Detroit Crazies

I wrote previously about the Mayor of Detroit and the trouble that he has gotten himself in. Evidently there is something in the water in Detroit (I better get checked I use to live there). Here is one of the city council members (and supporters of the Mayor) going completely over the deep end.

If you are drinking coffee or any other substance that might come out of your nose, it would be a good time to finish it or put it away for a few minutes.

BTW, I'm a big Kierra Bell fan... you'll see who I'm talking about... she's the one that makes sense at the end of the video. :)

A great week in pictures this week

Click here to see the slideshow.

Seriously! Okay, now I am a staunch McCain supporter!

I found this in an article today and heard it on the news yesterday. If for no other reason, this is enough to be firmly in the McCain camp.

SUSAN SARANDON, who appeared in three films last year and won kudos for her
TV movie "Bernard and Doris," is still not a contented soul. She says if John
McCain gets elected, she will move to Italy or Canada. She adds, "It's a
critical time, but I have faith in the American people."

Thatcher's Tribute to Reagan

I'm still reading Margaret Thatcher's memoirs. I know, kind of slow, but it isn't exactly easy reading.

She was continually and genuinely impressed with Ronald Reagan and the tremendous leader that he was. She didn't agree with him all of the time and they had extremely different leadership styles, but she knew from the moment that she met him, what an important and historic person that he was and would be.

That's pretty high praise coming from the Iron Lady herself.

I pulled up the eulogy that she recorded when Reagan died. She had suffered from a stroke and so making this video and recording this speech was very difficult for her, but a tribute that had to be made for such a great leader and friend.

Enjoy.

Teacher votes herself out of a job!!!!

Well, maybe that's my take on what SHOULD happen. Imagine you had a child that was tough to handle, not because he was a bad kid, but because he had a form of autism. Not to the point were the child wasn't functional, just a little difficult to handle. Now imagine you went to pick him up from kindergarden and found out that his classmates had "voted him out" of class.

That's right.

The teacher stood the kid up in front of the class and went through everyone in the class and asked them what they didn't like (the child understood "hated") about him. Then they voted on whether or not the child should be able to stay in class.



Here's the link incase the video doesn't come up.
Sounds to me like the principle needs to vote the teacher out of a job.

I can't say I would blame the mom if she did end up suing the school in this case.

Stupid people.

Okay, I almost hurt myself on this one

Vets for Freedom

I think this one will actually do some damage to B.O.



THIS is good stuff.

Reagan was a very funny fellow

It's kind of a slow day today.

I found this video of the Gipper and how he used humor. It doesn't have all of his famous lines, but it has some classics. My favorite is the one about age while debating Mondale. You know you are in command of the debate when you can get your opponent laughing.

Cap and Trade

You are going to hear something over the next couple of weeks about a Warner-Lieberman bill called "America's Climate Security Act of 2007". Yes, I know it is 2008, but the bill was proposed last year and what is being considered now is an amendment to that bill. What you will hear about is that this is a cap-and-trade system set up to help reduce green house gases. What this means is that they are going to put limits on industry and how much CO2 an industry can emit. This includes the power companies. Currently 50% of the country's electricity comes from clean coal sources. These would be virtually outlawed in the next few years.

Anybody see a problem with that?

In addition to killing every town that exists due to coal mining it would require the construction of "clean" power plants. The only real option for that right now, other than hydro-electric plants, is new nuclear plants. Dozens of them. While I don't think that in itself is a bad thing, the problem is that trying to build so many of them, so fast will require LOTS of money, which means... you pay more for your electricity... as does the factory down the street that is also trying to deal with producing all that it can while still being under their CO2 limit. Long story short, the supply of everything goes down, inflation goes up and energy costs go up.

Do we really need this right now?

Now the politicians will tell you that they are doing this because they love the environment and Al Gore has sold them on the idea that we are causing global warming, which is a farce to begin with, but that's a different story. But, would you like to know the REAL reason behind this bill?

I hope so.

$$$$$$$

That's right, it's all about the money and how your elected politicians can get their hands on more of it. But don't worry they are just taking it from the Big Bad Companies... who will of course have to raise their prices, while laying off workers, and/or move operations offshore where they don't have a cap-and-trade system... I think you get the idea.

So what does the Congressional Budget Office say about this bill? How much money will the government bring in due to this bill to save the environment?

CBO estimates that enacting S. 2191, as amended, would increase revenues by about $1.21 trillion over the 2009-2018 period, net of income and payroll tax offsets.

