From the banks of the Kenai River

It is often said that the worst day of fishing is better than the best day of working. My motto has always been that if the fish start bothering you, you can always throw the empties at them. There is no better place to do that than the banks of the Kenai River during the sockeye season. The Kenai produces the largest King salmon on record and there is nothing finer than reeling in a cooler full of hard fighting and delicious Sockeyes.
The link below is a poor substitute to that Alaska adventure and I only caught one eight pounder my first time but it is a good way to while away the hours while you sit in your office looking out at the piles of snow and ice, dreaming of the real thing. Enjoy, and look out for the moose.

The Kenia River Run courtesy of the Kenai Clarion


Thx JJ

The Clinton Record

When Hillary states that she will be able to hit the ground running, be ready on day one, and wont need help finding the bathroom she may be right. She had an eight year apprenticeship and the record to back it up. It's time for that pesky performance review.

Another of Hillary's assumed duties was directing the 'bimbo eruption squad' and scandal defense:
---- She urged her husband not to settle the Paula Jones lawsuit. ---- She refused to release the Whitewater documents, which led to the appointment of Ken Starr as Special Prosecutor. After $80 million dollars of taxpayer money was spent, Starr's investigation led to Monica Lewinsky, which led to Bill lying about and later admitting his affairs. ---- Then they had to settle with Paula Jones after all.---- And Bill lost his law license for lying to the grand jury ---- And Bill was impeached by the House.
---- And Hillary almost got herself indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice (she avoided it mostly because she repeated, 'I do not recall,' 'I have no recollection,' and 'I don't know' 56 times under oath). The Alzheimer's defense S.

...Read the whole thing at Maggies Farm

Loons: Making my dreams come true.

I have to head on down the highway to the U this morning and don't have much time to comment on this. The other day I posted a recurrent dream that the Democratic convention would be a re-enactment of the Hoo Haa of 1968 in Chicago and it seems that my dream may come true

A coalition of anti-war groups is vowing to protest this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Denver under the rubric “Re-create ’68,”

Organizer Barbara Cohen formerly of those great 60's rockers the SDS will be joined in this years festivities by Green Party Cynthia McKinney, The Code Pinksters and a special guest appearance by Mad Man Ralph Nader. One show only! Be there! Be there!

Huck has Jumped the Shark.

As obvious as it is to everyone else that the campaign is over, Mike Huckabee inexplicably hangs on to the hope that somehow his efforts are still relevant. Huckabee's appearance on Saturday Night Live, lampooning himself over the fact that it is mathematically impossible for him to win the nomination was truly his "Jumping the shark moment". (Sorry UTube has removed the video by order of the NBC copyright police.) I do have to say that Mike was genuinely funny and may have a career in stand -up since the president gig didn't work out for him.

From Wiki: The term jumping the shark alludes to a specific scene in a 1977 episode of the TV series Happy Days when the popular character Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli jumps over a shark while water skiing. The scene was so preposterous that many believed it to be an ill-conceived attempt at reviving the declining ratings of the flagging show.

Since then, the phrase has become a colloquialism used by U.S. TV critics and fans to denote the point at which the characters or plot of a TV series ( or in this case a political campaign )veer into a ridiculous, out-of-the-ordinary storyline. Such a show (or candidate) is typically deemed to have passed its peak. Once a show has "jumped the shark" fans sense a noticeable decline in quality or feel the show has undergone too many changes to retain its original charm.

Mike, we are sorry to inform you that the charm that won you Iowa has run its course, you have been cancelled.

Fur Rendezvous!

Has the snow and cold got you down? Does cabin fever have your wife locked in the bathroom while you spend all day hammering out "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" on your laptop? There is no better way to shake those winter blues than a winter festival and this week is the annual Anchorage Fur Rendezvous.

