Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Time...
I haven't had much of it lately, and don't foresee any for the next couple months…
So…I do have a minute here and there to daydream:
..from earthroamer.com
So…I do have a minute here and there to daydream:
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Sunday, December 7, 2014
As Soon As I Have Time...
I'm starting my bumper sticker business. In the mean time, here are ideas from my future competition:
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Bet Ya...
I will mail you $20* if you don't cry…
*To receive your $20 please mail a video of yourself not crying while watching the video, with technical evidence that it was the first time you watched the video. Watery eyes will be counted as "crying," as will a slightly flushed face, or a slight frown.
*To receive your $20 please mail a video of yourself not crying while watching the video, with technical evidence that it was the first time you watched the video. Watery eyes will be counted as "crying," as will a slightly flushed face, or a slight frown.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Safety First . . .
“We can’t allow toxic things to be in our schools,” said a spokesman for the Texas school district that confiscated the suntan lotion of a 10-year-old who then became sunburned on a school trip. Students, the spokesman explained, “could ingest it. It’s really a dangerous situation.”
"Not as dangerous as entrusting children to schools run by mindless martinets." - George Will
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Personal Expression...
Mesa police arrested a suspect last week in a June homicide, Maricopa County Superior Court documents show, months after investigators requested physical evidence and photographs of their primary suspect...
 |
| Murder Suspect |
I wonder where things really started to go downhill. I imagine there is a 'no turning back' moment after the first facial tattoo...
Monday, October 20, 2014
Friday, October 17, 2014
Monday, October 13, 2014
Say What...
FBI Director Comey said:
"You cannot trust people in power."
Wait, should we trust him when he says that?
Reminds me of something...
"You cannot trust people in power."
Wait, should we trust him when he says that?
Reminds me of something...
Sunday, October 12, 2014
October 12, 1997...
I was raised on a healthy diet of John Denver 8-Tracks.
…and I may have worn a shirt very similar to the one in the video.
…and I may have worn a shirt very similar to the one in the video.
Friday, September 26, 2014
The Global Green House Climate Change Warming Effect...
Now it makes sense...
by TerrellAfterMath.com
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Manhunt...
6.5-ton Armored Vehicle to Roll Through Pennsylvania Woods in Hunt for Suspected Cop Killer
Diapers? He's in a heavily wooded area, can't he just... I guess he doesn't want the dogs tracking him? Diapers would indicate he planned this. But, I suspect the diapers were taken from one of the many empty residences in the area. But that does not explain his Serbian-branded cigarettes. Those have to be his, and they have to be from a stash.
I know a little about this, and I am amazed they haven't caught him yet. In the little I know about this, it seems that they have a good perimeter set up, and they have ALOT of man power. And they have had sightings within the perimeter. However, it seems as though they did not shrink the perimeter after the sightings?!
This is in the Poconos, so a portion of the residences are occupied, and others are vacation homes that offer the cop killer a safe haven and food if he can get in. The police are not clearing every structure - there are too many. The woods themselves offer tons of temporary hiding places:
I have a few suggestions for the State Police up there, but they wouldn't listen anyway. They are emotional, and now they are tired. They want to get him.
It will be interesting to see how long they hold that perimeter. The PA State Police have hundreds of men they can rotate in on shifts - and they are asking their guys to do several days straight. On top of that, there are several local agencies, and neighboring states that have sent help. Also, from news reports you can see the federal government has sent teams…some from as far away as Quantico, Virginia. He will be caught.
Lt. Col. George Bivens told a press conference Wednesday that officers believe they spotted 31-year-old Eric Frein, who is charged with killing one trooper and wounding another, as recently as Tuesday. However the distance and extremely rugged terrain separating the officers from Frein in each sighting meant "he has had the ability to disappear," Bivens told reporters.
Police found empty packs of Serbian-branded cigarettes and soiled diapers believed to have been left by the suspect, Bivens said, helping to cement authorities' belief they are close to him. Police believe Frein is using diapers so he can remain stationary for long periods of time.
Diapers? He's in a heavily wooded area, can't he just... I guess he doesn't want the dogs tracking him? Diapers would indicate he planned this. But, I suspect the diapers were taken from one of the many empty residences in the area. But that does not explain his Serbian-branded cigarettes. Those have to be his, and they have to be from a stash.
I know a little about this, and I am amazed they haven't caught him yet. In the little I know about this, it seems that they have a good perimeter set up, and they have ALOT of man power. And they have had sightings within the perimeter. However, it seems as though they did not shrink the perimeter after the sightings?!
This is in the Poconos, so a portion of the residences are occupied, and others are vacation homes that offer the cop killer a safe haven and food if he can get in. The police are not clearing every structure - there are too many. The woods themselves offer tons of temporary hiding places:
 |
| I would not want to search this forest for a cop killer. |
If the cop killer planned this, he could easily have dug out places and let the foliage grow over. But I doubt that…I would use the cabins. And since he grew up there, he knows which ones are vacant all the time.
I have a few suggestions for the State Police up there, but they wouldn't listen anyway. They are emotional, and now they are tired. They want to get him.
It will be interesting to see how long they hold that perimeter. The PA State Police have hundreds of men they can rotate in on shifts - and they are asking their guys to do several days straight. On top of that, there are several local agencies, and neighboring states that have sent help. Also, from news reports you can see the federal government has sent teams…some from as far away as Quantico, Virginia. He will be caught.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
It's Unalienable...
The Virginia Declaration of Rights
"That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety."
- June 12, 1776
Inherent is changed to inalienable, meaning not just that they come with being a man, it means you can't take them away...
