I sat out today's severe weather events because of business matters. But, I wish I could have been on the cell that exploded east of Wichita Falls and moved up towards Ardmore. It was a beauty on radar as were a couple of other big isolated cells. But, with 40-50mph storm motions, I'm kinda glad in a way I wasn't either. Is it May yet? ;-)
I just finished compiling 8,361 photos to put on a disc to send to the copyright office. Whew! I did this by going through all of my raw files and converting those I want to protect to thumbnail jpegs. That takes some time, let me tell ya. But, it's done. Everything is going out in the mail tomorrow with the form and the fee. Oh, and a tip. According to what I learned, you can submit thumbnails as small as 100px high. But, for my reference and to make them more legible, I did 200px high and 300px wide.
On the business front, the LLC formation is in it's final stage. After I discovered single-member LLCs are treated just like sole proprietorships (I file a Schedule C and the LLC doesn't file anything, basically), it muddled things abit concerning how to declare my personal assets used in the business. I would have had to do this anyway without forming an LLC. A pro will help me iron that out. With any luck, I'll send all of the documents to the state sometime next week.
And, as some of ya'll have asked, I have some comments about the Obama election. Certainly nobody thought I'd let such a major historic event pass without mentioning it, right? LOL!!
It is an incredible feat considering that a little over four decades ago, blacks in this country were subject to hostile bigotry and racism. The images of fire hoses and dogs unleashed on protesters is a sinister scar on our country's past. Forced to the backseats of buses, to drink from separate water fountains, sit in allocated sections of restaurants, and terrorized in their homes and communities by hooded thugs, is something very poisonous to the soul of this country and the ideals it was founded on.
And yet today, an African-American will hold the highest office in the land and become leader of the free world. For hundreds of years into the future, history books will note this point in time as one of the last major hurdles in becoming a truly mature, free democracy. I don't think some people fully grasp or appreciate the magnitude of what has happened. I feel lucky to have witnessed it. I congratulate Obama and his supporters on such an accomplishment.
However, the accolades stop there. It is a fact that he closely associated with
Bill Ayers of the infamous "
Weather Underground", a domestic terrorist group which blew up buildings. It is well documented, so anybody who shrieks about a FoxNews conspiracy should remove the tinfoil hats.
What is interesting to me is that the mainstream media barely mentioned it or made an issue out of it. You can be certain that had it been the red state candidate, we'd have heard about it everyday leading up to the election. They'd bring Dan Rather out of retirement and unleash him like a pitbull as he would certainly invent some more documents to "embellish" the story. LOL!! It was nice to see some democrats experience the media bias during their primaries when Clinton got the brunt of it. It's funny how something like that isn't obvious until it slaps you in the face.
It's disturbing to me that when this was revealed, Obama shrugged it off as just some guy that lived in his neighborhood. In my opinion, he should have reacted very strongly to it and condemn Ayers and everything his group stood for. Obama reacted more strongly against his former pastor Wright (which for you FoxNews conspiracists out there, was first broadcast by ABC news).
The comment about redistribution of wealth made me cringe as the shockwave of "socialism" assaulted my senses. He in fact later did not apologize for it and even expanded on it. What cracks me up are the nuts that claim that statement is not socialist. It indeed IS and is the basis for all different forms of
socialism. Please don't take us back to the Clinton era of "define what 'is' is". Changing the definition ain't gonna fly. Socialist policies will only hurt our economy and is something we should be striving to move AWAY from...not gravitate towards. With the stock market nosediving today, the stock market cast its ballot as a vote of no confidence.
But, the American people have spoken. Everybody is pissed and demands change...serious, drastic change. I'm one of them which is why I've supported the serious inclusion of third party candidates and voted Libertarian since 2000. I believe we need something even more drastic than Obama. ;-) If Obama can stay more centrist and away from waving the red flag of socialism, then I do actually have some hope for this country. After all, I've been clamoring for such a major Washington shake-up for along time. I thought McCain could do it as well though. He has the track record to prove it.
