If this country still had balls

In case you haven’t noticed, our country is going
to hell in a hand-basket. This has been going of for
some time now but seems to have escalated under
this administration.

People have been dreaming up rights that are not
rights and sissifying our country. Yet we, the
majority sit around texting friends and watching
videos of cats while the foundation of our country
is being destroyed.

We should never be afraid of our government or
throw up our hands in surrender when things look
bleak. Christians are still a majority and if we
stood up and just said NO our message would be
heard.

Happiness is not a right, the pursuit of happiness
is. Our faith is a right given us in the first
amendment, if that offends you don’t come to our
services.

In the 1964 Memorial Edition of Profiles in
Courage, page 264, is the following:

“For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his
interest in politics, ‘hold office’; everyone of us
is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final
analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon
how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people,
are the boss, and we will get the kind of political
leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and
deserve.”

The time has passed to accept the leadership. We
now need to demand the government we deserve.
“We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.”
JFK December 5, 1961
Comments are always welcome.

The saddest race

Picture this, two funny cars inch to the line at
the Auto Club Famoso Raceway. The vibration from
the combined 16,000+ horsepower of the engines at
idle can be felt in the seat of the pants of those
sitting in the bleachers. Drivers Roger Garten and
Matt Bynum prepare to launch.

The Christmas tree changes from red to yellow to
green and the cars shoot off the line like jet
fighters with enough noise to deafen the best of
ears. Then, 330 feet into the 1320 foot track the
cars collide and careen, tumble, and dance in an
explosion of parts, body panels, and smoke.

The safety crews arrive in mere seconds, both
cars lost their fiberglass bodies, and crews had to
cut the roll cage to get Garten out while Bynum
appeared uninjured. Both drivers were rushed to the
nearest hospital while loved ones and fans expect
the worse but hope for the best.

All this happened last Saturday and early news
reported both Roger Garten and Matt Bynum were in
stable condition. But as later news would confirm,
Roger Garten died as a result of his injuries.
The man who had been behind the wheel of the
War Horse funny car Mustang since 1973 is now
racing in heaven.

Garten’s death is the first at the track since
March 8th, 2008. Our condolences to the family and
our fellow fans. Legends don’t die but live on in
hearts.
Comments are always welcome.

No I’m not!

I’ve been told I am stubborn, a racist, homophobic,
an Islamophobe, that I have bend to others way of
thinking and have to give up my guns.
No I’m not, no I won’t, and no I can’t.

Being a seasoned resident of our once United
States I cannot remember a time when so many
groups get so upset over imagined slights. My
family has never owned slaves and we are lifetime
residents of the first state to abolish slavery.

We don’t care who you want to marry, we are already
married, and we live in a state that passed same sex
marriage a while ago.

We don’t stay up nights thinking of insults about
your chosen religion, it isn’t a priority. Just so
long as you don’t step on our religious rights we
will get along fine.

As for gun rights the answer is simple. You aren’t
getting mine. I believe if you have enough money to
buy them legally you should be allowed to have as
many as you want and Constitutional carry should be
the law of the land.

I have to add the recent decision of our Supreme
Court on same sex marriage. We have listened to
proponents tell us it is a victory for “love”.
Yet in the next sentence we’re told they’re not
done fighting and want to force Christian churches
to marry them.

Here’s the deal. Your right to marry, given to you
by the court, does not trump our right to practice
our religion as we have been taught. Freedom of
religion and the ban on governmental intervention
of said feedom is given to us in the 1st Amendment.

That Amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791.
In case you forgot it reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This is my opinion. It is based on 64 years of
living in Iowa and you may not agree. That would be
your option. If you disagree and wish to respond
please remember I do not tolerate fabricated truths,
liberal logic, or profanity.
Comments are always welcome.

Sunday snicker

Double feature edition.

The first short video is “The Virgin Mary Comes
Alive”.

This one is called “Jesus Turns Water Into Wine”.

Enjoy your Sunday.
Comments are always welcome.

Weekend update

After another beautiful day here on the east coast
of Iowa we almost forgot to post about upcoming
events. The drizzle only lasted all day and the
temperature never got out of the 60s. So here are
some events.

Ongoing through tomorrow is the Bloomington Gold
Covette Show & Swap at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Also ongoing through tomorrow is the 8th Annual
Heartland Nova Reunion held at the Marriott Hotel
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Ongoing through Sunday is the Street Machine
Nationals held at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in
Du Quion, Illinois.

If you were planning to attend the Wheels for
Wegener’s Car Show the venue has been moved. During
recent storms lightning took out the timing system
at Cordova International Raceway,

The show was set up to benifit the Van Zuiden
family and has been moved to JP’s Landing, 102 N.
Main Street in Albany, Illinois. The event will
run Saturday from noon to 5 pm.

Saturday is also the Freedom Celebration Car Show
at the Hennepin Canal Parkway in Colona, Illinois.

Saturday and Sunday is the 3rd Annual Maquoketa
Motor Madness at the Jackson County Fairgrounds in
Maquoketa, Iowa.

There are many more event but our mind wanders.
Ever seen a 1937 Horch? Now you can say you have.

We always thought the 1948 Daimler DE-36 “Green
Goddess” was a futuristic looking car for the day.

If you are of a certain age you may remember when
“surf” music was popular and then merged with hot
rod music in the 60’s. The following is one such
song from the Rip Chords recorded in 1964.

That concludes our update and now we’re fixing a
pizza. Enjoy your weekend.
Comments are always welcome.

It’s time

We wonder what our founding fathers would think
of the condition of our country today. Do you think
they would recognize it?

Our founders believed there was an unwritten
contract between the rulers and the people and that
if a ruler violated that contract by taking more
freedoms away that the citizens were justified to
seek the ousting of said ruler.

