Peace or Freedom

Romney wins Florida

2012-02-01T08:03:00.000-05:00

As Brit Hume put it "By bombing Gingrich back to the Stone Age with negative advertising."

So Fuck Mitt "Obamnycare" Romney, that fucking puke. Can anyone tell me what would be different between a Romney administration and an Obama administration?

Anyone? And give me specifics, not platitudes. Anyone?

Yeah. There's your problem right there.

Brutal

2012-01-31T07:44:00.001-05:00

Mitt "Flipper" Romney!

You want to know the best part? Right at the end, when Ann Coulter is giving a speech and says "And that's why we have to nominate Christie, because otherwise Romney is the nominee, and he will lose."

Folks, a Romney nomination will be a disaster.

The GOP needs to die

2012-01-30T09:22:00.001-05:00

And Florida is providing a good example of why. Alan West is getting screwed over by the Republican establishment who can't stand to see anyone shake up their network of cronies and money-men.

One of the rising stars of the Tea Party is about to be sacrificed by the Republican establishment in Florida, led by someone spinning for Mitt Romney.

Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Mitt Romney is a perfect example of what the GOP has become - a lying, manipulative, liberal, big-government collection of good-ol-boy networks, crony capitalists, and statists just waiting to push their next five year plan on America. When Alan West is getting redistricted right out of congress by his own party, you know you have a problem. Alan West doesn't fit the current nanny-state GOP mold, so he has to go, and a Romney backer is the person to do it.

Fuck the GOP. Fuck the Republican party. Fuck the Florida Republican party, and fuck the Mitt Obamneycare supporters. This country is fucked, and I will just wait for the shooting to start.

Home again

2012-01-29T19:53:00.002-05:00

Thank goodness. Hello, my own bed! Hello, my couch!

Gingrich getting hammered

2012-01-28T10:29:00.000-05:00

.....by Romney supporters. The more I see of Romney, the less I like him. That's a problem, folks. I'm hardly the only one who feels this way. Whatching him cry crocodile tears about being attacked while attacking and lying about Gingrich makes me like him even less. Romney is a loser, folks. And the way the GOP establishment is attacking Gingrich makes me like him MORE. Anyone who makes the GOP brass scream like little bitches can only be a good thing.

Chicago

2012-01-27T08:51:00.000-05:00

aka Mordor. Ugh.

Crappy Bass

2012-01-26T08:04:00.000-05:00

Every time I hear some souped-up vehicle pumping out that electronic crap modernly known as "bass", making everything rattle within a five block area, the first thought through my mind every time is "Gee, nice stereo system. Sorry to hear about your tiny dick!"

Folks, driving around blasting electric noise is not cool. It ain't music. And you'll be deaf when you're 40, which is something I'm desperately trying to avoid given my past and my current occupation. But hey, when you're yelling at your grandkids because you can't hear them, you can take comfort in the fact that for a while in your youth, you thought you were "cool" because you managed to rattle your doorframes with noise.

Yay. Fuggin' morons.

Democrat "Leadership"

2012-01-25T07:25:00.001-05:00

Here's the thing, though - this can't be framed as a ~~Democrat~~ American Communist Party "Fail". See, since they haven't passed a budget, and are using Continuing Resolution Acts, they're keeping spending at the levels they were at when they last passed a budget in 2009, which means they get to spend trillions of dollars more than if they passed a balanced budget.

You see what they just did there, don't you? Don't think for one second that their refusal, not failure, REFUSAL to pass a budget is accidental, or driven by incompetence. It is deliberate.

And yeah, that's going on the sidebar.

State of the Union

2012-01-25T07:19:00.000-05:00

Didn't watch it. Wouldn't have been good for my blood pressure to see that Commie Cork-Socker lie through his teeth yet again. Reading through all the text and comments on his speech, it's exactly what I thought it would be - lies, lies, partisan bullshit, blame Republicans, lies, lies, and lies.

Dear God, the fact that America elected this buffoon makes me weep.

Rand Paul detained by the TSA

2012-01-24T08:24:00.000-05:00

For an "anomaly in the body scan".

You know, I would say "if this doesn't show just what a fucking joke the TSA is, I don't know what can", but we've already seen the former VP of the United States get pulled aside and have his Underoos searched by hand just because he drew the lucky number. And as much as I would love to see Algore get anal probed with a cattle prod, there is absolutely no way in hell that he's going to blow up or hijack a plane. Ain't. Gonna. Happen. So to treat him as a potential terrorist is not only a waste of time and resources, it proves just how little the TSA is actually doing to keep us safe.

Same with this. There was an "anomaly?' Dude, he's a friggin' SENATOR! HE IS NOT A TERRORIST! HE WILL NOT BLOW UP A PLANE! HE WILL NOT HIJACK A PLANE! And the people in charge of making decisions like this at the TSA need to be fired!

No, scratch that. The TSA needs to be disbanded, and all security work needs to be returned to the private sector, not some unfire-able government douchbag who gets their jollies off of grabbing my balls in public.

Seen this yet?

2012-01-24T08:18:00.000-05:00

The 11 Stunning Revelations from Larry Summers' secret economics memo to Barack Obama.

It's not just incompetence - it's sheer anti-Americanism that drives Obama.

Priorities

2012-01-23T22:12:00.000-05:00

If you're a man, right now you're thinking "Hey, nice ass!"

If you're a REAL man, you're thinking "Hey, that's a nice Mosin-Nagant!"

Indicators

2012-01-23T08:04:00.000-05:00

As I've said, there isn't a single candidate who's perfect. But when the GOP Establishment is lined up to scream and fling poo at Newt Gingrich, you gotta know he's doing something right!

Things what make me snort coffee out my nose

2012-01-23T08:01:00.001-05:00

The 10 cars with the most obnoxious drivers.

#3 is going to be my new instant classic!

If driving a $45,000 coal-powered car that has a tendency to catch on fire is considered sexy and environmentally conscious, count me in!

That's going to be my new description of electric cars! COAL POWERED!

The "super" bowl

2012-01-23T07:46:00.002-05:00

Pats vs. Giants.

You know, I think I'll find something else to do.

Making Sausage today

2012-01-22T13:28:00.002-05:00

Bratwurst, Italian, Garlic, and a traditional Irish.

Gonna be tasty.

Questions

2012-01-21T10:08:00.000-05:00

The Anchoress asks a lot of questions, starting with "Can a standing O shake a worldview?" referencing the ovation Newt Gingrich got for blasting John King out of the water. Read all the way to the bottom, because there are a few hard questions being asked.

Done? Back? Alright, here's my take:

For the past decade plus, Conservatives have been attacked by the mainstream press as stupid, terrorists, racist, ignorant, insert-insult-here, and not a single person on Capitol Hill or D.C. has said boo to it. During the last election, McCain wouldn't fight Obama when some of the worst insults were being thrown around.

We're tired of milquetoast candidates. Period.

Remember when Pawlenty wouldn't expound on his "Obamneycare" remark? Remember how fast he plummeted in the polls after he refused to expound on it at a debate?

PEOPLE! EVERYBODY KNOWS OBAMACARE IS MODELED AFTER ROMNEYCARE! EVERYBODY FUCKING KNOWS IT! THE ONLY PEOPLE IN DENIAL ARE MITT AND HIS SUPPORTERS!

