Roughing It In A Luxury Home

Today, I conducted a war on terror. It isn’t finished, but we identified the vermin, it is terror. As the days go ahead, more and more experts will give opinions about what repairs will kill this scourge known as RLBW.

Peg and I are undertaking a complete renovation of our living quarters by having all the rooms painted within five days. It sounds easy at first, but along with the painting comes the repair of many drywall joints that have split open by the forces of a house settling. Our home is now old enough to drink by Illinois law, that makes it twenty-one.

For the past six years I have noticed a spot on one wall that has changed color. The snow-white wall had an ominous grey spot on it. I guessed it to be moisture. At that same time, I identified several roof leaks that were severely damaging some of the walls. Four years ago, I had a new roof installed to stop the leaking.$$$ It seemed to have worked. I never took the trouble to repair the grey spots, until this major paint job became a reality.$$$$$

This morning the crew attacked Peg’s sitting room at the front of the house and the terrorist popped out and reared his ugly head. In chipping away at some of the drywall to replace it with sound plaster, the technician discovered that the plaster around our front window is soaking wet. He began pulling down wet moldy wall thus exposing the RLBW (Roof leak behind walls). This discovery told me that replacing the roof at considerable expense did not correct this problem. It has leaked for another four years without our knowledge. The result is a sill plate that is so rotted it must be replaced. The rotten sill plate supports  the roof structure, and it is crumbling. Even as we tore away more of the drywall and insulation we could not find out the source of the water. My roofer sent a technician to  investigate, and of course he couldn’t find a thing wrong, but he did admit he is looking at a leak problem.

Peggy's Sitting Room

Peggy’s Sitting Room

Now the paint job has taken a new twist in the schedule. The priority has shifted from Peg’s room to my office, and I am knee-deep in the usual shit that takes over an office. Books by the shelf full, papers, and brochures to read later, my book notes, maps, and manuscript are strewn about the surface of my desk. Not to mention a bird’s nest of wires connecting printers, modems, hard drives, routers, that make up a modern office.

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Grumpa Joe’s Office

 

By the time I started to cook supper, I had transferred 95% of my stuff to another room with a solemn vow that 75% of it will never return. This is a great opportunity to purge, and to simplify, except I am doing the same with every room in the house. By the time the paint is dry, my body will be yearning for a couch in front of a big screen TV. Because of the extensive drywall repairs today, our bedroom is still wrapped in plastic waiting for a second coat of paint. That means Peg and I sleep in he guest room among all the stuff I moved there from the other rooms. There is a path around the bed into the bathroom and the bed itself is clear, so we will rough it in a strange bed. Gee it will be just like it is when we travel. Except for one thing, our guest room mattress does not match the same high quality of a Holiday Inn bed. It will be roughing it while the terrorist lurks two rooms away waiting for another opportunity to sneak water into the walls.$$$$$$$$$$

 

Crumbling Wall From RLBW

Crumbling Wall From RLBW

Rotten Sill Plate

Rotten SIll Plate

 

 

Sleeping Nation Awakened

I received this article from a friend. It appeared in the Aspen Times Weekly on February 28, 2010.
This article represents the feelings of  Tea Party attendees whom I met at many events since April 15, 2009. The only thing I disagree with is the opening sentence. Even though the author’s premise makes sense, Obama is the worst thing that has happened to the USA, in the history of the country.
 
Barack Obama has awakened a sleeping nation
Gary Hubbell
Aspen Times Weekly

 
Barack Obama is the best thing that has happened to America in the last 100 years. Truly, he is the savior of America’s future. He is the best thing ever.

Despite the fact that he has some of the lowest approval ratings among recent presidents, history will see Barack Obama as the source of America’s resurrection. Barack Obama has plunged the country into levels of debt that we could not have previously imagined; his efforts to nationalize health care have been met with fierce resistance nationwide; TARP bailouts and stimulus spending have shown little positive effect on the national economy; unemployment is unacceptably high and looks to remain that way for most of a decade; legacy entitlement programs have ballooned to unsustainable levels, and there is a seething anger in the populace.

That’s why Barack Obama is such a good thing for America.

Obama is the symbol of a creeping liberalism that has infected our society like a cancer for the last 100 years. Just as Hitler is the face of fascism, Obama will go down in history as the face of unchecked liberalism. The cancer metastasized to the point where it could no longer be ignored.

Average Americans who have quietly gone about their lives, earning a paycheck, contributing to their favorite charities, going to high school football games on Friday night, spending their weekends at the beach or on hunting trips — they’ve gotten off the fence. They’ve woken up. There is a level of political activism in this country that we haven’t seen since the American Revolution, and Barack Obama has been the catalyst that has sparked a restructuring of the American political and social consciousness.

Think of the crap we’ve slowly learned to tolerate over the past 50 years as liberalism sought to re-structure the America that was the symbol of freedom and liberty to all the people of the world. Immigration laws were ignored on the basis of compassion. Welfare policies encouraged irresponsibility, the fracturing of families, and a cycle of generations of dependency. Debt was regarded as a tonic to lubricate the economy. Our children left school having been taught that they are exceptional and special, while great numbers of them cannot perform basic functions of mathematics and literacy. Legislators decided that people could not be trusted to defend their own homes, and stripped citizens of their rights to own firearms. Productive members of society have been penalized with a heavy burden of taxes in order to support legions of do-nothings who loll around, reveling in their addictions, obesity, indolence, ignorance and “disabilities.” Criminals have been arrested and re-arrested, coddled and set free to pillage the citizenry yet again. Lawyers routinely extort fortunes from doctors, contractors and business people with dubious torts.