Ben Franklin said “In free governments, the rulers
are the servants and the people their superiors and
sovereigns.”

Thomas Jefferson said ” It is the people, to whom
all authority belongs.” Jefferson also wrote;
“The constitutions of most of our States assert that
all power is inherent in the people; that they may
exercise it by themselves in all cases to which they
think themselves competent (as in electing their
functionaries executive and legislative, and deciding
by a jury of themselves in all judiciary cases in which
any fact is involved), or they may act by representatives,
freely and equally chosen; that it is their right and duty
to be at all times armed; that they are entitled to
freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property,
and freedom of the press.”

Yet now our beliefs are being ridiculed and we are
being told we have change said beliefs. Our
constitution is being ignored or twisted into
something we no longer recognize, and as long as
we agree with our “rulers” we have rights.

Apathy is not the answer it is what the ruling
elite expect. It is time to stop the nonsense.
Comments are always welcome.

The end?

Those of us who live on the east coast of Iowa
have heard the news that our city administrator
will be gone from City Hall after Friday. The vote
tonight was 9-1 to end his contract and we will be
watching the 10 o’clock news on channel 6 to see
what the citizens who attended the meeting had to
say.

On the Davenport Today website is and article
and links to statements, reponses, and the
succession agreement if you haven’t seen it.

Alderman Ambrose was the lone holdout to oust
Malin and did so as the most informed council
member as to the project development that seems to
have started this whole process.

We do wonder why, if Malin was such a terrible
administrator the city still wants him available
to iron out possible future problems and are
willing to pay him to do so.

No car of ours is in this race but we still find
it an interesting subject. Elections have
consequences.
Comments are always welcome.

Just rambling

These pictures tell what the sky looked like after
a little rain came through our area the other day.
I only wish I would have ran outside with my good
camera.

In other news, we survived the Vegetarian Cook Out
and look no worse for wear. The weather was picture
perfect, the food looked great, and we had a good
time. Thanks for the invite Todd and Ronnie.

Then I heard a story that kicked my imagination
into overdrive only to have my bubble burst again.
The story was about how the Navy stopped using
steam powered catapult on aircraft carriers and
went to an electromagnetic launch system.

The story featured said launch systems being
tested on the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and the
text told of the carrier launching flatbed trucks
to test the system.

I’m thinking, we never got to see anything like
that when I was in and I envisioned 1-ton Ford,
Chevy, and Dodge trucks sailing through the sky
to crash land in the sea. Not so Uncle Joe, but
I think the video proves the system works.

We’ll end with this video from 2014 of the saluting
boy on Omaha Beach. It tells an interesting tale if
you haven’t seen it.

And now my rambling mind needs coffee. If you
can’t avoid the rain we hope you have an umbrella.
Comments are always welcome.

Buying American?

We have been down this road before but the new
Kogod Made In America Auto Index is out and we’ll
bring it up again.

This index from the Kogod School of Business tells
us how “American” our cars are. They compute in
the following:

1. Profit Margin: Where the automaker’s global
headquarters is located. This is relevant as profits
from cars return to the shareholders in the home
country. (6 percent)

2. Labor: Location of assembly, included as the money
supports workers in this country. (6 percent)

3. Location of Research & Development activities:
Essentially, where the headquarters is located.
(6 percent)

4. Inventory, Capital and Other Expenses: the
location of assembly. (11 percent)

5. Engine: The location of production.
(14 percent)

6. Transmission: The location of production.
(7 percent)

7. Body, Chassis and Electrical Components:
The location of where they are made. (50 percent)

Who won?

It is a tie for the most American vehicle with the
Ford F-series pickup and the Chevrolet Corvette
sharing the top honor with a score of 87.5. That
is followed by the Buick Enclave with an 86, the
Chevrolet Traverse with an 86, the GMC Acadia with
an 86, and the GMC Denali Acadia also with an 86.

Who lost?

The Ford Transit Connect came in 67th with a score
of 14.5. At 66th is the Chevrolet SS with a 15.5
and tied with that is the Chevrolet Caprice also
at 15.5. At 65th is the Chevrolet Spark with a
16, and the Ford Fiesta took 64th with a 22.

The Dodge Avenger is the first Chrysler product
shown with an 82.

Other makes are covered but we’ve always equated
the Big 3 with the words “American Made. The list
is long and the makes and models are varied. For
the entire list go to the link above.

If you are thinking of buying a new vehicle you
may want to make this index part of your research.
The times they are a changing.
Comments are always welcome.

The unofficial history

We keep hearing the little men with big egos in
Washington, D.C. tell us that electric cars are the
way of the future in the 21st century, and the
uniformed swear it to be true.

So we thought we’d present a history of this
“modern” marvel and what some believe killed it.

Lets look at another one before we move on.

Some more recent history-

In the 1970s high gas prices came and the
government funded efforts to make an electric car.

1982 saw the first modern hybrid cars made at the
GE Research Labs. It ran by computer and is a
direct ancestor to todays hybrid cars.

In 1989 Audi designed a hybrid called the “Duo”
that used NiCad batteries and a gas engine. It
never saw production.

At the Tokyo Motor Show in 1995 Toyota showed off
a hybrid concept car and the first Prius went on
sale in 1997.

Tesla Motors debuted the Tesla roadster in 2008
with a 200 mile range and a price tag out of reach
for all but the deepest pockets ($110,000).

2009 saw the Ford Fusion hybrid.
In 2010 in was the Nissan Leaf.

And in 2011 Chevrolet started selling the Volt.

If you’re still reading this you have now absorbed
the unofficial, unscientific, not necessarily
politically correct history of the electric
vehicle.
Comments are always welcome.