Introducing Cabpro…

I’m adding a new blog to the blogroll. It’s from an organization called CABPRO-California Association Of Business, Property, and Resource Owners.  This group is all about protecting the rights of said business, property, and resource owners. They also put out a great right leaning magazine called CABPRO News. If anyone wants to download an issue of this letter, go here.

This newsletter and subsequent website (did I mention the blog?) is kind of a quasi-ressurection of  an older one called THE REPUBLIC. This letter was a great read, as is the new one, and touched on many subjects ranging from politics to religion, from the local level to the national and the international level. There are great history pieces, usually in regard to a current crisis event or some such thing. I recommend the read.

Swing by the site and drop Martin Light a hello. And while your at it, there are many support levels if you feel it within your means and/or belief system to contribute.

Hey, who turned the lights back on???

Seems a little dusty in here, but all in all, none the worse for wear. Thanks go out to Eric from AT&T for finally taking the time to track the problem. Since these guys come into my work every morning, I got the opportunity to talk to them about my little problem with the phone and DSL lines. They kept making calls to the house to see if there was any problem getting through, and wooncha knowit, the phone worked for a brief moment every time they called. But this guy Eric said that if the DSL was having issues then it meant there was a much bigger problem than they thought.

Anyhoo, this guy showed up without a call to the customer no-service line after completing his workload for the day friday. He ran a tone on our line from the box on the house and flew all the way back to the junction box at the park three blocks away. Once he determined our line, he found a short between our ground line and the neighbors. He fixed that. Then after finding another issue, he ran a new line from the junction all the way back to the house.  He did this in less than an hour. He even came in and checked out the phone and watched me log onto the interweb before he left. If AT&T is listening, give this guy a raise. (Chances are, they’re not, but it never hurts to try.

So all this while I am trying to reestablish my blogging habits. Doesn’t make me look very consistent now does it?

So while my service was patchy I dedicated myself to actually learning to play my guitar instead of just faking it. Of all the guitars I’ve had and all the equipment, you’da thought I was at least semi-pro all these years. I basically picked up my first one at 16, and now, at 39 I feel that aside from knowing a few chords and a few more songs, my prowess over the fretboard hasn’t really changed much. So I pilfered a bunch of tabs from some friends and by golly, if my diabetes didn’t make my digits completely sore, this sure clinched it.

Well, that’s my shout out for the day. Still gotta get up early so I think I’ll just put it up for the night.

Ciao.

Oh Yeah..Is Misha still doing the “Pop a Pali for pizza” thing?

“Please, just make this easy for us….”

I was surprised that neither the Rott crew nor The Lovely posted on this…

Obama: Don’t stock up on guns

Wha….!?

As gun sales shoot up around the country, President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday that gun-owning Americans do not need to rush out and stock up before he is sworn in next month.

That’s what I thought you said. We already know the answers here, but just to play devil’s advocate, WHY NOT?

“I believe in common-sense gun safety laws, and I believe in the second amendment,” Obama said at a news conference. “Lawful gun owners have nothing to fear. I said that throughout the campaign. I haven’t indicated anything different during the transition. I think people can take me at my word.”

Umm…okay. There, that was easy, right? NOT! This statement comes from the douchoppotomus that turned his back on his pastor of 20 years when the heat was turned up and certain beliefs made it into the public ear. Coming from the serpent that found himself backpedalling after a simple plumber exposed you for the sociocommimarxist f*ck you really are ON CAMERA! Sure. I believe you 100%. But me? I lie.

But National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said it’s not Obama’s words — but his legislative track record — that has gun-buyers flocking to the stores.

“Prior to his campaign for president, his record as a state legislator and as a U.S. Senator shows he voted for the most stringent forms of gun control, the most Draconian legislation, gun bans, ammunition bans and even an increase in federal excise taxes up to 500 percent for every gun and firearm sold,” Arulanandam said.

That’s right. Never judge a slug by it’s shell. Instead, follow the track it leaves. And this slime stays consistent.

Obama answered “yes” in 1996 to a questionnaire from an Illinois group on whether he supported a handgun ban. But he later said a staffer filled out that answer and he did not support a ban.

(Scuse me. I guess only consistent as long as it benefits him.)

Nationally, background checks for gun purchases jumped nearly 49 percent during the week Obama was elected, compared with the same time period last year, according to the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System.

Now they know where you are folks. But they also know that there are a lot more of you. Now how about some more good news…

Anecdotally, gun dealers around the country have reported spikes in sales. The Illinois State Rifle Association Reports gun sales for November were 38 percent higher than last year.

