In Vino Veritas

Next Conspiracy?

2009-07-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

As the Birtherzzz conspiracy is in a death spiral, it appears we have a related group offering a different angle to the challenge of Obama being a Natural Born Citizen.

A new group calling themselves "the Mainlanders" are threatening to file suit against the State of Hawaii, demanding proof that Hawaii is indeed a State. Where is the official paperwork?

Another group iis looking into the spell Obama cast upon the population. How was he able to mesmerize so many people with his words? This group is calling themselves the Cheerioers.

Billions of "O's" are made every day by General Mills, in the form of Cheerio's cereal. The plot to make Obama President, maybe goes back much farther than 1961. It goes all the way back to time Cheerio's were first introduced. People all across the country every day, look into their bowl of Cheerio's cereral, seeing those individual "O's" floating in their morning milk. The subliminal message is planted, "O's" are good.

There is also a Progressive group emerging calling themselves the B.O.ers. They are targeting the ad campaigns of Deoderant company's. Deoderant company's have been lobbying against B.O. for years, and the B.O.ers want to prove there was a conspiracy to counteract the effect of Cheerio's.

Time for a post

2009-06-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

I've been on the sidelines for awhile. Reading a lot, digesting information, and doing hand to hand combat in my local online Forums, and LTE sections.

A few battles have to be fought, but most should be ignored. Not worth the trouble.

This is why I haven't posted much. I haven't seen THE battle that's going to bring me back into the fray.

It's coming though. Real reform has to happen on Wall Street, and our Financial institutions. They'll lobby the heck out of Congress to gut any real reform.

In the meantime, I'm auditing the proceedings, tending my vineyard, doing some house remodeling (an endless task), and focusing on Family.

Facebook & Stuff

2009-02-09T15:15:00.000-08:00

Guess it's time for a post. I've spent a fair amount of time on Facebook. I only set up an account to see what's happening in my kids lives, since it is hard to get information otherwise. I have connected with some friends in the Bloggerworld on Facebook too.

I think I like Facebook given it's various capabilities. You can track down long lost friends, and it's easy to post pictures & video's. It's a pretty fast mechanism to display media in this rapidly proceeding Digital World.

It is not all Milk and Honey though. I get too many Friend suggestions. My Facebook is set up for Friends and Family. It is not for casual acquaintances. Plus there are too many "froo froo" thingees out there. I'm a Meat and Potatoes guy. Give me the basics, with just a few options.

How do people get so many supposed friends? I hear some people have 100's of connections via facebook. I think my sons each have 100+ "friends". What?

Maybe I'm a putz, but my true friend connection has always been a pretty "select" and disturbed group :)

In the real world, away from the Digital realm, I'm watching the country implode. I'm in constant battle with stupid people in local Opinion sections.

My Fall grape harvest is now safely tucked away in oak barrels, in essence like a Coccoon. My harvest is my larvae, and come next Fall, I'll have a beautiful new Butterfly emerge, my next bottling of wine. Every year the Butterfly that emerges is new and different from previous years. Instead of bright colors, we have subtle, nuanced flavors.

states

2008-11-11T17:52:00.000-08:00

Copied from a humorous email. I couldn't track down the source, aside from the fact it came from my Nephew.

Dear Red States...We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us.In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii , Oregon , Washington , Minnesota , Wisconsin , Michigan , Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.To sum up briefly: You get Texas , Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of America 's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama . We get two- thirds of the tax revenue; you get to make the red states pay their fair share.Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch ofsingle moms.Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro- choice and anti- war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90 % of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 % of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 % of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners) 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low- sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT. With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 % of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 % of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 % of the hurricanes, 99 % of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 % of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia. We get Hollywood and Yosemite , thank you. Additionally, 38 % of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 % believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 % say that evolution is only a theory, 53 % that Saddam was involved in 9/11,and 61 % of you crazy b*****ds believe you are people with higher morals than we lefties.

Peace out,Blue States

2008 Harvest & Wine news

2008-11-10T11:11:00.001-08:00

Enough of Politics for awhile. The Tsu-Bama-Nami happened. The Obama voters still have smiles on their faces, and we are enjoying the Post election "glow". The McCain voters are experiencing a range of emotions. I'm choosing to give them some space, but hope that they recognize Obama will be their President. I have had a couple of odd post election conversations though. I was talking to my next door neighbor yesterday, and he made an odd comment. He said, "are you still celebrating your victory". I stated that, yes I was happy but, that Obama is his president too. I received no reply.

2008 is proving to be a much different year than prior years. Light rainfalllin the Spring, a late frost, and an odd growing season, has lead to a very low yield. Comparing year over year, my own estate harvest yielded about half the grapes in weight and yield than last year.

Production and yield across Northern California is showing yields down about 25 - 30% year over year.

I have augmented the lack of my own vineyard by purchasing more grapes. I bought 1000 lbs of Tempranillo from a grower in Placerville, 600 lbs of Vermentino from a grower in Plymouth, 1150 lbs of Syrah from a grower in Plymouth, 1000 lbs of Malbec from a grower in Sheldon, and 1000 lbs of Petite Sirah from a grower in Lodi.

The grape quality this year is proving to be quite good. All the 2008 harvest has finished fermentation, and all has been pressed. These young wines are are currently settling (waiting for the solids to settle out), and some have finished this process, and been moved to Oak barrels.

I have tons of bottling to do. The 2007 wines were very nice. The 2006 Petite Sirah was double gold medals at two different competitions.

The winemaking has been a good release from the distractions from the electoral mud slinging.
It is good therapy for me. This time of year, I have a constant buzz. Since I'm doing something with the wine every day, I also happen to sample every day. As such, I have perpetual purple fingers, a purple tongue, and close to a constant hangover. I'm not complaining.

In Vino Veritas "in wine there is truth". Drinking wine with my conservative friends and neighbors reaches across the divide. Maybe I'll send Obama a case or two to share with the Republican leadership in the Senate and House.

Missed Line of the 3rd Debate

2008-10-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

McCain: "I am not George Bush, if you wanted to run against George Bush you should have done it four years ago".

Obama: "If I had known you were going to be his lapdog the last four years, I probably "would" have run four years ago".

Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

2008-10-10T15:35:00.001-07:00

This is probably a great title for some Op-Ed writer for a National Newspaper.

That is what this election boils down to.

Change. The Good, Old U S of A is just about in crash dive.

We need a wakeup call in the worst way, and I'm not sure even the wakeup call, and the right guy at the controls of the plane will be enough. I just hope so.

We have John McCain, and Barack Obama to choose from.

Both agree special interests are a problem. Both agree Healthcare has to get fixed. Both agree in many respects about energy independence.

The big differences revolve around Taxes, the Economy, National Defense, and Foreign Policy.

McCain has been championing de-regulation for his entire career up until a month ago.
McCain has scores of Lobbyists on his staff.

He is now saying "trust me", I've learned, I've changed.

McCain is just like Lucy holding the Football, and the Public is Charlie Brown.

A 5th grader understands this. We'll learn in the coming weeks how many Millions of Americans are not as smart as 5th graders.

New vs Old

2008-09-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

I am quite worried about the country's future. Here is my assessment of the landscape of things.
We need leaders who can talk straight to the American public. If we have tough issues or decisions to make we have to face them head on as a Country.

The Chinese graduate 100 engineers for every 1 that graduates from American Universities. We are shipping too many jobs over seas, and also sending a lot of our Research and Development jobs over seas.

We haven't shaken our mindset from 50 years ago.
* We had the dominant economy
* We had the dominant military
* We owned all the major industries, Energy, Steel, Automotive, Electronics
* We were respected and admired worldwide
* We were the Social and Moral conscience of the world
* We produced the best and the brighest in our Universities
* The best and the brightest in the world came to the US looking for jobs

The world has changed, and actually changed for the good. The world is becoming better educated, we have a free flow of goods between country's, developing nations are building strong economy's. We live in a Global Marketplace.

The problem is that Americans and our Political Leaders seem to be stuck in a 1950's mindset. We haven't adjusted as a Nation from a Political Policy standpoint to the Globalization of the world.

Any strong economy needs a strong middle class. Our middle class gets weaker everyday.
Our Government policies reward company's for shipping jobs overseas, shipping technologies overseas, hiding Corporate taxes in offshore shelters.

America used to embody a live and let live mindset. Other cultures and country's used to try to fall all over themselves to emulate us. We led by example. Other Nations adopted our ideals, because they saw the benefit first hand.

We're taking a little more direct approach today. You've heard the old adage "you can't lead a horse to water", well that is what we are doing from a foreign policy standpoint. Instead of goods or services, we are trying to export our values, our beliefs, and system of government.

Peggy Noonan is wrong. Our Nation is at a crossroads. We need change and a wakeup call desperately.

This election is that important. If you remember back just a few months ago, it was Obama that commanded the platform of needing change. Obama was the voice of that wakeup call. That was not McCains original campaign platform. Both Hillary, and McCain ran on experience as their platform. Well Hillary lost the nomination and McCain took notice. It was only when McCain saw the response that Obama got from the American public, that his campaign modified their approach to embrace, the same theme Obama endorses.

McCain is a poster child for Old Washington. Yes, he loves to talk of being the Maverick, but you really have to examine his actions and positions carefully. His real action say Old Washington, business as usual.

He says he can do it all. I would rather have a more humble man or woman in the White House, who is aware of his limitations.

We have two candidates advocating change. Let's call them New Washington, and Old Washington.

New Washington talks about Energy independence, developing new Energy technologies, and millions of associated jobs.

Old Washington talks about breaking the mold in Washington. Taking on special interests. Going after the secret meeting in smoke filled rooms. Old Washington's chief of Staff is a "former Wall Street lobbyist". Old Washington has so many Wall Street lobbyists on his campaign staff, you can't count them all. How can he possibly be taken seriously that he's going to take on the special interests when his campaign staff is dominated by special interests?

Many will try to rationalize this and say, well, they are no longer lobbyists. Do you honestly believe that when the campaign is over, they won't go back to lobbying?

I mean, really?

If both candidates really are promoting the same platfrom, that of Change for America. It all boils down to one point, who will lead us there? New Washington or Old Washington? Do you really believe a Washington Insider is really going to suddenly change his stripes after all of these years? Old Washington is comfortable in that Old Suit. It's been hanging in the closet for years.

Old Washington's claim to fame is the McCain/Feingold Bill. The campaign finance reform act. Yes, that was a positive step. However off the top of your head, what else do you recall that Old Washington has championed in terms of meaningful, groundbreaking Legislation?

What he has said in the last week doesn't count, as that is just pander.

New Washington resume is lean, however you do have to pay attention to what he sponsored and fought for. New Washington got bi-partisan ethics reform approved, and pushed through in the Illinois State Legislature, and in the U.S. Senate. New Washingont pushed through a bipartisan bill making every earmark, grant, loan, and contract public knowledge. In essence promoting transparency in Goverment spending. Which is an incredibly fresh perspective after the last 7+ years.

New Washington sponsored legislation in the Senate to track WMD's and in particular Nuclear Weapons in the international landscape.

In the last 7 years, New Washington has told us the threat to our National Security is Al Qaeda in Afghanistan & Pakistan while Old Washington has focused on Iraq, and is now rattling Sabers about Iran & Russia. Wasn't a 40+ year Cold War enough? Old Washington said he'd go to the gates of Hell to catch Bin Laden, however he won't cross the border of Pakistan to get him. New Washington said, he'd send forces into Pakistan to get him. Guess what? That is exactly what President Bush is doing now. Who originally brought forth that idea? New Washington!
New Washington was a Constitutional Law Professor for over 10 years, and would be the first to become President.

So, New Washington has been a advocate for Ethics in Government, Transparency in Government, targeting tracking of Lethal Nuclear Weapons, targeting Terrorist Organizations, and embraces the Constitution. Some might say this is focusing on the Basics. If New Washington was labeled as a Liberal, these would be considered by any level headed, objective soul as Conservative values.

New Washington personifies the American Dream. He grew up in a low income environment. He did well in school, got some scholarships, and ended up with an Ivy League education, and finished near top of his class. He is a poster child for what is possible in America.

If Old Washington really wants to change the Good Old Boy Nework and Special Interest connections in Washington, what has he really done to change Washington in the last 7 years? If it is broken today it was broken 7 years ago. What he has done is follow and support Bush's policies in lockstep the last 7 years. Is that putting America first? If you know it is broken, and you put America first, then you would have been challenging the Washington status quo, and President Bush by your actions and your words the last 7 years. He is very much a Johnny come lately to the change mantra. Convenient timing I would say.

If you are happy with everything in America, vote McCain. If in your heart, you believe we have to ensure America adapts to the Globalized marketplace, and is strongly positioned for the future, you really have only one choice in this election, and that is Obama.

Lies, Lies, and more Lies

2008-06-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

It's a bit disturbing that the American public is so gullible. They would rather blame someone for their lot is life than make the choices and sacrifices to make a difference in their lives.

The Oil Industry and Bushco understand this, and are playing it for all it's worth. Supposedly the Dem's and the Environmental wacko's are to blame for high energy prices. A bad analogy I'll make but make nonetheless is like alcoholics blaming MADD for their addiction. I'm not sure that is a great analogy, but then again the public thought process is warped.

We are consumers of goods and services. Look at the history of the Railroads back in the 1800's. History repeats itself. The Railroads called the shots back then, and got away with murder so to speak. The Oil Industry today is this century's equivalent of the Railroads in terms on their influence and power.

I'm not saying Industry is bad, just stating the fact that Industry by nature will get away with anything it can.

The Oil industry and Bushco continue to lie and mislead the public. The Oil industry today has 10,000+ leases on federal land on 68,000+ million acres they are not drilling on today, even though there are no legal or environmental restrictions to do so. Opening up even more federal lands will not solve our energy problems in the short term. All the Oil industry wants to do is lock up as much federal land as possible as cheaply as possible. They are making record profits today.

From their viewpoint, why should they increase supply and drive down price? The US government should not grant ANY new leases, until Industry in good faith take action on existing leases. The government should incent exploration, by forcing industry to drill first on existing leases.

The long term answer to our nations energy needs is developing alternate sources period. More drilling is part of the short term solution, it is not a key component of the long term solution.
A consumer has to view industry with wide open eyes. You are a fool if you believe the "trust me" statements of Government or Industry.

Taxcuts for Industry in the hopes they invest in new technologies is bonehead. Taxcredits for investing in new technologies is smart. The difference between the two is "Prove it to me", instead of "Trust me".

If you give Industry Corporate Welfare they will pocket it, and buy PR spots on TV to show you just how wonderful they are.

The Morality of Swift Boat funders

2008-05-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

From the Fort Bend Star:

Mr. Perry is one of the sources of funding for the Swift Boat attacks. Isn't it great to see the Moral highground of the wingnuts:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He said......In a hearing before a visiting judge concerning temporary orders and temporary child visitation, Will Perry and Laura Perry squared off against each other in open court.
Daddy Bob Perry should have come to Fort Bend County with his checkbook open and started papering the county with money because it got nasty.

Under questioning by Laura Perry’s attorneys, it was apparent they thought Will Perry’s bankruptcy was a ploy to avoid payment to his wife and children. Will Perry testified that he had made some bad business decisions and hadn’t made any money since a date that coincides with the breakup of his partnership with Dave Wallace and Costa Bajjali. He admitted that even though he receives $29,500 each month from a trust fund, that doesn’t cover the household expenses.

Under questioning by Laura Perry’s attorney, Will Perry admitted he has been a sexual addict for many years, but had quit attending Sex Addicts Anonymous in January, 2008. He said he had sex with “probably” 20 prostitutes since his marriage. During this testimony, Mrs. Perry left the courtroom and her uncontrollable sobs in the hall could be heard inside.
A chart in Will Perry’s handwriting that he had drawn several years ago tracing his sexual addiction blamed his sexual addiction problems on his father who he claimed was an alcoholic and verbally abusive, and his mother who he said was sexually abused by her father. He said Laura Perry was codependent but he said these were his thoughts 12-13 years ago and was no longer the case. (See what I mean by daddy’s checkbook should be open to keep this whole business out of court. If Perry did file bankruptcy to avoid paying his wife and children, he just made the stupidest move of his life, which is now displayed for all to see.)
To show his standing as a solid citizen, Perry testified about his involvement in local organizations including the Rotary club, the Rio Bend children’s home, the YMCA and the Rose-Rich Chamber of Commerce and his service on a couple of committees at the Fort Bend Chamber.

