To dumb to know real money from fake

In what is becomming more common a guy tries to use an old 100$ bill to pay for dinner and gets taken into custody.

A student's old money got him handcuffed and hauled away from a drive-through lane in a squad car.

That shouldn't happen, and Alfred Kennedy III must get a trial on his defamation charge against the Jack in the Box restaurant chain and and false arrest charges against the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office, a state appeal court has ruled.

Kennedy was arrested after he paid for meals for himself and four female students with a $100 Federal Reserve Note from 1974 — one his great-grandmother had mailed to him.

Neither the workers at the restaurant on Dec. 7, 2001, nor the sheriff's deputies who answered their call recognized it as real money.

Please insert Homor Simpson noise here

"D'oooh!"

So he sues. Thrown out once it has been reinstated. The Keystone cop act that followed his non-arrest shows that the area of East Baton Rouge Parish is in perile.

He said that the restaurant employees stalled Kennedy — sending out just the drinks, then the wrong items — until deputies showed up. The deputies, Brown said, "didn't ask questions — just took him out of the car. Placed cuffs on him. When he asked what was happening, they told him to keep his mouth shut."

Kennedy was cuffed and taken to the Scotlandville substation while deputies looked at nearby convenience stores for a "counterfeit detector pen" — one that makes an amber mark on the paper used for legitimate currency but a dark one on most other high-quality paper.

Kennedy testified that, while he was being taken to the substation, a deputy told him the bill would be tested, and he would get it back if it proved to be genuine.

That did eventually happen.

However, the 1st Circuit ruled, the sheriff's office and restaurant didn't show any evidence that anyone who looked at Kennedy's money had the knowledge needed to evaluate it and decide Kennedy should be held while it was tested.

The best and the brightest they aint.

At least it wasn't a 2$ bill.

Security from an expert.

This is a link to a program with a security expert that is worth listening to for everyone out there. He says a lot but a one item stood out.

when the US government says that security against terrorism is worth curtailing individual civil liberties. It's because the cost of that decision is not born by those making it.

He is worth listening to. You can stream or download this program.
[BoingBoing]

Carnival of Cordite is up

Well my week has ended on a very good note. I was called the Blog of the week at the Carnival of Cordite.

I also have just finished my first full week with over 100 hits a day. Not much compared to some blogs, but a milestone for this small fry.

Sometimes the little guys does win

With the law on his side Chuck Pascal has upset a lot of city governments.

All Chuck Pascal wanted to do was challenge a $5 parking ticket. But his victory in a Butler, Pa., court has sent shock waves through the state and led some towns to suspend writing tickets.

Pascal showed that Butler was in violation of a state law that requires parking meters to be certified as accurate every three years.
.............
Butler has stopped writing tickets until its meters are certified. So has Erie, at a cost of $2,000 a day in fines.

At least two dozen municipalities are waiting for certification

Governments really hate when they have to follow laws just like us.

Numbered bullets

California has the great idea that if they number bullets they will solve all crime. Then they could stand on the side of a hill and sing kumbaya. Well people not lost in the patchouli haze of that state know it will not work. But reality and California are not known for even being related there.

So here is an image from a PDF slide show their attorney general has.



Now on the Keep and Bear Arms site one person commented that the new law, and I feel it will get passed, has an exemption for law enforcement personnel. This I had to see. The law is written in the same strange tongue of all good politicians.

They seem here to even make it illegal to cast your own reloads. Talk about shafting the small business people. I guess you could purchase an expensive micro engraver, or just go out of business. They would like that.

Commencing July 1, 2007, and except as provided in subdivision (g), any person who manufactures, causes to be manufactured, imports into the state for sale or personal use, keeps for sale, offers or exposes for sale, or who gives or lends any handgun ammunition that is not serialized pursuant to this section is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or in the state prison.

Then I read this

Commencing July 1, 2007, and except as provided in subdivision(g), any person who possesses in any public place any handgun ammunition that is not serialized is guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), or is punishable as a misdemeanor

So ALL AMMO made before numbers are added will become illegal. For people who buy case lots this could cost them a lot. No grandfather clause or anything. Just BAM! and all your ammo becomes illegal. How nice of them.

While I could not find the exemption for police to have them outside of this small section

(3) The possession, for purposes of disposal, or the disposal, of nonserialized handgun ammunition by an executor or administrator of an estate if all of the following are met:
.........
(5) Possession by peace officers from other states during the
discharge of their official duties in California.
(6) Possession by members of the California National Guard during
the discharge of their official duties.

How nice of them. They will ALLOW the national guard not to have to worry about this law.

I noticed that like all laws I have read that it was a little hard to understand in sections. So I ran a test on the page. It is called the Readability of a Website test and it showed this

Flesch Reading Ease 48.94

This is defined as:

The following is the algorithm to determine the Flesch Reading Ease.

Calculate the average number of words you use per sentence.
Calculate the average number of syllables per word.
Multiply the average number of syllables per word multiplied by 84.6 and subtract it from the average number of words multiplied by 1.015.
Subtract the result from 206.835.
Algorithm: 206.835 - (1.015 * average_words_sentence) - (84.6 * average_syllables_word)
The result is an index number that rates the text on a 100-point scale. The higher the score, the easier it is to understand the document. Authors are encouraged to aim for a score of approximately 60 to 70.

And I thought it was just I that thought this was a bit hard to connect all the lines and sections.

SMALL UPDATE
Ravenwood just pointed out in comments that this destroys the surplus ammo market. No more deals through Ammoman or anything. The cost of ammo will skyrocket. No more having having surplus lead cast into bullets for you.

How to gut a market in one easy step

Blindly tax it to death for the sake of an unseen and ill defined problem

A Netherlands proposed tax on MP3 players could devastate sales of hard disk players, and set up international waves over copyright legislation.

The tax is being proposed by the Stichting Thuiskopie foundation, and is set to become law in the Netherlands in a few short months unless the European Commission finds a reason to intervene. It is unlikely that will happen, as it has failed to come up with a policy for levy taxation so far.

The idea of all levy based legislation is that some form of copyright collections agency collects tax by imposing a surcharge at the point of sale for any storage devices that could possibly be used to store pirated works. This certainly extends to the iPod which has up to 60 GB of storage, and which can store MP3 files.

So because they possibly could be used for something they will be fined in the form of a punishment tax.

Now I had no idea what a Stichting Thuiskopie foundation was so I looked it up.

According to the 1912 Copyright Act (Auteurswet) and the 1993 Law on Related Rights (Wet op de Naburige Rechten), everyone who imports or manufactures blank recording media is required to pay a levy. The levy is collected by the Stichting Thuiskopie (Private Copy Foundation). The levy is compensation for the reproduction at home – for strictly non-commercial purposes – of music and moving images.

The Private Copy Foundation divides the money amongst authors (composers, scriptwriters, poets, photographers and visual artists) and owners of neighboring rights (performing artists and producers of audiovisual works).

Individual artists only receive compensation if they are member of a Collecting Society

Now I an almost see the logic here. They know copyrighted material will be copied so put a small tax on it to reimburse the creators and such. But that is when you notice that you have to be a member of there society to get a single Euro.

Here are the levies on some basic items

Compensation for private copies on blank (non-professional) recording media are as follows: (2003 same level as 2002)

· blank analogue audio tape : 0.23Euro per hour;

· blank analogue video tape : 0.33Euro per hour;

· blank digital minidisc : 0.32Euro per hour;

· blank digital audio CD-R/RW : 0.42Euro per hour;

· blank digital data CD-R/RW : 0.14Euro per disk.

New levy on DVDs (fees valid through to December 2004):

· blank DVD-R/RW: 1.00Euro per 4.7 Gigabyte;

· blank DVD+R/RW : 0.50Euro per 4.7 Gigabyte;

· blank DVD-RAM : no levy

Now this does not look horrible until you realize that the music industry has been fighting a war against the digital revolution that has occurred. The new market on electronic devices that can hold 100 cd's plus on a small chip is frightening to them. So the RIAA has been fighting it here with DRM technology.

This is simply another front on that war, plus add in the desire that all governments have to tax and you end up with this.

If this legislation comes into play, the surcharge will be as much as Euro3.28 ($4.3) per gigabyte. This might put 180Euro ($235) to the price of a top end iPod.

