Handicappin the Field or the GOP Scratch Sheet

  Well it's that time again. The run for the White House. Some folks say it's like a horse race but I like to think of it as a steeplechase, lot's of hurdles and mud with plenty of bumping and crowdin' along the way. Horses will fall by wayside and the winner will be the one that shows endurance and smarts along with toughness and speed.
 So I thought I might try my hand and handicappin' this field for you and see how yall might like to rate them so here goes.

Mitt Romney  6-5 and may go to even money as the race progresses!
  Very smart runner. Has a smooth polished and got off to early lead out of gate but seemed hesitant to get muddy in the beginning but getting tougher as the race progrsses. Will see if he has the stamina and heart to go the distance.

Rick Perry 8-5
  Got out of gate late but quickly over took lead. Perry is good in mud and not afraid to mix it up in a pack. Seems to stumble at some hurdles so I don't know if he has stamina to finish a long grueling race, but the winner will know he was there.

Herman Cain 2-1
  The dark horse in the field. I had longer odds on him but he's gaining his stride and closing fast. but, his lack of experience and medical history could hurt him coming down the stretch. That being said, "The Hemanator" is gonna make his presence known.

Michelle Bachman 4-1
  Bachman is a local favorite but can't seem to gain any traction and has stumbled at some of the jumps but will keep running in order to place or show.

Newt Gingrich 10-1
  Newt is the joker in the deck. Running in the pack right now, but if leaders  stumble or he sees an opening, he could sweep the field. He's the smartest runner right now but don't know if he has the legs to finish.

Rick Santorum 25-1
 Running out of his class, he's overmatched but he could tumble one of the frontrunners allowing for a different than expected finish.

John Hunstman 50-1
The "Post-Turtle" in the field. Not sure how he got there and has no business being there. Don't think he will have the stamina to finish and seems hesitant to mix it up. I think he might just be using this race to get a better spot in the next one.

Ron Paul 100-1
 Not sure why he's running, but his backers love him.  Has the stamina to go the distance but don't think he can overtake frontrunners. And you never know when he might just veer hard and crash into the rail.
 

Well, there's my opening take on this horse race. It is a rather unique one don't you think, you think you might be leading and wow gee, another horse enters, knocking you back. But I kinda think the field is set barring any last minute heartfelt changes of minds. I'll be updating odds as the field shortens and the mud piles onto the riders. Y' all enjoy.

Talley-Ho!

Don't Ask Don't Tell Has Become Show and Tell

  Okay, what has happened to us as a country? Where is the outrage? Where is the hue and cry over what they have done to our military? My God, it's an outrage that Obama wanted this and Congress allowed it. I'm a vet and I don't speak for anyone but myself here when I say I'm sickened and disgusted by the whole deal. I saw a picture the other day after it became official of a gay officer marrying his partner in Vermont and I wondered how we let this come to pass.  Did anybody ask the Joint Chiefs? How about the men and women who are going to have to soldier with them? How will affect morale, retention or readiness be affected?
 Okay, call me Homophobic if you want, but I honestly believe that it's wrong to have done this. Yes, Ed, some will say,  these the same arguments used when the military was integrated after WWII? Maybe so, I think the people saying this are comparing apples to oranges. I think this is an outright ploy by the Liberal Left to weaken the military.
  I served in the Navy in the 70's under Carter when we got all touchy feely by having Human Relation Councils,and sensitivity training which did nothing  more than to undermine the authority of NCO's and officers. You try give an order to a person and if they didn't like it, they would cry any number of reasons from outright discrimination to just harassment. Kinda hard to get something done when you have to consider every angle when trying to give what you felt to be a lawful order.  Anybody who served back then can tell you what it was like under President "Jimmuh".
 Then came ''Willy" and Don't ask don't tell.  What kind of can of worms that has been is very evident. Lawsuit after lawsuit. But, the courts upheld it and still the Military still did its best to "Charlie-Mike" (continue mission).
  Now, we have Obama. Despite all his words to the contrary, his action say volumes about his feeling towards the Military and this new openess about being okay to be gay is just another Liberal method of destroying some thing they have always hated.
   Well, now yall know how I feel. I'm sure some of you will not really care for this one but I felt it needed saying and it's my soapbox and my dime. Oh, and one last thing, and this goes out to the men and women serving today : May God Bless all Y'all and keep you safe.

Charlie-Mike!

Stickin' Your Boots in the Oven....

  Howdy, I've been listenin' to His Royal Majesty a lot this week and he seems to be saying the same things over and over. So, I thought I might see if I can respond to what he's been sayin using expressions I've heard and read my whole life from people who make a lot more sense than him. Let's see how this goes.. (Obama will be in the quotation marks and my response will be in Italics)

"We need to spend more, invest more to create jobs. This next  Stimulus will work"
When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging!

"I have always believed that taxes on the middle class are too high"
Wearin a hat and boots don't make you a cowboy!

"The Government must be in partnership with business!"
A real cowboy saddles his own horse and kills his own snakes.

"Investing in America doesn't mean higher taxes."
Sticking your boots in the oven won't make them biscuits!

"America will no longer be the guiding force in the World"
"You won't break your horse a-sittin on the fence.

"We must pass this jobs bill now; and after we do, I'll explain how we pay for it."
When dealing with lawyers and bankers, always bring a magnifying glass to read the fine
print before signing papers!

"This next bill is what Americans' need to help recover from the Bush years."
If you can't do it with a little, you can't do it with a lot..

"I inherited this ecconomy from my predecessor."
Rodeoin' has always been about the draw.. You take what you get and how well you perform is up to you.