He testified that Laura Perry was a surgical podiatrist and he had encouraged her to work since the children were now in school. He felt there was no reason why she couldn’t as she had kept up her certification.

He complained of the money Laura had spent on her mother and brother, even though he admitted that he liked her brother. He testified that he and Laura had extended themselves financially for her mother and brother.

He testified there was no way that Laura and the children could remain in the house as the expenses there are $36,000 per month. He said she could sell many of the household goods to pay the bills. He proposed that she find a house like his 5,400 sq. ft. house in Sugar Wood, that he give her $5,000 per month (from his $29,500 monthly trust fund) and that she assume half the unsecured outstanding loans of $1.4 million.

Under questioning by Mrs. Perry’s attorney, Mr. Perry said he knew that his administrative assistant Sylvia Hoffman was a convicted felon (two prison terms). He said he was paying half of her daughter’s tuition at a local private school--the same one attended by his own children.
He testified that Mrs. Hoffman was his personal administrative assistant who was helping him in the bankruptcy, handling his personal social calendar, personal bills, and previously had a high involvement in the household. He said Mrs. Perry didn’t object until January or February when she told him she wanted to take over the household and asked him if he was having an affair with her.

He testified that he did not post his profile on Match.com even though it was there. Nor any of the other dating sites and he didn’t post exotic pictures of himself. He finally admitted that he had logged on to Match.com to look around.

In testimony about the loan of $180,000 he took out against his children’s trust fund, Mr. Perry admitted that he forged his wife’s name and it was notarized by Sylvia Hoffman. He said he signed her name often and she knew about it. He could not remember exactly where the $180,000 went, except some of it went for her beast augmentation. (No gentlemen here.)
In further testimony, Perry admitted that the principal at his children’s school had spoken to him about his driving when he dropped off the children when he “burned rubber.” Perry claimed his foot slipped off the gas pedal.

A former nanny spoke about what a wonderful father and husband “Mr. Will” was and that Laura Perry was nice also. Under cross examination, she admitted that Bob Perry made a $20,000 down payment for their house five years ago.

When the nanny was asked about Mr. Will Perry’s sexual addiction, she replied, “I don’t want to know about that.”

Plagarized Email (too good to pass up)

2008-04-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

President George W. Bush was scheduled to visit theEpiscopal Church outside Washington as part of his campaign to restore his pathetic poll standings. His image handler made a visit to the Bishop and said, 'We've been getting a lot of bad publicity because of the president's position on stem cell research, the Iraq war, hurricane Katrina, and the Veterans Administration. We'll make a $100,000 contribution to your church if during your sermon you will say that the President is a saint.

'The Bishop thought it over for a few moments and finally said, 'The Church is desperate for funding -I'll do it.

'Bush showed up for the sermon, and the Bishop began: 'I'd like to speak to you all this morning about our President who is a liar, a cheat, and a low-intelligence numb-nuts who can't put a compound sentence together.He bugged out of combat service during the Vietnam war and went AWOL to avoid a drug test, then had all reports on the sordid event destroyed.He is the spawn of a Nazi loving great grand father who smuggled anti-Americans into this country on his shipping line. He took the tragedy of September 11 and used it to frighten and manipulate the American people. He lied about weapons of mass destruction and invaded Iraq for oil and money, causing the deaths of tens of thousands and making the United States the most hated country on earth. It is a three-trillion dollar folly. He appointed fund-raiser cronies to positions of power and influence, leading to widespread death and destruction due to government paralysis after Hurricane Katrina. He awarded no-bid cost-plus contracts and tax cuts to his rich friends so that we now have more poverty in this country and a greater gap between rich and poor than we've had since the Depression. He has headed the most corrupt, bribe-inducing political party since Teapot Dome. The national surplus has turned into a staggering national debt of 7.6 trillion Dollars. Oil rose from $18 to over $100 per barrel, leading to transportation costs which the people of America cannot afford, with low minimum wages, part time jobs, no health insurance, and outsourcing. Vital research into global warming and stem cells is stifled because he's afraid to lose votes from religious kooks.

He is the worst example of a true Christian I've ever known, but compared to Dick Cheney...George W. Bush is a saint.

Bush Junior

2008-03-05T15:33:00.000-08:00

Despite rhetoric about tackling corruption in Washington, John McCain does not appear
too eager to look into the current administration. When asked today about supporting independent investigations into the Bush administration, McCain replied:
"I do not agree with your sentiment that there has been widespread corruption. I just
don't accept that. And by the way my friends do you think it would be nice if the President of the United States got a little bit of credit for the fact that there has not been another attack on the United States of America since 9-11? I think he deserves some credit for that.
I really do."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So I guess this means no investigations on the following:

* Millions of missing White House emails, on both the White House servers and the use of the Republican National Committee email system for official White House, which is clearly against the law.

* The failure of the Justice Department to prosecute a single case of any crime of any nature by any Contractor in Iraq. Including Abu Garab, including numerous women contractors being raped, including contractors cheating the military and the taxpayers on fraudulent billing and services.

* No investigation into the US Attorney firings, despite overwhelming evidence it was Politically motivated

* No investigation into the White House being behind the authorization of the use of torture.

* No investigation that there has been selective Political Prosecution, ie, Don Seigelmon, the formal Governor of Alabama.

* No investigation into why the Justice Department failed to investigate corruption, and wrong doing of Republican lawmakers, including one of the Senator's of New Mexico, the Governor of Alabama, the Attorney General of Alabama, among others..

* No investigation into illegally authorized wiretaps prior to 9-11. The administration authorized the NSA to do illegal wiretaps, in violation of the FISA law. The reason Bushco wants to provide immunity to the telecoms is to ensure the illegal activities of the White House do not get uncovered.

Let's see, McCain wants to give Dubya credit on not having an attack on U.S. soil, since 9-11? Gee, if Dubya's rabble was on the ball to begin with, the attack never would have happened.

Reality vs Stereotypes

2008-02-20T13:25:00.000-08:00

An update old joke........

First, the Fantasy....

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend an hour ago that I would meet him somewhere around here, but I seem to be confused as to where I am.”

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, “You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 4909 minutes west longitude.”

She rolled her eyes and said, “You must be a Republican.” “I am,” replied the man. “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “Everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've slowed me down and not been much help to me at all.”

The man smiled and responded, “You must be a Democrat.” “I am,” replied the balloonist. “How did you know?”

“Well,” said the man, “You don't know where you are or where you're going. You've risen to where you are, mostly due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before I came along, but somehow now… it's my fault!”

Second, the reality...

#1 - You don't know where you are going - spiraling out of control deficits
#2 - You've risen to where you are by mostly hot air - Lies about WMD's, and trying to link Sadaam to 9-11, talk about compassion conservatism and ignore pre-911 intellience warnings
#3 - You made a promise you have no idea how to keep - Winning the War in Iraq, balancing the budget
#4 - You expect me to solve your problem - Do whatever the President wants, shred the Constitution, ignore the laws of the land, authorize torture, Politicize the Justice Department
#5 - You're in exactly the same position before, but somehow it's my fault - Republican in charge of Congress for 10 years +, and now that the Dem's Control congress, it's
suddenly a "do nothing" congress?

The Republicans answer to all of this. It's Clinton's fault, and would have been Hillary's fault too, except she ain't going to get the nomination (unless she steals it).

Obama's going to get it.

But hey, McCain's now on board.

Somehow, he now supports torture, figure that one out. He now supports Tax cuts, and even wants to extend them. He also thinks he can win in Iraq. Adopting the policies of the worst leader in the history of mankind, doesn't seem to fill us all with hope.

You also have Huckabee, who thinks we should scrap the Constitution, and replace it with the Bible. He's going to replace the old campaign promise too. Instead
of a chicken in every pot, he'll promise a squirrel in every fryer.

Then again, you could have had Guiliani.

The Republican party of today is empitomized by Larry Craig. A wide stance Conservative. Blustery on the outside, talking God and Country, preaching fear, and sacrificing our Liberties to save the country. In reality being morally, spiritually, and fiscally corrupt.

Wide Stance Republicans. That is what the party is all about today.

That ain't funny, it's sad.

What is hellaciously funny is seeing voters still supporting this rabble. Truth is stranger than fiction.

Stolen (borrowed) from Steve G on another thread

2008-02-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

This was too good to pass up. Cut and pasted from a dialogue about potential Fox News Dem debates.

One can just imagine what a Democratic Party debate on Faux News would look like….
“Hello, I’m Chris Wallace and welcome to the Democrat Party candidate debate on Fox News between the Senator from New York Hillary Clinton and the Senator from Illinois, Barak Hussein Obama. The first question will come from Fox News’ senior correspondent Britt Hume.”
“Surveys have shown that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe the Democrat plan for withdrawal from Iraq would be a dangerous surrender to the terrorists. In fact, many Americans say they consider it tantamount to treason. So my question to both of you is, will you as President be willing to reject the Democrat leadership’s misguided, dangerous, and ultimately treasonous plan to cut and run and will you support our brave soldiers and allow them to have the opportunity to achieve victory in Iraq?”
(Wallace)“Thank you for, Britt, for that insightful, fact-filled question. Our next panelist is a best-selling author and the host of popular programs on both radio and television, political independent, Bill O’Reilly.”
“As you know, the most important issue facing this country in the ‘Secular Progressives’ WAR ON CHRISTMAS. Now, a Factor Investigation has found hundreds of Americans across the country who have been THROWN IN JAIL just for trying to buy a Christmas tree. So my question is, will either of you have the COURAGE to come on The Factor to denounce the S.P.’s War on Christmas? The Far Left has … no wait Obama, I’m not finished yet. The liberal moon-bats have … shut up Obama. Someone turn off his mike – he was getting ready to lie. In fact, turn off both their mikes. The people only want to hear me … ME… ME….”
(Wallace) “Thank you, Bill, for that will-reasoned, and self-effacing question. Our third panelist is a politically moderate, nationally-known commentator and the author of many best-selling books of thoughtful political discussion, Ann Coulter.”
“Tchaah! I think you’re both total FAGS. So what are you going to do to prove to Americans that you’re not both FAGS?”
(Wallace) “Thank you Ann. We can always count on you to elevate the tone of any discussion. That’s all the time we have. Thank you for joining Fox News — political coverage that’s always Fair And Balanced.”

Newspaper Editorial policies

2008-01-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

I'm sure all of you are scratching your respective heads about the journalistic integrity of the National Media. There have been repeated attacks on Barack Obama in various news outlets about him being a Muslim. CNN and the AP have done extensive research even sending research crews to Jakarta to research the schools Obama attended as a child. This research provided zero evidence Obama was ever a Muslim. Yet the lies continue in new forms via Internet chat rooms, and via various email networks.

In my own community a letter writer to the local paper, essentially "cut and pasted" extracts from these slanderous emails, and submitted a "letter to the editor", of my local paper. Despite the fact the letter was full of easily debunkable lies (is debunkable a word?), the letter was published in it's entirety. In the following days, the newspaper was bombarded with letters castigating the letter writer, and the newspaper for allowing such garbage to be published.

I write many letters to the editor, at least one a month. I sent an email to the editor of the local paper, as soon as I saw this letter get published. I asked him "how can you let outright lies to be published?" "It's one thing to have an open minded policy to provide a broad range of opinions to be published, it's another to allow outright lies to be published". The editor sent me a reply and apologized, and said that shouldn't have happened.

I am on good terms with the editor, and have written letters in the past defending their editorial policies.

Today the original letter writer was allowed to publish a letter apology, explaining that the original letter might not have been "completely" true. His excuse is that he is a 9-11 American, still haunted by that day. Then he goes on to defend his position that Obama is a Muslim, citing the fact when Obama was in Africa as a child, he attended an Islamic school. Obama never was in Africa as a child. What did he do, take correspondence courses?

It's one thing to allow a letter writer publish outright lies and distortions once, but twice in a span of three weeks? Journalistic integrity is a myth. Everyone has a right to their opinion. No one has a right to be wrong about their facts, yet distorting facts seems to be an accepted practice these days. It makes me sick, and pisses me off!!!

A time of hope or despair?

2007-12-20T13:34:00.000-08:00

Usually this time of year, I reflect upon the goodwill of mankind. We smile a lot more. We are kinder to each other. We are more likely to help out those who are not as fortunate as us. This time of year is almost an elixir to me. The Christmas spirit, the Holiday spirit usually fills me, and I have a bounce in my step, and a song in my heart so to speak.

Not so this year. I am worried about the current state of our country. I am worried about the future state of our country. I am worried about the futures of my children and grandchildren.

I share my concerns with friends and family, and try to determine what needs to be done to address the problems of our society and our country. My family see's the issues, and shares my concerns but doesn't necessarily see the urgency that I do. My friends cannot seem to handle what is going on, and cannot seems to internalize the fact that the party and the leaders they have endorsed in the past are ruining and bankrupting our country. It is easier for them to buy the spin, or holding on to old positions, that defy all reason and reality.

I push hard, I argue hard, I present all types of facts, evidence, etc. I answer all questions, and in the end I get blank stares from friends. I fear reality is too horrific for them to accept so they just try to ignore it.

We have elections coming up, and I'm 99% sure they will vote as they always have.

One step at a time. There is always hope (I hope).

I hope all are doing relatively well. Doing your own part to make this a better place to live for all of us. Enjoy your time with friends and family. Drink a little, laugh a little, smile a lot, hug a lot, and work toward a better tomorrow.

another letter and a response

2007-10-09T12:04:00.000-07:00

Stop the slaughter in Burma. Call in the American Civil Liberties Union. Burma news says as many as 10,000 people - many of them monks who led the demonstrations, have been rounded up for interrogation in recent days. We have been lectured time and time again about how the ACLU defends our liberties. Here is the perfect time for them to show what they are made of.
I call for a delegation to immediately pack their bags and get to Myanmar aka Burma and demand that the killing stop, for the people only want freedom and democracy. And who better to defend peace and freedom than the ACLU? I am sure that if the ACLU argues long and hard, the murderous leftists will have a change of heart and stop dragging thousands of people into the jungle to be gunned down and left to rot. And if all else fails, the boycotting of Chinese goods will surely push them over the edge. Do not buy those Chinese stuffed teddy bears and you will drive the ruling junta into immediate capitulation. Now if Halliburton were doing work in Rangoon, the ACLU would be on the next flight.

From, John T.

My response.

" A new low for Partisonship "

John T , had a letter published in the AJ on October 6th, using the horrors in Burma, as a backdrop to write a satirical argument, lambasting the ACLU (yet again).

What kind of sad excuse for a human being would endeavor to use twisted humor referencing Burmese Monks being slaughered and dragged into the streets, as a foundation to take a shot at the ACLU?

This is partisonship gone mad. John T., despite the fact the ACLU is one of your favorite whipping boys, your letter is unconscionable. What staggers the imagination is that the ACLU, again, is solely in existance to protect the Bill of Rights!

Have you lost your mind? Isn't there a more productive way to explain your viewpoints?

Where is the outrage from our Conservative community? Silence is unacceptable.

It's Time

2007-10-01T12:50:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in awhile. My latest letter to the editor was published today, after sitting in queue for almost three weeks.

Harvest report. It's been an odd growing season, but I have started the harvest. The sugar levels are down this year. Typically I like to harvest grapes with a brix level of 26 - 28, this year, I will harvest 22 - 24. This will still make nice wine, it will just end up being a "lighter" style.

To date I have harvested about 400 lbs of Zinfandel, and 75 pounds of Cabernet. I'm making some White Zinfandel for the first time this year, so after destemming the grapes, I'm extracting some of the "free run" grape juice, and making the White Zin from this. The remaining Zinfandel grape must will now have a higher ratio of skin to juice, so this will help extract darker colors, and a more fully flavored wine (in theory anyway).

The rest of the Estate grown grapes will be harvested this weekend.

I'm making white wine for the first time too. I have purchased 1000 lbs of Vermentino, which is a grape native to Sardinia. The initial tastes after fermentation are quite promising. I also have purchased 500 lbs of Roussanne. The Vermentino will be bottled 2 months after fermentation, while the Roussanne will be aged on Oak for probably 6 months before bottling.

It's been a few years since I made Tempranillo, but I'm doing so again this year, in addition to Petite Sirah, Syrah, Barbera, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Next Letter to the Editor

2007-08-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks Dina for the nudge.

I was reading the local newspaper yesterday and came across a letter to the editor from a community parent, who I know quite well. Our kids went to school together, and our kids played sports together. Here is my reply.

