WELCOME TO GRAMP'S TOOLSHE

WELCOME TO GRAMP'S TOOLSHED







Guns, Dungeons&Dragons, Catholic, Libertarian, booklover, weird sense of humor, and lifelong soldier.






Friday, October 7, 2011

Cain Rising and Rising.....

Herman Cain is doing very well.  He has really been the primary beneficiary of Rick Perry's crash and burn.  It is good to see Cain taking such a commanding position, because there is always the attraction of a candidate who has never been in politics before. 

It just seems like such a stretch.  I have heard the term before that the Presidency is not an entry level position, and I think it has a lot of truth to it.  I honestly do think Cain would do a much better job then Obama, or for that matter, any Democrat.  But I don't just want someone to do better then a Democrat, I want someone who can change the paradigm of modern politics.  I want a revolutionary who will stop the regressive policies of the last 80 years, and get us back on track for success. 

Unfortunately, I just don't see Cain as that guy.  I think he could get a lot done, and be a positive force for good in Washington, but I don't see him transforming the debate.  I just see him making good points on our side, a few big chunks of legislation, and 10-15 years down the road, we are arguing over the same things we are today. 

I do like him more then Romney, though.  At least Cain is standing up for the right things.  Romney is just making excuses to look good, and be just conservative enough to aquire power.  I don't really think he believes enough of it to ever be our candidate.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Steve Jobs

A truly American story comes now to an end.  To a life well lived!!
Rest In Peace.

Monday, October 3, 2011

BTW

I don't even want to talk about the Vikings humiliating defeat this weekend. 

I am starting to think Leslie has been paid off to produce a horrible season so they can justify a move to a better venue. 

Raiders, Bills, and the (shudder) Lions are doing much better then the Vikes.

End of the world must be near!!  Hahahahaha!!!

Newt's New Plan

I have been reviewing Newt's new Contract with America.

It seems to be pretty comprehensive, and it addresses a lot of the things that I have the most concerns with.  I really do think that he would have the best chance at creating the legislative agreements that would be important to get thru any true reforms. 

I wish that he would go into more detail about foriegn policy, and what he would do about more specific circumstances around the globe.

It is right for him to concentrate on the domestic though, because that is were our biggest problems are right now, and that is the only way for him to create a mandate so that if he is elected, he can pursue these issues.

I am starting to like Newt a lot more.  His debate performances have been stellar, and he has the experience of working in highly partisan environments and producing results.  Many of the other candidates have the sort of leadership qualities that I like, but none of them have proven that they can effectively take on Washington in Washington like Newt has. 

That is a huge plus in his favor in my opinion. 

He is still having trouble gaining traction because of his poor campaigning skills, and most pundits' stigma of him, but he does seem to be coming across quite well with more and more of the base.  This is where he needs to make his stand, and if he can generate enough support, than pundits and commentators will flock to him like the weathervanes they are.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Vikings Choke. Dog bites Man.

20 point lead.  20 to nothing.  20 point lead. 

Game in the bag.

Just don't mess it up. 

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!  

How does that happen??? 

Even as it is transpiring before your eyes, it just feels like some kind of sick joke.  Like they are going to call "Fooled You!!"  and go back to the regular game.

But no.  They have done it again.

26-23.  Vikings lose.

Central MN TEA Party

I went to another Tea Party event last weekend.  It was pretty good.  They had a guest speaker. I can't remember his name right now, but he had spent a few terms in the Minnesota State Senate, and had been the Minnesota Republican candidate for Governor back in 1994.

The speech was pretty good.  He went into a lot of detail explaining a UN education program called IB for International Baccalaureate.  It is sliming it's way into our schools as we speak, and schools sign off to teach our kids to be "citizens of the world" and to teach "United Nations values and beliefs". 

Many of the people in the crowd were teachers or retired teachers, and said that this is a legitimate problem.  It started after I graduated high school, so I was completely unfamiliar with it. 

It did seem like something that people should be concerned with, but I just couldn't get excited about it.  To be honest, I think we should have pulled out of the UN back when the Berlin Wall fell.  That should be our main focus.  The longer we stay in this group that has shifted its focus to trying to hurt us and Israel, the longer they can claim some legitimacy.  These guys are chumps, losers and thugs.  There is absolutely no excuse for us sticking around pretending like they are respectable.

