In case you had any doubts...

...whether our elected representatives made staying in power a higher priority than principles, hopefully Senator Arlen Specter's behavior this week cleared that up for you.
Facing a trouncing in his upcoming Republican primary (judging by the polling data), Specter decided to switch his party affiliation to Democrat, mere weeks after affirming that he would stay Republican.
This man is obviously much less concerned about giving one party a filibuster-proof majority than he is about personally losing all (well, most; he still scores a lifetime retirement check for his "service") the perks associated with being a US senator.
Here's the money quote: "I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate."
Get that, Pennsylvania Republicans? He doesn't answer to YOU, you filth. Who the hell do you think you are?

Another sign of the apocalypse...

Funny...yet sad... pretty much confirms my opinion of humanity as a whole...
I am so very thankful this technology was not available during my partying days...

Jackhammer Gardening

My friend and I dug four of these today, getting ready to plant some citrus trees. I started off the day renting a two-man auger, but it was useless - just bouncing around on top of the ground. We went back to Home Depot and traded it out for a jackhammer...

It did the trick, but man that's some work!

The holes are about 2-3 feet wide and 3 deep, and that white stuff you see in the picture is granite. Hopefully there will be enough drainage towards the front of the holes for the trees... guess we'll find out.

I'm going to bed now. I am very sore.

How was your Sunday?

Tea Party for lunch...

First. Protest. Evar!

My darling wife and I spent our lunch break today attending the Riverside, CA Tea Party. On the way in, I stopped by a store to grab my protest flag.

I was a little hesitant about this, figuring it might be just a half dozen or so folks, but I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout - I would say 100-150 people maybe.

The rally wound its way through downtown Riverside in a very orderly, civilized manner - staying on the sidewalks, obeying the traffic signs etc. There were no cops in attendance, with the exception of a couple of Sheriff's deputies who came out of the courthouse to see what was going on.

Everyone in the protest was very friendly - pretty low-key, not a lot of shouting or hectoring, just a bunch of people walking together,holding signs and chatting amiably. Quite a few made positive comments about our choice of banner.

There was one guy, out in the Farmer Boys parking lot, who asked with a sneer, "Aside from everything, what exactly is it you guys are protesting?", to which I replied "The size of government; the loss of liberty". Yeah, a big talker I am not...

Well, we did a circuit of downtown, and the march wasn't stopping. They continued on to do a second lap. Wifey and I looked at the watch, then at each other, and decided that we had to split. We had to go back to work - taxes to pay, y'know...