Beer in the Headlights

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Anyone who supports the candidacy of Barack Hussein Obama is either an abject moron or a staunch Marxist. Or both.

Here's some proof to back that claim...

As he reminded us again after losing narrowly to Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, Barack Obama likes to evoke Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech.
We must all hope that, like King's, Mr. Obama's dream is "deeply rooted in the American dream." But before giving him the keys to the White House, Americans might like to know a little more about the content of Mr. Obama's dream.

Let me propose an unlikely place to start looking: Kenya. Even in the midst of the primaries, the horrific scenes from that country since the disputed election on December 27 will not have escaped most people. In particular, the burning of a church with up to 50 men, women, and children inside, while machete-armed mobs slaughter up to 600 more people, have evoked memories of the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

Who is behind these massacres? The opposition leader, Raila Odinga, has had a good press in the West, after he accused the president, Mwai Kibaki, of rigging the election. But the victims of the recent violence have mostly been members of Mr. Kibaki's tribe, the Kikuyu, while those who have gone berserk are supporters of Mr. Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement, which is dominated by the rival Luo tribe.

Whether Mr. Odinga has ordered his men to commit murder and arson is unclear. But his own background does not exactly suggest enthusiasm for democracy and the rule of law. Mr. Odinga's father, Oginga Odinga, led the Communist opposition during the Cold War and Raila Odinga was educated in Communist East Germany.

In 1982 he was implicated in a failed coup against the then president Daniel Arap Moi. His eldest son is named after Fidel Castro and his daughter after Winnie Mandela.

Even more sinister has been Mr. Odinga's electoral pact with the National Muslim Leaders' Forum — a hardline Islamist organization that represents Kenya's Muslim minority. According to this document, dated August 29, 2007, Mr. Odinga promised the Muslim leaders that, if elected, he would establish Sharia courts, not only in the northern and coastal regions where Kenyan Muslims are concentrated, but throughout the country.

He also promised to impose Muslim dress codes on women, ban alcohol and pork, indoctrinate children, ban Christian preaching, and dismiss the Commissioner of Police "who has allowed himself to be used by heathens and Zionists."

In short, Mr. Odinga in effect offered to Islamize Kenya in return for Muslim votes, despite the fact that Muslims make up only 10% of the population, compared to the 80% who are Christian. Mr. Odinga himself is nominally an Anglican, yet he signed a document that refers to Islam throughout as "the one true religion" and denigrates Christians as "worshippers of the cross."

Whether it is likely, as Mr. Odinga claims, that his party won the election with such a program, only to have it stolen by Mr. Kibaki, I cannot say. Nor am I qualified to speculate about why Mr. Odinga threw in his lot with the Islamists. It should certainly concern us that one of Africa's most stable and pro-Western countries is apparently threatened with the same grim fate that has befallen other East African states, such as Sudan and Somalia.

What, you will be asking by now, what does any of this have to do with Barack Obama? Well, Mr. Obama's father came from Kenya and his son is proud to call himself a Luo. His Kenyan relations boast that, even if they cannot get a Luo into the Kenyan presidential residence, they can look forward to a Luo in the White House.

Indeed, the connection may be even closer than a tribal one. Mr. Odinga even claims that Mr. Obama is his cousin, because the senator's father was Mr. Odinga's maternal uncle. Whether or not this true, the two men are friends and political allies.

In August 2006, Mr. Obama visited Kenya and spoke in support of Mr. Odinga's candidacy at rallies in Nairobi. The Web site Atlas Shrugs has even posted a photograph of the two men side by side. More recently, Mr. Odinga says that Mr. Obama interrupted his campaigning in New Hampshire to have a telephone conversation with his African cousin about the constitutional crisis in Kenya.

What should Americans make of Mr. Obama's Kenyan connection? If he has been putting tribal or family considerations above America's national interest by supporting Mr. Odinga's anti-Western candidacy, it raises serious questions about his judgement.

I sure hope a lone reporter with a pair asks Obama whether or not he supports his ideological kin Robert Mugabe.

This morning we went to Panola Mountain Conservation Park in Metro Atlanta for an event with trained bears.

