Below is worth a few minutes of your time, via SDA



Also, an interesting article here regarding how democrats worked in California to subvert direct democracy, via Instapundit. It's worth reading and then reflecting on why the democrats win elections they should by all rights loose. Until republicans and others at the center or right wake up, we had better be prepared to lose, time and again. Why? Because they are willing to do what ever it takes to win. It is their only goal.

The Ruptured Duck

A vintage C-47

Happy Thanksgiving

First and foremost, I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving. We still have a lot to be thankful for. There are many throughout the world who wish they could be so fortunate as to be in the bottom rung demographic in this country.

There’s something else I would like to say on this Thanksgiving. I direct this to all of the so called experts, consultants, pundits and other assorted professional talking heads who, since the election have bemoaned the fate of our republic. Who have accepted that there has been a major demographic shift. Who fear that this country has irreversibly shifted to the left, or that we now live in a ‘post constitutional’ country, based on this past election. To them I say, sit down and shut your bleating pie-hole!  Quit crying and act like grown men (or women) for God’s sake.

Before I go further, let’s look at some numbers.  Below you see the voting results for three elections, 1972, 1984, and 2012.  In 1972 and 1984 there were resounding republican victories, while 2012 was a narrow victory for the democrats. Also note that the ’72 and ’84 percentage of population shown below was for the entire population because I couldn’t find figures for the voting age population like I did for 2012.

                         1972                    1984               2012

Rep	47168710	54455472	59,634,071
Dem	29173222	37577352	63,448,632
Other	1402095	620409
Tot.	77744027	92653233	123,082,854
Pop.	209896021*	235824902*	234,564,410**
% of Pop.	37.04	39.29	52

*indicates the entire population
** indicated voting age population only

Sources:
 http://www.npg.org/facts/us_historical_pops.htm
http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1972
http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1984

First, note that according to the 2010 U.S. Census, the total population was 308,745,538.  So the number who voted, were approximately 39.9% of the total population. That’s roughly equivalent to the ’72 and ’84 turnouts.

Second, the number of votes difference between Obama and Romney was 3,814,410, that's 1.63% of the eligible voting population.  The difference in ’72 was 17,995,488, and the difference in ’84 was 16,878,120. Both ’72 and ‘84’s amounts are over five times greater than the 2012 difference.   

Yet here sit the republicans walking around shell-shocked, or crying and blubbering silly shit like this quote, “I am not alone, I know, in sensing a fateful shift in the temper, the emotional weather, of America. I cannot pretend to know what it portends.”  

Give me a break. How do you think the democrats felt after the far worse ass-kickings they got? Did they decide that the best course of action was to cave-in on the important issues and act more like republicans?

The cold hard facts are that this election was against a weak president with no accomplishments and a gob-smacked economy, it was the republican’s for the taking, and they didn’t just lose it, they threw it away. Two easily winnable senate seats, (Missouri and Indiana) were lost because the republicans nominated two of the stupidest candidates they could have found. Todd Aiken and Richard Mourdock were utterly stupid and clueless.  A weak field of presidential candidates devolved into the least unpalatable candidate.

The other hard fact the republicans do not want to face is that in this fight, the other side wanted it more than they did. The other side saw its objectives and went after them, with a will to win. The other side was willing to fight harder & dirtier and do whatever it took to win. Period. The democrats analyzed the electorate and what it would take to snag a sufficient majority in the key states to win sufficient electoral votes. They did their demographic homework, mobilized their ground game and ran the nastiest, most negative, issues free  campaign in recent memory.  Not only that, but over the years, they didn’t just sit and bemoan their fate, they built their base, they organized. It was a long march and it enabled them to pull out an election they should have taken a drubbing on similar to the ’72 and ’84 ass kickings they got.

The republicans, while talking a good game, were out hustled and out fought and lost an election that was ripe for the taking. (Let me have men about me that are fat, Sleek-headed men and such as sleep a-nights. Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous.)  They got what they deserved. When you listen to them, you get this sneaking suspicion that they really don’t believe what they’re saying. They don’t really share the values they talk about. They’re just saying it because they think it’s what you want to hear. In the country clubs, senate drawing rooms and elsewhere, where the public usually isn’t around to hear, they really agree with and have more in common with the democrats than with the citizenry.  They seem resigned to the democrats vision of America as a sinking ship and their main objective is to ensure they go down first class.

