Why Chuck can't start a business (along with a listing of every state agency in California)

And just for fun, compliments of the Maggie's Farm blog, here's a list of all the state agencies in California.




California Academic Performance Index (API) California Access for Infants and Mothers California Acupuncture Board California Administrative Office of the Courts California Adoptions Branch California African American Museum California Agricultural Export Program California Agricultural Labor Relations Board California Agricultural Statistics Service California Air Resources Board (CARB) California Allocation Board California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority California Animal Health and Food Safety Services California Anti-Terrorism Information Center California Apprenticeship Council California Arbitration Certification Program California Architects Board California Area VI Developmental Disabilities Board California Arts Council California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus California Assembly Democratic Caucus California Assembly Republican Caucus California Athletic Commission * California Attorney General  California Bay Conservation and Development Commission California Bay-Delta Authority California Bay-Delta Office California Biodiversity Council California Board for Geologists and Geophysicists California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors California Board of Accountancy California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology California Board of Behavioral Sciences California Board of Chiropractic Examiners California Board of Equalization (BOE) California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection California Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind California Board of Occupational Therapy California Board of Optometry California Board of Pharmacy California Board of Podiatric Medicine California Board of Prison Terms California Board of Psychology California Board of Registered Nursing California Board of Trustees California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians California Braille and Talking Book Library California Building Standards Commission California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education California Bureau of Automotive Repair California Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation California Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services California Bureau of State Audits California Business Agency California Business Investment Services (CalBIS) California Business Permit Information (CalGOLD) California Business Portal California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency California Cal Grants California CalJOBS California Cal-Learn Program California CalVet Home Loan Program California Career Resource Network California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau California Center for Analytical Chemistry California Center for Distributed Learning California Center for Teaching Careers (Teach California) California Chancellors Office California Charter Schools California Children and Families Commission California Children and Family Services Division California Citizens Compensation Commission California Civil Rights Bureau California Coastal Commission California Coastal Conservancy California Code of Regulations California Collaborative Projects with UC Davis California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth California Commission on Aging California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers Compensation California Commission on Judicial Performance California Commission on State Mandates California Commission on Status of Women California Commission on Teacher Credentialing California Commission on the Status of Women California Committee on Dental Auxiliaries California Community Colleges Chancellors Office, Junior Colleges California Community Colleges Chancellors Office California Complaint Mediation Program California Conservation Corps California Constitution Revision Commission California Consumer Hotline California Consumer Information Center California Consumer Information California Consumer Services Division California Consumers and Families Agency California Contractors State License Board California Corrections Standards Authority California Council for the Humanities California Council on Criminal Justice California Council on Developmental Disabilities California Court Reporters Board California Courts of Appeal California Crime and Violence Prevention Center California Criminal Justice Statistics Center California Criminalist Institute Forensic Library California CSGnet Network Management California Cultural and Historical Endowment California Cultural Resources Division California Curriculum and Instructional Leadership Branch California Data Exchange Center California Data Management Division California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission California Delta Protection Commission California Democratic Caucus California Demographic Research Unit California Dental Auxiliaries California Department of Aging California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control California Department of Boating and Waterways (Cal Boating) California Department of Child Support Services (CDCSS) California Department of Community Services and Development California Department of Conservation California Department of Consumer Affairs California Department of Corporations California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation California Department of Developmental Services California Department of Education California Department of Fair Employment and Housing California Department of Finance California Department of Financial Institutions California Department of Fish and Game California Department of Food and Agriculture California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) California Department of General Services California Department of General Services, Office of State Publishing California Department of Health Care Services California Department of Housing and Community Development California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) California Department of Insurance California Department of Justice Firearms Division California Department of Justice Opinion Unit California Department of Justice, Consumer Information, Public Inquiry Unit California Department of Justice California Department of Managed Health Care California Department of Mental Health California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) California Department of Personnel Administration California Department of Pesticide Regulation California Department of Public Health California Department of Real Estate California Department of Rehabilitation California Department of Social Services Adoptions Branch California Department of Social Services California Department of Technology Services Training Center (DTSTC) California Department of Technology Services (DTS) California Department of Toxic Substances Control California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVets) California Department of Water Resources California Departmento de Vehiculos Motorizados California Digital Library California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Certification Program California Division of Apprenticeship Standards California Division of Codes and Standards California Division of Communicable Disease Control California Division of Engineering California Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control California Division of Gambling Control California Division of Housing Policy Development California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement California Division of Labor Statistics and Research California Division of Land and Right of Way California Division of Land Resource Protection California Division of Law Enforcement General Library California Division of Measurement Standards California Division of Mines and Geology California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources California Division of Planning and Local Assistance California Division of Recycling California Division of Safety of Dams California Division of the State Architect California Division of Tourism California Division of Workers Compensation Medical Unit California Division of Workers Compensation California Economic Assistance, Business and Community Resources California Economic Strategy Panel California Education and Training Agency California Education Audit Appeals Panel California Educational Facilities Authority California Elections Division California Electricity Oversight Board California Emergency Management Agency California Emergency Medical Services Authority California Employment Development Department (EDD) California Employment Information State Jobs California Employment Training Panel California Energy Commission California Environment and Natural Resources Agency California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) California Environmental Resources Evaluation System (CERES) California Executive Office California Export Laboratory Services California Exposition and State Fair (Cal Expo) California Fair Political Practices Commission California Fairs and Expositions Division California Film Commission California Fire and Resource Assessment Program California Firearms Division California Fiscal Services California Fish and Game Commission California Fisheries Program Branch California Floodplain Management California Foster Youth Help California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) California Fraud Division California Gambling Control Commission California Geographic Information Systems Council (GIS) California Geological Survey California Government Claims and Victim Compensation Board California Governors Committee for Employment of Disabled Persons California Governors Mentoring Partnership California Governors Office of Emergency Services California Governors Office of Homeland Security California Governors Office of Planning and Research California Governors Office California Grant and Enterprise Zone Programs HCD Loan California Health and Human Services Agency California Health and Safety Agency California Healthy Families Program California Hearing Aid Dispensers Bureau California High-Speed Rail Authority California Highway Patrol (CHP) California History and Culture Agency California Horse Racing Board California Housing Finance Agency California Indoor Air Quality Program California Industrial Development Financing Advisory Commission California Industrial Welfare Commission California InFoPeople California Information Center for the Environment California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) California Inspection Services California Institute for County Government California Institute for Education Reform California Integrated Waste Management Board California