Debi S. sent in a letter on August 29th questioning the emotional and radical content of left leaning letter writers. Debi, you refer to numerous letters written by "radical" elements that offer up apparently hollow reasoning. An even handed effort on your part could have easily brought attention to numerous "drive by shooting style" conservative based letters.

That said, I too prefer to see even handed, balanced type of dialogue in our community. I find myself in a quandry. I believe I possess far more conservative values than liberal values. I live in a very conservative community. Whenever we discuss politically related topics, I find myself being asked "how do YOU people intend to vote?", as if anyone not on the far right, is all the same type of voter. Honestly, I don't know what conservatives really stand for anymore. Conservatives are supposed to be fiscally conservative, yet I hear nothing from my conservative friends about about National Debt getting more than doubled in Bush's term in office. I hear nothing about literally tens of billions of dollars spent in Iraq reconstruction lost or unaccounted for. I hear nothing about about the treasonous activities of War profiteers. I hear nothing about about the very principlies this nation being founded upon, being shredded before our eyes. Loss of habeous corpus. Use of torture. The 911 comissions report being largely ignored. The bi-lateral Iraq study groups findings being ignored. The shameful lack of protective armor for our troops. The placement of totally incompetent crony's in crucial jobs domestically and abroad. I could go on an on, yet all I hear is silence.

Americans have to unite on common values, and demand changes. Debi, if you are a true conservative then get your friends together, and let's stand together and demand answers from our national leaders.

Harvest 2007

2007-08-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

I think we all need a little diversion. The weather has really been different this year in the Sierra Foothills. The humdity seems way down. Even on the hottest of days, we have had very cool nights. This supposedly really helps grapes develop well rounded flavors.

I have a huge crop this year. I'm getting to be a much better farmer. We haven't had as much heat this year, so my harvest will be a little later this year. Right now, the Brix range (sugar content) of my grapes ranges from 15 - 19. I always try to harvest right around 26 Brix.

On average given some consistent sunny days, brix will move roughly 1.5 points a week. This means I could start harvest as soon as 5 weeks from now, or as late as 8 weeks from now.

We'll see. In the interim I'm ordering grapes from growers that probably will be processed before my grapes are ready. I'm making a white wine for the first time this year. Vermentino, and grape native to Sardinia, is my choice. That will probably be ready in about 3 weeks. In addition, I am buying some Syrah, Barbera, and Petite Sirah grapes.

Childs Play

2007-08-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

II and I (that's three eyes mind you) had a rigorous discussion about our troops a while back. We both feel strongly we need to get the troops out of Iraq, however our ideas about doing so, differ. We are both strong critics of the supposed "War".

Here's the problem. Critics of Bush's Iraq war treat pro-war advocates as intellectual equals, or try to anyway. Then these critics are puzzled when factual discourse gives way to personal attacks. This is how a child fights. What critics ignore is that pro-war propaganda is simple and childishly deceptive for good reason. The Republican noise machine knows that its base doesn't know much about Middle East geopolitics, so if you mention Iraq and 9/11 together enough times they will assume that Iraq had something to do with 9/11. If you say we can't leave now because we're winning, they will believe that, too. Josef Goebbels once said, "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." Bush's advisers count on ignorance; ignorance about the history of the Iraq conflicts, ignorance of the historical "Great Game," ignorance about Bush's hidden agenda for the Middle East, and ignorance about the NeoCon philosophy of hegemony and the "Noble Lie." Bush's public statements always refer to "our enemy" or "they," never defining who "they" are. For many pro-war propaganda consumers the logic is childishly simple: "they" attacked us first, so we get to attack them back. Few ever question why "they" decided to attack us in the first place. These war lovers couldn't grasp the truth. The Bush administration made its case for war against Iraq not with explicit reasoned arguments but with carefully crafted and deliberately vague rhetoric designed to trigger fear and hatred. This is why well-reasoned political discourse has given way to unsupported opinion and vitriolic name-calling. Dumbed-down Bush-hawks respond to simplistic emotional diatribes, not to logic or reason, and certainly not to hard facts. By using “support the troops” as a rhetorical mainstay, the militarist right is essentially hiding behind the soldiers to avoid a serious discussion of the real reasons for and goals of the Iraq war. It’s an act of moral cowardice, pure and simple.

What should Congress be focusing on for oversight?

2007-06-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

First of all, I do believe strongly that Congress has to perform a strong oversight function.

Waxman and Conley appear to be proceeding ahead, and we hope building strong cases.

To me, it appears they are "shotgunning" their approach, ie, pursuing too many disparate areas.

They need to focus on a critical few items, and be dogged in their approach. This may mean not pursuing some other leads.

Clearly, Gonzalez has to go, and they have to drive to eliminate the politicization of the Justice Department.

The non-official email thing has got to pick up speed.

The voter caging item as well, seems to be something that has to be pursued.

I know there is too much to look at, and go after, but trying to pursue everything, will mean nothing gets resolved, and the Bush presidency will end without any truly meaningful reforms from happening.

Fast Wine Facts

2007-05-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

1 grape cluster = 1 glass of wine
75 grapes per cluster
6 clusters = 1 bottle of wine
36 clusters = 1 vine
1 vine = 6 bottles (caberent produces smaller clusters, Zinfandel larger)
1800 clusters makes one barrel
1 barrel = 60 gallons
60 gallons = 25 cases
50 vines = 1 barrel
600 vines = 1 acre
1 acre = 5 tons
5 tons = 332 cases

Everything approximated of course, yields will vary based upon the year, weather, etc.

Myth

2007-05-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

Let's not debate the War in Iraq for the moment, and just thank our women and men
in our Armed forces for putting their lives on the line to protect our Nation, and thank the many
Veterans who have faithfully served our Nation.

Dina, I agree that I would like to see more soldiers "in the know" find a way to protest the war, ie, like not fighting as an example. That aside I do admire people commiting to the Armed Forces to protect and serve this Country. It's not their fault, we have power mad leadership in the White House.

As we reflect on their sacrifices let's look at what financial sacrifices the Nation is making to supportour troops? We aren't really, at least not today. We are basically passing along this debt to generations upon generations of American's yet to be born into this world.
Let's dispel once and for all the myth that Democrats are Tax and Spenders and Republicans are fiscal conservatives. It is Presidential administrations that propose the annual budgets
of this Nation, not Congress.

President Reagan increased the National debt from $930 Billion, to $2.602 Trillion (8 years).

President Bush 1 increased the National debt from $2.602 Trillion to $4.064 Trillion (4 years).

President Clinton increased the National debt from $4.064 Trillion to $5.674 Trillion (8 years).

A large increase in absolute dollars, but the % added to the debt declined every year in
office (1.2% in 2000).

President Bush 2 has raised the National debt from $5.674 Trillion to $8.506 Trillion in his first 6 years in office. Current projections show National Debt climbing to $9.848 Trillion by the time Bush 2 leaves office.

The numbers don't lie, Politicians do.

Ideology over Safety

2007-05-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

I noted today, an Associated Press report, that our Military has terminated 3 more U.S, Soldiers. Experts in the Arabic language. "Linguists" who search for hints of Terrorist plots against American interests. They were relieved from Duty under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy (regarding their sexual persuation).

To date, the Military has terminated 58 Arabic linguists under this "don't ask, don't tell"
policy.

Let me get this straight (pun intended). We have loyal military personnel, who are willing to protect our national interests against, Terrorist efforts, yet we are going to put our country at a greater risk of Terrorist attack because people who can protect this Nation have a sexual persuation, that is supposedly sinful, and therefore unfit for Duty. However they are fit for Duty if they stay in the closet.

So it's ok to die for your country if you don't make it evident which side of the plate you Bat from.

Ok, homophobes, here's a question for you? Do you think we have Homosexuals in Congress or the Executive Branch? You betcha. Guaranteed both places.

Do we have people in the CIA, FBI, NSA who are homosexuals? You betcha.

Do we have Border Patrol, or Coast Guard personnel who are homosexuals that are protecting our borders? You betcha.

Do we have Sheriff's, or local, State Police who are homosexuals? You betcha.

Do we have clergy who are closet homosexuals? You betcha.

Are you going to stick your head up your arse and pretend they aren't there, and assume all is ok, as long as you don't really know? You bet you are.

Here's a scenario for you. Assume you are being assaulted on a dark street, by someone holding a deadly weapon, and you are screaming for help, and someone runs up to save your life or your virtue. Are you going to accept their help unconditionally, or are you going to ask them first, "you aren't Gay are you?" If they tell you first, they are Gay, but will save you, you aren't going to say "ewww, you fag, go away". You are going to let them save you, then you are going to continue to live your life, in your holier than thou way, aren't you?

That my friends, is Wingnuttery in it's finest.

Hello McFly. Who's running this insane asylum? Don't answer that.

I already know.

An email from my sister and my response

2007-05-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

This is a comment by Jay Leno and if you aren't a fan of him it is worth reading anyway.

We don't often stop to think about what we have and more always think about what we don't have. "The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3s of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What we are so unhappy about?''Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year? Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. & nbsp;The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have , and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day. Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig. So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane! Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed peoples on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative." "With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunders storms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?" Jay Leno

My reply.

Sharon, thanks for sending this out. Yes, upon reflection there is a lot to be happy with in life, and too many Americans view their situation through pessimistic eyes. Too many Americans expect someone else to take care of them, because they have an inflated sense of entitlement, and lack of accountability for their actions.

The primary fallacy of the argument is that just because Americans are not happy with the President, has nothing to do with how you and I, or anyone feels about themselves or their lot in life..

Just because I happen to think dubya is a childish, petulant, mama's boy, has nothing to do with how happy I am, or how happy I am with my family, or my quality of life.

Is the President responsible for my running water, my job, my air conditioning? No.

So, yes I am happy with my life. My kids are all doing well, my extended family is all doing well, and I thank my parents and my grandparents for their sacrifices to make a better world for me, as we're doing for our children, and I expect our children will do for their children.

What has Dubya done for me? Absolutely nothing, except ignore the 911 commissions recommendations to make our country safer, ignore the Iraq Study groups recommendations to make our country safer, and when he is done, will have added close to $4 trillion dollars to
our National debt, which is a staggering 25+% of ALL THE DEBT IN THE WORLD! He is the only President in the history of this country that has cut taxes during a time of war.

The funniest thing about this whole mess is Jimmy Carter is dissing on dubya, and Carter has a strong case!!!! That's almost as bad as Pat McKim making fun of you and being able to get away with it.

Anyway, I hope you are happy, and are hopeful about the future.

Enjoy your weekend, and pat yourselves on the back, for your own happiness. You've worked hard, and you have earned your happiness, despite dubya not because of him. We all live life at too fast a pace, like life is a race. We all need to learn to slow down, and just enjoy the moment. It is my hope that the poor souls over in Iraq can come home soon, so they can resume pursuing the American dream, and can immerse themselves in the simple things in life, that we take too much for granted.

Love,

Chris

Supporting our troops?

2007-05-22T16:44:00.001-07:00

Supporting our Troops, fact or fiction?

The following words are from a speech made by Dubya to our troops in Kosovo in 2001, at CampBondsteel:

"...we need to have a Commander-in-Chief with a clear vision, who sets clear goals for our military. And those goals are to be well-equipped and well-trained,to be able to fight and win war."

Hmmm. Benchmarks for success in Iraq?

Body Armor, and Armored Humvee's perhaps?

"I know how hard frequent deployments are on you and your family. I know that America owes you a decent quality of life."

Hmmm. Repeated deployments, and now extending tour of Duty?

Hmmm. Threats of a White House veto on military payraises of 3.5% and benefits for survivor families?

"When I ran for promise -- I promised America that help is on the way for the men and women who wear our uniform."

Hmmm. Crony deals, War Profiteering, no accountability? Is this the help we are providing to our troops. Help is on the way? Puhleeze.

What should we be talking about?

2007-05-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to watching "Bobby" this past weekend, the movie based upon Bobby Kennedy's last day alive during the Democratic Primary's in 1968. A well made film, and worth a look see.

The film shows actual clips of some of Bobby's speeches, or photo op talks he is giving in downstrodden communities.

He portray's an image of hope, and describes a future state of where this country should be, without detailing exactly what sacrifices we have to make. He basically challenges the nation to figure out a way.

What a difference from today. We have to learn to work together. At the same time I feel almost compelled to punch these attack dog Conservative loyalists, who are blind to any sense of reality, square in the nose.

Note to self. Take a deep breath, and sing 100 bottles of beer on the wall....

Let's take stock of the situtation

2007-04-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

We are fighting a war we have no chance of winning in Iraq, because in essence we are acting as a security force, while we are waiting for the Iraqi Government to stabilize, in the middle of a sectarian Civil War.

We are paying for this by billing future generations.

War profiteers are soaking the American public, with sweetheart no-bid deals, and when we audit the books to proove we are being cheated nothing happens.

The great American Military is in disarray, and demoralized. We are ruining the lives of countless American families, by forcing Army reserves/National Guard members to serve multiple tours, and basically abandoning them, when they return to the U.S., after being wounded.

We have an Attorney General and staff members who have told bald faced lies to the American public, and to Congress. We have an Attorney General who tells us these U.S. Attorneys were fired for due cause, and that he approved it, even though he doesn't know why they were dismissed.

The President has renewed his endorsement of the Attorney General after lieing through his teeth before Congress.

We have White House staff using unofficial email channels to conduct White House business, and the White House is directing the RNC not to turn over emails to Congress without a review by the White House first. As well, somehow 5,000 emails of Carl Rove have disappeared from the 2003- 2007 timeframe.

We have U.S. attorney's being dismissed for not pursuing cases that the FBI has investigated, and the FBI investigation and recommendation was NOT to purse charges.

We have U.S. Attorney's who saved their jobs by pursuing cases that were tossed out of Court, and others who used good judgment to not pursue unwinnable cases losing their jobs.

We have U.S. Attorney's in Texas who wasted resources pursuing Voter Fraud cases against a handful of elderly hispanic Democrats, instead of pursuing a slam dunk case of rape and child abuse in the Texas Youth Authority.

We have Global Warming, yet no sense of urgency by our National Leaders.

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

Hee, Hee, Hee

2007-04-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

Hee, Hee, Hee. Looks like there is a Global Warming outbreak in Congressman John Doolittle's home in Virginia (my Congressman), as the FBI just raided his home.

He is best buds with Abramoff, Brent Wilkes, and other sterling convicts.

This is gonna get good. My neighborhood is 99% Wingnut, and all of them voted for this Bozo.

I provided lot's of reasons why, not to vote for this guy during last Fall, and it fell upon the deaf ears of my neighbors. The vultures are beginning to circle.......

Quack, Quack

2007-03-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

If it looks like a Duck, walks like a Duck, and quacks like a Duck it's a Duck.

Attorneygate. It's about Politics, stupid. Duh.

There is documented evidence that the terminated U.S. attorney's were criticized by the either the Attorney General's office, or the White House staff for not pursuing Voter fraud cases, or Political corruption cases (against Democrat's), or Illegal immigration cases in a number of states including Washington, California, and New Mexico. These attorney's have investigated these cases, along with the FBI, and found there was no evidence of wrongdoing, or that there was not enough evidence to pursue charges. Why would they be criticized for following the Law?

Why? Because if they were being good "Bushies", they would have publicly announced these investigations to hurt the Democrat cause, and help Republican elections.

Morality, doing the right thing, following the Law has NOTHING to do with it, it is all about power, and remaining in power, no matter what.

What sickens me, is there is a mountain of evidence of rape, and sex with multiple minors in the Texas Youth Authority documented by a Texas Ranger in 2005, as reported in the Washington Post, New York Times, and multiple Texas newspapers, and yet, the U.S.attorney in Texas did not pursue a slam dunk case to file charges. Instead they used their resources for Voter fraud cases against a handful of elderly Democrat's. Could it be because it would have hurt the re-election bids of Republican leadership in Texas during last Fall's critical elections?

You decide.

Spin vs Reality

2007-03-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

I live in Placer County, California, which has a very loyal Republican base. I regularly send in letters to the Editor in two area newspapers, THE AUBURN JOURNAL, and THE SACRAMENTO BEE. The loyal Republican followers have been peppering the Editors with views on the Iraq war, and Attorneygate.

What has been trotted out recently are the following views:

"Clinton" fired all the U.S. attorney's when he was elected, so it should be ok, that Bush can do it."

"Clinton" fired attorneys who were investigating Whitewater, and Travelgate"

"Democrats are racist because they want to fire Gonzalez because he's Hispanic".

"People who protest the war encourage the enemy, and if protestors were active in WW2, we would be speaking German and Japanese today".