The bears may have been trained; but all the male wanted to do was, well...

In between trips to the package store, time tending the grill and and a day at the beach please take some time to remember just why we really celebrate Memorial Day.

Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last known living American-born veteran of World War I, was honored Sunday at the Liberty Memorial during Memorial Day weekend celebrations.

"I had a feeling of longevity and that I might be among those who survived, but I didn't know I'd be the No. 1," the 107-year-old veteran said at a ceremony to unveil his portrait.

Born in Missouri in 1901 and raised in Oklahoma, Buckles visited a string of military recruiters after the United States entered the "war to end all wars" in April 1917.

He was rejected by the Marines and the Navy, but eventually persuaded an Army captain he was 18 and enlisted, convincing him Missouri didn't keep public records of birth.

Think about it. He was 16 and lied about his age so he could serve his country in battle. That right there is something else.

Keep Frank Buckles and all others who serve and have served the United States; but more importantly take some time to honor those that gave their lives for our nation.

Chock full of interweb meme greatness

And the song is pretty good, too.

Thank you, Sonny.

Georgians with carry licenses will be able to tote their concealed guns on public transportation, in restaurants that serve alcohol and in state parks under legislation signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue on Wednesday.

Thugs like Nafiza Ziyad will now have to think twice before they "get all up in someone's face" on Atlanta's MARTA trains. Law abiding MARTA riders are no longer sitting ducks.

We don't lallygag.

A Georgia man who killed his live-in girlfriend was executed, the first inmate put to death since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of lethal injections.

William Earl Lynd was pronounced dead Tuesday at 7:51 p.m. EDT, Georgia Department of Corrections spokeswoman Mallie McCord told The Associated Press. It came less than an hour after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected efforts to block it.

Spring arrived along with the seasonal "honey do" list. First item; ceiling fans.

Bought three ceiling fans from Lowe's for each of our (occupied) bedrooms. Two out of three weren't bad. But this one sucked. It's noisy, wouldn't go into reverse and now is inoperable. It's going back.

We bought our fans from Lowe's because Home Depot is my enemy, but that's a blog entry for another day.

I had to borrow an 8' step ladder from our neighbors as the gable ceiling in my daughter's room it 14' high. I'm 6'3" and could just reach the ceiling.

As mentioned above I detest Home Depot. Lowe's is better, but not great. You want great service? Go to Ace. I love my local Ace Hardware. I had to buy some extra wire, 40 watt bulbs for the ceiling fans, furnace filters, wire nuts, and #8 wood screws to fix the gate at the bottom of the stairs. They had it all there and they knew exactly where everything was located.

I got the notion to replace the lackluster light fixtures in our upstairs hallway with the ones I took down from our bedrooms. They look great. I slapped some 60 watt compact fluorescent bulbs into them. I didn't do it because I'm out to save polar bears or to keep spring and fall high tide engulfing Miami. I'm just a frugal guy and the cf bulbs do cost less to use than do incandescent bulbs. Gotta be the Scottish blood in my veins.

Fixed the hinge on the baby gate at the bottom of the steps. A couple weeks ago my son decided it was a playground implement and was swinging on it. The screws that held the top hinge to the banister post sheered off so I had to remount the hinges. Not looking forward to having a seriously scarred wood finish when it's time to take the gates down in a year or so.

After all that it was time to vacuum. I love our vacuum. It's a Simplicity upright and it will suck up small animals and maybe even midgets without breaking a sweat. We bought it from a terrific vacuum store in Gainesville, GA. Got up-sold on it in a big way, but I'll have to admit that the thing is worth every penny. Quality construction, great performance and made in the USA.

As I was vacuuming I got to thinking about items on one shouldn't skimp. Although a vacuum might not come to mind, I'll have to add it to the list. Other quality items include a chef's knife, a paring knife, grill (gas or charcoal), cookware, firearms, tents, hand tools and footwear. I'm sure there's plenty more I could add to the list.

Now it's time to get started on some paella for dinner.

I must admit the caricatured portrayals of the candidates are amusing.

And the amateurish delivery on this one is giggle worthy.

"Whatcha gonna do when all the McCainiacs run wild on you?"