The problem is a Pelosi/Reid led congress who has managed to obtain the lowest-ever approval ratings in history. They have proven to be bitter and divisive partisan hacks and exhibit disdain for the majority of the American people's will in order to push their far-left agendas (the offshore drilling issue a few months ago comes immediately to mind). I read today that Reid is about to punish Lieberman who is an Independent now. So much for following Obama's lead, eh? Obama MUST stand up to the extremist nutcases in his own party and do what is right for ALL Americans and our country at large.
One of the things I hope he will do as promised is to go through the federal budget, line by line, and eliminate the waste. He said he wants to eliminate programs that don't work and to make the other ones work better and more efficiently. He needs to make some seriously deep cuts...and lots of them in my opinion. I'd like to see him put the smackdown on earmarks and pork-laden bills that come across his desk. Make it a "zero-tolerance" veto policy. I'd actually pick up the Obama flag then and cheer him on. With trillions in deficits, we HAVE to in order to survive. It's as simple as that. Since congress has proven that it isn't able to, somebody needs to stand up and make it happen. "You're my only hope, Obi-wan" LOL!!! I crack myself up sometimes. ;-)
With his other Jedi powers, I'd like to see him spearhead the promised healthcare reforms...WITHOUT creating socialized (there's that ugly word again) healthcare. I read through some of his campaign stuff on his website, and I agree with a good portion of it. Healthcare is a very serious crisis that needs immediate attention. Go take a look at "
DividedWeFail.org"
Lastly, I hope that he will veto any attempt by the rabid foaming-at-the-mouth liberals in Congress to stamp out conservative talk radio with the horrendous "Fairness Doctrine". Of course, they'll work hard to rename it so we won't recognize their efforts. They may even try some subversive acts via new FCC regulations. The less the government controlls ANY media source for political commentary, editorial, or discussion, the better. In fact, they shouldn't even meddle with it...nor even think about it. If they do, then I'm going to be damned sure to demand they go after the liberal mainstream media and newspapers too. After all, that's "fairness", right?
And looking to the future, keep in mind that Iraq is quite stable now and already timetables are being drawn up for removing our troops. Latest news is that it might even happen sooner than previously projected. I point this out because when troop withdrawals begin next year, the demorats will claim all the credit for it as ammunition in 2010 and beyond. Watch for it. I know I will be. I fully expect the mainstream media to let them get away with it too.
Concerning the concession speeches, it was very nice to watch Bush's gracious speech. The news reports are that he is making efforts already to get Obama ready and to make the transition a smooth one. He even invited him and and his family to stop by soon to get a feel for their new home come January. McCain also crafted a very honorable concession speech as well. I thought it quite admirable. In listening to alot of hysterical liberal dribble, one would have expected the exact opposite. :-)
On a final note, I do in fact wish Obama and his pending administration all the best. I do sincerely hope that he CAN make a positive change in the direction of this country. I don't think we've ever needed it so badly since the era of the Great Depression. He has a HUGE hurdle ahead of him. It's a monumental task of herculean proportions. Nothing is going to get done overnight and he's said that several times, even in his victory speech last night. In order to try and bring this country back together, he should be very careful in all of his appointments. I would hope that McCain would find a prominent position somewhere in Obama's administration. That would be a HUGE step in the right direction.
But, speaking as one of the Americans he is working for now, I will hold him accountable for making some significant measured progress by the end of 2009. There are various ways to do that, but significant POSITIVE progress, nonetheless. I am giving him an honest chance to make good on his promises for which I'll be rooting him on.
That's it for one of the longest blog posts I've ever written. LOL!! I'm sure somebody will be offended and write a nasty anonymous comment. Go write your own blog and spew your own opinions. I don't have the time to correct the error of your ways. :-)
I'd like to announce the launch of my new photography site: 