Interagency Ecological Program California Job Service California Junta Estatal de Personal California Labor and Employment Agency California Labor and Workforce Development Agency California Labor Market Information Division California Land Use Planning Information Network (LUPIN) California Lands Commission California Landscape Architects Technical Committee California Latino Legislative Caucus California Law Enforcement Branch California Law Enforcement General Library California Law Revision Commission California Legislative Analyst's Office California Legislative Black Caucus California Legislative Counsel California Legislative Division California Legislative Information California Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Caucus California Legislature Internet Caucus California Library De velopment Services California License and Revenue Branch California Major Risk Medical Insurance Program California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board California Maritime Academy California Marketing Services California Measurement Standards California Medical Assistance Commission California Medical Care Services California Military Department California Mining and Geology Board California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts California Museum Resource Center California National Guard California Native American Heritage Commission California Natural Community Conservation Planning Program California New Motor Vehicle Board California Nursing Home Administrator Program California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board California Ocean Resources Management Program California Office of Administrative Hearings California Office of Administrative Law California Office of AIDS California Office of Binational Border Health California Office of Child Abuse Prevention California Office of Deaf Access California Office of Emergency Services (OES) California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment California Office of Fiscal Services California Office of Fleet Administration California Office of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Implementation (CalOHI) California Office of Historic Preservation California Office of Homeland Security California Office of Human Resources California Office of Legal Services California Office of Legislation California Office of Lieutenant Governor California Office of Military and Aerospace Support California Office of Mine Reclamation California Office of Natural Resource Education California Office of Privacy Protection California Office of Public School Construction California Office of Real Estate Appraisers California Office of Risk and Insurance Management California Office of Services to the Blind California Office of Spill Prevention and Response California Office of State Publishing (OSP) California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development California Office of Systems Integration California Office of the Inspector General California Office of the Ombudsman California Office of the Patient Advocate California Office of the President California Office of the Secretary for Education California Office of the State Fire Marshal California Office of the State Public Defender California Office of Traffic Safety California Office of Vital Records California Online Directory California Operations Control Office California Opinion Unit California Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN) California Park and Recreation Commission California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) California Performance Review (CPR) California Permit Information for Business (CalGOLD) California Physical Therapy Board California Physician Assistant Committee California Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services California Policy and Evaluation Division California Political Reform Division California Pollution Control Financing Authority California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo California Postsecondary Education Commission California Prevention Services California Primary Care and Family Health California Prison Industry Authority California Procurement Division California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) California Real Estate Services Division California Refugee Programs Branch California Regional Water Quality Control Boards California Registered Veterinary Technician Committee California Registrar of Charitable Trusts California Republican Caucus California Research and Development Division California Research Bureau California Resources Agency California Respiratory Care Board California Rivers Assessment California Rural Health Policy Council California Safe Schools California San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission California San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy California San Joaquin River Conservancy California School to Career California Science Center California Scripps Institution of Oceanography California Secretary of State Business Portal California Secretary of State California Seismic Safety Commission California Self Insurance Plans (SIP) California Senate Office of Research California Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Certification Program California Small Business Development Center Program California Smart Growth Caucus California Smog Check Information Center California Spatial Information Library California Special Education Division California Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) California Standards and Assessment Division California State Administrative Manual (SAM) California State Allocation Board California State and Consumer Services Agency California State Architect California State Archives California State Assembly California State Association of Counties (CSAC) California State Board of Education * California State Board of Food and Agriculture California Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) California State Children's Trust Fund California State Compensation Insurance Fund California State Contracts Register Program California State Contracts Register California State Controller California State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) California State Disability Insurance (SDI) California State Fair (Cal Expo) California State Jobs Employment Information California State Lands Commission California State Legislative Portal California State Legislature California State Library Catalog California State Library Services Bureau California State Library California State Lottery California State Mediation and Conciliation Service California State Mining and Geology Board California State Park and Recreation Commission California State Parks California State Personnel Board California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Railroad Museum California State Science Fair California State Senate California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) California State Summer School for the Arts California State Superintendent of Public Instruction California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) California State Treasurer California State University Center for Distributed Learning California State University, Bakersfield California State University, Channel Islands California State University, Chico California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, East Bay California State University, Fresno California State University, Fullerton California State University, Long Beach California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Monterey Bay California State University, Northridge California State University, Sacramento California State University, San Bernardino California State University, San Marcos California State University, Stanislaus California State University (CSU) California State Water Project Analysis Office California State Water Project California State Water Resources Control Board California Structural Pest Control Board California Student Aid Commission California Superintendent of Public Instruction California Superior Courts California Tahoe Conservancy California Task Force on Culturally and Linguistically Competent Physicians and Dentists California Tax Information Center California Technology and Administration Branch Finance California Telecommunications Division California Telephone Medical Advice Services (TAMS) California Transportation Commission California Travel and Transportation Agency California Unclaimed Property Program California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board California Unemployment Insurance Program California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission California Veterans Board California Veterans Memorial California Veterinary Medical Board and Registered Veterinary Technician Examining Committee California Veterinary Medical Board California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board California Volunteers California Voter Registration California Water Commission California Water Environment Association (COWPEA) California Water Resources Control Board California Welfare to Work Division California Wetlands Information System California Wildlife and Habitat Data Analysis Branch California Wildlife Conservation Board California Wildlife Programs Branch California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) California Workers Compensation Appeals Board California Workforce and Labor Development Agency California Workforce Investment Board California Youth Authority (CYA) Central Valley Flood Protection Board Center for California Studies Colorado River Board of California Counting California Dental Board of California Health Insurance Plan of California (PacAdvantage) Humboldt State University Jobs with the State of California Judicial Council of California Learn California Library of California Lieutenant Governors Commission for One California Little Hoover Commission (on California State Government Organization and Economy) Medical Board of California Medi-Cal Osteopathic Medical Board of California Physical Therapy Board of California Regents of the University of California San Diego State University San Francisco State University San Jose State University Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy State Bar of California Supreme Court of California Teach California University of California University of California, Berkeley University of California, Davis University of California, Hastings College of the Law University of California, Irvine University of California, Los Angeles University of California, Merced University of California, Riverside University of California, San Diego University of California, San Francisco University of California, Santa Barbara University of California, Santa Cruz * Veterans Home of California

Every one of these institutions is loaded full of folks who try to justify their existence by regulating yours. 
Good luck, Chuck ! 