The week long celebration comes complete with a downtown carnival and rest assured a Ferris wheel ride at ten below is a once in a lifetime experience. Beyond that, Fur Rondy is guaranteed to have something for everyone. There are contests that range from darts to downhill canoeing racing. You can experience the Rondy Grand Prix that has all the thrills of Nascar, or fill your flask and enjoy the silliness of a snowshoe softball game. Rondy is also home to the World Championship Sled Dog Race.

So pack your long johns and your bunny boots and head on up to the North Country for a little mid-winter fun.

Just a reminder:

The Iditarod starts next Saturday! Lance Mackey, who made history last year by winning both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod in the same season won his forth Quest title Feburary 20th. Congratulations to Lance and his dogs.

Holy Blazing Saddles!

Like a love sick armadilla, Barrak has been a trailin Hillary cross the great state of Texass. and as luck would have it the duo squared off at sundown on the dusty streets of a little ramshackle West Texas town. Fortunately, the Salmon was on the scene and as the townsfolk ducked for cover we caught this exchange between the two candidates.

Video courtesy, Mel Brooks

Happy Anniversary Baby

I want to take this opportunity to dedicate this song to my sweetheart on the occasion of our 6th Anniversary. OOOOO I Love YOU.

Presidents Day.

Presidents Day would be a good time to take a look at the Presidential ranking game. This list is from the WSJ and others can be found here. You have to take some of these polls with a grain of salt depending on who was surveyed.
I believe that Andrew Jackson is always rated too high due to the Indian Removal Act and the National Bank Issue that sent the country into a depression in 1834. Salmon Ranking would be in the Average range. James Polk is credited with fullfilling Manifest Destinty and spreading the United Stated from sea to shining sea but he also started the Mexican American War which U.S. Grant later characterized as ”the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation." His actions left the door open for Pierce and finally Buchannan to set the nation on course for the Civil War. A Salmon Ranking would also be Average. I would also argue that Kennedy and Johnson were merely average and Carter should be relegated the Failure category.
I can assure you that the fact that the above mentioned presidents were all democrats is pure coincidence.

Hey, Don't Poke Me Bro.

Clinton Pops a Heckler.

From MSNBC.
“I asked the president to please stop the bickering between the campaigns,”
Holeman said in an interview afterwards. “All this name calling is like the
bully in the yard. He can’t get his way, he can’t get nothing done.” Holeman
said he thought Clinton was “gasping for air.”

Holeman said that Clinton responded by saying Obama came after him first.
Holeman also described Clinton’s reaction to him as “irate.”

“I think he even hit me in the face with his hand,” he said. “He did give
me a little pop. It was okay, because I understand his tenacity for his wife.”
Clinton did engage Holeman for a few minutes, at times pointing directly at him.
It was unclear whether he did make physical contact, however.

It's pretty easy to play the bully when your posse with the ear buds are packing Uzi's.

Flotsam and Jetsam: Leftism

Take the "Collectivist's Quote Quiz" Fun for the whole family!




Photo courtesy of Hilldabeast.com. Check out the Clinton collection.



Harold Ikes, a key Clinton advisor, FOB, and member of the Democratic National Committee seen here yucking it up with Howard Dean. From MYWAY "Harold Ickes, a top adviser to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign who voted for Democratic Party rules that stripped Michigan and Florida of their delegates, now is arguing against the very penalty he helped pass." Can you say conflict of interest? Imagine that!





Hillary's "History of Feminism". It hasn't been perty.
Courtesty of Big Lizards








Swimming in the shallows: Pod People I have known.

Liberalism and Multiculturalism

A couple good videos. The first is a presentation by Evan Sayat, comic, writer, and pundit, describing modern Liberalism. Run time is about 40 minutes.



The second is Mark Steyn on the obsurdity of Multiculturalism. Run time 10 minutes.

Colorado Dreamin.