So, what do you think? Do you want your senator voting for this? Do you think businesses are going to eat 1.21 TRILLION DOLLARS worth of extra taxes?

This is what happens when we let people sell us the LIE of global warming.

This is what happens when we let politicians tell US what the right thing to do is.

OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!

Great post from the American Thinker

Great bit of history here and a glimpse into the life and suffering of John McCain. More importantly it gives you a glimpse into the philosophy of Obama. Not a new hope, or change that we can believe in, but rather an old, tired, and never good to begin with, philosophy of appeasement.

Should B.O.'s new name be Neville-lite?

Wow! I didn't know Hugo Chavez was a congresswoman from California!

This was really shameful. I mean shameful to a ridiculous degree.

These are your liberal politicians. I noticed that she even used the words, liberals are about socializing. Nice.

At least she's honest. Despicable, but honest.

Where are the libs taking us?

Obama touts the mantra as he goes along the campaign trail. More government programs, more regulation, more taxes... it's all the same, it's called big government socialism. That's where the government has more say in your life and how you live it than you do. It starts out innocent enough, things like banning smoking in restaurants and seat belt laws. But gradually it gets more and more out of control.

If you think I'm kidding, you need to go to one of the on-line newspapers from Europe. A quick browsing of the site will give you an idea where the libs in this country want to take us.

This outrageous story is a prime example.

Enjoy and remember, the next time you hear a liberal saying that they are sticking up for the little guy.... or it's all for the children... just think of this one and remember; it's not about what's best for you, it's about bigger government, more taxes, and less freedom.

Dream BIG!!!

As I mentioned previously, my brother Charlie and his wife Stacey came to visit last weekend. We had a great time hanging out. Kind of funny that way. As brothers growing up, Charlie and I had a number of occasions when we were involved in... altercations :)

As adults, we get along great! In fact, I have to say, I have two great brothers. Both of whom are musicians. One a worship pastor at The Orchard in Chicago-land area. The other one, Charlie, is a budding country singer/song writer.

I have to say, I really like his stuff! His song Dream Big has been in my head all morning. Kind of funny to think about a song your brother wrote being in your head.

Check out his myspace page and listen to some of his stuff.

Commander in Chief material indeed...

Okay, if you made the mistake of thinking that Memorial Day was for our living Veterans, that's fine, you aren't running for president.

I'm sorry there is no excuse for it from B.O.

If W had made these same mistakes the press would be all over him.

B.O. may have as big of a "truth telling problem" as Clinton himself

This guy is just ridiculous. One after another. Lie for sympathy, lie for your cause, lie for the sake of lying.

Nice.

Are we sure that B.O. isn't a Clinton love child?

Simply Jesus - Follow Me

WAY AWESOME STUFF THIS WEEKEND!!! Not only did we get to spend some great time with my brother and his wife, but we got to take them to SSCC for some great worship and some great teaching.

Pastor Mark updated us that last week, not only did we have a great time tailgating, but 67 people were baptized and 52 people put their faith in Jesus! Awesome stuff. I'm thinking our fun filled tailgating party was nothing compared to the good time being had in heaven. PRAISE GOD!!

Barack O'Bobby

A new name has been coined for B.O. this morning in my kitchen. Barack O'Bobby.

At least that is what Hillary is looking for.

A couple of things

First of all, we have some very special house guests right now. You can check that out here. So the blogging will be minimal for the next couple of days.

At the same time, we were supposed to be spending time with my mom and dad as well. Unfortunately mom has been having some issue from a previous brain/inner ear surgery and had to have a follow up to fix a problem that has developed. Please keep her in your prayers, she should be finishing up her surgery soon.

"Big Oil" before the Senate... shame on the Senators!

The oil execs were in front of the Senate, being chastised for running profitable companies (oh the horror!)

I keep waiting for one of these guys to stand up and tell the Senate that it is the fault of the law makers who have prohibited "Big Oil" from getting to huge reserves of oil located in US held states and territories that would allow us to flood the market with oil and bring up supply to meet the growing demand and watch the price decrease. It is also the lawmakers that have made it impossible for any new companies to get INTO the oil and gas business because of outrageous regulatory costs.

These people are shameless! How dare they cripple an industry's ability to supply a product and then berate these companies when the prices go up with rising demand! STUPID PEOPLE!!!

Great column from Michele Malkin

Enjoy it here.