T-Shirts, Posters, Stuff…RangerUp.com
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
Who...
I like the movies, plan to see this one. But they are more like Made-for-TV movies.
I always wonder, why spend millions making a flop, when they could make a good Atlas Shrugged and make every dollar back and then some. Oh, because its Hollywood…
But that is why I will spend the money to go see this, to vote with my dollars.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
The Police are Out of Control...
But, this has nothing to do with Ferguson…
High School Student Arrested for Killing Dinosaur
A 16-year-old Summerville High School student says he was arrested Tuesday morning and suspended
after writing about killing a dinosaur using a gun.
Alex Stone said he and his classmates were told in class to write a few sentences about themselves, and a "status" as if it was a Facebook page.
Stone said in his "status" he wrote a fictional story that involved the words "gun" and "take care of business."
"I killed my neighbor's pet dinosaur, and, then, in the next status I said I bought the gun to take care of the business," Stone said.
...Summerville police officials say Stone's bookbag and locker were searched on Tuesday, and a gun was not found.
According to Gray, Stone was suspended for the rest of the week. Gray says she is furious that the school did not contact her before her son was arrested.
...Stone was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. District officials say the student has been suspended.
Disorderly Conduct? How about arresting the teacher with Creating a Mountain out of a Mole Hill? Or better yet, fire those cops.
Mom Arrested After Allowing 7-Year-Old Son To Go To Nearby Park Alone
A mother faces a charge of child neglect after she allowed her son to go to a local park alone. She says he's old enough but Port St. Lucie Police disagree. Now she's fighting back.
It's a half mile from their Port St. Lucie home. Dominic says it only takes him about 10 to 15 minutes to get there. During the walk, the 7-year-old passed a public pool. Someone there asked him where his mom was.
"They asked me a couple questions and I got scared so I ran off to the park and they called the cops," says Dominic Guerrisi.
"He just basically kept going over that there's pedophiles and this and that and basically the park wasn't safe and he shouldn't be there alone," says Gainey.
Gainey plans to fight the felony charge. But after this she won't let Dominic go to the park alone. She's afraid she'll be arrested again.
The St. Lucie County State's Attorney's office says there is no law that specifies how old a child has to be before he or she can go somewhere unsupervised.
The mom is afraid to send the kid to the park…because the police might arrest him. Send these cops to Ferguson.
High School Student Arrested for Killing Dinosaur
A 16-year-old Summerville High School student says he was arrested Tuesday morning and suspended
after writing about killing a dinosaur using a gun.
Alex Stone said he and his classmates were told in class to write a few sentences about themselves, and a "status" as if it was a Facebook page.
Stone said in his "status" he wrote a fictional story that involved the words "gun" and "take care of business."
 |
| Can't we all just get along... |
...Summerville police officials say Stone's bookbag and locker were searched on Tuesday, and a gun was not found.
According to Gray, Stone was suspended for the rest of the week. Gray says she is furious that the school did not contact her before her son was arrested.
...Stone was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. District officials say the student has been suspended.
Disorderly Conduct? How about arresting the teacher with Creating a Mountain out of a Mole Hill? Or better yet, fire those cops.
Mom Arrested After Allowing 7-Year-Old Son To Go To Nearby Park Alone
A mother faces a charge of child neglect after she allowed her son to go to a local park alone. She says he's old enough but Port St. Lucie Police disagree. Now she's fighting back.
It's a half mile from their Port St. Lucie home. Dominic says it only takes him about 10 to 15 minutes to get there. During the walk, the 7-year-old passed a public pool. Someone there asked him where his mom was.
"They asked me a couple questions and I got scared so I ran off to the park and they called the cops," says Dominic Guerrisi.
"He just basically kept going over that there's pedophiles and this and that and basically the park wasn't safe and he shouldn't be there alone," says Gainey.
Gainey plans to fight the felony charge. But after this she won't let Dominic go to the park alone. She's afraid she'll be arrested again.
The St. Lucie County State's Attorney's office says there is no law that specifies how old a child has to be before he or she can go somewhere unsupervised.
The mom is afraid to send the kid to the park…because the police might arrest him. Send these cops to Ferguson.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Iraq War Regrets...
from National Review Online:
Iraq War Regrets?
Reflections on the present state of affairs
A symposium of responses, all should be read - but one stands out (emphasis added):
Victor Davis Hanson -
Saddam Hussein was a genocidal monster who was savage even by the savage standards of his region, attacking four of his neighbors and killing a million of his own. By 2003 he had been in both a hot and a cold war with the U.S. for the previous twelve years. The no-fly zones were crumbling along with the so-called oil-for-food embargo, plagued by U.N. corruption and French and Russian profiteering. Both houses of Congress with bipartisan support overwhelmingly voted to remove him, based on 23 writs, only two of which dealt directly with WMDs — in continuation of an official bipartisan policy of regime change as institutionalized by Bill Clinton through a prior congressional resolution. John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Harry Reid, among other liberals, gave impassioned speeches advocating his removal. They had access to the same intelligence as did the administration, and concluded that in a post-9/11 climate, Saddam’s various prior wars and his subsidies to and harboring of terrorists posed a threat to the U.S. and its allies.