I have no problem with people expressing their opinion, as long as they do just a little homework. "My problem" is that there is too much intent to report on half truths, or just outright lies.

Example: Clinton fired all his US Attorneys when he was elected. It is pretty much a standard practice that all incoming president's replace during their first year in office. Bush did so, but the intellectually dishonest letter writers, and Faux News pundits, cherry pick their facts.

Example 2: Clinton fired US attorneys investigating Whitewater and Travelgate. Outright lies. Those investigations didn't start until after Clinton took office.

Public debate is great, it helps all of us. Let's just deal with reality, not fantasyland.

follow the money

2007-03-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

Washington D.C. defense contractor Mitchell Wade pled guilty in February 06' to paying then-California Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham more than $1 million in bribes.

Wade’s company MZM Inc. received its first federal contract from the White House. The contract, which ran from July 15 to August 15, 2002, stipulated that Wade be paid $140,000 to “provide office furniture and computers for Vice President Dick Cheney.”

Two weeks later, on August 30, 2002, Wade purchased a yacht for $140,000 for Duke Cunningham.

According to Cunningham’s sentencing memorandum, the purchase price of the boat had been negotiated through a third-party earlier that summer, around the same time the White House contract was signed.

To recap, the White House awarded a one-month, $140,000 contract to an individual who never held a federal contract. Two weeks after he got paid, that same contractor used a cashier’s check for exactly that amount to buy a boat for a now-imprisoned congressman at a price that the congressman had pre-negotiated.

Koinky Dinky?

Photo Op Leadership

2007-02-23T16:33:00.000-08:00

Our Veep, Dick Cheney, on an interview with ABC News, basically accused the Dem's (Pelosi/Murtha) of pursuing a strategy that validates the al Quaida strategy (breaking the will of the America people). Bush, Cheney, and the chickenhawk crowd on the otherhand have been living a strategy since 2003 that has fueled the WW al Quaeda recruiting drive.

Our key stone cops Administration has totally underestimated the 100% total lie of a War, butchered the reconstruction, and now we are stuck in the middle of a no-win Religious Civil War.

Are our Soldiers fighting valiantly? Yes. Do our Soldiers deserve the full support of the American people? Yes. Do we continue to sacrifice the lives of our young and brightest, because we have inflexible, stay the course, stick your head in the sand leadership? Heck NO!

Yes, we have to continue to fight terrorism aggressively, but we need a better plan of attack that has intelligence instead of arrogance behind it. Putting our troops in position to attack the leadership and infrastructure of al Quaeda, instead of watching them get blown up by roadside bombs or shot out of the sky in helicopters.

Something has to change. We have photo op leadership. Flying to an aircraft carrier for a photo op when we supposedly had mission accomplished in Iraq. Flying to Iraq for a surprise visit to bolster the troops on Thanksgiving for a photo op. Going to a pristine, spin and span ward at Walter Reed hospital for a photo op, while a few hundred yards away, we have injured Iraq veteran hero's, living in squalid, rat infested conditions, we wouldn't allow our dog to stay in.

You measure people by their actions not their words. Our Soldiers actions? Heroic. Our Leaders actions? Unconscionable.

Fear and Loathing yet again

2007-02-12T18:05:00.000-08:00

The gauntlet is being laid down. Read the paper, letters to the editor, blogs.

The Mother Ship has passed down the orders and the minions are following along in perfect goosestep order.

The siege line is set. Democrats=Marxists=Communists=Socialists.

That's the war cry. It's pitiful.

Lazy & overworked

2007-01-19T17:38:00.000-08:00

The Intellectual Insurgeant heads to Cairo, Egypt for inspiration to come up with insightful ideas to blog about. Me? I'm just working my butt off, working way too hard at my age, but I have a good job, and College bills to pay, so I guess I should stop complaining.

Still at the age of 51, going on 52, the 60+ hours weeks are wearing me down. At least I get to spend a week in Barcelona, Spain on business this next week, so that's a bonus I guess.

Our house is chaos right now. We've been planning to remodel our kitchen and downstairs bath for years, and we finally decided to go for it. Sheet rock has been
torn out, toilets, and sinks removed, subfloor has been cut out. Normally my spouse of 29+ years would be freaking out about the mess, but she is in great spirits, because we have started. Plus we're making steady progress, but we acknowledge it will be at least April before it's all done.

I'll try to be diligent about taking some pictures and showing before, during, and after pictures.

December twentyfoist

2006-12-21T15:28:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, whatever stirs your drink.

I'm a Merry Christmas man. It is a time of the year, I look forward with hope for the future for some reason, believing in the good will of mankind. I have a list of
folks to send wine to, and I'm slowly making my way around to it. However, be patient.

To my blogging buddies, take a deep breath, and slowly exhale. Forget the blogosphere for awhile and just reflect on how good your life really is.

Enjoy your friends and family, and we'll take up the battle yet again, with renewed vigor in a couple of weeks.

Take care.

Latest Letter

2006-11-28T19:03:00.000-08:00

We had a hard head crowing about recent election results in Placer County. The fact is Doolittle got maybe 50% of the vote (tops). The Democratic and Libertarian candidates combined garnered more votes than Doolittle. Twice this hardhead has written invective laced letters to the Editor basically telling all Liberals or Lefties to get the hell out of his County, Placer County.

Here is my response (submitted today to the Editor).

Honestly my initial reaction to his note (name deleted) was to repeat in kind with a very un-Christian like response. Instead I have chosen to take the high road. I will reply with a couple of honest, direct responses though.

Ed (oops there it is, only his first name though), we're not going anywhere. Looking at the recent election results, basically showed us that half the county wanted a change in leadership and representation in Congress. Accusing your liberal
neighbors of lying, distorting the facts, etc, is not going to get us together to solve our nations problems. The real fact is most people are moderates, middle of the road kind of people.

Zealots don't like moderates. Well that's too bad, because that's where the majority of the populace sits.

You're just going to have to work with us.

In the meantime, us moderates will still fight to defend your Constitutional rights. We will still fight to ensure we have an effective balance of power between the three branches of government. We will fight to have strong borders, but fight against bonehead, fiscally ridiculous ideas like building a fence.

The strength of our nation is in our diversity. We are a melting pot of many cultures, religions and races. Our nation was founded on principles of freedom and equality. Infighting, and name calling gets us no where.

Our nation is in trouble because we've taken our eye off the ball. National security is fine and dandy but our leaders are bleeding our National Treasury dry,
while lining the pocket books of the super rich and powerful . We have to have a strong economy, and we cannot continue to ship jobs offshore.

We're here to stay, get used to it.

An inspiring fellow

2006-11-15T07:57:00.000-08:00

WWW.WTETW.com

Walk To End The Wars

My name is Bill McDannell. I am a father of five and grandfather of four. I am a Vietnam era veteran and a former pastor of the United Methodist Church. Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, I still firmly believe that, as a citizen of the United States of America, I have a voice in the activities of our country, and that my voice can be heard and can have an impact.

Beginning on Saturday, November 4th, 2006 I am going to put that belief to the test. Mindful of my constitutional right to petition my government, on that date I will leave my home in Lakeside, California to begin a walk that will end in Washington, D.C. I will be carrying with me a petition I intend to present to both the executive and legislative branches of our government requesting that we, as a nation, declare an immediate end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I am only one person, and do not pretend to have the individual wisdom to dictate exactly what actions should take place as a result of a declaration of the end of the wars. In fact, this is the reason I will be walking to Washington. I expect it will take me nine or ten months to walk from California to Washington, D.C., and I believe that the leaders who managed to figure out a way to get us into these wars in just a few months ought to be able to figure out a way to get us out by the time I arrive. The details of how many of our sons and daughters in the military will be brought home and how soon they will arrive home must be left to those more familiar with the logistics than myself, but I certainly believe that a declaration that the wars are over must come immediately and that, with the wars officially over, our sons and daughters should begin to return home immediately.

The basis for my petition is quite simple. First, regarding the war in Iraq. We the people of the United States of America have been given several reasons why we went to war with Iraq in the first place:

1. We have been told that we went to war to liberate the people of Iraq from the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein. We have accomplished that. Saddam Hussein has been deposed and is now standing trial.

2. We have been told that we went to war to locate and destroy weapons of mass destruction and the capability to deliver them. We have discovered that there were no weapons of mass destruction, neither was there any means to deliver such weapons.

3. We have been told that we went to war to establish a democratic government in Iraq. The Iraqi people have voted and there is a democratic form of government in place.

Since the objectives we believed were the purpose of the war have all been accomplished, it is now time to officially declare that the war has ended.

The only possible argument for not ending the war revolves around a perceived need to establish some sort of stability in the nation of Iraq. But the evidence is now quite clear that our continued military presence in Iraq is the primary cause of the continuing instability. As our continued military presence only serves to further exacerbate the situation we want to resolve, it is clear that we must officially end that presence, beginning with a formal declaration that the war is over.

Next, regarding the war in Afghanistan. We went to war with Afghanistan to depose the rule of the Taliban, whose influence and support assisted the terrorists that attacked our country on September 11, 2001. Like Iraq, Afghanistan now has a government in place that has been freely elected by its citizens. We no longer have a grievance with the leadership of Afghanistan, and the country and its government do not pose an imminent threat to the sovereignty or safety of the United States. Therefore, it is also time to declare an official end to the war in Afghanistan and to immediately begin to remove our military presence from the country.

Finally, regarding the war on terrorism. War has historically been viewed as an armed conflict between states or nations in order to establish boundaries, authority, or power, or to redress a wrong inflicted upon one nation by another. The war on terrorism does not fit this definition. It is instead an effort to prevent terrorist activities, to locate and eliminate those individuals or groups who engage in such activities, to dissuade any and all nations from harboring or abetting such groups and to keep not only our country but countries around the world safe from such activities. It is first of all obvious that this will be an essentially endless task of vigilance and intervention. It is also obvious that such an effort does not fit the definition of war any more than does a war on poverty or a war on drugs.

Since the war on terrorism does not fit the true definition of a war, once our leaders have officially acknowledged that the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan are over, it will mean that the United States will not be at war with any other sovereign state or nation. Therefore, along with the official declaration that these wars are at an end, I will petition the president of the United States to immediately relinquish the wartime powers ceded to him by the Congress, and petition the Congress to immediately rescind the wartime powers it granted to the executive branch. I do not believe the structure of our democracy ever conceived of a situation where the ceding of wartime powers by Congress to the executive branch would be a permanent arrangement, as this would be a significant step toward dictatorial powers. Therefore, a continuing war on terrorism can neither be viewed as a war in the historic sense nor a justification for the executive branch to retain wartime powers in the absence of any authentic war.

I am doing this as an individual citizen - with the help and support of my loving wife - and not as a member of any group, organization or political party. I am doing it as a grandfather, in the belief that if the grandfathers and grandmothers of our nation do not raise our voices, we will one day see our grandchildren being sent off to a seemingly endless war.

That said, I welcome any and all individuals, groups and organizations who believe it is time to end these wars to meet me along the way and sign my petition, to walk with me for a while, and to demonstrate our conviction that it is time to take definitive action to end these wars. I am doing this on faith, hoping that those who feel as I do will be inspired to lend their assistance to my effort. But whether or not such assistance comes, I am committing my time, my energy, my health, and my fortunes to this effort. God willing, I shall arrive in Washington and I shall present my petition to our country’s leaders.

I am calling my effort Walk To End The Wars, and this website will be the place where you will be able to find a regular journal of my walk detailing my experiences along the way, a progress report that will allow you to locate me and join me on the walk or sign my petition if you desire, and methods of contacting me directly should you wish to lend support to my effort. I deeply appreciate your support in whatever form you wish to offer it, and wish you and the generations that will follow you Peace.

Bill McDannell

Vino updates

2006-11-13T07:32:00.000-08:00

Fall harvest in total, 2006.

Cabernet Sauvignon, 265 lbs (Estate)
Petite Sirah, 180 lbs (Estate)
Zinfandel, 560 lbs (Estate)
Petite Sirah, 1000 lbs (Clarksburg)
Syrah, 750 lbs (Plymouth)
Barbera, 750 lbs (Plymouth)
Carignane, 260 lbs (Plymouth)

All fermented, pressed, racked and in Oak, except for some late harvest Syrah, with a very high Sugar content (Brix). This will be made into a dessert wine, as the Yeast will die out when the alcohol content reaches ~ 18%. The residual sugar will be in the range of 6 - 8%.

I'm also trying to make a Rose' for the first time or a "white Cabernet", and a "white Syrah/Barbera/Carignane". This is achieved by extracting juice from the grapes right after harvest, and fermenting them without the benefit of grape skin contact. I'm doing just a few gallons each as a trial. The color is light (Peach), and it will be dry, fresh, and bottled with no Oak. It is racking at the moment, and will be bottled for 6 months before any is sampled.

I still have a lot of bottling to do from the 2005 harvest. ~ 60 gallons of Petite Sirah, and 30 gallons of Barbera. I have also purchased a lot of wood to build my wine cellar, as having 80+ cases of wine stored in my Living Room is starting to irritate my wife :)

Honesty and Integrity of the RNC?

2006-11-01T11:13:00.000-08:00

As we approach the November elections, I have been inundated with political mailers from candidates and initiatives. One I received this week particularly drew my attention. It was titled "Immigration has become a Political Football" and must have been aimed at misinforming potential voters about Charlie Brown, candidate for the 4th Congressional District.

It stated that Charlie Brown supports:

(1) Letting illegal immigrants get social security

(2) Amnesty for 11 million illegal immigrants

(3) Higher wages for guest workers than American citizens

(4) Nearly $50 Billion dollars in taxpayer-funded benefits

I found it hard to believe that any candidate, regardless of political party, would take this stand on the Immigration issue so I checked the campaign web site for Charlie Brown. What I discovered was in complete contradiction to the mailer. Charlie Brown supports:

(1) Securing America's borders with more agents and improved security technology

(2) That addressing the root cause of illegal immigration begins with enforcement of employers that hire illegal labor and encourage lawbreakers

(3) Opposes amnesty

In the lower left hand corner of the mailer it stated that it was paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee, 320 First Street SE, Washington D.C. 20003. Is this an example of the National Republican Congressional Committee ethics, integrity and moral values?

This is known at winning at all costs, lying, cheating, stealing. All virtues of the supposedly Moral Highground Conservatives.

Vino, and Wedding

2006-10-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Time to take a break from Political discussions to focus on more pleasant topics.

First the Wedding. Number two son, Bryan, got married on Saturday, October 21st, and is on his honeymoon in Maui with his beautiful bride Kristin. The Wedding, and Reception went off without a hitch. Couldn't have been better.

My wife and I are also co-signing on a loan for a new 2 Bedroom Condominium purchase, so when they return from their honeymoon, they will have their own home to begin life together.

Vino. The Sleepsters harvest has gone well. Almost 1000 pounds in total. All of the Cab, and Petite Sirah has finished fermenting, and the grapes have been pressed and are currently waiting for the loose solids to settle to the bottom of the storage containers. 2/3 of the Zinfandel has finished fermenting, and is also pressed out and settling. The remaining Zinfandel grapes will finish fermentation this week, and I will press at the latest by Friday.

I've also purchased 1000 lbs of Petite Sirah grapes from a grower near Lodi, and 1500 lbs of Syrah & Barbera grapes from a grower near Plymouth, California (Amador County), and all of those grapes have finished fermenting, and have been pressed.

Over the next couple of weeks we will bottle last years harvest and then move the new wine from the storage vessels to the Oak barrels.

Time for a choice (latest letter)

2006-10-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

The noise level is beginning to reach a creshendo in regards to who the public should
elect to represent our interests in Congress. Doolittle or Brown? Again the key word is "represent". It is a choice we all have to make, and this should be an informed choice.

There are those in the public who tell us to vote along party lines only. This is an
idiotic and brain-dead approach. We have good Republican, and Democrat public servants and bad Republican, and Democrat public servants. We have to demand the best, and we'll only get the best by picking the best candidate regardless of political affiliation.

So what do we know? We know a lot more about Doolittle than we do about Brown because he's been in office a long time. His voting stances are public record, his fund raising practices are public record, his lack of military service is public record and how he engages his constituents or refuses to engage his constituents is public record. We really only know two things about Brown. He served his country honorably, in multiple wars for many years, and has retired from the Air Force. What else we know is that he's being demeaned by Doolittle attack dog loyalists because he supports the organization who's sole charter is to defend the Bill of Rights.

The fear mongering, chicken hawk, chicken little's are trying to scare you into believing a life long military man will suddenly turn into a tree hugging, limp wristed, left wing activist. What a crock. You want to support our troops? Who do you really believe will do a better job supporting our troops.