Politics aside

Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

I don't agree with Ted Kennedy on... pretty much anything politically, but I don't wish something like this on anybody or on their family. Situations like this are just very difficult.

Please say a prayer for Senator Kennedy and his family.

What this election is all about

There is a great post at HumanEvents.com that eloquently and accurately states what this election is all about.

I highly recommend it.

What are you KIDDING ME!??

This one, you have to read to believe... but then after you read it you might be so irritated and disturbed that you wished you hadn't read it. Just be warned.

This is what happens when you have a nation with no moral compass. This is what happens when people don't understand that there is a right and a wrong.

Disgusting.

Why isn't CPS taking these kids away from their parents? They are obviously unfit.

Obama's Administration will leave no stone unturned

No stone unturned, no right un-infringed upon, no business without extra taxes, no industry without oppressive regulation.

Are people really buying this?

Why can't I drive an SUV? Why can't I keep my house at 72 degrees? Obama is going to limit how much food I can buy?

What!? Is this guy serious!? Is anyone paying attention to this nonsense?

I think the comparison that I recently heard might be correct. "Obama is Carter without the wisdom." Ouch.

What a whiner!

Obama came out over the weekend asking the GOP of TN to lay off his wife.

Are you serious?

If he had any spine at all, the comments might have even sounded threatening, but under these circumstances they just sound pathetic.

When you have your wife go out there and make statements and campaign for you, then you are telling people that she speaks for you and will be involved in your administration, much like Hillary in Bill's administration.

Therefore, she's fair game.

Moreover, the WAY it was done makes Obama look very weak. You combine that with his rhetoric on Iran and other foreign policy flubs and the only word to describe this guy is pa-the-tic.

Maybe instead of debates, Obama and McCain should have a wrestling match. I'm betting on the fiesty old guy.

Simply Jesus

That' s the name of the new series of series at SSCC. It kicked off with 67 baptisms on Saturday night. I got some pictures and maybe a little video. I hope the church posts some of the video that they got. AWESOME STUFF. Before second service Sunday morning 16 people had already placed their faith in Jesus for the first time and I'm guessing there were at least a dozen more at the 10:30. I can't wait to hear the numbers for the whole weekend. It was GREAT! They do baptisms every quarter at SSCC and when the weather isn't too hot they do it outside with a massive tailgating party and celebration. So much fun! They had four inflatable pools set up and people gathered around each one. It was really a site to behold. There was so much energy and excitement it was amazing!

I can't wait for the rest of the series.

Amnesty for Illegal Aliens in the Iraq Supplement Bill

Great post from MM about an amendment to the Iraq supplement bill that would push for legalizing millions of illegals.

As if Larry Craig didn't have enough to be ashamed of...

POST #300 - WOW. So what vacuum did I buy?

Well, about a month ago, Brandi and I went down to the Oreck store and tried them out. It was a really tough call for me. I had been looking at the all surface Dyson and the Oreck, fully expecting to HATE whichever one I bought. I also called a company that does retro-fits on central vacs... for a big fat wad of cash.

So, we went to the Oreck store and looked at them. I had spent most of the day checking out the Dysons and just really didn't like the whole bagless thing. I don't know. I just have really bad allergies and I hate the whole filter thing on the bagless I already had and... basically I just hate the concept. I want the stuff safe and secure and far away from me. The only thing worse than vacuuming, is vacuuming the same stuff up again!

We checked out the different models they had and tried them out on the carpet and the hard floors. We even let Hunter and Jacob have a go at it. I was underwhelmed by both models we tried, but ended up going for the XL21 and the salesmen upgraded us to the Ironman (minivac that comes with it).

I took them home and tried them out and at first glance, did not hate either one. This was a good sign. The little Ironman sucks like crazy and has been doing a really good job on the tile. The Oreck really brings up the nap on the carpet, and while I still hate my carpet, it looks as good as it can look and I could move quickly through the entire house because it's really lite. I wasn't certain that the Oreck was really picking up that much or just fluffing up my carpet. But, I noticed that it was getting less easy to push around, so I thought I would check the bag. It was REALLY tightly packed at the very bottom and getting pretty full. So, being the geek I am, I weighed the vacuum. Standard this vac is about 9lbs. It weighed 14 now. Serious? Wow. I was pretty excited about that. The bag was pretty full and like I said, very densely packed. I even took it over to Brandi and she was equally impressed (or at least acted like it to humor her geek of a house cleaning husband).

