have been born without a spine.

***

D'ja ever notice that on the rare occasions when Mrs Bill Clinton is asked a tough question, or one she won't answer, she breaks out in peals of raucous laughter? She does that to buy a bit of time while she thinks about how she'll evade the issue.

***

Things rattlin' around in my head,

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Fifty Years of Riveting Reading

Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged was published fifty years ago October 12th. I first read the novel in 1966, having already enjoyed her second novel, The Fountainhead. I was driven to learn more. I attended an NBI (Nathaniel Branden Institute) Basics of Objectivism lecture series in Hollywood, then I began to cast about for like-minded individuals. At the time, there seemed to be very few, but as time passed, I located some libertarian meeting groups and met some libertarians who were not objectivist-oriented, as well as many who were.

Over the years, I've met and become friends with many objectivists and many libertarians who found their way to liberty-oriented philosophies by other means.

Today's (Sept 15th) New York Times published a story, in its Business section, about Atlas Shrugged and how it has influenced many CEO's and top businessmen to get to where they are today. After the horrible review NYT gave Atlas Shrugged at the time of its publication, this story seems rather a turnabout.

It's kind of gratifying to see that, after all the scandals and peccadilloes, the Times has finally come to terms with Atlas Shrugged.

I read Atlas Shrugged every couple of years, partly to satisfy my craving for the portrayal of successful rebellions against the parasitical political class, and partly to renew in my mind the way the world might be and ought to be. I'm very much looking forward to the upcoming movie, even realizing that movies often don't measure up to the level of the novels from which they're developed. Athas Shrugged has some good people involved in its development, so I'm optimistic.

"In the name of the best within us....."

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Your Worst Enemy Is Your Own Government

We American have grown up under the US Constitution and its Bill of Rights, in which our form of government is spelled out for all to see and understand, and our rights are guaranteed and protected by the Bill of Rights.

Right?

Isn't that what we were taught in our history, government and civics classes in the government's children's prisons? If you were a crime suspect, and the police wanted to tap your phone, they had to go to a judge. They had to tell the judge what the crime was of which you were a suspect. They had to show the evidence they had that caused them to suspect you. They had to ask for a warrant to tap your phone to attempt to gather more evidence. They had to tell the judge what they expected to learn. If it all looked reasonable, the judge would sign the warrant.

Now, I know that certain police and certain judges failed to follow the letter of the law, but that failure was roundly known as a breach of the law and it was of such stuff that technical acquittals were made.

Well, not any more.

Since the beginning of the disingenuously named "War on Drugs," and accelerated under the auspices of the even more carelessly named "War on Terror," more and more of the legal protections we've been taught to expect are going away.

A New York Times story, written by Eric Lichtblau, and picked up by the Orange County Register today, exposes the fact that the FBI, an agency nowhere authorized in the US Constitution, is conducting wiretaps without a true warrant, and without a crime even having been alleged to have been committed. They routinely set up wiretaps if they think a crime might just possibly be in the planning stage.

The new revelations in the NYT story show that it's now gone even farther. The FBI is wiretapping various individuals who happen to know and communicate with the individuals who might just possibly be planning a crime. And even to their acquaintances. And their acquaintances. Some of whom might be your acquaintances. Or mine.

Now, I see the value of police agencies sharing data in the case of a crime suspect fleeing the jurisdiction of his accusers. This is what the Amendment process is for. The Founders didn't foresee the size and complexity the US has become. But, there has been no Constitutional Amendment allowing for the establishment of any sort of national police agency.

FBI is notorious, even among local police agencies, for its arrogance, pushiness and its habit of taking over and shoving local police aside. It's also notorious for its utter disdain for the Constitutional protections guaranteed to Americans. Further, it's becoming famous for its major errors and blunders in its investigations.

The FBI, and the alphabet soup of federal police agencies (DEA, BATFE, NSA and others, known and unknown) are in existence in opposition to the US Constitution. Not in the least did the Founders ever intend the United States to have a national police force. Enforcement of the law was always intended to fall 'pon the shoulders of local police, and better yet, in the hands of the individual, in defense of his life, family and property.

People should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Who Cares About A Few Miners Compared To The Reindeer?