So when Pawlenty had his chance to make a damn good point, and show just how damaging Romneycare is, he waffled, he sidestepped, he refused to defend himself and fight for what he had said, and in the end it was THAT singular lack of fighting instinct that killed his campaign. Which is a shame, because he did a terrific job as Governor of Minnesota. I think he could have been a great president. But if you're not willing to fight for the free market, if you're not willing to fight for conservative principals, you're going nowhere. So he went down in flames.

Now bring in Gingrich. Yeah, he's taken his jabs at the other candidates. But he's reserved the heaviest blows for Obama and his palace guards, the media. His takedown of that poofed-up punk John King? Brilliant. It effectively ended his ex-wife as a topic of debate for the night, and possibly for the election. And here is where Gingrich gets it, and the other candidates don't. If you are the Republican nominee, you are going to be attacked, day and night, by the media. The media managed to get their Marxist Messiah elected, and they will work twice has hard to get him re-elected. If you refuse to fight the Democrat Media Propaganda Complex, you are going to lose.

We're tired of candidates who sit there with a stupid grin on their face as they're savaged by a media who hates them no matter what they do. The media turned on John McCain, who was a liberal's most favorite Republican EVAR!!!!! It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

Gingrich treats the media as they need to be treated - as hostile to conservatives, desperate to protect their God, King, Lord and Savior Obama, and the enemy to freedom in America. And he's the only candidate to do it.

THAT is why Gingrich is doing so well. And if he wins the nomination, that'll be a huge reason why. Every candidate on the stage right now is deeply flawed. But Gingrich is the only one who shows that he understands who they need to fight.

When I woke up

2012-01-19T19:50:00.001-05:00

It was 4 degrees. When I left the house it was -4. When I got to work it was -7.

Ah, the balmy Wisconsin winters!

Obama kills the Keystone XL Pipeline

2012-01-18T21:09:00.000-05:00

As we knew he would. This is only confusing if you're under the impression that Obama wants a strong America. He doesn't. He wants a weakened America, and in that light, this decision makes perfect sense.

Last Night's Debate round 2

2012-01-17T08:05:00.000-05:00

Well, that was refreshing - a debate that actually focused on the issues at hand, rather than George Snuffaluffagus wiping Obama's semen from his chin and trying to play "Gotcha" games with questions about contraception.

Personally, I think Newt did the best, but debates have always been his strong point. Romney? Did not impress me, not one bit. And if he's that much of a limp dick in a debate where every question is a chance to impress voters, he doesn't stand a chance against Obama.

Romney is not electable, folks. Sorry. He's not. Santorum did well, Paul and Perry both got good lines in, but Romney did not help himself, in what was possibly his best chance to lock up the nomination. He flopped.

Antithetical

2012-01-16T10:22:00.000-05:00

At this point, the entire Obama administration is antithetical to the Constitution of the United States. And Obama, who desperately wants to be king, although Mooch-elle wants to be queen even worse, needs to be impeached.

Well, so much for the Packers

2012-01-16T10:16:00.000-05:00

Watched the game, and there were two things that stood out to me - the New Jersey Giants are a load of classless crap. And the Packers desperately need to upgrade at several positions. Aaron Rodgers has been covering up glaring holes in that offense, but that only works when the receivers actually catch the ball, which they failed to do last night.

So they get to join my Seahawks, sitting at home and watching other people play.

The Joys Of Socialism

2012-01-14T22:57:00.000-05:00

In real time.

Folks, if you want to see what the ~~Democrat~~ American Communist Party policies are going to bring about, all you have to do is take a look at where they've been in control for decades. Detroit is the perfect example. That city needs a wall built around it to contain the progressive stupidity.

Flash ads

2012-01-14T22:55:00.000-05:00

Look, I know that all these flash ads check the cookies on your computer and put up ads to things they think will make you click on them, but...

I've been getting World of Warcraft ads. And I don't play WoW. I don't play any online multiplayer games like that. No Warcraft, no Call of Duty, no Evercrack, nothing.

It's getting kinda annoying, watching some crappy orc dance.

The ATF is running guns again

2012-01-14T09:53:00.000-05:00

For fuck's sake, destroy the ATF. Disband it. Get rid of it. Because as far as I can tell, it's only mission is gun-running for the Mexican drug cartels.

They have proven that they cannot be trusted, from top to bottom. It is a government agency that brakes the law, commits serious crimes, and refuses to stop.

Get. Rid. Of. It. Remove it. Destroy it. Demolish it. Tear it from it's foundations and cast it onto the scrap heap of history. Kill it now, before it's actions cause any more deaths to occur.

One million workers less

2012-01-13T09:46:00.002-05:00

This is what Socialism brings. This is why Obama must be defeated.

Todays Leftist Hyperventilation du jour

2012-01-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

Marines urinate on dead Taliban - wailing and rending of garments follows.

Folks? Let the Marines piss on the corpses any time they want to. And then videotape it and broadcast that to the world. In fact, bury the corpses underneath the piss tubes that troops use, and make a video of you burying them and putting the piss tubes on top. Videotape every swinging dick in the battalion pissing on the corpses of the Taliban. Hell, charge the troops a dollar to use those specific piss tubes and you'd be rolling in the dough.

And it still wouldn't be a fraction as barbaric as the Taliban are themselves.

It's about time the West stopped whining about insignificant shit. Man up, you fucking babies. We are fighting seventh century barbarians who like to rape little girls who's fathers are friendly to Americans. We are dealing with barbaric savages who like to cut the heads off of children if their parents ever helped the Americans. There are no words in the English language to describe the brutality of the Taliban, and what they've done to the people of Afghanistan. And you want to get upset because some Marines pissed on their corpses?

Pissing on their corpses is the LEAST of what they deserve.

Snow is here

2012-01-13T09:20:00.000-05:00

It was actually snowing sideways for a good portion of yesterday. Yee haw! And now is the time when we shovel.

Torn

2012-01-12T06:00:00.003-05:00

I just finished watching "We Were Soldiers". I made it up until the point where Col Moore's wife confronted the cabby who was delivering the telegrams notifying people that their loves ones had died. Fighting, dying, combat, that won't get me to tear up. A distraught cabby who has no idea how to tell someone that their Soldier is dead....

"I don't like this job, lady. I just have to do it."

I guess there are still some things that I haven't quite recovered from yet.

A-yup

2012-01-11T18:35:00.000-05:00

Gonna snow tonight

2012-01-11T18:25:00.002-05:00

Shovel? Ready. Salt and sand? Ready. Back? Mmmmmmmm....... maybe.

Romney wants to fire people?

2012-01-10T07:33:00.000-05:00

Folks, if you're getting your knickers in a twist over Romney saying he enjoys being able to fire people, stop it.

That is NOT a big deal. Businesses fire people all the damn time. People don't work? They get fired. Show up to work drunk? They get fired. Don't conform to the businesses standards? They get fired.

I'm willing to bet that if more UAW folks had gotten fired over the past few decades, Chrysler and GM wouldn't have lost as much money as they did. And trust me when I tell you that entire swaths of government employees and contractors need to get fired. The graft, waste and corruption endemic to poor performers who can't get fired is costing this country hundreds of billions of dollars each year.

Firing people isn't inherently bad. Don't make a big deal out of it.

The More Accurate Headline is....