The writs for his removal covered everything from genocide against the Marsh Arabs and attempts to assassinate a former U.S. president, to harboring terrorists, including the architect of the first World Trade Center bombing, and providing bounties to suicide assassins on the West Bank. The vast majority of such writs were unaffected by the later absence of large depots of deployable WMDs — which unfortunately the administration inordinately hyped, when there were equally or more valid reasons for removing Saddam, as the Congress had duly noted in its resolutions. Note that, quite unlike the Balkan War under the Clinton administration, the intervention in Iraq was approved by the Congress, and an effort was at least made to ask for U.N. approval. Clinton did neither before bombing. In Libya, Obama bombed without congressional approval and then vastly exceeded and distorted the U.N. mandates for no-fly-zones and humanitarian aid.
When Saddam was removed, Libya in reaction turned over its WMD program, Dr. Khan in Pakistan was put under house arrest, and Syria soon vacated Lebanon, as bad actors adjusted to the successful engagement of the U.S. — just as later U.S. failure and disengagement would have the opposite effect of encouraging efforts against moderate pro-U.S. regimes and interests.
Moreover, when the statue of Saddam fell, over 70 percent of the American people supported the effort, among them most pundits and politicians who later would denounce the war in one of the most stunning and self-serving reversals in political history. They did so on the grounds that, at best, their brilliant removal of Saddam has been nullified by someone else’s incompetent occupation, and, at worst, that they never really/quite/completely supported the war that they in fact so passionately advocated.
Despite the postwar errors of occupation (among them most prominently the dismissal of the Iraqi army and the failure to use sufficient force to ensure order) that had led to a huge loss of American blood and treasure, Barack Obama entered office with a mostly quiet Iraq (not a single American death in December 2009) thanks to the successful surge. Vice President Joe Biden appreciated that fact, and immediately took credit for the prior work of the U.S. military, declaring that Iraq likely would become the administration’s “greatest achievement” — a prognosis later echoed by Obama himself when he declared Iraq stable and secure after pulling out all U.S. troops. For all the slander of “no blood for oil,” Iraq’s oil industry for the first time was conducted in transparent fashion, the big winners being Russia and China, and not the supposedly oil-obsessed U.S. (Note how the mindless popular criticism went from a supposedly diabolical oil-hungry U.S. to a naive U.S. that allowed others to reap the fruits of its sacrifice.)
In 2004 Barack Obama, in pre-presidential-candidate mode, had expressed no major differences with Bush-administration policy pertaining to Iraq. A residual force of a few thousand American army and air-force personnel could have institutionalized our costly achievement and kept the Maliki government honest while controlling the skies over Iraq, preventing something like the Islamic State or the intrusion of Iranian influence. Instead, a 2012 reelection talking point of getting every soldier out of Iraq (in a way inconsistent with prior postwar U.S. policy of monitoring hard-won successes with peacekeepers, as in the Balkans, Korea, Germany, Italy, and Japan) trumped security concerns. (It should be also noted that candidate Obama had declared the surge a failure and advocated pulling out U.S. troops as early as March 2008.)
The tragic result is not just a surging Islamic State in Iraq — a country that, with U.S. military monitoring, had been constitutional and largely immune from the dramatic upheavals of the early Arab Spring movements — but a general sense of chaos similar to that in Libya, Egypt, Gaza, and Syria, and one at least in part predicated on the impression that U.S. Middle East policy is either incoherent or no longer exists.
Finally, we forget that an independent and free Kurdistan — with unprecedented security for a most deserving but oppressed people — that rose from the ashes of ruin and genocide was the stellar achievement of the Iraq War, a reality that is now also threatened by the Islamic State and the absence of American peacekeepers.
Had we pulled all U.S. troops out of South Korea by 1955 — a war every bit as unpopular as Iraq by 1953 and which had done to a lame-duck Harry Truman’s popularity what Iraq did to George W. Bush’s — we would have ensured that prior military successes were rendered null and void. A weak, authoritarian Seoul government would either have imploded or been overrun by North Korea. Without U.S. peacekeepers, there would be no South Korean miracle today, but only the horror of North Korea spread throughout the entire peninsula.
We have forgotten all this. Instead in smug fashion we now dismiss a complex war with a banal pejorative or two, assured that 51 percent of the public for the moment agrees and therefore further reflection is unnecessary.
No doubt the "Iraq War" will have consequences and repercussions on US policy, action, and inaction, for decades to come. One of which will undoubtedly be a reluctance on many levels for US boots on the ground (or at least for acknowledging US boots on the ground), and overall that is not necessarily a bad result. But each issue, each conflict, must be judged on its own, with due note to experience and lessons learned. Just like Iraq was NOTHING like Vietnam and there is little to no value in comparisons - Iraq in 2003 was not the Iraq of 1992, and it is not Iraq in 2014.
Iraq War Regrets?
Reflections on the present state of affairs
A symposium of responses, all should be read - but one stands out (emphasis added):
Victor Davis Hanson -
Saddam Hussein was a genocidal monster who was savage even by the savage standards of his region, attacking four of his neighbors and killing a million of his own. By 2003 he had been in both a hot and a cold war with the U.S. for the previous twelve years. The no-fly zones were crumbling along with the so-called oil-for-food embargo, plagued by U.N. corruption and French and Russian profiteering. Both houses of Congress with bipartisan support overwhelmingly voted to remove him, based on 23 writs, only two of which dealt directly with WMDs — in continuation of an official bipartisan policy of regime change as institutionalized by Bill Clinton through a prior congressional resolution. John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Harry Reid, among other liberals, gave impassioned speeches advocating his removal. They had access to the same intelligence as did the administration, and concluded that in a post-9/11 climate, Saddam’s various prior wars and his subsidies to and harboring of terrorists posed a threat to the U.S. and its allies.