Already in Germany there is a levy on PC hard drives, that will soon become larger than the entire PC industry revenue if it is left in place. Within two years, as disk drive sizes move to terabyte class on notebooks, and petabyte levels on home DVRs, the tax will come to far outweigh not just the cost of the drive, but the cost of the device. Under this Netherlands law, if it were extended to the PC, the cost of 1,000 GB would be Euro3,280 ($4,300) and yet drives of this size will be delivered by 2007.

So here we have a government that is going to tax a market so much that it may retreat from some fields and research.

The joys of living under the socialist European system where they know what is best for you. Prepare for it here one day people. The paternal government is not your friend.

Security stupidity

Well in the name of security and the war on terror the government now demands you allow a fingerprint scan to even get a locker on Liberty island. This is even after having your stuff x-rayed before you even get on the ferry to go there. Now asking yourself how many terror attacks have occurred from a locker is not important to the government. The question is "how do we over react to the unknown"?

This is how according to BoingBoing.



Security has its place in life, security because of a fear of the unknown does not.

Spinning a news article

I was rather impressed with the spin on this one article. Going out of your way to make a group or person look bad is what the media does, but this was applause worthy in my view.

State game wardens are accusing owners of an assisted living facility near Sacramento of hacking Canadian geese to death.
...........
Authorities found 22 mutilated Canadian wild geese on the property on Chilsom Trail in Loomis Tuesday. The geese are a federally protected species, but the Department of Fish and Game believes that for about a year, the property owners were trapping and mutilating the birds. Investigators believe the carcasses were served to elderly residents who live in an assisted care facility on the property called Lakeside Villas

Now the first thing you note is the "hacking geese to death". Now down south, hell in most of the country, how do you kill a chicken you have raised? Give it a gun, one bullet, and tell it to do the honorable thing? Call Dr. Kavorkian? Show it Susan Sarandon films until it kills its own self to end the suffering? You hack its head off with a hatchet or clever. So the first part of the spin makes so many of our grandparents and great grandparents mass murderers. I am the descendent of "hacker" and damned proud of it.

"mutilated" and "mutilating" are the next two spin words. I would think they are mutilating them by removing the feathers, and ripping out the guts. Down south it is called "field dressing". I guess I will have to be proud to say I am related to many "mutilaters". They mutilate deer and other animals quite regularly.

So this article has gotten to be written by one of those bunny huggers.

They say "rabbit" I say "stew".

Blowing things up

Sometimes in life you just want to see things blown up. But when you're short of high explosives you could just sit back and watch others blow things up. Using the latest in weapon designs the LOSAT is just what I need.

The Line-of-Sight Antitank (LOSAT) consists of Kinetic Energy Missiles (KEM) and a second-generation FLIR/video acquisition sensor mounted on an air-mobile, heavy HMMWV chassis. The LOSAT weapon system will help remedy the forced-entry/early-entry force lethality shortfall against heavy armor because it can deploy with both forces.

The Kinetic Energy Missile weighs 174 pounds, is 113 inches long and 6.4 inches in diameter. The current system provides for a three-man crew, but a crew of two can also conduct engagements.

The system is extremely mobile. The superior cross-country mobility of the HMMWV is not degraded by the addition of the LOSAT system to the vehicle. Additionally, the system can be moved across the battlefield by sling load with the UH-60L.

The key advantages of the LOSAT are the tremendous overmatch lethality of the KEM, which defeats all predicted future armored combat vehicles, and its deployability. The system can be reloaded in less than 10 minutes using on board materiel handling equipment.

They have 11 individual mpg videos of exploding goodness if you're in the mood to watch.

Words for today

I do believe that where there is a choice only between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me what he should have done had he been present when I was almost fatally assaulted in 1908 [by an Indian extremist opposed to Gandhi's agreement with Smuts], whether he should have run away and seen me killed or whether he should have used his physical force which he could and wanted to use, and defend me, I told him it was his duty to defend me even by using violence. Hence it was that I took part in the Boer War, the so-called Zulu Rebellion and [World War I]. Hence also do I advocate training in arms for those who believe in the method of violence. I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honor than that she should in a cowardly manner become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonor. - Mohandas K. Gandhi, Young India, August 11, 1920 from Fischer, Louis ed.,The Essential Gandhi, 1962

HAPPY TV-TURNOFF WEEK

Ok. I will admit that this does not effect me much because I do not have a TV in the house with an aerial. I do have our old TV hooked up to the X-Box, and damned if I will give that up for a week.

So I have been living TV free for 2 years and counting. Why? Because of the mindless drivel. It started when I was watching Headline news several years ago and in one night they showed me how lame they are.

The first instance was when I was reading with it on in the background and they had this exclusive report on a new subject. Only problem was that they had reported on it, and showed the same report about a month earlier. I remembered it well because it was a subject that was that had interested me a lot. So here they were recycling news. With a whole world out there they are recycling crap to fill the time. If I want recycled news I would reread last months newspapers. So their being lazy irritated me. The second issue was when they repeat news every 15 minutes. That sounds so good at first. New and refreshed news every 15 minutes so you never miss anything, problem is that 10-13 minutes of it is the same stories without anything added from the 15 minutes before. So they may ad one or two small items per broadcast. Rather a slow way to get the newest news to you.

The second issue was one night of prime time TV. Every sitcom show that I turned to went out of their way to insult and demean those evil conservatives. While I knew the whole establishment out there leaned left, I was rather pissed off the whole night was "hang a right winger" night. If I want that much liberal hate I would read the comments at Daily Kos.

I will admit missing many things on TV. The history channel, The military channel, and my fill of European Soccer is bothersome, but I will survive. When you sit in front of the TV they do the thinking for you most times. While I like debating with my wife who the murderer is in a good BBC mystery, I find little thought provoking material on TV.

Claire Wolfe wrote a book called 101 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution. One that stood out was to "shoot your television". I read that years before I finally walked away from TV. I wish I had those couple of years back. TV is a mind killer. Raise you kids without it. They may get upset that they do not know who was voted off some damn island, but in the end they will be better kids and better future adults.

"Some people think that the Second Amendment is an outdated relic of an earlier time. Doubtless some also think that constitutional protections of other rights are outdated relics of earlier times. We The People own those rights regardless, unless and until We The People repeal them. For those who believe it to be outdated, the Second Amendment provides a good test of whether their allegiance is really to the Constitution of the United States, or only to their preferences in public policies and audiences. The Constitution is law, not vague aspirations, and we are obligated to protect, defend, and apply it. If the Second Amendment were truly an outdated relic, the Constitution provides a method for repeal. The Constitution does not furnish the federal courts with an eraser." --9th Circuit Court Judge Andrew Kleinfeld, dissenting opinion in which the court refused to rehear the case while citing deeply flawed anti-Second Amendment nonsense (Nordyke v. King; opinion filed April 5, 2004)

Minnesota may be right

Just recently the court in Minnesota struck down a concealed carry reform law because it was tagged onto another bill of different subject matter.

"It is clear that (the Personal Protection Act), which regulates firearms, contains a totally different subject matter from the regulatory provision and from the Department of Natural Resources found in" the other bill, wrote Judge R.A. Randall.

The law passed on the back of a Department of Natural Resources bill covering park fees, hunting firearm safety and other outdoors issues. The gun measure was added to the DNR bill as part of a maneuver to force a vote in the Senate.

In the state's 148-year history, only five laws have been overturned for violating the single-subject clause of the Minnesota Constitution. Randall said he wasn't ruling on the gun law's merits but simply interpreting the constitution.

"If the legislature deems it an impediment that perhaps one bill gets shot down on an average of once every 20 or 30 years, they, not the courts, hold the keys to amending the Minnesota Constitution and repealing the single-subject requirement," he wrote.

Now at first you may get upset that it was struck down, and it is a defeat, but the idea of the single subject rule is based upon the games politicians play.

Like this.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday that Democrats will have to accept the Real I.D. Act -- written by House Republicans to limit asylum claims and crack down on illegal immigrants obtaining driver's licenses -- as part of the final emergency war-spending bill.
..............
"They did it on purpose," he told reporters yesterday. "They put it on a supplemental which they knew you couldn't stop. I've had a senator come to me and say, 'We're going to filibuster this.' I said, 'Get real. It's not going to happen. It's a defense bill.' "

This is the main reason the single subject part of the Minnesota constitution was written. So if you vote against the National ID section you must hate our troops. It is games like this that make me wish for the next revolution.

Line item veto was struck down by the courts, so maybe this will be the way to get things under control. A single subject constitutional amendment. No more pork barrel projects to buy votes on war bills, and no more National ID card amendments added to finance bills.

