Well, the government has been out and about preparing for the President’s arrival.  I was starting the think that the USSS was *really* good, as I hadn’t seen anything odd or out of place (except for that bicycle cop that kept staring at me as I walked to dinner).  Well, yesterday we had a flight of 3 or 4 (I think just caught a fleeting glimpse through my window)  Sikorsky Sea Kings.  Then, today, I heard some noise and looked out the window to see 2 Chinooks up about 250 feet AGL making turns to head over campus (in the direction of the stadium).  At dinner Pat told me she saw them landing on the football practice field.  So, I guess we have the general route for the President worked out.  Air Force One will fly into Vance Air Force Base about 08:30 and then the President will board a helicopter and head toward Stillwater.  He’ll land on the practice football field and be ushered into a secure location somewhere in Gallagher-Iba where he’ll probably meet with a few of the local big wigs and get prepared for his speech.  I bet his exit will be pretty much the reverse.  Bush doesn’t seem to be the type that will stick around for something like Eskimo Joes (like his dad), but maybe I’m wrong.

Here’s a link to the FAA TFR (no idea how long this link will last):

http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/notams.html#6/6677

I just saw a little clip of Senator Coburn on “The Beltway Boys” and that with their little discussion following it made me happy to hear that he is keeping to his campaign promises.  I certainly agree with what he’s doing, but I just love the extra little bit in that he’s actually trying to do what he said he’d do.  It’s not even an election year for him, so this would seem to be more of a genuine effort and not just positioning for a nearing campaign.  Keep up the good work, Senator Coburn!

I just heard it on the radio this morning.  President George W. Bush is going to be the keynote speaker at my graduation.  This is going to rock.  First General Tommy Franks is the speaker at Shinta’s graduation and now President Bush for mine.  I guess I have a good reason to attend the ceremony instead of ducking out.

I just heard the most stupid quote I’ve heard in quite a while.  I quote:

“12 million people can’t be law breakers.”

This was said by an illegal immigration…er…undocumented worker proponent in a mini-debate segment on Fox News in response to a statement by one of the Minutemen founders saying that these people are breaking our laws by being in the country illegally and should be dealt with.  The lack of thought in that statement is astounding.  Let me quote another statistic from the Bureau of Justice:

“In 2004, nearly 7 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at yearend 2004″

That’s just for the year 2004.  So, that’s 7 million law breakers that were in or went through the justice system in just 2004.  These 12 million immigrants have built up since the last amnesty in 1986.  Big difference in number and it goes to show that there certainly can be 12 million law breakers.

So, now I have a proposition.  The statistics I’ve read say that in 1994, 59.1 million American adults owned firearms.  We should all build unregistered machine guns.  59.1 million (surely higher now, as the BATFE states that 60.4 million firearms transfers were checked through NICS between 1994 and 2004) people can’t be lawbreakers.  That’s right not only should we go and do that, since there are so many, we should be given amnesty.  Yes, that’s right we should be given amnesty and allowed to keep the new machine gun (maybe pay for the tax stamp after the fact).  I’m sure that’ll go over real well.

I just went to the Student Union to grab lunch and go to the bank.  As I’m flying down the big bicycle way next to the SU I see large signs, fences and small crowds of people.  I tried to figure out what the signs said, but stopped when I saw they were equating something Hitler and his SS.  It seemed to be abortion related, but I’m not sure which side.  I think it was the pro-life side.  It doesn’t matter, it’s stupid.  Then I noticed 2 police officers posted (they weren’t just standing around) back a bit, but certainly there to keep order.  You know you’re probably going about things wrong when they post 2 police officers.  This is OSU.  We’re mellow.  Preacher Bob is our version of free speech vs religious advocacy controversy and he didn’t get police officer protection.  Anyway, times are a changing…

