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To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day
Hardly spoke to folks around him didn’t have too much to say
No one dared to ask his business no one dared to make a slip
for the stranger there among them had a big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
It was early in the morning when he rode into the town
He came riding from the south side slowly lookin’ all around
He’s an outlaw loose and running came the whisper from each lip
And he’s here to do some business with the big iron on his hip
big iron on his hip
In this town there lived an outlaw by the name of Texas Red
Many men had tried to take him and that many men were dead
He was vicious and a killer though a youth of twenty four
And the notches on his pistol numbered one an nineteen more
One and nineteen more
Now the stranger started talking made it plain to folks around
Was an Arizona ranger wouldn’t be too long in town
He came here to take an outlaw back alive or maybe dead
And he said it didn’t matter he was after Texas Red
After Texas Red
Wasn’t long before the story was relayed to Texas Red
But the outlaw didn’t worry men that tried before were dead
Twenty men had tried to take him twenty men had made a slip
Twenty one would be the ranger with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
The morning passed so quickly it was time for them to meet
It was twenty past eleven when they walked out in the street
Folks were watching from the windows every-body held their breath
They knew this handsome ranger was about to meet his death
About to meet his death
There was forty feet between them when they stopped to make their play
And the swiftness of the ranger is still talked about today
Texas Red had not cleared leather fore a bullet fairly ripped
And the ranger’s aim was deadly with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
It was over in a moment and the folks had gathered round
There before them lay the body of the outlaw on the ground
Oh he might have went on living but he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the ranger with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip.
- Marty Robbins
Marine Corps Rules:
1. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
2. Decide to be aggressive enough, quickly enough.
3. Have a plan.
4. Have a back-up plan, because the first one probably won’t work.
5. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet even your friends…
6. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun whose caliber does not start with a “4.”
7. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive.
8. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral & diagonal preferred.)
9. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
10. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
11. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
12. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
13. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating your intention to shoot.
Navy SEAL’s Rules:
1. Look very cool in sunglasses.
2. Kill every living thing within view.
3. Adjust speedo.
4. Check hair in mirror.
US Army Rangers Rules:
1. Walk in 50 miles wearing 75 pound rucksack while starving.
2. Locate individuals requiring killing.
3. Request permission via radio from “Higher” to perform killing.
4. Curse bitterly when mission is aborted.
5. Walk out 50 miles wearing a 75 pound rucksack while starving.
US Army Rules:
1. Curse bitterly when receiving operational order.
2. Make sure there is extra ammo and extra coffee.
3. Curse bitterly.
4. Curse bitterly.
5. Do not listen to 2nd LT’s; it can get you killed.
6. Curse bitterly.
US Air Force Rules:
1. Have a cocktail.
2. Adjust temperature on air-conditioner.
3. See what’s on HBO.
4. Ask “what is a gunfight?”
5. Request more funding from Congress with a “killer” Power Point presentation.
6. Wine & dine ‘key’ Congressmen, invite DOD & defense industry executives.
7. Receive funding, set up new command and assemble assets.
8. Declare the assets “strategic” and never deploy them operationally.
9. Hurry to make 13:45 tee-time.
10. Make sure the base is as far as possible from the conflict but close enough to have tax exemption.
US Navy Rules:
1. Go to Sea.
2. Drink Coffee.
3. Deploy Marines
Fabulous thoughts on what’s wrong with Wisconsin. (h/t Dad29)
I’m not superstitious but I believe I am not one blessed with good luck. So I guess I am superstitious, just not about numerology, astrology, phrenology or voodoo. Then again I wouldn’t mess with a Ouija board. Many things I do are out of an obsessive compulsive personality, not from superstition. I don’t throw salt over my shoulder or think a mirror breaking brings bad luck, but I do some things the same way all the time because not doing them makes me feel uncomfortable. I wonder where you draw the line?
- Let me tell you
How it will be.
There’s one for you,
Nineteen for me,‘Cause I’m the taxman.
Yeah, I’m the taxman - Diamond Jim Doyle’s immense budget is chock full of tax increases and fee increases even for things people can’t do yet, like elk hunt. Maybe he should continue on that track and start raising human cloning license fees or flying car registrations.
- Owen Robinson reminds us that fees are taxes, too.
- Owen talks specifically about the fee charged for enforcing the Real ID act. Doyle intends to steal the money collected from this fee for other purposes because he doesn”t agree with the law. Wisconsin bloggers are all over this one. Christian Schneider catches a Democrat in a bald-faced lie via Real Debate and Badger Blogger.