 Just remeber one thing, in spite of a lackluster republican campaign, inspite of a mainstream media that was the defacto publicity arm of the democrat party, despite the rampant vote fraud, the democrats only won by 1.63% of the votes cast.

I won’t go into what I think they need to do to re-tool their brand and get back in the game. There are others who have far more eloquently delved into those issues. But do it, either the republicans or a new party, must. I wonder how many have the sand for it?

Go eat some turkey, we’ve all had enough crow to last us for a good long time.

Please watch this it's worth a few minutes of your time. hat tip: Instapundit


Hat Tip: Protein Wisdom:

 

 

Finally, some more Spiderbait

The Leaf

Food for thought;

Hat tip: Newsalaert.blogspot.com

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that in 59 Philadelphia precincts, Mitt Romney did not receive a single vote. So Ward Room decided to look at the results in the president’s hometown, and see if he won as many shutouts here. The answer: no. Romney was rejected by every voter in only 37 Chicago precincts, an embarrassing result, given that segregation and Machine politics are two of our city’s most notable qualities.

Any doubt there was some vote fraud? Check out this comment on NBC Chicago's website:

In critical swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois there are a lot of precincts in Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Chicago which reported 100% of their votes cast for Obama. These add up to many 10's of thousands of votes for Obama and 0 for Romney. I repeat, 0 for Romney. I have read a number of articles about this and people knowlegable in Political Science and Statistics are starting to take notice of this.Statistically, even if among 10's of thousands of voters all wanted to vote for Obama, it would not be possible to receive 100% of the vote because at least a few would make a mistake and vote incorrectly for Romney. Not to mention the fact that a least a few of those 10's of thousands might actually disagree with Obama. These types of election returns are only seen in countries run by dictators.

Just a reminder to those who want to get rid of the electoral college: corrupt Chicago voting practices could and would determine an election. Vote fraud occurs in Chicago because the U.S. Attorney doesn't want to conduct a simple investigation of those 37 precincts. Is there similar hand writing on any of those ballots ? Did any dead people vote ? Since Chicago lost 6.9% of its population in the 2010 Census : were any of those 37 precincts in the declining population wards? Maybe, if Chicago had a legitimate U.S. Attorney some of these questions would be answered. No word on this story from "alleged" former crime fighter and Obama "protector" Patrick Fitzgerald. Is Barack Obama and the U.S. Attorney's Office afraid of this milk story???

One more item to chew on, 

Sandy Daze Sees The Future: "They will move faster now.... They are not bound by any law."

November morning in Ohio

Taken last week while in Ohio. Walking on the old towpath trail north of Canal Fulton.

In other news, the replacement at the CIA for General Petraeus is to testify CIA never requested military assistance in Benghazi.

How curious, (quoting from the above referenced article) since Fox news' "Jennifer Griffin reported on October 26th, citing sources that were actually “on the ground” in Benghazi during the attack, that the CIA contingent repeatedly requested assistance — but were told to “stand down” twice by officials in the CIA chain of command."

 OK, is it me, or does Petraeus's replacement ( Michael Morell) bear a startling resemblance to Lavrenty  Beria?

Photo Friday Challenge

Constructed

Taken in Ohio during a recent trip back there.
I have no idea what these buildings were for.
Nor was I able to get inside as they were locked up tight.

Vacancy!

Hope & Change

The Resie Falls

This is a photo of the reservoir in N.E. Massillon, Ohio where Sippo creek originates. I grew up near here and can remember when I was 8 years old, walking across the top of the falls. I and a friend were about 5 feet back from the edge. We took off our shoes and were walking on the slimy and slippery rocks of the spill way from the left to the right. The water was about four to six inches deep. It seemed so much bigger then. 

Late Afternoon in America

First, today is Vetran's Day. A thanks to everyone who has served their country.

