A Bit From TR

Having run a photograph of Theodore Roosevelt in the last post, it is only right to run a quote from the great man:

Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity and hardihood -- the things that made America. The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life.

Nuff said.

Men in Hats Part 4

To the right we have a photograph of Theodore Roosevelt in his Rough Rider uniform. As is readily apparent, TR is wearing a hat in a rather dashing manner.

TR was, in the opinion of your faithful correspondent, one of the last of the true great United Presidents. A straight shooter, a stand up guy for the little guy while also being a capitalist, a conservationist and a true fightin' patriot.

He was a bit of a dandy and a showboat, but he was a true American who cared more for the nation than he did for capital. He wore a hat well and he was, if memory serves correctly, the last president who wore a moustache.

After his death there was the creation of many Theodore Roosevelt Clubs nationwide. But, unfortunately those have died away. No other modern president inspired such an action by the citizens of this great land. Now he seem to be governed by men who would be better off being president of Woolworth stores.

Men In Hats Part 3

To the right is a photograph of what is probably one of the most underappreciated Western bands around --Riders In The Sky. ....As you will note, all of these fine hombres are wearing hats. They are wearing cowboy hats. They are all wearing different styles of cowboy hats. And they all have the good sense to wear hats.

Today at church your faithful correspondent discovered that another church member was suffering a form of skin cancer on his pate because he did not wear a hat in the sun.

Let's face it, as smart as the generation born between 1945 and 1965 thinks it is, they have a lot to learn from those who have gone before. Men knew enough to wear hats in the heat and in the cold despite the fact that they didn't have the science that we now so proudly tout. Back in the 1970s yours was in Ireland and noted that the Irish men wore either hats or caps despite the fact that the sun in Ireland is hardly intense. Some genetic information had gotten to them that Yanks rejected.

A good hat is your friend in more ways than one.

What's the Deal With Orange Women?

In the past few years it seems to have become the mode for certain women to make their skin orange. Several examples on recent times are Jessica Simpson, her sister Ashley Simpson, Natasha Henstridge and a certain Los Angeles are news reader known as Mia. In three of these cases the women are of European descent. The fourth is of Asian heritage. Orange is not a natural skin color for any person, let alone Europeans or Asians.

When your faithful correspondent was a callow youth there was a tanning product called QT. QT promised to give the user an overnight tan without the user ever stepping into the sun. The result was orange skin. Every damn body in high school would say something like, "You've smeared on some QT. It looks stupid. You look like an orange." And it did look stupid. Why do certain women feel the need to have some semblance of a tan?

If we look at classic English and Japanese literature we see constant references to the attractiveness of pale skin. And while the pale skin of an Asian woman is different from the pale skin of a European woman, neither of them are orange. There is a delicacy to pale skin that represents rarity, a certain translucence that is almost ethereal. Orange skin, on the other hand, seems to show the triumph of chemistry. On one hand you have fine china. One the other you have styrofoam plates. Life is vulgar enough as it is.

There's no reason to make it more so by women pretending to be field workers.

You Can't Say That! That's My Job

Bill Bennett is about to have a book published, the title of which, in the opinion of your faithful correspondent, just about says it all: America: The Last Best Hope. At one time yours had hoped that America, Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland would provide for the hope of freedom and decency in the world, but Great Britain has pretty much succumbed tot the political correctness that is represented by the European Union, and Ireland has turned into a corporatist paradise. A few enclaves in the British Isles such as Unionist Ulster and Old Church Scotland have tried to resist the overwhelming tread toward a kumbaya world at the mercy of every pissed off Mohammedan and West Indian, but it may only be a matter of time before the lean Protestant ministers of the Knox type are replaced in the pulpits by sensitive "with it" types who include the mezzuzin's call to prayer and the voudoun priest's dance with the recitation of the Nicene Creed before his sermon based on the Beatle's song All You Need Is Love.......For years the Anglican Church, and its US counterpart, the Episcopal Church have been undermining Christianity through the promotion of liberal theology, the denial of the exclusive truth claims of Christianity, and broad ecumenicalism. But now, for some reason, the Archbishop of Canterbury, some years after participating in a neo-Druidic rite, has decided that some people have just gone too damn far -- Telegraph News Archbishop attacks Da Vinci Code 'obsession' . We here at Nib Manor haven't much use for the Da Vinci Code except as an entertainment when we can't find or Fu Manchu novels, but for the Archbishop to bitch about an obession with the novel is comical. He's done everything to downgrade the Faith, but when an outsider does it he gets pissed off. Maybe he's made because Dan Brown got there before he did. Oh for the days of Latimer!

