How I spent my summer vacation

Hi. I'm back.

I got a phone call yesterday from a friend who noticed that I hadn't posted in a while and called to see if I was dead or in jail. I then checked my email, something I had not done in a few days, and discovered a few notes from readers wanting to know if everything was alright.

Then I heard about the great Alexander Solzhenitsyn's passing and then I heard that McCain was actually ahead in some of the more reliable of the polls - not to mention Bob Novak's brain tumor, John Edward's love child and B. Hussein Obama's "if you don't vote for me you're a racist" speech - and knew that I had to get back to writing

Where was I and what was I doing and was I sooooo busy that there was nooooo time to write.

It's like this. July was a busy month for me. First there was the Independence Day holiday and then I had house guests and then there were the Highland Games and we got a decent amount of rain so the grass kept needing to be cut (my yard is nearly 5 acres) and it was hot.

Have I ever mentioned that I really really really really [insert about 50o000 more reallys] HATE summer. The hot weather just sucks the life out of me. As far as temperature goes 65 to 68 is just right, 69 to 73 is warm. 74 to 78 is a bit too warm. 78 to 81 is hot. and 82 and above is "died and gone to hell".

It is difficult to overstate the degree of misery that hot weather inflicts upon me. But the heat isn't the only torment that summer inflicts upon its hapless victims. There are the insects, spiders and snakes (don't let anyone tell you that a rattlesnake can't grow to be 10 feet long I have pictures). My cat is on notice. She can bring in all the rats, birds, rabbits and squirrels she wants (I'd take it as a kindness if she didn't but cats are cats) but the first time she drops a copperhead at my feet she becomes very well acquainted with mister 12 ga. rifled slug.

So finding the energy to blog has been difficult.

Then there's the fact that I haven't been all that inspired to blog.

I've made no secret of my absolute detestation of both John McCain and B. Hussein Obama. There is no possibility whatsoever of a good outcome this November. The congress is almost certainly going to be even more heavily controlled by Democrats and no matter who is in the Oval Office he is going to be someone who hates the conservative movement and is eager to work with the congressional left to enact as much of the left-wing agenda as humanly possible.

The sad fact is that it may already be too late. America may have traveled so far down the road to European-style stateism that there's no going back without some kind of violent revolution or collapse and rebuilding.

Think about it like this. How many of this nation's population get either all or a significant part of their income either from a direct government payment or from some kind of government subsidy?

Everyone who works for any local, state or federal government in any capacity. Everyone who works for any entity who is funded by government or has government as a major customer. Everyone on Social Security. Every corn farmer getting ethanol subsidies. Every retired government employee getting a government pension check, from retired military to retired letter carriers and school janitors all have a stake in seeing that the government is not drastically reduced in its power and scope.

Sorry but it just isn't human nature to act against one's self interest. With the percentage of people in the country who depend upon government for their livelihood approaching half, if it hasn't exceeded that number already, the chances of getting politicians elected who will slay Leviathan and force the government back into its constitutionally mandated cage are vanishingly small.

Speaking out, which is what blogging is, is beginning to look as pointless as running around the Titanic screaming "iceberg, iceberg" after the ship has already begun to list and the orchestra is already on the fantail playing Autumn Leaves.

But I've thought it over and I ain't gonna stop.

I'm not going to stop not because I think I can make a difference for the good but because when the shit hits the fan I want those who refused to listen to be utterly without excuse.

So, what have I been doing instead of blogging?

Much reading. I finished David Weber's new book By Schism Rent Asunder. This is the sequel to Off Armageddon Reef and was one of those "can't put down" books that you wish was twice as long.

I'm also reading The Highland Clearances, by John Prebble. This is one of the better accounts of the displacement of the Scottish Highland clans which led them to immigrate and settle in the American Southeast. This, in turn, led to the building of the Anglo-Celtic culture in the US. To summarize the story of the clearances it is the tale of how sheep became more valuable than men. At least in the eyes of the great landlords. Unfortunately Prebble's book is out of print but the Amazon resellers have copies for under one dollar.

Another classic I've been enjoying is Scotch Whisky: A Liquid History, by Charles Maclean. This is the deffinitive guide to the history of scotch whisky and is the first step in the education of any budding scotch aficionado.

Then there's The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic History and the Fate of Non-Muslims, by Andrew Bostom. If you want to know what sort of fate awaits the native population of Europe after the mid point of this century when the Muslims will be in the majority read this book.

Speaking of the Highland Games, well I was earlier, I was going to take lots of pictures and post them here, but you know what they say about best laid plans. I did get some pictures as you can see here:

This is Grandfather Mountain upon whose slopes the games are held each year. I'll compose another post later in the day with more pictures along with the reason there aren't more of them.

So to sum up I will resume daily posting but don't expect me to be back to 100% until the weather cools off a bit.

Now I've got more !@#&% grass to cut.