Rights are not given by a government

In a letters to the editor of a online newspaper I was bothered by one line of his well written letter. It is something that has bothered me a lot about the whole concealed carry debate, and much of the 2nd amendment debate.

I am writing in response to the Rev. Speer's letter about SB436. I assume from his response to this bill that he is another gun-control advocate who believes everyone's guns should be taken away "to protect society." I hate to say it, Rev. Speer, but regardless of what you say, law enforcement officers cannot be present everywhere at all times to protect us from an ever-growing amount of violent criminals who roam the streets. Guess what? They all have guns!

I think a bill to allow people to defend others (or themselves) with weapons is an excellent idea....

"Allow" is the word that bothers me. Anything that can be allowed can also be disallowed. Thus this is not a right, it is a privilege.

I find privileges rather demeaning. A sort of a legal pat on the head from the government. I do not have the privilege to defend myself, I have the damn right to defend myself and my property. Yes I said property. Look at it this way. Do you support slavery or indentured servicetude? I don't. Then why should I, or my wife, work to get something then have scum take it. That is defacto slavery when you work and the good you produce are not yours. So if you try to take my goods you say you are owning me and the fruits of my labor. Thus I will shoot your ass. Cause I am not no someone's servant.

So the bills that allow carry are offensive to me. Horribly offensive. Many may consider them victories but I do not. Every bill is another step into the belief that concealed carry should be regulated as a privilege. Even this guy believes it in his letter.

Some feel that getting the privilege to carry is a victory. I think it is a loss. The only good bill should say that the government has never had the right to ban or regulate the right to defend yourself and your property or carry what you want, when you want.

Just because - The new law in America

Seems the Iowa police use that instead of the overused terror threat to steal a firearm from the legal owner

Des Moines police on March 28 confiscated a legally purchased AK-47 assault rifle from the home of Patrick Younk, 18.

Police began investigating Younk after they received a complaint about threats made against Roosevelt High School students.

Sgt. Todd Dykstra said Younk did not take the weapon to school or threaten anyone. The gun was shown to Younk's friends at a tennis court in the 4600 block of Observatory Road on March 5. Younk was not arrested or charged with a crime, police said.

Dykstra said police confiscated the gun because "we just didn't want to take any chances."

Dykstra said the case had been turned over to the Polk County attorney's office for review because the gun was transported in Younk's car.

So no threats or crime, they just did it because they wanted to. What about due process and the other fine protections we enjoy? Must not be important.

So who is this deadly threat to america? A basic search for patrick Younk turns up an award announcement from this year..

The following students placed in the Heartland Area Education Association's Physics Olympics on March 9 at Drake University: Trinh Nyugen and Samatha Williams, second place, toothpick bridge division; Robert Martin and Patrick Younk, second place, soda straw crane division; Todd Pham, third place, mousetrap division; Suzanna Leibold, fifth place, catapult division; Jake Gervich, fifth place, student-powered water heater. They were sponsored by physics instructor Michael Blair.

Physics. The kid is into physics. That's just one step from serial killer(sarcasm). This is the same Younk mentioned in the article I believe as the award winning teacher Michael Blair works at Roosevelt High School.

What lesson is being taught to kids today? Not a good one here.

Just wanted to share this musical moment with you

The fact that Kerry, presidential wannabe, was in a band way back when and he signed with RCA. With the radical name "ELECTRA" they made one album. The post even has some sample of this musical experience that I thought I would share with you.

bARbie has an attitude now

You might remember this project I posted on last September a friend did. He took this Barbie jeep.




With some help from his kids.




He turned it into something other kids would envy.




Well he showed me some photos he had of an AR project that just tickled me pink that he saw on the AR15.com forum. What do you do to make a common black rifle worthy of your 8 year old daughter? You bARbie'fy it.

Step one. Take one AR and send it to Chameleon Weaponry with a plan of action.



After a basic bARbie color paint job



and the original bARbie label



and the needed bARbie flowers



You end up with a bARbie-15 in all of its technicolor glory.



Now this is a firearm I respect.

Chameleon Weaponry has a webpage with more images of this rifle with some production shots included.

Aesthetically this is a beautiful rifle. For me I find beauty in the fine wood grain of a well treated stock, and the lines of a fluted barrel attracts my eye every time. But for a youth, who does not see the beauty in a basic black rifle like some, this is a work of art.

This is a few years old, but I just came across it and thought some of you may not have seen it. So enjoy.

Cry a river for us please

Sorry but I have no sympathy for this guy. I feel kind of sorry that his people hassled, but when he opens his mouth the desire to feel bad goes away and the desire to laugh overcomes me in waves.

A fruitless search of two Yazoo County lawmen's homes, based on an apparently unsubstantiated tip from a prisoner, has Yazoo County Sheriff James Williams seething and looking for answers.
A Yazoo County deputy took the inmate to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics headquarters to give a statement alleging illegal activities by the law officers. A Justice Court judge signed search warrants, and the two searches were made March 18, according to city and county officials' account of what transpired.
...............
"There was no probable cause ... and that's just not acceptable," Williams said. "They didn't tell me they were coming. The search warrant was bogus. I don't know what they were looking for, and it caused the guys a lot of embarrassment."

This is from a police officer who is part of a system that gets search warrants based on informants regularly. He is upset that he was searched on the basis of information he would have no trouble using against me or you. Then he keeps talking, he really should stop. "They didn't tell me they were coming". This is where I start laughing out loud.

But the ultimate line is "it caused the guys a lot of embarrassment". Welcome to the club of everyone else who has had a house searched and ended up being innocent.

Maybe next time when he has no evidence but the word of a low life informant he will think twice. But I am not holding my breath.

HERE and HERE are some more stories on the searches.

All folklore copyrighted

I came across this story at BoingBoing and found it interesting because of the players. Ghana, Paul Simon, and the UN

Ghana recently updated its copyright law as part of complying with suggestions from the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which recommended that developing nations "nationalize" folklore and charge foreigners for using folk art elements in commercial works. But the Ghanian bill reportedly gets it totally wrong: it could lead to prison sentences for Ghanians who sell art based on folklore, traditional knowledge, dance or song

Thanks to misreading a UN proposal, something that should not even have been read, they now have copyrighted their folklore history.

But why did they go to this extreme? I do not see a surge of Ghana fashion in the US.

This got the Ghanaian government thinking about all of the revenues that they were losing as THEIR OWN citizens plundered Ghana's cultural heritage."

If there is money out there and the government does not get its piece of the pie, then they are being robbed. Sort of like the IRS.

So with UN proding the government there is getting their cut of the pie and most likely hurting their own folk art community. Thanks for nothing UN.

I just hope our fine(spit) politicians do not read that report. You do not want to give those thieves any ideas.

Interesting thought on rifles

I know little to nothing about muzzle loaders. The old black powder rifles of the past have never really held my interest. But this article may change that.

During the war for Texan independance there were several battles. Most ended in victory for the Texan forces, and now one historian says he knows why. Rifle technology.

Hundreds in Santa Anna's army carried surplus British East India pattern, smoothbore Brown Bess muskets. Although they fired a hefty three-quarter-inch ball, the guns were no match against the more accurate Kentucky rifles carried by many of Houston's troops.

"The British weapon had a hitting range of 25 yards. Maybe you could hit a target at 50 yards. Beyond that, it's anybody's guess," Mitchell said recently. "On the Texas side, it's hard to know what the percentages are. There were Springfields in Houston's army, muskets of various manufacture, maybe even a few Brown Besses. But the vast majority, probably over 500, carried the weapon of choice — the American Kentucky rifle."

Mitchell said the Kentucky rifle was accurate to up to 200 yards in ideal conditions. But even in the chaos of battle, he said, it was a sure killer at 50 yards.

When the battle ended, the carnage told the tale: Only nine of 910 Texas soldiers were killed, but Santa Anna lost 630 of his 1,300-plus force.

I knew the range on muskets back then was bad compared to todays modenr rifles, and even todays modern muskets, but a 25 yard hitting range is horrible.

We have seized the plane. Fly us to Antartica or there will be trouble.

Maybe this was a publicity stunt, but it was more then likely real. Two penguins went through the metal detector at an airport. No real story with the photos, just the insane chance that it was required under regulations.

Hey, Maybe the owner was hiding a bomb up the penguins a.... Never mind.