2012-01-10T07:28:00.002-05:00

Rats Flee Sinking Ship.

Let's hope that Bill Daley resigning is a portend of greater things to come.

Songs what make me giggle

2012-01-10T07:27:00.000-05:00

How many cultural references can you get into one little ditty jotted down on the back of a napkin and turned into a national hit?

Denver wins

2012-01-09T08:02:00.000-05:00

Or, more importantly, the Devil's Concubines, aka the Pittsburgh Steelers, lose. I don't mind Denver as a whole, and I think the city itself is great. Still, I'm indifferent to their teams, until they play the Whores of Lucifer in the playoffs.

Thank you, Denver Broncos. Thank you Tim Tebow for finally airing it out. Thank you John Fox for pulling up one hell of a game plan.

The only real team I will root against is the cheap-shot taking, cheating bastards known as ~~Sluts for Satan~~ Pittsburgh Steelers. I must root against them, especially after they all sold their souls to the Prince of Darkness so that the refs would toss the 2005 Superbowl to them. Which the refs did. Rules? What rules? The Dark Lord demands that Pittsburgh win, and so they gave that game away.

Please note - The Steelers tried to sell a few more souls last year, but Satan doesn't do second mortgages I guess. Packers win. Steelers lose. I celebrate.

So anyways, thank you Denver Broncos. Even though my team is out of the playoffs, you still gave me something to root for.

The Debt Limit

2012-01-09T07:50:00.000-05:00

I'd say that it's put into ways that even a liberal could understand, but they've got their heads buried so far up their asses that they're keeping themselves ignorant through the sheer force of their will.

Found here.

And one more thing

2012-01-08T22:46:00.001-05:00

Am I the only person who thinks that George Snuffaluffagus would have been better able to ask questions at a debate if he wasn't busy wiping Obama's cumshot off of his face?

Anyone?

In case you couldn't tell

2012-01-08T22:44:00.000-05:00

I've been mostly offline lately. Busy. So it's with some amount of amazement I read about one goat-felching fuckwit, Eugene Robinson, and his attack on the Santorum family over their decision to deal with the death of their baby girl.

I'm not the first person who recoils in horror at seeing Eugene Robinson's filth. Or the Second. Or the Third. And hopefully I'm not the last.

Eugene Robinson is one of the best examples of liberal, "progressive" thought today. Let that sink in for a while.

This is why they must be defeated. And this is why I cannot vote for Romney. Romney doesn't fight back against this level of hatred and smear attacks. Right now, Newt Gingrich is the only person taking the fight to the Left.

The. Only. One.

I had high hopes for Ron Paul, and if Paul had gone after the Left the way he's gone after the Right, he'd have my vote right here and right now. But dammit..... he seems more interested in scoring points against the GOP than the ~~Democrat~~ American Communist Party. That just doesn't work. Romney, Santorum, Paul, they all get led by the nose by the MSM, otherwise known as Obama's Palace Guards, into attacking each other when they need to attack the Left, who's attempts to destroy this once great country are succeeding at an alarming rate. But no, they'll bicker and infight rather than go after the cancer of Leftist thought. And they'll let America fall into a pit it cannot recover from rather than attack the evil of progressive ideology head on.

Yes, I said it. The EVIL OF PROGRESSIVE IDEOLOGY. You cannot belong to an ideology responsible for hundreds of millions of deaths around the world, and determined to destroy the greatest country the planet has ever seen, without being considered evil. You cannot belong to an ideology that will enslave the future of this country to pay for the entitlement programs of today without being considered evil.

And yet none of the top three frontrunners will attack that evil, and call it what it is. And they want to win the nomination of the political party that at least mouths out mealy platitudes to conservatism?

Dear fuck me gently Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick, I need more ammo.

Last Night's Debate

2012-01-08T08:49:00.000-05:00

I don't think anybody helped themselves. George Snuffaluffagus or whatever the hell his name is kept on attacking Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, leaving the rest of the candidates grasping for airtime to answer what few questions were asked. All in all, it was just about as unsatisfactory a debate as I've seen, and it started with the "moderators". There was one guy who actually seemed as if he cared about the questions and answers, rather than trying to protect his god and king Obama, but I can't remember his name right now.

All in all, this was a debate that really could have been better. And it almost would have been better to have no debate at all.

The question that's on my mind right now

2012-01-07T08:23:00.002-05:00

How can I rake $110 out of my budget to go to Cigarfest?

Well, it'd be more than $110 once you add travel, lodging and food. Hell, by the time it's all said and done it'll be a cool grand in total costs by the time I return home.

Get Ready for a Hollow Force

2012-01-06T07:54:00.000-05:00

Look, you knew when they made Leon Panetta SecDef that the military as a whole was going to get fucked over hard and left sticky. And it was just announced. A "leaner" military. What a crock of shit.

That worthless fucking anti-American bastard who is currently infesting the Oval Office would get rid of the military entirely if he could, especially since the military is one of the most patriotic, America-loving institutions in this country, and Obama can't allow THAT now can he?

I can't even stand looking at that fucking commie bastard anymore. I can't. He's damaged this country beyond repair. I hope he rots in hell for what he's done to what used to be the greatest country in the world.

Iowa Caucuses

2012-01-05T07:46:00.000-05:00

Oh for the love of pete.... Iowa, you are seriously pissing me off. Romney and Santorum? Hell, why not throw in Larry, Curly and Moe? You crack smoking retards!

Folks, the more I think about Romney, the more I'm convinced that he cannot be the representative. By his singular refusal to admit that Romneycare in Massachusetts was a bad idea, his support of socialized health care... Look, Obamacare is going to be one of, if not THE hot topic issues of the election. How the hell can we have a nominee who, by his words and deeds, takes that issue right off the table and surrenders victory to the communists? That would also sink a lot of congressional races as well. "Mr. Conservative, how can you be against Obamacare when the person who essentially wrote the blueprint for it is your presidential nominee?"

Whatever happens, we cannot allow Romney to win.

Mourning

2012-01-03T07:57:00.000-05:00

I went for a walk at around 2030 hrs last night, to smoke a cigar and give the dog time to burn off some energy. I swear, I think the entire town was in mourning after Wisconsin lost to Oregon in the Rose Bowl. There wasn't anyone on the road, nobody walking but me and the dog, and the entire mood of the town was one of grief.

Me, I was wearing as much of my West Coast clothing as I possibly could. Meheh.

Need. Coffee.

2012-01-02T10:48:00.000-05:00

Desperately.

I spent a good portion of yesterday with a tweaked muscle in my back that led to a screaming headache every time I turned my head. The Ragin' Mrs. slathered my back with tiger balm and worked on my scapular muscles, then set me down on a vibrating massage pad for the most of the night. I'm still sore, but I don't have the same level of pain as I had, which is a good thing. Still, all the crap I wanted to do yesterday never got done. Might not get done today either.

Give me coffee. Blah.

The New Year

2012-01-01T13:59:00.000-05:00

Blah. It's a page flip on a calendar.

My new year started back in June, when the abusive boss from hell got moved, and I got a new boss in who let me do my job, didn't ask me to do theirs, and treated me like a valuable team member rather than a verbal punching bag and whipping bitch.

