Nom de plume: Rivrdog

How could I have missed this?

...this bumper-snicker is a year old and I hadn't seen one yet until the Best BBQ Chef in Texas referred me to it.

Obama moniker

I've already tired of writing "President-elect Obama", and I've not done it much yet, so, in the best military tradition, there WILL be a moniker.

First, the traditional: MFWIC/E, stands for MoFoWhatsInCharge/Elect. Hmmmm, too ponderous, even if it passes the accuracy standard.

Maybe POTUS/E? Naaaaah.

How about PzO/E, (for PrezO-elect) which can be shortened in 75 days to PzO?

THAT gets my vote.

PzO/E it is.

There's even some lefty political tradition behind this choice. "PzO" reminds us of the famous Sandinista (Nicarauguan) Marxist, Eden Pastora, better known by his nomme-de-guerre, "Comandante Zero". BTW, he ran for Presidente of Nicaraugua in 2006 as the leader of the "Alternative for Change Party".

Co-incidence?

Neither old cops or old flyboys believe in co-incidence. Not gonna start now, either.

Ageism wins again

I wake up this morning after a fitful night's sleep (did ANY supporter of the Constitution sleep well last night?) and I have a hangover.

Without benefit of a bender, I have a hangover. It seems real enough: mild headache, cottonmouth, upset stomach, but I had exactly ONE drink last night (a Screwdriver), at 1830 before I went to my first-ever political victory party.

That party was for Sheriff Skipper, who seems to have won a by-election to fill out the term of the departed (resigned in disgrace) Sheriff Giusto (the last Sheriff I worked for in '03 when I retired). With 31% of Multnomah County returns counted, Skipper has polled 82%.

The party broke up just after 9pm, and I watched election returns for a bit, then wrote my final intelligence report on the danger from riots (seems to have passed), then tried to go to sleep.

Tossing and turning all night. Yep, too many regrets. Just like a bad break-up.

I'll wager here and now I'm not the only soul of my age who failed to get a proper night's sleep last night, for these exact reasons.

Yesterday, the youth of the United States decided that they didn't need the advice of their elders any more, and that they could run the country without us.

The Anarchangel is the stats-man, and his patient work tells us just how we got shown the door.

Yep, I put this down to ageism. It's the third time for the kiddies, and they finally got their shit in one sock, and elected their man. They tried in 2000 with Gore, then again in 2004 with Kerry, but when they took Dick "The Turd" Daley's shill (and shilling), and signed on to the Good Ship Obama Nation, they got the right combination of white guilt, practiced piracy and a snake-charmer who manages to be everything to everyone without being anybody.

OK, kids, you've got the deck, and the conn, and Engineering. It's your ship.

Your old Captain (AND your Navigator) have just gone off watch, and this course leads directly onto the rocks and shoals, should you fail to navigate carefully.

Yes, readers, even though your Cap'n has a hangover, he DID properly turn the ship's command over, and that new watch-stander, just up for his first-ever watch, is in firm control of the M/V Exxon Valdez.

Change

Five times in my life, I have sworn oaths to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, and the people who it protects.

Five times.

For some reason, I had pause a little while ago to consider those five oaths, the first of which was on the 15th of March, 1967 as I enlisted in the USAF. On the 27th of May of that year, I raised my hand again and swore the same oath as a commissioned officer in the USAF. On January 12, 1973, I swore a similar oath as a Deputy Sheriff, adding only that I would also protect the people of Oregon and this State's Constitution, then again as I pinned the Deputy's star on my chest for the second time in 1985 after a 5-year leave of absence, then I re-enlisted in the USAF in May of 1986 and swore the Oath of Enlistment yet again.

Five oaths, and as I remember them individually, it occurs to me now that I didn't think about the words much at those times, only what I would be doing next.

Now, with the election of a man to the highest office in the land, a man who has expressed ideas so radical that they place our very Constitution in danger, I think of those words and those oaths.

He promises us "change". We know not what change we will get, but if it's a change away from the Constitutional principles which have guided us, more or less, since 15 March, 1967, I guess it's time to consider acting on those oaths as the threat becomes clearer.

I can't shake the feeling that thousands, maybe millions of people are waiting for those of us who took those oaths, to remember those oaths.

Election Eve

Dare we call it the last Free Day? Time will tell, but I have a to-do list to run, so I can't stay long.