Cop living in fear

Sounds strange when you think of it but cops are in a bad situation that when they try to enforce the laws we live under on their own bosses, they start to fear for their job and financial security.

One is in fear right now for trying to ticket another cop.

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating an assistant police chief who refused to give an officer his license and vehicle registration after the officer had pulled him over for driving more than 20 mph over the speed limit in Southeast on Tuesday.
..........................................
Chief Dandridge was driving an unmarked cruiser on Branch Avenue Southeast near Alabama Avenue about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday when the officer clocked the cruiser traveling at 46 mph on a two-lane stretch where the speed limit is 25 mph, union officials said.
The officer, who was in uniform and wearing an orange visibility vest, told Sgt. Greene that he stepped into the street and waved for the cruiser to pull over.
Sgt. Greene said the officer told him that Chief Dandridge turned on his lights and sirens, diverted into another lane and drove around the officer.
The officer got into his marked police cruiser and followed the chief until he pulled into the Violent Crimes Unit at 3244 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Sgt. Greene said the officer asked Chief Dandridge to show him his license and registration. The chief did not provide the documentation but repeatedly told the officer that his radar gun was calibrated improperly.
The officer, who is certified to operate the radar gun, offered to show the chief documentation of the gun's calibration. The chief then walked away from the officer.

So if I refuse to show ID and or registration information, then walked away I wonder how far I got before I was tackled, beaten and arrested. So it is obvious that he was given some special treatment that you and I would NEVER have gotten.

But here is the part that says so much.

Sgt. Gregory Greene, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police, Metropolitan Police Labor Committee, said the officer involved in the incident has been on the force for 18 years and asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals.

So either he is afraid of reprisals from the other guys for causing trouble for another guy in blue, or he is afraid of his own bosses for following the law. Think about it people. If you enforce laws equally you need to be afraid of reprisals. The system is broken in that, and many other, police departments.

Hope for humanity

Sometimes I lose hope for humanity, sometimes it is hard to think good things about my fellow man. I would say that anyone who reads the news would have periods of the same morbid thoughts. Then I find a story like this and maybe, just maybe, we are not destined to flush everything down the drain.

It was the last question Brett Remmington expected, but there it was, out in the open and waiting for an answer.
He'd stopped by the Sandy tire store to buy tires. When the big man in the company shirt suddenly turned and asked, "Do you hunt?" he wasn't prepared. Tire sizes he knew. The answer to this question should have been obvious to anyone. He was in a wheelchair.
"Does it look like I can?" he shot back.
Not long after that, Remmington tagged an elk.

A simple trip to the woods with firearm in hand may be simple for you and I, but for some it could change the direction of their life.

With help from his wife, Tina, and close friend Mike Olsen, he started MTM Hunting (Mark, Tina, Mike), a non-profit organization to offer hunting opportunities to the physically challenged.
This year, he's planned at least 50 hunts. More, if opportunities present themselves, mainly in the area of funding.
Robison holds a fund-raiser every year. Last year he raised around $13,000, "and while that does go a long ways, it doesn't cover everything," he admitted.
Many of the additional expenses, which are sometime sizeable, often come directly from Robison's pocket.

So please drop by and see what you can do for him. Throw a few shekels his way.

I wonder, with all the money the NRA collects, do you think writing to them would open their coffers for a donation to MTM Hunting?

No charges for Patrick Haab

Heard just today that they will not prosecute Patrick Haab for defending himself.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas declined Wednesday to prosecute an Army reservist from a Michigan unit who acknowledged having held seven Mexican men at gunpoint at a southwestern Arizona rest stop.

Sgt. Patrick Haab did not commit a crime and was making a lawful citizen's arrest when he detained six illegal immigrants and the man smuggling them, Thomas said at a news conference. Haab is assigned to the Army's 415th Civil Affairs Battalion from Kalamazoo, Mich. He currently lives in Mesa, a Phoenix suburb.

That to me is good news. One of the main problems they had was that the stories told by the "victims" were not the same from one to another.

In a report released by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, all seven immigrants say they were held at gunpoint and ordered facedown to the ground. But their stories differ about what happened before that.
...........
One of the immigrants said a second man, whom authorities are still trying to find, pointed a gun Haab gave him at the group.

I think he said the other guy was on the grassy knoll. Wait! Wrong story line.

The media have been totally shameful when talking about this story. Using words like vigilante and always mentioning the Minutemen project when talking about this evil vigilante. Well I hope they enjoy the crow.

But one thing strikes me as strange, very damn strange. The article said that Wednesday they announced no charges, but the other article said this

Haab was released from jail Thursday night on $10,000 cash bond.

If there are no charges then why is he being bailed out? No charges means "get out of jail free" card. Right?

Tattling does not teach ethics

When the government gets an idea in their head they will barrel ahead be damned the consequences. This feels like one of them to me.

Georgia has become the first state with an organized Crime Stopper program in one of their high schools. Sounds good at first some may say, but what is it teaching the children?

Students are being taught to sell one another out. This isn't teaching them to do the right thing, but to do the right thing so long as money is involved. If students will tell a school official about a gun being brought to school only when a reward is present, there is a bigger issue that needs to be addressed.

Instead of teaching their students to tattle on their friends for money, schools should be focusing on the more important issues at hand. For example, students aren't being taught what it means to be a good citizen. If children and young adults are lacking in this area, there will be no hope for future society.

While I think the parent is the final authority on teaching a child what it means to be a good citizen, she is heading in the right direction. Snitches. That's what they are teaching these kids to become.

If a program such as Student CrimeStoppers is being implemented in both primary and secondary schools, students aren't being taught to do the right thing. They are instead being taught that everything has a price, including a person's own personal code of ethics.

Primary level! WTF. "Snitch on your class mates and we will let you eat all the paste you want".

Being responsible and snitching are two totally different items and snitching destroys. I am going to end this one with a small section of a movie script from "Scent of a woman".

Trask: Mr. Sims, I will give you one final opportunity to speak up.

Slade: Mr. Sims doesn't want it. He doesn't need to labeled: "Still worthy of being a 'Baird Man.'" What the hell is that? What is your motto here? "Boys, inform on your classmates, save your hide" -- anything short of that we're gonna burn you at the stake? Well, gentlemen, when the shit hits the fan some guys run and some guys stay. Here's Charlie facing the fire; and there's George hidin' in big Daddy's pocket. And what are you doin'? You're gonna reward George and destroy Charlie.

Trask: Are you finished, Mr. Slade?

Slade: No, I'm just gettin' warmed up. I don't know who went to this place, William Howard Taft, William Jennings Bryan, William Tell -- whoever. Their spirit is dead -- if they ever had one -- it's gone. You're building a rat ship here. A vessel for sea goin' snitches. And if you think your preparing these minnows for manhood you better think again. Because I say you are killing the very spirit this institution proclaims it instills! What a sham. What kind of a show are you guys puttin' on here today. I mean, the only class in this act is sittin' next to me. And I'm here to tell ya this boy's soul is intact. It's non-negotiable. You know how I know? Someone here -- and I'm not gonna say who -- offered to buy it. Only Charlie here wasn't sellin'.

Trask: Sir, you are out of order!

Slade: Outta order? I'll show you outta order! You don't know what outta order is, Mr. Trask! I'd show you but I'm too old; I'm too tired; I'm too fuckin' blind. If I were the man I was five years ago I'd take a FLAME-THROWER to this place! Outta order. Who the hell you think you're talkin' to? I've been around, you know? There was a time I could see. And I have seen boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off. But there isn't nothin' like the sight of an amputated spirit; there is no prosthetic for that. You think you're merely sendin' this splendid foot-soldier back home to Oregon with his tail between his legs, but I say you are executin' his SOUL!! And why?! Because he's not a Baird man! Baird men, ya hurt this boy, you're going to be Baird Bums, the lot of ya. And Harry, Jimmy, Trent, wherever you are out there, FUCK YOU too!

Mr. Trask: Stand down, Mr. Slade!

Slade: I'm not finished! As I came in here, I heard those words, "cradle of leadership." Well, when the bow breaks, the cradle will fall. And it has fallen here; it has fallen. Makers of men; creators of leaders; be careful what kind of leaders you're producin' here. I don't know if Charlie's silence here today is right or wrong. I'm not a judge or jury. But I can tell you this: he won't sell anybody out to buy his future!! And that, my friends, is called integrity! That's called courage! Now that's the stuff leaders should be made of. Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew. But I never took it. You know why? It was too damn hard. Now here's Charlie. He's come to the crossroads. He has chosen a path. It's the right path. It's a path made of principle -- that leads to character. Let him continue on his journey. You hold this boy's future in your hands, committee. It's a valuable future. Believe me. Don't destroy it! Protect it. Embrace it. It's gonna make ya proud one day -- I promise you.

