…Chris and I constructed a trebuchet out of 2 X 4 timbers and a bucket of concrete which flung croquet balls an impressive distance, for all that it stood about four feet tall.
Our efforts and subsequent activities were watched with great interest by the horde of not-quite-drunk-yet engineers who were more-or-less permanently encamped at our house.
Whom, once Chris and I decided to upgrade our trebuchet, began to give us advice. And maybe some guidance. A little oversight. And a lent paw here-and-there.
Of course, they wound up taking over.
Not that we minded so much -- especially after someone fired up the arc welder….
Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler
'The O-man, Barack Hussein Obama, is an eloquently tailored empty suit. No resume, no accomplishments, no experience, no original ideas, no understanding of how the economy works, no understanding of how the world works, nothing but abstract empty rhetoric devoid of real substance.'
| Delaware Population Ranked 45th in the US - Total 864,764 (2007 est.) - Density 442.6/sq mi 170.87/km² (Ranked 6th in the US) - Median income $50,152 (12th) | Alaska Population Ranked 47th in the US - Total 683,478 (2007 est.) - Density 1.2/sq mi 0.46/km² (Ranked 50th in the US) - Median income US$54,627 (6th) |
Congress is required by Article I, Section 6, of the Constitution to determine its own pay. Prior to 1969, Congress did so by enacting stand-alone legislation. From 1789 through 1968, Congress raised its pay 22 times using this procedure. Congressional salaries initially were $1,500. By 1968, they had risen to $30,000. Stand-alone legislation may still be used to raise Member pay, as it was most recently in 1982, 1983, 1989, and 1991, but two other methods — including an automatic annual adjustment procedure and a commission process — are now also available.no one ... and I mean NO ONE who makes 169k / year understands the working class American citizen.
Under the annual adjustment procedure, Members are scheduled to receive a 2.8% adjustment in January 2009. Members originally were scheduled to receive a 2.7% increase in January 2008. The increase was revised to 2.5%, resulting in a salary in 2008 of $169,300, to match the percent increase in the base pay of General Schedule (GS) employees. By law, Members may not receive an increase greater than the increase in the base pay of GS employees. Congress voted to deny the scheduled January 2007 adjustment. Members previously received a pay increase (1.9%) in January 2006, increasing their salary to the rate of $165,200.[emphasis mine]
now 174,000 - 169,000 = 5,000Projected January 2009 Member Pay Increase of 2.8%Under the formula established in the Ethics Reform Act, Members may receive a pay adjustment in January 2009 of 2.8%. This adjustment — if not revised by Congress or constrained by provisions of the Ethics Reform Act related to the pay increase for General Schedule employees — would increase salaries for Members of Congress to $174,000.
"Leave it alone son. It's not bothering you"Now I know Dad is at least 800 miles away, but occasionally situations spark memories of my childhood and I get little verbal flashbacks. This particular memory centers around a varmint sittin' in a sunny patch, a stick and a kid [me] with no fear of getting bitten or scratched. Y'all are already laughing at me aren't ya? Dad was one to let the punishment fit the crime. He's funny that way. He figures I'm gonna get what I deserve; random varmints don't have a 3 strike justice system.
"to make a transition from one thing to another smoothly and without interruption".... stop pokin' me DAD.
If we are going to pass laws to keep people safe from EVERYTHING, wow that's a lot of laws we're going to need. Let's face it; if we legislate anything unsafe out of our lives we're going to be left with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and not much else.
I can see the reasoning behind training prior to using a firearm or a vehicle (or ANY potentially dangerous tool). I can see the reasoning behind a requirement for training. I can also see a reason to avoid making it a REQUIREMENT.
If you buy a saw and cut off your finger, that's all you. Call it incompetence or negligence or whatever you want; you did it to you. I don’t see any need for anti-saw legislation to keep you safe. I certainly don’t see a need for anti-saw legislation to keep ME safe in the event I might lose a finger someday down the road. Since they belong to me, and I’m an adult, I see it as MY responsibility to keep track of where I put MY fingers and MY saw. There’s no logical reason to pass a law just because we need to be careful.
When I bounced my face on the road, because I was too stupid to put on my helmet, my dad took me to the ER and then took me to the local cycle safety class. He had the instructor point to my face and point to the students’ helmets. Then he showed them the medical bill and told them where they could buy full face helmets. That’s education not legislation. And it works.
We cannot continue to pass legislation every time someone does something stupid or careless. Every time we do, we curb the rights of the citizens; the safe and conscientious as well as the stupid and careless. It is not government’s job to keep us safe from ourselves. This is the USA and we have the freedom to be as smart or stupid as we choose.
Instead of passing more unconstitutional laws we don’t need, let’s promote education.
Exxon Mobil sets U.S. profit recordJuly 31, 2008
IRVING — Record crude prices sent Exxon Mobil second-quarter earnings up nearly 14 percent -- to the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation.
Irving-based Exxon Mobil today reports it earned 11.68 billion dollars in the just-completed quarter,
Net income for the April-June period came to $2.22 a share, up from 10.26 billion dollars, or $1.83 a share, one year ago.
Revenue rose 40 percent.
Exxon Mobil says, excluding an aftertax charge of 290 million related to an Exxon Valdez tanker accident court settlement, earnings reached 11.97 billion dollars -- or $2.27 per share.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)Copyright © 2008, KDAF
Before
He's a good boy; it's not his fault he's fuzzy.
After
“For nearly a century, the American Red Cross has prepared people to save lives through health and safety education and training. From first aid, CPR and bloodborne pathogens training to swimming and lifeguarding, HIV/AIDS education and Babysitter's Training, American Red Cross Preparedness programs help people lead safer and healthier lives.”
