kind of like them how they are.  I loaned out both of my books on HTML but W3 Schools has everything I want anyway.  I just work better out of a book but that's my old-fashioned 20th century thinking.

I am glad to see more and more people leaving the blog host I had started out with.  With so many free sites out there to take advantage of there is no reason anyone should accept shoddy workmanship and abusive help.  That company made money from the ads they ran on people's pages but didn't really appreciate it, the honcho being (this is all my opinion, of course) too busy trying to be a rock star to care.  I have observed also that the people I refer to as the company's apologists that used to visit my friends all the time, don't ever visit their new blogs.

This had started out as a little blurb but as I am sitting here thinking, this whole government bailout thing has really got my goat.  I think they ought to let these companies fail and let the chips fall where they may.  If I make a dollar a week and take out a loan for 35 dollars without anything except my good name and reputation to back me up, then the next week I take out another loan...well, when do you stop giving me money and say it's time to pay up.  And if you do and I can go somewhere else to borrow the money to pay you back and get another 35 dollars at the same time...who's in trouble?  I know that is oversimplifying the situation, but it really is like that.  I am no economist and not overly book-smart in some areas, but I know a scam when I see it.

Aside from that, there is another thing that goes along with it.  This video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs is almost 9 minutes long and shows two important things.  First it shows how some fiscally conservative Republicans in congress tried to prevent this from happening but just as importantly it shows the attitude and unprofessionalism that is being displayed by our "leaders" in the capitol and is worth it just to educate yourself as to who's running this country and who's making this nice handbasket.  I got it in an e-mail but you can also see it with a straight-forward commentary at Two Dog's place "Mean Ol' Meany" in the post called  Politics of Class Envy and Racism . 

I have to get this posted or it won't go up.  I'm Herb Thiel and I approve this blog.

Welcome to the world, Trent Urijah!

6 pounds 15 ounces and 19 inches long by "C-Section"

After the drama of his sister Savannah being born at between 25 - 27 weeks, 1 pound 12 ounces and long as a regular Bic pen mom is happy to have a "normal birth" and be able to do all the baby things with this one that she couldn't do with Savannah because she was hooked up to so many bells and whistles and her life was so fragile for a while.  Savannah is already a good, loving big sister.

Isabel had to have the surgery scheduled because she was so high-risk but the up-side to that is that Ben was able to schedule his tests for being a State Prison Guard around the blessed event and passed them with flying colors.

He will graduate this afternoon and all of Isabel's family will be there taking copious pictures.  I only have a very few pictures right now, but her dad is going to make CDs of a couple hundred of new pics.  In the meantime you can look here for the ones I do have here: http://www.herbthiel.com/pics/main.php?g2_itemId=1528 .

On 8-22 Ashley (who really likes visitors and comments, so feel free to do both) did a post on a program that D.C. middle schools are doing where a kid can get up to $100 per month for getting good grades.  She asked for opinions but I didn't really have much to say at the time, not having thought about it too much.  What it did do, however, was make me start paying attention.  So, when a couple of weeks later one fellow blogger says that her husband pays for "A" grades and there was a comment from another that said they basically do the same and subtract for a "C" I did the scientific thing and asked Abigail if her friends got paid for grades.  "Oh yeah.  Some of them get a lot of money for an A."

At the risk of incurring the wrath of my few friends here in the blogosphere, I just don't get the whole "Pay-Per-Grade" concept.  I never got paid for a grade and the idea never occurred to me to pay a kid for a grade.  I never knew anybody who ever got paid for a grade and I just can't imagine it.  I don't pay them for doing what's right or what they're supposed to do.  You're supposed to wash the dishes; I'm not paying you money to do it.  You're not supposed to steal from 7-11, I'm not paying you money as a reward for not stealing.  On the other hand I have never pressured them about the grades (Abi lettered in academics freshman year) because I want something from them that's more important.  I want their personal best.  I only ask that you do the best you possibly can.  If you bring home a "C" but you really worked hard and did as good as you could, all my bribes and cajoleries will only make you frustrated because you can't do any better.  If you are being lazy, you know it and I know it and it is a problem you have to overcome and I will help you.

Then I decided to do another, better, even more scientific thing.  I asked Margaret.  She is around a lot more people than I am so I said, "What do you think about a ‘pay-per-grade' idea?"