Keith Richards, on The Rolling Stones' tax strategy

I'm about 1/4 into Keith Richards' autobiography, Life. 

What a book, what a book.  This thing is enough to justify the invention of the printing press.  Forget the drugs, the partying, and his currently fashionable look that makes him appear to have dipped his hair into a fishing tackle box.  The first impression you get when you open this autobiography is that you're having a conversation with a very smart man. 
 
Here's Keef on The Rolling Stones' tax avoidance strategy, compliments of Greg Mankiw.  Incentives really do matter, don't they? 

The Stones are famously tax-averse. I broach the subject with Keith [Richards] in Camp X-Ray, as he calls his backstage lair. There is incense in the air and Ronnie Wood drifts in and out--it is, in other words, a perfect venue for such a discussion. "The whole business thing is predicated a lot on the tax laws," says Keith, Marlboro in one hand, vodka and juice in the other. "It's why we rehearse in Canada and not in the U.S. A lot of our astute moves have been basically keeping up with tax laws, where to go, where not to put it. Whether to sit on it or not. We left England because we'd be paying 98 cents on the dollar. We left, and they lost out. No taxes at all. I don't want to screw anybody out of anything, least of all the governments that I work with. We put 30% in holding until we sort it out." No wonder Keith chooses to live not in London, or even New York City, but in Weston, Connecticut.

Tax the rich all you want.  They'll just leave. 
You'll never see a robin drop worms into every nest in the forest. 

Keith Olbermann suspended for supporting political candidates. I'm not lying.

Olbermann has been suspended from his MSNBC anchor duties for a while because he was making financial contributions to political causes. 
Yeah, you read that correctly. 
Keith Olbermann contributes more to socialism by opening his mouth on TV than he could ever hope to contribute by giving money to politicians. 

Here's Rick Moran from Pajamas Media:

None of this is news to anyone who has a passing familiarity with political debate in America. Yet the rapidity with which MSNBC bounced Olbermann from the network begs several questions. What did he do that other journalists — including those at Fox News — haven’t done? Why now? And why should MSNBC all of a sudden feign an interest in impartiality?


Alas, Babylon. The press in America have never been “impartial,” and the grandiose proclamations of objectivity and neutrality in covering politics this last century made by sober-minded newspaper editors were always more for purposes of marketing than related to any claim based in reality. “Yellow journalism” aside, the great publishers in the 19th and early 20th century were all house organs for one of the two political parties. Major dailies were political kingmakers, and a word from a Horace Greeley or Robert McCormick could make or break a politician’s career.

What made this arrangement preferable to the insufferable hypocrisy we experience today with the media is that everybody knew which side the press was on. Being forewarned is being forearmed, and at a time when there were a dozen dailies in New York City alone, if you didn’t like Hearst’s take you could always read what the Sulzbergers had to say about politics. There was never a lack of choice as far as the news consumer being exposed to the spin from both parties.

Today, even little children know that MSNBC has a strong, pronounced liberal Democratic bias and a demonstrated animus against conservative Republicans. This is not a secret nor is it necessarily bad. If you don’t like the network’s tiresome promotion of Democratic candidates and causes, you can always switch over to Fox’s equally tiresome boosting of conservatives and the GOP.

And here's Jonah Goldberg:

Look, I understand why everyone is pouncing on Olby. And given his sanctimony and hypocrisy, not to mention the fact that he seems to have broken the clear rules of his own employer, I have no problem with him getting whipsawed.


But there are two problems with these kinds of journalistic ethics “scandals.”

The first is that they aren’t a scandal. So Olbermann gave money to some Democratic candidates. Ostensibly the rules against this are intended to prevent journalists from giving the appearance of bias. Whether or not such rules make sense for actual reporters, such rules are silly for someone like Olbermann. Does anybody, and I mean anybody, suddenly trust Olbermann’s opinion less because of this news? I’m waiting. Does anyone think he’s less biased? More biased? Un-biased?

Second, the larger problem with these kinds of rules is that they do little to prevent media bias and a great deal to hide an important form of evidence of it. Banning liberal journalists from giving money doesn’t prevent them from being liberal, it just gives them a bit more plausibility when they deny it. Now, I can see the argument that someone who makes a donation would be more interested in protecting their investment, as it were. So I don’t think the policy is completely misguided. But at a certain level banning donations is like NPR barring staff from attending the Jon Stewart rally. It doesn’t fool anyone, but gives the accused a lawyerly rebuttal to accurate accusations.

Precisely. 
When you sit down in front of a camera, behind a typewriter, or at a laptop to deliver consumable political opinions to large groups of people, you can pretend to be objective but you'll never pull it off. 
No one ever has. 
So let's drop the pretense, and put warning lables of "REPUBLICAN" on Faux News, "DEMOCRAT" on MSDNC, and "SLOWLY LEANING TOWARDS LIBERTARIAN, BUT NOT FAST ENOUGH" on Fox Business. 

This post was written by The Whited Sepulchre, who arrived at these opinions through painstaking research, academic training, reading a lot, common sense, and a vigorous editorial process designed to remove any hint of bias from these pages. 

Does anyone believe that?  Good. 
Don't believe it in reference to CNN, The New York Times, Fox News, or anyone else. 

How to get from Fort Worth, TX to China

1) Go to Google Maps

2) Hit "Get Directions"

3) Type in "Fort Worth, TX" in blank A

4) Type "China" in blank B

Pay particular attention to the instructions for getting across the Pacific Ocean. 

Google is pure, undiluted greatness ! 

A Semi-libertarian is elected to the U.S. Senate. MSNBC goes ballistic. Comedy Gold.

Here's the MSNBC election roundtable on Rand Paul's election to the Senate.
Hit it at the 7:30 mark.

Here's a Baltimore TV reviewer called Z On TV, on what you're about to see:
Some might call it an anchor desk, but I would not debase the word "anchor" by putting it in front of a desk that includes folks offering this kind of analysis. The team includes: Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, Lawrence O'Donnell and Eugene Robinson.