So if they want to bring in a snitch program to your schools fight it. Fight it because it teaches the worst lesson possible.

I found a quote on why school programs like this are the worst.

A similar program at Cherryville High School in rural Gaston County, N.C., “has really worked well,” principal Stephen Huffstetler says. He implemented the program two years ago. “This year, we've given out $1,100,” he says. “For $100, they'll turn their mothers in.”

Principal Huffstetler must be so proud of the minds he is molding.

U.S. BORDER PATROL Local 2544 statement on Minuteman project

The Minuteman project has been in the news a lot lately. It can be said to be one of the larger actions at the civilian level that I have seen in the news lately. People giving up their own time and money to make a statement on what they see as a social ill.

The newspapers have had an feeding frenzy in their desire to portray them as fat-white-rednecks with guns. To see the medias almost euphoric high when one was arrested and then see them admit that the charges were false a day later. They put forth apocryphal stories of ground sensors being activated and border patrol agents hating them. All the news fit to be made up. Yellow journalism at its best.

Only problem is that the news is fictional at best, and outright lies at worst. Here is what the Border Patrol's own union in the area says.

MINUTEMAN PROJECT: We want to make it clear because we've had a lot of questions about this.....we have not had one single complaint from a rank-and-file agent in this Sector about the Minutemen. Every report we've received indicates these people are very supportive of the rank-and-file agents, they're courteous, many of them are retired firefighters, cops, and other professionals, and they're not causing us any problems whatsoever. Reports of them causing "ground sensors" to go off are exaggerated because most of those are being set off by the ACLU sneaking around trying to find the Minutemen doing something wrong. The Minutemen have succeeded in shifting the bulk of the illegal alien traffic out of the Naco corridor. If only President Bush were so supportive of the rank-and-file agents. While President Bush hangs out thousands of miles away in the White House, these people are willing to give up their time and energy to actually do something. While President Bush entices millions of illegal aliens to keep coming with his amnesty proposals and his demoralizing statements that he doesn't want Border Patrol agents chasing "good-hearted people just coming here to take jobs Americans won't do" the Minutemen are trying to get our laws enforced. The Minutemen have made it very clear that they fully support rank-and-file Border Patrol agents. If only we had such support from the politicians we have to work for (aren't we really supposed to be working for the citizens of this country anyway?)!

Sounds like the border patrol, at least according to this statement, have no real issues with the minutemen people. It sounds that they, like a lot of people, have bigger issues with politicians. But when is that new?

Proud to be a criminal according to this smucks definition.

Another government mindless clone has opened his mouth and inserted a large black boot in with gusto.

An outrageous remark by a former official with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is "nothing short of slanderous," said leaders of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).

Gerald Nunziato, former head of ATF's National Tracing Center and now a partner in Crime Gun Solutions, an anti-gun consulting firm, told the Houston Chronicle Sunday, "If it wasn't for criminals, there wouldn't be a gun industry in this country."

So am I a criminal? Yes, since the day I received my first single shot rifle.

It is this mentality that equates firearms and criminal activity that is the basic root of the problems today. Blame the guns has become the opening chant of gun-banners across the country. There would be no crime if there were no guns. The fact that a firearm cannot go out and perform a single criminal act without a criminal holding it is not something they will admit.

The firearm is the forbidden fruit. Without it there would be no sin and we would live in a Garden of Eden situation. Only problem is that they have tried to use that argument when it comes to drugs, alcohol, pornography and a whole shopping lists of perceived sins that is keeping this country down in their eyes. The thing is that if they equate firearms with crime, and they do, then I am proud to be a criminal.

Alexis de Tocqueville

After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp and fashioned him at will, the supreme power then extends its arm over the whole community. It covers the surface of society with a network of small, complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.

Scores Killed, Hundreds Injured
As Para-Military Extremists Riot

Boston, April 19


National Guard units seeking to confiscate a cache of recently banned assault weapons were ambushed on April 19th by elements of a para-military extremist faction. Military and law enforcement sources estimate that 72 were killed and more than 200 injured before government forces were compelled to withdraw. Speaking after the clash, Massachusetts governor Thomas Gage declared that the extremist faction, which was made up of citizens, has links to the radical right-wing tax protest movement. Gage blamed the extremists for recent incidents of vandalism directed against internal revenue offices.

The governor, who described the group's organizers as criminals, issued an executive order authorizing the summary arrest of any individual who has interfered with the government's efforts to secure law and order. The military raid on the extremist arsenal followed widespread refusal by the local citizenry to turn over recently outlawed assault weapons. Gage issued a ban on military-style assault weapons and ammunition earlier in the week. This decision followed a meeting in early April between government and military leaders at which the governor authorized the forcible confiscation of illegal arms.

One government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, pointed out that none of these people would have been killed had the extremists obeyed the law and turned over their weapons voluntarily. Government troops initially succeeded in confiscating a large supply of outlawed weapons and ammunition. However, troops attempting to seize arms and ammunition in Lexington met with resistance from heavily-armed extremists who had been tipped off regarding the government's plans.

During a tense standoff in Lexington's town park, National Guard Colonel Francis Smith, commander of the government operation, ordered the armed group to surrender and return to their homes. The impasse was broken by a single shot, which was reportedly fired by one of the right-wing extremists. Eight civilians were killed in the ensuing exchange. Ironically, the local citizenry blamed government forces rather than the extremists for the civilian deaths. Before order could be restored, armed citizens from surrounding areas had descended upon the guard units. Colonel smith, finding his forces overmatched by the armed mob, ordered a retreat.

Governor Gage has called upon citizens to support the state/national joint task force in its effort to restore law and order. The governor has also demanded the surrender of those responsible for planning and leading the attack against the government troops. Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock, who have been identified as ringleaders of the extremist faction, remain at large.

[David's New Freedom Blog]

Modern minority report

Remember that overblown movie that Starred Tom Cruise? He was a cop with a machine that could look into the future. With that item he could stop a crime and arrest a person for a crime not yet committed.

Turns out some cops seem to have taken the movie to heart, and with legislation on their side(how often is legislation on our side?) are arresting people for crimes they think you will commit.

Next time you go partying, you may want to think before you drink. That advice from Morgan County Sheriff Greg Bartlett.

"All you got to do is prove they are intoxicated. Most of the time it's obvious if they are passed out in a vehicle," said Bartlett.

Some drunk drivers crawl behind the wheel, taking their chances on the highway. The one's caught driving under the influence are given a breath test, then handcuffed and taken to jail. But did you know you don't have to be driving drunk to get a DUI?

"It's not for them to decide if they are too drunk to drive. It's for us to decide," said Bartlett.

Here's how the state's DUI law works. You are out drinking. You decide to leave the bar and get into your car. Even if your car is parked and the keys are in your pocket, an officer can charge you with DUI. The same is true sitting in your own driveway

Arrested for future crime not committed or planned. Damn good job "minority report cop"

"We know they can start driving at anytime. You can't sit there and watch them. It gives the officer a chance to get them off the road."

Should people be charged for a DUI without driving? I think not. Public drunk, disturbing the peace, and a crap load of other laws could be used, but to charge them with a DUI, when they have not driven is wrong.

DUI is a misdemeanor offense. The punishment is a fine and loss of driver's license. The fourth offense is a felony, which includes jail time.

So for the arrest of the person, for crimes not committed, they could take away your drivers license. In today's commuter society the loss of your DL is tantamount to career death.

Lawrence Taylor at DUI Blog has a couple of good posts on the issue with a view towards the legal issues involved.

Past stupid into the realm of pure idiocy.

The TSA has successfully gone past paranoid delusions directly into LA-LA land. Ross Mayfield was boarding a flight but like everyone he had to go through the TSA cattle shute. This time he was rather surprised when he was told he was limited in carrying on a certain item.

Now this was not matches, lighters, or even a bladed item. It was even more stupid.