It seems like only yesterday that my brother in Texas was lamenting the fact that the nominating process would be over before he had the chance to vote. With the McCain nomination secured and with Texas an open primary state my brother and his fellow Texans, have the opportunity, no the duty, to drive a stake through the heart of the Clinton campaign by voting for Obama. Knowing that Clinton will not go silently into the night could be the impetus for the train wreck scenario I envision for the Democratic Convention. I am dreaming of something akin to Chicago in 1968.

Chicago 1968: Television loves pageantry, spectacle and action. Chicago delivered in ways that were unsettling to Americans. The streets of the great Midwest city were unsafe, middle-class values were ridiculed by unkempt youth, uniformed police acted like thugs, the mayor cursed a U.S. senator on the convention floor, disillusioned young people sought comfort in their leader, Sen. Eugene McCarthy, who won primaries but had no chance at the convention. In the hot, sweaty, and jammed convention hall, adjacent to the old Stockyards, delegates and media milled about, pushing and shoving for air as earnest speakers implored them to reverse President Lyndon Johnson's policy on Vietnam.
Downtown, television cameras were trained on the Hilton, the convention headquarters, when violence erupted between demonstrators and police. Some 17 minutes of clubbing and screaming were captured on film and shown on national television. In the steamy convention hall, action stopped and delegates denounced what was happening downtown.
In his notebook that night, the reporter-historian Theodore White jotted a terse, "The Democrats are finished." Floyd J. McKay

Denver 2008: Senator Clinton who won some primaries refuses to concede the race and takes the campaign to the Denver Convention. A raucous floor fight over Super Delegates and disenfranchised voters breaks out. Her husband curses reporters and is arrested for punching out his former Vice-President in an argument about who really deserved to win the Nobel Prize. Pushing and shoving breaks out between the faction of Hope and the faction for Change. Fortunately no one is injured as both groups were bused in from San Francisco by Nancy Pelosi wearing a leather dominatrix costume. (shiver) During the chaos John Edwards storms the dais declares a coup for the sake of the little guy and then annoints little guy Dennis Kucinich as his Vice President. (No one notices) Obama in his first real test suddenly realizes that you can’t talk to a recalcitrant enemy as Hillary throws him in a headlock her eyes bulging and manically screaming "It's my turn. It's my turn you bastard. You were supposed to be the vice president!"

Meanwhile outside the convention center, Code Pinksters are imploring someone, anyone, to stop the war. Harry Reid is burned in effigy. (OOPs it wasn't an effigy, even with his pants on fire no one could tell.) Marcos Zuninga, protesting that Bush stole the 2000 election is tazed by an overzealous Denver Riot Policeman for "being frigging annoying". The incident is caught on a cell phone video and played in continuous loop on all the cable networks in prime time. The left wing blogosphere is outraged and demands the end of the fascist police state of George Bush. Again, no one notices. But like the fiasco in '68 the voting bloc that Richard Nixon called the silent majority will notice and are repulsed by the spectacle. Once again the Democrats are finished. Hey its just a dream!

Like a cheap slasher movie....

You just want to scream...LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!!!!!!


Via: Maggie's Farm

Campaign Ramblings

*I have to say that I am sorry to see Govenor Romney drop out of the race. If I was doing the hiring he was the only one in the entire field with the resume to do the job. Unfortunately when we look for a leader we are also running a beauty contest and Mitt didn't connect with the electorate and that is a loss for us all. As Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in 1835;

On my arrival in the United States I was surprised to find so much distinguished talent among the citizens and so little among the heads of the government. It is a constant fact that at the present day the ablest men in the United States are rarely placed at the head of affairs; (Democracy in America, Ch.11)

Romney is certainly a distinguished talent, perhaps too much buisnessman and not enough politician. He bowed out at the right time and with a grace rarely seen in politicians. Since he and the press are already talking about a bid in 2012 is it possible that McCain has shared plans to be a one term president? (Eternal optimist that McCain will win?) Perhaps the fix is in for the VP slot.