So my "new" year isn't all that new right now. And since the dipshits in charge moved the Rose Bowl from January 1st to the 2nd, I can't even look forward to my New Year's Tradition until tomorrow. Fucking bastards.

I need some more music

2011-12-31T09:41:00.000-05:00

I could listen to a good a cappela choir all day long. Hell, they could be singing in some language I can't even recognize and I'd still listen, just because the music is so beautiful.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do.

Tinkering Day

2011-12-30T12:43:00.000-05:00

Added a few links to the blogroll. Shoveled the walk. Gonna work on brewing and vintning tonight. It's a "day off", but given how much I have to do, it's really not much of a day off.

Og wants pictures

2011-12-29T06:00:00.007-05:00

Well, I aim to please!

Bratwurst and mustard:

For those who labor under the idea that bratwurst has to be slathered with STUFF, and put on a bun, let me disabuse you of that idea right now. The proper way to enjoy a bratwurst is with mustard and a hard roll. Don't put the mustard on the sausage, you put a dollop of it on your plate. You then take the brat in your primary hand, the roll in your off hand. Dip the brat in mustard. Take a bite. Take a bite of the roll. Take a swig of beer. Repeat.

It. Is. That. Simple. That was beaten into my head by a man who ate many a bratwurst in Germany, and never ONCE was ketchup, onions, or any other condiment other than mustard served. Cook the brats in beer? What, are you trying to cover up a crappy flavor? He DRINKS beer and EATS brats, and how DARE I try to ruin a brat by cooking it in beer! If the flavor of the bratwurst is so bad you have to cover it up by cooking it in beer, you need better sausages!

Now, I've also had brats to me by a master butcher from Germany, served on a roll with ketchup, mustard and relish. I guess you eat it how you like it, and everybody else can pound sand if they're upset.

Andouille, fresh from the smoker:

After it's smoked, you have to let it sit for a while for the heat to really build up. But give it a week, and after you eat a bite the heat starts in the back of your throat and moves it's way up to your lips, until your entire mouth feels like you've swallowed a propane torch. It's friggin' awesome. Sliced thin, and used as a pizza topping? Ohmygodgood.

I should note that actual Cajun andouille is thicker than this, but 1) I can't get real beef casing here, and 2) my smoker can really only cook a thin sausage. Any thicker and it would still be partially raw in the middle, and that just won't do.

Italian Sausage, covered in pasta and marinara sauce:

Note that the sauce and pasta are nothing but delivery vehicles for the sausage. We make a hot and a medium-hot. We used to make a sweet, but we found that we never really used it without adding some more heat to it, so we skipped the middle step and just make it hot.

Next time I'm actually making sausage I'll take pictures of the action.

I got it from Mostly Cajun

2011-12-28T18:30:00.000-05:00

Who got it from Tam. Anyways, the most frequently played tracks on my iPod.

1......
2......
3......
4......
5......
6......
7......
8......
9......
10. I don't have a friggin' iPod. While I enjoy technology, I tend to have either CD's, or my computer, or my new tablet around. One more electronic do-dad isn't necessary.

Be a Man, make Sausage

2011-12-28T08:24:00.000-05:00

So I cased and packaged almost twenty pounds of sausage last night. Six pounds of bratwurst, six pounds of a new sausage we're making called "Chipotle and Cheese" with massive amounts of onion and garlic, three + pounds of our Cranberry Brats (we're in Wisconsin, after all!) and three + pounds of a bratwurst with Granny Smith apples, which didn't come out nearly as good as I had hoped.

Ah well, that's why we experiment. It still tasted good with a little mustard.

In any case, making your own sausage is relatively easy, and for those who actually care about what goes into their food, should be a priority on learning how to do it. We first started making our own sausage when the Ragin' Mrs. allergies started cropping up. We couldn't find a single sausage that didn't have some form of soy in it. Soy flour, soybean oil, soy protein, blah blah blah CRAP and MORE CRAP. In sausage. We started out making our own Italian sausage and breakfast sausage, and when we couldn't find a single bratwurst IN FRIGGIN' WISCONSIN that didn't have soy in it, we hunted until we found an original recipe and then fiddled and tested and experimented with it until we perfected it. And I mean, guys who spent decades in Germany taking a bite and almost weeping PERFECT. One gent uttered the phrase "Oh my God, that's my lunch in Munich!"

No, you're not getting that recipe. We may end up selling it before too long, and we're keeping it proprietary.

If you want more encouragement to make your own sausage, go to the supermarket, pick up a package of sausage and read the ingredients. Get towards the end, and see how many you can pronounce. If you're sensitive to things like Nitrates, Nitrites, Sulfates and Sulfites, watch out. If you don't like having high-protein soy flour, high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oils and other various ingredients with multi-syllabic chemical ingredients in your food, then most likely you'll have to make your own.

In any case, the first thing you'll need to make sauage is good meat. We found a grocery store that sells the ends to their "boneless country ribs", which aren't ribs by the way. They're pork roasts cut into strips so that you can grill them and call them ribs. ANYWAYS - we take the ends which they sell relatively cheap, and cut it into small chunks that we can toss into the grinder. Some recipes call for beef, some for lamb, most for pork. I add my seasonings before I grind the meat, as I find it gives the sausage a better, more complete flavor. But you can add it after, and it shouldn't hurt a thing.

Don't be afraid of fatty scraps here, either. Sausage needs to have about 20% fat in it, otherwise it dries up when it cooks. A lot of that fat cooks out, so don't think you're eating a fat pill with these.

Take your cut up meat, and run it through your grinder. You can buy manual meat grinders/sausage stuffers just about anywhere. We have an electric grinder/stuffer, and if you have a high-end stand mixer, most of those (such as KitchenAide) have grinder/stuffer attachments that you can use. We used our KitchenAide to make sausage for years before we finally got our grinder. Pay attention to the plate size - the smaller the holes in the plate, the smoother the end product will be. If you want a real coarse sausage, like breakfast sausages, use the larger sized plate. For our brats I use the smallest sized plate. I use a medium size plate on my Italian sausage.

My meat grinder doubles as a sausage stuffer, I just swap out the plates for a stuffing tube. Other machines are uni-taskers. The only requirement is that it takes the ground meat and stuffs it into a casing, so there's really no "wrong" answer on what machine to use. Here is where a big textural factor comes into play; you can get collagen casings, which are dry, and can keep for months until you use them. Or you can get natural casings which have to be used a bit sooner. Natural casings also need to be handled differently. Once the moisture from the sausage works it's way into the collagen casing, there's only a slight difference in how the sausage feels, but you can still feel the difference. The Ragin' Mrs. and I prefer real, natural casings. Hog casing is the standard sausage size. Lamb casings are for breakfast sausage and other smaller diameter sausages like hot dogs. Beef casing, if you can get it, is for the large, summer-sausage type creations. When we were in Puerto Rico, the only casings we could get were the collagen, so that's what we used. We're able to get the hog and lamb casings here in Wisconsin.

As you're filling the casing, pause to twist individual links. Or, if you're going for a smoked sausage like Andouille or Keilbasa make long whole loops that can be hung over a smoking rack. We make our own andouille here at the Ragin' Manor. Goes great in soups, casseroles, and the Ragin' Mrs.' Red Beans and Rice.

Package up the sausage how ever you feel, and enjoy. Once you try real, home-made sausage that doesn't have a bunch of crap fillers in it, you'll never go back. There's loads of websites about sausage making with recipes, techniques and hints. Use 'em.