This is their reaction Tuesday night to the victory speech of Rand Paul, the new U.S. senator from Kentucky. Check out O'Donnell's words, in particular, against MSNBC's claim that Fox News, not MSNBC, is the cable channel trafficking in fear. O'Donnell says Rand is now "empowered" to "creat a worldwide despression."

The pundits are telling the truth. But they think that they're lying

Browsing through a bunch of the election post-mortems early this morning, I noticed a general trend.
The professional typists are coming away from yesterday's election with the following lessons for us all:

1) Americans are racists.
2) President Obama didn't properly communicate the general awesomeness of his accomplishments.
3) The porkulus package wasn't big enough. 
4) Losing the House will do the Democrats some good, since the Republicans will make a useful foil for Obama and the Senate. 

The mainstream media doesn't really believe any of this.  They think that they're lying. 
In reality, they're telling the truth. 
Let's take these one at a time. 

1) Americans are racist.

Yes, they are.  But it's not a racism of the in-your-face variety.  It manifests itself in what Bush The Lesser called "the soft bigotry of low expectations".  It shows up in our remaining Affirmative Action regulations.  And it appears when we put a junior Senator from Illinois, with no executive, management, or even legislative experience into the most challenging job in the free world. 
Hundreds of thousands of people had their Affirmative Action moment in 2008, felt totally great about it, and then experienced the worst buyer's remorse most of us have ever seen in a mid-term.  They either stayed home or changed their minds.
Yes, many Americans are racists, and they see people through that filter.  But 2010 wasn't the racist election.  2008 was.   

2) President Obama didn't properly communicate the general awesomeness of his accomplishments.

Once again, the pundits are telling the truth.  But to acknowledge that Obama's efforts to justify ObamaCare, Porkulus, or Cash For Clunkers didn't make sense?  That would undermine their entire worldview. 
The Democrats didn't fail because of a lack of communication on Obama's part. 
Good lord in heaven, I am so tired of that man's voice. 
He talked and talked and talked. 
This is the moment that is now.  Now is the time that is after the past but before the future.  The present time of badness is so much better than the failed eight years of relative goodness.  And on and on and on.  I could produce reams and reams of it without making a lick of sense, that even Obama's Mama couldn't distinguish from the real thing.  People are just sick of having to listen to it.   

Here's Mark Twain, on his experience with an evangelist named Hawley:

Well, Hawley worked me up to a great state. I couldn't wait for him to get through. I had four hundred dollars in my pocket. I wanted to give that and borrow more to give. You could see greenbacks in every eye. But he didn't pass the plate, and it grew hotter and we grew sleepier. My enthusiasm went down, down, down - $100 at a time, till finally when the plate came round I stole 10 cents out of it. So you see a neglect like that may lead to crime.

As always, Mr. Twain has a takeaway illustration for us all.  Please, please, please, when you run out of things to say, stop talking. 



3) The porkulus package wasn't big enough.


Absolutely correct.  If the stimulus package had been twice as big, more people would've gotten a boost before the election, and it might have changed a few things for a few people. 
But consider this....If a thief breaks into every home in your neighborhood, takes most of the property, pawns it, and then spends the money on jewels for his girlfriend, the pawn shops, the jewelry stores, and the girlfriend will all be grateful.  They're more grateful for a large theft than a small one.   
The pawnbrokers, jewelers and girlfriends are mistaken when they think this will be the start of a continuing trend. 
So when Paul Krugman says the theft from the private sector wasn't large enough, he was right.  But not for the reasons he thinks. 

4) Losing the House will do the Democrats some good, since the Republicans will make a useful foil for Obama and the Senate.


Once again, the professional commentators don't really believe this, and this is just a sour grapes response to a blowout of an election.  But here's the truth in what they're saying:
 
The punditocracy (meaning the non-bloggers) tend to believe that a great seismic shift happened yesterday.  Biggest change in Congress since the Great Depression.  A huge swing in the balance of power. 

Horsecrap. 

We will see some Kabuki Theatre between Obama and Boehner.  Both parties will use the others' picture in their fundraising.  The Republicans will be useful as boogeymen, but that'll be the only difference. 

The car will keep going in the same direction, down the same highway, but with a different driver.  The Dems have pulled over at a roadside park, gotten out to stretch their legs, and crawled in the back for a nap.  They have made out well.  They've gotten a trillion dollars worth of pork into the pockets of their supporters, they've destroyed 600,000 cars for union autoworkers, and they're well on their way to crippling private enterprise with ObamaCare, Cap'n'Tax, and other abortions.  Oh, and we're still at war with the same people we were bombing during the Bush stint at the wheel.

The car will stop at different restaurants, and the driver will change all the radio station presets.  The driver might even buy fuel from different truck stops. 
Nothing else is going to change.  You can forget about an ObamaCare repeal.  It just doesn't work that way.

The national debt stands at some point between 13.5 and 14 trillion dollars. 

Do any of those who are excited about the Republican victory believe that the debt is going to be smaller in 2012 ? 
Following the example of my friend Mike Coyne, I'll bet $100 that our debt is higher in 2012 than it is now.  We can work with the $14 trillion number.   
Any takers? 

There IS a solution to this problem, and it is called The Libertarian Party. 

What If ?

From John Jay Myers, Libertarian candidate for U.S. Congress, 32nd District, Texas:

What if we were not all fighting constantly about what we wanted from government?

What if we understood it is not the role of government to pass out favors or be involved in business, or to “create jobs”?

What if we didn’t have to tirelessly keep track of our politicians, trying to find out what crazy thing they are doing now?

What if we understood that governments role is to protect our life, liberty and property?

What if we knew that wars always end poorly whether they be wars on terror, drugs, poverty, or about education?

What if we knew that people should be able to do what they want with their lives as long as they don’t harm other people?

What if we were shown that the freer the society the more prosperous the whole of the people, time and time again?

What if we lived in a more libertarian society?



When you pull the switch tomorrow, please vote Libertarian !!!

Dallas Cowboys 17, Jacksonville Jaguars 35, and a history of all the coaches that Jerry Jones has fired in his quest to figure out the problem

I played left guard for one year at North Sunflower Academy.  I was in the 9th grade.  That's enough to qualify me to comment on this issue. 

