The Lee Shore

Here's a great wingsuit clip...

Anchorage Saturday Morning 3/01/2014

A three exposure HDR composit taken with my Canon 7D, a Tamron 18-270 lens, ISO:100, bracketed at -2,0,2.  No polarizer.

The fog lies low over the water of Knik Arm.  Spring is coming!

1930 Packard

The Hudson

Two interesting articles below....

America Didn't Decline. It Went Global  (found on Politico, but interesting none the less)

By Sean Starrs | 2/24/2014

We’ve been obsessing over the decline or persistence of American power for more
than three decades now. The latest example is a Gallup poll out Monday
showing rising dissatisfaction with the United States’ standing in the world —
but it all started with a wave of declinism in the 1980s, set off by the rise of Japan. Then the
doom and gloom suddenly vanished amid the triumphalism of the 1990s, which
transformed the United States into the world’s only superpower. After the Sept. 11 attacks
and the invasion of Iraq, many thought “empire” was a better moniker, with the United
States apparently able to reshape world order virtually at will. And then just a few years
later — poof! — declinism returned with a vengeance, with American power supposedly
crashing like the latest Hollywood reality queen. China supplanted Japan as a hegemon on
the rise, and the biggest global financial crisis since 1929 — emanating from the United
States itself — was allegedly the final nail in the coffin of the American century.

But really? Is it really possible for American power in the world to flip-flop so wildly over
the decades? Surely, the economic underpinnings of national power run deeper than that?
And throughout these waves of conventional wisdom over the decades, there have always
been contrarians, including in the present. So how is it possible for commentators to look
at the same data and come to completely opposite conclusions?

Lynn Canal

Over the Top

Via Insatpundit;

New Day Dawning...

My apologies for posting several pictures of the same scene (though I rather like them or I wouldn't post them), but with my knee finally feeling better, I will be getting out & about more.

Here is a little tidbit I received via e-mail from a weight lifting site I subscribe to;
Read it and ask yourself, could you imagine Obama doing that?
Hell, could you imagine Obama even spending time with wounded soldiers?

The last time he went to Afghanistan, he met with Marines only after they had been disarmed.
American Marines, disarmed before being allowed in the same building with the American president.
The mind reels...

With today being President's day, here's
a presidential feat of strength that you
probably haven't heard before:
*******************************************
On the day of April 8th, 1865, President
Lincoln was at a Union Army field hospital
in Virginia. spending hours shaking hands
and greeting thousands of wounded soldiers.
At the end of that long day, he spotted an
ax and walked over to it.
He was able to grip the ax by the very end
of the handle and hold the 7-pound tool
parallel to the ground, motionless.  He was
56 years old at the time.
"Strong men who looked on, men accustomed
to manual labor, could not hold the same
ax in that position for a moment," wrote
Francis Fisher Browne, a Union soldier who
authored a biography called "The Every-Day
Life of Abraham Lincoln."
Lincoln performed this feat on several
occasions and it was never mentioned
that anyone could duplicate it.

View From the Porch 1-25-2014

Via Instapundit...

Greatness, Past & Present

The trans Alaska Pipeline.
Construction on the Trans Alaska pipeline began on March 27, 1975 and was completed on May 31, 1977. It's approximately 800 miles long and crosses some of the roughest, coldest, most remote country in North America. It has survived earthquakes, attempts at sabotage, and has produced without a spill. The environmental destruction many said would result never happened.

Today, with the environmental laws, workplace requirements, and numerous other impediments, this pipeline would take at least twice as long to build, if it could be built at all.  Similarly, a nation, the only nation, to have placed men on the moon and brought them safely home numerous times can no longer put men in space on its own. Both conditions are self-inflicted. We still have the capability, but the will is eroding. How familiar today's prevalent attitudes would seem to the Romans of the early 4th century.

View From The Porch 1-17-14

A large low pressure cell moved in, making the temperatures shoot above freezing.
So now we have melting snow, rain, and high wind warnings.
A real slop fest.
This is a hand held, four exposure HDR. ISO:200.

Ruminations On The War On Poverty

While visiting Samizdata, a very well written blog, I came across this comment, "The United States, since the times of the “Great Society”, has spent approximately 24 trillion dollars on anti-poverty programs, while the percentage of those considered to be in poverty has remained the same. With a 50 year track record as evidence of the utter failure of the welfare state, it amazes me that the public continues to buy into this form of wealth re-distribution."

An insightful observation.
Needless to say, you always get someone to disagree. So I decided to look it up as best I could in a short amount of time. Here's what I came up with after a brief search.


