April 10, 2006

8th Grade Science

Could you pass?

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Posted by: Ogre at 07:03 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 UM, Ogre, I passed 8th grade science over 6 months ago, next quiz please.....

Posted by: Smokey at April 10, 2006 08:33 PM (5LGKd)

2 So you're saying you're in 9th grade?

Posted by: Ogre at April 10, 2006 09:16 PM (2eMZT)

3 I passed 8/8

Can't believe I still remember some of that.

Posted by: ktreva at April 10, 2006 10:30 PM (e8b4J)

4 I didn't get any of them right. I thought for sure that the Earth's tide was caused by dolphins, and the hereditary makeup of humans was found in petrie dishes.
Iym uh reel dum-dum.

Posted by: Stevin at April 10, 2006 11:29 PM (LfL8N)

5 Woo-hoo, Ktreva!

And Stevin? Well... uh... hey look! Something shiny!

Posted by: Ogre at April 11, 2006 11:22 AM (/k+l4)

6 6/8, Not bad seeing that I hate the science stuff, especially the physics portion.

Posted by: Quality Weenie at April 11, 2006 01:02 PM (XG7jZ)

7 There were a couple of real tough ones on there...

Posted by: Ogre at April 11, 2006 01:56 PM (/k+l4)

8 I got 6/8 but I can't figure out which two I missed. . .

Posted by: oddybobo at April 13, 2006 03:00 PM (6Gm0j)

9 Ok, so you're failing paying attention, too...

Posted by: Ogre at April 13, 2006 03:31 PM (/k+l4)

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Taxes

Today's Taxes (Hat Tip to Seth):

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
Capital Gains Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Court Fines (Indirect Taxes)
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel permit tax
Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax Interest Expense (tax on the money THEY paid tax on already!)
Inventory tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Local Income Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax> Septic Permit Tax
Service Charge Taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Taxes (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Road Toll Booth Taxes
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal , State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-Recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Toll Bridge Taxes
Toll Tunnel Taxes
Traffic Fines (indirect taxation)
Trailer Registration Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

COMMENTS: Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and
our nation was the most prosperous in the world, had absolutely no
national debt, had the largest middle class in the world and Mom stayed
home to raise the kids.

Posted by: Ogre at 05:07 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Tar Heel Tavern

This week's Tarheel Tavern is up at The View from the Cheap Seats.

The Tarheel Tavern is a blog carnival of posts from and about North Carolina. There's no central topic, just posts from blogs in North Carolina. Head on over and read.

Posted by: Ogre at 04:06 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Guard our Borders!

Monday, April 10, has been dubbed by pro-illegal activists as the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice. After two weeks of both large-scale and ad hoc protests, they are trying to bring it all together before their big Walk Out on May 1st.

There are more protests scheduled around the nation - more than 100 have been registered at www.april10.org. Find out what’s going on in your town or city – you’d be surprised by some of the locales of the organized protests.

While the rest of America goes on with making a living and having a life, these rallies could very easily be fizzling out or, on the other hand, gaining momentum and proliferating. (Personally, I'm wondering just how many days of work and school these people can skip before it starts to hurt.) Either way, Americans want to know what is being said and done by these interlopers at the rallies. We must keep an eye on things, because our faint-of-heart senators won't. They are on an ill-deserved two week vacation, after all.

Several members of the Guard the Borders Blogburst are planning to observe the rallies in their areas and report back with photos, quotes, and/or more. So this edition of the Blogburst will be presented in two parts; today's notice and a follow-up on Tuesday with what we glean from various rallies across the nation. Stay tuned for that.

Here in the Charlotte, NC area, there are no protests planned. Instead, because the local pro-criminal invaders know they do not have the support they need for a protest, they are planning a "day of non-consumption." According to their web site, all those of latino descent are not to buy anything to attempt to show people their impact on the local economy.

My response? Let's have a day of "non-government benefits." How about all those who are here illegally take a day and not take ANYTHING from government. Stay home from the English as a Second language education classes; spend the night in the streets instead of the section 8 housing; don't take any of your government-supplied medicine; spend a day NOT going to the emergency room for your cold symptoms; don't commit any crimes; and don't fill out or even request any government forms in any language other than English.