We're not drilling for oil in ANWR because it might disturb Santa's reindeer? A few polar bears? Some caribou?

Baloney!

The algorians don't give a whit about Arctic wildlife. If they did, they'd have to admit that wildlife does better in the presence of man, these days. Deer, antelope and bison and other game animals are far more healthy and plentiful today, than they were in past centuries. Awareness on the part of hunters and conservationists in the past hundred years or so have reversed trends established by earlier hunters.

Meanwhile, today's algorian environazis are clearly in lockstep against any improvements in technology at all, whether it harms the "environment" or not. What they really want is simple, brutish control over productive individuals.

Witness the fact that algorians oppose the use of petroleum on the grounds that it harms the atmosphere, yet are also opposed to the use of nuclear power generators even though they are very clean and harm the atmosphere not at all. They seem to approve grudgingly of the use of coal, even though it burns with a fair degree of emission, yet former President Clinton closed and nationalized a vast area of Utah known to contain a very clean-burning variety of coal.

All of which brings me to my point.

We've all heard the sad story about the miners who died in the collapsed mine in Utah. We've also heard of other coal mine disasters in other areas in recent decades.

We can add that to the toll of the disingenuously misnamed "War on Terror." All of these losses could have been--and still could be--lessened were we to extract the oil about which existence we already know, from the ground and use it.

Government should get out of the way and allow our oil companies to supply us with petroleum from locations already under these same oil companies' control, and thus could both lessen our dependence 'pon both coal and oil from pre-civilized parts of the world.

Rather than depend 'pon coal to generate much of America's electric power, government should get out of the way, to allow America's power companies to build nuclear power generators, as fast as they can.

As for the "environmentally friendly" alternative fuels the algorians are promising that government drones will soon develop, well....that'll happen. Ask your self, when has government ever developed anything? Other than new and more destructive ways to relieve the productive of a good deal of their production?

New, cleaner and more efficient fuels will be developed by scientists funded by entrepreneurs when they're needed. Then, or when these scientists find a way to develop fuels that are substantially less expensive than those we know now. Even then, it will only happen if Americans have enough money to invest to allow the research to happen. Government should get out of the way, so that these discoveries can be made.

This will only happen if government can be returned its proper functions, operating according to the letter and spirit of the Constitution, and without the ability to initiate force against Americans.

They've killed Freedom! Those bastards!

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

To The Free Clinic.....March!

According to an AP story shown on Yahoo.com news, John Edwards, the man Rush Limbaugh calls "the Breck Girl," and Laura Ingraham calls "the Silky Pony," and I call one of several interchangeable "Rotten Fascist Bastards" is proposing a socialized medicine system in which everyone is required to go see the doctor for "preventative maintenance."

Edwards' plan claims it will cover preventive, chronic and long-term health care, including dental and vision coverage for all Americans. Showing either his utter contempt for the intelligence of Americas or his own poor knowledge of both economics and human nature, Edwards claims the plan will cost "up to $120 billion a year" which he will cover by ending President Bush's tax cuts to people who make more than $200,000 per year.

Edwards' plan is also unConstitutional. No where in the document can one find authorization for the federal government to be involved in the health care of individuals in any way.

I'm imagining, and this will unquestionably be the case should this program be enacted, Edwards' Bureau of Health" police marching manacled groups of people, rousted from their homes at all hours of the day and night, to wait in long lines of others who are really sick, or have hangnails or sniffles. I'm imagining people with serious conditions, waiting in long queues to be seen by specialists--the queue only moving when someone nearer the door dies.

I'm imagining tens of thousands of competent doctors retiring early or taking less responsible jobs to get away from the bureaucracy--leaving largely doctors of lesser ability and experience to fill the gaps.