The most self-protected nation on earth, I tell you. This would make the founding fathers proud. Now for the reaction…

“We don’t dispute [the gun sales hike] because the numbers from the federal system certainly confirm that there is increased activity out there. We just think it’s a bit stupid,” said Peter Hamm, spokesman for the Brady Campaign against Gun Violence.

“Anyone who thinks they need to rush out and buy a firearm clearly has not been paying attention to how quickly we make progress on this issue. We don’t think these are first-time buyers. We think they are people who already have more than enough guns at their homes to protect themselves and are buying more.”

Hey ASSHOLE… the Jews could never have had enough guns in their possession to stave off the SS. But they sure could have changed the outcome drastically. They may have been able to hold off the holocaust until we got there. You make true Americans nervous. And as I look at the headline of this article, I don’t see a statement being made, I hear a plea. Or rather, a Jedi Mind Trick. “These aren’t the droids you are looking for, er…I mean, you don’t need to stock up on guns before I take office.”

Why would Americans make it easy for something they truly fear?

I will say this. I do not own a gun. It’s one of those things that I always felt was a necessary purchase, but procrastination has gotten the better of the situation. Now prices climb, application processes and registration requirements get more stringent every year, especially here in the Peoples Republik Of Kalifornia. Had I taken care of business when I had the ablity to do so, I would have armed to the teeth.Now the best I can offer is going to someone else’s happy home and assisting them in defending theirs. The armed citizen is the last line of defense if things go south. Once that line of defense falls, the rest can be taken without additional fight. Take the strong and the weak will fall by default.

Hey O…Nice try.

Just in case anybody needed an issue-by-issue breakdown of how His Royal Highhorse thinks of the gun issue, give this a read….

Barack Obama on Gun Control

Hell Week is DONE!!!

Actually, it wasn’t really hell week. Not considering the results we were pushing for.

This week was centered around getting people interested in Christ. Piquing their curiosity, if you will. The entire week was really just filled with a hellish schedule. The day started at 3:30 AM and didn’t land me home until sometime around 9:30 that night. But I must say that I had some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time, so on that end alone, it was worth it.

The project was one that the church puts on every year, as I mentioned before. It is called Christmas In Bethlehem. The whole program involves giving visitors a free tour of the town of Bethlehem, set around the night of Christ’s birth. The program goes as follows…

Meet the new boss…

With the election of the upcoming POTUS, I would be remiss if I didn’t say I was a little nervous. Especially after Joe the Plumber ripped the lid off of his can o’worms. After all, statements regarding a new Brownshirt Brigade patrolling the streets bring to mind images of church raids, gun grabs, breadlines, and little bastards with blackjacks and whistles combing parks and commercial hubs barking out “Your papers!” in Deutche.

Fear mongering? maybe. But really, put a Bissle Sweeper under the Prez Elect’s nose and you might have a dead ringer for Hitler after a trip to the Bahamas.

Seriously…with all that in mind, what’s up with this?

The U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials.

The long-planned shift in the Defense Department’s role in homeland security was recently backed with funding and troop commitments after years of prodding by Congress and outside experts, defense analysts said.

I’m leaning more toward years of prodding until the right congress was in place to approve such a maneuver. But hey, I could just be fearmongering, right?

Skipping ahead in the story a little…

The Pentagon’s plan calls for three rapid-reaction forces to be ready for emergency response by September 2011. The first 4,700-person unit, built around an active-duty combat brigade based at Fort Stewart, Ga., was available as of Oct. 1, said Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., commander of the U.S. Northern Command.

If funding continues, two additional teams will join nearly 80 smaller National Guard and reserve units made up of about 6,000 troops in supporting local and state officials nationwide. All would be trained to respond to a domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive attack, or CBRNE event, as the military calls it.

All this is being introduced under the banner of Homeland Security with 9/11and Katrina being used as the catalyst. The concern here is the Posse Comitatus Act and the potential end run around the safeguard to bring something in under the radar, so to speak. The Posse Comitatus states the following…

Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

And an overview states a bit more detail…

• Pursuant to the presidential power to quell domestic violence,
federal troops are expressly exempt from the prohibitions of
Posse Comitatus Act, and this exemption applies equally to
active-duty military and federalized National Guard troops

There is the loop in the thread. Again, maybe I’m just a little bit ‘noid, but this whole thing seems a little spooky, especially the timing.  Take a pic, but it’s not very often, maybe the only time in history, that I have agreed with the ACLU on something.