So, I'm on my second bag, which took about a month to fill the first. I figure this one will take a bit longer since I think my carpets are cleaner now. I'm REALLY digging the Ironman, it makes the tile a lot easier. Basically I have moved from not hating the vacuums to actually kind of digging both of them.

Go Oreck!

Farm Bill

If I give my honest opinion, there really shouldn't BE anything called a farm bill. I'm not sure why welfare subsidies for food stamps and the like are in here. They should be in a separate piece of legislation, but... not to miss my point here.

This is how the voting went and quite frankly I am shocked. Every one of these Senators should be thrown out on their cans for voting for it. All presidential candidates were absent, although this would have been a great time for McCain to take a stand on wasteful and ridiculous government subsidies. Kyl voted against it (thank you, Senator). How did your Senators do?

In any case, let's just see what the Congressional Budget Office says that this will cost us : $307 BILLION. Ouch.

I have not had time to trudge through (and I doubt I will have the time) the hundreds of pages. According to a Fox News article, the bill contains the following:
- $40 BILLION in additional farm subsidies when crop prices are through the roof
- $30 BILLION to farmers to IDLE their land and other environmental programs.

Can you seriously tell me that when food prices are going up at ridiculous rates, the government is going to PAY farmers NOT to produce?!! You're kidding me! Price is up... so increase the supply and watch the prices come down... unless of course you are banking on a big contribution to your campaign from farm corporations. Nice.

It also contains the following:

—Boost nutrition programs, including food stamps and emergency domestic
food aid, by more than $10 billion over 10 years. It would expand a program to
provide fresh fruits and vegetables to schoolchildren.
—Increase subsidies for certain crops, including fruits and vegetables excluded from previous farm bills.
—Extend and expand dairy programs.

—Increase loan rates for sugar producers.
—Urge the government to buy surplus sugar and sell it to ethanol producers for use in a mixture with corn.
—Cut a per-gallon ethanol tax credit for refiners from 51 cents to 45 cents. The credit supports the blending of fuel with the corn-based additive. More money would go to cellulosic ethanol, made from plant matter.
—Require that meats and other fresh foods carry labels with their country of origin.
—Stop allowing farmers to collect subsidies for multiple farm businesses.
—Reopen a major discrimination case against the Agriculture Department. Thousands of black farmers who missed a deadline would get a chance to file claims alleging they were denied loans or other subsidies.
—Pay farmers for weather-related farm losses from a new $3.8 billion disaster relief fund.
—Provide the first-ever infusion of federal farm dollars — more than $400 million — to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.

Update: NRO has a great editorial on this bill

Ted Rall makes a good point

Wow, it really hurts to say that, but it's true. He has a great column this week on the outrageous increases in college tuition.

I thought the people who ran universities were just a bunch of bleeding heart liberals who wanted to help people? Oops.

I think it's time to quit subsidizing these highly profitable institutions of higher learning.

Obama and foreign policy ignorance

Sometimes if I don't know the answer to something, I will hopethsize what I think the answer is and explain why. Unfortunately I don't always tell the person that I'm talking to that this is just a hypothesis and is not something I know for fact.

My wife has gotten very good at reading me and figuring out when I really know something and when I'm just pulling it of... somewhere.

I've also gotten better at acknowledging that I don't really know, but this is my best guess...

Obama is doing the same thing, but with US foreign policy. Not a good move. Especially when you are advocating something as critical as withdrawing 120K troops from a volitile region, it's always best to know your real reasoning and not just make stuff up off the cuff. I think Obama's real problem is that his babysitters haven't figured out a way to put a teleprompter on his shirt sleeve so that he never has to fly solo.

Empty Suit Obama is showing himself to be Empty Head Obama. This doesn't speak well of a Harvard education.

A History Lesson from the President

You know, people bag on Bush and say that he is an idiot. Now, I disagree with the president on a good many things, but I really and truly believe that he is an intelligent man. Not a great speaker or communicator, but an intelligent man.

This is a great clip from his speech at the Nessett in Israel, where he gives us a lesson in history on appeasement and the damage that naive politicians have done throughout history under the guise of diplomacy.

Don't forget that Obama wants to hold talks, direct talks, without pre-conditions with Ahmadinejad of Iran, who also commemorated Israel's 60th anniversary.

And don't forget the presidential candidate that is endorsed and admired by Hamas.