“I quit when medicine was placed under State control, some years ago,” said Dr. Hendricks. “Do you know what it takes to perform a brain operation? Do you know the kind of skill it demands, and the years of passionate, merciless, excruciating devotion that go to acquire that skill?
That was what I would not place at the disposal of men whose sole qualification to rule me was their capacity to spout the fraudulent generalities that got them elected to the privilege of enforcing their wishes at the point of a gun. I would not let them dictate the purpose for which my years of study had been spent, or the conditions of my work, or of my patients, or the amount of my reward. I observed that in all the discussions that preceded the enslavement of medicine, men discussed everything—except the desires of the doctors.
Men considered only the ‘welfare of the patients with no thought for those who were to provide it. That a doctor should have any right, desire or choice in the matter was regarded as irrelevant selfishness; his is not to chose, they said, only ‘to serve.’ That a man who’s willing to work under compulsion is too dangerous a brute to entrust with a job in the stockyards—never occurred to those who proposed to help the sick by making life impossible for the healthy. I have often wondered at the smugness with which people assert their right to enslave me, to control my work, to force my will, to violate my consciousness, to stifle my mind—yet what is it that they expect to depend on when they lie on an operating table under my hands?
Their moral code has taught them to believe that it is safe to rely on the virtue of their victims. Well, that is the virtue I have withdrawn. Let them discover the kind of doctors that their system will now produce. Let them discover, in their operating rooms and hospital wards, that it is not safe to place their lives in the hands of a man whose life they have throttled. It is not safe, if he is the sort of a man who resents it—and still less safe, if he is the sort who doesn’t.”

--excerpt from the novel, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Rand's novel is a dramatization, but it's both logically and empirically true that individuals will either quit work, or continue working at a less-than-optimum level, if his conditions of work are not suitable. This is only part of what we will face if Williams' program, or that most of the posturing fascists running for the office of President have their way in this area.

They've killed Freedom! Those bastards!

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Middleweight Outfielder

In my pre-teens, I used to be a huge baseball fan. I went to my hometown Grand Forks Chiefs minor league games almost as often as they played at home. I was a member of the Knot Hole Gang (a special bleacher section for kids, at greatly reduced admission). I sold refreshments in the grandstand, more to get free admission than to make money (though I did make a little money).

I kept track of the stats of many major league teams and players. I was a Yankees fan, and closely followed the careers of Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Don Larson and others.
My interest moderated as my thoughts turned to cars and girls (not always in that order) and as I passed through the military and the establishment of my career--though I went to the occasional game and often watched a game on tv.

After I moved to the Stalag, and the unfortunately scandalous move of the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles, my apathy began turning to distaste--not so much for the game, but for the business of baseball. Read my earlier entry here, and follow the links therein if you want to learn more. It also gives other reasons for my fading interest in major league baseball.

Now, it seems that baseball is in the midst of another turn for the worse. It happens when a batter is hit by a pitch, and believes it's deliberate. He often runs out to the mound to beat up the pitcher for his offense. Of course, the catcher chases him in an attempt to stop him. This causes both entire teams to leave the dugout to run out to the mound to help their teammates.

I'm much more of a hockey fan. When this happens on the ice, it's accepted as merely part of the game. The National Hockey League has worked on stopping fighting in hockey, with some success--there are no more bench-clearing brawls in hockey. As an ex-player, I kind of miss that. Hockey players learn to fight on the ice almost from the time they first put on skates, and two-man fights still happen pretty often during the game.

Baseball players, on the other hand, don't seem to fight well. They usually look kind of clumsy and stupid gathered at the pitcher's mound, throwing punches that never land and grabbing at each other's uniforms. Too bad they don't just pair up and get to it.

Seriously, though, high-priced players can get hurt in these situations. Something ought to be done to stop brawling in baseball, even if it's just to put an end to these embarrassing shows of ineptness.

Here's my recommendation. It's been established that a major league pitcher can pitch a ball wherever he wants it--their control is incredible. Thus, I have to assume that when a pitcher hits a batter, it's because he wants to hit the batter. Thus, if a pitcher hits a batter chest-high or above, the umpire should award the batter with, not a walk to first base, as is now the practice, but with a home walk. That is, a walk around the bases to score, and to score all those already on base. Of course, if the batter placed part of his body into the strike zone and got hit, say, in the elbow, this would not be a walk at all, but a called strike.

That could give the offended team as much as a four-run boost and often might turn the game.

It'd be just about a certainty that this change would effectively put an end to bean balls.

Or, as an alternative, they could send baseball players to hockey camp and teach them how to fight bare-knuckle.

Love the sport, hate the business.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

HAPPY MEN-OF-THE-MIND DAY!

