Is it just me, or does this Obama guy like to say “force” a lot?

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If it is free, is it really stealing?

Ah, KING 5 News, you never let me down!

Tonight I was treated to the story of dastardly thieves who made off with over hundreds of pounds of pet food from a charity in Yelm, Washington.
This group provides pet food for the poor to feed to their pets. I was pondering the notion of why poor people should have pets if they can’t afford them. After all, speaking as a reluctant dog owner, pets are a bit of a luxury – expensive in both time and treasure. I like my little doggy well enough, but make no mistake, if I ever had to wonder where my next meal was coming from we would by then have sold (or eaten) the dog.

Then, mid-ponder, this quote from 80 year old Wanda Bittner leapt from my fully HD enabled flat screen speakers in glorious 5.1 Dolby:

"I'm in shock... I can't believe it... Our food is free, no questions asked," she said. "Why would anyone take our pet food?"

Ummm…now I’m scratching my head. She has a charity operation where you come in and take the food you need - “no questions asked” – for free.

Sooooooooo…is this a crime or just someone availing themselves of this groups raison d'être?

I mean, this woman is 80 years old. Her house looks like what you would think someone’s house would look like if they spent their time collecting food for the pets of the poor. Maybe she just forgot where she put it.

“Next on KING 5, we confront a man who has always taken a penny, but never left a penny.”

And, just sayin’, does that tubby little pup on the right have an alibi?

Example #487 of how children keep you humble

I’m a sucker for old video games.
We’ve got an actual Genesis, which has migrated out to the garage now, but the kids are always wanting me to bring it back in the house and hook it up.
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360. It came out yesterday, but when I went into GameStop after work they didn’t have it and said they’d be getting it today. They also asked if I’d like to pre-order it so I’d be sure to get a copy…to which I said “Ummm, I’m sure you will have a copy for me.”
So when I came home I mentioned it to my youngest daughter. I said, “It has all the best Genesis games on it.”
Daughter#3: “Does it have Marble Madness?”
Me: “No, but…”
Daughter#3: “Does it have Lion King?”
Me: “No, but…”
Daughter#3: “Does it have Aladdin?”
Me: “Well, no but…”
Daughter#3: “Jungle Strike?”
Me: “That’s not a Sega game.”
Daughter#3: “Well those are the best games. What does this have on it anyway?”

Ahhh yes, fatherhood.

I had a few minutes free before I was going to have lunch today so I popped in and got mine. Luckily, I managed to fight my way through the crowd of people who slept overnight in front of the store to get theirs. (not)

Full disclosure: some of what you are about to read may make it impossible for me to ever claim I had a “hard day” at work.

I ripped off the plastic at a stop light on the way back to my office. I popped my leftover spaghetti in the microwave and then took it into the game room at work.
You know, the game room. The room with all the flat screen TVs, two 360s, a PS3 and a Wii. You mean you don’t have one of those at your office? Bummer for you. How can you work under those conditions? 
I popped it in and did my best to look at a few of the games with one hand while shoveling pasta into my slobbering maw with my flimsy, bendy compostable fork in the other. (This doesn’t work very well actually.)
I finished my food and squeezed in a few minutes of “Streets of Rage” before heading off to my 1pm meeting.

I actually cut out of work a little early to come home and get in some playtime, but then I remembered I was in the middle of a long running battle in Advance Wars on my DS, so I thought I’d finish that first.

Before I knew it, it was time to head off to the Daddy-Daughter Dance with Daughters 2 & 3. We had a great time, although it is hard for one daddy to keep two delightful dance partners happy.

Then I came home and had to endure American Idol monopolizing the screen time. Now it is 10:30pm. I have to get up early tomorrow. The responsible thing to do would be to head off to bed.
Just a few minutes of Ecco the Dolphin first.

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Enough fun and games.
Wondering about the notion of economic stimulus? Check out Stimulus: A history of Folly in Commentary Magazine.

It takes a federal government to raise a parking lot

Fresh on the heels of the senate's passage of their version of the "stimulus" plan comes this delightful piece at Newsbusters.org.
When Laura Ingraham pressed RINO Arlen Spector (R?-PA) on the job creating ability of the package, he included this little gem:

"And I talked to the mayor of a major city this morning that has a parking plot
going up, which is out of money and the work can go forward this afternoon."

There you have it folks. This is the kind of project that municipalities, states, and the private sector just can't handle alone. This is the kind of project that we can look toward to get Americans back to work. Building parking lots.

Nice one.

Now, you might say, "Hey, I know unemployed construction workers. Maybe this isn't so bad."
Aha! But remember that Robert Reich said at the Economic Recovery Plan Meeting in January:

"if construction jobs go mainly to white males who already dominate the
construction trades, many people who need jobs the most -- women, minorities,
and the poor and long-term unemployed -- will be shut out."

So we not only want to build a grand federal ediface of a parking garage, but we want to build it NOT with people who already know what they are doing, who already "dominate the construction trades", but with people who are not employed in the construction field today.

Honestly, I'd prefer to park my car in a building constructed by the people who "dominate the construction trades."

Lest anyone take the wrong emphasis from this, I'm scoffing at the idea of non-construction workers being first in line for construction jobs - regardless of race or whatever.

Hey, I've never dominated the brain surgery field. Will this stimulus plan make me first in line for a job in that trade?