En route from San Jose to Phoenix, I was told by a Transportation Security Agency (TSA) screener about a ban on lighters (cough) starting April 14th, but the book allowance has been cut from 4 to 2.
..........
When he pulled out two books he mentioned that right now you can only have four books and on the 14th you can only have two. He didn't have any explanation for this, and I can't even fathom the purpose
..........
I post this story because our current administration is the only one in history to take away more rights than it gives, the policy would disturb basic freedoms, policy interpretation and enforcement is in the hands of screeners and a screener told me the story in the first place. Can anyone help me bring clarity on this important issue? Until then, it's eBooks for me

When will the TSA die and fade away? When will the Patriot Act and the other evils we live under be overthrown?

Shreeeeak! "Watch out! He's got paper back"

What I am listening to

I may a throw back to an earlier era when the old radio dramas were the center of drama in the home, outside of books. I have found two good audio stories and would like to share them with you

The first is the story of "independent librarian dynamic Sean Kennedy the 6th". He is broadcasting from the future, a damn dark future in my view. The files to listen to it can be found here in MP3 form. Each is about an hour. He is warning us about what can happen if we do not change, he does this by telling us of what his world is like.
That is scary enough.

The other story I am listening to is Earthcore. The story involves lots of mineral ore, mining, and a lots and lots of dead bodies. A good old fashion story with an unseen enemy, so far.

I worry sometimes that I am reading less and hearing more. For me words are important, but for basic listening pleasure these are perfect.

Today you start working for yourself

Yep. Yesterday was tax freedom day. Today you now work to enrich yourself with profit.

Here is a nice chart that shows the tax freedom day since 1980. Note the dates of latest freedom day and who was president then.

Ha!

When people talk about the Iron lady, Condoleezza Rice, they need to remember she has a history.

But perhaps the most surprising news came from the editor who introduced Rice, saying the secretary of state once held the title of ''Disco Queen of South Bend, Indiana."

''You've got quite a research department," Rice responded in the opening sentences of her address. ''I want to assure everybody, it's actually not that hard to be the disco queen of South Bend, Indiana," Rice said. ''There's not that much competition in South Bend, Indiana."

Gunner breaks out singing ABBA's "Dancing Queen"

Notice to all

In my view this guy is an idiot and needs to get a life. If this name bothers him so much while there is poverty, crime, and other social ills then he needs to reprioritize his life. Now

An Oakley man has asked the federal government to rename Mount Diablo, saying the current name, which means devil in Spanish, is offensive to his religious sensibilities.
..........
"Words have power, and when you start mentioning words that come from the dark side, evil thrives," Mijares told the Contra Costa Times. "When I take boys camping on the mountain, I don't even like to say its name. I have to explain what the name means. Why should we have a main feature of our community that celebrates the devil?"

It does not "celebrate" anyone, and your "sensibilities" be damned.

It is whining fools like this that create the stereo type of the whining Christian who wants the world to bend over for their "sensibilities. The world does not revolve around his "sensibilities" and I, and most people, could care less about them.

Get a life.

It's all about the Benjamin's

New York is not happy with the census, and I think most of the country could care less.

City officials are contesting new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau showing New York City's population dropped by more than 5,000 last year.
...........
But officials said the agency underestimated populations of Brooklyn and Queens, which are unusually difficult to track because they have high populations of legal and illegal immigrants.

Population estimates are used to distribute funding from federal housing programs and tax credits for low-income families, among other programs.

Ahhh! The last part says it all. Less people, less money, less handouts, and less happy people to vote for the ones doing the handouts.

I didn't even know I lived there

My wife and I took a small trip to the next county to see where we lived. The strange thing is I did not know I lived there until Tuesday.

There is a new people search engine out called ZabaSearch that is freaking people out. I was intrigued enough that I checked out my name. I was impressed. With a strange name like Gunner in combination with my last name there were only 4 returns. Three were correct. It then gives you the ability to check out satellite images of the address through google and other options.

Now this post is about the fourth incorrect one. What was strange is that it had my name and my birth year. With a name like Gunner the odds of another Gunner, with the same last name, with the same birthyear, living just in the next county are pretty high. I did not think much of it until I checked my wife's name.

There it was again. The same strange address with my wife's name, first and last, and birthyear next to it.

Did I live there? Did I enjoy the neighborhood? Were the schools good? I had to find out. So after my wife got off work that day we went and checked it out.

"Quick Robin. To the Bat Mobile"

The subdivision is nice and very new. The road was still being worked on and many houses were new in dirt lots. Very very small lots. Since I hate small lots I knew I would have to move to a better neighborhood fast. We passed the house and did a slow drive by, no shooting, just viewing. With only about 6 foot between houses we could drive the entire house's lot in second.

My wife, the mean person that she is, would not let me take down the license plate number on the car in the drive. I wanted to see what I could find out about my car. Do I like it? Did it come with good options? How big is the engine? Is it in my name or an offshore account for tax purposes?

She also said just knocking on the door would not be a good idea. Would you answer the door at night to a bald, bearded, big, redneck looking guy?

So do I like where I live? No. Bad lot, small house, and crappy construction.

I really need to move.

For all the people who just LOVE Napoleon Dynamite

ACTION FIGURES

'Napoleon' gets boy toy treatment

Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising and McFarlane Toys announced a new licensing agreement to develop a line of action figures based on characters from the hit movie "Napoleon Dynamite." The toy line, which will hit store shelves in the fall, will feature characters Napoleon, Pedro and Kip. "Napoleon Dynamite and action figure may seem like an oxymoron, but McFarlane Toys has the appreciation and understanding of this character and the film to create some truly fun and highly appealing toys," said Peter Byrne, executive vp licensing at Fox Licensing & Merchandising.

Not sure if this is one of the seven signs of the apocalypse, but it has to be damn close.

The Mouse that Roared

Chirac: 'No' vote on E.U. benefits U.S. was the title of an article that Drudge linked to. I will admit that I openly laughed at his over blown view of his own power and influence.

He reminded me of the old saying "the mouse that roared". The problem is that even some Europeans admit that the EU is not that great, and a report(pdf) shows not that big.

"this report is about the fact that per capita GDP is lower in most of the countries of Europe then in most of the states of the USA. That France, Italy and Germany have less per capita GDP then all but 5 of the states of the USA....."

Matter of fact. If you look at the chart on page 25 of the report you will note that the EU's GDP only beats 4 US states.

While GDP is not everything, it is a major sign of many things.

The report then goes into a frightening area for Europe. "Why Europe lags behind - A qualified guess"

4.1 High taxes are not without their problems.
4.2 High taxes wedges give the wrong incentives

Now 4.3 gets interesting

4.3Equalisation policy(read "steal from the rich, give to the poor") and a large public sector also have their problems
High taxes are used in many European countries to finance a comprehensive welfare system having distribution as its main purpose.

Note that it says distribution, not retraining or job placement. The Gimme gimme gimme plan of social welfare.

Incentives for behavior which at individual level is good for the macro economy are impaired, for the simple reason that good behavior is not rewarded and bad behavior is not punished.

In another word they are enjoying the rewards of a socialistic system of government.

4.4 The Americans work on the job, while the Europeans work at their leisure

Just to give you an idea of what 4.4 means I found this article about how things are in France with their work force.

France's parliament voted to effectively rescind the 35-hour work week, raising overtime limits and letting private-sector employees swap time off for more money in a bid to boost employment and incomes.

They had a law that the standard work week was only 35 hours. Overtime was limited to 180 hours a year. With this new law the unions and others did what they do best in Europe.

A nationwide strike to protest the change and seek higher pay disrupted transport, schools, and postal service on March 10.

But why did they change the law. Look at the numbers in the next section here. Understand why Europe will not be an economic threat for a long time.

Workers in France put in 1,431 hours on average in 2003, 25 percent fewer than their counterparts in the U.S. and Japan and fewer also than those in Germany and the U.K., according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Those in Norway and the Netherlands worked even less on average, with 1,337 hours and 1,354 hours respectively.

So is the EU important? Yes. Is the EU as important as Chirac and others think it is? No.

The report mentioned was done by Dr. Fredrik Bergström, President of the Swedish Research Institute of Trade, and Mr Robert Gidehag, President of the Swedish Taxpayer's Association. So you will not think that it is an American produced bias piece.

MORE:
The day after I wrote this I found a good article about the situation in Norway. What the article brings to light for me is that the Norwegians still feel they are the "world's richest country" while the numbers, and their lifestyle says differently.

Never bring a knife cutlass to a gun fight!

Some people have a slow learning curve and it seems this fine example of thuggery learned to late the golden rule.