"Several centuries ago, providing the basic necessities for one's survival was a matter of daily drudgery for most people. But Americans today enjoy conveniences undreamed of by medieval kings. Every day brings some new useful household gadget, or a new software system to increase our productivity, or a breakthrough in biotechnology. So, it is worth asking: Why do Americans have no unique holiday to celebrate the creators, inventors, and entrepreneurs who have made all of this wealth possible--the men of the mind?"

- Fredric Hamber of the Ayn Rand Institute

We have the upcoming Labor Day holiday that salutes men-of-muscle, why not a day to commend those who create the places in which these men and women work? How about the brainiacs who create the things that're fabricated in the factories? What about the capitalists who invest in the creator's vision?

While I have minor issues with the Ayn Rand Institute, I wholeheadedly agree with most of their positions regarding the scientists and inventors who create the technology that keeps us schlubs from having to look under rocks for our supper.

Tip o' the battered grey fedora to Chuck Muth

Playing with fire will cook your steaks.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

In The Navy: Part I

Some might question the wisdom of what I did. All I can say in my defense is: 1) I was only 17 and knew no better and 2) I was a small-town lad from North Dakota who'd never seen the sea.

What did I do? I hated the idea of the military draft every bit as much then as I do now, and for just about the same reasons. My high school pal Richard Nordrum went to Winnipeg to avoid the draft, and for whatever other reasons remain closely held. He remains there to this day, and by all accounts, does not regret his decision. I, rather than be drafted into the Army, joined the Navy.

There are certain benefits to volunteering rather than being drafted, one of which is a (kind of) choice of work rating, and the training that comes with it. I knew I wanted to work in construction, so my first choice was Equipment Operator in the Seabees. My second choice was Engineman, which is simply a mechanic. Since I was already a frustrated hot rodder (Frustration coming from a chronic lack of money), the thought of becoming a mechanic wasn't the worst possible fate.

I went to Engineman School in Great Lakes, Ill. It was a very good school, and I learned a lot--some of which I apply to this day while working on my own cars.

It was during this period that I made several hitchhiking trips from Waukegan to Grand Forks on weekend liberties.

It was oddly prophetic that in 1962, we had three VietNamese petty officers in our class. I didn't even know what VietNam was, beyond being able to locate it on a map. These fellas, and others that attended other classes, were part of the early aid program that the US was giving to South VietNam in those early months before we entered the war militarily.

The only name I remember of the three guys is Choe Pyong Su, an Engineman 1st Class. He was the elder of the group; around thirty at the time. We all spent some time together, drinking beer and talking about ourselves. They were planning to go back home and kick some commie ass, they said.

I hope they did. I hope they're still alive.

I always thought, and still think that our intervention in VietNam's struggle was none of our (America's) business, but that didn't keep me from picking sides. The US government really did South VietNam dirty by accelerating the war to such a high degree, then walking away. South VietNam got screwed as much by the US government as by the North VietNam dictatorship. A lot of good people died needlessly.

They've killed Freedom! Those bastards!

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Invisible to Government--Dare to Aspire.....

Hillary Clinton, the leading Democrat candidate for her party's nomination for President, has declared her openness by securing all of her records from the time she was serving in the office of Co-President of the United States, has begun producing tv ads already, with Election Day over fourteen months away. Yet, she still has not, as a candidate for President, ever allowed herself to speak extemporaneously in any venue, in any situation. She managed to win her election to the Senate as a carpetbagger, in New York in a similar way.

I find her inability to just talk to interviewers and to unsorted groups of voters very troubling. I find that she and the other Democrat candidates are afraid to appear and debate on Fox News, the largest cable news station, very troubling. I further find that her inability to remember any of the details of her Whitewater investments, nor into what location the purloined FBI files were stashed, nor who hired the underqualified Security Chief, Craig Livingstone, seems to point out a degree of mental deficiency that ought to be called into question.

There are many problems with the Clinton Presidency and many of them are not with the President himself. Hillary has, even since her college days, been the more radical of the pair, the more socialist, and holds many explicitly Marxist views. Her having recently called for a confiscation of oil company profits ought to send up a warning flag to all productive individuals.