Lord have mercy, what an ugly game.  The Dallas Cowboys got spanked, and I mean spanked by the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars, 35-17. 
Can you believe that Detroit is actually looking forward to playing us? 

What needs to happen?  Well, let's look at some history. 

The Cowboys franchise got its start in 1960.  Tom Landry was head coach.

When Landry was fired by Jerry Jones, he had a career record of 270-178-6.  However, Landry (before the start of the 1989 season) had not won a playoff game since 1983.  That's five years.  It was probably time for a change. 

When Jerry Jones purchased the team, he made himself General Manager.  He has supposedly been in charge of all personnel decisions since 1989. 

Jerry put the great Jimmy Johnson in as head coach.  Johnson had been coaching at the University Of Miami, and was familiar with many of the players soon to be drafted by the NFL.  We'll never know who made the decisions that led to the Cowboys era of greatness in the 1990's, but my money is on Jimmy. 

Jimmy Johnson coached his Cowboys to Super Bowl victories in 1992 and 1993.   But he couldn't get along with Jerry and left after the 1993 season.  

The details remain shrouded in a late-night haze, but it seems the trouble started when Jones toasted the Cowboys and was offended when Johnson reciprocated but did not invite Jones to join his table. A few hours later, Johnson alleges, Jones told a group of reporters in a bar that he planned to fire Johnson and replace him with Barry Switzer, an old foe of Johnson's from his college coaching days.

Then General Manager Jerry Jones....

....appointed Barry Switzer as Cowboys head coach. 

Using Jimmy's players, Switzer was able to win a playoff game in 1994, and he won the Super Bowl in 1995. 
The Cowboys won a single playoff game in 1996 (a year soon to be known as "the good old days), but went a disappointing 6-10 in 1997. 
General Manager Jerry Jones.....

....knew he had to do something after his head coach didn't win a playoff game in 1997.  He fired Switzer, and replaced him with Chan Gailey. 

Gailey went 10-6 in 1998, and then 8-8 in 1999.  He didn't win any playoff games. 
So then, Jerry Jones, who was supposedly still making all of the personnel decisions....

 
...fired Chan Gailey and replaced him with Dave Campo. 

Campo was head coach in 2000, 2001, and 2002, and had a won/loss record (respectively) of 5-11, 5-11, and finally, 5-11.  No playoff wins. 
So General Manager Jerry Jones, who was still in charge of ALL personnel decisions....

....fired Campo and replaced him with Bill Parcells. 

Despite winning a couple of Super Bowls with the Giants, and an AFC Championship season with The Patsies, Parcells was unable to do anything with Jerry's Kids in Dallas.  There were lots of discussions about "They want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries."  Some former Parcells players got signed, and Parcells had some small authority over the team. 
From 2003 through 2006, the Dallas Cowboys went 10-6, 6-10, 9-7, and 9-7.  They didn't win any playoff games. 

(It was at the beginning of the Parcells era that I discovered that God hates Jerry Jones, and I started making a small fortune betting against Dallas.  That has nothing to do with the matter at hand.  I wasn't worth a crap at left guard at North Sunflower Academy, but I can tell who God doesn't like.)

Parcells retired. 

Then Cowboys General Manager Jerry Jones, who hadn't won a playoff game since 1996....

...thought that he could improve the situation by bringing in Wade Phillips. 

Maybe Jerry Jones had discovered the source of his problems.  Maybe this coach would be the one who could properly use Jerry's draft choices. 

The first year, 2007, it almost worked.  The Boys went 13-3, but didn't win a playoff game. 

The next year, they went 9-7, but didn't make the playoffs. 

In 2009/2010, perhaps to illustrate the old proverb that "even a blind hog can sometimes find an acorn", Jerry's draftees went 11-5, and beat the Philadelphia Eagles in a playoff game.  The curse was lifted. 

The next week Minnesota beat the tar out of them 34-3. 

This year, the mighty Dallas Cowboys have started the season with one win and six losses.  They just finished losing to Jacksonville.  Yes, Jacksonville.   

Jerry Jones and the city of Arlington have taken people's homes by force, bulldozed them, and built the greatest sports facility on this planet on the site of their theft.  All to host this mess.  That was like tearing down the Taj Mahal to put up a movie theatre that only shows "Jackass 3". 

That's the history of the Dallas Cowboys coaches and their playoff wins. 

Let's hope that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who is a brilliant businessman, can figure out the root cause of his problems.

Pics came from here and here and here and here. 

God Hates Figs

From the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 11:

12 The next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry.

13 Seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14 Jesus told it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!"

Jeremiah 29:17  Thus says the LORD of hosts, behold, I am sending on them⁽ sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten.

Unfortunately, the GodHatesFigs website has gone under. 
Those wanting to contribute to other worthwhile causes should consider GodHatesShrimp.com

Navistar and Cummins: Working with government to force you to purchase new trucks

From The American Machinist website, via Quick Manufacturing News. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are set to mandate cuts in fuel emissions ranging from 10 to 20 percent starting in 2014, for a full range of gas and diesel trucks, both on- and off-highway models. The full impact of the proposal would not be felt until 2018, at which time the vehicle manufacturers would be expected to have raised their average fuel-efficiency rating from 6 to 8 mpg.

The government has issued a decreee.  You WILL invent a semi-tractor that gets an average of 8 miles per gallon. 
These are the people who can't consistently deliver Sports Freakin' Illustrated to East Fort Worth. 
These are the people who can't go in, kick the snot out of some nomads on camels, declare themselves the winners and get the hell out of Afghanistan. 
After hurricane Katrina, Wal-Mart's fleet of relief supplies beat them into New Orleans.
What could cause them to throw down an edict like this one? 
Back to The American Machinist....

...In their announcement, EPA and DOT projected that their comprehensive program will “reduce GHG emissions by about 250 million metric tons and save 500 million barrels of oil over the lives of the vehicles produced within the program’s first five years.”

And how much energy will be consumed in the production of these new miracle trucks?  The article doesn't say. 

But overall, it's bullshit.  If the trucking industry can find a tractor whose fuel economy justifies the purchase of a new truck, the trucking industry will buy that truck.  It's that simple. 
What could possibly be behind this insanity? 
Let's continue....