• Fill my remaining fuel and water storage jugs and vehicles' tanks.
• Decide whose "election coverage" I'm going to (spit!) watch on TeeVee.
• Load my Winter Box onto the truck bed. It's snowing in the mountains now, and my area of last resort is east of the mountains out in the high desert.
• Load the B.O.B.'s in their own waterproof boxes and have them ready in the garage.
• Keep ears and eyes open.
• Stand by (I'm good at standing by, it was an essential skill in the USAF)

While I'm standing by, I'll occasionally go to this web site and listen to The Battle Hymn of the Republic. It's not the only version, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir does it beautifully here, but they changed one critical word in the lyrics, so it is not a true rendition. The film clips in this one, while giving the correct idea of the horror of hand-to-hand battle, start two wars too early (but aren't those great scenes from The Patriot?). The kids sing it best, and never forget that the correct line in the final stanza is "...let us die to make men free", not "let us LIVE to make men free".

Your Rivrdog is prepared. Your Rivrdog is hoping that he is not living The Last Free Day, but he knows exactly what to do if it is.

No more blogging until the results are in.

Tick, Tick, Tick....

I'm an old geezer, so I know how to wait out the clock. Right now, the clock is ticking down the hours until the polls open on the East coast next week. I make it 174 hours and some minutes....

I can wait, because I have plans for all eventualities.

Here they are, the basics only. Caliber of essential firearms not included.

Option One: Obama wins in a landslide. Jubilation on the Left for a few days, then the Pe-loser will try to get Bush to agree to starting on the Obama Grand Plan even before the bloke is inaugurated, and that will backfire on her and Harry Reid. The inter-regnum will be the primary subject of the media as well as the disintegrating economy. Relative peace will prevail here before Inauguration Day.

Option Two: Obama wins in a squeaker, and the Congressional results do NOT give the Pe-loser a supermajority, or Harry Reid either. Bad cop, no donut. The ineffectiveness of the ObamaNation starts even before Inauguration Day. Grumbling, but still peace in the streets. The Congress goes back to the GOP in 2010, and the Presidency in 2012. President Palin kicks butt for 8 years!

Option Three: Obama wins, but the Berg lawsuit tosses him out (after it gets to the CONSERVATIVE SCOTUS). Bush remains President until 1159 EST 1/20/09 and then???? As I see it, Biden can't accede to POTUS because Obama was never President. The SCOTUS decides. That makes Pe-loser President. She cocks it up, badly (but so would Biden if he got in). Rioting in the ghettos goes on for months, but is contained to the ghettos because Joe Sixpack forms militias to protect what's HIS. ALTERNATIVE CONCLUSION: Rioting gets OUT of the ghettos because the 20 million illegals decide it's in THEIR best interest to revolt also (that "La Raza" thing, remember?). Bitter battles are fought over neighborhoods, thousands are killed, but the militias win the day, eventually unite as a party, and demand Pe-loser step down, and she does! The Supremes wisely decide that a new election is in order, and it is held in the Spring. By the time it is held, most of the Mexicans are back in Mexico, revolting against the government THERE, and there is actually a clean election, which puts common sense conservative populism in charge of the Presidency AND the Congress. Only 18% of incumbents are re-elected to Congress.

Option Four: Obama loses in a squeaker. The ghettos riot, and the Mexicans join them. Militias form and contain the violence to the inner cities even though the po-po won't act. Bush seems to have had a stroke, but upon further review, it's just normal Bush. Inauguration Day comes around, and Bush's last act is to have two Army divisions in DeeCee with orders to maintain order at ANY cost. McCain can't stand the strain after swearing in, and after two months in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Bethesda Naval Medical Center, he resigns and President Palin is sworn in. Immediately, riots start again, but last less than two weeks with the "green light" given to all forces on riot duty. It seems that the boyz from the 'hoods don't really have the stomach for revolution when they're being shot on sight, and after the stores run out of Plasma TeeVees and beer, they just sulk and soon the local cops restore order, having been given "green lights" of their own. Some nasty relations prevail between the (D)onks and POTUS Palin, but in the 2010 elections, the (D)onks lose the majority in both chambers, a new era of common-sense populism prevails, and seems to suit the entire nation, because in the 2012 elections, Palin is returned with 49 States electing her, only Oregon with it's 54% State income tax (on the remaining few people who didn't flee) bucking the trend. The New Republicans sweep the House and Senate, and only 18% of incumbents of EITHER party are re-elected.

OK that's MY punditry for the next week. Make sure you vote, I already have.

Pick one option and act on it, or just dither like 85% of you will do anyway, and have to react to the crisis instead of being in charge of your destiny when it happens.