The tv ad I mentioned earlier, which has been airing in Iowa and on Fox news, laments the fact that many of America's impoverished are "invisible" to the federal government--particularly to the current administration. She says this as if it would be a bad thing (if true).

Mrs Clinton: there is a way you can get my vote. I'll want it on paper, signed by you, and witnessed by many. Promise me that I too, can be invisible to the federal government. For life. There are very few things that would please me more.

You see, Mrs Clinton, It's my opinion that the federal government has done nothing positive for me, nor any other American, almost since the signing of the US Constitution. Maybe if I think long enough and hard enough, I'll come up with something, but it won't be easy. What you'll never understand and you and others like you have been working hard to keep other Americans from knowing, is that government's only proper job is to protect the rights of its citizens.

You've sworn to uphold the letter and spirit of the US Constitution, and you and nearly all the other elected officials in the country have criminally ignored your sworn job description for generations.

According to the words and sentiments expressed by Thomas Jefferson and many of his contemporaries, the US federal government should've been dissolved many decades ago--prior to the unConstitutional War Between the States. The way I see it, an informal alliance between the fifty states, with trade and travel treaties (to be occasionally renewed) would serve far more equitably than this hodge-podge fascist mess under which we now are victimized.

Do me a favor. Quit. Clear out your desks, all of you. Get real jobs that actually turn you into productive individuals.

Try it. You'll like it.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan

Stalag California

The Trads Versus The Rads, 2007

The Trads and the Rads were two factions within the Young Americans for Freedom in the 1960's. The Trads were the traditional conservatives (such as they were at that time), and the Rads were libertarians, seeking a smaller, much less intrusive government. While the Rads were fairly numerous and vocal (and much smarter) they were still vastly outnumbered by the Trads. In the end, the Trads were able to purge the Rads, and YAF became a more uniformly conservative organization. I was never a member of YAF, and thus my recollections come from the outside. Perhaps a member of YAF during that time can fill me in.

Sean Hannity, well-known conservative radio and tv commentator, would have definitely been a Trad.

Now, it looks like Hannity (he's not the only one) has taken yet another page from the leftist news media book of selective reporting: if you don't like the news; if you don't think the public should hear it, spike it!

The leftist media tend to fail to report much of the news that say, suggests that individuals are better at defending themselves (if given the opportunity) than the police are at protecting them. Or that the quasi-military police gang that broke into a suburban house and terrorized the family inside, had a bogus warrant and didn't announce themselves before breaking the door down.

They also fail to report many other suggestions and proofs that leftist-promoted hoaxes, such as the wholesale extinctions of plants and animals (caused by man), global warming (caused by man) and the destruction of the environment (caused by capitalism) are lies perpetrated to increase the power of government over the individual.

I'd also like to see daily reports of the many times elected officials and bureaucrats violate the Constitution they've sworn to uphold.

Mr Hannity is learning from these people. Today, on his radio show, He spoke of the three highest Republican Presidential vote-getters at the Iowa Cauci, then he mentioned three candidates that didn't compete in Iowa. At no point did he mention Congressman Ron Paul.

Now, I'm pretty sure Dr Paul is still a candidate, and I'm pretty sure he was either in Iowa, or he was not. In other words, he has to fit into one of those two categories. Yet, Mr Hannity failed to mention his name in his report.

I know that Hannity is opposed to the candidacy of Dr Paul. I'm pretty sure I know the reason why; based on what I know about Hannity. Dr Paul is a Rad. Hannity's not, for example, very familiar with the US Constitution, whereas Dr Paul follows the Constitution verbatim, as it was written. Hannity tends to pick and choose according to what the more influential members of the Republican Party seem to like. For example, he's totally down with the so-called Homeland Security Act and the Patriot Act.

Hannity ignores the fact that these laws violate the Bill of Rights in a host of ways. I couldn't even begin to list the many ways these laws violate both the Constitution and natural law. Suffice it to say that legal due process is pretty much rendered a shambles by these so-called laws and that the rights that are affirmed and guaranteed by the document are now to be allowed only at the government's convenience.

Of this, Hannity enthusiastically approves. He also approves of the much older War on Drugs, by means of which the Constitution is rendered sterile and irrelevant, and dlegal due process is largely ignored.