John McCain is missing the boat on a few things. Thank God he is the only presidential candidate who gets it right on national defense. This is the most important job that the president has, and the one for which Obama is the LEAST qualified.

Obama wants to be the president of these 58 states of America

I'm a little late on this one, sorry. I was waiting to get the actual YOUTube video and I finally found it. You gotta love YOUTube.

57 down and only 1 more to go! Well, except for Alaska and Hawaii, which his babysitters wouldn't let him go to... So does that make 60 then? Hmmm...

Who is the Big Bad Wolf?

I've heard it so many times... Walmart is evil, Insurance Companies want to kill you, Pharmaceutical companies are the run by demons, we need to sue the tobacco companies and that will cure cancer, sue McDonald's and people won't get fat anymore, and of course Satan himself is... Big Oil. It seems that the liberals have a new face of evil to point to for all of the country's problems every time we turn around.

Of course the answer is always the same. We need more government regulation of the industry. We need more taxes to "punish" these companies for DARING to make a profit, as if they their stock holders (read 401K managers of every OTHER company out there) would actually be happier with them if they simply gave away all of their profits. Where were these people when Big Oil was struggling for survival? Where were these when George Bush and his oil buddies were going bankrupt. If you've lived in Texas or any other Big Oil state you know what it's like when times are good AND when times are bad. The fact is... like almost ALL things in an economy... there are cycles. Just like some people couldn't see tech stocks ever going down in the 90s, or home prices ever decreasing three years ago. Guess what commodity prices go up and they go down... if you let the market adjust itself.

Two things that people seem to be ignoring. #1 the environmentalists working with well intentioned politicians have made INCREASING OIL SUPPLY in the US almost impossible, at the same time punishing oil companies for even using domestic supplies (Obama actually sponsored S.115 which would repeal all tax breaks for DOMESTICALLY PRODUCED OIL) almost forcing oil companies to import, leaving our price for gas up to OPEC. Economics 101 if you cannot increase supply and demand goes up, then the price goes where? $3.50 a gallon and rising. Hello?! Of course, are WE using more oil than we use to? Sure. But that’s not the problem. The problem is #2 China has opened the doors to capitalism and a nation of a 1.4 BILLION people suddenly have some money and they want to spend it. So… they are buying cars and machinery and all kind of stuff. This is called an increase in demand on steroids.

So global demand has gone up and our government has closed the door on our resources to meet the demand. You are paying for it. Congrats. Throw in the whole ethanol mess and you are paying more for EVERYTHING. This is called good intentions made into bad policy because it was made without intelligent data. This is what happens when you don’t let markets determine direction, but try to control them. Hands off! Let it equalize. Pull back the regulations, allow drilling in ANWR and in the gulf. OR keep paying more and more for gas until somebody figures out a different way to drive. This is called the market spurring innovation. That’s another way that the market (not to mention American ingenuity) responds. Then once that happens, tax THAT to death and kill it… after all THAT will be the next big evil!

I can tell you that the answer is not in the Democratic plan, which is:

- Ending billions of dollars in tax breaks for big oil companies. (on domestic production… limiting supply FURTHER)
— Forcing the oil companies to do their part by investing some of their profits in clean and affordable alternative energy. (I’m sure that will make them decrease their prices… YEAH RIGHT!!)
— Protecting the American people from price gougers and greedy oil traders who manipulate the market. (So we are going to ask the Chinese to stop buying oil? Who is going to protect us from the GREEDY POLITICIANS who are taking bigger and bigger chunks of OUR money?)
— Temporarily stopping the diversion of oil to the national Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is already 97 percent full. (irrelevant… ZERO impact)
— Standing up to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil-producing nations that are working together to keep oil prices high (GREAT! Thanks, President Carter, does anyone remember the 70s and oil rationing! Sorry can’t go to work, it’s not my day to buy gas!!! GREAT IDEA!!!)

The real answer is what RR told us a long time ago. “In this present crisis government is not the solution to the problem; GOVERNMENT IS THE PROBLEM.”

Ever seen a lightning storm envelope an errupting volcano?

Check it out here.

Wow.

Sometimes it's best to just sit back and be awed by the wonder of God's creation.

Be Irresponsible, After All, Your Elected Officials Are...

H.R.3221 is one more reason why we need a change in the way bills are written and approved in Congress. This bill started out as the “New Direction for Energy Independence , National Security, and Consumer Protection Act” and now it is known as the “Housing Legislation Vehicle”. There are 161 amendments to this volume of a law and if any of the law makers have actually read the entire thing, I would be very impressed.