Mow Your Own Damn Lawn!

Two weeks ago there was a demonstration in Los Angeles in support of illegal aliens. It is reported that there were 500,000 marchers. Today there was a demonstration in Dallas in support of illegal aliens and against stricter immigration enforcement. It is reported that there were, once again, 500,000 marchers. This week the United States Senate worried over what was basically a proposal to grant amnesty to illegal aliens. Fortunately it was shot down.

Here's the deal. President Bush has stated that illegal aliens do the work that Americans won't do. What he neglects to mention is that Yanks will not do the work for the low wages that illegals work for. Illegal immigration has lowered the wages of what used to be good paying jobs i.e, construction, dry wall work, roofing, meat packing. In other words, jobs that used to be considered good middle class blue collar jobs are now jobs that pay almost poverty level wages. John McCain , while being heckled at an AFL-CIO conference challenged the hecklers with the statement that they wouldn't pick cabbage in Arizona in the summer for $50.00 an hour. The hecklers yelled back that they would run to get such jobs. McCain stated that they didn't have the guts to take such a job. Well, let's face it, John McCain came from a family of military elite. His Naval career as a pilot was that of a military elite, and his status as a hero is predicated on his being captured by the North Vietnamese and he has made no bones about waving his POW flag as a symbol of his "specialness" while other POWs such as the late James Stockdale, went on with their lives. Maybe John McCain would pick cabbage for $50.00 an hour, but I sure would. I spent some time in high school picking canning strawberries for $1.00 per flat. It took me a little less than an hour to pick a flat, so I would be making 50 times more than I did and twice as much as I do as a machinist.

Let's face it. Many of us have gotten lazy. People with postage stamp sized lawns hire illegal alien "gardeners" to cut their grass. Upper middle class and higher mothers hire illegal alien Mexican women to act as "nannies" while they, themselves go to the gym and flirt with the tennis pro and wonder why their kids speak Spanish better than they do English. You go to McDonalds and try to buy a burger and fries and the guy behind the counter can't speak English and gives you a cheese burger and apple turnover because the Corporation isn't willing to pay a wage that is decent for a high school kid or college student. Kids who used to be knocking on your door asking to mow your lawn twenty years ago are now hanging around on the street corner trying to sell you drugs. Ain't it great?.

Here's a hint. The problem with illegal aliens has two causes. The first is the absolutely rotten and corrupt Mexican government and society. The second is you because your a cheap bastard. Mow your own damn lawn. Raise your own damn brats. Pay a decent wage to your employees. Otherwise you'll not being fuming over Mexican flags flying in your neighborhood. You'll be seeing the Communist Red Banner and the Anarchist Black Flag while your windows are being broken and your car being burned because a whole lot of people who used to have good jobs will have none.

Men in Hats

Due to the inattention of your faithful correspondent, this is only the second installment of the Men in Hats series.

Pictured at the right is the great American writer Jack London with his two daughters, Bess and Joan. As you can see Jack is wearing a cap in the sun and looking both dapper and business-like. He is not wearing a ball cap or wearing his cap backwards. He is wearing his cap in the proper manly manner.

And for those who think that modern life or life on the west coast of this great nation superfluous, know that London was in many senses a man ahead of his time. He was a life long resident of California. He wasn't a dude or a poseur. He was man who got down and dirty with life and with the written word. He wore hats or caps because he knew that they had value in protecting himself from the elements and because men wear hats to distinguish their role in life.

In this particular photograph Jack is wearing a working man's cap despite the fact that at the time he was one of the highest paid writers in the world. In other photos he wears a west coast type of cowboy hat. He knew that he was from the working class and didn't try to hide it by wearing a homburg or derby. His hats showed what he was in his heart.

What would be your hat if you had the sense to wear one? Your hat reveals to those around you more of who and what you are than your overpriced jeans and stupid slogan tee shirt.