davintosh

I heard an ad on the radio this afternoon for a Barack Obama version of the Chia Pet. At first I thought it was a joke, so I looked it up and sure enough, it’s an actual for seriously real product.

https://www.americanchia.com/flare/next

My first thought is that somebody’s going to complain about this being ‘racist’ in some way, and sure enough…

The grassy-headed figurine of President Obama was pulled from Walgreens shelves in Chicago and Tampa after some people called it racist and company brass decided the new collectible was wrong for their image.

Although I was right about someone complaining about it being ‘racist’, it’s more than just a little ridiculous to claim that it’s racist because the plants growing on the bust of the President look like an afro; I’d call a Chia bust of anyone — President or not — ‘ridiculous’ or ‘incredibly lame’ or ‘totally devoid of good taste”, but not ‘racist’. The sad thing is that the company producing these things is actually serious about these things, promoting the Obama Chia as part of a Proud To Be American Chia series, along with busts of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln & Lady Liberty.

Maybe the bigger problem is that there is actually a market for tripe like this.

It was on this date, 235 years ago, that the Second Continental Congress resolved to create two battalions of Continental Marines for the War of Independence from Britain. Then in 1798, President John Adams signed the Act establishing the United States Marine Corps as a permanent military force under the jurisdiction of the Department of Navy. Since then, Marines have participated in all the wars of the United States and in most cases were the first soldiers to fight. In the last 212 years, Marines have executed more than 300 landings on foreign shores.

General John A. Lejeune, the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, directed that November 10 of each year would be set aside to honor the Corps’ birthday. Marine Corps Order No. 47, Series 1921, issued by Lejeune, is to be read to every command on the day:

(1) On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of Continental Congress. Since that date many thousand men have borne the name “Marine”. In memory of them it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history.

(2) The record of our corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous military organizations in the world’s history. During 90 of the 146 years of its existence the Marine Corps has been in action against the Nation’s foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the Argonne, Marines have won foremost honors in war, and in the long eras of tranquility at home, generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas, that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.

(3) In every battle and skirmish since the birth of our corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term “Marine” has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.

(4) This high name of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received from those who preceded us in the corps. With it we have also received from them the eternal spirit which has animated our corps from generation to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of the Marines in every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish Marines will be found equal to every emergency in the future as they have been in the past, and the men of our Nation will regard us as worthy successors to the long line of illustrious men who have served as “Soldiers of the Sea” since the founding of the Corps.

JOHN A. LEJEUNE,
Major General Commandant
75705—21

Today’s Marine Corps is made up of more than 200,000 active-duty and reserve soldiers. Each of the three divisions has one or more expeditionary units, ready to launch major operations anywhere in the world on two weeks’ notice. The Marines’ expeditionary units are unique in that they have their own tanks, artillery, and air forces; truly the Soldier’s Soldier and the Jack of All Trades when it comes to war.

In my younger days I spent some time in uniform, but with the South Dakota Air National Guard. About a year of my enlistment was spent on active duty, mostly for training. During that time I rubbed elbows with a lot of Marines, and there were times we Airmen would scoff at some of the stuff the Marines would do. Down deep though I think we envied the sense of tradition and camaraderie the Marines showed; at least I know I did.

So to all the Jarheads out there, thank you. Semper Fi, Do Or Die! Yell “OOOHrah” and don’t forget to grrr your lids on Friday.

This commercial is an absolute hoot. Baby scooting across the open desert in a walker… Baby scooting across a field chasing a flock of terrified sheep… Baby scooting down the roads, passing trucks & weaving through traffic… All to impress the idea that you can print photos from your phone from anywhere.

Not sure how effective it’ll be at selling HP gear, but I get a laugh out of that commercial every time.

The other day I noticed a couple of light bulbs in the family room light fixtures had burnt out and we were short on replacement 40W bulbs, so yesterday afternoon I stopped by the Menards store to pick some up. I usually just get the Sylvania packs of 4 bulbs; they work fine, give off good light, have a decent lifespan, and they’re relatively cheap. As I walked in the door I spotted a display that had 3 x 4-packs of Sylvania bulbs for $5.96, so I grabbed one. I also needed a couple of bulbs for the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, so I went to the bulb aisle & happened to spot the single 4-pack Sylvania bulbs for 99¢. What the…???

Then I noticed the packages on the shelf right next to the 99¢ 4-packs; a 2 x 4-pack for $3.94 and a 6 x 4-pack for $9.98.

