Report: The Ghost of Common Sense Seen in North Carolina

Via ‘WND;’ “State bans illegals from community colleges  Dumps policy that granted taxpayer-subsidized tuition for degree programs” written by Wanda Sanchez.  From the article:

 

In a decision that could have national impact, North Carolina officials announced the state will stop enrolling illegal aliens in degree programs at its community colleges.

…

 

Tony Asion, executive director of El Pueblo, an immigrant advocacy group based in North Carolina, told WND he hopes the state will reverse the decision after receiving clarification from the Department of Homeland Security.

 

“We are deeply disappointed in the decision to bar undocumented students from the North Carolina community college system,” Asion said. “It makes no sense and is unfair to students. To bar them from getting an education when they are paying out-of-state tuition and not costing the system anything is not a prudent choice.”

 

The decision, Asion added, “benefits no one, and will ultimately harm the people of North Carolina.”

 

“It makes no sense and is unfair to students.”  Obviously, the aspect of being in this country LEGALLY escapes this person’s perception of ‘fairness.’

 

“…will ultimately harm the people of North Carolina.”  I wait with baited breath for the ultimate impact on NC.  Perhaps Mike can give us a report on said impact… should it ever occur.

Treason? Depends Upon the Meaning!

Ted Kennedy and the KGB  Read it!

 

OBTW, Webster defines:

 

trea·son n.  1. [Now Rare] betrayal of trust or faith; treachery  2. violation of the allegiance owed to one’s sovereign or state; betrayal of one’s country, specif., in the U.S. (as declared in the Constitution), consisting only in levying war against the U.S. or in giving aid and comfort to its enemies.

Democrats, God Love ‘em; Because I Sure Won’t!

By way of the ‘Drudge Report’ comes this Associated Press article written by Andrew Taylor and appearing in ‘Yahoo News:’  “Democrats propose taxes to fund veterans’ benefits.”  Anything new there?  Oh, wait a minute, only the wealthy would be taxed, so it must not qualify as a tax increase, right?  From the article:

 WASHINGTON - House Democrats are proposing a tax surcharge on millionaires to pay for a big increase in education benefits for veterans of the war in Iraq, lawmakers said Tuesday.

…

 ”What we’re talking about is a one-half percent income tax surcharge on incomes above $1 million,” said Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., a leader of the Blue Dog group. “So someone who earns $2 million a year would pay $5,000. … They’re not going to miss it.”

 First of all, Congressman Ross, one half percent of $2,000,000 is not $5,000, rather it is $10,000.  Second of all, who anointed you as “all-knowing;” capable of perceiving whether or not people will miss $10,000 or not?  Elitism; where the heck would Democrats be without it?  I’m sure the idea that the proposed tax hike on the wealthy is intended to fund veterans’ benefits justifies hitting those undeserving rich folks with more taxes - yet again.  I mean it’s not like they already fund a lion’s share of the government budget already… what’s another $10,000? 

 Anyone know what makes a capital-based [capitalistic] economy run?  Well, it sure isn’t the government!  Money; money being invested and/or spent is what keeps a capitalistic economy healthy.  Money changing hands buying goods and services is what creates and sustains jobs.  I will acknowledge that much of government spending helps to sustain jobs and the economy; however, far too much of ‘government money’ is given away in the form of social programs and money given away does not have the same impact on the economy as allowing those prone to spend on high-end goods and services to keep more of their own money.  Government consumes way too much money in administering programs; that is money down the drain with an insignificant impact on the economy.

 JFK, Reagan, and now Bush have all proven that decreasing taxes has a greater positive effect on the economy by freeing up money than does raising taxes and letting a terribly inefficient government consume money.  Somewhere along the way, the Democratic Party members have lost sight of how our economy actually works, and have focused solely upon the idea that raising taxes is good for the economy because government becomes the wealth controlling entity.  To quote Senator Byrd, “Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!”

It’s Starting to Come Together

(Click on the pictures for better detail.)

On Jan 22nd the foyer ceiling looked like this:

Today it looks like this:

In Dec the Master Bath Tub area looked like this:

Today it looks like this:

Of course, the columns must still be installed.

The kitchen is progressing…

And so is the master bath…

(That’s where the TV will go that my wife will be watching while soaking in the island tub.)

And the great room is also progressing…

It has been 24 months from this:

to this; but the journey has been educational.

I’ve learned I do not want to do this for a living; I’d starve.

We’re still about three months from move-in, but I’ve picked up the pace and have fixed a target completion date. Perhaps soon I will be able to report, “We’re in!”

I don’t like it either…, but

First the new presidential VH-71 helicopter was awarded to Lockheed Martin who pimped the AgustaWestland EH-101, a British made helicopter, making Sikorsky a sore looser.

Next the U.S. Army selected the European Aeronautic Defense Systems (EADS) German made EC-145 entrant as it new Light Utility Helicopter, the UH-72A.

 

Now, the USAF has awarded its lucrative new in-air refueler aircraft, the KC-45, to the Northrop Grumman/EADS consortium for the French made Airbus 330, leaving Boeing with egg all over its face.