The writs for his removal covered everything from genocide against the Marsh Arabs and attempts to assassinate a former U.S. president, to harboring terrorists, including the architect of the first World Trade Center bombing, and providing bounties to suicide assassins on the West Bank. The vast majority of such writs were unaffected by the later absence of large depots of deployable WMDs — which unfortunately the administration inordinately hyped, when there were equally or more valid reasons for removing Saddam, as the Congress had duly noted in its resolutions. Note that, quite unlike the Balkan War under the Clinton administration, the intervention in Iraq was approved by the Congress, and an effort was at least made to ask for U.N. approval. Clinton did neither before bombing. In Libya, Obama bombed without congressional approval and then vastly exceeded and distorted the U.N. mandates for no-fly-zones and humanitarian aid.
When Saddam was removed, Libya in reaction turned over its WMD program, Dr. Khan in Pakistan was put under house arrest, and Syria soon vacated Lebanon, as bad actors adjusted to the successful engagement of the U.S. — just as later U.S. failure and disengagement would have the opposite effect of encouraging efforts against moderate pro-U.S. regimes and interests.
Moreover, when the statue of Saddam fell, over 70 percent of the American people supported the effort, among them most pundits and politicians who later would denounce the war in one of the most stunning and self-serving reversals in political history. They did so on the grounds that, at best, their brilliant removal of Saddam has been nullified by someone else’s incompetent occupation, and, at worst, that they never really/quite/completely supported the war that they in fact so passionately advocated.
Despite the postwar errors of occupation (among them most prominently the dismissal of the Iraqi army and the failure to use sufficient force to ensure order) that had led to a huge loss of American blood and treasure, Barack Obama entered office with a mostly quiet Iraq (not a single American death in December 2009) thanks to the successful surge. Vice President Joe Biden appreciated that fact, and immediately took credit for the prior work of the U.S. military, declaring that Iraq likely would become the administration’s “greatest achievement” — a prognosis later echoed by Obama himself when he declared Iraq stable and secure after pulling out all U.S. troops. For all the slander of “no blood for oil,” Iraq’s oil industry for the first time was conducted in transparent fashion, the big winners being Russia and China, and not the supposedly oil-obsessed U.S. (Note how the mindless popular criticism went from a supposedly diabolical oil-hungry U.S. to a naive U.S. that allowed others to reap the fruits of its sacrifice.)
In 2004 Barack Obama, in pre-presidential-candidate mode, had expressed no major differences with Bush-administration policy pertaining to Iraq. A residual force of a few thousand American army and air-force personnel could have institutionalized our costly achievement and kept the Maliki government honest while controlling the skies over Iraq, preventing something like the Islamic State or the intrusion of Iranian influence. Instead, a 2012 reelection talking point of getting every soldier out of Iraq (in a way inconsistent with prior postwar U.S. policy of monitoring hard-won successes with peacekeepers, as in the Balkans, Korea, Germany, Italy, and Japan) trumped security concerns. (It should be also noted that candidate Obama had declared the surge a failure and advocated pulling out U.S. troops as early as March 2008.)
The tragic result is not just a surging Islamic State in Iraq — a country that, with U.S. military monitoring, had been constitutional and largely immune from the dramatic upheavals of the early Arab Spring movements — but a general sense of chaos similar to that in Libya, Egypt, Gaza, and Syria, and one at least in part predicated on the impression that U.S. Middle East policy is either incoherent or no longer exists.
Finally, we forget that an independent and free Kurdistan — with unprecedented security for a most deserving but oppressed people — that rose from the ashes of ruin and genocide was the stellar achievement of the Iraq War, a reality that is now also threatened by the Islamic State and the absence of American peacekeepers.
Had we pulled all U.S. troops out of South Korea by 1955 — a war every bit as unpopular as Iraq by 1953 and which had done to a lame-duck Harry Truman’s popularity what Iraq did to George W. Bush’s — we would have ensured that prior military successes were rendered null and void. A weak, authoritarian Seoul government would either have imploded or been overrun by North Korea. Without U.S. peacekeepers, there would be no South Korean miracle today, but only the horror of North Korea spread throughout the entire peninsula.
We have forgotten all this. Instead in smug fashion we now dismiss a complex war with a banal pejorative or two, assured that 51 percent of the public for the moment agrees and therefore further reflection is unnecessary.
No doubt the "Iraq War" will have consequences and repercussions on US policy, action, and inaction, for decades to come. One of which will undoubtedly be a reluctance on many levels for US boots on the ground (or at least for acknowledging US boots on the ground), and overall that is not necessarily a bad result. But each issue, each conflict, must be judged on its own, with due note to experience and lessons learned. Just like Iraq was NOTHING like Vietnam and there is little to no value in comparisons - Iraq in 2003 was not the Iraq of 1992, and it is not Iraq in 2014.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Dreams...
I had two separate TERRIBLE dreams the other night. The next night, as is my regular habit, I go to sleep trying to think of things I want. Cool things. Some big, lifelong goals. Some small, that are easily within reach, but I don't have…
 |
| I like this, it looks like a retired Jedi lives there. |
Maybe like this one...
Near trails...
 |
…for this.
 |
A barn is a must. Mrs. Bannon says so…
…with space for a gym |
| …more like this. |
A home library would be nice...
 |
| …with hidden room… …and we will want to travel... |
 |
| …nothing too fancy |
 |
| Subtle…. |
 |
| I saw one like this for sale….but it had black racing stripes... |
 |
| Finally…this one I have. But I want another one. |
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Fit for Duty...
The US Department of Justice is suing the State of Pennsylvania (…or 'Commonwealth' as they like to call themselves) because the physical fitness standards test discriminates against women.