Maybe next time we'll talk about making beer. Or mead.

11 Rules your kids did not and will not learn in school

2011-12-27T07:54:00.000-05:00

Any folks with kids out there, you may want to print this out and post it somewhere in a high-traffic area.

Rule 1: Life is not fair -- get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping -- they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

You know, for all the times I was called a nerd in high school, I wouldn't want any of those bastards working for me. Meh. That's why I moved away.

New toy

2011-12-26T17:33:00.002-05:00

I am typing this on my new tablet, although I just found out it doesn't like the cold very much. Still, this will be great for all the traveling I do.

A Thrill of Hope

2011-12-25T01:00:00.001-05:00

O holy night.
The stars are brightly shining.
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world
In sin and error pining
'Til He appeared
And the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope
The weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees
Hear the angels' voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night, O holy night
O night divine

BCS = Big Crock of Shit

2011-12-24T06:58:00.001-05:00

Boise State and TCU - two winning programs. #7 and # 18 in the national standings, respectively. And they played in WHAT bowls again?

TCU played in the San Deigo County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl? Are you friggin' kidding me?

Boise State played in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl?

And both of them played against unranked teams. What the hell is this? BSU blew out Arizona State. On a Thursday night, when nobody was watching. Meanwhile, crappy unranked teams from the "AQ" conferences are getting prime time bowls and game times.

The BCS is a gigantic crock of shit. If this is the best that the BCS can do, then I see no reason to keep it. A drunken monkey throwing darts at a schedule could do a better job than this crap.

Trust

2011-12-23T12:31:00.000-05:00

I don't know what's more impressive - how quickly this guy can do a straight-razor shave, or the fact that folks allow someone with that many prison tats to use a straight-razor on their throat.

Ah, who am I kidding? If I lived down there I'd be in that shop every week. That's a gentleman's shop right there. Add in a selection of cigars and it would be friggin' PERFECT.

And from here on out

2011-12-23T11:23:00.001-05:00

The days get longer. Until next June. Or unless you're in the Southern Hemisphere on the planet.

But for me, and most the folks I know, the days get longer. So there.

Harry Brown

2011-12-22T22:50:00.002-05:00

Kevin Baker at The Smallest Minority recommended this movie a while ago. I don't watch many movies, so it's taken me a while to see it.

Holy.

Crap.

Get it. Watch it.

ObamneyCare

2011-12-22T06:00:00.008-05:00

The more Romney defends socialized health care, the less he's going to get elected.

ObamaCare is the one thing that unites conservatives and Republicans together. And Romney thinks that he can defend it?

Well, hello President Gingrich. Or Perry. Or Santorum. ObamneyCare is the reason why there's an "Anybody but Mitt" problem in the first place. And the fact that the media is essentially protecting Romney while attacking every other candidate tells you exactly who Obama wants to face in the election.

Romney winning the nomination means another four years of Obama, even if Romney wins.

What the fuck did they think would happen?

2011-12-21T10:17:00.000-05:00

What the hell did the clueless cocksucking bastardized shitheels think would happen when we pulled out of Iraq? You take a society that was brutalized for decades under Saddam Hussein, add in a tribal culture where family and tribe is more important than country, mix it with hatred from two sides of a religion, and you think that you can just walk the fuck away without any problems?

I'm sorry if the Left is so fucking brainless that they broke their arms patting themselves on the back for leaving Iraq. But I want every fucking Leftist who cheered our departure to look me in the eye and flat out tell me that they don't give a fuck about Iraq. They don't give a shit how many people will die. They don't fucking care about dead Iraqi kids. Because that is what's going to happen.

The party that continually shrieks about Viet Nam never learns the lesson of Viet Nam - when you abandon a country without insuring that it's stable, it will go to hell in a hand-basket before you can blink.

We didn't leave Iraq because the country was stable. We didn't leave Iraq because it could stand on it's own. We left Iraq because the Left can never be happen when America is winning a war. We left Iraq because of political ideology, NOT because the mission was over. And now we'll pay the price for it. And we'll pay that price for decades to come. We cannot know the full price we're going to pay, in blood or in money. But I know that we'll be paying it because of the fecklessness, ignorance and sheer outright stupidity of Barack Obama and his administration.

I need music

2011-12-20T06:00:00.002-05:00

Yeah, that'll do.

Ding Dong, The Dick is Dead!

2011-12-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

The Tyrannical Dick is Dead!

Of course, this being North Korea, Kimmy Dimmy Ding Dong had already picked out his successor to abuse and terrorize the slaves of North Korea. Meanwhile, Obama is wondering just how he can copy Kimmy Dimmy Ding Dong and get away with it.

Credit where credit is due

2011-12-17T10:19:00.000-05:00

I'd like some more of this, please.

What [it] basically does is require the State Department to issue the permit for Keystone XL within 60 days, unless President Obama explicitly says the pipeline is not in the national interest and kills it (that would definitely not be good for him to do).

It also tells State to allow construction to go ahead while it works with Nebraska to resolve any remaining environmental or routing issues. The governor and legislature there are on board with getting a new route to allay any concerns.

So we got the Keystone language, Dems got a 2 month extension of their payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance, but the cost is fully offset (with spending cuts) so it doesn’t add to the deficit.

The Republicans in the House and Senate have basically set it up so they either get the pipeline, or Obama goes down looking even worse and they have something solid they can pin on him. That's good politicking there.

A DAY OFF!

2011-12-17T09:45:00.002-05:00

And I can do what I want to do! I'm on nobody's schedule but my own!

*faint*

Today's Gonna Piss People Off post

2011-12-16T07:48:00.002-05:00

If Tim Tebow were black, not a single one of his attackers would have uttered a peep. Not. A. Fucking. Word.

From my viewpoint

2011-12-14T08:12:00.000-05:00

I think that the reason so many people hate Tim Tebow is because of his religion, not anything he's done on the field.

I mean, he's a decent guy, he doesn't play dirty, he doesn't take cheap shots at his opponents (Steelers please take note!), he doesn't get caught with five hookers and a suitcase full of coke, he's not on drugs, legal or otherwise, he doesn't use PEDs, he doesn't get on TV and badmouth anyone, he doesn't take all the credit for a victory, he always points to how the TEAM won the game.......

Oh, and while he might not be the greatest QB to ever play the game, he doesn't turn the ball over much, and his team is WINNING games. What are the Broncos now since he took over? 6-1? Yeah. Leading the AFC West? Yeah. So he's not Aaron Rodgers. So what? He protects the ball and gives his team a chance to win every single game. You think the Indianapolis Colts wouldn't like some of that right now? They'd jump on that chance like a starving dog on a fresh t-bone steak.

So can anyone else tell me why so many people hate Tim Tebow? Because from where I sit, it's his religion, not his skill set, that is setting so many people off. He's a reminder of what a decent Christian is, and people can't stand that.

Anybody? Prove me wrong.

Seen on my walk

2011-12-13T07:52:00.000-05:00

Click for bigger. I was walking the dog and having my cigar when I did a double take at one of the shops downtown. There have been a few of the "NO FIREARMS ALLOWED!!!!!!1111!!1!" signs popping up around town ever since Wisconsin finally stopped it's illegal infringement of the 2nd Amendment. It seems there's at least one shop in town that has no problem with the 2nd Amendment and people's rights.