Emboldened by a successful robbery only last week, Anderson Lewis walked into a Penal jewelry store yesterday with his cutlass hoping for a bigger pay-off.

He was shot three times by the jeweller and died at the scene.
.............
Lewis is said to have confronted Ramroop, demanding more money. Ramroop pulled his licensed handgun and began firing.

Scissors beat paper, paper beats rock, handgun beats cutlass. Nuff said.

Blame the terrorists...again

Well here we go people. Another government agency is withholding information because of homeland security.

The Internal Revenue Service is illegally withholding information about its operations, claiming without substantiation that some of the unclassified information would compromise homeland security if released to the public, according to a federal lawsuit filed today by the Public Citizen Litigation Group on behalf of open-government scholars.

What! They could find out that the 1040EZ is not EZ, or that you cannot get a tax write off for loss of vehicle due to car bombing?

The utter disgust I have for government officials who use the 9/11 tragedy and the war on terrorism for their own little games has no bounds. They should be dragged out and beaten by the victims of terror, and anyone else who lived in NY at the time.

Despite a consent decree from prior litigation that requires the IRS to make statistical information available to TRAC on a regular, ongoing basis, the IRS has recently balked at releasing the data, asserting that it would have to be specially compiled since the agency no longer keeps basic statistics about audits, appeals and collection activities that would provide details to support the agency's broad assertions about IRS current practices.

Screw prior litigation. They make their own rules.

"A rose bribe by any other name"

I just don't buy this one people. Out in LA they want to take city money(what we called our money before taxes) and give it to the movie industry to bring business to LA. Only problem is that their benevolent attitude, in my view, is nothing but a government sponsored handout to the unions.

By proposing reimbursements for film companies that shoot in Los Angeles, Mayor James Hahn is plunging into a furious bidding war among cities and states looking to attract filming through incentives – even as local officials acknowledge they may never undercut their competitors.

Hahn, in the midst of a runoff contest with City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, has proposed 5 percent reimbursements on below-the-line costs for production companies that shoot at least 75 percent of the production in Los Angeles. The subsidy would top out at $625,000 per production and the city could cap total reimbursements at $15 million in the first year.

With the proposal, which Hahn unveiled at a campaign stop in Hollywood, Los Angeles enters the increasingly competitive sweepstakes among cities and states that are offering broad incentives such as interest-free loans, tax credits, exemptions from sales and use taxes, and income tax rebates.

Lets look at a list of just TV series filmed in one province of Canada.

TV Series Filmed in BC

21 Jump Street (Vancouver)
24 (Vancouver)*
2-Gether (Vancouver, Virgin Records)
Andromeda (Vancouver)
Animal Miracles
Beachcombers, The (Gibsons, Vancouver)
Beasties (Beast Wars)
Beggars and Choosers (Vancouver)
Beyond Belief (Vancouver)
Big Sound
Breaker High (Burnaby, Vancouver)
Call of the Wild (Vancouver)
Chris Isaak Show (Vancouver)
Commish, The (Vancouver)
Crow: Stairway to Heaven, The (Vancouver)
Dark Angel (Lion's Gate Studios, North Vancouver, Vancouver)
Dead Zone (Vancouver)
First Wave (Vancouver)
Harsh Realm (Vancouver)
Higher Ground (North Vancouver)
Highlander (Vancouver)
Jeremiah (Vancouver)
John Doe
Kidzone (Vancouver)
Lambchop's Play Along (Vancouver)
Lone Gunmen, The (Vancouver)
Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years (various scenery shots throughout BC)*
Lonesome Dove: The Series (various scenery shots throughout BC)
Luchadores, Los (Vancouver)
MacGyver (Vancouver seasons 4-7)
Madison (North Vancouver, Surrey, Vancouver)
Mole, The (Norway, Sweden and UK versions)
Neon Rider (Mission, Vancouver)
New Addams Family, The (Vancouver)
New Beachcombers, The (Gibsons)
Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation (Vancouver)
No Boundaries
Odyssey, The (Vancouver)
Others, The (Vancouver)
Outer Limits (Vancouver, Victoria)
Pasadena (Lion's Gate Studio, Vancouver)
Police Academy, The Series
Poltergeist: The Legacy (Vancouver, Victoria)
Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (Vancouver)*
Singles (Vancouver)
Sliders (Vancouver)
Smallville (Merritt [parade scene in pilot], Vancouver)
Surreal Gourmet
Transformers
Twilight Zone (Vancouver)
UC: Undercover (Vancouver)
Viper (SFU, POCO, Vancouver)*
Wolf Lake (Lion's Gate Studios, Vancouver)
X-Files (various locations throughout the Vancouver area)

It is a simple fact that film companies will go where it is cheaper to film, and that is based mainly on Union issues. In California the film unions have that state by the balls. Everything from lights, cameras, to the ones who supply food. Unions cause the price of films to go up. It is a fact that is not in dispute by anyone but the unions. Go figure.

Now if this bill passes who will benefit? The extra cost of the film will be negated by the government handout so it is not a large increase for them.. But think of all those union coffers that will be filled with extra money from union dues. Now in the next election who will the union heads tell their people to support? The guy helping them earn money.

This bill is nothing but a government handout for votes. Your taxes are buying this political vermin votes. Can politics get any lower?

Villaraigosa was quick to attack the proposal and the timing. The real question, he said, is “why Hahn waited until the fourth year of his term to announce a plan to keep film production in Los Angeles.”

The answer is votes. Buying votes with your money.

Bend over people. It's election time

Be warned.

The threat is real. I am going to go hide now. Pray for me people.

Blame Robert.

Robert started it with his story of youthful treks into the woods with air rifle in hand and army jacket on. He backed up his story with some pictures of the cloths and some of him dressed to the Nine.

So in that theme her I am at 4 or 5 years old with my grandfathers double barrel shotgun.



Now adays some people would look at this photo, with the hat, flag and shotgun, and think child endangerment. I think they're fools.

So here is another dangerous photo.



I still have the very first rifle I was ever given. A Remington single shot that has gone through more then any rifle could. Some of the best memories of youth was that rifle, myself, my cousin, and the lake near the old strip mine in Muhlenburg county. Every time I see a cardboard box with 50 .22LR cartridges nessled in it I get a bit nostalgic. I guess it is the romantic in me.

My cousin had an old marlin with the tube magazine under the barrel. I envied that rifle so much. Here I was with one shot, and he loaded the stock forever and fired all day, well at least it seemed so to me. We were the scourge of dragon flies and frogs at that lake. I also, looking back at it, we broke more safety rules then I will ever admit to. To be young and dumb again.

The day ended only when the ammo ended. On good days my dad would get us a larger 100 round plastic box with the awesome insert where every cartridge had its own hole to rest in, and the neat slidding top. I remember keeping them and filling them with the useless stuff that was so precious to me then.

My next rifle was a Ruger 10/22. A rifle I also still have. Maybe it was in response to my obvious envy of my cousins Marlin. Now my cousin was the envious one because my rifle had a scope. Take that cousin.

So you can blame my weird passion for firearms on small cardboard boxes and a Remington single shot.

FREAKIN' IDIOTS POLITICIANS

Now I wish all bills were written so well.

WHEREAS, any members of the House of Representatives or the Senate of the Legislature of the State of Idaho who choose to vote "Nay" on this concurrent resolution are "FREAKIN' IDIOTS!" and run the risk of having the "Worst Day of Their Lives!"

Seems someone wanted to deliver a strong message that this should be passed. It was in reality a fluff bill to recognize a couple for their work.

The purpose of this resolution is to recognize and commend Jared and Jerusha Hess for their cinematic talents by which they have increased the nation's awareness of Idaho.

I have no idea who they are, but you're a freakin idiot not to like them.

In the summery no one voted "nay"

Who do you go to when the identity thief is the police department.

The police, in another tired effort to clean up the community, sent someone under cover into a strip joint. Only problem is they used another persons ID, and they feel justified.

Supporters of Ohio's identity theft law are livid that state liquor control agents gave a college student the driver's license and Social Security number of another woman so she could pose as a stripper for a sting.

Investigators and Miami County Prosecutor Gary Nasal came up with nothing more than misdemeanor charges in the 2003 vice operation targeting the Total Xposure strip bar near Troy in western Ohio.

Nasal said the ploy was legal because a change in Ohio's law the previous year aimed at curbing identity theft. The law allows police to use a person's identity within the context of an investigation, he said.