Took a trip to Ohio this past week, to visit family. This is I an HDR image of the courthouse in Millersberg, hand-held.  My old stomping grounds of Wayne, Holmes, and western Stark counties.

Being back in Ohio for the election was quite interesting, and depressing. The majority of the area in Ohio was solid Romney country, or should I say, anti-Obama country. However, once you went into large cities, you were in solid Obama country. Not so much the suburbs, but especially in the poorer sections and campuses. In all my running around the countryside, I saw very few Obama signs in rural areas or small towns. I saw no Romney signs in poor sections of Canton, Akron, etc.

I think we've reached a tipping point in this country where the takers now outnumber the makers.

As the famous quote goes, 

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess of the public treasury. From that time on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the results that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship....

The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from great courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependence; from dependency back again to bondage." 

:	Sir Alex Fraser Tytler (1742-1813) Lord Woodhouselee, Scottish jurist, professor and historian
Source:	supposedly from The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic, c.1799 but no book has been found.

Elsewhere, I saw this attributed to Alexis De Tocqueville.  Authentic or not, it aptly describes the situation today.

Then there is  this.

To loosely paraphrase from another famous quote, "For the first time in my life, I am not optimistic about the future of this country."

Autumn Sunset

Mt. Redoubt with Mt. Iliamna on the extreme left.


For your Saturday night viewing, Spiderbait's Black Betty

Evening Light

Another photo from Tuesday evening's walk.  Last night, my daughter and I took another late evening walk to another vantage point to shoot some photos.  Had I read this I might have reconsidered. No wonder we didn't see anyone else out.

Evening walk in the woods

Taken Tuesday evening (10/23/12) while walking along the Potter Creek Trail at almost sunset. A three exposure HDR. I like the low angle 'sunset' light. The last week the weather's been clear and it's been beautiful. But once that sun went down it got cold, fast. I've always felt blessed to be able to live in Alaska. Evenings like this reinforce that feeling. 

Knik River From Atop Bodenburg Butte

Autumn Colors

Denali & Foraker From Anchorage

I took this two weekends ago. I was almost back to the trail-head and paused to record the view. Since then, it warmed up the following week and the snow is gone, but it has now gotten cooler and it's ready to keep the snow for a while the next time we get it. Foraker is on the left and Denali is on the right. That's Mt. Crosson in the middle I believe.

For your Saturday night viewing pleasure.
(Hat Tip to: The Other McCain)

Mood: Resigned

From this past January. This old fellow displayed how winter wears on everyone.

Dall Sheep

A photo of two Dall sheep. Not to be confused with mountain goats.
Though it can be very easy to do.

One Year Later, (Plus)

Last Friday (9/21/12) I posted a view from the porch taken a year earlier. My intention was to post a photo from exactly one year later. Oh well, I didn't make it. So anyway, here's another VFP taken this morning. Snow we accumulated a few inches, though it melted away after the sun came out later in the morning.

Clouds

Autumn Colors

This photo was taken on 9/28/11.  Next Friday it'll be one year to the day. I'll post the same view. Same image exactly one year apart. Here's hoping it hasn't been like the rest of this month, rainy, windy, & overcast.

Mt. Redoubt in the distance

On a sunny day. A closer view is here .

Heading Down

Wind Power

After all the bad weather, it was nice to have clear, crisp, and sunny days again.  there was a light frost this morning too, but it warmed up quickly. So, I grabbed my mountain bike and decided to take a little ride to a trail just a few miles up the road (and hill) from our home.  I took this along the way. This is the wind farm under construction on the south end of Fire Island.
I'll post more pics from today's ride in the next couple of days.

Big Wind

Tuesday, Anchorage had a huge wind storm. Much of town was out of power. Some areas still are as of today. We were out from around mid-night to 10:30 the following morning and we were lucky.
anyway, I took this during the big blow. Some areas on the hillside had gusts of 130mph.
It was shot at;
ISO: 200
Av: f16
fl: 27mm
Exp: 0.3sec.
Slow, yes. I was trying to somehow convey the force of the wind.

Fall Has Arrived!

