Friday, March 31, 2006

Financial Peace University

I am currently through class 6 of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, and I must say it is the best investment in time I have ever put myself into. I have learned about how debt controls people's lives, the myths of borrowing money, and many other things.

Now, this was a free investment for me because the company I am working for paid for the classes, but the value of this class is worth tens of thousands, and even millions when you retire. Compared to the fact that the class is offered for less than $150, this is a STEAL!

For example, if you are paying 400 dollars a month towards credit card bills, if you got rid of the debt, and continued putting money into a mutual fund that averages at about 12% per year, after 40 years you would have $4.7 MILLION to retire with.

Or the fact that if you take out a $100,000 30 year mortgage, your payment at the current 6.15% interest rate is going to be $609.23 a month, for 30 YEARS, totaling $219,322.80 over those 30 years. The same loan, at the same rate, but cut down to 15 years may be $851.98 per month, an increase of about $240 per month, but over those 15 years you are only paying $153,356.4. A savings of almost $66,000 dollars.And the larger the loan, the more you save in the long run.A $150,000 loan saves almost $99,000, and a $200,000 loan saves you $131,932.

That is why I now permanently have a link to Dave's site on my sidebar. AND, you can listen to his radio show Monday through Friday from 1PM-4PM CT.

OOO! More Vile Liberal Venom

I got this in the mail today:

"Liberal - "Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry."Therefore if you're against liberals you're for being told what to do and what to think by an Australian asshole who provides a mouthpiece for extreme right wing hate propoganda via Fox. Britain should never have let up on you people and you might have ended up with a proper government with educated citizens instead of the
semi literate GOP faggots currently spending real working American's money. I need to see Tom De Lay crucified so I can shoot the cunt's kneecaps off with my Democratic hollow points. Go get an education f%^&head ... "
- Christina Drake

First off, get your facts right. You are using the dictionary term of liberal which is a CLASSICAL Liberal, now known as a Libertarian. If you look at an American, or MODERN Liberal, it is the exact polar opposite.
AND I QUOTE:
"The American liberal platform advocates
use of government institutions and political procedures, including progressive taxation, minimum wages laws, anti-discrimination laws, and social programs, in order to provide opportunity to all citizens and to protect personal freedoms from restrictive social norms." - Wikipedia

Now before you go and spit more venom at Conservatives, why don't you read ANY college text book that will tell you exactly the same. That Classic Liberals are now Libertarians, and Modern Liberalism is the belief that a big government will do good for society. I've had all 12 years of grammar school, plus 2 years in college for engineering, and I'm just about to finish a years worth of real-world working experience in Engineering. On top of that for the past 4 or 5 years, I've been looking into politics so much that I even debated doing Political Science as a minor, until I realized that it was the study of government process, not politics.

And while you're at it, have you ever seen the movie Equilibrium? It should give you a chilling look at where Liberals and Political Correctness are taking this nation.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

GOP and College Caption Contest 6

And now, here are the winners of the Upside Down Democrats Caption Contest!

10) "Democrats have a firm grip on how to handle National Security...." - DWB

9) Once again Nancy shows the world that They have things wrong again. - Sgt. Fluffy

8) As per usual, the Democrat Party's perspective on National Security issues (or anything else for that matter) is once again revealed to be upside down and backwards for all the world to see! - Mr. Right

7) Once again the NY Times gets a photo wrong by printing it up sidedown. Actually Pelosi was hanging from the ceiling like the bat she truly is! - Maggie

6) Upside Down Cut-N-Run DNC Cake recipe! mmmmYummy! - Michael

5) "We have a plan... we think. It appears to be written in some unknown ancient dialect, but we have the world's foremost linguistic expert, Dr. Daniel Jackson of the SGC, working on a translation as we speak." - Mr. Right

4) April Fool's Day arrived early on Capitol Hill. - Maggie

3)


- Rodney Dill







2)



"But wait...who is that lurking in the background? Karl Rove! That bastard was behind this all along." - The Man





And the winner:

Nanci Pelosi is determined to regain her title of "Democrat Dumbass of the Week" from Debbie Stabenow, but Pelosi chose to be a cheapskate and skip the posterboard. - PCD




Other Photoshopped Entries:


While Nancy was warned years ago about LSD Flashbacks, she never really experienced one until now. - John Roper







- The Man









Previous Caption Contests:
Not-So Warm And Fuzzy Caption Contest

Dangerous Caption Contest
Chipmunk Caption Contest
Breakable Caption Contest
What Do Ya Say Contest

Other Contests Around The 'Sphere:
Willisms
In The Right Place
Gone Rick Motel
Outside The Beltway

I Could Have Predicted This Without A Magic 8 Ball...

ACLU to appeal the ruling on a Pro-Life License Plate. It will be done on the basis that the government is destroying some of the rights of Pro-Choice advocates...Right.

From Public Figures Beware:
First of all, the ruling does not allow state dollars to promote one viewpoint while “silencing another.” Nothing in the ruling or in the State’s desire to promote life silences anyone from being pro-choice. Pro-choice advocates have the same alternatives available to them as before the license plates were created.

Very well said.

Round And Round They Go!

Charles posted this on myspace in a bulletin. Funny stuff.





















Don't forget, GOP and College has a Myspace Page, so stop by and shoot me a friends request. Also, subscribing to my Myspace Blog is a great way to know when the main site has a new topic posted.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Fascism IS A Left Wing Ideology

I said in a previous post that fascism is not a product of the right wing ideology, but the disowned child of the Ultra Left Wing. I based it on the fact that fascism was total government control, which was a result of the fact that the farther left wing you go, the more government control you support.

Here are some more facts that support the idea of Fascism as a Left Wing Ideology.
  • The reason the Nazis so hated the Jews was the belief that they had poisoned western civilization with the idea of a transcendent
    god who reveals a transcendent moral law. The fascists argued that such
    transcendence alienates human beings from nature and themselves. One
    writer, defined fascism as the practical and violent resistance to
    transcendence...
  • According to fascist ideology, individual identity comes only from the group, and since culture determines the individual, theneeds of the culture have priority. Fascism opposes human automony (spelling error...supposed to be autonomy)...
  • As with primitive and animistic cultures, fascism sees man as one with nature. What is generally not known is the fact that this
    doctrine led the fascists to hold a very zealous view of environmentalism.
  • Similarly to Communism, Fascism took control of the economy with the inauguration of many organizations to control output and prices amongst other things.
I will admit that there is one thought that is often given to the Right Wing, which is a sense of Nationalism. But the rest to me seem to follow liberal ideas.
  1. Removal of the idea of an omnipotent God
  2. Belief that a person cannot succeed by themself
  3. An extreme following of environmentalism
  4. Taking control of the economy and businesses

Still think it's a Right Wing Ideology?

Sources - WikiBooks, Rapid Response Report

Hot Wing Conspiracy Is About To Start


Since week one of the Hot Wing Conspiracy Baseball League is about to start the grueling 22 week regular season, I figured I would give you a run down of the teams, and who their owner is (blog wise).

  • First of there is the defending (and very arrogant from it) HWC Football League Champion, myself, GOP and College, competing again as the Pulaski Rednecks as the Baghdad Bombers, in honor of our new HWC Logo.
  • Then there is of course my brother, The Man from GOP and the City, playing as Robots Eat Babies. The Man finished 7th in HWC Football.
  • Next, playing as his blog name is RFTR (Running For The Right). RFTR held first place in the HWC Football league for most of the regular season, but a late season slump dropped him back to 5th, then he was eliminated early and finished 6th in the playoffs.
  • Joining us again is bRight & Early, again playing as his blog name. bRight finished a disappointing 10th (last) in the HWC Football league.
  • Also rejoining us are the webcats. Webcats were famous for some insane upsets during the football season, but finished 9th overall. Cats...do you have a blog or no?
  • Also rejoining the HWC fight is Pat, from The (vast) Right Wing Conspiracy, playing as The Glat-inators. Pat finished fourth in the football season, and was also known for some crazy upsets.
  • Coming in from Philly, playing as the Gashouse Gorillas this time, Wyatt, of SYLG. Wyatt put up a helluva fight in the Football league and came out second, apparently making me a daisy for it.