So who do you go to when the police are stealing your ID? The police here are unapologetic about there actions.

And the tactics were justified because authorities managed to close the club, Nasal said.

"I don't apologize for the investigation and the conduct," he told The Columbus Dispatch for a story Sunday. "The result speaks for itself."

Translated into "the end justifies the means". A belief most people are taught early in life does not cut it.

They seemed happy that they were able to close down the bar. They should be damned ashamed. It was a tough investigation.

Each night Szuhay danced, the state agents drank beer and watched from seats inside the club, ostensibly looking for violations of liquor laws at the same time. Troy police watched, too, through an Internet account they set up using the identity of a dead man.

Drink bear, watch porn, steal ID's, and they are the ones who feel unashamed at their actions.

This is abuse of the law, and a waste of peoples tax money. At the end all they got were some misdemeanor charges, but it was enough to shut them down. The soccer mom- mini van nazi's can sleep soundly tonight.

Supply and demand

While the gun-grabbers talk about how safe the streets will be if guns are removed from the street they always forget a basic economic fact. If there is a demand, there will be a supply.

In the Netherlands they have experienced how supply will be provided for.

Up to 150 Glock pistols have been stolen from the high-security Gilze-Rijen airbase after thieves made a hole in the wall of the armory, the Dutch newspaper Nederlands Dagblad reported Tuesday.

The theft of between 100 to 150 service pistols took place over the weekend, but was not discovered until Monday morning, it said. All vehicles belonging to airbase staff were inspected on Monday.
...................
The theft of the weapons is one of the biggest such crimes in Dutch history. Earlier reports of vanished service weapons generally involved only a few guns at a time.

Toine Spapens, weapon smuggling expert at Tilburg University, was quoted as saying that the robbery at Gilze-Rijen was considerable and predicted that the weapons would end up in the underworld, but not necessarily in the Netherlands

Notice that the firearms were stolen from a HIGH SECURITY site. Even the state cannot protect their own equipment.

I wonder how many magazines were stolen.

4473 form

In the comments about the firearm list I want to get I called the local gun dealer and he informed me that the 4473 form never leaves the store. I'm asking if, when you purchase a firearm, does the model information gets sent to Washington, the FBI, or the ATFE in any form?

The GAO office that did the "Gun control and terrorism" report is FOIA proof.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 USC 552). However, GAO's disclosure policy follows the spirit of the act consistent with GAO's duties and functions as an agency with primary responsibility to the Congress.

So requests to them are not going to be fruitful. The ATFE told me that since the 4473 form is a personnal form it is protected under privacy rulings.

So I really want to see what these "bad people" purchased. I plan to send off a request to the GAO anyway, fingers crossed, and hope for a good reply. Since I only want a copy of section 22 on the forms they may let it slide. Since they had to have researched the report I hope their research turned up the weapons purchased.

Now here is the thing. They charge.

(a) No fee or charge will be made for:
(1) Records provided under this part when the direct costs involve
less than one hour of search time and 50 pages of photocopying.
(2) Staff-hours spent in resolving any legal or policy questions
pertaining to the request.
(3) Copies of records, including those certified as true copies,
furnished for official use to a federal government officer or employee.
(4) Copies of pertinent records furnished to a party having a
direct and immediate interest in a matter pending before GAO, when
necessary or desirable to the performance of a GAO function.
(b) The fees and charges described below will be assessed for the
direct costs of search, review, and reproduction of records available
to the public under this part.
(1) The cost for reproduction per page shall be 20 cents.
(2) The cost for a certification of authenticity shall be $10 for
each certificate.
(3) Manual search and review for records by office personnel will
be assessed at $12, $25, or $45 per hour, depending on the rate of pay
of the individual actually conducting the search or review, and the
complexity of the search.

So I may be begging for some donations in the future people.

If a guy is suspected of speeding you do not freek out if he buys a yugo. So for me, the firearms they purchased may show this is a whole lot of political bull.

Blind leading the stupid

There is no way a politician can read even part of all the crap they pass. Remember the legendary 3000 page bill they had only hours before voting on. Well it seems that even state legislations are not protected from the same stupid act.

Two days after the end of the legislative session, state lawmakers are discovering something few were aware of: They voted to make English the official language of West Virginia.
The language amendment was quietly inserted into a bill addressing the number of members that cities can appoint to boards of parks and recreation. Among mundane details about record-keeping, the amendment adds the provision that “English shall be the official language of the State of West Virginia.”

Please insert a Homer simpson "Dooh!"

They voted on and passed a bill without even knowing the bill. These laws are ones we have to live with and suffer under. If there is anything that shows the broken nature of Washington and the state legislatures as much as things like this then nothing does.

No list

The GAO released a report called "Gun control and terrorism"(pdf) recently. It has regretfully given gun grabbers new reasons to try to limit firearms and pass new laws. Another "Remember 9/11" whoring of the issues.

I have read the report and noticed something. They do not tell us what they, the people on the watch list, bought. Does a person on a watch list who wants to commit a terrorist act purchase an 300$ assault rifle, or do they purchase an 2400$ Franchi Veloce & Veloce Squire shotgun? So I contacted the person who did the report.

She was nice and totally lacking in the information I needed. She said the forms filled out does not require them to list the firearm being purchased. I agree but this raises another question. They made this giant fuss about bad people getting their hands and guns and they do not even know what they are.

Intent. What was the intent of the ones who purchased the firearms. No one knows. But what the hell, lets hang them anyways and pass new laws. Screw due process.

The report does nothing but raise fears and causes knee jerk reactions just like the Patriot act. This is a bad report and should never have been released as it is.

The eyes are on you now

What is going on with this country people? It used to be a cop could club a few heads and get away with it, or even mass arrest people and convict them on trumped up charges. But no more thanks to high tech cameras.

Dennis Kyne put up such a fight at a political protest last summer, the arresting officer recalled, it took four police officers to haul him down the steps of the New York Public Library and across Fifth Avenue.

"We picked him up and we carried him while he squirmed and screamed," the officer, Matthew Wohl, testified in December. "I had one of his legs because he was kicking and refusing to walk on his own."

Accused of inciting a riot and resisting arrest, Mr. Kyne was the first of the 1,806 people arrested in New York last summer during the Republican National Convention to take his case to a jury. But one day after Officer Wohl testified, and before the defense called a single witness, the prosecutor abruptly dropped all charges.

Turns out someone was video taping and damned if it did not show what the cop TESTIFIED UNDER OATH happened.

A videotape shot by a documentary filmmaker showed Mr. Kyne agitated but plainly walking under his own power down the library steps, contradicting the vivid account of Officer Wohl, who was nowhere to be seen in the pictures. Nor was the officer seen taking part in the arrests of four other people at the library against whom he signed complaints.

"Signed complaints"? Seems this cop has some problems with the truth. But the article shows that it is more then just one dumb cop.

For Mr. Kyne and 400 others arrested that week, video recordings provided evidence that they had not committed a crime or that the charges against them could not be proved, according to defense lawyers and prosecutors.
..............
Seven months after the convention at Madison Square Garden, criminal charges have fallen against all but a handful of people arrested that week. Of the 1,670 cases that have run their full course, 91 percent ended with the charges dismissed or with a verdict of not guilty after trial. Many were dropped without any finding of wrongdoing, but also without any serious inquiry into the circumstances of the arrests, with the Manhattan district attorney's office agreeing that the cases should be "adjourned in contemplation of dismissal

The days of cops doing what they want are numbered due to cheap video cameras. My cell phone has a camera and I have even seen zippo lighter size video cameras. There will still be more Rodney Kings occurring, but now we will have shots from different angles to see every blow.

In a lot of amateur videos I have seen the cops like to throw out commands "turn that camera off", but is it a crime to not turn it off? Can they arrest you for not following a legal command? I honestly thing legislation that protects people with cameras from the police should be put up in Washington.

Now what of that cop who lied on the stand and signed false complaints.

The Manhattan district attorney's office is reviewing the testimony of Officer Wohl at the request of Lewis B. Oliver Jr., the lawyer who represented Mr. Kyne in his arrest at the library.

"reviewing"? He lied, and lied about the four other people. This cop will most likely get a letter in his file for trying to send people to jail for no reason. What a punishment.

UPDATE
Outside the Beltway has a link to the videos and shows where they were edited. Sorry but there is no way this was not done for one reason. To put those who question police authority in jail.