Now THAT'S a day that I'd like to see the economic impact from -- I bet it's 10 times the effect of simply not buying things.

In the meantime, let's make sure that our senators have a stack of NO AMNESTY faxes and phone messages when they get back from vacation. They still have a lot of debating to do, and we need to be sure that they are absolutely clear on where we, as Americans, stand on the issue.

To send in a free FAX, go to NumbersUSA. Or click here for all the contact information for your congressional representatives.

Posted by: Ogre at 03:05 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Jason Lewis at the NCCLC

He often promotes the idea that the Republican Party is a vehicle that's to be used to advance ideas. I didn't get to hear his live show on Friday because I was in the illegal immigration forum during the time his show airs. When I got out, I did catch just a little bit of the end of the show, where he was interviewing Congresswoman Foxx.

If you've never heard his show and you're ever in the Charlotte area during that time, take a moment to tune in -- 1110 on the AM dial. Jason also really defies categorization in the various political parties of the day -- sometimes he agrees with the libertarians, sometimes with the republicans. Every blue moon, he'll even agree with the Democrats -- because he's more concerned with the right idea than which party is "best."

Jason is also very thoughtful and learned. He doesn't just spout off things to enrage people to get them to call his show. He seriously knows of what he speaks -- he clearly takes the time to research everything he talks about. In fact, when I had the pleasure of eating lunch with him, he had a pile of folders and papers about 8 inches tall -- filled, I'm sure, with various facts and evidence to support his positions -- which are normally correct.

Posted by: Ogre at 01:03 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Easley supports Black

Last Thursday, Governor Easley (Democrat), supported Jim Black (Democrat) by saying that he should remain as Speaker of the House. He did leave himself a way to back out by saying that the members of the House should decide if Black should be removed from the speaker's position -- that's not how a leader should behave.

In reality, it may not be the House itself that gets to decide if Jim Black will remain in his position. The State Board of Elections (run by Democrats) already said that Black broke the law and asked the District Attorney to investigate (which could result in criminal charges).

However, Jim Black is not likely to go quietly, and although some democrats are finally showing the courage to call for his resignation, their leader, Governor Easley, refuses to go against the party. At a time when more people than ever in North Carolina are self-identifying themselves as conservative and the Democrat party is identifying as liberal, the Democrat party MAY be in trouble.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:01 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

April 09, 2006

NC Conservative Leadership Conference

A last post this weekend on the North Carolina Conservative Leadership Conference this weekend. I would like to once again thank the John William Pope Civitas Institute for inviting me and for putting together the entire conference -- it really was great and I'd love to do it again. It was difficult to live-blog that much for that long, but it was great fun (and in case you're wondering -- it was about 11,000 words in total during the live blog).

I also want to thank the various cosponsors of the event: The John Locke Foundation, The Jesse Helms Center Foundation, The North Carolina Family Policy Council, Americans for Prosperity Foundation, The North Carolina Education Alliance, The National Rifle Association: NC, The Christian Action League, The John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, and The Conservative Voice.

I'll be blogging more this week with commentary and reaction to the various forums, interviews, and people I saw. I also have a ton of pictures that I'll add throughout the week, too. At any time if you want to see all the posts from the conference, just click the link at the bottom of this (or any other conference post) that says "Filed at ... in: North Carolina Conservatives."

And I still like the overriding theme of the conference: we need to build coalitions and agreements on ideas. The conference was non-partisan, trying to advance conservative ideas.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:10 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sue Myrick at the NCCLC Dinner

After Senator Allen finished speaking, he left. Then those who had not gotten dinner yet were served. This made for rather odd tables because those at our table figured we were just out of luck and we were eating the bread and our desserts. But, we got food finally and were treated to the honor of hearing Sue Myrick, Congresswoman from the 9th district of North Carolina speak.

Sue Myrick was more focused on North Carolina. She has been in politics for many years now, but she somehow manages to (most of the time) remember that she's there to represent voters. Heck, I know her chief of staff, Hal, and he's been with her for 12 years now. That's impressive.

Sue was not running for president, so she didn't need to impress the people at the conference. She was focused. She had ONE topic, and I think she knew it was one that a lot of people at the conference were interested in: illegal immigration.