Responding to the announcement, diesel engine and truck manufacturer Navistar International asserted its ongoing fuel-efficiency improvement and GHG reduction initiatives, and affirmed willingness to working with the federal government.

Ahhhh...now we're getting somewhere.  Can you believe that a truck manufacturer, someone in the business of selling new trucks, has actually affirmed its willingness to work with the federal government in forcing truckers to buy their new wonder trucks? 
Go here to see a list of the government's employees that Navstar is "working with" by giving them lots of money. 

Go here to learn about an economic concept called Regulatory Capture. 

“While it’s too soon to evaluate all elements of the proposed regulations, we are committed to engaging with the EPA and DOT on this issue,” stated Daniel C. Ustian, Navistar chairman, president and CEO. “We look forward to working together with government and industry leaders in the months ahead to implement changes that will benefit the customers and communities we serve with cleaner, more fuel efficient commercial vehicles.”

This farce is going to make Cash For Clunkers look like The Louisiana Purchase. 

Another major engine builder, Cummins Inc., expressed support for the regulatory proposal, too.

A shocker, I know.  But yes, Cummins Diesel is supporting a proposal that forces people to buy their newer products. 

“For some time now, Cummins has advocated for consistent and responsible regulations that recognize the needs of business, offer clear direction and provide incentives...

....provide incentives..... That's another phrase for "Giving Cummins Diesel Your Money"....Go here for a summary of the campaign donations they've made in exchange for (ahem) incentives. 

 ....to companies that create innovative technologies as well as jobs in this country,” stated Cummins Engine Business President Rich Freeland. “We look forward to working with the EPA, DOT and other stakeholders in developing the final rule.”

Didn't you just know that they would all have a seat at the table, and that they would all look forward to sitting down around it?  The manufacturers, the regulators, and their whores.  Can you believe that Rich Freeland referred to that unholy crew as "the stakeholders" ???? 

Everybody will be there, working together in a bipartisan fashion to screw the people who actually purchase and operate the damn trucks.  
Brilliant. 

Why you should vote for Libertarian candidates

Unless you've been living under a rock, or watching CNN (pardon the redundancy), you know that we are going broke. 
Your share of the national debt is approaching $50,000.00
Your share of the promises we've made that we can't keep?  It's somewhere north of $400,000.00.

Libertarian solutions to this problem are supposedly too extreme.  Excessive.  "Out of the mainstream". 

Our national debt grows by $1 million dollars every 24 seconds. 

Can we continue sending our military overseas to defend Germany, Japan, and South Korea?
Can we continue to prop up a public school system that simply does not get results?
Can our government continue claiming to be the best solution to all problems, the cure for all ills, the savior of all who suffer, when it simply cannot accomplish anything more effectively than the private sector? 

I'm sorry, but there is no moderate, mainstream, or painless solution to this problem. 
When you continue voting for Democrats or Republicans, you are postponing misery.  They have proven time and again that they are incapable of showing any reasonable restraint. 

Outside of throwing someone in a cage, the worst infringement on a person's liberty is a crushing debt.  Our government specializes in both. 

The Libertarian Party has a stated goal of providing the smallest government possible.  We want to allow you to get on with your life. 

If the U.S. had been governed by liberty-lovers for the past 20 years, would terrorists be mailing explosives to us?  Lobbyists, maybe, but terrorists would have very little to be pissed off about. 

Would there be any reason for a Drug War like the one currently destroying Mexico if Libertarians wrote our laws?  No way.  Smuggling marijuana into the U.S. would be as profitable as smuggling corn into Iowa. 

Is there any Republican out there who believes that the Republican Party will repeal ObamaCare? 

Is there a Democrat alive who thinks that the Democrat Party, which until next Wednesday controls the Presidency and both houses of Congress, will ever do anything to recognize gay and lesbian marriage? 

The Democrat and Republican party platforms undergo violent changes every four years, depending on which way the wind is blowing.  Their only constants are the desire to retain control and the desire to continue spending your money on their constituents. 

The Libertarian party platform remains the same, for all practical purposes, every year. 

We want to leave you alone.  We want to stop the spending.  Provide some infrastructure, enforce contracts, and do a little refereeing on externalities.  Defend the borders (ours and no one else's).  We believe that if elections matter to you, then your government has gotten too big.  The unpleasantness of next Tuesday should be no more important than selecting a new lawn service, not the most important economic event of the year. 

How much worse are you going to let it get?  We're waiting.

P.J. O'Rourke on Climate Change

This is from P.J. O’Rourke’s soon to be classic book “Don’t Vote. It Just Encourages The Bastards”.

The following excerpt is P.J.’s take on Global Cooling Global Warming Climate Change Global Climate Disruption.

What makes it so funny is the context, which I really can’t provide here. Whereas the chapters on Taxes, Gun Control, Healthcare Reform, Foreign Policy, and Terrorism are all several pages long, this entire chapter on the Chicken Little Movement is only three short paragraphs.

This is all you need to know on the subject:

CLIMATE CHANGE

There’s not a goddamn thing you can do about it. Maybe climate change is a threat, and maybe climate change has been tarted up by climatologists trolling for research grant cash. It doesn’t matter. There are 1.3 billion people in China, and they all want a Buick. Actually, if you go more than a mile of two outside China’s big cities, the wants are more basic. People want a hot plate and a piece of methane-emitting cow to cook on it. They want a carbon-belching moped, and some CO2-disgorging heat in their houses in the winter. And air-conditioning wouldn’t be considered an imposition, if you’ve ever been to China in the summer.

Now, I want you to dress yourself in sturdy clothing and arm yourself however you like – a stiff shot of gin would be my recommendation – and I want you to go tell 1.3 billion Chinese they can never have a Buick.

Then, assuming the Sierra Club helicopter has rescued you in time, I want you to go tell a billion people in India the same thing.

The End.

So, next time a politician or the EPA starts mandating limits on this or caps on that, all in the name of appeasing The Weather Gods, ask yourself what they think they’re accomplishing. (Correct answer: rewarding donors from the regulatory and green industries.)

Painful video from New York Assembly debate

Go here for the details.  This is New York Assemblyman Bob Reilly, in the most painful debate performance I've ever seen. 
My favorite part isn't the imitation of Carl Kyle, but the 10 second glare at the end.  It's like he's saying, "Top that, sucker !!!"