You have a choice to make. Doolittle has shown us who he represents, and it is not you and I. We've all seen enough. I don't know enough about Charlie Brown, but what I do know is that he is an honorable man, and I know all I can stomach about Doolittle. He had his chance and it's over.

Calling all Conservatives.

2006-10-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

Quid Pro Quo.

1) Conservatives believe big government is bad. What gives?

2) Dem's Tax and spenders? Repub's Tax cut and bigger spenders? Be honest, what is really worse.

3) Tax Cuts for Big Oil to incent them to invest in alternative energies? What? What's better a Tax Cut or a Tax Credit for ACTUAL investment?

4) Why did we give up the hunt for Osama?

5) How do you feel about Torture? The childlike response of "well they're are doing it", doesn't cut it. Two wrongs don't make a right. Something we teach our kids starting at about 2 years of age. Shouldn't Americans aspire to a higher standard?

Wizard of Oz leadership

2006-10-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

Latest letter sent to the Editor of the local paper.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

As we approach November elections, it is important for all Americans and Placer County residents to look closely at the actions of our Politicians, Leaders, and Politicians to be.

Actions speaks louder than words. Observing actions, and really understanding those actions, will give us a better forecast and understanding of how people will act in the future. Words often belie actions.

Words are intended to divide us, don't kid yourself.

We have Wizard of Oz leadership in too many places in this country. We hear loudly "stay the course", "don't cut and run", Dem's are soft on Terrorism", "if the Dem's get in power, Terrorists will run amok", "Liberals are America-haters", "it's Clinton's fault".

Baloney. We just disagree on how best to look out for the interests of this Nation.

Consider these facts. We have run up an horrific Federal deficit while at War. Not paying for this right now is a braindead approach. We have totally mismanaged Afghanistan, and Iraq. We were told the Taliban is gone, they are back. We were told Mission accomplished. We were told the insurgency is on it's last legs, it's stronger than ever. FEMA response to Katrina. Pure, embarrassing, incompetence. We are spending Billions in Homeland security, and in Iraq, yet we place unqualified cronies in place to manage our money, with no accountability. We give Tax Cuts to Big Oil supposedly to stimulate alternative energy research. They are making BILLIONS already, and if you truly want to incent them to research you give them Tax Credits for actual research dollars, and NOT tax cuts.

If you had hired someone to do a job for you, you would evaluate them based upon their performance. The performance of our current leadership is abysmal. We have to expect more as citizens, and it is time for a change. The men behind the curtain have revealed themselves. They tell us not to look there. Open your eyes.

2006 harvest

2006-09-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

The Petite Sirah grapes are ready for harvest. The sugar levels are in the right range. I have two and a half rows of Zinfandel that are ready as well, so I will harvest the Petite this week, the Zinfandel this weekend.

I bottled 15 gallons of wine last night, which yielded 5 cases of wine (3 cases of 2005, Estate grown, Zinfandel, 2 cases of 2005 Estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon).

I still need to bottle another 30 gallons of wine before I get too involved with harvest.

The vines and grape clusters are in great shape. I hand harvested leaves around the clusters to create airspace. I have had a problem with powdery mildew in the past years, but the hand harvesting of leaves has helped a lot, plus I've sprayed non-toxic algecide.

The grape crop is the best I've had, as my farming skills have improved a lot.

I'll report out on yields, and fermentation over the next few weeks. I will be involved in wine making every day for the next 6 weeks, and I mean EVERY DAY. My wife will become a Wine Widow.

I did bottle a special blend (Zinfandel/Primitivo/Petite Sirah) last Fall, for my sons wedding in a few weeks. The wine has been aging in the bottle for the last 11 months, and it has turned out to be a very special wine indeed.

Make believe 9-11

2006-09-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

Robert A. Iger
President and CEO, The Walt Disney Company

Dear Mr. Iger:

I have been reading in the news that ABC plans to air a two-part mini-series called "The Path to 9/11" on September 10 and September 11. Accounts of advance screenings indicate that this in not a direct interpretation of factual events, but uses some facts and the rest is scripted for entertainment or dramatical purposes.

I am a big believer in freedom of speech and expression, and support ABC producing whatever programs you like, provided you are quite clear with the public, with what you are presenting.

It is my understanding that this program is being positioned as a documentary or a semi-documentary. If ABC chooses to proceed ahead with putting this program on the television or cable then ABC had better be blatantly clear this is a "dramatized", and not a documentary based portrayal.

9-11 is a painful and raw emotional memory for our nation. I would prefer this not going on the air at all, but it is your choice.

If this does proceed ahead with any "hint" of being portrayed as a fact based documentary, I can assure you will will lose my support, as a loyal audience member, and that I will express my displeasure in as many public forums as I can engage in.

This is a choice I will make, although one I would prefer not be forced to make.

Our country still has not applied all of the learnings from this horrific event, and we have yet to fix many of our intelligence, and security weaknesses. We are putting the Nation at risk if we distort the truth, and lead the public to an "entertainment based" view of what actually happened.

Thank you for your attention and consideration. We live in discomforting times.

Maui Trip Report

2006-08-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

Very relaxing trip. No travel problems in either direction, and easy in and out at San Francisco airport, as we took a train to and from the airport (BART).

We stayed at Napili Point on the North End of the Island. We had an Oceanfront, remodeled, renovated, 1 bedroom condo, less than 100 ft from the Ocean. Our Lanai view, including the Ocean, included both the Island's of Lanai, and Molokai. Snorkeling was a little longer walk. We had to walk about 75 yards down to a point which was the best entry into the water. We had a wind protected cove here, and in general the water clarity was excellent, and we had plenty of reef fish to see, plus lot's of Sea Turtles. In fact, my first interaction with a Sea Turtle almost caused me to jump out of my skin. I had been snorkeling with my wife Gayle, and every now and then we look about to make sure we were in close proximity for safety reasons. Well at one point, I sensed something behind me, so I turned expecting to see my spouse, and I found myself face to face with a rather large Sea Turtle less than a foot from my face. I had somewhat of a knee jerk reaction, but the creatures are quite gentle and placid, so I recovered quickly. We had plenty to see in our cove, squid, turtles, octupi, eels, groupers, any many colorful reef fish.

We spent about half our time on the beach or in the water relaxing, and the other half of our time seeing the Island. Driving the outer edge of the Island can be challenging due to the 100's of many one lane bridges, and many, narrow, one lane roads. The highlight of the trip was the Oheo Gulch area in the south part of the Island. We went on a 2 mile uphill hike on the Pipwai trail which leads through a large Bamboo forest, in which you pass multiple smaller waterfalls, and the big payoff is a large 800 foot at the end of the trail. We had packed trail mix, beef jerky, hawaiian banana bread, and cold beers for an enjoyable spread sitting at the waters edge at the base of the Falls. One of my top 5 hikes of all time, in my 51 years on this earth. Returning to the base of the trail, and turning left leads you to a series of 7 other, smaller waterfalls, with relatively large pools to swim in. We climbed up to Pool/waterfall #4 and had it to ourselves to enjoy. We could have spent hours here, but finally pulled ourselves away.

Our 2nd favorite adventure was a 2 hour America's Cup II sailboat ride into the 30+ MPH tradewinds blowing between Molokai, and Maui. This was under full sail, and we plowed into the wind, with the boat listing 30 degrees downwind. We sat braced ourselves on the high side of the boat, and I assure you, everyone onboard was drenched. A two hour adrenaline rush.

We also read for relaxation, visited a Luau, and dined at a number of excellent restaurants. Hailemaile General Store, Milagro's, the Fish Market, Mala's. The cocktail of the trip was a Mangorita! Fresh Mango, ice, lime juice, tequila, pureed.

We celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary, with a dinner at Hailemaile, and afterward, back a Napili a bottle of champagne on the beach, staring at the stars.

The beauty of the Island stuns you. Flowers, Birds, Water, Sky, Mountains, Clouds, Coral, Fish. The visual beauty is overwhelming, so much so, that you have to take other steps to utilize your other senses. I found myself at times just closing my eyes, by bring in my sense of smell, and focus on my sense of touch.

We'll be back, but our next big trip may be to Cinque Terra, or the Amalfi Coast.

Latest Letter to the Editor

2006-08-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

On 8/20, Eric Egland wrote a letter chastising Placer County Congressional candidate Charlie Brown, and taking particular aim at the ACLU. We all know the ACLU at times takes odd and unusual stances on issues. No argument there. The sole purpose for the ACLU's existence is to defend the Bill of Rights. Eric, how do you feel about the Bill of Rights? Do you believe it is important to have a watchdog organization to make sure our Government honors the Constitution, or are you from the school that doesn't care a flying rip about balance of power? Those wiretapping thingees? Guess what? The government can still follow "the Law" and get access without having to work around "the Law". In this Country we just don't ignore Laws because they happen to be inconvenient. If that is what you like, then move to Moscow. While you are in your righteous indignation mode, how do you feel about Congressmen Doolittle taking money from Abramoff? How do you feel about him torpedoing the Homewood resort deal? How do you feel about him torpedoing an FDIC investigation into a Bank fraud deal in Texas. How do you feel about him voting against the recent renewal of the voting rights act? Just checking.

Wine News

2006-08-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

Entered 04' & 03' wines into a variety of California State, and County competitions.

Results:

Orange County Fair: 2 Silver Medals
Nevada County Fair: 1 Gold Medal
Placer County Fair: 1 Gold Medal
California State Fair: 2 Silver Medals. The 04' Petite Sirah earned 91 points, and the 03' Petite Sirah earned 89 points.

The 05' Estate Cabernet, and 05' Estate Zinfandel both have a good chance for next years competitions.

Just a few Maui pictures for you

2006-08-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

Off to Maui, so I'll be offline

2006-08-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

Carry on without me. Heading to Maui for 8 days. Not long enough, but enough to forget the worries of the world.

Plan on doing lot's of walks on the beach, watch sunsets every night with my honey, and a Mai Tai in my hand. Other hikes are planned to see bamboo forests, hidden pools, waterfalls.

We'll snorkel a lot, and when not snorkeling, maybe just a bit of snuggling.

I'm bringing three books to read too.

We'll be celebrating our 29th Wedding Anniversary on this trip, so we have a no holds barred, damn the expense Dinner planned at the Hailemaile General Store. Yes, and odd name for a restaurant but the food is outstanding.

I'll post the trip report and lot's of photo's when we get back.

Planning for Harvest

2006-07-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

I should have my best crop ever this year. I've been selectively thinning the crop to improve overall quality and reduce the demands on the vines. Despite the fact that we've had a dozen or so days with daytime temperatures above 100 degrees I am starting to see hints of powdery mildew appearing in spots in my vineyard. This needs to be corrected early because if it spreads to the clusters you lose those grapes. I came across an old fashioned remedy that appears to work. Mix one part milk with nine parts water and spray directly on the powdery mildew. It apparently kills the mildew on contact and helps prevent repeat appearances. I'll report later on the results.

I expect to get close to 1000 pounds of grapes in this harvest from my vineyard, maybe more. I'm guessing 700 pounds of Zinfandel 200 - 300 pounds of Cabernet Sauvignon, and 100 - 150 pounds of Petite Sirah. This yield would produce about 25 cases of wine 18 months from now, but I plan on buying grapes from a grower in Amador County. I expect to buy some Syrah, and Barbera grapes as well. Probably 500 lbs of each, and I may just get some more Tempranillo, as my first attempt at making wine from this grape was ok, but the potential is there.

When it gets this hot the vines basically shut down so it doesn't really help the grapes ripen. It's supposed to cool off (drop below 100) by tomorrow, so this will help a lot.

It is important to buy grapes in certain lot sizes to accomodate barrel sizes.
1000 lbs fills a 60 gallon barrel, 500 lbs fills a 30 gallon barrel, 250 lbs fills a 15 gallon barrel (although this barrel size is almost impossible to find, and doesn't justify the cost).

Wine Competition News

2006-07-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

I live in Placer County, California. My winemaking neighbor and I shipped some wine to the Orange County Fair for a large Home winemaking competition, and came away with two silver medals. We entered our wine in an unofficial tasting in Placer County months ago, and went head to head with 18 professional wineries with our Petite Sirah, and our 2004 Petite Sirah was judged best overall of all Professional and Home made entries.

Now we are submitting two Petite Sirah's (2004 & 2003) to the California State Fair competition.

I won't know the results until August 21st. In the interim we will submit wines for the Nevada County Fair during the first week of August (while I am in Hawaii).

It's been a pretty hot summer to date, and the vines are doing great. It looks like an earlier than expected harvest. I'm guessing mid-September. We'll see how it works out. I have a huge and healthy crop. I'm thinning the crop to reduce the strain on the vines, and to improve the quality.

Ethics & Integrity in Action

2006-06-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - Republican Tom Kean Jr.'s campaign plans a "Swift Boat"-style film accusing his Democratic rival of involvement in a New Jersey mob-connected kickback scheme despite public records and statements disputing that claim.

Sen. Bob Menendez has talked about how he courageously testified against Union City, N.J., Mayor William V. Musto in a 1982 federal trial that dealt with school construction, kickbacks and the Mob.

Musto was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison. He died in February.

Kean contends that Menendez's portrayal of his role is inaccurate. Four former federal prosecutors who oversaw the case have said Menendez was never involved in any wrongdoing.

The Kean campaign has acknowledged the prosecutors' statements, but spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said Friday, "The corruption is so deep and so extensive it requires a film to capture all of it."

She said the film covers Menendez's political career, from his work in Musto's administration, his years as Union City mayor to his time as a congressman and senator.

The campaign plans a film similar to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads from the 2004 presidential campaign. Then, a group of Vietnam War veterans made unsubstantiated allegations about Democratic Sen. John Kerry's decorated war record.

Hazelbaker said the campaign wants voters to know that Menendez went to work for Musto "with his eyes wide open" amid questions about Musto's integrity.

The issue arose during two Senate debates last week. Kean ignored questions from Menendez and reporters at the debates about his involvement in a "Swift Boat" style film, but the campaign said it was funding it in an interview with The New York Times.

Menendez spokesman Matt Miller said public records prove that the senator was not involved in the Musto probe, or in any other wrongdoing.

"Tom Kean Jr. has failed the most basic test of integrity, which is whether you're willing to tell the truth," Miller said. "How many times do his lies have to be exposed before he stops telling them?"

Aging Wine and Deciding when to bottle

2006-06-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, Vino fans. Time to take a break from Political discussions.

Aging wine in Oak barrels. Barrels have an effective life of about 5 years where they impart some Oak flavoring. After this time period the Barrels become "neutral". Still useful for aging, and Oak character is not added. There are other mechanisms to add Oak characteristics. Some vintners when fermenting grapes in stainless steel vats, will add Oak staves. The heat of the fermentation extracts out the Oak quickly. Nuetral barrel can be reconditioned, ie, take the end cap off, and then have the interior scraped, sanded and refired. This is labor intensive, and adds maybe two more years of effective Oak flavor addition.

Another options is to add Oak Beans (small round or square pieces of Oak, fired and toasted) to nuetral Oak barrels, or it doing long term aging in stainless steel, or glass, Oak beans/chips can be added.

Deciding when to bottle wine is a matter of taste, and chemistry. Chemistry is the most important piece because it ensures future stability of the wine once its in the bottle. A by product of fermentation is the formation of Malic Acid. Malic acid will naturally breakdown, or convert over time into other compounds. This can take a long time, up to 18 months in an Oak Barrel. A mechanism to accelerate this activity is adding a Malolactic bacterial culture to the wine toward the end of fermentation. Doing so converts the Malic acid much more quickly, in a few weeks. Doing so "softens" the wine. A chardonnay that has Malolactic culture added will produce a buttery element, if "Malo" is not added, then not all of the Malic Acid is converted, and the wine ends up with a sharper edge.

Aside from the chemistry angle it's a matter of taste. It's hard to describe how much a wine changes taste in a barrel over time. All I can tell you is that every month, the wine changes in flavor noticably. Even if I have a brand new barrel, I will still leave the wine on Oak for 9 months before bottling. I have gone as long as two years. It just depends upon the wine.