We slowly learned to tolerate these outrages, shaking our heads in disbelief, and we went on with our lives.

But Barack Obama has ripped the lid off a seething cauldron of dissatisfaction and unrest.

In the time of Barack Obama, Black Panther members stand outside polling places in black commando uniforms, slapping truncheons into their palms. ACORN — a taxpayer-supported organization — is given a role in taking the census, even after its members were caught on tape offering advice to set up child prostitution rings. A former Communist is given a paid government position in the White House as an advisor to the president. Auto companies are taken over by the government, and the auto workers’ union — whose contracts are completely insupportable in any economic sense — is rewarded with a stake in the company. Government bails out Wall Street investment bankers and insurance companies, who pay their executives outrageous bonuses as thanks for the public support. Terrorists are read their Miranda rights and given free lawyers. And, despite overwhelming public disapproval, Barack Obama has pushed forward with a health care plan that would re-structure one-sixth of the American economy.

I don’t know about you, but the other day I was at the courthouse doing some business, and I stepped into the court clerk’s office and changed my voter affiliation from “Independent” to “Republican.” I am under no illusion that the Republican party is perfect, but at least they’re starting to awaken to the fact that we cannot sustain massive levels of debt; we cannot afford to hand out billions of dollars in corporate subsidies; we have to somehow trim our massive entitlement programs; we can no longer be the world’s policeman and dole out billions in aid to countries whose citizens seek to harm us.

Literally millions of Americans have had enough. They’re organizing, they’re studying the Constitution and the Federalist Papers, they’re reading history and case law, they’re showing up at rallies and meetings, and a slew of conservative candidates are throwing their hats into the ring. Is there a revolution brewing? Yes, in the sense that there is a keen awareness that our priorities and sensibilities must be radically re-structured. Will it be a violent revolution? No. It will be done through the interpretation of the original document that has guided us for 220 years — the Constitution. Just as the pendulum swung to embrace political correctness and liberalism, there will be a backlash, a complete repudiation of a hundred years of nonsense. A hundred years from now, history will perceive the year 2010 as the time when America got back on the right track. And for that, we can thank Barack Hussein Obama.
 
Gary Hubbell is a hunter, rancher, and former hunting and fly-fishing guide. Gary works as a Colorado ranch real estate broker. He can be reached through his website,aspenranchrealestate.com.

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100228/ASPENWEEKLY/100229854/

Terrorist Massacre

Call a spade a spade, and call a Muslim a Muslim. I am amazed at how afraid our government is about offending the Islamic religious belief. Maybe it is because our leaders know that by offending this particular sect, Muslims can bring serious harm to the country.

Why is this religion so intent on converting us to their way of thinking? Are we still suffering a backlash from Christian Crusades to the Mid-East in the early centuries of Christianity? I believe the Christians have strengthened and grown their beliefs to move away from the violent conversion of humanity toward Christ. Christ would never have condoned the Crusades. Yet, we see the scripture of the Koran loaded with teachings to convert everyone to Islam. Condoned within the Koran are methods for conversion that are barbaric and ruthless. How can an all-knowing and loving God condone such behaviour. An infinite, loving caring God cannot, therefore the religion of Islam is nothing but a hoax being sold as a form of religion.

When will the people of America wake up to the fact that Islam promotes terrorism, and all the  political correctness in the world will not make that go away. Better yet, when will the Muslims awaken to the fact that killing in the name of God is wrong.

A Hypocrisy I Don’t Understand

I don’t feel like writing today, so I’ll keep this short. I couldn’t stand being screwed into the couch any longer. I had to become an activist. Why? I see my country being decimated by a bunch of people who want to make the world a better place. How can anyone make the world a better place by destroying the greatest country in the history of the universe? It is a hypocrisy I don’t understand.

Grumpa Joe Proud Of His Flag

Thieving Radical Hate Monger?

A few years ago I took a course in improving human performance. In that course, the instructor advised that if I wanted to become a leader, that I should hang out with leaders. The principle is a small step toward getting what you want. I would learn valuable lessons in leadership from the associations. I thought about this principle while watching the news last night. One of BO’s spinmasters was accusing Sean Hannity of trying to make BO guilty by association.  It occurred to me that the liberal candidate for president is hanging with some interesting people. First he is using several thieving ex-CEO’s from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to advise him on matters related to the housing crisis. Next, he hangs with a “guy from his neighborhood,” who is a proclaimed non-repentant terrorist. The man clearly hates our country. Let’s not forget his time with Anton Resko, known to seek out corrupt politicians for personal gain. BO has some nefarious real estate dealings with this man. On Sundays, he is known to hang with his good friend Reverend Jeremiah Wright who preaches Black Liberation Theology (translation, hate whitey and the government with all your heart and soul).

WIthin this group of associations there is a thread of continuity; thievery, radicalism, hatred.  BO wants me to believe that his associations with these people have not influenced him in any way. Just where is BO going with all this? Perhaps he wants to be the thieving radical hate monger of the century.

There a few more asscociations that occurred earlier in his life. Like the one with his mother, a known radical thinker, his grandparents, also known to be radical thinkers. Then there is Barack Hussein Obama Senior. BO would like us to think his father abandoned him, but BO-Sr. kept in touch with his son, and BO- Sr. believed in taxing the rich to benefit the poor, or “redistribution of wealth.”

I don’t believe for a moment that the association with his parents didn’t have any influence on his life or his values.

What is scary about his associations, is that the people who are backing him must  be thinking the same way. Why else would they worship him?