Well, those are my thoughts on our President. I've quoted and paraphrased a lot of them and if you're well read in cowboy literature, you might recognize some of them... but I learned a lot from them, 'specially that old rancher that took a 12 year old boy and showed him what cowboys do and are... he didn't talk much but his actions spoke volumes. Too bad Obama never got a chance to hear him.  He might not have wound up as a Post Turtle and things might be a lot better today.

School Daze?

 Well, it looks like it's back to school for most our kids and grandkids. My how the times have changed. Used to, bout the only things parents had to worry about was did Johnny remember to take his homeowrk and what he'd try to swap his lunch for.
 Now parents have to worry about what is being taught to Johnny. Things like having to read books like, I Have Two Mommies, Revisionist History that rewrites the history of our country so they grow up ashamed of our country instead of being proud to be an American, not being allowed to pray at school functions,and having to witness the implosion of our educational system in general.
  For the most part the public school system is a dismal failure. The Federal government thinks the solution is, as always, toss a  lot of money at it and it will be all better. Seems like the more money the government tosses, the worse it gets. One example: English as a second language. It was originally designed to fast track Hispanics into being able to function in an English based educational system, but along the way it was corrupted and now classes are being taught in Spanish and the Hispanics are being left behind or just passed along like a can being kicked down the road. Is it any wonder that the drop out rate for them is higher than nearly all the other groups?
 I do have some ideas that might help improve the situation. They might not work but what we got now isn't so what's the harm in talking bout them and see who thinks what..
 First and foremost, do away with the Dept. of Education and return authority to the individual states where it rightfully belongs. If you disagree with that, can you point me to the Article and Section of the Constitution that specifically deals with education? And another point, the Federal government is so ponderous and incompetent, it can't even run a railroad or a postal system and you want to trust our childrens' future with it?
Second, let parents shop around for a charter school or private school of their choosing. Competition among them will breed better choices. Look at the successes with voucher systems.Think that's a bad idea, then how have private colleges lasted for so long? Anyone ever tell you which college your children must attend? Folks it's our money and investment.
 Next, quit forcing school districts to dumb down classes so no one will fail. It does the kids more harm to pass them because of maybe scarring them emotionally than to have them repeat a grade so they will have a more solid foundation. If we did that more often, we would have less need for those teachers and could retarget those resources to children with special needs such as dyslexia and special education..
Then, we need to reinstill a sense of order and discipline in the classroom. Schools should not keep kids  that constantly disrupt the class. If they mess up, suspend them; if they mess up bad, expel them. In the words of an instructor, some times you have to lose a toe to save the foot.
   Not sure how this last point is gonna come across, but I'm gonna let it fly and y'all can punch holes in it and and me for that matter. Okay, do away with teacher unions. Let's be honest here just how much good do they do for the kids? yall say it gives them protection from being fired without cause, but I think if you don't have to worry about your job.. just how good are you going to be willing to do it. I do believe in merit based pay. We need good teachers and I think by weeding out the incompetent and the indifferent we can vastly improve the system as a whole. The trick will be how to  judge performance. Along this point a teacher friend gave me this: the administration system is over loaded and top heavy. The real cutting when times get hard should be in admin, not teachers.
Well, now yall have heard me and my ideas. I'd love to hear y'alls.  It's too important not to have an opinion or an  idea.

Sunday at Gruene Hall

Well after a night on the deck that included some mighty fine food and erntertainment, not to mention a rousing game of Flip Cup, which broke about 3:30 am; Jane and I managed to make it over to Gruene for a while this afternoon to take in some music at Gruene Hall and of course some cold beer and Fritos. The music was good and the beer was cold and as you can see; a good time was had  by all.

Gruene Hall is one of the oldest dance halls in Texas and is a state treasure. Lotta singers got their start here before making it to the big time and there is always a band playing for the door and tips hoping for that big break.. the band today was good, a little eclectic for my taste as I tend to like a fiddle band with a pedal steel but they put on a good show. well worth the cost of admission which was free.

If yall ever make it down to the Hill Country, Gruene hall is a must on any itenerary. You will see and meet people from all over the world who have ventured to Gruene to sample a taste of Texas... I invite yall to do the same.

Gruene Hall

The Orphans Along the Brazos

The Crowd

Jane

Two of my favorite food groups

We Have Gathered at the River

Well we made it and is good to see family and friends again. It was a small crowd as people will be coming in thu the weekend. But as the sayin goes "este poco, este poco" (we may be small, but we're crazy)or somethin like that.
There is one serious rule on the deck: NEVER BE THE FIRST TO FALL! as shown below:

No explanation needed!

The food was good, the beer was cold and a very good time was had by all. I even managed to score a few brownie points, with the help of my aunt, by arranging a surprise birthday party for Jane on the deck. Instead of a cake, she had a cupcake arrangement made up and was the hit of the night. They were so good, I had to make a cupcake run today. And, not letting an opportunity to jab spurs, a family member noted that the times have really changed when Eddie is going after cupcakes instead of beer. But, as I told him, I was fetchin' them for Momma Sot and Jane... Nuff said! 

So I think I'm gonna post this and head over to the house and soak my backside in water and my inside with some cold Lone Star. More to come as the week progresses.

Hail the Head Sot!

Shall We Gather at the River?

    Well yall, it's that time of year again when we SOTS begin to congregate at our World Headquarters on the Guadalupe River. We'll be coming from all over Texas and some other states. It's gonna be a good time enjoyed by all. I won't be givin out any particulars out but thu the week I'll  be posting some choice tidbits and some general information about what the doins are.  I'll tell yall about the teams and what they did for meals and entertainment and might show some of us on the golf course, course i wont be playin much this year as I'm still gettin over some shoulder surgery, but it won't hurt me to do some putting on the 19th hole if yall  get my drift.

  Gotta big week ahead so yall check in ever now and then and see how we do it up down in Texas!