An apology, an explanation,and finally some news

First off let me start by apologizing for not posting here much in the last week. In way of explanation let me say that I do have a day job. Well that day job turned into a day and night job last week when a big project I was working on went to hell in a handbasket because one person didn't do their job. In todays' corporate world where the bottom line is the most important metric upon which a company is judged, and payroll is the biggest expense, many companies like the one I work for all too often trim the personnel roles so thin that there is just one person for a position, which makes it all the more critical that everybody do what they are supposed to do. So we went to work day and night to fix in one week what this one person was supposed to have been testing and evaluating for over 3 months. The best thing I can say about my job is the pay ain't so great but the hours are more then you handle!
So enough of the whining let's get on to something that you visit this site for, my insightful, witty, and definitive take on the news you can use. That is why you stop by ain't it?

First up a picture that is just begging for a caption.

U.S. President Bush and Russian President Putin meet in Sochi, Russia
U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin take a sunset walk on a pier along the Black Sea during a visit by the President and First Lady Laura Bush to the President Putin's summer retreat, Bocharvo Ruchey, in Sochi, Russia on April 5, 2008. (UPI Photo/Eric Draper/White House Press Office)

In Georgia they reaffirmed the 2nd Amendment by granting more latitude in the carrying of a concealed weapon.

Among the public places where holders of concealed gun permits would be able to take a weapon under the altered bill are Georgia restaurants, public transportation and state parks.

The newspaper said public parking lots, churches and sporting events, which previously were among the proposed sites where gun owners could legally carry concealed weapons, were not included in the final version.

Which begs the question, if I can carry a gun on public transportation how do I get it from the public parking lot to the public transportation?

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) has some straight talk for the House Democrats led by Mama Nancy Pelosi.

"For a majority party that never wavered in its promises to wean America off foreign oil and put us on a path toward energy independence, these figures from the EIA are absolutely striking. Not only have Democrats failed to end our reliance on the Middle East for essential energy, they've actually helped grow that dependence to historic and dangerous new levels -- all because of their doctrinaire refusal to allow responsible energy production here at home.

"The result is a level of dependence on OPEC and the Middle East that we've simply never seen before -- not even in the darkest days of the Carter administration. But instead of working with Republicans to approach the energy issue from common sense perspective, this majority remains tied to a dogma that insists responsible energy development and sound stewardship of our environment are mutually exclusive endeavors.

Until they let us really pursue all of the various energy options available to us in this country this is only going to continue. Allow drilling in ANWR and the Gulf of Mexico, allow nuclear energy, build refineries and pursue the various alternative energy sources such as wind. Drilling and refining oil locally buys us time to develop the other alternative methods, and make no mistake about it, nobody nowadays wants to continue our dependence on an oil only energy policy and will work to replacing oil with other sources, but we need to make sure until such time as this is accomplished we can lessen our dependence from countries such as Venezuela, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

And lastly scan down this blog entry to the portion that is a Q&A with a military spouse. The author of this piece is LTC Michael Baumann, a member of the Vets for Freedom. The National Heroes Tour is in its final days and they will be taking their message to the steps of the capitol on April 7 and 8 ahead of Gen Petraeus briefing congress.

Question #13

13. 'Well in my opinion.....'
Stop right there. I didn't ask for you your personal political opinions. Hey, I love a heated political debate, but not in the grocery store, not in Jamba Juice, not at Nordstrom, not in a bar when I'm out with my girls trying to forget the war, and CERTAINLY NOT AT WORK. We tell co-workers about deployments so when we have to spend lunch hours running our asses off doing errands and taking care of the house, dog, and kids, they have an understanding. We do not tell co-workers and colleagues because we are giving an invitation to ramble about politics or because we so eagerly want to hear how much they hate the resident, esp. while we're trying to heat up our lean cuisines in the crappy office microwaves.