*I always love a good analogy. Many times the connection is tenuous at best but in this case Peggy Noonan hits a humorous mark concerning the Clintons in this WSJ piece;

Deep down journalists think she's a political Rasputin who will not be dispatched. Prince Yusupov served him cupcakes laced with cyanide, emptied a revolver, clubbed him, tied him up and threw him in a frozen river. When he floated to the surface they found he'd tried to claw his way from under the ice. That is how reporters see Hillary.
And that is a grim and over-the-top analogy, which I must withdraw. What I really mean is they see her as the Glenn Close character in "Fatal Attraction": "I won't be ignored, Dan!"

*It was petty for the press and Governor Huckabee in particular to repeatedly say that Gov. Romney was "spending his kid’s inheritance" because he was willing to finance his own campaign. Although I have encountered the saying on a motor home bumper sticker from time to time, this was said with a tinge of jealously. Now that the Clinton Campaign has pulled five million Bucks out of the joint checking account, will the press have the same concern for poor Chelsea?

Silly Monkey

Via Maggies Farm

This monkey buisiness reminded me of one of my favorite watering holes. Darwin's Theory in downtown Anchorage Alaska. Their motto. "A smart monkey never messes around with another monkeys monkey."

End Derangement Syndrome

It’s time to retire “Derangement Syndrome” from the blogging lexicon. First coined by Charles Krauthammer to describe the Left's unhinged hatred of George Bush (BDS), the term is now widely applied to anyone that disagrees with the position of one candidate or another.

Anyone that has spent any time in the left wing blog “o” sphere has encountered BDS to varying degrees. Those most affected, such as the two subjests pictured, through a mental process akin to “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”, can track any bad event in the world back to, "President Bush stole the 2000 election." Your milk has gone sour? Milk comes from cows. Cows live on ranches. There are ranches in Texas. Bush has a Texas ranch. Presto, Bush stole the 2000 election.


Of course without the imagination to coin a catchy pejorative of their own, (further evidence by their continued use of the term fascist for anyone that is not a socialist) the Left glommed onto the phrase and wrongly applied it to persons that dislike the Clintons (CDS) or Hillary in particualr (HDS). I say wrongly because the basis of derangement syndrome lies in a tendency to blame the president for virtually every ill in the world. It also refers to opposing a position advocated by the president just because he supports it, regardless if the president’s actions may have merit. i.e. The surge.

The Right certainly wasn’t against President Clinton’s policies, because for the most part they were positions co-opted from the Republicans. (See Krauthammer) Republicans also didn’t lay every ill in the world at the White House steps. Instead what you see is a loathing of the Clintons as a life form. A hatred of their machine, their tawdry affairs, their no holds barred, any means justifies the end style. Filegate, Travelgate, Monicagate, gates ad nauseum. More recently there is a whacked Bill Clinton performing damage control on his legacy with a willingness to say and do anything to get back into the seat of power which only adds to the revulsion. ( See Bill Shribman "Clintons Sybil Syndrome" Fortune Magazine 1996) Personally it is the fact that the man, or his wife we're not sure which now, led with a finger in the air checking the political winds and was unable or unwilling to respond to Al Queda.

What brought me to the conclusion that “Derangement Syndrome” has outlive it’s usefulness is the fact that now the term is being applied to certain Republicans that are not thrilled that John McCain (MDS)may be the nominee. The term has begun to loose all meaning. Perhaps Dr. Krauthammer can diagnose a disorder for the next resident of the White House. I suggest "Political Dementia Disorder." (PDD), We know we hate your guts we just can't remember why.

Flotsam and Jetsam

The Ultimate in Home Theatre.







The Ultimate in Home Defense



The Ultimate Politcal Talk Radio Babe, Laura Ingraham.
This week Blonde Bomb-thrower Babe Ann Coulter promised to campaign for Hillary Clinton if John McCain were to win the republican nomination. To that I say, "Don't let the door hit you on the backside we still got Laura."