More and more though, my decision is being driven by storage capacity. Each Fall I harvest the grapes in September or early October. Fermentation, pressing, racking, etc, takes about 6 weeks. Once the wine is ready to be moved to Oak barrels I have to have available space in the barrels to move the new wine in. So, now I typically bottle the prior years harvest, the week before I move the new wine in. This allows me time to clean out the old barrel, treat it properly, and get it ready for the next batch. Cleaning is important because tartrates can build up on the interior of the barrel, creating a film that inhibits the barrel from imparting it's precious Oak flavoring. The cleaning exercise is simple. Once the wine is pumped out for bottling, the barrel is then repeatedly rinsed with water with a high pressure nozzle, especially designed to work inside a barrel. After each rinsing the barrel is drained. In between you just peek inside with a flashlight to look around. The interior of the barrel can be scraped with a barrel brush as well. Once this is done, then a solution of Citric Acid and water is poured into the barrel and rolled around. This also helps clean the interior and treat the wood. Lastly, a solution of water and Sulfur Dioxide is added, and rolled around. This will kill any airborn bacteria, and especially it is important to kill any airborne bacteria that produced vinegar. If this bacteria gets into the interior of a barrel the barrel is forever ruined.

All of the 2005 harvest was moved into Oak in late October, and early November. The first bottling will occur in early July. Which will mean that wine (my Estate Cabernet) will have had about 8 - 9 months of Oak contact). My taste buds say it's ready. It still has a strong fruit component which I don't want to lose.

hunt them down

2006-06-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

The group responsible for eviscerating our two young soldiers, need to be hunted down like animals. No mercy.

Here a Nut, there a Nut, everywhere a Wingnut

2006-06-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, old Sleepster happens to live in a County that is a hotbed of Wingnuttery. The local Wingnut Central Committee wields their power with an iron fist. Yes, Congressman Doolittle, did win this round vs Holmes, the upstart Auburn Mayor, but it took tons of money to "buy" the election. Dolittle garned 64% of the vote, quite impressive. Holmes got but 36% of the vote. The telling point is that those votes for Dolittle required fund raising to the tune of $975K+, and a supporting visit from Deadeye Dick for fundraising purposes. Yes Holmes only raised $84K. Let's
add this up, Holmes 36%->$84K, Doolittle 64%->$975K. Ok, my Math is off a bit. I keep forgetting to mention Mrs. Doolittle does skim off 15% of the funds for her commission as chairperson in charge of managing fundraisers, and paying the household expenses. That's a tidy $146K for the family coffers.

Still there is a crack in the armor. This County is trying to groom a replacement for Mr. D. As his act is wearing thin with his constituents. The Wingnut faithful were quite vocal this past election voicing their complaints in multiple forums. Mr. D's handpicked successor, Jerry Simmons, got a serious whuppin' at the polls. Supervisor Weygandt, a lifelong Republican, wasn't extreme, or Wingnuttery enough for the Republican Central committee. Plus he was just happy serving his County as a Supervisor, and had no designs to pursue a Congressman job. That's where Jerry Simmon's came in. He received the full endorsement from the Central Committee for the Supervisor job, even though Weygandt was the Republican incumbent. Weygandt has been a Republican longer than Simmon's has been alive. Clearly a slap in the face to this loyal party supporter and a long time public servant.

Simmons spent in excess of $500K for a Supervisor job! Probably a $100K more than Weygandt.

The voters have spoken, and Weygandt won by a landslide. The voters also killed a key bond measure, and also killed a measure that would have helped the salary scale for local hard working, Deputy Sheriffs. Simmons was closely tied to both of these related measures.

Our Buddy RC, aka, Sgt CRA, was Simmons campaign manager.

So what happened to Jerry Simmons? Well, he was just kicked off the Wingnut Central Committee, and publicly blamed by the Wingnut Committee President in the paper as being at fault for the Bond failure and the pay measure for the Sheriffs. His reward, is that he is done in this County, a has been at 32.

Come November, Doolittle has to take on Charlie Brown. Not Charles Brown, or Chuck Brown, but the one and only Charlie Brown, a retired, Lt. Colonel, who just happens to be a Democrat. Doolittle, a chickenhawk, and hasn't been within stones throw of a military boot camp in his life, now has to figure out how to demean and belittle a Military Veteran before the polls open on November 7th.

We'll also have to see how many more campaign dollars are raised, and end up in uh, Mrs. Doolittles pockets for services rendered.

I'm sure as well, that being a devout Mormon, he is tithing 15% of the family take (Wink, Wink).

corkscrew

2006-05-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

"The Corkscrew, a useful key to unlock the storehouse of wit, the treasury of laughter, the front door of fellowship, and the gate of pleasant folly". (Author unknown)

Racking to Barrels & Aging

2006-05-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

Racking. Pressing the grapes after fermentation produces liquid (wine) and a variety of solids (dead yeast cells, or tiny bits and pieces of grape skins, or grape tissue). This solid material can add "off" flavors, so it is important to separate the wine from the solids as quickly as possible. The solids are referred to as "Lees". The solid due to their weight naturally will fall to the bottom on
the storage containers. There are some materials that can be added to the wine to force the particles of solids to cling together. If you've attended any Winery tours, you may have heard tour guides refer to Egg Whites being added in the past.
Racking essentially is drawing the wine off the top of the solids and moving it to another storage container. Commercial winery's use stainless steel tanks and use filters to separate our the solids. Homewinemakers typically use glass carboys to temporarily store the wine. By using Glass you can see the solids sitting on the bottom of the glass container. The wine can be moved by placing a clear plastic tube in the wine, and creating a suction to draw the fluid to a separate container. I usually use a gravity feed system. A electric pump can be used, but this (to me) seems to bring in too much Oxygen.

Typically I'll rack the Wine two or three times over a six week period. After six weeks, the majority of the solids have been removed, and it's time to move the wine to a long term storage vessel. This can be a stainless steel tank, an old Beer Keg, Glass Carboys, or Oak Barrels. Carboy's come in a variety of sizes, as small as a couple of gallons up to about 7 gallons. I have Oak barrels that have a 15 gallon, 30 gallon, and 60 gallon capacity. There are larger sizes as well, but those are strictly for commercial use.

Oak barrels are very expensive. A French Oak 60 gallon barrel can cost as much as $800 per barrel. I'll do a separate post of barrels as that is a whole topic in itself. The positive side, is that Wine barrels will continue to impart Oak flavor for about 5 years, however the amount of Oak influence declines over time. A brand new barrel, will add Oak characteristics quickly, which means wine needs to be moved to a nuetral barrel sometime before the wine is bottled. A nuetral barrel is an Oak Barrel that no longer imparts Oak flavor, so this is a barrel typically older than 5 years old.

So, when Racking is done, I move the clear wine to the Oak barrels for aging. I will store the wine in Oak for a minimum of one year, and as long as 18 months. The decision on how long to leave the wine in Oak is tied to the age of the barrel, and just sampling the wine over a number of months to see how it is changing in flavor and character. Since I use some nuetral Barrels for aging, I have to add some new Oaks chips, or "berries" to the barrel to ensure Oak flavor is added to the wine.

Oaks barrels, chips, or berries are toasted under a flame. This adds a sweet caramel hint of flavor. Coopers (experts that make Wine Barrels), toast the barrels in various degrees. It depends upon the barrel manfacturer, but typically you can get a light toast, a medium toast or a heavy toast. More on this later.

Since the barrels are wood, they are prone to evaporation, so I have to add the equivalent of a bottle of wine a month to the barrel, during the aging process. This wine comes from leftover wine I have placed in carboys during the aging process.
As an example, if I harvest 500 lbs of grapes I will get close to 38 - 40 gallons of wine. I will move 30 gallons to Oak, and put the remainder into a 5 gallons carboy, and individual Gallon jugs. All with airtight caps. I will take one of the gallon jugs and fill 4 - 5 individual wine bottles and cork them. As the Wine Barrels lose wine to evaporation, I will "top off" the barrels once a month with one of these wine bottles. When I run out of bottled wine, I break down another gallon jug.

That's enough for now. More later.

Court? A Convervative Decision!!!!

2006-05-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

What do the Wingnuts have to say about this one?

The answer? They won't say Dick.

High school exit exam reinstated
SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the state exit exam as a graduation requirement, but it was unclear whether the decision means 47,000 high school seniors who failed the test won’t graduate this year.

Emerging Wingnut Election Platform

2006-05-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

"We suck, but they (the Dem's) suck more". As in:

"We're butchering the management of the Iraq War, but the Dem's are wimps, and the voters know we're always happy to Bomb somebody".

"We're corrupt and on the take from Lobbyists, but you know some Dem's are being caught with their hands in the Cookie Jar too, so it just comes with the territory".

"We've been caught lying to the American public on repeated occasions, but the lies are only about unimportant things, and we wouldn't lie about anything REALLY important, besides Slick Willie lied about a BJ!!!!!?"

"We really Support our Troops more than the Dem's because we never miss an opportuntity to tell America so, at every photo/camera/media opportunity. The Dem's don't like our Troops because they want to pull out of Iraq."

"We know what America really wants better than the Dem's. We know you want low taxes, God, No Gay marriage, the Freedom to carry a Bazooka on the gun rack of your pick em up truck, and good cheap goods at Walmart. The Dem's? They just want to Tax you, Teach Gay is OK in the schools, and celebrate the 4th of July by Burning the American Flag! "

Cleanliness & Blending

2006-05-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

I can't emphasize enough the need to keep the wine making equipment and general area "clean as a whistle". Once a wine batch starts to go, there is no way to save it. I have learned the hard way, and basically poured at least 100 gallons of wine into the ground over the years.

Chemistry is crucial. I have posted a number of times about additives to keep the PH and Acid in balance, plus you have to add SO2 at regular intervals to prevent any chance of bacteria getting involved.

Blending. An Art for sure. A few years back after fermentation, extended maceration, pressing, racking, etc, I had about 75 gallons of Zinfandel to put into Oak. I had a brand new American Oak 30 gallon barrel, a 3 year old 30 gallon French Oak barrel, and a 4 year old 15 gallon French Oak barrel. I filled each barrel with wine from the same batch, same vineyard, same harvest day, same yeast used. 18 months later I was ready to bottle. I barrel tasted wine from each barrel and each tasted totally different. Each had significant characteristics, and each had holes or incomplete aspects. So, I invited friends over and I pulled out about a 20 ounce sample out of each barrel, labeled them, and then we each started blending them in various percentages. We took copious notes. This was an amazing learning experience. Adding even 5% of one wine to another cause a profound change in flavor, and complexity. We decided on a blend to optimize the flavor and this produced an exceptional wine, while wine from each individual barrel was ordinary at best.

6 months ago, my neighbor who I make wine with, had two 30 gallon barrels of wine he wanted to pour out. One was 30 gallons of Primitivo, and the other was 30 gallons of Zinfandel. I did some blending experiments. I had some Petite Sirah, that was dense dark, and very fruity. In doing just a few blending experiments I came across a blend of 45% Primitivo, 45% Zinfandel, and 10% Petite Sirah, that produced an amazing wine. We bottled every thing up, and this blend is always the first one friends ask for.

Sacrifice

2006-05-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

Sacrifice - Forefeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one thought to have a greater value or claim.

Bonehead - A stupid person, a dunce.

These recent Tax Cuts are bonehead. Our Prez is the only Prez in the history of this Nation to repeatedly cut taxes during times of War. If we are truly fighting Terrorism, then as a Nation we have to make sacrifices for this.

So the Rich get Richer, and we are Taxing our Armed Forces with their lives. We are taxing our Children, Grand Children, and Great Grand Children with Debts we cannot pay.

We have had many great, and intelligent leaders in this Country. Is our Prez trying to tell us he is smarter than every War Prez before him? The truth is this Nation has been sold out for a Pot of Gold. Where is the OUTRAGE?

Fermentation to Pressing

2006-05-17T15:40:00.000-07:00

"Forsake not an old friend, for the new is not comparable unto him. A new friend is as new wine: when it is old thou shalt drink it with pleasure."

Oxygen is wine's number one enemy. Fermentation produces CO2 as a byproduct, the veil of CO2 over the fermenting wine acts as a barrier and protects the young wine from the exposure to Oxygen. Some CO2 actually dissolves into the wine during the fermentation process. Wine will continue to release CO2 after fermentation is complete. It is important that the grapes/fermented wine combo be pressed before the CO2 is fully dissapated, such that the exposure to Oxygen is minimized.

There are a couple of ways to detect this. Primarily you can check the specific gravity of the wine on a daily basis, measuring the drop in sugar level. A complimentary step is to watch the floating cap of grape skins on the wine. It is kept floating by the CO2 being released. The first hint that the cap is starting to settle, is the best time to press the grapes.

My neighbor and I purchased a grape press manufactured in San Francisco about 80 years ago. It still works fine, and obviously it was built to last.

A typical manually operated grape press has a three legged, chair type base with a curved lip on all sides, except for one opening to allow wine to come out. Up the middle of the chair basic come a heavy, steel, threaded pole, extending up 30 - 36" from the seat base. A round wooden slatted cage (in two semi circle halves) is placed upright on the inside edge of the chair lip. The wooden slats extend vertically. This unit is assembled, a 5 gallon bucket placed at the mouth of the base to capture wine.

The fermented wine and grape skins are then scooped our of their fermenation vessels, and essentially poured into the opening of the wooden cage. The free run wine escapes between the gaps in the slats and runs into the 5 gallon bucket. The gap between each slat is no more than 3/8". Wine/grape skins continue to be added until the wooden cage is filled to the top. Think of a giant Life Saver candy, but in this case made of wood, heavy oak, that has been cut in half. This is want goes on top of the grape skins, inside the slats, surrounding the steel threaded pole. The oak is probably 2 - 3" thick. A heavy ratchet unit is then threaded on top of steel pole and screwed down until in contact with the heavy wooden Life Savor. Basically at this point a pipe is inserted into the ratchet, and you crank the ratchet back and forth pressing downward, pushing the wine throw the wooden slats.

Initially this is easy work, but it becomes very difficult work. 500lbs of grapes will end up producing close to 40 gallons of wine, including sediment, which might be 2 - 3 gallons worth. This sediment is largely the expired yeast cells.

When you are done pressing, what is left is a very dense, round, flattened mass of grape skins, and grade seeds. If done properly this cake is practically bone dry or close to it.

All of the pressed wine is transferred to an airtight glass, steel, or food grape plastic vessel. The the wine is allowed to settle. At this point the PH, is tested again. PH never drops during fermentation. Some of the acid are converted during the process so you may lose acidity. Testing is required to make sure the acidity has not gone above PH 3.5, and if it has, then Tartaric Acid has to be added to lower the PH down to 3.5 or less. Another by product of fermentation is the production of Malic Acid. Malic Acid naturally breaks down in wine over time, but you can accelerate this conversion by adding a malolactic bacteria culture that feeds only on Malic Acid. Malic Acid is unstable, and you do not want to bottle this until the Malic acid has been fully converted. The Malolactic culture will do this conversion in a few weeks, instead of waiting 6 - 9 months to have it done naturally.

Over the next few weeks, loose solids will settle to the bottom of the storage vessels. These are called "Lees". Every week or so, you have to pump off the clear wine off of the Lees. This is called Racking. This is important because the Lees can impact off odors, and flavors to the wine. Racking typically is completed over a couple of weeks and the wine is ready to be placed in an Oak Barrel for aging.

Harvest to Fermentation

2006-05-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

Da Sleepmeister has 140 vines as I have previously mentioned. 60 Cabernet Sauvignon, 50 Zinfandel, 30 Petite Sirah, and 10 Petite Verdot. All Red Grapes, and yes, I only make Red Wine. I also buy grapes from a couple of different growers. This past year, I purchases some Barbera, and Syrah grapes from Rock Wall Vineyards. Excellent quality, and these wines are just HUGE.

FYI. Mature Vines each produce a half a gallon of wine at least. So, in an average year, I will get 70 gallons of wine from vineyard. The rule of thumb is that you will get about 4.5 bottles per gallon, after some loss due to evaporation, barrel tastings, etc. The barrels are oak, so yes they do evaporate water throught the wood, but this only adds to the depth of flavor.

Harvest. I like to harvest grapes when the Brix is 26+ and the PH level is close to 3.5. Starting around September 1, I test each of my rows for sugar content and acid levels once a week.

I have harvested as early as the second week of September, and as late as the third week of October. It all depends on the weather and the relative vigor of the vines.
Obviously a hot summer will cause the vines to ripen sooner. Another factor is that the damn vines grown like weeds. If left unattended the vines will just grow too many leaves, and will send off many secondary shoots. The problem is the plant devotes too much energy for leave growth, and this extends the growing season. I try to limit each grow shoot to 16 - 18 leaves. I have to constantly pinch off secondary shoots, and pinch the end of the primary shoot to limit the growth.