Mr. Rivrdog has voted

...and I held my nose, voted for McCain/Palin, and RINO Senator Smith. They got my vote ONLY because I would rather compromise THAT principle than have to think about any sudden conversions of the nation to socialism. Yeah, I am a frog, just takin' a bath here, would you mind putting some more hot water in my bathtub? No other incumbents at any level got my vote, though. No tax measures made it past my veto pencil. I did vote for an open primary initiative, an initiative to scrap building permits for small home improvements and an initiative to give property-crimes crooks (read: methheads) determinate sentences which they will have to flat-time. Yeah, yeah, I just taxed myself to build more prison beds eventually, but I don't mind that. The methheads will now move to WA, so arm up, Phil. I also voted to give immigrant kids 2 years to learn English in school, and then cut off their bilingual education money.

Voting's done. It's all over but the shouting, and I won't listen to any of that anymore. I might listen to political commentary again on Nov 5th, maybe not, might be too busy overwatching the kill zones around my property when the riots start on or just after Election Day.

BTW, on that subject of politics, a news flash this morning claims that someone has blown the whistle that computers only accessible to government agents were used to dig up info on "Joe the Plumber", for political purposes. Get used to it America. Do you think that will stop with Joe? I don't. Dime gets you a dollar that no one will see any jail time for THAT political crime.

So, f**k it, just f**k it. I polished off all my ordinary Scotch after voting, so a trip to the Green Front (state liquor store) is required. I'll use the one in the little town of Scappoose, where my yacht sits nestled in her berth, because tonight I'm going to dress up like a pirate at MCYC's Halloween Party and imbibe a bit more. One thing I can be sure of with an Obama administration is that liquor sales won't be banned anytime soon. Joe Stalin held the USSR together with his secret police AND cheap vodka.

Time to stir my bones, and get down the road to the 'Poose.

Arrrgh, mates. What was the name of Ayn Rand's pirate-hero in "Atlas Shrugged"?

My voting plan

I have a plan for voting in the coming elections. It's simple. It has three steps of evaluation. I'll outline it here for you.

Step One: Is the candidate an incumbent? Of any party? If so, go on to Step Two. If not, examine their record, THEN go to step two.

Step Two: While campaigning, or in public life preceding the campaign, has the candidate (of any party) told even ONE lie in aid of their campaign (or previous office, etc)? If so, they do not get my vote. If not, go to Step Three.

Step Three: One of three things will happen now. First, the incumbents have all been eliminated, either in Step Two (there are DAMN few incumbents who've NOT told lies in support of their campaigns) or by the natural choice of a more honest candidate (of any party). Second, the candidates have now been sorted out by their integrity, which should be the natural thing, but was weaned out of politics after the Great Depression. Third, your choice of who to vote for should be obvious now, as there will either be a candidate of integrity or there will be none such.

Background:

Eighty or more years ago, political parties meant less, and the integrity of the politicians meant more. The exception was in the ghettos of the large Eastern cities, where machine politics took root early, before Civil War One. In the towns and villages and hinterlands, true representation was the rule, and those representatives were men of integrity (sorry ladies, you didn't have the opportunity back then). Of course, a REAL work ethic was held by almost the entire population, because the Constitution didn't include alms like some have interpreted it to in recent times, and if you didn't work hard you starved. Starvation is not pretty. To be a true representative of your little corner of the Nation, your first requirement was integrity. If you did not have it, and have it to the maximum, you usually didn't earn the vote of your peers (except in the aforesaid Eastern city ghettos).

ALL OF THE GOOD THINGS ABOUT YOUR COUNTRY THAT YOU HAVE READ ABOUT IN THE HISTORY BOOKS OR HEARD AT YOUR GRANDPARENTS' KNEE, HAPPENED BECAUSE OF INTEGRITY.

Integrity is the key ingredient to Democracy. The lack of integrity introduces the possibility (probability as time goes on) of tyranny.

So, there you have it, readers. It's all about Integrity. We will never restore the proper role of the Constitution to it's proper place in the governance of our society without requiring that our Representatives be people of Integrity.

I've already been hollered at by a close friend and advisor for even thinking of not voting GOP, because (horrors!) it will allow the (D)emocrats to rule the nation with an absolute majority, and have their way with us AND the Constitution. Yes they will, and as they do, they will be seen as people who lack integrity. That lack of integrity will, soon enough, severely gall those of us who believe that our leadership MUST have integrity.

When we have been galled badly enough, we WILL rise and rid ourselves of those who lack integrity.

It won't take all that many folk of integrity to toss out those without that quality, because, with few exceptions, those who lack integrity also lack the spine for a fight.

Some have even affixed a percentage of people of integrity that it will take to prevail over the corrupt ones:

III.

Spinning Ayers

The Democrats are in full spin mode on the subject of Ayers (and other subjects). It's curious, since the spinmeisters refer to him as "distinguished professor" instead of what he was, a founding leader of a domestic terror organization.