I know Kyle, and Bob nailed him.  Give that man an Oscar !!! 

Best story of the year

From Reddit:

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Kentucky back country.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch.

I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.

The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man. And as I played 'Amazing Grace,' the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full.

As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."

Apparently I'm still lost....

Something is bound to be lost in translation

Something has got to be lost in translation....

Compare this

To this.

Do Scandinavians understand redneck analogies????

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Every time Debbie Wasserman Schultz comes on CNN, Meet The DePressed, or MSDNC, I start flinging a barrage of dachshunds at the TV. 
Why? 
The woman can only add.  She can't subtract. 
By her Wasserman Schultz Accounting Standards, I've won hundreds of thousands of dollars playing blackjack. 
How is this possible?  I only count the winning hands. 

How can Debbie Wasserman Schultz claim that Obama has created more jobs than were created during the past 8 years combined?  Well, every time the census hires someone, lets them go, and then re-hires them, those all go into the "created" file. 

The "lost" file doesn't exist. 

Reason magazine has figured it out, and called her on it. 



David Gregory, Rachel Maddow and Company no longer have an excuse.  They've got to start calling her bluff on this crap. 

We are in the Redneck Divorce stage of American history

There is no better metaphor out there. 
We are in the Redneck Divorce stage of American history. 

Our politicians know what is coming.  They aren't going to be able to keep blowing money on useless enterprises any longer.  That cozy lobbyist/manufacturer/politician relationship that began on that drunken night at the Tractor Pull so many years ago?  That threesome is over.  That comfy arrangement where the Democrats and Republicans take turns driving the 1958 Ford pickup in the same direction down the bad gravel road, with the Charlie Daniels Boxed Set blaring through a boom box hooked to a tractor battery in the back?  They know it's going to end soon, and that before long the bank is going to repo the pickup, the boom box and the battery. 

I am qualified to use the term "redneck" because I've studied redneck behavior for years.  (Instead of saying redneck, I experimented with the politically correct phrase "Unevolved American".  It became tiresome, and I dropped it.)
Also, if you scratch through the thin veneer of British mini-series, Brahms and books that has built up on my upper spine, you'll see red.

Hello, my name is Whited, and I am a redneck.
Hello Whited !  
It's been 29 days since my last relapse.  I had all these beer bottles on the seat beside the dogs, and my wife and daughter were in the back of the truck with the goat, and I didn't see all the cops when I decided it would be fun to throw some bottles at that mailbox ..... 

When rednecks get divorced, in the Year Of Our Lord 2010, the following things happen:

1) Lots of stuff gets destroyed out of spite.  If the courts say she can't have it, she's not about to let him enjoy having it, by God.  Coon dogs are taken to the pound.  Guns are given away to relatives.  Cars and trucks are sold for a dollar. 

Or.... Someone comes up with a program called Cash For Clunkers, in which 625,000 vehicles are destroyed.  One trillion dollars is taken out of the private sector, giving us the worst economy since Franklin Roosevelt started taking money out of the private sector.  Somebody halfway passes Cap'n'Tax, with no other objective than to punish people who make things and hire people.  We are in the hands of redneck leaders who are destroying things, the economy, and us.  Out of spite.  There is no other explanation.     

2) During every spat leading up to the redneck divorce, one spouse or the other will move out of the trailer and move back in with a brother, sister, or Mama 'n' them.  The spouse that moves out will always, always, always call Child Protective Services and report the other spouse for child abuse.  Always.  This will continue until every kid produced by the relationship has turned 18.

In the last 40 years, we've had Watergate, Monicagate, Iran-Contra, and scores of other little mini-lawsuits and investigations.  If you think those have become tiresome, just wait until the Republicans take over Congress. 

3) Before every redneck divorce, as soon as both sides know that it really is over, there is a mad rush to max out every credit card.  Whoever spends the least, loses.

If you need an explanation of that one, go away.  Go back to watching kitten videos on YouTube.

Pics came from here and here and here,   For those who don't believe it's possible for Barack Obama to be a redneck, please check out Black Rednecks And White Liberals by the great Thomas Sowell.

Don't bother reading this. It's just a series of funny pictures to make a very small point

From John Merline, on AOL News:

(Oct. 25) -- Throughout his presidential campaign and into his first two years in the White House, President Barack Obama portrayed himself as a champion of the middle class, ready to wage battle with big business and Wall Street fat cats to make sure the wealth got "spread around."

Back in March 2008, at a speech given on Wall Street, for example, he said that in the past, "we let the special interests put their thumbs on the economic scales. The result," he said, is "a market that favors Wall Street over Main Street."

In September of that year, he argued that "for too long, [the Bush] administration has been wiling to hit the fast-forward button" to help Wall Street firms, "while pressing pause when it comes to saving jobs or keeping people in their homes."

The next month, Obama said the country can't afford "four more years of the economic theory that says we should give more and more to millionaires and billionaires and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. It's time to turn the page."

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Realtor.com, Dow Jones industrial average.

This chart shows the changes in employment, earnings, home prices, disposable income, the Dow and corporate profits since President Obama took office.

And he said had a plan to do just that. "I've put forward a series of proposals," he said during the campaign, "that will foster economic growth from the bottom up."

But whatever his intentions, Obama's policies so far haven't exactly produced the results he promised.

In fact, the opposite has occurred.

As the nearby chart shows, by almost every measure, the middle class hasn't benefited much at all over the past two years – the number of employed has fallen while wages, disposable income and home prices have pretty much flatlined.

At the same time, Wall Street and big business have made out like bandits. The Dow is up 30 percent since Obama took office, and corporate profits have shot up 42 percent.

Meantime, companies are sitting on so much cash -- nearly $2 trillion worth -- they don't know what to do with it all. The non-financial companies in the S&P 500 index have seen their cash stockpile climb 26 percent over the previous year. Apple alone has amassed almost $26 billion in cash.

Obama may be right, as he said in August, that "on issue after issue, the Republicans in Congress have sided with corporate special interests over middle-class families."

But when it comes to actual results, Obama might want to take a good long look in the mirror.

The mirror pics came from here.  Let's throw in some Michael Jackson for your Monday.  