The first clue the grape vines provide to you that they are starting to ripen is when veraison (?spelling) starts. This is when the grape color starts to change from green to red. The rule of thumb is that 6 weeks after this starts, the grapes will be ready to harvest. As well during this time, I selectively pull off leaves that cover portions of the grape clusters such that you get even sun exposure to the whole clusters which aids in even ripening. Also at this time I have to apply Bird Netting to the vines. Robins, Blue Birds, Swallows, Finches, etc, all love ripe grapes, and if unattended they would strip a ripening vineyard in a week. I lost my first harvest this way. Still they end up getting about 5% of the crop anyway as they peck through the netting. I also lost probably 400 lbs of grapes to racoons three years ago.

When we harvest, we invite friends and family over, and we get started early in the morning when it is still relatively cool, say 7AM. Everyone gets a row, pruning shears, and a 15 gallon plastic tub to drop the cut grapes in. We use different color coded plastic tubs to ensure we don't mix the varietals.

After all the grapes are harvested, we load them into the back of my pick em up truck, and drive to my next door neighbors house, where the grape processing equipment is stored. We weigh each plastic tub, and record the yield grape varietal, by grape varietal. Next, we group the color coded tubs together, and dump the grapes into an italian made crusher/destemmer. Basically this machine pulls the individual grapes from the stems and also removes the leaves. The partially crushed grapes and released "free run" juice flow into another plastic tub. Then we take this and dump it into a 50 gallon "food grade" plastic white container. When all the grapes are processed we have multiple separate varietals in their own fermentation container. I then test the PH and sugar content of each. I have an electronic PH meter, where I place an electrode in the juice, and it tells me the PH. I test the sugar level, by getting about 5 ounces of free run juice, and pouring it into a tall narrow cylinder. I then drop an hydrometer into the juice. The hydrometer (from your high school chemistry) measures the specific gravity of the juice and tells me the sugar level, and what the expected alcohol level will be after fermentation.

After this, I may adjust the acid level a tad by adding granulated Tartaric Acid (naturally occuring in grapes), to ensure the PH is 3.5 or lower. Next I add some
sulphur dioxide to kill any bacteria, or any wild yeast. This is maybe a teaspoon of this stuff. You mix is all together, then cover the containers for 24 hours. 24 hours later, I add carefully selected wine yeasts. There are hundreds of em. Since I harvest at Brix 26+, I have to ensure I select a yeast that can handle an alcohol level of 14% plus. Plus the yeasts I select bring out a strong berry/fruity aroma.

If I chose to ferment outdoors, the fermentation would finish in less than a week. I choose to ferment in a basement where it is cooler, and slows the fermentation. This allows the fermentation to take about 3 weeks. This is also known as extended maceration. A slower fermentation helps build a solid tannin structure for aging potential, and also helps bring out a deeper red color.

A natural by product of fermentation is CO2 and heat. An active fermentation can make the juice look like it is boiling. It doesn't get that hot, but the temperature can get above 95 degrees, which in my mind is too hot, and can give the wine a "cooked" flavor. You can control the temperature, by fermenting in a cool place, and also punching down the cap. The cap is loose grape skins. Since CO2 is released during fermentation, this gas pushes the grape skins to the surface of the wine. This creates an insulating barrier, and prevents the heat from escaping so this raises the temperature of the fermenting wine. So I take a gold old "clean" garden hoe, and push the cap down into the liquid, releasing heat, and CO2. Plus pushing down the cap, helps increase the grape skin to juice contact helps extract color.

Next I'll move on to more testing, and pressing the grapes, but that is another post.

Growing update, and Harvesting

2006-05-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

All of the rain this year, has ensured that the water table is high in the ground, and combined with a week of hot temperatures, the vines are showing explosive growth.

Too much so. The vines are pushing out growth shoots all over the place. I spent at least 3 hours this weekend pulling suckers, or unwanted growth shoots.

Professional growers typically try to harvest all their grapes from a given vineyard in the same day. A couple of few tests are used in conjunction to determine when to harvest the grapes.

First is taking a sampling of individual grapes from various spots in the vineyard and just tasting them. It is up the individual doing the tasting to decide what they are looking for in terms of flavor. Next is picking say a dozen individual grapes from random spots in the vineyard, then squeezing the juice into a container, mixing up the juice, then testing it for sugar level (Brix), and the acidity of the juice. It is very important that there is an important balance between the sugar level, and the acidity. Typically when the sugar level in the grape is low, the acid level is high. As the grape ripens and the grapes add more sugar the acidity begins to drop.

This balance can change rapidly. At some point as well, a grape vine will stop directing energy to the grape cluster, and in essence shut off the nutrient supply. The stem connecting the cluster to the vine will turn brown, and at this point the valve is turned off.

Water is nuetral between acidity and akalinity. PH is how acid/akalinity levels are measured. Water is a PH of 7.0, and this is considered nuetral. Acidity is important in wine making, because it contributes to crispness of flavor, it helps solidify the structure of the wine, and the right level of acidity prevents bacteria growth. Grape growers monitor the acid level of the grapes and look for a PH in the range of 3.3 - 3.5 when trying to decide when to harvest.

Acid levels are tested using a series of chemicals in certain proportions to measure the Acidity. Much in the same way Swimming Pool water is tested for PH levels.

Every grape varietal ripens a bti differently. Some ripen early in the season, and others require much more sunlight or degree days.

Sugar. In order to provide a minimum structure/stability to a wine, it needs about 12% alcohol. A Brix (sugar) level of about 22 - 23 will produce 12+% alcohol.
Brix/sugar levels can be tested with a refractometer. It's a small handheld tool.
Basically you take a drop of fresh juice squeezed from a grape, onto a glass prism. A plastic flap then covers the drop of juice. You then look an eyepiece and examine the sunlight that flows through the grape juice covering your prism. The unit has a small scale that shows how the Brix level of the juice based upon how if filters the light. It is a relatively simple exercise.

The dilemna is that every vineyard ripens inconsistently. Grape clusters at the end of a row of grapes will ripen more quickly than clusters in the middle of a row. Even all the clusters on a single vine will ripen at different rates. As such a professional grape grower, when the choosing a time to harvest, will have some combination of perfectly ripe grapes, overripe grapes, and underripe grapes. They pick a time to harvest and then they clear the whole field. This is typically done very early in the morning. Once any fruit is harvested, a natural by product is to produce more sugar. Buying green banana's as an example then a few days later, they are sweeter and softer. Plus heat accelerates this sugar conversion, so the grapes are harvested when it's cool ideally.

I don't harvest all at once. I only harvest what is ripe. The last few years I have harvested by vineyard in thirds. I have learned which area of my vineyard ripens first, then I harvest just that area. Maybe a week later another portion of my vineyard is ready, and I harvest that next. Lastly, it still may be a few days later, or another week or two, then I'll harvest my last section of my vineyard.

This means I have to ferment each batch at different times, and believe it or not, each batch of grapes will produce it's own unique flavor and characteristics.

More to follow on this.

Harvest Year 2006

2006-05-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

2005, was an incredible year. Just about perfect growing conditions. Professional Winemakers have referred to this past harvest as maybe the best in the last 35 years in California.

2006 is likely to be bad for Valley growers due to all the rain. Foothill growers should be ok due to adequate drainage.

January, February, March. I added some amendments to the soil (lime - calcium carbonate) as my soil is too acidic, and I also added a low nitrogen fertilizer to help the vines through the winter and it also helps stimulate root growth. I use IRONTITE, which also has a small percentage of compound that helps with fruit set on the vine.

April. Pruning. I have a stack of cuttings that is probably 4 ft x 4 ft x 4 ft.
I have taken some pruning clinics. The vines don't always comply, so you have to train them to grow the way you want them to grow. Ideally you want one to two growth buds on your cordon spread 4 to 5 inches apart. The fewer number of buds means reduced crop size and limits the growth. I try to have no more than 16 - 18 growth shoots per plant tops. That means you could have 16 - 18 clusters per plant, but that places too much of a strain on the vine, so you are supposed to thin your crop (drop crop), so maybe you get 10 or so clusters.

I spray the cuts with a low soap solution, to help prevent disease or bacteria from invading the cut, and weakening the vine.

May. The buds have opened and the early flower clusters are forming. The vines always produce far more buds that I want, and they produce them in spots you don't want, so you have to remove them. Believe it or not, I walk through the vineyard every day for a month, pinching off grow shoots that are unwanted. This takes 4 - 5 hours a week.

June/July/August/September/October. More later.

Inspired by others

2006-05-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

After surfing the blogosphere, I've decided to post about something near and dear to my heart. I'll try to run through the lifecycle of winemaking, and give you a first hand view of the experience

I am a home vintner. I am a farmer, and I am a winemaker. These are my among my primary hobbies. A creative outlet so to speak. In a given year, I devote hundreds upon hundreds of hours tending the vines, pruning, pinching, training, fertilizing, dropping crop (thinning), cutting off wings (reducing the size of clusters).

I have 140 or so grapevines planted on a half acre of hillside land, southwestern facing, in the Sierra Foothills. The elevation here is about 2000 ft. All the vines are trellised. All the rows have been hand dug by myself, or my sons. It has taken the better part of 10 years to complete this work. The soil is a combination of rock, clay, with a little topsoil mixed in. Digging out the rows raises more questions than answers about the origins of the soil that you uncover shovel by shovel. Occasionally I come across ash levels, they provide evidence of past flash fires that roared through this land. I will find pockets of beautiful soil, and I wonder where that came from.

I do my best to amend the soil to ensure there are proper nutrients for the vines. Yet I have learned that grape vines need to struggle. In essence they are like weeds, as they will just about grow anywhere, however you need to keep them alive without coddling them too much. The more they struggle (within limits), the more likely they can produce special flavors.

Healthy robust, heavy bearning vines, produce ordinary wine. Vines that produce grapes grudgingly, produce someting very special.

Morality & Liberty

2006-05-04T08:27:00.000-07:00

"The Hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain nuetral in times of great moral conflict". (Dante, I believe)

“We have, in fact, two kinds of morality side by side; one which we preach but do not practice, and another which we practice but seldom preach.”
(Bertrand Russell)

“Morality is contraband in war.” (Mahatma Gandhi)

“Morality is the best of all devices for leading mankind by the nose”
(Friedrich Nietzsche)

"It is easy to perform a good action, but not easy to acquire a settled habit of performing such actions" (Aristotle)

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations" (James Madison)

"Liberty has never come from government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is a history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of limitations of government power, not the increase of it" (Woodrow Wilson)

The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts. -- (Edmund Burke)

"Force, violence, pressure or compulsion with a view to conformity, are both uncivilized and undemocratic". (Gandhi)

"The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion". (Edmund Burke)

Character

2006-04-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

GEORGE WASHINGTON (1732-1799)

"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder."

JOHN ADAMS (1735-1826)

The people "have a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge-- I mean of the character and conduct of their rulers."

DWIGHT EISENHOWER (1890-1969)

The qualities of a great man are "vision, integrity, courage, understanding, the power of articulation, and profundity of character."

CALVIN COOLIDGE (1872-1933)

"Character is the only secure foundation of the state."

WOODROW WILSON (1856-1924)

"If you will think about what you ought to do for other people, your character will take care of itself. Character is a by-product, and any man who devotes himself to its cultivation in his own case will become a selfish prig."

THEODORE ROOSEVELT (1858-1919)

"Americanism is a question of principle, of purpose, of idealism, of character. It is not a matter of birthplace or creed or line of descent."

ABRAHAM LINCOLN
"Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

"I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside me."

RONALD REAGAN (b.1911)

"You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jelly beans."

What would you do?

2006-04-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

I posted this query on II's site, and got no takers, so I'll post the scenario here.

Let's say you have a very close friend or close relative who commits a serious crime. You know them to be guilty of the crime, or you know there is very little doubt.

How far are you willing to go, to ensure they escape punishment?

Quote to consider

2006-04-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them, or to them."

--Malcolm Forbes

Hmmm. What would a neocon do? Ignore them, or spend "their" (deficits) money without asking, or strip any rights from them if they were the wrong lifestyle gay, or exploit them if they were an illegal immigrant, or illegally spy on them, or call them left wing wacko's if they were Democrats, or force them to have a baby if they were single and pregnant, or leave them behind if they happened to be in an under performing school.

The Gift of Yourself

2006-04-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

There is so much negativity in this world and so many damn things that piss me off, that I felt the need to redirect my thoughts toward the "glass if half full" mentality.

Read through this, then decide how to make a difference in someone's life.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a story to read, and for all of us remember we are all too damn busy
for our own good.

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

"Jack, did you hear me?"

"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.

"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.

"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.

"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said

"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.

"The box is gone," he said

"What box?" Mom asked.

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life" A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:

"Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."

The thing he valued most was...my time.

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.

"I need some time to spend with my son," he said.

"Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!"

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away,"

Think about this. You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.

1 At least 2 people in this world love you so much they would die for you.

2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.

3. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.

4 Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.

5 You mean the world to someone.

6. If not for you, someone may not be living.

7. You are special and unique.

8. When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won't get it, but if you remain patient, and continue living your life in a productive fashion, you will get it or something better. Life works in mysterious ways sometimes.

9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good can still come from it.

10. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: you most likely turned your back on the world.

11. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.

12. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

13. Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know and you'll both be happy.

14. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great.

Reflect upon the people you care about, if you do so, you will realize you can brighten someone's day.

I got this note via email today from a good friend, and it was too good not to share.

A.A.D.D.D.

2006-04-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

Da Sleeper can't take credit for this, just a cut and paste. Feel free
to forward along to your friends on other Blogs, or via email.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.
>
> This is how it manifests:
>
> I decide to water my garden.
>
> As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over
> at my car and decide my car needs washing.
>
> As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is
> mail on the porch table that I brought up from the
> mailbox earlier.
>
> I decide to go through the mail before I wash the
> car.
>
> I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk
> mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice
> that the can is full.
>
> So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and
> take out the garbage first.
>
> But then I think, since I'm going to be near the
> mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as
> well pay the bills first.
>
> I take my checkbook off the table, and see that
> there is only one check left.
>
> My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go
> inside the house to my desk where I find the can of
> Coke that I had been drinking.
>
> I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to
> push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally
> knock it over. I realize the Coke is getting warm,
> and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to
> keep it cold.
>
> As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase
> of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need
> to be watered.
>
> I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover
> my reading glasses that I've been searching for all
> morning.
>
> I decide I better put them back on my desk, but
> first I'm going to water the flowers.
>
> I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a
> container with water and suddenly I spot the TV
> remote Someone left it on the kitchen table.
>
> I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I
> will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember
> that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put
> it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll
> water the flowers.
>
> I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of
> it spills on the floor.
>
> So, I set the remote back down on the table, get
> some towels and wipe up the spill.
>
> Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I
> was planning to do.
>
> At the end of the day:
> the driveway is flooded
> the car isn't washed,
> the bills aren't paid,
> there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter,
> there is still only one check in my check book,
> I can't find the remote,
> I can't find my glasses,
> and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.
>
> Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done
> today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy
> all day long, and I'm really tired.
>
> I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to
> get some help for it, but first I'll check my
> e-mail.
>
> Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message to
> everyone you know, because I don't remember who I
> have sent it to.
>
>
> Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is
> coming!

Time for a Change (MODERATES RULE!!!)

2006-04-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

I think it is high time the true Moderates of the world start driving the discussion. The Wingnuts consider anyone who has a single "Liberal" view as a total Radical Left Winger, which is absolutely ludicrous. Frankly I am extremely conservative fiscally, and I have a few social issues where I have an open mind, ie, Liberal.

The point being is a large majority of Americans are moderates, and that is how we have to drive the conversation, and all of our communications, and all of our respective blogs have to portray those with a balanced view of life as Moderates, and bury the pigeon-holed view of Liberalism.

The Origin of civilization, order?

2006-04-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

II, , has posed a question about the influence of the English empire on the world. I'm going to use crude language to approach a related topic. It's easier for me to fall on common vernaculuar used today.

This made me think about the genesis of society or civilization itself. Mankind it seems, is driven by a thirst for knowledge, an intense desire to know why things happen the way they do. Man has never felt comfortable in the grand scheme of things that "shit happens" for no reason. Man is much more comfortable believing that "shit happens" for "a reason".. It could be "god's will".

The reason, always appears to be driven by a mysterious, and hidden spirit, god, power, or authority. Man has come to believe that they can influence the entity or entities, or at least believe they have to try to influence these entities, since no one every wants "shit just to happen". As a result we have elaborate rituals, sacrifices, prayer, etc. The rituals or human actions vary whether or not the higher power is benevolent, or not. The actions humans take as a result may be to get something to happen, or to not happen.