So, it’s late and I’ve got Fox News going as background noise and I see a little preview for a Hannity and Colmes segment on eminent domain. I try not to watch that show as Hannity really gets on my nerves. Anyway, the preview included a little clip of a woman that looked an aweful lot like my Mandarin professor. It even sounded like her, but they mention it being in Kansas. Well, I was curious to find out if it really was her, so I watched the episode to see what it was all about. Sure enough it is my old Mandarin professor. Apparently she owns a store up in Manhattan Kansas that is being taken under eminent domain. Well, it turns out she is still in Stillwater too (and still teaches here), so I don’t know the logistics of how she has a store almost 300 miles away. Looks like she’s fighting a losing battle, but I wish her the best. Here’s some quick things I found about it through Google.

http://www.kstatecollegian.com/article.php?a=9337

http://manhattanfreepress.com/freepressissues/2006/March-06/March-9-06.pdf

http://www.ci.manhattan.ks.us/documents/Agendas/…/EminentDomain%7DDowntown.pdf

This political correctness madness that’s going on is going to destroy the country.  I mean, I remember making fun of it back when I was in elementary school.  Yet today it’s not just something of a laughing matter.  I saw several examples on Fox News this afternoon that were so ridiculous that they they are simultaneously laughable and pathetic.  How we could have gotten to this point is more than just a matter of speculation, it’s seriously real.  I fear how far this may go.

So what is it that I saw to make me make this post?  Well, let’s start with the primary story.  Apparently, around the country there are schools that are now banning the game “tag”.  How can you ban tag?  It’s been played since the beginning of time.  It’s one of those games you don’t have to be taught how to play, it’s built in.  All kids know what tag is.  Yet, suddenly, it’s a seriously dangerous game for kids emotionally.  I’m sorry, I just don’t see this as being a problem.  Kids need to learn how to deal with those emotions.

What else?  Well, at some schools football can only be played during gym class (sounds reasonable), but there, no running is allowed.  Football just isn’t football without running.  I don’t know a thing about football, but I know you have to be able to run.

There’s more.  At some school in New York, they don’t play “tug-o-war”.  No, they play “tug-o-peace”.  How ridiculous is that?

And the last one.  This tops them all.  Some lady out in California is going on the news proclaiming that the new movie “Curious George” is not politically correct and not suitable for children.  She goes on to cite things such as bad parenting, truancy, and the kicker — the capture of a monkey for purposes of putting him in a zoo.

When will it end?

Welcome to Memphis, my soon to be adopted home. It kind of gets me thinking when on the evening news they announced that Memphis now has 4 murders in the first 5 days of 2006. This last case being a man mugged and shot to death in front of his apartment. My understanding is that the rest of Tennessee jokes about the crime rate in Memphis, but this is ridiculous. I’m used to Stillwater, where we can go a year or more without a murder. One thing is for sure. After I officially get moved out here, I’m getting a carry license as soon as I can. The precedent has been well documented in court that the police can not be held responsible for our safety, so I sure as hell will be responsible for my own.

First off, my condolences to the families and friends of the 12 WV miners.

Now, until the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s second stroke, this was going to be the biggest story of the day. I happened to be watching the news during this entire saga from before the “announcement” that the 12 were found alive, to press conference correction where it was announced only 1 had survived. Who’s to blame for the accident? Time will tell. The investigation is already under way. Who’s to blame for the “miscommunication” of the fate of the 11 presumed dead then alive then dead miners? It’s the media. The media was too eager to have be the first to announce *something* that they didn’t care whether or not it was right. Journalism 101 is to confirm reports before reporting them. If you hear a rumor that the miners are alive, get the company to confirm it before running with the story. The mining company had been doing press conferences every 3 hours to keep the media updated. Worst case is that they would have had to wait 3 hours. It could have saved those families a lot of grief. It’s just a shame that sensationalism so trumped the meaning that the news had to the people it affected. And as if to throw salt in the wound, all the reporters did during that corrective press conference was pass the buck and imply it was the company’s fault that the family was suffering from the media’s incorrect reporting. I wonder if they even realize how stupid they are.

I came across a link to this anti gun control “article” today. Pretty funny. It has more one liners than I’ve ever seen in one place before. Most of them make pretty good points.

http://www.michaelzwilliamson.com/rants/guncontrol.php