Sorry about the quality, I took the picture with my phone.

Want to go running

2011-12-12T10:44:00.003-05:00

But there's freezing rain outside. So I'm torn between my desire to run, and my knowledge that if I hit a patch of ice, which is currently covering 70% of the ground, I could wind up breaking my leg and not run for months.

Dammit.

UPDATE: Went running anyways. It was fine, until I hit the soggy dirt trail, and then it was like running in quicksand. Still, better than sitting on my ever-expanding fat ass.

I don't care how cold it is

2011-12-11T21:22:00.003-05:00

There's no winter day that a strong wind can't make colder.

I hated Kansas for this very reason.

The Problem with Romney

2011-12-08T08:37:00.000-05:00

Can be summed up in two simple points. Oh, there's more problems with him that just these two points, but if you want to boil everything down, these two points are it:

1) RomneyCare, or as Pawlenty put it so well before he refused to fight, "ObamneyCare". Romney refuses to admit that RomneyCare is a bad idea. He refuses to admit that socialized medicine is a bad idea. And if he won't do that, then we don't need him in the Oval Office. What happens if we finally get the votes to repeal Obamacare, and President Romney vetos the repeal?

2) He won't fight. He's trying to be Mr. Nice Guy. Remember what happened to the last Mr. Nice Guy? We're not just fighting Obama, we're fighting the Media, who is desperate to keep their God-King enthroned. If you're not going to fight, and if you're too fucking stupid to see that the Media is going to throw everything they have against you, then you will. Not. Win. It's that simple.

Is Gingrich the ideal candidate? Hell no. But at least he swings at the Media when they take shots at him, and he's put more than a few of the pompous fucking jackasses in their place, which is more than Romney can say. If Romney isn't willing to fight both the media and Obama, he's going to lose.

And you know it.

Busy. Working.

2011-12-08T06:51:00.003-05:00

There's going to be a lot of that up through the New Year, by the way.

Uncle Sam Ain't Released Me Yet.

Rule of Law vs. Rule of Man

2011-12-06T07:25:00.000-05:00

When the Rule of Law no longer protects the citizen, but represses him while rewarding the criminals in society, why should the citizen bother to follow the law?

Also, why should I ever go to New Yawk City, given that they prefer filthy, communist criminal scum over law abiding citizens?

The Lost Art of Homebrewing

2011-12-06T07:21:00.000-05:00

Via Instapundit, Megan Fox talks about homebrewing. The Ragin' Mrs. and I make our own wines and ciders. I enjoy making beer, but it's a much longer process, and I find that doing the wine and cider takes up enough time as it is. Plus, I'm in Wisconsin. I can find any beer that I want up here, with multiple microbreweries within an hour drive. Wines and ciders? With the Ragin' Mrs. allergies to sulfites, which are added to wine and cider, the only wine we can buy is expensive and limited in both quality and quantity.

Anyways, it's a good read. If you've ever wanted to take up a "hobby", this would be it. And I put quotation marks around hobby because once you start homebrewing, it be comes less of a hobby and more of a lifestyle. When you invest that much time and patience into anything, it's not a hobby.

Actually work? Maybe, maybe not. Time and patience? Lots. DON'T OPEN THAT BOTTLE YET! IT'S NOT READY!

Oh, and by the way

2011-12-05T08:19:00.000-05:00

Piling on with last nights post about how the BCS is crap, let me add that if Kellen Moore doesn't win the Heisman trophy this year, you may as well toss that award onto the scrap heap of history, along with the NCAA's credibility, or what's left of it.

Name one one QB that's done what Kellen Moore has done over the past four years. Anyone? Yeah. Thought so.

So even though the Heisman has become nothing more than the "Let's give a QB from a famous school some award" trophy, here's a chance to actually give the award to the best collage player. Which would be Kellen Moore, as evidenced by his four year domination of teams he's played against. Oh, what, you don't think the Heisman is a popularity contest? Can you name the Heisman awardees from the past decade who are actually playing in the NFL? Here, I'll give you one: Cam Newton, he who got paid to play collage football. Oh, wait, right, it was his DAD who got paid, and 'ol Cam knew NOTHING about it. School paid out six figures? Here Cam, have a trophy!

2000	Chris Weinke	Who?
2001	Eric Crouch	Who?
2002	Carson Palmer	OK, he' still playing
2003	Jason White	Who?
2004	Matt Leinart	Career flame-out, now a backup
2006	Troy Smith	Who?
2007	Tim Tebow	Now starting in Denver
2008	Sam Bradford	Now starting in St. Louis
2009	Mark Ingram	Now starting in New Orleans
2010	Cam Newton	Hey Dad! LET'S GET PAID!

So, out of the past ten years, you've had half of the Heisman trophy winners, the supposedly BEST PLAYERS IN COLLEGE EVAH for that year, make it to the next level and succeed. Four who were pretty much laughed out of training camp, and one who crashed and burned, who is now starting only because of a broken foot in the starting QB. Ooops, wait, now he's out with an injury after one game.

That's 50%. That ain't good, folks.

So here's the Heisman voter's chance. Prove that the trophy still means something more than a popularity contest. Kellen Moore for the win!

BSC "Championship"

2011-12-04T21:02:00.000-05:00

LSU vs. Alabama?

Booooooooo-riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

As if we didn't have enough evidence that the BCS is a flaming crock of bullshit, this is just the fecal frosting on top of the crap cake. I'm not going to watch that game. I have absolutely no interest in that game. Hell, I'm not going to watch many of the bowl games, as by this time they're nothing more than a "Fill-in-the-blank-Sponsor" scheme to make money, and most of them really aren't that good.

Does anyone from outside the SEC really think that LSU and Alabama are the two best teams in the country? Hell, we've already seen this game, a snooze-fest that I didn't watch, and after seeing the re-caps I'm GLAD I didn't watch it.

Sorry folks, but hell no. We need a play-off system, and we need it now.

Vitamins

2011-12-03T11:16:00.000-05:00

Instapundit has a post up about a woman suffering from low levels of B12. My mom the nurse has always tried to impress upon me the importance of Vitamin D, especially since we live in a Northern latitude. The B vitamins are just as important. If you're in a northern state, and you eat the typical American diet, which is absolute crap by the way, you are vitamin deficient.

I eat fairly healthy, and the Ragin' Mrs. and I make most of our own food at home. We rarely eat canned or bottled crap. And I still take multivitamins and Vitamin D every day. Get yourself a bottle of GOOD multivitamins. Take one a day. I get the chewables or gummi vitamins, for the simple fact that you don't often fully digest the hard little pills that vitamins often come in.

And EAT HEALTHY. Get some salad into your diet. Use real butter, not margarine. Margarine goes straight to your arteries where it just waits to give you a heart attack. Find local farmers and butchers to buy your meat from. If you can find someone selling all grass-fed beef, do it. Make as much of your own food as possible. The more you use canned, boxed or preserved food, the more sodium and fat you're eating.

The healthier you are, the less you'll have to rely on government death panels to determine your fate.

Rivrdog asks...

2011-12-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

What's your Theme Song?

There's quite a few I discarded as being too... well, grand for little 'ol me. I'm not grand. But....