They (the Federal Government) determined this because a higher percentage of male applicants passed the test than did female applicants.
Duh. It is a physical fitness test. I'm just saying'… However, check out the standards that the
Department of Justice requires below. The point is that once again the Federal Government uses statistics to determine "discrimination," and once again the Federal Government does not compare against its own tests.
I will say this - the federal government lowered the standards for females, and all are not happy - Chicago FBI Analyst Sues FBI, Saying Fitness Test Biased Against Men.
PA Trooper Fitness Test (link):
Vertical Jump - 14 inches, 3 attempts
Agility Run - 23.5 seconds, 2 attempts
300 Meter Run - 77 seconds
Push-ups - 13 repetitions (no time limit)
1.5 Mile Run - 17 minutes, 48 seconds
Federal Government Fitness Test:
DEA (link)
Pull-ups - female minimum 10 (female pull-ups)
Sit-ups - female minimum 51 in two minutes
Push-ups - female minimum 14 in two minutes
Shuttle Run - 28.1
2 Mile Run - 17 minutes 56 seconds
* - You get ONE attempt, and you must do MORE than the minimum in several events to pass
FBI (link)
Sit-ups - female minimum 35 in one minute
300 Meter Run - female minimum 64.9 seconds
Push-ups - female minimum 14
1.5 Mile Run - female minimum 13 minutes, 59 seconds
* - You get ONE attempt, and you must do MORE than the minimum in several events to pass
Why would a PA Trooper need to be in good physical shape?
They (the Federal Government) determined this because a higher percentage of male applicants passed the test than did female applicants.
Duh. It is a physical fitness test. I'm just saying'… However, check out the standards that the Department of Justice requires below. The point is that once again the Federal Government uses statistics to determine "discrimination," and once again the Federal Government does not compare against its own tests.
I will say this - the federal government lowered the standards for females, and all are not happy - Chicago FBI Analyst Sues FBI, Saying Fitness Test Biased Against Men.
PA Trooper Fitness Test (link):
Vertical Jump - 14 inches, 3 attempts
Agility Run - 23.5 seconds, 2 attempts
300 Meter Run - 77 seconds
Push-ups - 13 repetitions (no time limit)
1.5 Mile Run - 17 minutes, 48 seconds
Federal Government Fitness Test:
DEA (link)
Pull-ups - female minimum 10 (female pull-ups)
Sit-ups - female minimum 51 in two minutes
Push-ups - female minimum 14 in two minutes
Shuttle Run - 28.1
2 Mile Run - 17 minutes 56 seconds
* - You get ONE attempt, and you must do MORE than the minimum in several events to pass
FBI (link)
Sit-ups - female minimum 35 in one minute
300 Meter Run - female minimum 64.9 seconds
Push-ups - female minimum 14
1.5 Mile Run - female minimum 13 minutes, 59 seconds
* - You get ONE attempt, and you must do MORE than the minimum in several events to pass
Why would a PA Trooper need to be in good physical shape?
 |
| Free Gym Membership |
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Free Lunch...
From the Daily Kos:
"The good Obamacare news just doesn't stop rolling in…"
Is there any further evidence that they live in their own world, where the truth is what you want to believe? They are touting the fact that allowing a "child" to stay on their parent's health insurance until age 30, is beneficial to the child in many ways. I was going write quotes from the article, but they can pretty much be summarized as follows: Not paying for insurance saves you money, and having more money is good.
I will not mention the idiocy of having a "study" to prove that having more money will give you more "options." Okay, I mentioned it. I was once asked, "Dad, did you ever pay for something you didn't want to pay for?" I wanted to put him on his short bus and send him away…but it was very profound. I think I will ask this of people, and find out just which thing they were happy to part with their money the most? Insurance is one of those things. Health insurance is an easy decision…when you are in you 40's. But at 23, I'm pretty sure I was indestructible. (BTW, the first thing that I had to pay for that I really didn't want to was a dryer. My first one came with the house - replacing it seemed VERY unfair. I remember considering adding clothes lines in the back yard…)
Is it not clear to the Daily Kos that the price of the insurance coverage is not made up by insurance fairies, that the evil insurance company has bills to pay too, just like the Daily Kos does? That the price of the insurance will go up enough to cover the added costs?
Then there is this tidbit:
"Then there's what the researchers call the "compensating differential theory," which basically says that employer based health insurance holds down wages, because benefits are considered part of compensation, younger people will have the opportunity to get into jobs that offer higher wages but not health insurance. They found, based on the states they reviewed, that women see a gain of about 3.1 percent in their wages from this effect while they have access to their parents' health insurance, and that increase continues even after they age out of that coverage. The increase for men is about 1.6 percent."
That was a study based on States that passed these laws. Doesn't Obamacare CANCEL THAT OUT!? An employer is not ALLOWED BY LAW to not offer health insurance! Were they not listening to Nancy Pelosi? They passed it, and they are ignoring what's in it!
"The good Obamacare news just doesn't stop rolling in…"
Is there any further evidence that they live in their own world, where the truth is what you want to believe? They are touting the fact that allowing a "child" to stay on their parent's health insurance until age 30, is beneficial to the child in many ways. I was going write quotes from the article, but they can pretty much be summarized as follows: Not paying for insurance saves you money, and having more money is good.