 

Some GOP lawmakers are supposedly beside themselves with the idea that the USAF would award the new air tanker contract to the French versus our own Boeing Aircraft Corporation.  Well, perhaps if Boeing had pitched a newer platform it might have been selected; however, they were arrogant enough to pitch their 767.  The 767 is at the end of its commercial production life; winning the KC-45 program would have extended the 767 line for a number of more years.  Unfortunately the USAF would have been buying obsolescence rather than a platform that was still viable in the commercial world.  With the 767, spares (spare repair parts) could have become an immediate problem at the completion of the procurement cycle.  Had Boeing pitched their 777 perhaps they would have won the contract, who knows?

Look, no one is any more pro-American made than I am; I even buy huge Ford vehicles and will willingly pay more for a product that is “made in America.”  It galls me to no end to think that our defense products, especially weapons platforms, would be procured form sources outside the US; but I also expect our own businesses to be honest and put forth their best product, not their leftovers.  There is a part of me that hopes the KC-45 program is somehow turned around so that Boeing wins (with an aircraft other than the 767), and yet, there is another part of me that hopes Boeing learns a lesson by having the shaft they offered our government shoved up their own a$$.

Perhaps now Boeing will begin to believe the old adage, “What goes around, comes around.”  Should Boeing’s protest fall short, they will have let America down to a certain degree, but not to the extent that they would have screwed America’s defenders by selling them an inferior product.

Painting Has Begun

 The office… a steely blue (aka ‘country blue’)

The great room is a deep rich brown…

My granddaughter’s room… (she’s 13, does that explain it?)

A better picture of the leaded and beveled glass window over the front doors…

The begining of my first attempt at coffering a ceiling…

The garage… a light teal.

The cabinets are due to arrive soon.  Some have arrived; for one laundry room and one bathroom.  When the larger cabinets are installed, I’ll post some more pictures.

What Has Happened To Our National Morality?

 An ‘AP’ article posted on ‘Yahoo News’ headlines: “ACLU: Sex in Restroom Stalls Is Private.”  From the article:

ST. PAUL, Minn. - In an effort to help Sen. Larry Craig, the American Civil Liberties Union is arguing that people who have sex in public bathrooms have an expectation of privacy.

Craig, of Idaho, is asking the Minnesota Court of Appeals to let him withdraw his guilty plea to disorderly conduct stemming from a bathroom sex sting at the Minneapolis airport.

The ACLU filed a brief Tuesday supporting Craig. It cited a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling 38 years ago that found that people who have sex in closed stalls in public restrooms “have a reasonable expectation of privacy.”

“...people… have a reasonable expectation of privacy.”

In restroom stalls people have a reasonable expectation of privacy while excreting body waste - not engaging in sex.  Were that the case, stalls would be equipped with beds and bidets; not toilets!

As a reference point, my older [adopted] brother was born in a state woman’s prison in 1938.  Why? Because his mother was unwed!  I am not advocating the return of imprisonment for unwed mothers, although it was somewhat effective, I am merely providing a reference point from which to conclude that our national morality has quite literally gone down the toilet today.  I guess if illicit sex in the White House is acceptable; then restroom stalls are now the equivalent of European Bordello rooms.

Still… Under Construction - Part II

A current view of the work in-progress.  Notice the two-car garage; one bay for my truck and the other for my John Deere.  (How fortunate for me that my wife doesn’t read this site.)

The detail of the leaded and beveled glass over the front doors just didn’t come out well; however, if you click twice on the picture you can get a better idea.  The leaded glas is sandwiched between thermo-sealed pains on the outside and a single pain of glass on the inside.  I didn’t want the leaded glass to start sagging or to compromise the insulation of the home.

The office (aka, the turret room).

The tray ceiling, crown moulding, and chair rail in the dining room.  (Two pieces of moulding around the tray have not yet been put up… ran out of moulding.)  I know, there could have been more ‘fanciness’ throughout, but the expense of building a house this size demands incrementalism.

Still… Under Construction

Thank you all for the warm Christmas wishes.  I certainly hope all of you enjoyed a wonder Christmas and will have a great New Year with excellent health and tremendous prosperity.

My hopes to be in the new house for the holidays vanished long before Thanksgiving.  Progress just doesn’t come that quickly when one is the general contractor and primary source of labor.   However, I would have it no other way; there is unbelievable pleasure in seeing the progress (slow as it may be) and knowing that it is due to God’s gifts of talents and abilities.

The dry wall is in and painting has begun.  I am putting up the crown moulding (all moulding for that matter) and as quickly as I do, my painter is right behind me priming and caulking.  God has blessed me with an ability to select subs (contractors) who are extremely skilled and very personable people.

Some cabinetry will be installed within the next couple of weeks.  The main amount of cabinetry (kitchen and master bath) are scheduled to arrive the last part of January.  By then painting will be complete and the flooring will have begun.  I’ve planned the cabinets to be installed before the flooring as I see no sense in installing expensive flooring under cabinets.

My new goal for completion/move-in is the end of March ‘08.  That will put the whole construction project duration right at two years.  There was another 18 months prior to beginning construction during which the plans were formulated, modified and finalized.  As anyone can deduce, we’ve concentrated more on getting it right than in keeping a schedule.  I have, however, turned up the heat on my primary labor source to try to get more accomplished sooner (still without sacrificing quality).  He seems to be getting real tired and hurting more than usual, so I may have to lighten up somewhat.

Merry Christmas!

As we celebrate the second most significant event in the history of mankind, may each one of you find peace in our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.  May God bless each and every one of you fine folks!