4-pack — 25¢ apiece
8-pack — 49.25¢ apiece
12-pack — 49.67¢ apiece
24-pack — 41.58¢ apiece (but it comes in a really nice corrugated paper box)

Either someone wasn’t thinking when they set the prices, or they were thinking & counting on customers to not think when they pick up light bulbs; counting on people making the false assumption that buying larger quantities automatically is a better deal. Menards is a pretty successful chain of stores, so I doubt they’d make a mistake like that by accident. Thinking about it kinda torques me off, because it’s not the first time I’ve seen that sort of shenanigans at Menards; when I was building a shed at our old house, I needed a 5lb box of nails. While shopping at Menards at the time, a 5lb box was priced at $11.99, while a 1lb box was 99¢.

These two examples are pretty obvious, but it makes me wonder how many other not-so-obvious but similar scams are hiding on the shelves at Menards, and every other big-box store. Yvonne really hates shopping, and is one who doesn’t pay much attention to price tags; if she needs it, she gets it. The problem is that I know some of the Sam’s Club “bulk deals” are only deals for Sam’s Coffers. Buyer beware.

The President of The United States of America is going to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Mythbusters. Hmmmm… Could they be trying to figure out whether the ballooning national debt really creates jobs outside of the Federal bureaucracy? Or maybe they’ll delve into the mystery behind Barack Obama’s dwindling poll numbers.

Actually, the show featuring the President is entitled ‘Archimedes Solar Ray,’ which will test the Greek myth about Archimedes defeating a Roman fleet of ship using mirrors to direct & concentrate the sun’s rays. His appearance on the show is part of a larger emphasis to promote science and math education. Coinciding with the show’s Decmber 8 air date, the White House will host the winners of several science and math competitions, from the Intel Science and Engineering Fair to the Team America Rocketry Challenge. While the President’s intellect is allegedly quite impressive, he’s a lawyer; the only geek creds he has are related to his Crackberry addiction. I wonder how many kids will be inspired to work harder for a career in science by his little dog & pony show.

It seems to me that the President is spending a lot of time on television appearances like this lately; Mythbusters, Jon Stewart, The View, the 2010 Teen Choice Awards, Anderson Cooper, Conan O’Brien, David Letterman… Some might argue that it’s a good way to get his message to a lot of people, but doesn’t it diminish the office somewhat? Prime example; his bowling comment during his appearance on Jay Leno last year. Not a banner moment for the Presidency, but none of his other appearances seem to help his approval ratings either. Maybe they are helping, and he’s thinking how much worse it could be if he hadn’t been on TV.

This is a slightly scary proposition.

The UK’s tax collection agency is putting forth a proposal that all employers send employee paychecks to the government, after which the government would deduct what it deems as the appropriate tax and pay the employees by bank transfer.

Would anybody be surprised if this was tried on our shores? Give the Democrats another two years with their current majority reign rule, and it wouldn’t surprise me a bit, especially with Obama still in office.

After all, in their view of the world, it seems that it all belongs to them anyway… Tax cuts “cost the government.” Reducing taxes is something the government “can’t afford” to do. “A rebate” is what is given to those who pay no taxes at all after confiscatory tax rates are applied to another group. Complaining about high taxes is labeled as “selfishness.” Lower taxes cause deficits. Increasing the national debt by a few trillion dollars is justified by counting fictitious “jobs created or saved.” Campaign promises of “tax cuts for 95% of the population” result in the shrinking of our paychecks.

While watching the news a few nights ago KELO showed some clips from a debate between the three candidates for South Dakota’s lone US House of Representatives seat. In it, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin made a pretty outlandish statement about the country’s mounting debt load…

We have to make some hard decisions to sustain and strengthen this recovery and the economy, because if we don’t it makes it that much harder to dig out of this mountain of debt that has been accumulated over nine years…

Wow. First off, what recovery? And that “mountain of debt that’s been accumulated over nine years” comment had to be crafted by her handlers as a sly way for her to cast the blame for the debt on George W. Bush. Stephanie tries hard to come across as a moderate Democrat, and seems to do a good job walking that line, but comments like this only serve to show that she’s just as interested in placating the left-wing fringe.

Most people like to tie changes in the National Debt around the neck of the President who happens to be in office at the time, but the fact of the matter is that it takes more than a President to drive up the debt or bring it down. Congress writes the bills that drive the budget, and they are also guilty of adding a multitude of unrelated amendments to bills to get their pet projects funded. The Senate and House leadership is just as culpable for the ballooning federal debt as any President, so let’s take a look at who has been running the show for the last nine years…

Over the last nine years — the time frame chosen by Stephanie in her comment — the national debt has increased by about $9 trillion (the graph above includes the estimated debt that will likely accumulate in the next four months of 2010). George W. Bush was in office for a little over seven of those nine years, and in his two terms the national debt grew by about $4.3 trillion. By the end of 2010 Barack Obama will have been in office a mere two years, but the debt will have grown another $4.4 trillion by that time.

But a what most Congressional incumbents seem to think is inconsequential is that Congress has been under Democrat control for much of that time as well, and the sharpest increases in national debt have occurred during the tenures of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

This is in no way giving a pass to the Republicans; they were spending like drunken sailors during the Bush years and squandered what was a golden opportunity to show the leftists that governing on solid fiscal conservative principles could do.