As far as the education aspect goes, I actually agree with Ron Paul when he says that we need to just get rid of the Dept. of Education.  American kids were some of the best educated in the world until 40 years ago when we started the Dept. of Education, and created govt standards for govt schools that  forced every single kid to fall into the lowest common denominator.  Every year we have had the Dept. of Education, it has consistantly failed.  Every year it has gotten worse.  It is time to stop rewarding failure, and turn the education of children back over to the people who do it best-- their parents and communities. 

Seems to make sense to me, right?  We tried that and it worked well,  thought this would work better, but it hasn't.  So why in the world would we not go back to what works???  It is just stubbornness and powerhoarding that keeps us from doing right by our kids.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Obama's Economy

Hallmark is now starting a line of cards expressing sympathy for getting laid off. 

Anyway, Contagion......

Back to my earlier post about Contagion.

It was a pretty good movie.  Spent most of its time tracking the progress of the disease and concentrating on the medical details and implications.  It didn't focus much on the huge effect it would have on day to day life in America.  It mainly used that as a backdrop for its story of CDC personnel trying to contain it. 

This was a good movie, and I am suprised that more movies like this aren't released.  It was very accurate to what is a likely scenerio in our future. 

I think Hollywood really drops the ball by not making more movies based on real life possibilities.  Imagine all the movies that could be made about the repercussions of a shake up in power in Iran, North Korea, or Pakistan!!!   Or WMD terrorism!!  Or EMP strikes!! 

The obvious one right now would be economic collapse.  There are a million ways they could go with that, and it would have topical appeal as well as the old post apocalyptic zing!! 

People like to see stories that have something to do with whats going on in their lives.  Or what might happen in their lives.  I know that I would love to see that kind of stuff a lot more then one more retread of a movie that was popular 30 years ago, a super hero movie, or some fantastical CGI special effects blockbuster. 

So I think Contagion was a step in the right direction.  It sheds some light on what the CDC does ALL THE TIME, and what might happen if they slip up, or just run into something they aren't prepared for. 

It was only about 4 generations ago that tens of millions of people died from influenza.  Even if something big didn't hit America, it is a matter of time before it hits somewhere in the globe. 

So, if anyone else has seen this movie and has something to say about it, or some other movie in the same genre, let's hear it!!

Some cool links!

Here are some great sites to check out:

http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Always good for thought!!!!!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Contagion

I had a great night last night!!  my fiance and I went out to eat, and then we went and watched the new movie Contagion.

It was a pretty good movie.  I liked how comprehensive it was and how it didnt get too caught up in the melo drama.

oppps,  i will get back to this later!!!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Perry Beatdown

Rick Perry had a really bad night two nights ago at the debate.  He looked flustered, and sometimes even bewildered.  It seemed like he only had a few cribbed notes, and he was trying to fit them in no matter what came up, or what question was asked of him. 

There is a very short timeframe for him to get his act in gear.  The fact that he has had three debates now to cement his frontrunner status, and still hasn't means that he very likely will lose it, and will have to do much better to fight to get it back.

It also means that there is an opening for someone else to swoop in and pull a "Rick Perry".

It looks like that someone else could possibly be either Chris Christie, or Sarah Palin.  Palin has huge unfavorables, and is only starting to honestly look into joining the race because she has recently pulled even with Obama in national polls.  She has a strong core of followers, and is an expert retail politician.  Her unfavorables are her albatross, but other then that, she has great name recognition, and has already been thoroughly vetted.  On top of all that, she has forgotten more then most Republican politicians will ever learn about how to deal with the modern media.

Chris Christie is still a big question mark.  He is incredibly popular with the base, and has proven to be exceptionally effective in office, but has not been vetted, and is unknown to the national public.  And to be honest, there are some things in his past that Republican primary voters might not be as in love with as they think they are right now. 