"It's stupid.  All it does is takes personal responsibility away from the child.  These are probably the same people who pay their kids an allowance to do chores around the house, too.  It used to be that when a kid came home, they did their chores first, then ate supper, then had about four hours to do their homework.  They say, ‘Oh, but the child needs his play time.' What the child needs is to learn that if they want to have some free time, they need to get their work done, first.  That's why we have such a generation of namby-pamby children that are wimps; except when they are throwing a fit in the store.

And if the government really, really wants to give money away, they should pay the parents according to the grades their children get, that way maybe they'd make them responsible.  What ever happened to the satisfaction of a job well done?  They have to learn responsibility.  They have chores because they are part of a family and there is work that has to be done and everybody has a part they play and a job they do.  Going to school and learning is important work, but when I went to the college for CNA classes or daycare or anything else, no one paid me to pass."

You're supposed to work your hardest and do your best, not only in your classes, but in everything in life.  You should always do the best you can and you are the only one who really knows if you did your best or not.  Besides, you can be the next generation that has improved.  Your great-grandfather may have only made it through the 4^th grade and went on to become a machinist who could operate 5 machines and do business-type math in his head.  Maybe your grandfather only made it through the 8^th grade but went back to school in his thirties and became an electrical tester.  Your father graduated High School and took a little college.  You can go beyond that.

Now the truth is that I barely eked out of high school, but not because I couldn't do the work or learn the stuff.  I passed most tests (except math) easily by having just listened a little.  I was bored out of my mind most of the time and never felt like getting a good grade would be a challenge, except that the work was stupid and boring and I hated every minute of it.  I had one or two English teachers who inspired me to want to work and I did fairly well in their classes, but they were things I wanted to learn about anyway.  Would accepting a bribe have made me work harder?  I might have done more paperwork, but I was working a real job when I was 14 and could make my own money anyway, so why bother.  I might have done it, but I wouldn't have learned any more from it and it would have put an unnecessary strain on the rest of my family.

Bribery to do what you're supposed to be doing doesn't make sense to me.  What about when they are in college, or, worse yet, what about when they are in the real world?  Bonuses are not tossed out (if given at all) for doing your job.  "Herb, you really waited on that customer and sold him two pair of jeans.  I'm putting an extra $50 in your check this week."  Maybe you could say that doing sales on a commission basis is closer, but you are still just doing your job.  In school your grade is your payment for your job.  If you get a lower grade either you need extra help or you have been lazy.

Besides, who can afford it?  Well, obviously more people than I ever would have guessed can.  And Washington D.C. can.  The real so-called "crisis" in our schools is that ridiculous, idiotic administrators and middle-management types want to throw other people's money at a problem that it is already their job to fix and they want an easy fix, one that doesn't require personal responsibility or hard work on their part.

I'm Herb Thiel and I approve this blog post and did my personal best to make it worth reading.

McCain/Palin Rally in Colorado Springs

A large airplane hangar at the old airport. At least 12,000 people must have been there, judging from the fact that they had 10,000 tickets accounted for already.  The line must have been (this is not an exaggeration) a mile long.  I think I have an adequate ability to judge distance and with all of its twists and turns it probably was.

My real problem is how to share this with you.  I wish I had a voice recorder, but instead, I did things the old fashioned way with a little notepad and a pen.  What I am going to do is just give you my notes.  I didn't scan the actual notes in because you couldn't probably read them anyway, but this is the next best thing.  I will add commentary and pictures, but the pictures don't tell a lot because you can't really grasp the size of the crowd.  There is a new album up on the gallery, however.

So here you are, snippets of conversation, first impressions and um, whatever...

(Click photos to see more detail.  Hi-def in the gallery)

The event was scheduled to start at 11 with doors open at nine.  Normally we get to an event like this at oh-dark-early but everyone wanted to sleep in, so we didn't leave until after 8.  We got to a 40 acre dirt field and all the good parking was taken.  We could have cheated because we had Grandma's handicapped sticker hanging from the mirror, but we didn't.  When we got there we saw a line that really was a mile long...

Got in line behind a party of people where a guy gave me this bumper sticker:

Which I thought was cool.  I really appreciate these folks making quite a sacrifice to advertise their beliefs.  I tried to be objective and asked a guy, "Do you think that your party has, in fact, been hi-jacked by the extreme left?"

"Hi-jacked?  Man, it's been stolen and thrown in the dumpster!  This lady has a son in the military, I've been in the military..."

"Obama scares me," interrupted lady with son in military, "My son is over there and he thinks we can talk to those people."

"Obama wasn't even vetted."  Interrupted someone else in the party.