But then, I also think that maybe just an expansion of the National Guard through recruitment and intensified training may be an even better idea. Hell, give the soldiers powering down from active service after only one or two tours an offer of a bonus for joining the guard, if that isn’t already the case. Give the guard speciallized training in the nuances and methods of a terrorist attack. Hell, step up the training schedule. But deferring the United States Armed Forces to domestic security seems a bit steep and ominous.

Busy week continues…

It’s hard to sit down lately to post or read or whatever. The Christmas in Bethlehem stage is being set. Lots of construction involved. I watched the entire church transform in one day to the equivalent of a rat maze. Today, I got off work and went over to help finish some things up and the change from yesterday was remarkable.

Tomorrow night is the dress rehearsal. I feel pretty good about it. As a matter of fact, I feel better about it now that I see the element we will be working in considering it’ll take less imagination to bring the crowd to the place your trying to show them.

Here’s to breaking a leg…

One for the Gipper???

I was perusing the world news when I happened along this quote in Pravda…

Ronald Reagan: ‘Everybody that is for abortion has already been born’

This was from the opinion page of the paper, an article slamming the practice of abortion. The author makes an interesting case as to when a human becomes a viable entity. The article was good, but that headline…

Things that piss me off…

Well, first there’s this from FGCU.…

Christmas is just 30 days away, but Santa Claus won’t be stopping by Florida Gulf Coast University this holiday.
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He’s not allowed on campus.

FGCU administration has banned all holiday decorations from common spaces on campus and canceled a popular greeting card design contest, which is being replaced by an ugly sweater competition. In Griffin Hall, the university’s giving tree for needy preschoolers has been transformed into a “giving garden.”

The moves boil down to political correctness.

No Shit Sherlock. Ya think? I don’t know why I would be so upset about this considering the fact I expect nothing less from academia.

“Public institutions, including FGCU, often struggle with how best to observe the season in ways that honor and respect all traditions,” President Wilson Bradshaw wrote in a memo to faculty and staff Thursday. “This is a challenging issue each year at FGCU, and 2008 is no exception. While it may appear at times that a vocal majority of opinion is the only view that is held, this is not always the case.”

In my arrogant fucking opinion, I don’t see the problem there, Punky. Everybody, including the Santa-sportin’ Bing-Crosby-lovin, snowball fighting Christmas revellers just hang your shit and be done with it. You OBVIOUSLY can’t cater to every group but one and call yourselves fair, Douchebag.

Well then, let’s move on to Thanksgiving. Harmless enough, right?

Some say having students dress up as pilgrims and Native Americans is ‘demeaning.’ Their opponents say they are elitists injecting politics into a simple children’s celebration.

…WTF…?

For decades, Claremont kindergartners have celebrated Thanksgiving by dressing up as pilgrims and Native Americans and sharing a feast. But on Tuesday, when the youngsters meet for their turkey and songs, they won’t be wearing their hand-made bonnets, headdresses and fringed vests.

Parents in this quiet university town are sharply divided over what these construction-paper symbols represent: A simple child’s depiction of the traditional (if not wholly accurate) tale of two factions setting aside their differences to give thanks over a shared meal? Or a cartoonish stereotype that would never be allowed of other racial, ethnic or religious groups?

Okay, how ’bout we have them dress up as George Washington and Brezhnev? This could symbolize the pilgrims failed attempt of a communist society and subsequent turn toward a more capitalist ideology. But then I forgot that we are in the midst of taking that turn right back to where we started as we speak.

My outlook was summarized so clearly when one of my employees told a customer, “I’m highly offended by your political correctness, sir.” Seems that as long as anything good that even hints towards good and wholesome celebration is targeted in today’s atmosphere. I know I’m rehadhing old gripes here, and that we get pissed about this every year, but I can’t help but think that eventually, the people on my side of the argument will grow a set of balls and a voice to go with it.

Ferfuckssake…

(H/T’s from DRUDGE)

Bush issues pardons…Guess who’s not coming to dinner…

via The Associated Press: Bush’s pardon list shows no high-profile convicts

On the latest pardon list were:

_Leslie Owen Collier of Charleston, Mo. She was convicted for unauthorized use of a pesticide and violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

_Milton Kirk Cordes of Rapid City, S.D. Cordes was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits importation into the country of wildlife taken in violation of conservation laws.

_Richard Micheal Culpepper of Mahomet, Ill., who was convicted of making false statements to the federal government.

_Brenda Jean Dolenz-Helmer of Fort Worth, Texas, for reporting or helping cover up a crime.