If I had to pick one theme song for me right now, music that would play when I walked into a room?

Booyah, baby. Hey, Pachuco!

The Rant that needs to be heard 'round the world

2011-12-02T08:03:00.000-05:00

Over at KisP. Not safe for work. And not safe if you have any Marxists around, as their heads might explode when they hear this.

It's AIDS day or something?

2011-12-01T22:24:00.000-05:00

President Downgrade was giving some speech (I know, I'm shocked too!) about AIDS and how he wants to blow more tax money on finding a cure.

Look, I'm all for finding a cure. And I hope I don't piss off too many people with this, because I wouldn't want to watch any of my family members die of AIDS, and I have sympathy for those folks out there who are dealing with that. But with that being said, you want to know how to stop the spread of AIDS?

Stop having promiscuous, unprotected sex.

Stop doing IV drugs.

Due to testing, the transfer of HIV/AIDS through a blood transfusion is non-existent. Other than accidental transfers, such as a nurse or doctor accidentally pricking themselves with a needle from an AIDS patient, the huge, vast majority of AIDS infections come from people who have unprotected, promiscuous sex or use drugs that require injection into a vein. I don't know of anyone personally who was infected with HIV or AIDS who didn't catch it through stupid sex or stupid drugs. Or a combination of both.

There is no AIDS pandemic. There is a stupidity pandemic. Being promiscuous or using IV drugs is like playing Russian Roulette; sooner or later, that hammer is going to fall on a loaded chamber. The problem is that you can't fix stupid.

Just look at our pResident for proof of that.

Would you have dinner with Sandusky?

2011-11-30T13:55:00.002-05:00

I think we can agree that murder is the worst form of child abuse. Certainly the courts think so. So if you found yourself having dinner with Penn State's Sandusky and became aware of the allegations of child sexual abuse it would we far less of a moral conundrum then finding yourself having dinner with Bill Ayers who is an admitted terror bomber, who targeted children with fire-bombs, and killed three fellow terrorists in a 'workplace accident'.

So... what would you do at that moment of discovery? Would you:

Plan your upcoming political campaign?
Chat about collaborating on tax-funded Educational Projects?
Compliment his book dedicated to Bobby Kennedy's assassin Sirhan Sirhan?
Greet his children named for terror 'martyrs'?
Invite him to finish your biography?
Leave?

While you watch Sandusky's enablers go to jail... consider that Bill Ayers enabler is Barack Hussein Obama, President of the United States.

Stealing the post in entirety

2011-11-30T08:10:00.000-05:00

Because it needs to be read and passed around.

The current Occupy Wall Street movement is the best illustration to date of what President Barack Obama’s America looks like. It is an America where the lawless, unaccomplished, ignorant and incompetent rule. It is an America where those who have sacrificed nothing pillage and destroy the lives of those who have sacrificed greatly.

It is an America where history is rewritten to honor dictators, murderers and thieves. It is an America where violence, racism, hatred, class warfare and murder are all promoted as acceptable means of overturning the American civil society.

It is an America where humans have been degraded to the level of animals:
defecating in public, having sex in public, devoid of basic hygiene. It is an America where the basic tenets of a civil society, including faith, family, a free press and individual rights, have been rejected. It is an America where our founding documents have been shredded and, with them, every person’s guaranteed liberties.

It is an America where, ultimately, great suffering will come to the American people, but the rulers like Obama, Michelle Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, liberal college professors, union bosses and other loyal liberal/Communist Party members will live in opulent splendor.

It is the America that Obama and the Democratic Party have created with the willing assistance of the American media, Hollywood , unions, universities, the Communist Party of America, the Black Panthers and numerous anti-American foreign entities.

Barack Obama has brought more destruction upon this country in four years than any other event in the history of our nation, but it is just the beginning of what he and his comrades are capable of.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is just another step in their plan for the annihilation of America.

(*)

Ragin' Daves Quote of the Day, Patriarch edition

2011-11-30T08:02:00.000-05:00

My dad told me some time ago, "Where you stand today is the end result of every choice you have ever made. Sounds complicated? It's not."

If your life sucks, it most likely sucks because your choices have sucked. If your life is great, it's most likely great because your choices have led it to be great.

So when the drugged out Marxist hippies in the Flea Party scream about how life is so unfair, just remember - their lives suck because of the choices they have made.

Bawney Fwank is wetiewing?

2011-11-29T19:00:00.001-05:00

I'd like to shout things like "THANK YOU GOD!" but the fact is that if there was any justice in this country, Bawney Fucking Fwank would rot behind bars for the rest of his fucking pathetic life, getting cornholed by Bubba just like he's fucked this country over for decades.

That worthless fucking corrupt piece of shit can't die fast enough, and when he does, I'm going to fucking dance on his god-damned grave.

How's that for civility?

From my email

2011-11-28T22:17:00.000-05:00

Remember the Richmond Tea Party? Demanding their money back after Richmond allowed the Flea Party to squat in the same park the Tea Party had paid all the permit money for? Got an email today that read this:

I remember reading your article in Peace or Freedom about my Tea Party serving the Richmond Mayor with an invoice. The City of Richmond is now auditing our tea party. Just two weeks after we asked for a refund from the City because the Mayor gave the Occupiers a free pass, we received notice of the audit. I guess that is what passes for a response from the Mayor.

Yeah, it's real. This is what happens when piece of shit elitists are held accountable for their bullshit actions, folks. They use their power to try to squash dissent. THIS is what tyranny looks like. All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

Reprehensible.

Busy cooking

2011-11-28T17:45:00.000-05:00

Can't talk now. Apple-bourbon BBQ sauce is simmering.

Be a Man, Make a Ham

2011-11-27T12:37:00.000-05:00

So the Ragin' Mrs. put forth one of the best spreads EVAR!!!!!!!!11!!1! for Thanksgiving, and it included our home-made ham.

Yep. Home made. We make it and cure it. And I'm about to tell you how.

Go ye forth and procure a picnic ham. We pick them up at the Commissary, but any meat shop should be able to get one for you. Your local grocery store can order them in if they don't already have them.

Take the ham home, rinse it off, and then prepare your salt cure; equal parts salt and sugar. The Ragin' Mrs. and I use our almost world famous Spice Rub, but I'm not giving THAT recipe away. For the right price, I can send you a pound of it. But take your equal parts salt and sugar, and add whatever spices you want to it. Garlic, pepper, ginger, anything that happens to float your boat.

Now that your fresh picnic ham is coated in your salt cure, seal it in a big ziplock bag, put it in the coldest part of your fridge, and let it sit for two weeks. Yes, two weeks. That's what the salt is for.

Once it's sat for two weeks, it's time to cold-smoke it. You need to get the smoke into the meat, but NOT COOK IT. We actually have a hot-plate that we place a thin metal pan full of wood-chips on, and that gets the smoke we want without the heat that traditional smoking would bring. Smoke it for about five to eight hours, depending on how heavy your smoke is.

Once the ham is smoked BUT NOT COOKED, take it out of the smoke, put it back into the bag, and pour a bottle of good red wine into the bag. Merlot, Cabernet, even Lambrusco if you like a little sweetness. Seal it up, and put it back into the coldest part of your fridge for another week. Turn it once a day to make sure the wine gets everywhere.