"There is a guy in Philadelphia filing suit to make Obama produce a birth certificate.  The suit says that Obama is not eligible to run because he isn't even a citizen."

"I heard about that," I said, "But I figured it was just one of those things you hear on the Internet."

"No, it's true.  His mother was pregnant in Hawaii, but went to Kenya to visit the father.  He was born in Kenya."

I stared because these were Democrats I was talking to.

"It's like this," interjected another woman, "He thinks his daughters having a baby would be a punishment.  Not even bringing the abortion issue into it, he has just told us that he doesn't think his children should have to take responsibility for their actions and he wants to sit down and talk with the likes of Chavez and the Iranians without any pre-conditions.  How will he hold them responsible?  He doesn't think these people will try to hurt us if we just talk to them?  Obama will sell us to the terrorists!"

Murmured assents and nods all around the group and Margaret said, "Besides, what kind of person wouldn't care if someone murdered his grandchildren?"  More nods.

Actually this goes with the Democrats for McCain, but as we were talking a protestor walked by.  Even though there were 12,000 people and 3 (yes, exactly 3) protestors, I bet he makes the news.  It's how the media is.  His sign had 2 sides, one said, "Peace with Iran" and the other said, "Stop U.S. Militarism."  I took great umbrage at that and caught his eye and said, "It was U.S. Militarism that bought you that sign, buddy."  He walked on.  The big guy that gave me the bumper sticker said, "Don't he have any sense?  Doesn't he realize what could happen to him?  Maybe he lost a dare.  That would explain his stupidity, I guess."

In the line, comment on Sarah Palin, I think from a former Hillarite, "It takes a woman to clean up a man's mess."

The event was intended to fit into the airplane hangar, but the crowd went back all the way to the fence at the end of the tarmac.  There were probably 8,000 people standing and baking in the sun.  It was only 72 degrees, but there was no cloud cover, although if it had rained the parking lot would have been soup.  I tried to take some pics to show the sea of people, but I couldn't get a good shot from anywhere.  Standing in the crowd, we could hear only.  We couldn't see anything on the stage and so we stood there and baked.  The Boy Scouts presented the colors and said the Pledge of Allegiance and a large group shouted out "UNDER GOD" as loud as they could.  This was followed by the invocation (a prayer to God) and some music from a group called the Pearl Street Confessions.  The speakers were plenty loud enough, let me tell you that.

T-shirts and buttons said things like, "Bitter and holding on to my guns and God."  "Read my lipstick." "Pitbulls for Palin." And about half a dozen pink buttons that said, "Hot Chicks Vote Republican."

One of the speakers said that Obama went to Israel and asked to see the manger where he was born.

Someone spoke about the self-worship rally in Denver last week.  We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem.

Thank you to ‘Nam vets who didn't hear it the first time.  Thank you to all vets.

Raising McCain

As the various speakers went on and on, one little old gal we had spoken with earlier said, "Get off the change thing already."

A former POW who had served with John McCain, told a story (I have only heard this story once, today, and hope I am quoting it fairly correctly) about how John was kept in the worst cell at the worst end of the block.  He said they had a pretty elaborate communication system set up with wall taps and note drops and John would watch for the Cong to come.  One day they tried to make a surprise raid on the camp, but as they came, John started making a ruckus and hollering in English, "The Cong!  The Cong are coming!  Destroy the notes!  Destroy the notes!"  The fellas ate the notes on the spot and even though the Vietnamese couldn't understand what he had been shouting, they did know that he had caused them some kind of trouble and treated him accordingly.  (On a side note I have to ask myself which pantheon Jimmy Carter, the worst president in history, thinks he came to Earth from when he said, "John McCain really milks the POW thing." )

We had cheerleading and sing-alongs while we waited, too.  We sang, America the Beautiful (written from the top of Pikes Peak), She's a Grand Old Flag, When the Saints Go Marching In (I started to sing, "When McCain Goes Marching In" but a little old lady corrected me and said she was from New Orleans and it should be the Saints).  A different little old gal asked me "Where are the TV stations?  Why isn't this getting better coverage?"  I shrugged and said, "They're probably interviewing the protestor."

Some speaker, Marilyn Musgrave, perhaps, said that, "When President Mac and Vice President Palin take office; every little girl in this audience will see that they, too, can become President!"  Abi cheered wildly.

The mayor of Colorado Springs was tepidly received except when he talked about this 4^th deployment to Iraq from Fort Carson and said that, "Senator McCain understands the military and The Surge succeeded."