My trip to the Creation Evidence Museum in Glen Rose, Texas

This past Saturday I went to the Creation Evidence Museum in Glen Rose, Texas. 
Admission is two dollars, and if I ever find myself in that part of Texas again, I'll gladly pay three. 

The Creation Evidence Museum is the work of Dr.(sic) Carl Baugh.  Go here to read about Baugh's academic credentials. 
Now that I've done some reading on the guy, this place might replace Lee Harvey Oswald's grave as my favorite destination to take out of town guests. 
Cedric Katesby, get ready.  If you ever make it to the U.S., we're going. 

The place is a shapeless mass of....things and ideas and stuff that "isn't even wrong" and generic rocks and hyperbaric chambers and glass cases of unrelated fossils and evangelical kitsch. 

You begin your museum experience with a 30-minute video of Dr. Baugh explaining how the fossil record proves the 6-day creation account found in Genesis.  I can't find the exact video on YouTube, but this one works just as well....
Don't bother watching or listening.  While you're reading, just hit play and let the pseudo-scientific gobbledygook bathe you in the hyperbaric chamber of Dr. Baugh's mind.  More on the hyperbaric chambers in a moment. 



Baugh's timeline is illustrated by a series of paintings, each one illustrating the condition of our planet on that day of creation.  A lot of his focus is on a "canopy" that was once over the earth (about 10 miles up), and this canopy of hydrogen and oxygen (known in academic circles as "water") remained in place until Noah's flood.  All land was in one mass until the flood, and it was only then that North America split off from Europe, South America broke away from Africa, and a sprinkling of fossils found their way onto mountaintops.  Or something. 

Here's some of the general flavor of what Baugh claims was going on during one of the creation days.  I don't have the patience to figure out which one....

The harmonic creation was established to endure forever. A crystalline firmament suspended above the planet filtered out short-wave radiation, and with its physical structure in place universal radio signals serenaded the earth with morning melodies. Planets in the Solar System were distributed at harmonic intervals on a large scale, consistent with the energy fields living seeds produce on a small scale.

I could write for days about that last sentence.  Planets in the Solar System were distributed at harmonic intervals on a large scale, consistent with the energy fields living seeds produce on a small scale.  What does that mean?  Is it possible for it to mean anything?  The planets were distributed at harmonic intervals?  And these intervals are "consistent" with the energy fields that seeds produce?  The (musical) intervals are consistent with the energy produced by seeds?  Ahhh....but it is on a smaller scale.  The seeds, as compared to the planets.   

Baugh continues:

The radiant sun transformed and ruled the day, and its glowing energy extending into the firmament illuminated the night. The reflecting moon added a romantic invitation to the sky. The stars produced measurable references by which time could be told; their colors and formations were as varied and imaginative as eternal reflection could appreciate.

Yeah. 

Ok, on to the hyperbaric chambers.  You'll never know it by going through the museum, but there are two hyperbaric chambers in the place.  Unless you're in the know, you'd think they were some leftover East Texas oilfield equipment, painted white and outfitted with some Disney-esque control panels and viewing windows.  Here's an explanation from a previous visitor, a guy who didn't have nearly as much fun at the museum as I did:

The Creation Evidence Museum also includes a large magenta-windowed "hyperbaric biosphere" in which Baugh claims to have recreated "earth's original pre-flood environment" (Figure 3). According to Baugh, the biosphere — which is connected to an oscilloscope — increases organisms' life-spans by 300%; it also detoxifies copperheads' venom. Near the biosphere is an aquarium in which Baugh grows "vegetarian piranhas." Baugh believes his discoveries support the vast life-spans of biblical patriarchs such as Adam (who allegedly lived to be 930), and the harmonious environment (that is, no carnivores or death) before Eve introduced sin into the world. Baugh hopes to grow dinosaurs in the biosphere. On the museum's walls, visitors can view paintings in which pre-flood children play with a baby Apatosaurus in the nearby Paluxy River. Visitors can purchase these replicas, as well as books, posters, and other materials such as certificates honoring recipients as "visionaries" for "supporting truth in education."

Get it now?  The hyperbaric chambers recreate life the way it was before the flood, before the "canopy" of hydrogen and oxygen came flooding down on Noah. 
Another item of interest is this:

See the human footprint covered by the dinosaur footprint?  That proves that humans and dinosaurs existed at the same time, right?  And that we really could have an earth that's 6,500 years old.  Readers wanting to scoff at this discovery can go here, and scoff up a storm. 
All I'm going to say is that compared to all the other dino tracks in Glen Rose, this thing is a little too perfect. 

There were other exhibits that proved Creationism by using the pictograms found in Mandarin Chinese.  The display only offered a hint of the theory.  You have to buy a DVD to get the full story. 

There was something going on in one display of meteor fragments, comparing the meteors to the 7 seals and trumpets in the Book Of Revelation.  I never did figure that one out. 

They have a massive painting of Noah loading all the critters onto the ark.  Note the soon-to-be-drowned scoffers in the bottom left corner.  Velociraptors are strangely absent. 

You can purchase paperback copies of Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study in the museum gift shop. 

And they have Brontosaurus neckties with this verse from Job 40:15 - "Now look at Behemoth which I made along with you - he eats grass like an ox". 

Get it?  Get it?  Along with you?  Like, at the same time?  And your footprints are all mixed up with each other? 

I'm gonna start going to NFL games and holding up that verse in the end zone. 

Here's an entry for The Apostrophe Abuse Blog.  In a freakin' museum, ferchrissakes. 



But the main thing you'll notice is the big statue.  You hesitate to ask who it represents, but in the back of your mind, you know.
As you go through the museum, the statue's unblinking eyes look down on you and your group, lovingly, compassionately, but also giving the impression that he's not going to tolerate any dissent.  In his right hand he holds the names from The Lambs Book Of Life....  Or perhaps they're the names of The Just And The Unjust?  The Tibetan Book Of The Dead? 

We'll never know what he is holding; his Sphinx-like gaze betrays nothing. 

You ask why he's there, why Dr. Carl Baugh's Creation Evidence Museum has him up there, larger than life, looking down and casting judgement on believer and skeptic alike. 

I have no freakin' clue. 

But yeah, overlooking the entire Creation Evidence Museum is a massive statue of Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry. 

I loved every inch of this place.  Loved it, loved it, loved it. 
Some of the pics came from Flikr.