I bring this up, since mankind began to explore and understand what happened around them, a shared viewpoint began to emerge, via families, or bands or tribes of people.

"The meek shall inherit the earth" is a beautiful view, but the actions of those in power within belie this altruistic viewpoint.

The strong and powerfull always dominate the weak.

I'm venturing an idea. Man learned early on that it's easier to control, and exert influence on people by using the power of belief in higher athorities. The smart, learned to use this to their advantage. It is an age old game plan that has been repeated innumberable times.

Anyway, I am posturing that the "origin", the evolution of society is tied to man trying to explain or account for the unaccountable.

Acinipo, Espana (ruins of Roman amphitheatre)

2006-04-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

Sentenil, Espana (one of the white villages)

2006-04-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

Alcazar, Alhambra

2006-04-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

Gardens in Alhambra

2006-04-01T10:26:00.000-08:00

Rhonda 2, Espana

2006-04-01T10:25:00.000-08:00

Rhonda, Espana

2006-04-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

Alhambra

2006-03-29T13:14:00.000-08:00

Well I'll be a Monkey's Uncle

2006-03-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

Spain trip report(last spring)

2006-03-29T12:02:00.000-08:00

Stalin, the Monkey picture from Gibraltor is for you and II. She wants to see more pictures, and you want to see the relatives of the Grand Poobah. OOPS. Having difficulty getting the damn picture to import. Still working on it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah, we are back from Spain. Got back late Wednesday night last week. Worked Thursday, and Friday. Didn't really get over jet lag until Sunday.

We stayed 7 nights in a resort area, and 3 nights in small towns. The small towns
provided us the opportunity to get a better experience of the Spanish culture.

Highlights:

* Warm weather
* Great beaches
* Lodging in Ronda. A funky old hotel, literally hundreds of years old. 18 inch thick stone walls. Great views. Fully stocked wine cabinet (all you can
drink price included with the room). Amazing full breakfast/brunch.
* Good food/wine (expensive due to the weakness of the dollar vs the Euro, and
the fact we stayed in a resort area)
* Caves de Piletta - an hour tour in some caverns that have 20,000 year old
cave painting! High up in the Mountains and a pain to find. Rick Steve's directions stunk!
* Acinipo A Roman settlement build in the first century AD. The amphitheatre is
still standing.
* Ronda A small town in the Mountains divided by a River. The town was founded
over a 1000 years ago. One side of the town was Muslim/Moorish, and the
other Christian. There is a 300 foothigh (80 feet wide) stone bridge crossing the River and connecting the two halves of the town.
* Granada/Alhambra - Another City founded in the 700's after the Moors took control of Spain. Alhambra is amazing, staggeringly beautiful really. Inside the city
walls is a Castle/Fortification (Alcazar), and two Palaces, one Muslim and
one Christian. They also have uncovered the ruins of the little villages
inside the fortifications, where the workers lived. Huge beautiful gardens
everywhere, and amazing ancient fountains everywhere. Too much to see and
take in.
* Gibraltar - climbed the Rock to the top. Beautiful views of Morocco, and the Spanish Coast. Nice Pub's in town.
* Sentenil - one of the Pueblo's Blanco's (white villages). The village is in a gorge and the city and houses are actually built into the side of the cliffs in
caves, and hacked out of the rock.

Lowlights:

* Service was horrible in the Restaurants. I guess they are used to serving the super rich, so when ordinary Joe's come in, they treat you with a serious lack of respect, and attention.

The next to last night in Marbella, I had it out with the owner of the Restaurant, when they brought the bill to our table, the waiter threw the bill on the table, and threw it at my wife! We had just spent about 125 Euro's so it wasn't like we were Peon's.

* Too many butt ugly old farts with way too much money, with 18/19 year old hotties on their arms.

Socal

2006-03-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

The Intellectual Insurgent goes to San Francisco and Mr Sleep heads in the opposite direction.

Mr & Mrs Sleep spent the weekend visiting our eldest son, in San Diego. It was a combination of business and pleasure for both of us. Yours truly had meetings most of the day on Friday, in one of my Company's offices in the northeast part of the County, and my better half, had a Conference in the Hotel Circle area Friday and Saturday.

We had Dinner with our oldest son, on Friday, at a small local restaurant in the Pacific Beach area, and while his Mom worked on Saturday, #1 son and I played Golf at a newer Golf Course in Escondido. Golf is one of the few things that I share a common interest in with my sons. It's something we can just enjoy together. A chance for exchanging some good humored potshots, commiserating on bad luck (unlucky bounces, lost balls, etc.), or the pats on the back for the occasional good shot. Plus you get the opportunity to review the whole day in the 19th hole, and have a great "coulda, woulda, shoulda" review of your Round.

What's good about Golf, is it avoids many of the inevitable pitfalls of the Parent/Child relationship (parents constantly wanting the child to benefit from the experiences and learnings of the parent).

Our oldest son has always been one to go his own way in life. He has always patiently listened to his parents advice, and in the end say "Mom and Dad, thanks for the advice, but I think I'll do my own thing (paraphrased). We see him make choices we would cringe at, yet it is something all parents have to do. An example is when #1 son was caught wizzing on a Palm Tree while on Spring Break in Cancun a few years back by a Policia. Luckily for him, the officer accepted $40 U.S. as a payoff to prevent him being run into the Slammer.

While we all want things to happen perfectly for our kids, it is a pipe dream. Shit happens. They will never be able to learn from all of our experiences, and they will learn the hard way in more cases than we would prefer as parents but it is the way that life is, and should be.

II, yes, I did take some Digital photo's of the day, but haven't yet had the time to download them, as I didn't get home last night until after 9PM, and had to be up early to head back to the office today.

Can't compete with this one

2006-03-21T10:09:00.000-08:00

Good article in the Washington Post today comparing this Administrations misadventures in Iraq. The comparison is a family going on a trip. The trip in this case is Iraq, the father in this case is the President, and the family is the good old USA. The problem is this family embarked on this trip without getting a map. Dear Old Dad is sure he knows the way, despite the fact there are clues all along the way that we are no where near our destination. Now we are hopelessly lost, and Dad is saying well be patient, we'll get there, I don't know when, and it's going to take us a lot longer than I thought.

Stealin' from Stalin

2006-03-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

Sorry Sharky. I read a quote you placed upon website, and taken it, and added my own spin to it. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

It is good to see we have leaders in our Country who have a strong moral conviction, and embrace Religion wholeheartedly.

Our Federal elected officials when taking their oath of office place their hand on the Bible and swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States. It seems we have some officials who are a bit confused who instead think they are placing their hands on the Constitution swearing to uphold the Bible.

Religous scripture, whatever your orientation (the Bible, Book of Mormon, Koran, etc.) and the Constitution are needed in our society, but have to remain separate and discreet.

Our laws are designed to ensure we are accountable to each other in America. Our scripture teaches us to be accountable to our faith, and our Maker.

Missing in Action

2006-03-15T12:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry folks. Da Sleepmeister is absolutely buried in work, and traveling a lot, so while I may find the time to surf by your respective websites, I haven't had the time or inclination to put any serious thought into a post. Birdy, Stalin, ROR, JJ, and II have been doing the heavy lifting while I have been dogging it.

My wife and I did have neighbors over for dinner last Saturday night, and we drank wine, and talked till after midnight, which may not sound like much for youngsters, but us who are North of 50 aren't used to this.

One of the topics we talked about is entitlements, and the mentality of too many Americans, ie, what's in it for me, or what am I owed?

I'll go a long way to try to help somebody out if they are doing everything in their power to help themselves. A hundred years ago if you lost everything due to a natural catastrophe, or just rotten luck, you either fended for yourself, relied on family, or the help from your community.

Face it folks the Government is bankrupt, and we have to teach our youth, that they have to learn to fend for themselves. Plus it is impossible to put a value on building relationships, bonds, and friendships. You never know when you need somebody to give you a hand, and the fact is nobody owes you nuttin'. You reap what you sow.

It's comforting to know that there are people our there who you can count on unconditionally.

"elementary my dear Watson"

2006-02-22T13:47:00.000-08:00

I have shamelessly extracted this from an email sent to me today.

A major research institution has just announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element has been named "Bushcronium."
Bushcronium has one neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 224 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 311. These 311 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.
Since Bushcronium has no electrons, it is inert. It can be detected, however, as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Bushcronium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete, when it would normally take less than a second. Bushcronium has a normal half-life of multiples of four years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Bushcronium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.
This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to believe that Bushcronium is formed whenever morons reach a certain concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as "Critical Morass."
When catalyzed with money, Bushcronium activates Foxnewsium, an element which radiates orders of magnitude more energy, albeit as incoherent noise, since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.
Bushcronium can spontaneously transmute into Pandemonium.

Apology

2006-02-08T15:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry to the readers that swing by, but this deficit spending has to STOP. Enough is enough.

Cut up the credit cards. Create a revenue stream that pay's for what we spend and start paying off the deficit.

Entitlements. Two things, spend money smarter, and we have to slow entitlement growth in total dollars.

End these sweatheart deals with the Fat Cats. End all forms of Welfare.

Spread the word "RED IS DEAD!!!"

Sage advice

2006-02-07T10:59:00.000-08:00

An Old Farmer's Advice:
* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
* Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a respectable distance. (sorry I.I.)
* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.
* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.
* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word.
* Every path has a few puddles.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* The best sermons are lived, not preached.
* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

What the Dem's talking points should be

2006-02-04T06:34:00.000-08:00

It's easy really, like shooting fish in a barrel. Rove and Co. are experts at crafting a story, and DIRECTING the discussion. If the Dem's have any hope they have to get on the offensive and keep the publics eye on a critical few issues. Ready? Here they are.

1) Protect the troops, body armor, humvee armor, relief, reinforcements, vet's benefits.
- The Republicans and Congress can blow smoke all they want, but the fact is their
actions here are invisible. The Dem's should not argue about the war in Iraq.
Fergitaboutit, just talk solely about doing what's right for our armed forces.

Play up the fact war profiteers are making bizillions while our troops go without

2) Be equal in the need to root out terrorism, but be more focused in your arguments
- Bin Laden? Make him the poster child of the bad guy. Hamas the same thing. Every cause
needs a scapegoat a poster child.
- Play up the fact that this administration DROPPED THE BALL in the hunt for Bin Laden.

3) Fight like Hell for the Constitution
- Keep this message very simple, something the average Joe will understand

4) The Deficit and Tax cuts
- It's the Deficit stupid! Again a simple message stay on topic.
- Freezing Tax Cuts in the face of mounting deficits? It defies all logic. Every single American in this country can understand this one, so MAKE them understand

5) Energy policy
- Again this is so simple it's impossible to ignore. The Oil Company's are making GIGANTIC, RECORD PROFITS, and our energy policy as a Nation is to give THEM tax cuts? Come on, you can get the public riled up right quick here.

6) Corruption in Government
- Being on the take, cronyism, etc.
- Create one poster child too of Republican Pork, "The Bridge to No-where"

Those are the sweet six right there. The Republicans have ZERO defense for any of these, none.

The Republicans want to make the argument about Roe vs Wade, Gay marriage, Intelligent design, Liberal press. Don't let them. Tell the public exactly how the Republicans are focusing on these issues, and simply ask, "Why aren't they doing anything about the sweet six?".

Groundhog Day

2006-01-31T08:29:00.000-08:00

This year, Groundhog Day and the State of the Union address occur on the same day. As Air America Radio pointed out, "It is an ironic juxtaposition of events: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication while the other involves a groundhog."

Only in our case, it may just be another 6 years of "war" in Iraq.

King George da Foist, Flip Flopper

2006-01-26T11:22:00.000-08:00

The neo-conservatives took great pleasure in portraying John Kerry as Mr. Flip Flop during
the Presidential campaign of 2004.

Kerry is a rank amateur compared to Emperor Flip-Flip, GWB.

WMD's!!! Uh no WMD's!!!

Yellow cake!!! Uh no Yellow cake!!!

White House leakers will be fired!!! Uh no, we'll let to the legal process play out.

We're in Iraq because they threaten our National Security!!! Uh no, we're there for
freedom and democracy.

Iraq, Mission Accomplished!!! Uh no, we're turning the corner, Uh no, we have to be patient.

We've couldn't have foreseen levee's breached plus death and destruction due to Katrina!!!
Uh no, now we find out Homeland Security briefed the White House 48 hours in advance, forecasting breached levee's, flooding, death and destruction.

One week, "Brownie, your doing a great job!!! Next week, Brownie is gone.
One week, "Harriet Miers WILL be confirmed!!! Next week, Harriet is gone.

Osama Bin Laden is public enemy #1!!! Uh no, we're not worried about him anymore, uh no we NOW have to pay attention to him and his threats again.

In 2004, in a speech in Buffalo, we are told, Warrants are a necessary part of the Wiretapping process and it's important to support the protections provided in the Constitution. All the while knowing he had authorized Wiretaps without Warrants three years previously. (sorry, this wasn't actually a flip flop, it was a bold faced, outright LIE to the American public).

Saturday Live couldn't make this shit up.

Manufacturing fear

2006-01-20T08:48:00.000-08:00

"Desperate times call for desperate measures" appears to be the rallying cry of this Administration.

I consider this to be the conduct of desperate men.

The irony of all of this is that we now are in Iraq "for Freedom" while people in power in the U.S. intentionally erode our freedom's in order to maintain their powerbase over the Nation.

I have heard NO ONE argue with the logic of having the NSA, CIA, or FBI spy on potential or suspected terrorists. NO ONE says this is bad for America. All we're saying is follow the law, embrace the Constitution. Shit, you can get a Warrant, or Court approval "after the fact" in urgent cases.

Undercutting the Constitution and erode our freedoms, because you are too lazy, or just don't want to do the paperwork is inexcusable. I would like to think that more than a few of us are getting tired of the president's endless warnings about dangers to our national security. Keeping the citizenry under a pall of fear is a proven way of expanding executive power, increasing government controls and justifying huge expenditures to support current war policies. It's not that terrorists are not a problem, but that nipping away at the Constitution can ultimately become an even more serious threat to this nation. If we can now justify carrying on hostilities without an official declaration of war, excuse imprisoning suspects indefinitely, without indictments or due process, allowing the president executive privilege to keep policy decisions from the public under the cloak of protecting the national interest, allowing surveillance of citizens on the president's say alone, playing clever games with the use of torture selectively defined, then I can easily imagine many other dangerous encroachments on our democracy occurring in the future.

The Truth Hurts

2006-01-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

Our Constitution

They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we
just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's
worked for over 200 years and we're not using it anymore.

Ten Commandments

The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a Courthouse
is that you cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal", "Thou Shalt Not Commit
Adultery" and "Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges
and politicians! It creates a hostile work environment.

Good One

2006-01-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

Sitting together on a train, traveling through the Colorado Rockies, are a Red Stater (Dixie Hick), a Blue Stater (STS), an old lady and a young blonde woman. The train goes into a dark tunnel and a few seconds later there is the sound of a loud slap. When the train emerges from the tunnel, the Red Stater has a bright red hand print on his cheek. No one speaks. The old lady thinks: The Red Stater must have groped the blonde in the dark, and she slapped his cheek. The blonde thinks: That Red Stater must have tried to grope me in the dark, but missed and fondled the old lady and she slapped his cheek. The Red Stater thinks: The Blue Stater must have groped the blonde in the dark. She tried to slap him but missed and got me instead. The Blue Stater thinks: I can't wait for another tunnel, so I can smack that Red Stater again.

A country divided

2006-01-09T11:09:00.001-08:00

Let's see what's going on in the news right now.

NSA authorized wiretaps, with no oversight, despite avenue's being avail for appropriate "after the fact" warrants. Public debate if it's ok to bend the law or not, as in "it's ok as long as they only look at bad guys".

Abramoff scandal blowing open. Who's being investigated, and who actually took money directly from Abramoff?

DeLay stepping down. I did nothin' wrong, and I will be exonerated.

Scooter waiting for trial. Plea bargain in the works? Not likely.

Fitz still investigating Rove related to the Plame affair. Anybody else on the watch list? Cheney? Will there be a WMD investigation?

What happened to the search for Osama? Is he with Waldo?

Is the Mission accomplished? Have we turned the corner?

How are we going to deal with Iran?

Will the apologists keep apologizing, or will they actually draw a REAL line and stand on principal?

What will be the next Power Grab move?