I will not mention the idiocy of having a "study" to prove that having more money will give you more "options." Okay, I mentioned it. I was once asked, "Dad, did you ever pay for something you didn't want to pay for?" I wanted to put him on his short bus and send him away…but it was very profound. I think I will ask this of people, and find out just which thing they were happy to part with their money the most? Insurance is one of those things. Health insurance is an easy decision…when you are in you 40's. But at 23, I'm pretty sure I was indestructible. (BTW, the first thing that I had to pay for that I really didn't want to was a dryer. My first one came with the house - replacing it seemed VERY unfair. I remember considering adding clothes lines in the back yard…)
Is it not clear to the Daily Kos that the price of the insurance coverage is not made up by insurance fairies, that the evil insurance company has bills to pay too, just like the Daily Kos does? That the price of the insurance will go up enough to cover the added costs?
Then there is this tidbit:
"Then there's what the researchers call the "compensating differential theory," which basically says that employer based health insurance holds down wages, because benefits are considered part of compensation, younger people will have the opportunity to get into jobs that offer higher wages but not health insurance. They found, based on the states they reviewed, that women see a gain of about 3.1 percent in their wages from this effect while they have access to their parents' health insurance, and that increase continues even after they age out of that coverage. The increase for men is about 1.6 percent."
Thursday, July 24, 2014
I Wish...
My cellphone was supplied by my employer. A certain component of my work (including my pay) requires that I am on-call 24/7/365. However, there has been a cultural shift wherein the cellphone has created the belief that ANYBODY should be able to contact you ANYTIME. And you have to answer, whether its a call, a text, an email - nobody believes that you do not have your phone with you.
In 2001 I dumped my cellphone. I actually received a plaque from my co-workers in 2006 acknowledging my inability to call them back immediately. But technology caught up with me.
I have a growing list of answers to the question, "I called you, you didn't answer…", which is really not a question.
- I was out for a run…
- I was in the gym…
- I was in the shower…
It really starts to fade after that. You are expected to answer while driving, in a meeting, while eating - anytime it beeps, chirps or rings. If you asked my co-workers, I am the fittest, cleanest person they know.
For people that don't work with me, they don't know, I could be shooting it out with Russian backed separatists in Ukraine, or undercover as a guy pumping his own gas in a state where you can't pump your own gas…I don't know…but they don't know either.
I am ready to check out. I mean, I love my iPad - I streamed a sporting event last night on to my TV (thanks to a GREAT Father's Day present), but I am done with the cellphone.
This video does not quite hit it, but I post this for F, and her daughter P, and her daughter M, and F's other daughter H, and her daughter B…and all the rest to come:
….PS - this will all be covered over several chapters in my manifesto…due out in 13.5 years...
Saturday, July 19, 2014
It Has Started...
If you haven't seen World War Z, see it…
Patient Zero is a dog! Or wait, how did the dog get it? Please, remember, finger straight along the frame until you have made the decision to shoot…
Patient Zero is a dog! Or wait, how did the dog get it? Please, remember, finger straight along the frame until you have made the decision to shoot…
Monday, July 14, 2014
Justice for Justice...
Let it be known that I am against the legalization of marijuana in all current forms. However, more than that, I am against the Federal Government mis-using the Constitution...
In GONZALES V. RAICH (2005), the Supreme Court ruled that the United States Congress can prohibit the use of marijuana by the citizen of a State, even if that marijuana was not for sale, was never intended to be sold, never left the State, and was never intended to leave the State. If you know little about law enforcement you might say, "Yes, the Federal Government can make that illegal." It is more complicated than that. But, at the same time, it is simple. The Federal Government is constrained by the Constitution. It is a limited government, with certain enumerated powers.
This is why we currently have several states legalizing possession and use of marijuana for recreation…in violation of Federal Law.
Back to RAICH…the Supreme Court ruled that somebody growing marijuana in their own residence, for personal use, was a violation of Federal Law, because of the Commerce Clause.
Remember your history? One of the main reasons we have a Constitution is because the States were fighting each other, with no supreme law. So Congress shall have the power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes."
But remember, what if the Marijuana was never part of commerce, and was not between two States? No matter.
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| Justice |
"…Raich use[d] marijuana that has never been bought or sold, that has never crossed state lines, and that has had no demonstrable effect on the national market for marijuana. If Congress can regulate this under the Commerce Clause, then it can regulate virtually anything - and the Federal Government is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers..."
"…This is no less the case if Congress ties its power to the Necessary and Proper Clause rather than the Commerce Clause. When agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration raided Monson's home, they seized six cannabis plants. If the Federal Government can regulate growing a half-dozen cannabis plants for personal consumption, then Congress' Article I powers-as expanded by the Necessary and Proper Clause-have no meaningful limits..."
- Clarence Thomas, in his dissent
Saturday, July 5, 2014
5th of July...
Hurricane Arthur postponed our fireworks yesterday, so we worked-out instead...
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| Lt Michael P. Murphy USN |
We had watched Lone Survivor the night before, so we did "Murph." A Crossfit workout named after Michael Murphy, who was killed in action, and later awarded the Medal of Honor. They call them Hero workouts, and they are usually very hard. When you are in pain, and don't think you can go on anymore, its easy to get motivated by thinking of the sacrifice made by the Hero.
Run 1 mile
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 squats
Run 1 mile
(You are supposed to do it with a weighted vest…it was raining, so I used the excuse that I didn't want to get my vest wet. It sounded like a good excuse.)
It was raining and windy, which actually added to the fun. Somewhere in the 30s, I couldn't do more than 2 pull-ups at a time. But somewhere in the 60s, I was back up to sets of 4, then 5. Same as the push-ups. I was down to sets of 4. Then near 120, I was back up to sets of 8.