Either one of these, and possibly others might jump in now that Perry has faltered.  He needs to tighten up his game, avoid future gaffes, and prove that he can handle pressure.  People don't want a leader who seems uncertain.   Doesn't mean he has to rush to judgements, just that he has to be in control of the situation, and thoughtfully consider before he responds.  If this is outside his abilities, then his candidacy will flare out in weeks. 

I am personally starting to really like Newt Gingrich.  All the political insiders say that he doesn't have a chance, and I tend to agree only on the grounds that he just isn't that good of a campaigner.  He takes too many breaks, and is not good at the kind of retail shaking hands and kissing babies that presidential primaries require.  I do love his style, and substance; also I think he would be the kind of force on the hill that could drive the sort of substantial change that our country needs to reverse the course of 80 years of left wing dogma, and get us back on the course to success. 

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Modern Poverty

Unemployment has been over 9% for months now. 

When Obama took office, it was high(!) at under 7%. 

Currently there are 46 million people living below the poverty line.

22% of children live below the poverty line.

The single best indicator of which households have kids living in poverty?  Single moms. 

The economy has been stagnant for 3 years and appears to be getting ready for a second dip into official recession.

Inflation is revving up.  So far the Fed has been able to hide it, but after pumping several trillion dollars into the economy, it is only a matter of time before the full effects are felt. 


This is the legacy of Obama specifically, and left wing policies in general:
misery, and economic and moral erosion.  Do we really want more of that???

Palestinian State??

How can a death cult be a state? 

A nation is historically a collection of people who hold similar views enough that they feel like they can get along, and coexist peacefully.  Even states that are aggresive still have some kind of culture, or idea of what they want for the future.

These territories are simply UN sanctioned refugee camps that have stagnated for 6 decades, and been flooded by terrorists.  The few schools they allow simply teach their kids to hate Jews.  They have stuffed animals that call for hatred and murder.

Their current government has (in it's official, public charter) the call for the destruction of Israel. 

So, everyone is asking Israel to let them in?!?!?!?!  Hmmmm...... I'm sure that would work out just fine.

Seems to me, that if you really wanted to solve the refugee camps, and let these people go, then you would ask Jordan and Egypt to open their borders.

Since no one ever asks that question (which is so obvious) it makes me believe that the intention isn't to help the Palestinians, but to let the blood thirsty people into Israel.

This is just Jew Hatred writ large.  It is disgusting.  The Jews are our best friends in the Middle East (and also in the UN) and we need to stand by them and oppose the cultists who want them to die, as well as the effete liberals in the media and the ivory towers who help (and secretly support) the cultists.

Monday, September 19, 2011

1 year left, Barry is trying to call it quits

This last week or two, I am almost getting sick of talking about Obama.  It seems like he is finding every way he can to shoot himself in the foot. 

His new "Son of Stimulus" plan is dead on arrival, and to compound the damage it is doing to him, he just announced that if he ever got it passed, he would pay for it by raiding the last few successful businesses in America. 

This guy just doesn't get it.

At least Clinton understood that it is all about the economy.  Barry is ruining our country, and it is getting to the point where he is the only guy left standing who doesn't understand that his policies have failed. 

He keeps doubling down on these crazy ideas: like the best way to help the economy is to ruin businesses with more regulations and taxes.  Like the best way to help jobless people is to hamstring the people who might give them jobs. 

This is turning into a one man depression.  He took the little recession he inherited, and has expanded it to every sector of our country. 

The truly scary thing is that he has made our country so vulnerable at a time when the world economy is at the tipping point.  Normally if Europe went off the deep end, we would be able to float them until they got their act together.  But right now, they are in such bad shape, that it is going to get messy; the only question is how messy it will get.  And unfortunately, not only can we not be any help, but because of what Obama has done to our economy, Europe very well might take us down when they fall. 

Vikings Stay True

True to their nature, my Minnesota Vikings lost in the last minute. 

This is two games in a row where they have started the game strong and created a lead that should be easy to defend, if not grow, and then give up the game. 

This is part of being a Vikings fan.  They have never won a Super Bowl.  Their most famous signature move is the choke.