The Ultimate Clinton Analysis. From Charles Krauthammer;

"By comparison, Clinton was a historical parenthesis. He can console himself -- with considerable justification -- that he simply drew the short straw in the chronological lottery: His time just happened to be the 1990s, which, through no fault of his own, was the most inconsequential decade of the 20th century. His was the interval between the collapse of the Soviet Union on Dec. 26, 1991, and the return of history with a vengeance on Sept. 11, 2001.
Clinton's decade, that holiday from history, was certainly a time of peace and prosperity -- but a soporific Golden Age that made no great demands on leadership. What, after all, was his greatest crisis? A farcical sexual dalliance."

Sign of the Times

Co-Presidency Fears Gaining Momentum

I mentioned last week that I thought the idea of Bill Clinton back in the white house was pushing the envelope in interpreting the 22nd amendment. From the Washington Post Blog;

The real concern may be a co-presidency, which raises intriguing constitutional questions. Is Bill Clinton pulling a Putin -- or a Kirchner? The Russian president couldn't seek re-election again, so he tapped a relatively unknown crony to run as his candidate in March, and is largely expected to continue running the show behind the scenes (maybe even as prime minister). Nestor Kirchner of Argentina decided not to run for re-election last fall, but made way for his wife Cristina to win the presidency and keep the Pink House in the family.

They are tacitly campaigning for us to accept an oligarchy. I know, I know there is already a secret cabal of old white guys running the country now.) But there is little doubt that Bill would love to be the Power Behind the Throne, Constitution be damned. From Wikipedia;

The phrase power behind the throne refers to a person or group that informally exercises the real power of an office. In politics, it most commonly refers to a spouse, aide, or advisor of a political leader (often called a "figurehead") who serves as de facto leader, setting policy through influence or manipulation.

Off topic but an interesting take on Bill. From Victor Davis-Hanson;

4. The problem is not that Bill Clinton occasionally lies—he does. But instead, almost serially he exaggerates and fudges—and in ways beyond not inhaling or redefining “is”, or insisting oral sex is not sex. The result is a Forrest Gump like effect, that we are to believe he and Hillary were the font of every almost every liberal gift of the last quarter-century—Yale, then Arkansas being the Mecca of social change.
5. It would be cruel, but understandable to ask amid these long encomia on Hillary’s character, her talent, and her morality—prefaced by Bill’s commentary that he almost alone realized her singular gifts, why in the world, then, did he spend over thirty years trying to escape her in almost every way imaginable? Why if she walked on water, did he find company, carnality, conversation with Paula Jones or Gennifer Flowers, or feel the need to talk trash and more with Monica? In other words, he is asking the voter to take on a partnership, a political marriage if you will, that he, mutatis mutandis, never would or has.

Election Satire

Flotsam and Jetsam

We can all use a single image that speaks to us of love, harmony, peace, joy and happiness; an image that suggests the universality of us all. I have been sent that image, and I want to share it with you. All I ask is that you take a moment to reflect on it.
Thx. Dave

It was a fun night at the bar.
But last call was soon not too far.
Censored .....
Now a swear I'll drink liquor no more.

Photo Removed by Order of the Salmon Shack Thought Police.


Keeping to the theme, Beer is Evil. Video here. and the Beer Song Here.

Freedom of Speech...As long as you don't offend anyone.

I have been following the case of Canadian publisher Ezra Lavant who facing charges by the Canadian Civil Rights Commission on a complaint from a person "offended" that Lavant had the courage to run the Danish Muhammed Cartoons in his magazine. Lavant has posted video of the proceedings in defiance of Commission rules against such action. It is an interesting exercise in bureaucracy vs. citizen and Lavant makes an excellent case for his right to free speech and the right to offend a prophet that has been dead for 1400 years.

On the lighter side, the Iowahawk has searched the dumpster outside the Canadian Civil Rights Commission office and found a duplicate of the Official Investigative Hearing Report.