My workout partners were much younger than me, 20+ years younger. So I relied on my cunning and conniving, and did the squats slow and steady without rest. When I finished the 300th, I said, "So long suckers…" and took off for the mile run. Only, my legs didn't work very well, and I must have looked like an idiot, running as if my legs were tied together at the knee.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
America...
Go see it. But only if you have, or know, a child who goes to school, or went in the last 20 years…or if you vote Democrat but don't know who Saul Alinsky is…or if you like Bono…or if you are bothered by the fact that four Supreme Court justices tried to rule that the Government has the power to force businesses to pay for any type of birth control an employee wants*…
I would have waited until its on DVD, but I believe we are in a Culture War and I am sending some scarce resources to the side I favor...
* Little reported fact, Hobby Lobby MANDATED "health care" insurance provides for 16 different birth controls. The lawsuit was about other forms not provided.
I would have waited until its on DVD, but I believe we are in a Culture War and I am sending some scarce resources to the side I favor...
* Little reported fact, Hobby Lobby MANDATED "health care" insurance provides for 16 different birth controls. The lawsuit was about other forms not provided.
Monday, June 30, 2014
The Bizarro World...
The Supreme Court Just Dealt a Devastating Blow to Public Unions
You can read the article - but step back and review the facts. The woman who brought the lawsuit is taking care of her disabled son at home in Illinois. The Union wants to charge her dues, because that is a Union job.
Why did the Union think they could do that? Because the Supreme Court had previously said that was an okay thing to do.
Not any more.
But, its worse than that…"Public Unions like the American Federation of Teachers quickly derided the ruling. "While the court upheld the importance of collective bargaining and unions to families and communities, let's be clear that working people, who have aspired to the middle class and tried to make a better life for their families, have taken it on the chin for years," AFT president Randi Weingarten said in a statement. "The Roberts court has consistently ruled in favor of corporate interests, while diminishing the rights of labor…."
A woman taking care of her son at home, to the Left, is a "corporate interest."
Proving once again that the "teachers union" is about unions, not about teachers.
You can read the article - but step back and review the facts. The woman who brought the lawsuit is taking care of her disabled son at home in Illinois. The Union wants to charge her dues, because that is a Union job.
Why did the Union think they could do that? Because the Supreme Court had previously said that was an okay thing to do.
Not any more.
But, its worse than that…"Public Unions like the American Federation of Teachers quickly derided the ruling. "While the court upheld the importance of collective bargaining and unions to families and communities, let's be clear that working people, who have aspired to the middle class and tried to make a better life for their families, have taken it on the chin for years," AFT president Randi Weingarten said in a statement. "The Roberts court has consistently ruled in favor of corporate interests, while diminishing the rights of labor…."
A woman taking care of her son at home, to the Left, is a "corporate interest."
Proving once again that the "teachers union" is about unions, not about teachers.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Family Reunions...
[Sorry for the low quality…but its too new to be HD]
Jack Bauer reunites a terrorist mother with her son…
Jack Bauer reunites a terrorist mother with her son…
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
Free Meals...
South Jersey Schools Worry New Free Meal Program Has Hidden Costs
"…But officials at many local schools…are also concerned that the new program could cost them other state or federal aid, and that some families could object to a possible new requirement that all families provide income information."
Currently, that is true, to get a free meal everyday for your child, you have to prove that you need it. Imagine the horror!
"...Wildwood (New Jersey) has the highest local "identified student" rate at 61 percent and could get almost 100 percent of the meals reimbursed. About 90 percent of K-8 students and 70 percent of high school students are in the free meal program now…"
These kids are learning all sorts of things to help them in the real world, such as, how to get a free lunch from the government.
"…But officials at many local schools…are also concerned that the new program could cost them other state or federal aid, and that some families could object to a possible new requirement that all families provide income information."
Currently, that is true, to get a free meal everyday for your child, you have to prove that you need it. Imagine the horror!"...Wildwood (New Jersey) has the highest local "identified student" rate at 61 percent and could get almost 100 percent of the meals reimbursed. About 90 percent of K-8 students and 70 percent of high school students are in the free meal program now…"
These kids are learning all sorts of things to help them in the real world, such as, how to get a free lunch from the government.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Part of the Problem...
Eric Cantor Upset in Virginia GOP Primary to Tea Part Backed Challenger
"My thoughts are with him and his wife and their kids tonight," said John Boehner. EXACTLY! Boehner acts as if somebody died? They treat their elected representative position as if its part of their
family, and theirs to keep!
I'm not really anti-Cantor (although I would find it hard to vote for a guy with that voice), but I love the idea of throwing them out - even ones that I like, if they are there too long.
And then there's this:
Eric Cantor has long been the face of House Republican's extreme policies, debilitating disfunction and manufactured crises. Tonight is a major victory for the tea party as they yet again pull the Republican Party further to the radical right," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
How can this buffoon say in one sentence that Cantor is the problem, he is extreme, and then welcome his loss as a Republican pull to the Right? Nance, it was the Tea Party that tossed you out and made you "Minority" leader.
It would be nice to see a "toss them all out" campaign. Some think it can't be done, that we need some senior people there. That is a joke, and our current economic status, bureaucracy and elected largess is the punchline…
"My thoughts are with him and his wife and their kids tonight," said John Boehner. EXACTLY! Boehner acts as if somebody died? They treat their elected representative position as if its part of their
I'm not really anti-Cantor (although I would find it hard to vote for a guy with that voice), but I love the idea of throwing them out - even ones that I like, if they are there too long.