Posted by: Ogre at 09:51 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Senator Allen at the NCCLC Dinner

On Saturday evening at the North Carolina Conservative Leadership Conference, we had the Honorable Senator Allen from Virginia as the featured speaker. He was there at approximately 6:30, which was when the dinner was expected to start. This seemed rather odd to me, because most people, when they reach that level of "importance" in government, simply do not have time to sit down and eat with people -- especially people who cannot vote for them (at least not this year).

The room was completely full -- not a single empty seat. There were about 300 people there, with a few even standing along the walls.

But first, a word about the dinner. For this meal, I was truly honored to be seated with not one, but SEVEN lovely ladies (for those who think that conservatives are nothing but stodgy old white men, well, this should prove they're not). They all knew one another and in fact had come to the conference together, and appeared to have really enjoyed their time there.

Thank you so much Louise, Ruthy, Michelle, Aleshia, Tiana, and Elizabeth for your lovely company and conversation during dinner (even if Michelle did get a little bored)!

Posted by: Ogre at 09:19 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Tour of the Blog

If this is your first visit to this blog, this is the part you need to read! I know there's at least a few new readers out there who aren't real familiar with how blogs work and how to find their way around this particular blog.

First, I'll explain the concept of a blog. I blog is a place on the internet that isn't printed anywhere else (normally) where you'll find information, news, and opinions. On this particular blog, you'll find mostly news and opinion regarding North Carolina politics and government, especially at the state level. You'll also often find some lighter post in the afternoons and on Fridays.

Here's how it works: At various times throughout the day, primarily between the hours of 6am and 3pm ET, new posts will appear. Some days it's as few as 3, some days as many as 10. The first post of the day is almost always about North Carolina government.

The main page shows the title of the post and a very brief description about the post. Simply click on the title of the post to take you to a page like this one you are reading to see and read the entire post.

At the end of each post, you'll see comments people have about the post. If no one has posted a comment on that topic, you can add your own comment (please do!). Please do feel completely free to comment on any post at any time!

As the day goes on and more topics are posted, the posts will move down the screen -- so if you leave a comment and want to see what others are saying, just scroll down and you'll find the topic. The last 7 days worth of topics normally stay on the main page.

Down the left column, you'll find a few ads and other miscellaneous links to fun places. Down the right side you'll find my "blogrolls" -- these are lists of links to other blogs that I am associated with in some way. Below that, again, more links to some other places I've found and like for some reason.

So, feel free to read away and add comments any time you like. I only ask that you attempt to remain civil in your comments. I will not normally delete or modify your comments unless you are uncivil or rude. If you have any questions, just add a comment to this post, or send me an email -- the email link is over there in the navigation section.

Posted by: Ogre at 04:24 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

April 08, 2006

Senator Allen addresses the NCCLC

(MUCH more to come tomorrow, including piles of pictures.)

Posted by: Ogre at 11:46 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Day 2 Update

An update from the late afternoon:

Live blogging is almost over. We're on a break until dinner, which is scheduled for 6:30 with featured speakers of NC Congresswoman Sue Myrick and Virginia Senator George Allen. I won't be live blogging the dinner because that just seems too rude to me. Heck, I'm not really comfortable walking around and taking pictures...

So I'll attend the dinner, I'll get some pictures, and I'll take notes about what is said. I imagine the dinner will run until at least 8:30pm EST. After that I've got a 2-1/2 hour ride home. Then I'll be sleeping (hopefully not BEFORE I get home).

I will try and post a quick update immediately after the dinner with more notes, details and descriptions first thing tomorrow morning.

Posted by: Ogre at 08:45 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Issues: How to be a Good N.C. Conservative

This forum is titled "How to be a Good Conservative." There's a number of panelists that plan to tell about things that conservative citizens in North Carolina can do to help advance the conservative cause in North Carolina.

Ryan Francis DeLuca, NC State Director of Americans for Prosperity is the moderator (and a U.S. Marine). To speak are Steve Noble, Chairman of Called2Action; Ryan Irisik, Representative of the NC Grassroots NRA; Dan Page, former NC Legislator; and Frank Rouse, former NC GOP Chairman.

This forum has a full house, with almost 100 people in attendance.