The Congressional Budget Office says the following concerning the home mortgage bailout:

The Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that H.R. 3221 would:

• Decrease revenues by about $2.4 billion in 2008 and by $21.5 billion over the 2008-2018 period; and
•
Increase direct spending by $218 million in 2008 and by $4.8 billion over the 2008-2018 period.

In total, those changes would increase budget deficits (or reduce future surpluses) by about $2.6 billion in 2008 and by $26.3 billion through 2018.

WHAT!? All to bail out people, whether investors or homeowners, who made irresponsible decisions when they financed their houses.

Nice. This #1 encourages irresponsibility and #2 is a complete overstep of the government into private contracts at the cost to tax payers of 26.3 BILLION dollars.

I’m sure that will help a slow economy. Thank you Speaker Pelosi, the sponsor of this give away.

Funny

I don't feel that good and I'm kind of tired, but I thought this was pretty funny.

Is the race finished?

Well, contrary to what you might have heard last night, the race isn't over. But it may be getting REALLY close. The main reason was revealed in Hillary's speech last night, which she concluded by begging for people to go to her website and give money. Then there are rumors this morning that she has loaned MORE money to the campaign. In this race, you run out of money and you're done. Of course Hillary can give as much of her own money to the campaign as she wants, but how much is she really willing to part with.

Look for a couple of things to happen in the near future.

#! Howard Dean and the other leaders in the DNC are going to push and push HARD on the superdelegates to declare their allegiance. Possibly even calling a meeting of the undeclared supers. Once they get enough supers to hand it to Obama, it's done.

#2 Hillary may keep her campaign going, even by lending more money to it. Don't' worry about her though. Despite her stump speeches, she isn't hurting AND this can actually be used in her favor when it comes to a "buy out". Which means at some point she could go to Obama and the DNC and say, hey I'll drop out if you pay off my campaign debt. Of course that probably won't be the only thing that she negotiates for...

So why would Hillary even stay in this?

#1 Hoping for Obama to have a Spitzer moment or a lightning strike... you get the idea.

#2 It hurts Obama. That's right if she doesn't get the nod you are not going to see Hillary out there campaigning like a mad woman for Obama (unless of course she is the VP, but I think that is a LONG shot to say the least). Quite frankly, if she doesn't get the nod, then she'll want Obama to lose. That gives her a shot at 2012 and considering this has been her life long goal, she'll be hoping for McCain to eek out a win in November. That would give her a lot of ammo to be the nominee in 2012, which will be her last shot.

Gardening

Yeah, I thought it would be a good idea to maybe plant a garden. I figured it would be a good time, get some fresh veggies, thought the kids would enjoy it...

So, first problem is our soil is bad. Not like, "that needs some fertilizer," kind of bad, but BAD. As in you put water on it and it stays there until it evaporates... caleechee kind of bad. Which, of course means that I had to excavate in order to get good drainage. This had been advised by a neighbor who had dug down 3 feet and back filled with abc, sand and then top soil. Well, I wanted it slightly elevated so that the kids would have some clear borders of where the gardens are, so I decided to go down 2 and up 1. Sounds easy enough right?

Have you ever swung a 5 lbs pick axe and watched it bounce? Ever seen sparks come off the blade when it didn't hit a rock? No bueno. So I soaked it. Two inches of water evaporated after two days and it penetrated... well okay, it didn't penetrate at all. More pick axe. I called Home Depot to see how much it is to rent, get ready for this, a jack hammer (which is how my neighbor got down 3 feet). Well, it's $55 a day. If you want the "clay spade" that's another $8. If you actually USE the clay spade, you have to pay another $8 for a "reconditioning fee". Nice, eh?

So I decided to give the pick axe another go last night. We finally broke through the caleechee at about 10-12 inches. There the clay is much softer, more like normal clay. Nice eh? We have 2, 4 foot by 8 foot gargens. One is about 18 inches down, mayb 22 at the deepest point. The good news is that the water is actually being absorbed now. I filled up the other one last night in a vein attempt to get it to loosen up, it's only at about 6 inches.

I got the kids to come out last night and shovel for me. They had a good time and were actually pretty effective. I put more water in them last night and I'm hoping it will be soaked in by tomorrow night and I'll be back out with the pick axe and the shovels.

Gardening is tough stuff!