And then there's this:
Eric Cantor has long been the face of House Republican's extreme policies, debilitating disfunction and manufactured crises. Tonight is a major victory for the tea party as they yet again pull the Republican Party further to the radical right," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
How can this buffoon say in one sentence that Cantor is the problem, he is extreme, and then welcome his loss as a Republican pull to the Right? Nance, it was the Tea Party that tossed you out and made you "Minority" leader.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Tenure...
Why do teachers get "tenure"? Why don't construction workers get tenure? I know a lawyer who was laid off after years of working for the same company - why didn't he just get tenure.
Tenure, Firing Laws for California Teachers Tossed Out by Judge
And to boot, Democrat Secretary of Education Arne Duncan came out swinging in favor of the decision:
"The students who brought this lawsuit are, unfortunately, just nine out of millions of young people in America who are disadvantaged by laws, practices and systems that fail to identify and support our best teachers and match them with our neediest students. Today's court decision is a mandate to fix these problems."
I don't know about matching the best teachers with the neediest students - but I do know that teaching should be like any other job - keep the good ones, get rid of the bad ones.
Tenure, Firing Laws for California Teachers Tossed Out by Judge
And to boot, Democrat Secretary of Education Arne Duncan came out swinging in favor of the decision:
"The students who brought this lawsuit are, unfortunately, just nine out of millions of young people in America who are disadvantaged by laws, practices and systems that fail to identify and support our best teachers and match them with our neediest students. Today's court decision is a mandate to fix these problems."
I don't know about matching the best teachers with the neediest students - but I do know that teaching should be like any other job - keep the good ones, get rid of the bad ones.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Perception...
The shooting rampage in California will of course be blamed on guns. What IS known right now is that the shooter's father and mother work in Hollywood, and that the shooter's family was worried about the condition of his mental health BEFORE the shootings. The family actually called the police to go check on him after he posted a video on You Tube where he talked about killing people and committing suicide. The shooter wrote in a "manifesto" which documented his rejection by girls at a college he attended, that the police came, but did not search and find his guns and ammunition (a "welfare check" by police would not allow for a search of the residence without consent. The family, however, could have searched any time they wanted). The press is reporting that the guns and ammunition possessed by the shooter were "legally purchased."
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| "Did Man create God" |
The father of the shooter, who created a 2009 documentary called Oh My God with a budget of $1.25 million and earnings of $38,244, said the family "is staunchly against guns."
A father of one of the victims said, "The talk about gun rights…when will enough people say 'Stop this madness, we don't have to live like this, too many people have died.'"
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| Legal in all 50 states |
driven over more people in his
I do not know California state law, but in most if not all states, if there is a belief that a person is a danger to themselves and others (let alone supported by video on You Tube) a family member can obtain an emergency committal order of some duration where a mental health review is conducted. Law Enforcement can be used to execute and enforce the order. During that time the family could have searched the apartment and discovered the firearms. However, the firearms were just one tool he could have used, the real danger was that he was left alone.
I am jumping to as many conclusions as the media. They believe stronger gun laws will prevent future tragedies. I believe stronger families will prevent future tragedies...
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Yeah Right...
It is as if Attorney General Eric Holder does not understand how our system of justice works. At all.
Long story short: President Obama and Eric Holder believe there are too many black men in prison in America. I agree. And that is where the agreement ends.
They are there because they come from the inner cities where drug abuse is high, and therefore many are involved in the trafficking of drugs. They are there because they come from the inner cities where there is virtually no marriage (except in the rich downtown gay area) and therefore no traditional nuclear families.
Obama and Holder believe that Justice has not been blind in these situations.
Most really long term drug sentences in federal court are the results of the defendant's refusal to cooperate after arrest. The refusal to agree to testify against co-defendants. The refusal to identify their supplier. The refusal to identify the method and means by which the drug trafficking will continue after they are incarcerated.
But, there almost certainly are cases wherein defendants are sentenced to too many years. So, contrary to what one might think…I am not against this.
IF the criteria is that a defendant already served 10 years, was not involved in violence, did not have other criminal history (prior convictions)…then their case should be REVIEWED. However, how many cases are going to fit this? It is a very small percentage. No prior criminal history. Please.
Mr. Holder, please direct your focus elsewhere. Do not redirect government attorneys and resources as you have said. Let the ACLU, whom you have already asked for help, identify those eligible. Help redirect their efforts...
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| The Real Dream Act |
Long story short: President Obama and Eric Holder believe there are too many black men in prison in America. I agree. And that is where the agreement ends.
They are there because they come from the inner cities where drug abuse is high, and therefore many are involved in the trafficking of drugs. They are there because they come from the inner cities where there is virtually no marriage (except in the rich downtown gay area) and therefore no traditional nuclear families.
Obama and Holder believe that Justice has not been blind in these situations.
Most really long term drug sentences in federal court are the results of the defendant's refusal to cooperate after arrest. The refusal to agree to testify against co-defendants. The refusal to identify their supplier. The refusal to identify the method and means by which the drug trafficking will continue after they are incarcerated.
But, there almost certainly are cases wherein defendants are sentenced to too many years. So, contrary to what one might think…I am not against this.
IF the criteria is that a defendant already served 10 years, was not involved in violence, did not have other criminal history (prior convictions)…then their case should be REVIEWED. However, how many cases are going to fit this? It is a very small percentage. No prior criminal history. Please.
Mr. Holder, please direct your focus elsewhere. Do not redirect government attorneys and resources as you have said. Let the ACLU, whom you have already asked for help, identify those eligible. Help redirect their efforts...
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