A little early and with quite the fanfare. I took this on Labor Day. It was quite windy. This is a 3 image composite HDR and if you look, you can see ghosting on some of the branches. But I still like this photo, so I posted it.  Another front is blowing through today, up on the hillside up to 100mph gusts are forecast. Presently it's raining at our house and very windy. Expected crappy weather all week. But it makes for beautiful skies and lighting.

Speed

My daughter (45, Orange) finally caught the ball carrier, preventing a touchdown. Orange won the game.

Hands!

It's that time of year again. This is West High's JV girls flag football team against Chugiak. The West girls lost this game 13-0. I apologize for the somewhat blurry photo, but I had the aperture set too small and consequently slowed the image capture down. Even at 1000 ISO. But I liked this photo, so here it is.

Preview of Coming Attractions

Back after a short hiatus courtesy of modem and network issues. You never realize how much we have com to depend on the internet until you don't have it anymore.

More of those mad-cap main-stream media antics!!!  I suspect it's those layers of editors & fact checkers at work again...

 

Alas much sadder, rest in peace Neil Armstrong.

Dining Out

Something below from Paul Rahe, which pretty well sums one of the main reasons the country is turning its collective back on the democrats. Despite Obama's and his fluffing media's insistence on the non-issues of Romney's tax returns and on his time at Bain, the momentum has swung and the democrats appear to be headed for a serious and stunning defeat at the poles. That is unless major vote fraud, or some form of 'national emergency' occurs, and don't rule that out.

How Hatred Became a Liberal Value

Paul A. Rahe · 

Politics is generational. Consider the thuggery practiced by the Democrats recently in Wisconsin. Force, intimidation, and openly partisan, unprofessional conduct on the part of judges, civil servants, physicians, and policemen became on the part of left-liberals the order of the day, and no one on the left stood up to denounce this conduct. Now, thanks to our President’s admiration for the tactics of Saul Alinsky, others in other states are imitating the deportment of the Wisconsin left-liberals – not only heckling Republican candidates but attempting to storm the platforms on which they speak.

I remember when left-liberals insisted on civility. I remember when they condemned the tactics of intimidation championed by the New Left. I remember when progressives insisted on impartiality on the part of judges, civil servants, policemen, and those who purported to be reporting the news (as opposed to espousing opinion). There were always exceptions to the rule. Dan Rather was playing tricks as early as 1963. But, when caught and exposed, these exceptions took it on the chin. Today they rarely even apologize.

I remember when liberals sported on their automobiles bumper stickers reading, “Hatred is not a Family Value.” Then, back in 2003, in The New Republic, Jonathan Chait wrote an essay explaining why it was legitimate to hate George W. Bush, and the dam burst. Civility is no longer a liberal ideal. And now – as yesterday’s armed attack on the Family Research Council in Washington, the five-hour delay in President Obama’s condemnation of the act as he calculated whether it was in his interest to comment or not, and the mainstream media’s initial reluctance to report on the event, much less highlight the activist LGBT connections of the shooter suggest – left liberals are willing to wink at violence. It may be regrettable, they think, but, like stealing elections, it is all in a good cause – and before figuring out how to respond to an outbreak of violence on the part of their allies, they pause to calculate the political consequences. You will not hear liberals arguing for a crackdown on the use of force by animal-rights activists, environmental activists, union thugs, and the Occupy movement. Instead, you will find in them a desperate hankering to pin on the Tea Party responsibility for conduct the Tea-Partiers abhor and a willingness to engage in race-baiting and talk of class warfare on a stunning scale.

The truth is that it is a short distance from the hatred preached by Jonathan Chait to assassination, and five and six years ago there was a great deal of open, public fantasizing along these lines by left liberals.

 Don't forget, as the democrats wish you would, this is what the elections about, not Romney's tax returns. The democrats are trying to put us on the same road as Greece.

Breezy

Dine & Dash

Ofcourse, if you're this guy, you don't really need to dash...

Where did the time go?

My daughter has hockey tryouts tomorrow. It seems like we just ended last season. Here begins another long slog to March...

Powerline Pass

An evening view, looking north across Powerline Pass. This is an HDR image composed of three exposures. It was taken hand-held, I was bicycling with my daughter up the trail one evening  and had to stop to take in the evening view.