I believe that is all of the returning players, so now for the Rookies!
  • Joining us with all his buttons of flair and playing as The right wing nuts, Sssteve! Sssteve is the blogger at First With Flair, and is apparently an avid baseball fan.
  • Joining us as CZC Owns, Tyler D of .45 Caliber Justice
  • Coming to the league, playing as PrivatePigg...is...well Ahktar The Divorcee, Private Pigg of Public Figures...Beware
  • Joining in as the fmragtops spewers, is fmragtops.
  • Competing in the league as The PAW's...The Lawhawk!
  • Also playing as the (wimpy) Poca Dots Blog!, Don Surber.
  • And last but not least, playing as Wookies Will Win, John from Cake or Death.

Along with bloggers, we have normal people too:
  • My friend Wes is playing as the Columbia Cardinals.
  • And we have an anonymous (as far as I know) woman playing as Repubs Lost in SD.

So there are all 16 teams in the Hot Wing Conspiracy Baseball League. Those who apparently have thrown in the towel after the football season were Bentley Fonzworth, The Muse, and Shortbus All-Stars.

As for scoring the head to head games, the stats your team builds up are broken down into 12 groups. For batters, there's runs, homeruns, RBI's, Strike-outs, stolen bases, and batter's average. For Pitching, there's Wins, Saves, Strike-outs, Holds, ERA, and WHIP. At the end of the week, each one of those is a win, a loss, or a tie. So in a given week, you can have any combination of wins, losses, and ties that add up to 12. The win-loss-tie recird gives you a win percentage, and that tells what rank you are. Wins count as 1, ties as .5, and losses as 0. So if you have a 12-5-7 record (12 wins, 5 losses, and 7 ties) you have 12+3.5 (7/2) wins out of 24 games, so a .646 win percentage.


*The picture above is the "Official" HWC Baseball logo, as created by The Man.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

GOP and College Caption Contest No. 5

And now for the winners of the "Not-So Warm and Fuzzy Caption Contest.
Source - AP (via Yahoo!)



10) When it was realized that ALF was an acronym for "Alien" Life Form, INS quickly moved in. - Wyatt

9) "You shove me in that wagon and I'll show you why they call me "South-Paw!" - GOP and College

8) Look out, Sgt, that ain't no Vermont Teddy Bear! - Maggie

7) Rex Grossman was arrested over the weekend while protesting the Chicago Bear's signing of Brian Griese. - fmragtops

6) Officer Stadanko finally went to far with Tenderheart Bear - Sgt. Fluffy, aka GR Motel (Extra kudos for the name!)

5) The Cindy Sheehan no shaving/no bathing protest continues, Film at 11:00. - Rodney Dill

4) "Nothing Like A Bear Claw And A Cup Of Coffee For Breakfast." - Radio Free Fred

3) Pigs - 1, Bears - 0 - fmragtops

2) EWWWWW!... Damn, buddy... I thought you guys only did that in the woods? - Harvey

And the winner:

"Yogi arrested! Confesses addiction to stealing pic-a-nic baskets" - Chris


Previous Contests:
Dangerous Caption Contest
Chipmunk Caption Contest
Breakable Caption Contest
What Do Ya Say Contest

Monday, March 27, 2006

What A Little Baby

No offense to Wyatt, but I have to say, Jeff Gordon is one of the biggest babies I've seen in NASCAR. He gets pissed at Matt Kenseth for a last lap spin and after the race, when Matt was coming to apologize for it he shoves him very violently. But I've got a question for Jeff. How do you think Martin Truex feels after you very intentionally spun him out coming out of the turn and helping him finish 38th?

If I were Gordon, I'd quit griping about 21st and take what he deserved for wrecking some one else.