- Now the fact that Diamond Jim is openly violating this federal law should be grounds for impeachment at most and recall at least.
- Which explains why almost all of the callers in today’s Sound Off think Doyle should be recalled.
- I am uncomfortable with this ruling. Not because of this case in particular, but that it basically says that anyone anytime can record any telephone conversation they want to with out regard for the privacy rights of the person on the other end of the line.
- Experts tell the unemployed not to be too hasty in drawing money from their 401(k) or 201(k) if it’s like mine.
- How could you not think, “Bruce Willis bought a skyscraper of his own,” when you saw this news?
- The Milwaukee Iron opens its home season tonight
- The attorney for John Walker Lindh (The American Taliban) is going to work for the Obama Justice Department. Does this mean that liberal bloggers and Democrats who use Randy Koschnick’s history of defending Ted Oswald against him need to change their tune? I know, dumb question. They’re rooting for the Taliban to kill more Americans.
- And finally: I’m thinking I probably won’t have a Sunday Scan this weekend, as basically I’ve run out of material, but it will be back from time to time. I have one in the works for Memorial Day and one for June or July because they will be more appropriate then than now. Other wise, have a good weekend, the weather’s supposed to be super.
America’s feisty Texas blogger, Rachel Lucas, has moved to England of all places to live for a couple of years. She’s getting acquainted with her surroundings. Don’t expect Deborah Kerr singing “Getting to Know You.”
I thought, being retired, that I was immune to job stress. The past two weeks at work convinced me otherwise. I am glad next week is my last week for a couple of months. Working is hard.
- One of Waukesha’s finest, Lt. Bill Graham, is retiring. You want to see what community policing is like, he’s the example. He was everywhere downtown. There wasn’t a day I didn’t see him in Dave’s Restaurant if I was there. He even mistook me for a bad guy once. That was not as pleasant a dining experience until he realized his mistake, but on the whole, he was a nice guy. He wasn’t always there for a meal, occasionally he would have a cup of coffee. Often he was just there to stop in and feel the pulse of the neighborhood. Everyone was glad to see him. He seemed to know everyone and everyone liked him. He will be missed.
- Steve Edlund writes to the Freeman about their coverage of the homeless shelter issue in general and the treatment of Mrs. Hekkers in particular. I concur with his feeling about the reaction to Mrs. Hekkers, it was undeserved. She has done a lot for the downtown and I think what she said was not necessarily what she meant. That happens to me a lot.
- Steve Edlund writes to the Chronicle to let us know:
“The notice came in the mail today for the Board of Zoning Appeals hearing. The date is Monday, February 2, 2009 at 4 p.m. in room 207 at Waukesha City Hall.This is the most important hearing on the issue of preserving Frame Park. Please make this meeting if you can and speak as to why you feel the proposed stadium to be used as a “commercial recreational facility” will have an adverse negative impact on the park, the neighborhood and the community.” - Mike Huckabee tells the Freeman that he has not ruled out another run for the Presidency in 2012. I think he’d be a fine candidate.
- I watched some a congressional hearing on the huge spending bill the Dems have planned and I agree with the Freeman. The money is coming whether it’s the right thing or the wrong thing, so make plans to use it as wisely as we can.
- Rachel Lucas has a YouTube video of a dog riding a bicycle.
- Steve Bukosky, a pretty good Sha-Town blogger in his own right, has a letter to the editor complaining about columnist Tim Schilke’s socialist ideas.
- Rep. Rich Zipperer says that the Dems are grandstanding with meaningless job bills.
- Friday Sound Off has a call about leaf pick-up … again.
- The First Baptist Church is celebrating their 170th Anniversary on the corner of Wisconsin and Grand in Waukesha on Sunday.
With all due respect to Jeff Wagner, the Freeman’s Sound Off was the first and the original Sound Off and today is long enough to merit its own post.
If the Twin Cities’ largest paper can go to Chapter 11, can the Journal Sentinel be far behind? Possibly. If you read blogs, you know that James Lileks of the Bleat works there. You can read his take on the matter here.
Update: I hadn’t heard this until today: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is also less than 60 days from being scrapped.
Definitely sucks to be a brass monkey in this weather.
I’ve been colder. In 1975, working as an intern for the La Crosse Tribune, I was assigned to go out to Fort Mc Coy to do a story on the 82nd Airborne, who were on “winter maneuvers” from their base at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina.