We oldsters remember the Weather Underground. I remember it well, because opposing the group cost me a job. I'd reveal the particulars, but like Ayers, the principal involved is now well-placed again, and in this Liberal town, many lawyers would volunteer to help him sue me.

Let's just say that I got a measure of satisfaction, for both the WU principal and I were in military action at the same time. I flew as Wave Lead Navigator for a wave of 18 B-52s on an interdiction bombing mission into Cambodia to destroy most of the stored fuel that the NVA would have had available for their planned offensives in the Central Highlands (some NVA armor was used there for the first time in the war). The Weather Underground blew up a bomb at the Pioneer Courthouse, which housed (and still does) part of the 9th Circuit.

How easily the ObamaYouth hordes forget that this domestic terrorism was more prolonged and used more bombs than any since.

It's strange that our society will refuse to forgive a Nazi concentration camp guard whose war crimes go back over 60 years, but they easily forgive one of the founding members of the Weatherman group.

I put that down to the selective memory, a form of selective ethics, of the Democratic Party.

Debate this!

The final Presidential candidate's debate is tonight. I'll have to listen to it on the radio on earbuds because I'll be in a meeting.

The subject is supposed to be the proposed economic policies of the two candidates, but I'm not holding my breath that Obama won't discuss primarily the economic policies of President Bush, since bashing Bush, not running against his opponent, has been his primary modus operandi for the whole campaign.

I REALLY want to hear proposed economic policy discussed though, because we've just been hit with one barrel of a double-barrel drive-by: the stock market collapse. The other barrel, of course, is the recession and how deep and long it will be, so the proposed policies of the candidates is really their most important discussion to the voters.

I just watched CNBC's pre-market-opening program, and they had the biz-whizzes for both candidates on. Nothing new there, with the (D) guy accusing the (R) guy of simply presenting "more Bush". Obama HAS presented some specific ideas, and I can buy into them, but his idea of insisting on starting up a trillion-dollar health care program during a recession has me wondering what the man smokes (when no one's looking).

Look, it's bad enough that the (R) President thought he had to spend well over a trillion bucks trying to re-inflate the deflated banking industry WITHOUT fixing any of the leaks in said industry first, but the very idea of dragging the economy down further by bringing in a whopping deficit item like a nationalized health care system seems absurd during these down times. It is hard to swallow during boom times, but when small business owners are probably eating cornmeal mush just to keep their doors open, hammering them with any additional tax to "fund" health care seems like a non-starter to me, but hey, maybe it would work in Chi-town, the one place where economics seem to be re-invented repeatedly (the first derivatives trading was on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange).

What I will be waiting for also is some discussion, hopefully by McCain, of just how the current idea of the Feds buying up/into banks passes Constitutional muster. The whole idea seems to be a rehash of an FDR initiative which was never used, and therefore never struck down by the SCOTUS as were all his other ideas to have the Feds take over the economy. There is every reason to believe that had FDR actually started buying up banks as Bush2 wants to do (and both candidates find OK), the SCOTUS would have nixed that idea along with the WPA and the other programs he invented. I'd wager some good money that our present SCOTUS would also strike down the "TARP" if it was brought before them, since it seems to thrash the Tenth Amendment quite soundly, and maybe the "takings" clause of the Fifth as well.

We've heard precious little support for the Constitution during any phase of any debate so far, so maybe I'm expecting a little too much from these two men, both of whom seem to have their own ideas of how to bend it, and little thought of how to enforce it as written. I'm sort of surprised that some conservative group or other hasn't sued the Feds yet over their decision to put hobnailed boots to the economy to try to make it conform to the Socialist world's economies. If I could duke in just ONE question for the candidates to expound on, it would be, "Gentlemen, since the Founders obviously followed a "laissez-faire" economic policy, and wrote nothing into the Constitution about bailing out or buying banks, etc, how would your Administration justify continued support of a policy that seems to be one hundred and eighty degrees out of phase with the original intent of the Constitution?"

I am NOT holding my breath that this question would ever be asked or would be answered if it was. Remember, I was, and still am, in favor of the original "lockbox" idea of the Treasury buying up the worst of the bad debt instruments, but although it's been mere days since that simple idea was first broached, the mess we've adopted in it's place bears no resemblance at all to the basic idea, and with every passing day, seems to put the Constitution farther and farther behind it.

Hopefully, we can remind the politicians of their first responsibility, to uphold the Constitution, on November 4th, but I'm not holding my breath on that, either.

I AM practicing holding half-breaths for five seconds, though.