Our state District Attorney asked, "Who would you rather be in a foxhole with?  Barack Obama or John McCain?  There's a lot of dogfighting coming up in the days ahead, too.  We have enemies in the world and tough decisions to be made.  Who would you rather take to a dogfight?  I would want a bulldog named John McCain and a pitbull named Sarah Palin!"

There was a little redheaded girl, about 10 years old, maybe, who had made her own sign, sitting on the ground waiting, one side said, "Palin Power" the other side said, "zap!"

A bi-racial family said, "The Democrats think they own my family's vote."

Heinous Behavior Award must go to the democrats at the DNC.  The DNC last week left 12,000, that's right, Twelve THOUSAND American Flags.  Many in the trash or just lying around.  One of the cleaning crew saw it and gathered them up.  The V.F.W. and other vets went through the crowd distributing one to everybody, creating a sea of flags as we sang God Bless America and listened to Proud to Be an American.

While this was going on some hippie-looking guy walked through the crowd with a big Hillary Supporters for McCain sign.

Finally, after what seemed an interminably long time of baking in the sun and waiting, the candidates finally arrived.  Sarah Palin spoke first and told about how the mountains felt like home and how we made her feel at home.

"He's not looking for a fight but he's not afraid of one, either."

Then, the main speaker steps up to the platform and says, "Those flags look beautiful!"

He promises to use his veto power to veto bills with ear-marked, pork-barrel spending.  This is going to be a tough promise to keep, but even if he only does it once in a while, it will be important enough.

Finally, I don't know if you have seen this ad where Barry is quoted as saying, "A light will shine down from somewhere and you will have an epiphany and you will say" I have to vote for Barack!"  Well, the "quiet" daughter said that while the speechifying was going on she wanted to stand up and get everyone's attention and say, "A light has just shined down on me!  I have to vote for Barack!" but she was afraid that nobody had seen the ad and people would think she was some kind of whacko.  It was a funny idea, though, especially coming from her.

As we were walking out we saw a couple of familiar faces and got pictures.

I'm Herb Thiel and I approve this blog post.

BPS (Blog Post Script)

This morning we got the papers, there were 13,000 - 18,000 people there.  Tabitha said, "Oh, so that's what he looked like."

I'm Herb Thiel and I approve this BPS, too.

PBPS (Post Blog Post Script)

The dims are now saying that the flags were bundled for return to the manufacturer and were basically absconded with.  From a businessman and retail veteran's perspective, I say, "Hogwash!" If you have a deal that you can return 12,000 of anything to anybody, there is some sort of documentation.  They are mad because they had asupposedly "green" convention while our rally was Red, White and Blue!

I'm Herb Thiel and I REALLY approve this PBPS!

is apparently a TV producer, former reporter, etc. as well.  I later went back and discovered that he had posted this, which I add it to this post as just a simple bonus for those of you who believe the media practices unbiased journalism.  Take note of the last ten seconds.

Also, this Saturday we will be taking the family to a McCain/Palin rally here in the Springs.  I am really excited.

The link I am actually writing about is a piece in favor of gun control.  You know I am not a big fan of using video clips, but there are times when it can enhance your overall message.  This link explains very well the benefits of gun control legislation.  (To my sensitive readers, there is one bad word used)

I sent the link to my friend, Storm Shadow (he is not an official spokesman for any agency or employer and asked that his name not be used), who said:

"Greetings my friend. I hope that your day is going well. In response to the gun control blog...Criminals/Thugs/Terrorists will always have weapons, guns, and anything else they can get their hands on. We arrest felons/criminals all the time that are in possession of firearms. I have even asked them how they got them and many of them will tell me it is so easy...just a phone call away and a few dead presidents ($$$). Gun control only effects (negatively) the law abiding citizen. Bad guys will always have access to guns to commit crimes against society regardless of how many gun control laws their are. It is so simple to understand this principal but for some reason many politicians seem to be on another planet when it comes to this issue. Look at Russia and many other countries that enacted strict gun control laws. The violent crime in those countries actually increased significantly. So now you have unarmed citizens who cannot protect themselves from the bad guys who are well armed...doesn't make a lot of sense. Even after the alarming increase in crime those governments have still refused to allow the law abiding citizen to bear arms.

I have worked on the Arizona/Mexico border and have seen heavily armed criminals working in that region. While deployed to Iraq with an Army Special Forces Unit I have seen thugs and terrorist armed to the hilt with weapons, artillery pieces, rockets, grenades, and explosives. My point is this...bad guys will always have weapons regardless of what country they come from. Even inmates in prison have weapons.

