AVERAGE JOE AMERICAN

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Coming In Episode 25 -- Scot Longyear

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President Bush's Weekly Radio Address

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In his weekly radio address President Bush said, "This week, my Administration reached an agreement with Republicans and Democrats in the Senate on immigration reform. I thank the leaders in both parties who worked hard to produce legislation that will secure the border, restore respect for the law, and meet the legitimate needs of our economy. This legislation includes all the elements required for comprehensive immigration reform. It will improve security at our borders. It will give employers new tools to verify the employment status of workers and hold businesses to account for those they hire. It will create a temporary worker program. It will help us resolve the status of millions of illegal immigrants who are here already, without animosity and without amnesty. And it will honor the great American tradition of the melting pot by strengthening our efforts to help new arrivals assimilate into our society."

Saturday, May 19, 2007

What's Your Accent?

Just a little fun something for those of us who sometimes take ourselves a little too seriously:

What American accent do you have?
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net

Midland. The Midland (please don't confuse with "Midwest") itself is the neutral zone between the North and South. But just because you have a Midland accent doesn't mean you're from there. Since it is considered a neutral, default, "non-regional" accent you could easily be from someplace without its own accent, like Florida, or a big city in the South like Dallas, Houston, or Atlanta.

Take this quiz now - it's easy!

Joe

Friday, May 18, 2007

Missing My Kids

I got stuck working a fouteen hour day today. Which means I won't see my kids today. My son just called me. His mommy was putting him to be and he wanted me to sing "Old McDonald Had A Farm" to him. So I sang him three verses over the phone. It was nice, but it sure doesn't make up for being there with him, watching Scooby Doo, reading him a story, then tucking him in and singing to him.

Joe

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Why The Dems Want to Lose The War

Something occurred to me the other day as I listened to one of the many bland Democratic candidates for President speak on one of the many national news programs. I can't recall the candidate or the news program that they appeared on, if that says anything about how memorable these candidates are. All I can say for sure is that it was not Hillary Rodham Clinton (she of the recently removed Rodham), and it was a Democrat. I remember that it wasn't Hillary simply because I would remember if it was the only female candidate. I remember that it was a Democrat because he couldn't stop talking about getting out of Iraq.

It occurred to me, while listening to this talking head, just why the Democrats suddenly seem to be in such a rush to pass a funding bill that mandates a withdrawal date from Iraq. Even those who were against it before voting for it before being against it have suddenly come to the conclusion that it is urgent that we get the heck out of Dodge (read Iraq).

Now, they would like the American public to believe that they really have this sense of urgency because they are concerned about the well-being of our soldiers in harm's way. They try to tell us that what the American people want is to have our troops come home (funny, they never asked me what I want). But I don't think their sudden rush to turn tail and run has anything to do with the safety of even one American, military or civilian. If they were really concerned about the safety and well-being of Americans, they would understand the consequences of leaving Iraq with the job undone.

No, that's not what they have in mind at all, in my opinion. Call it an epiphany, but this is what I think: 2009. Yeah, that's right: 2009. The Democrats think that they have a very realistic chance of winning the White House in 2008. They really think that they can do it. And you know what? The last thing any Democrat moving into the White House in January of 2009 wants to have to deal with is war -- especially the war in Iraq. Because this new President would then own the war, and they could no longer call it Bush's war. This new President would then have the responsibility to do what they keep pushing for George Bush to do -- withdraw, give up, admit defeat, run, come home. Even worse, this new President would then be responsible for the consequences of not finishing the job.

As it stands now, no matter what happens -- withdrawal or not -- the Democrats in the House and Senate can pretty safely lay the blame firmly in the lap of President Bush (blame, I say, because they would certainly try to claim the credit of any successes achieved). If they were to somehow force withdrawal, and the inevitable happened (which, depending on whom you ask, could include all-out civil war in Iraq, more trouble in Iran, and more attacks on American soil), Democrats can still say that it's all President Bush's fault. After all, he's the President, and he is ultimately responsible for what happens with American troops, regardless of the prodding demands of a liberal Congress.

However, if we remain in Iraq long enough for a Democrat to move into the White House, it's a totally different story. This new Democratic President would have to make a choice. Withdraw, as they have all been demanding, and be personally responsible for the backlash. Or remain in Iraq, become the target of all the anti's who want us to run and hide, and be responsible for every American life that might be lost in the cause of Liberty.

So don't let the current Democratic candidates for President fool you -- I don't believe that they are really as concerned about the troops currently serving in Iraq as they would have us believe. It is my opinion that they really only care about two things.

Winning the White House in 2008 in any way possible;
Washing their hands of Iraq before Inauguration Day 2009.

It's all about the politics. It's all about the fact that this isn't George Bush's war. One might be able to argue that it's the President's war, but that also means that it will belong as much to George Bush's successor as it does to him, whether Republican or Democrat. And the last thing any Democrat seeking the White House wants is to actually have to accept responsibility for the war that he or she voted to authorize. They would rather become the heir to a failed nation than to actually be blamed for the failure of their own actions should we admit defeat on their watch.

Joe

Missing In Action

Sometimes things can just get so hectic in life that it can be difficult to find the time to do the things that we really like to do. For me, that has been blogging.

With all the chaos surrounding my currently inoperable car and trying to get it fixed, as well as the every day stress of everything that goes on at work (plus a meeting in Dayton, Ohio, plus a visit yesterday by our Divisional Vice President), it can sometimes be tough to take the time to sit down and just blog.

I podcast, because I can do that anywhere. Using my Palm Tungsten T3, I can record while I'm driving, while I'm walking, during lunch, anywhere I go, no matter what I have to do. I can record my comments, then later select the music and put it all together. Sure, I could probably use that podcast-mixing time to do some blogging, but I'm committed to an episode a week, and there's some really great music I just have to share.

UPDATES:

So yesterday I went to work hoping to be able to pick up my repaired car after work. I called, and called, and called the mechanic that's doing the repairs for me, and he never answered the phone. During all of this, my District Manager and Divisional Vice President were at my store for a visit (the first time the DVP had ever been to my store). The visit went very well (the DVP said the store looks "great").

After the visitors left to do a performance appraisal, I got into my little rental car (Dodge Caliber: a full review coming soon) and drove to the house of the mechanic that is supposed to be fixing my car. He came to the door armed with excuses. He claims to have a car in his garage on the lift (yes, this guy actually has a lift in his own garage at home) that is waiting on some transmission parts, and can't get mine into the garage yet to begin his work. He expected to have the needed parts for that car today and would call me and let me know how things are going. I haven't heard from him yet today.

My poor wife has something on her face. Or in her eye. Or something. A few days ago, her right eye was swollen and itching. I tried to go get her some Benadryl for it (she has a mild allergy), but she refused. Yesterday, as the problem persisted, she made it out herself to pick up some medicine. Today, the problem remains. In fact, it almost acts like poison ivy now on the right side of her face. Except that she is extremely allergic to poison ivy, and I think if that was the problem it would cover more of her body than just her face. We don't know what it is yet, but we're hoping that calamine lotion will help.

There really hasn't been much more going on. Things have just been so hectic at work since returning from my brief vacation respite that I don't seem to have the time to do much of anything else. Except, maybe, play with the kids and podcast.

Joe