After the week is up, you can freeze it or cook it right then. The flavor is friggin' AWESOME, the meat is cut-with-a-fork tender, and you've done it yourself. The biggest part is patience as you wait for the salt, sugar, and wine to do it's job. We've made several hams this way, and people darn near rip the ham right off the plate when we set it down. You won't be disappointed.

After shave

2011-11-26T08:00:00.001-05:00

I never really used it. Every single aftershave lotion I have ever tried was either like smearing Vasoline on my face, or Everclear. They gave me ingrown hairs, blackheads and zits, raw skin, dry skin, you name the bad skin condition and I got it. So I just tossed aftershaves aside as worthless, and ignored them as much as possible.

So last week the Ragin' Mrs. brings me home a small sample of this. From Clinique? I don't need make-up, honey! Isn't Clinique a woman kind of thing?

"Just try it." she says. So I do.

Wow. It actually works. And my face doesn't feel like the Exxon Valdez broke open across my upper lip.

I'll be getting some more soon.

Um...... REALLY?

2011-11-26T06:40:00.001-05:00

So this guy says that the birth scene in the new "Twilight" movie caused him to have seizures.

Wow. How do I say this? Mr. Seizure Man - if you're watching that movie in a theater, I would say that your COMPLETE AND TOTAL LACK OF TESTICLES would be of more importance.

Seriously - you couldn't get me to watch that movie if you friggin' PAID me. I think that any man who willingly walks into a theater to see the "Twilight" movies is either a castrated mincing little girly-man or gay. Sparkley gay emo vampires? Not just no but hell NO!

Bleah!

So.....

2011-11-25T09:37:00.000-05:00

How about them Packers, huh?

I'm Seahawks fan in Packerland right now, and I swear to you that the folks around me have stopped trying to convert me to the First Church of Green Bay, and have now started just giving me looks filled with pity. Some little old ladie tried thrusting cookies with a condolence note into my hand last Sunday when she saw me wearing my Seahawks shirt.

Why did we ever hire Pete Carrol? And don't give me that stuff about how the Seahawks beat the Ravens. That's a sign of how weak and inconsistent the Ravens can be, not a sign about how great the Seahawks aree.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:33:00.002-05:00

Now get offline and go have fun with real people!

Anne McCaffrey has passed

2011-11-23T10:24:00.003-05:00

Damn, I remember reading her books by the dozens when I was growing up. I had an Anne McCaffrey section in my little library.

She was a special writer with a special talent. You could do much worse for your kids than buying them the "Dragonriders of Pern" set and giving it to them for Christmas.

Gots me some visitors coming today

2011-11-22T07:29:00.000-05:00

They're coming in by train. So I went to the Amtrak website and checked their arrival time - it's a little late, which happens coming through the plains.

I can still remember working with the Pentium 386, and when a friend tried to tell me about the internet, all I could ask was "What's that?" Now I'm using my computer to check the arrival time of a train.

Simple, you ask? It wasn't that simple years ago. Heck, there are generations of kids who never knew a world without computers making things easier or simpler.

What's a task that you now take for granted on a computer?

Yep

2011-11-21T12:29:00.000-05:00

Went over to The Smallest Minority and saw the quote that I had to steal:

The Republicans more or less follow the laws and constitutional procedures, the Democrats deliberately and consciously break them. But the Republicans, while they complain incessantly about the Democrats, never identify this underlying fact. Why? Because that would show that the system is no longer legitimate. And the function of the Republicans, as "patriotic, conservative Americans," is to uphold the goodness and legitimacy of the system, a legitimacy which rests on the belief that everyone in American politics shares the same basic principles and loyalties. So the Republicans, as defenders of the system and its presumed basic unity, cannot expose what the Democrats are. If they exposed it, politics would be replaced by open war between two radically incompatible parties and America as we know it would come to an end.

I need to add my two cents here - the establishment GOP doesn't want to expose the Democrats as the cheating fucking anti-American asshats they are because much of the establishment GOP is enjoying the material wealth gained through cheating for themselves. They don't want to see the Gravy Train come to an end. They're just as elitist as the ~~Democrat~~ American Communist Party is.

But there are two radically incompatible parties in America. There's the Left, and then there's the Americans.

Woke up way too early

2011-11-20T08:06:00.000-05:00

Even after two belts of whiskey and my head hitting the pillow at 2200 hrs, I still couldn't sleep in past 0545.

My body seems to have determined that it's an early riser. Both my parents are probably feeling a disturbance in the force, and they have no idea why.

Ah well. Spent some time washing more of the carrots that came out of our garden. I have a giant tub of heirloom carrots sitting in my kitchen right now, and I'm going to turn them into dill pickled carrots. Hopefully they taste good.

I'll probably just simply can a bunch of them as well. I have a LOT of carrots.

My laugh for the day

2011-11-19T22:02:00.000-05:00

After sitting out all day hunting Bambi and getting skunked, I needed this laugh:

At the scene Thursday night, Flynn told reporters that officers wouldn't help protesters fulfill their "martyrdom fantasies" and they could stay "and freeze their butts off."

The bridge "cleared itself," as protesters left about 40 minutes after his announcement that there would be no mass arrest, Flynn recalled Friday.

Flea party temper tantrum getting ignored? Well..... yeah, check. Flea Party walking off with pouty face firmly in place? CHECK! Yeah, you go ahead and "occupy" a bridge in Wisconsin in mid-November there, genius. Tell me how that works out for you, after you get out of the hospital for your frostbite and hypothermia.

On their butts.

HAA!

Hat tip to the Headmistress.

This isn't a shock -

2011-11-19T05:39:00.002-05:00

Nancy Pelosi is corrupt as hell. Naw, really? Tell me another one! I'm stunned! This is my stunned face!

Going hunting

2011-11-19T05:31:00.000-05:00

Although the last two times I went out, I got skunked. But what the hell, hope springs eternal or something like that.

Maybe this year, I can make Bambi my bitch.

On a Dime

2011-11-18T07:58:00.000-05:00

Just random thoughts here - I went to pull out of my parking space at work yesterday, and did what I would normally do in my truck - crank the wheel hard to the right and slowing ease on out.

I damn near backed right into the side of the vehicle next to me.

My truck, while not a full-size, still had a decent turning radius. I could pull a U-turn in the road if I went all the way to one side and then turned the wheels. My little runner could pull a U-turn in my friggin' driveway. The turning radius on that thing is so small that I swear I could do a circle and it would pivot, not turn.

That'll be handy in the summertime!

But Mom, they're not people! THEY'RE HIPPIES!

2011-11-17T07:50:00.000-05:00

Dirty.

Filthy.

Nasty!

Hippies!

Winter Wind

2011-11-16T08:12:00.000-05:00

Went running this morning - took a route that passes by the local VFW. They've got the US flag up high, and ten other flags on a lower set of poles; all the Armed services flags, the POW/MIA flag, Wisconsin Flag, etc.

Every last one of their flags was sticking straight out in the wind.

Yep. It's winter. And it's getting colder by the day, although we've been blessed with a beautiful Indian Summer here.

Nose to the grindstone

2011-11-16T07:57:00.002-05:00

I've been too busy to do much news browsing, but what I've seen just makes me sick. By the way, when are the riots over Elena Kagan going to break out when she refuses to recuse herself after working in favor of Obamacare?

Just asking.