Back to School Week

*Sorry to say that Christmas break is over and Spring Semester started yesterday. I am looking forward to this term though because unlike last semester when I endured four history courses I have a little variety in this new schedule. One American History Pre 1800 and Educational Psych. Plus two Poli Sci courses, (Foreign Policy and Political Behavior) I hope I can keep my mouth shut in discussion and not be ostracized for my less than liberal views. That doesn't really happen does it?

*Caution, Crass Self-Congratulations Ahead!....

Last semester was the first at the big school after receiving an associates degree from Tall Corn College and Technical Institute. I was sure that I was drowning the first two months at Iowa, (isn't educational water boarding illegal?) Things gradually began to click and I ended the Semester with a 3.52 gpa and a spot on the deans list. Woohoo!

Barrack Responds.

*I want to thank Obama for taking my advice and putting Hillary on notice that he's mad as hell and isn't going to take it anymore. His remark during Mondays debate that "its hard to tell who I am running against" was on target but I'm afraid that it may be too little too late. He is being double teamed in a steal cage death match. In the end they will kiss and make up for the sake of the country and he will become the bottom of the ticket.

*My contention that people are not attuned to a Clinton return engagement to the White House may be off base. A New York Times article states that up to 37% of SC primary voters don't care which Clinton they are voting for as long as they get their old job back. Sad.

*Fred Thompson: Outside of Fred's acting I really didn't know much about the Senator until he was asked to help with the Justice Roberts confirmation. I was struck by his demeanor and presence and thought at the time that he was a genuinely impressive individual and I hoped he would enter the race when he was toying with the idea. Unfortunately, reality did not meet expectations. He kept people hanging on for too long and once in he never seemed to generate much enthusiasm for himself or Republicans.

The Chimera Candidate

Barack Obama has taken the fight to Bill Clinton when in an appearance on GMA he stated;

You know the former president, who I think all of us have a lot of regard (not respect?) for, has taken his advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling. He continues to make statements that are not supported by the facts — whether it’s about my record of opposition to the war in Iraq or our approach to organizing in Las Vegas. This has become a habit, and one of the things that we’re going to have to do is to directly confront Bill Clinton when he’s making statements that are not factually accurate.

I just finished listening to a couple talking heads discussing Obama's attack on Bill. One view was that by attacking Bill it takes the focus off of Hillary. She pointed out that the day before the vote in New Hampshire and Nevada, Bill threw a tantrum that for the next 24 hours made him the center of attention, therefore Bill should be ignored. The other commentator believed that it was imperative that Obama respond to Bill. I believe that a third course of action is needed. Obama needs to connect their actions into the quaint “two for the price of one” that they promoted in 1992 and show them for what they are.

I recall a reporter asking Senator Clinton after 9/11 if she, and I will have to paraphrase here, felt that the Clinton administration had done enough to stop Al Queada. She responded “We didn’t have enough support to do more…” My first reaction was, as president there is often a need to gain support or at times act without support, thats called leadership. My second reaction was who the hell is "we"? Do you have a mouse in your pocket? "We" as Americans? Or "we" as Bill and I. I think it was then that I knew that “two for the price of one” was more of a reality than we knew and it is what makes this race to so hard for most people to get their mind around.

We all know their lust for power is a symbiotic relationship, they aren't know as Billery for nothing, evidenced by the fuzzy use of “WE” as a constant component in their rhetoric. Every time that Bill makes an attack on Obama he needs to connect it directly back to Hillary as if it came directly from the horses mouth. She is he and he is she and we have no provision for co-presidency. Obama needs to to emphasize this over and over again!

If Clinton considered herself a co-president as she implies by her white house experience then she has already had a bite at the apple and although it is technically constitutional I suppose for Bill to become first lady he has already had his share of the apple and he can not be allowed a second chance even if it is through his spouse. Hopefully, Democratic voters will show the sense to put an end to this chimera.

Chimera: A thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle,and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire. (Homer)