Federal spending, population and poverty totals [iii]

                    Total              People in           Welfare              Expenditure                   Population[iv]     Poverty[v]        Expenditures[vi]     Per Person                  (Millions)          (Millions)            (Billions)              In Poverty

1960           179.5                  39.9                  $17.7                  $445

1970           202.2                  25.4                  $43.9                 $1,726

1980           225.0                  29.3                 $128.8                $4,399

1990            248.6                 33.6                 $138.2                $4,116

2000            278.9                 31.6                 $205.4                $6,503

2010            305.7                 46.2                 $349.6                $7,571

2011           308.5                  46.2                 $369.2                $7,983

2012           310.6                  46.5                 $356.8                $7,674

These figures came from the Federal Safety Net site.
That totals $52,245 for a family of four even though the Poverty Threshold for such a family is $23,492


Next I went over to Wikipedia.



So, what's a person to make of this?
I think we could conclude that the 24 trillion dollars spent to fight poverty have been a failure.
Yet we continue to spend ever larger amounts to combat poverty and now also it's evil cousin income inequality.  Our current occupant of the White House has publicly stated he wants to "spread the wealth around." 
I paraphrase a definition of insanity (and stupidity) as 'doing the same thing over & over but expecting a different result.'

I fervently hope that it begins to dawn on those who still think this type of waste is actually good and a better alternative than growing the economy, that it is NOT about helping the poor. It never has been. It's about power, control, creating a dependent underclass who will always support you out of necessity.
Or as Lyndon B. Johnson said, "I’ll have those n*****s voting Democrat for the next 200 years."
His words, not mine.


Finally, let me leave you with two items via American Digest.

The first this comment.
 "There are 8 levels of control that must be obtained before you are able to create a fascist state. The first is the most important. 1) Healthcare – Control healthcare and you control the people
2) Poverty – Increase the Poverty level as high as possible, poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if you are providing everything for them to live.
3) Debt – Increase the debt to an unsustainable level. That way you are able to increase taxes, and this will produce more poverty.
4) Gun Control – Remove the ability for citizens to defend themselves from the Government. That way you are able to create a police state.
5) Welfare – Take control of every aspect of their lives (Food, Housing, and Income)
6) Education – Take control of what people read and listen to – take control of what children learn in school.
7) Religion – Remove the belief in the God from the Government and schools
8) Class Warfare – Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor. This will cause more discontent and it will be easier to take (Tax) the wealthy with the support of the poor.
Does any of this sound like what is happening to the United States " 

And finally,

London Calling...

Arguably the westernmost phone booths in North America.  Taken at Dutch Harbor.

Boy Scout Motto; "Be Prepared"

A view of the transfer switch I installed this fall. A switch for the house and a switch for the garage.
The generator plugs in at the receptacle between the second transfer switch and the window.
It's nice to have a tested backup.

Happy New Years 2014

Here's to hoping that 2014 is better, in all respects, than 2013.

Here's a little something I saw over at American Digest.

It rings true and more succinctly sums up what I have tried to say in the past.

The "learned helplessness" is so deep it shows up even in our fantasy life. This is why I beg people to find ANY way to fight back. Stop looking for The One way to fight back. To make up for not fighting back we imagine we, or someone that will fight on our behalf, will find the one unguarded and vital target where we can attack and win in an instant. Politically, we fantasize about finding the weak spot in The Death Star and firing a kill shot.

The Left didn't bring the country under their control that way. The Left has published books on how to fight the system. They fought the system. They now own the system. The Left waged a Long March through the culture. We keep engaging in Short Retreats to the next "gated-community" that we hope will protect us from liberal domination.Start fighting in small ways, anywhere, and it will give you confidence to fight more and the tide will turn IF liberals find they can't rely on never finding opposition. Use direct language. Call them communists, racists, sexist, traitors, etc. You don't gain respect by speaking in moderate language about the people that are setting fire to this country.

This isn't Sunday School. This is a Civil War. The Left already knows it. They already fight like it's a Civil War. You might as well face up to it. Posted by: Scott M at December 31, 2013 1:14 PM

Merry Christmas

This year's Darwin Awards - H/T My Underwood Typewriter

1. When his .38 caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, California would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.

And Now, The Honorable Mentions:

 

2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat cutting machine and after a little shopping around, submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost a finger. The chef’s claim was approved.

 

3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.

 

4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn’t discovered for 3 days.

 

5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.

 

6.. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer… $15. [If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?]

 

7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he’d just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.

 

8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, “Yes, officer, that’s her. That’s the lady I stole the purse from.”

 

9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan at 5 A.M., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn’t open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren’t available for breakfast… The frustrated gunman walked away. [*A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER]

 

10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street by sucking on a hose, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline, but he plugged his siphon hose into the motor home’s sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges saying that it was the best laugh he’d ever had and the perp had been punished enough!

In the interest of bettering mankind, please share these with friends and family…. unless of course one of these individuals by chance is a distant relative or long lost friend. In that case, be glad they are distant and hope they remain lost.

*****Remember*****

They walk among us, they can reproduce.