It reminds me of an incident in Late Models at the Music City Motorplex (formerly Nashville Speedway/Fairgrounds Speedway). Joe Buford was always known for being a very rough driver and wouldn't hesitate to put you around if it gave him an extra spot. One time in particular he first tried a bump and run on a driver in 3 &4, then drove to the OUTSIDE of him in turns 1 & 2, then cut HARD left and sent the driver careening head first into the outside wall. I still remember the sickening sound of that impact.

After the incident they were going to penalize Buford one lap for rough driving, but he decided to turn 2 years old again, and quit the race. He kept up his 2 year old maturity, and soon after that he quit racing all together at MCM.
"I guess the 24 ... he's got no respect for nobody. He thinks he owns the track, he thinks everybody should get out of his way and I ain't going to do it. I was doing what I had to do. I was trying to get my lap back and my car was pretty fast. He just dumped me." - Martin Truex Jr.

I Don't Want Moussaoui Dead

Now, don't go all crazy after hearing that. Let me explain it out. I don't want Moussaoui go get the death penalty because that is exactly what he wants to happen. This disillusioned idiot wants to be put to death that way in his mind he can die as a "martyr." I say let him sit in solitary for the rest of his life so he dies of natural causes, and knows that he is going strait to the fires of Hell.

I think every effort should be taken once he's in jail to make sure that he doesn't commit suicide, or get killed by other inmates. I think he deserves a long time to sit and think about how he's going to say hello to the Devil.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

If You Don't Thank The Zoo-Keeper...

If you don't thank the zoo-keeper for rescuing you from the lion's den, then he's gonna throw your ass back down to the lions.

Dear Dubya,

I am writing to complain about the horrible waste of military resources that took place in Iraq. Our men and women are there to bring freedom to the Iraqi people and have their hands full. Therefore, I think placing a group of these brave souls in harms way to rescue Harmeet Singh Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember, was a terrible waste of military resources.

Therefore, I suggest that Harmeet Singh Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember, be returned to their state of captivity with the Islamic Asshats Society or another similar group. This may sound like we would be putting our soldiers back in harm's way, but I am sure if you ask...you may find some willing volunteers amongst the troops who would love to drop these ungrateful slimebags back into the terrorists hands.

Since the troops will not get a nice word from these ungrateful jerks, I would like to say "Thank you" myself.

Thanks
-The Man

How about them ungrateful Canadian peace activists, eh? Or AP's "forgetting" the comments made by the Canadians?

*update* AP has since added the comments, but buried them at the bottom of the story.

Screw The Shredder

I'm gonna burn the little buggers. If you can tear up a credit card app, tape it together, fill it out with a fake address, and send it in, then recieve a BRAND NEW CARD...Screw shredding it. I'm gonna burn my unwanted apps.

I'm willing to bet that as much as a shredder will tear your papers to bits, there is someone desperate enough to tape it back together. However if you burn it, it's gone.

HT: The CUG

It's Getting Close To Being Done

The grass is green on the field of New Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO. As sad as I was to see "The Oven" (Old Busch) go, I'm getting anxious to see the first (televised) home game of the Cardinal's 2006 Season so that I can see the stadium in its entirity. Also, at some point I plan on going up to St. Louis to watch a game in person.

My grandparents lived just outside of St. Louis from since before I was born until not too recently when they moved. One of our favorite things to do was go watch a Cardinals Game during the summer, and they've been my favorite team for as long as I can remember. Heh, in fact, wondering around the house somewhere is a "Property of the St. Louis Cardinal's Fan Club" shirt that was my brother's...and is older than I am.

I still think it'd be nice to own a piece of Old Busch, and again, if only I could afford this.

Linked at:
Stix Blog

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

I Stand By My Word

I warned steve multiple times that if he didn't cease using vulgar material for his homepage, I would ban him from commenting on my page.

For a time he had stopped, but in this comment today, he decided to link to a picture who's title means, "To ejaculate onto a persons face." It is a picture he had used before, but I had deleted the page address, since it is quite vulgar.

As for the address, I have deleted a portion of the address so the picture will not show, but left the rest for those interested to see.

Men's Right To Choose

What happens when a man tells his girlfriend he has had a vasectomy and is very much sterile, when in actuality he is not. If she gets pregnant, then he is the one to blame for lying to her about his fertility, right?