_Andrew Foster Harley of Falls Church, Va. Harley was convicted of wrongful use and distribution of marijuana and cocaine.

_Obie Gene Helton of Rossville, Ga., whose offense was unauthorized acquisition of food stamps.

_Carey C. Hice Sr. of Travelers Rest, S.C., who was convicted of income tax evasion.

_Geneva Yvonne Hogg of Jacksonville, Fla., convicted of bank embezzlement.

_William Hoyle McCright Jr. of Midland, Texas, who was sentenced for making false entries, books, reports or statements to a bank.

_Paul Julian McCurdy of Sulphur, Okla., who was sentenced for misapplication of bank funds.

_Robert Earl Mohon Jr. of Grant, Ala., who was convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

_Ronald Alan Mohrhoff of Los Angeles, who was convicted for unlawful use of a telephone in a narcotics felony.

_Daniel Figh Pue III of Conroe, Texas, convicted of illegal treatment, storage and disposal of a hazardous waste without a permit.

_Orion Lynn Vick of White Hall, Ark., who was convicted of aiding and abetting the theft of government property.

Bush also commuted the prison sentences of John Edward Forte of North Brunswick, N.J., and James Russell Harris of Detroit, Mich. Both were convicted of cocaine offenses.

No border agents. Figures. But let’s just hope that for Bush and Cheneys sakes, they never visit Vermont should this go south…

One hot topic of discussion related to pardons is whether Bush might decide to issue pre-emptive pardons before he leaves office to government employees who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Some constitutional scholars and human rights groups want the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama to investigate possible war crimes.

The clock is ticking…

Busy, busy, busy…

Thought I’d be able to post a bit more this weekend, but as it sits, even the “I GOTTA DO” list got kicked by the wayside. I wanted to get the Christmas lights up. The missus protested, saying it was too soon. She’s the one that wants them up the weekend after Thanksgiving, and I’m sorry, but it’s supposed to rain that weekend and I had a sunny forecast for this one.

Wives have a funny way of getting their way. First, she picked up the new Select Comfort bed for my daughter. (Hell, WE don’t even have one of these.) This meant taking apart her futon bottom bunk bed apart, moving it to the spare room, reassembling it, then assembling her bed.

I was prepared for this. It was going to be quick. I had the cordless drill all powered up, and I was ready to get this done in record time. Then the other shoe dropped. Allen screws.

…

Well let me tell you that none of these were in a place where I could just spin the Allen wrenches. I had to insert, twist, remove, repeat. Dammitall. By the way, I had no clue that the ‘box spring’ was just a stupid flimsy frame with bolt-and-wing nut plastic beams and frame. How much did this thing cost again? Needless to say, with this and my honey-do list on Sunday, the lights are still waiting, and they will be for the next two weeks.

Well, to make matters worse, My mother called on Saturday morning and hung up on me when I answered. All I heard was “That’s just some really f***ing wierd Sh*t.”  *click*

She called back and we heard the wierdest noises on the phone. She thought it was on her end. It wasn’t. For the next two days, our phone reception was screwed. It was like someone planted a virus on our phone.

Imagine this…You know that noise that the phone makes when you leave it off the hook? Remember that. Now add a dial tone, a busy signal, a recording about the number you were trying to reach being disconected, a recording about how the call you were making not able to be completed as dialed. Now play all that at once, then try to talk through that. Then get pissed, hang up your phone, come back five minutes later and pick it up, only to realize that it didn’t hang up.

…WTF…

So this we had to try to deal with til this morning. I couldn’t track it down, and a new phone didn’t help. I had to go make the call to the phone company from my work and get the sitch handled. And of course, after putting in the help ticket with ATT, I talked to one of their service guys who comes in every day. Well he went to check it out and kinda usurped the guy who was sent by the phone company. Bad timing. Turns out that the problem was in a junction box at the park about three blocks from here. But now I have a friggin’ phone.

I guess I will get to post all week, then next week, we have our Christmas In Bethlehem pageant starting with setup after church Sunday and after work Monday and Tuesday. We have a dress rehearsal on Tuesday night. Then we have the show for two hours plus on Wed.-Fri. night, plus Saturday morning, then teardown Saturday nigh in time for church Sunday morning. I hear this is quite an impressive feat, taking down and storing sets in four hours that took two to three days to put up.  Next week, I will be lucky to eat dinner.But the point is to try to bring outsiders in faith into faith. It will all be worth it if it changes the perspective of one person. (I’m thinking my parents since they’re coming.)

For now, I need to go to bed. Three in the morning seems to come about midnight.