 

I do agree that there should be regulations when it comes to acquiring/purchasing firearms such as background checks and things of that nature. I'm all for that, but we definitely don't need anymore gun control laws to make things more difficult for all of us who are not criminals.

Anyway, that's my opinion. Take care.

Oh yeah...I forgot to tell you....good youtube clip by the way"

Thanks very much to my guest poster.  I'm Herb Thiel and I approve of this blog.

speech and knowing her history and how she took a stand on "The Bridge to Nowhere" and has taken on corruption, including the Republican Party (You don't have to be a Republican to be a conservative in fact Republican doesn't even necessarily equate with conservative any more.  Years ago, before the Democrat Party was hijacked by the freak left, there were conservative Democrats; there were Democrats who had their own thoughts and ideas and if the nation were faced with a crisis they would never have voted themselves a 5-week vacation and there were old-fashioned, honorable Southern Gentlemen like Zell Miller.  They might used to be the party of free-thinkers, but not any more.  Look what happened to one of their own, Joe Lieberman, who disagreed with them only slightly.) and anyone else, including the very city councilman who got her started in government.    More on all that in a later entry.

What I really wanted to tell you about just this very minute was that I have updated the photo gallery with 182 of Isabel's professional-looking photographs.  A small one with wooden flowers that look incredibly real, one of Savannah at a petting zoo (the reddish tint is from the tent), Some self-portraits by Isabel with her nice camera and some from today's annual balloon ascension  in one of our parks.  They are in 4 different albums.  We went to the balloon glow in the evening as well.  It was pretty, I guess, and lots of cool photos will come from that as soon as possible, but honestly, how many different ways are there to fill a gas bag with hot air?  Well, the DNC was just up in Denver...

Sorry, I digress.  Anyway, Douglas and Savannah really just absolutely loved it for the first half-hour.  So much so that an older gentleman stood and watched their delight and said to us, "This is the real show."  He took a couple of pictures of them, too.  By the time a half-hour had passed the announcer was sounding a little annoyed seeing people start to mosey away, "Don't leave yet folks, we're here for a whole hour."  But by quarter to nine there was a mass exodus toward the cars.  This park can be impossible to get out of sometimes and how many times can you pulse, wave and glow giant lights?  Not saying it wasn't cool, just a little much.

We had paid the Boy Scouts $5 to park at their fundraiser and got in the car and went and had a McFlurry.  Mine was not a diet one, but I did celebrate having lost 29 pounds so far.  The nice thing about this new lifestyle is that the occasional splurge is allowed, even encouraged, if I stay with it the rest of the time.

During my surfing and browsing I discovered a nifty little toy based on the census showing (unscientifically, they disclaim) how many people share your same name.  There are only 6 people in the U.S. who share my name.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 6 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Of my kids, 3 of them have a name nobody else has, which Abi thought was sooooo cooool, but Tabitha didn't really seem to mind, one way or the other.

I have to run, I hope you enjoy the new pics.

I'm Herb Thiel and I approve this blog post.

Thanks to all who are using the e-mail notification system, if you just signed up, remember to check your junk mail for the follow-up link to complete signing up.  If you signed up on this blog, you do have to complete the process again on the Humor Blog.  Sorry.

Some of you may or may not know that there are times when I tell a real whopper or hear one that I say to my kids, "Well, it COULD have happened that way..."

Well...Two Middle East mothers are sitting in a cafe chatting over a plate of tabouli and a pint of goat's milk.

The older of the mothers pulls a bag out of her purse and starts flipping through photos and they start reminiscing.

"This is my oldest son Mohammed. He would be 24 years old now."

"Yes, I remember him as a baby," says the other mother cheerfully.

"He's a martyr now though," mum confides.

"Oh, so sad dear," says the other

"And this is my second son Kalid.  He would be 21."

"Oh, I remember him," says the other happily, "He had such curly hair when he was born."

"He's a martyr too," says mum quietly.

"Oh, gracious me...," Says the other.

"And this is my third son.  My baby.  My beautiful Ahmed.  He would be 18," she whispers.

"Yes," says the friend enthusiastically, "I remember when he first started school."

"He's a martyr also," says mum, with tears in her eyes.

After a pause and a deep sigh, the second Muslim mother looks wistfully at the photographs and says, "My, they blow up so fast, don't they?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKFKGrmsBDk

I'm Herb Thiel and I approve this blog post.