Hannity claims to be opposed to military conscription, but he will flip-flop on this if the Republican Party members in office begin calling it necessary. He loves to tell of the many times he's disagreed with President Bush, but in every case he fails to put any barb in his criticism.

In addition, it might be noted that his interview style varies severely depending 'pon whether he's in agreement with the interviewee, or not. When he talks to Rudy Giuliani, it's always politeness, softball questions and they end up singing Kumbaya together. On the other hand, when he interviews Robert F Kennedy, Jr, the extreme leftist environmental wack-job, it quickly becomes a shout-fest, with Hannity accusing Kennedy of all manner of vile leftist debauchery (much of which is true, but irrelevant to the topic under discussion). He calls Kennedy a liberal, as if that seals the discussion (which, of course, Kennedy is most emphatically not. Thomas Jefferson was a liberal. I've read Thomas Jefferson, and Mr Kennedy, you're no Thomas Jefferson--to paraphrase Lloyd Bentson.)

In the end, you find out very little about what Mr Hannity's interviewees actually think about the relevant issues. Not good.

With friends like these, who needs enemas?

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Just Fiddlin' Around

My wife Debbie's been relearning the violin for the past year or so. She was (and still is) enamored of violinist Andre Rieu, as well as the waltzes of Johann Strauss. Thus, she was using such works as The Blue Danube and The Emperor's Waltz for practice.

Recently, she's made friends with a Scottish fiddler. Seems this friend has invited her to a session of the Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles. She's now a member, and practicing Scottish fiddling with this group. It's actually kind of cool stuff.

There's a pretty big difference in style between classical violin playing and fiddling. Debbie's trying to make the transition, and having some success in the early stages. She's been asked to join the group in a concert at the Seaside Scottish Highland Games in Ventura this fall. Debbie's game, but unsure whether she'll be good enough by October. "'S ok," says she. "You can play chords this first time."

It promises to be a lot of fun. Perhaps I'll try my hand at tossin' the caber.

....The right to keep and bear claymores shall not be infringed.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Every Auto Dealership Should Have One Good Mechanic

I've worked in gas stations a few times in my youth, back in the days when many gas stations had service bays and did some light mechanical work. I managed one of these gas stations for a couple of years. In addition to pumping gas, we also did light mechanical work, such as oil changes, belts and hoses, selling and repairing tires and replacing bulbs, wipers, etc.

Over the years, I've had occasion to buy two or three new cars (mostly, I buy older cars, because they're simpler, and I can do a lot of the necessary work myself, which I like to do), and thus have had a few opportunities to use the dealer's shop for warranty work.

I now own a 1957 Chevy. A couple of weeks ago, a leak developed in the lower radiator hose. I also had an ailing starter, which I'd been putting off fixing because of a lack of time to do so. The leaking hose had to be fixed right away, and I still didn't have time to do it.

I took the car over to Rydell Chevrolet, in Van Nuys. They loved the car; several of the service advisers told me tales of similar cars they or their parents owned many years ago. The next day, I got a call from the service adviser. A "technician" replaced the starter, but the "technician" who was to replace the radiator hose couldn't do it because the car has a non-stock engine and a custom-made radiator.

I told the adviser that all the "technician" has to do is take the old hose off and compare it by eyeball to the new hoses they have in stock. One of them will fit. Well, it seems that "service technicians" don't work that way. They requisition parts by means of their computer. The computer only shows the stock hose for the car.

Back at home, and backed against the wall, I took the old hose off myself. It took maybe twenty minutes (there are access issues). I took the hose to my neighborhood Kragen and explained the situation. The clerk immediately took me to the aisle in which dozens of radiator hoses were hanging from pegs. In less than five minutes of looking, I found a hose that would work.

Back home, I had to cut the hose to length and, because of the access difficulties, it took me about half an hour to install the hose and refill the radiator with coolant. Ready to go, and for a mere thirteen dollars. I'm sure that a good mechanic, with a far better set of tools than I, could've done the whole thing, including the starter, in less than an hour.

So, I guess I really did have time to do the work.

The current assembly line-style auto service technician schools might turn out good technicians, but it takes an ability to think on one's feet to make a good mechanic. Every auto shop should have one good mechanic.