But what happens when the roles are reversed? Who is to blame if the woman claimed that she is infertile because of a medical condition, when she actually wasn't? Who is to blame for the pregnancy then?

Matt Dubay is saying that situation happened to him, and he shouldn't have to pay child support because he feels in essence that he is the victim of entrapment. Many guys side with him, but most women say he is the one to blame.

I have one question for his now ex-girlfriend, "Do you actually have a medical condition that would prevent pregnancy?" If the answer to that is no, then I feel like it should be her fault. She intentionally deceived him, telling him that she was infertile after he had said many times that he did not want a child.

I am still on the rail about having to pay child support, along with many of the other issues in this, but I just want to ask, "Why is the guy always the one at fault?" And "What say do men have in reproductive rights?"

Monday, March 20, 2006

GOP and College Caption Contest

So here are the winners of the GOP and College "Dangerous Caption Contest."






10.
- Tar Heel Fan






9.
- Flip






8.
- Glenn Norberg






7. Fox News is lambasted for its response to the infamous "X" over Dick Cheney's face... - Damian G.

6. "Why is everyone staring at me? Is my Freudian slip showing?" - Flip

5.
- The Man






4.
- Dempsey






3. Senator Stabenow quickly regretted starring in C-SPAN's "Pop-Up Videos." - Wyatt Earp

2. No, I'm sorry, "Who is Ted Kennedy?" was the answer we were looking for. - GOP and College

And the Winner:

1. Sen. Stabenow's entry in the Carnival of Irony. - fmragtops


Again, thanks to everyone who participated, as well as a thank you to my judges.


Check out Sobek's entries here.
See Point Five's entries here.

Other Photoshopped Entries:

- Jared Sherwood






- Sgt Sumner






- Anonymous







- Mike's Noise






- Tom Lopez







- James Draper






- Jean Sember






- Frank Turk






- Frank Turk








- heldmyw







- Rodney Dill







- The Man






- The Man






- Strait Talk






"Missing a letter is nothing to lose your head over, its not like its the Koran." - Rodney Dill





- Pillage Idiot







- Robert Reed






- Jean Sember






- Anonymous






- s330ci






- s330ci






- John Roper






- Plains Feeder






- Right Views






- heldmyw






- Slapstick Politics






- Slapstick Politics






- Spazzmomma






- GManRocker




*NOTE* I think this is the first time I have seen more photoshop entries than actual captions in a contest.

Other Contests:
Willisms
In The Right Place
Random Numbers
Outside The Beltway

A big thanks to Michelle Malkin for finding this gem, and linking to my contest. You REALLY rock girl!

Also linking here:
MSNBC
GOP Bloggers
Little Green Footballs (comment)
Suitibly Flip
Stuck On Stupid
GOP and the City
Basil's Blog
Super Fun Power Hour
Mike's Noise
National Journal
Matt Lewis & The News
Ed Driscoll
YARGB
SYLG
The Right Place
Slublog
IMAO
Slapstick Politics
Dumb S%^& of the Week
The Gone Rick Motel

It Will Be Up Shortly

For those of you waiting on the results of the Caption Contest, I will have it up as soon as I tally up the votes from my "panel of expert judges." And to those judges, I VERY much appreciate the help.

Check back later on this evening. A winner will be chosenby the end of the night. I won't let this contest turn into a presidential race and continually demand recounts and supreme court interventions.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Fresh From CENTCOM