Posted by: Ogre at 08:09 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Issues: Eminent Domain

Next up with the live blogging, an issues forum about eminent domain. This is the least attended forum that I've seen here so far. Every other forum was absolutely packed to nearly overflowing. This forum has only about 30 people.

Scheduled to speak are Thomas Smith, VP of the Civitas Institute (current member of the Durham city council); Daren Bakst, Legal and Regulatory Policy Analyst for the John Locke Foundataion; Scott Bullock, Senior Attorney at the Institute for Justice (one who argued in Kelo v. New London); and Chris Sinclair, President of the Triangle Community Coalition.

More and more people have been arriving late, perhaps because lunch went a little long...the room is about full now -- about 40-45 people.

Posted by: Ogre at 06:44 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

David Keene at the NCCLC

David Keene addressed about 320 people at the Conservative Leadership Conference Lunch.

I had the pleasure of sharing my table with Jason Lewis (yes, the Jason Lewis who is on WBT1110 each afternoon from 3-6pm); Dr. David Hartgen, William Maready, Wes Atkins, and Brett Mitchell. Thank you all for wonderful company for the noontime meal.

I also must mention that while each meal at the conference has been started with the Pledge of Allegiance and a blessing; this meal we were treated to a wonderful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, a Capella by none other than the aforementioned Brett Mitchell. It was a very impressive voice and singing. Thank you again, Brett, for a great and inspiring job.

Posted by: Ogre at 05:48 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

NCCLC: Lunch

Next up today: Lunch

Scheduled to speak is American Conservative Union Chairman David Keene.

Posted by: Ogre at 04:01 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Issues: Education

First issue forum attended by Ogre today is the Education forum. There's five panelists and I'll be adding to this post as they are speaking. Isn't live blogging fun? This post will update throughout the morning until after the forum, which will end at approximately 11:30am EST.

This forum promises to provide information about the (very broken) education system in North Carolina. People on the panel include George Leef, Director of the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy; Terry Stoops, Policy Analyst, John Locke Foundation; Jason Bennett, Policy Analyst at the Civitas Institute; Lindalyn Kakadelis, Director of the North Carolina Education Alliance; and Bob Luddy, Founder, Franklin Academy & St. Thomas More Academy.

Posted by: Ogre at 03:29 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Virginia Foxx, NCCLC Breakfast

Another day, more conservatism! Today we had a breakfast that featured as a guest speaker Virginia Foxx, first-term Congressional Representative from North Carolina -- who was recently rated as the "most conservative" member of North Carolina's delegation.

Once again, I had the honor of meeting a number of additional conservatives, everyday people like yourselves, that are interested in conservative positions. With me were Tom and Lindalyn Kakadelis, John and Wanda Conway (John is running for election to the NC House -- I'm still working on links), Laney Funderbunk, and two college Republican volunteers who were helping out this weekend, Chad Hilton and Randy Costa. Thank you all for the excellent company and conversation during breakfast.

Posted by: Ogre at 01:12 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

J.D. Hayworth at the NCCLC

As previously mentioned, an absolutely outstanding speech by J.D. Hayworth. He's recently written a book called "Whatever it Takes." He re-affirmed the conservative position by saying:

We understand that the Constitution Means what it says

A brief aside before the great details of the dinner -- I had the honor of having dinner with a number of Conservatives -- just regular people who want the government to work with the conservative principles of freedom first:

Marilyn Avila, candidate for election to the North Carolina House, Michael Dodson, Eleanor Quick, Alex, Andy Wright, Marc Conaghan, and Jason Wells. Thank you all for your attendance and your excellent company at the dinner speech.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:16 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

April 07, 2006

J.D. Hayworth at the NCCLC

J.D. Hayworth at the NCCLC

J.D Hayworth, distinguished Congressman from Arizona's 5th district was the featured speaker at first evening dinner of the North Carolina Conservative Leadership Conference. He is serving in his 6th term in Congress.

Congressman Hayworth's speech was entertaining and informative. He made Tom Tancredo look soft on immigration. He started out with

The first and most basic purpose of government is to protect our citizens

It is a time for choosing

I've got lots more, but I want to get this first post up now as I write the next part.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:55 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

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