Darwin got it backwards.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Making Female Dogs Illegal

I used to think the local officeholders in El Pueblo de Los Angeles were world-class idiots; the worst on Earth. This story from the New York Times, via Drudge, makes me realize LA isn't unique in its dysfunctional local government.

The New York City Council is contemplating making the word "bitch" illegal. City Councilmoron Darlene Mealy introduced the measure, saying it creates “a paradigm of shame and indignity” for all women. The dumb bitch didn't even print the word out in the language of the measure, referring to it as "the b-word." We'll just have to take the Times' word that "bitch" is actually the word that's being banned. Meanwhile, "bastard" remains a legal slur.

As one might expect, New Yorkers are roundly laughing the legislation off as funny, not to mention stupid and unenforceable (actually, sometimes they do mention it, in even more colorful terms).

Also included in the measure, is a ban on the word "ho." New York's children are going to bed in tears, realizing that Santa Claus will no longer be able to visit the city each Christmas. Perhaps Ms Mealy will have to ban the word "Grinch," as well.

Meanwhile, one must observe that, nowhere in the Times article, is Amendment the First, to the US Constitution mentioned. This measure is so clearly a violation of said Amendment, that both the Councilmoron and the Times writer, Michael M Grynbaum, must find their iq's in the lower double digits. Mr Grynbaum apparently hasn't yet had time to hobnob with the attorneys of ACLU, to whose members the First Amendment is the only Amendment.

I fear for the health of the Republic.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Water Under Troubled Bridges

We've all been hearing and reading about the tragedy in the Mini-Apple. It's been covered, perhaps a bit too much, by all the media. A recent Minneapolis Star Tribune story on the recovery efforts and the investigation of the incident can be found here.

One of the early findings was that the bridge has been deemed "deficient" and in need of structural repair for some time. In fact, bridge inspectors around the country have said that there are hundreds of bridges around the various states that are in similar condition; some worse. Almost none have scheduled repairs to alleviate the situation. In the case of the fallen bridge, as I'm given to understand, crews were working on repaving the deck, but none were working on the bridge's structural strength.

Transportation officials and politicians from the various states are clambering over each other to get to the microphone to say there is no danger in America's bridges. A (fortunately) fairly small number of individuals in Minneapolis and St Paul hospitals might have a differing opinion.

I'm in this business. I've done testing on soils, concrete and other materials on several Stalag California bridges. They are (most of them, presumably) in fine shape when they first opened to traffic. Many of them are currently being strengthened to withstand more powerful earthquakes on the urban freeways. This after several bridges collapsed during earthquakes in recent years.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, more likely) most states never have earthquakes, or rarely. Looks like highway departments in these states, and the politicians who vote them funds, have decided that once a bridge is built, they're done.

Bridges deteriorate, just as do roads, buildings and utility systems. The day that a bridge is found to be substandard, repairs should be scheduled.

Politicians get their accolades when public works are opened and dedicated. Maintenance isn't sexy. In a world of finite resources, it gets a politician a lot more face time in front of their constituents when they "give away something new," than it does just to keep it in good repair.

Washington parasites are now talking about guaranteeing health care for all children (never mind the parents' responsibility) while ignoring the maintenance of the nation's infrastructure.

While watching a news program on MSNBC this afternoon, I happened to see a writer by the name of Nick Coleman of the Star Tribune who claims that the problem is not high enough taxes. I'll have to assume that he, as an honorable man, gives the state of Minnesota what he sees as a fair share of his salary, even if it's substantially more than the State requires.

What needs to happen is that the infrastructure should be privatized. Utilities should own and be solely responsible for their generators, power lines, etc. Water utilities should own and be solely responsible for their reservoirs, distribution systems, and all the attendant equipment.
Highways, roads and streets should be privately owned, either by entrepreneurs or by business or homeowners associations, who should be solely responsible for them.

You see where this is (finally) going.

Customers would know whom to hold responsible if the maintenance of the various utilities is substandard. They will vote with their wallets and with their feet. A town with unmaintained streets or poor utilities will be known as a ghost town.

As I've said many times before, the answer is always "privatize."

They've killed Freedom! Those bastards!

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California