One of the greatest things I've enjoyed about blogging, was receiving things to review and distribute, such as CENTCOM's Command Posture for 2006. In the thorough report they describe the situation of the current US Operations around the Globe.
For example, in Iraq:
There are now only about 130,000 US troops in Iraq, as opposed to over 150,000 at the max in January, along with 231,000 Iraqi Security Forces in 108 Battalions
Insurgents are only operating in 4 of the 18 major provinces (like our states) and most civilians DO NOT support the insurgents.
"Over 3,600 schools have been rehabilitated, and over 47,000 school teachers and administrators have been trained. Approximately 240 hospitals and more than 1,200 clinics have reopened. Baghdad'’s three sewage plants, which serve 80% of the city’s population, have been rehabilitated. Thirteen power plants have also been rehabilitated, providing approximately 60% of power generation in Iraq. And Umm Qasar'’s status as an international port has been restored with up to 80 ship offloads of a wide range of commodities occurring each month."
And as for the goal in Iraq for 2006:
"In 2006, we will emphasize building self-reliance in Iraq'’s security forces and newly-elected government institutions. An essential element of achieving overall success in Iraq will depend on the leadership, vision, and character of Iraq'’s newly-elected government officials."

They also have reports on other places such as Afghanistan, Africa, Pakistan, and this about Iran:
"The situation with Iran is tense, and the possibility for miscalculation with U.S. forces remains high. CENTCOM forces in the region continue to watch Iran carefully to prevent any destabilizing activities that contribute to internal Iraqi or Afghan frictions, or threaten regional stability. Iran'’s quest for nuclear weapons capability is particularly troubling. Iran seeks "creeping normalcy"” that will permit international acceptance of its nuclear fuel cycle, while buying time for potential covert nuclear activities. We believe that Iran's declared objective of self-sufficient nuclear fuel production is coupled with the ulterior goal of weapons production. Iran'’s withdrawal from the IAEA'’s Additional Protocol or the NPT could decrease the timeline necessary to produce a weapon. A nuclear-armed Iran would dramatically increase instability in the region and could pressure other countries in the CENTCOM AOR to consider acquiring such weapons."

And for all of you reporters out there, you need to pay particular attention to this bit here:
"The enemy intends to use IEDs and suicide bombers to achieve strategic effect, creating casualties and media impact to promote the perception of insecurity and erode public support for the mission."

This report was done by General John P. Abizaid, of the U.S. Army, and in his conclusion he had this very inspiring paragraph:
"With our numerous allies in the region, we are implementing a strategy based on partnership and shared interests to defeat al Qaida and associated extremists throughout the region. Victory in this long war will come slowly and subtly, but we are winning. We will prevail, in the same way our country mobilized its vast resources, talented citizens, and global allies to face down the fascist and communist threats of the last century. The patience and support of the American people and the Congress will be critical in bringing about this victory."

"Falling Man" Likely Identified

During the day of, and for a short time after the attacks on The World Trade Towers, pictures roamed free of people jumping to their demise from the heights of the top floors. Pictures since then have been widely unpublished due mostly for the fact that it is showing a person about to die. One picture in general has been particularly infamous.

"The Falling Man" has been a mystery for the past 4 1/2 years, and since then, one reporter, Tom Junod, has made it their sole purpose to find his identity. Well, he may have found the most important piece of evidence yet. In his Feature, "The Falling Man," he closes with this man, Jonathan Briley.

Well, The Mirror has uncovered a new photo that may just prove that he is the one.

As a side note, one part in particular of Junod's story hits me as very moving:
"But when Timothy identified his brother's body, none of his clothes were recognizable except the black shoes. And when Jonathan went to work on the morning of September 11, 2001, he'd left early and kissed his wife goodbye while she was still sleeping. She never saw the clothes he was wearing. After she learned that he was dead, she packed his clothes away and never inventoried what specific articles of clothing might be missing."

I live by the philosophy that if you are leaving, you should always at least say goodbye the people you care about, and the ones you love you should let that be known as well. The most horrible feeling in the world is having someone close to you pass away and not having the chance to say goodbye. It gives people comfort when they can think back and say, "The last words he/she said to me was that he/she loves me."

Always tell the ones you love how you feel, and be sure to look at his memorial webpage and the Scholarship Fund

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

IEATAPETA Day

For those of you who read earlier, today is/was IEATAPETA Day. (International Eat A Tasty Animal for P.E.T.A. Day.)

I did, as promised, eat at Legend's Steak House. I had an 8 oz. Prime Rib with a loaded baked potato, and a Caesar salad. AND IT WAS GOOD! Glad I could participate.

*Picture taken and modified from Legend's Homepage*