On the other hand, it is always fun to root for the perpetual underdog.  I think a lot of people really liked the Patriots until they became the team that always wins.  Once it was no longer a suprise when they won, people started to lose interest.  And now that they win consistently, everyone just sees them as the guys that are expected to win, and start to root against them.

We have never had that problem with my Minnesota Vikings.  Even when they are strong, like the 2009 season, or the first halves of these two games, they always find a way to throw it. 

I do hope that they eventually put together a winning season or two, but for now, I am just going to enjoy my team!!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Vikings / Tampa Bay

I am looking forward to the game this weekend!!!!  This is a team that the Vikings have a legitimate chance at beating.  They are a young team with lots of talent and potential, but it hasn't all come together yet.  The Vikings really are in constant transition.  There is always a ton of talent, some old some young, and it never seems to be able to get on the same page enough to put together a championship season. As a traditional Vikings fan, it is my duty to hold out hope for the incredible, and for now just try to take pleasure in the few games we should still be able to win!!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Scandal Season

The scandals are really stacking up for old Barry!!   He is getting dragged thru the mud with the Solyndra scandal where he wasted half a billion taxpayer dollars on his buddies.  These guys threw it at a silly solar energy company that never had a chance, and immediately set it up so that they could be first in line when the company went bankrupt, leaving the taxpayers out to dry. 
Top that off with LightSquared.  This is a scandal where it cam out that Obama's staff pressured a 4 star general to change his testimony and effectively lie on oath to cover up for one of their programs. 
Last but not least, to go back a bit, I still feel that Fast and Furious has not blown over yet.  It was that scandal where Obama's Justice Department allowed Mexican drug cartels to get assault weapons in a botched attempt to follow them.  Of course they got away, and promptly used them to kill hundreds of people to include several American Border Patrol agents. 

It would be bad enough if Obama had to run purely on his economic record.  He has screwed up the economy enough that even many Democrats are turning against him.  But the fact that he has performed so amateurish as an executive makes his chances of getting re-elected almost nonexistent.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Central Minnesota Tea Party

Tonight I went and watched a movie with a group called the Central Minnesota Tea Party.  The movie was called "Agenda- Grinding America Down".  It was a good movie.  It traced the influence the left wing has brought to bear over different parts of our culture.  It showed its origins, its history, and how it has worked out in other countries (spoiler- millions died). 
The group was pretty interesting.  Not as many young people as I would have liked, but I did like that there was several thoughtful people there.  The organizer seemed most interested in getting more people to show up, and the current education issues.  I would be more then happy to get involved on the education front, even though I don't have any kids.  I certainly would like more people to show up.  I think the closer we get to the election, the more this will build up steam, and more people will want to get involved.  Until  then, I do like these movie nights, and occasional guest speakers.  Anyone interested can check out their webpage at http://www.centralmnteaparty.org/

Obama Becomes the Fall Guy - Victor Davis Hanson - National Review Online

Obama Becomes the Fall Guy - Victor Davis Hanson - National Review Online

This is exactly what I have been saying!!! Obama has been the perfect left wing President. He has pushed through all kinds of crap that liberals have been wanting for decades now. And as these policies stagnate and fail, liberals are faced with the stark choice of attacking their "savior" or finally admitting that their whole worldview is a farce. They are too egotistical, and conceited to admit that they are wrong about so many things, so it is only a matter of time before they start to turn against Obama in huge numbers.

NY 9 and Nevada

This week there were two special elections held.  One in New York city and one in Nevada.  Back in 2008, the Nevada district voted for McCain by only about 90 votes.  The New York district went for Obama by a huge margin.  This week the Nevada seat went to the Republican by a big margin.  It showed a huge swing from the razor thin margin that Republicans had back in 2008.  This looks very good for Republicans.  Even better was the New York result!!  The Republicans won that seat for the first time since the 1920's!!!!!  They won a seat in New York City, in a district that registered voters are registered 3 to 1 as Democrats!!  This is a decisive indictment against Obama's agenda.  His policies are ruining our economy, and it is getting so bad that even Democrats are leaving him in droves!!  This is the chance for conservatives to do the most good.  The best opportunity we have had since Carter woke people up to how bankrupt liberal policies are.  I hope we don't miss it!!