I rode there with a staff photographer and when we arrived, he went to the trunk of his car and pulled out insulated coveralls. I was “dressed up” in the manner of the day: double knit slacks, my best shoes, silky knit shirt, no t-shirt and an insulated waist-length jacket. It was in the 20’s and there was plenty of snow.
We met the liaison officer who assigned us a driver and a jeep. A jeep with a top but no sides. Off we drove over the unpaved roads criss-crossing Fort Mc Coy’s forest. And drove. And drove. In our open jeep. Wind whistling through my double knits. The unit we were looking for wasn’t where they were supposed to be. We stopped on top of a hill, in our open jeep, and listened for small arms fire, hoping we could find some of the troops. And drove. And drove. In our open jeep in 20 degree temperatures. My 1975 shoulder-length hair blowing in the breeze. Did I mention we didn’t wear hats in those days? We had lost an entire airborne division in the Monroe County pine forest.
We finally happened upon a company of paratroopers who were sitting around waiting for some instruction on using a few pair of cross country skis. When I asked what they thought of winter maneuvers, they said they wished it had been colder.
My photographer got some pictures of some UW-La Crosse ROTC boys practicing cross country skiing with 82nd Airborne guys. I got a story on page three of the Sunday Tribune, which was my high water mark. Not about the troops, but about my ridiculous cross country journey to find the lost division in weather-inappropriate clothes. Froze my ass off for page three. I said then and I still say to this day that I will never be that cold again.
- Waukesha County is running out of snow money already. People to plan to fail…
- Sprizzo moved their grand opening to tomorrow.
- Scott Jensen will not be re-tried in Waukesha County. He will be re-railroaded instead in Dane County.
- Somebody saw a snowy owl. I hope they don’t eat cats, though Watson has shown no inclination to even stick his nose outside. Say what you will about the intelligence of cats but he can tell time without using a clock and when faced with sub-zero cold he goes to sleep.
- Mike Huckabee’s coming to the area. Yes, to Country Springs. Where else?
- Downtown Pewaukee is losing their Aurora Pharmacy.
- Blogger Brian Fraley said he was going on hiatus. Now we know why. Brian uses blogs in his campaigns quite well. It met him once and introduced myself. He said, “I love you blog. Great work.” I’m thinking, “Wow, Brian Fraley reads the Chronicle.” It only took me a moment to realize that he just says that automatically to whomever introduces him or herself as a blogger. He ’s a politician alright.
- The city is already making plans for next Fall’s leaf pick-up. We do seem to obsess over the subject.
- Anybody want to buy some Grede Foundry stock?
- Owen Robinson says that the Democratic-led legislature first mission is to further hurt Wisconsin businesses.
- Friday Sound Off is a predictable collection of the usual subjects.
- It’s -17F now.
Home from work. Here’s what’s left:
- Pot holes are already a problem. This is a bigger issue than leaf collection, people.
- Imagine my consternation when I saw that the Waukesha Parks Board was considering buying “adult equipment” for the parks. Turns out, they were talking about stair climbers. Couldn’t adults use real stairs? How about some swings? I always liked swings.
- It says here that local politicians were “cautiously optimistic” about the upcoming legislative session. How can anything good come out of plugging a $5,000,000,000 deficit?
- Here’s a tip: If you’re 27 years old and you’ve just been charged with your 7th OWI, you are powerless over alcohol and your life is unmanageable.
- The “Housing Mix Ad Hoc Committee” talks like a condo association for the city.
- A liberal blogger from West Bend gets his own column as a counterpoint to Owen Robinson, also from West Bend, I guess. Unlike Boots and Sabers, I’ve never heard of his blog. According to Technorati, the Motley Cow is ranked 762, 372 based on their rankings of blog popularity. In comparison, Musings of a Thoughtful Conservative is more than a half million spots higher than him at 130,067, the Freeman’s own James Wigderson is even higher at 68, 961.
- Oh, the Chronicle? Eh, that would be 16, 912.
The Annals of Improbable Research U.S. Presidential Election Algorithm has already predicted that Michael D. Huckabee, Timothy J. Pawlenty, David H. Petraeus, Marshall C. Sanford, Haley R. Barbour, Sarah L. H. Palin or Pyush Jindal, if nominated by the GOP, will beat an Obama/Biden ticket. Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan is listed as one of the 18 possible contenders and “could have electabilities greater than the Obama/Biden ticket if (he chose) the appropriate vice predidential (sic) candidate.” If I’m right, Ryan could also greatly increase his electability in their algorithm if he unseated Jim Doyle as Wisconsin governor in 2010.