The stigma built by Obama and the Democrat leadership in Congress over the last several years is an albatross around Stephanie’s neck, and her polling numbers in this race show she is having a tough time distancing herself from that stigma. To give credit where credit is due, she has voted against some of the legislation that has built up that “mountain of debt” and is less popular here in South Dakota, but I would bet money that her votes weren’t cast before getting the approval of Nancy Pelosi after the Democrats made sure they had enough votes to get their way.

Challenger Kristi Noem is leading in the polls, 51% to 42%, and I would hazard to guess that has less to do with anything Kristi or Stephanie have said or done in this campaign. What I can’t get over is how the Democrats — and the media — just can’t get over blaming Bush for everything that’s wrong with the country today.

Numbers source.

Let’s say you’re the President, and you have to pick between two public appearances scheduled for the same day… Which do you choose? One of them is an invitation to speak at the 100th Anniversary Jamboree of the Boy Scouts of America, and the other is to go hang out with Whoopi, Barbara & the girls on The View…

Seems like a no-brainer to me. How many times will a sitting President get the opportunity to take part in the 100th anniversary of an iconic American institution such as the Boy Scouts? And how often will the girls get together to tape The View? A no-brainer to me, and to most other right-thinking Americans, but not so for the current resident of the White House. Faced with that decision, he chose to spend yesterday in New York for a taping of The View. Pardon me while I get my eyes to stop rolling.

With his poll numbers on a continual downward slide these days, you would think he would’ve gone the other way for today’s engagement, trying to maybe win over some of the conservative crowd who see the value of Scouting. But then again on The View he’s guaranteed an adoring left-wing crowd throwing him softball questions & giving him an open platform for pushing his increasingly unpopular agenda. Plus I’m sure he’s far more comfortable with the anything-goes crowd on The View than with the Scouts and their not-quite-politically-correct Oath…

On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.

Yeah; I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Can’t help but be disappointed though.

Update: Just saw this a short time ago and had to throw it in…

Whatever else happens, Barack Obama will provide The View with some much needed estrogen.

Rush Limbaugh

Crud. My favorite coffee mug broke today. The handle has been a little wobbly for the last few days, but I didn’t worry too much about it, figuring it was only a loose screw or something. But when I tried tightening it yesterday the screw was plenty tight and I couldn’t budge it, so I planned to take a closer look at it today.

But before I got around to it, while I was steaming the creamer for my morning cappuccino, the handle gave way completely, nearly dumping the whole works on the counter!

I bought the mug when the Sportsman’s Warehouse was closing its Sioux Falls store. It wasn’t marked down much, but it was a great design, so I went ahead and got it in spite of my cheapskate nature’s protestations. It’s made of stainless steel inside & out with a closeable plastic lid, but what set it apart from the other mugs is that it has an alternate lid which incorporates a French press, and it has a hidden storage compartment in the base which is big enough for another two cups’ worth of instant coffee! Coolest mug ever!

But now it has no handle and has a hole in the side. The handle design is better than most steel mugs — a threaded boss welded to the outside skin, with the handle held in place by a screw that attached to the boss — but I guess there is just a lot of torque applied to that spot. I contacted the manufacturer, Planetary Design, to see if I can get a replacement mug body without having to buy the whole works (for $30!), but I’m not holding my breath on that possibility. It’s still useable as-is, and I suppose I could just seal up the hole then cobble together using a big hose clamp to attach the handle…

There’s a hilarious article on Cracked.com: Fast Food For Failures. A sampling…

The story behind the McGangBang is actually pretty cool. It’s gotten virtually no attention in the press and has gained popularity over the last few years strictly by word-of-mouth and Internet forums, and it’s still relatively underground. Sure, people have whispered about it and its history has been covered in exhaustive detail, but it hasn’t quite reached the mainstream yet. It’s only a matter of time before someone in a movie or TV show or popular and influential comedy megasite mentions it and then it’ll just blow up. Here’s how it works: You take an ordinary McDouble off the dollar menu…

…then you take an ordinary McChicken off the dollar menu…

…and you shove the McChicken inside the McDouble. Right in between the patties, just wedge that McChicken in there, so you have one tall super sandwich for just a few bucks.

Get an order of fries because we all die in the end anyway.

Yeah, it sounds disgusting, but I feel strangely compelled to try it… Just once can’t hurt that much, can it? The article is fat free, calorie-free, cholesterol-free & guilt-free, but like me, after reading it you may find yourself suppressing your will to live just a little bit.

Reminds me a lot of an old(?) Christian rock & roll song by one of my all-time favorite artists, Randy Stonehill; American Fast Food. Dig the big hair! So ’80′s/’90′s!