“Today's innovative programs also include teaching lay persons and professionals how to use automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to save victims of sudden cardiac arrest. Last year, nearly 11 million people enrolled in American Red Cross health and safety courses."
"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set," he said Wednesday. "We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."response by MadOgre
'just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded'As powerful as the military? why? Our military is the most powerful in the world. The only possible reason to have a CNSF of equal power is to fight the military.
He said he would make federal assistance conditional on school districts establishing service programs and set the goal of 50 hours of service a year for middle school and high school students.Don't we pay taxes that are supposed to go to the school districts? He's planning on withholding that money until the children are put to work?
For college students, Obama would set the goal at 100 hours of service a year and create a $4,000 annual tax credit for college students tied to that level of service.OK, I don't see a problem requiring some sort of public service for college students who want to receive federal funding. Working your way through college never hurt anyone. However, making 'volunteer' service quotas a graduation requirement pretty much prohibits use of the term 'volunteer'.
Ours is approx. 2 years old and still flyin'. Its still flat, round and chewy; no holes or tears. Easy to pick up off the ground, easy on the gums, easy to rinse off mud and drool. Excellent substitute for a rope, tennis ball or other tug/chew-toy. In an emergency will work as a bowl. Good for dog-dog, dog-human, even human-human fun. The flyer is soft enough to not leave bruises, but it will knock off glasses and scuff paint; so, you with the thumbs ..practice your aim. Costs a bit more than the standard plastic disk, but easily makes up for it in durability. Kong toys are available at most pet stores.
TX says I can't carry my big one if I leave home. I don't know how that works with fillet and skinning knives. I don't do any huntin' or fishin' but it makes me curious.
While drivers can't hold a phone to have a conversation, they still are allowed to touch it or dial to make or take a call, said Tom Marshall, spokesman for the CHP.I want to cry.
Text-messaging also is still allowed for drivers over 18
This is a horrible tragedy and our hearts go out to his friends & family.Early Wednesday morning, while on a seemingly routine assignment on patrol alone, Francis was shot and killed in a struggle with a woman who had caused a disturbance ... less than a block from his police station, police said.
No charges? Are you kidding me? I can only hope this will be rectified when/if the woman is able to leave the hospital.She may have fired at those police officers as well, sources said, before they fired several shots, wounding her. No charges were filed against her by Wednesday night.[emphasis added]
It's not just the size of Clinton’s debts that’s noteworthy. It’s also that her unpaid bills extend beyond the realm of high-priced consultants who typically let bills slide as part of the cost of doing business with powerful clientele whose success is linked to their own.[emphasis added]
Clinton also reported debts more than one month old to a slew of apolitical businesses and organizations, large and small, in the states through which this historically expensive Democratic primary campaign has raged.[emphasis added]Historically expensive .. .hmmmm
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s cash-strapped presidential campaign has been putting off paying hundreds of bills for months - freeing up cash for critical media buys but also earning the campaign a reputation as something of a deadbeat in some small-business circles.How many people were thinking Hillary Clinton would stand up for small business and the working class?
Although his campaign has denied that Obama was a practicing Muslim, the "Islam" issue is not likely to go away soon for the presidential candidate.[emphasis added]
… In fact, Obama's religious upbringing in Indonesia depended more on the conventions of the schools he attended than on any decision by him, his mother or his stepfather. When he was at a Catholic school for three years, he prayed as a Catholic.[emphasis added]
When Barack Obama was a boy here, he studied for three years at a religious school and prayed four times a day.
It was a Roman Catholic school. There, Obama was registered as student No. 203. "Yes, he prayed, because all the students here had to pray in the Catholic way--`in the name of the Father, [Son] and the Holy Spirit,'" recalled Obama's 1st-grade teacher, Israella Pareira Darmawan.[emphasis added]
Interviews with dozens of former classmates, teachers, neighbors and friends show that Obama was not a regular practicing Muslim when he was in Indonesia, despite being listed as a Muslim on the registration form for the Catholic school, Strada Asisia, where he attended 1st through 3rd grades.[emphasis added]
In their first neighborhood, Obama occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers, a few neighbors said.Here in the absence of an actual date, we can conclude ‘first neighborhood’ coincides with 1967. Note, the term “occasionally” is used here. I’ve known many practicing religious people who attend services at irregular intervals. Personally, I find regular attendance a non-factor, as determining one’s religion is based on their chosen set of beliefs. Also, “followed” is used, not “accompanied”; therefore we can deduce a young Obama was making his own decision to attend the mosque and not at the direction of a parent as he was not “with” a parent.
When he was at a public school for a year, he learned about Islam.
In late 1970, Obama's family moved to another neighborhood, and Obama enrolled in Public Elementary School Menteng No. 1, … In 1962 the Dutch handed the school over to the Indonesian government. At the time, the predominantly Muslim public school was considered one of the best in Jakarta.
"The Muslims learn about Islam, prayer and religious activity," said Hardi Priyono, the vice principal for curriculum. "And for the Christians, during the religious class, they also have a special room teaching Christianity. It's always been like that. We are a public school. We have always been a public school. [emphasis added]
When Obama attended 4th grade in 1971, Muslim children spent two hours a week studying Islam, and Christian children spent those two hours learning about the Christian religion.
Zulfan Adi, a former neighborhood playmate of Obama's who has been cited in news reports as saying Obama regularly attended Friday prayers with Soetoro, told the Tribune he was not certain about that when pressed about his recollections. He only knew Obama for a few months, during 1970, when his family moved to the neighborhood.
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio, June 21 (UPI) -- An Ohio school board is firing a science teacher accused of pressing his Christian beliefs on students.
John Freshwater discussed his creationism beliefs, disregarded evolution and failed to follow the standard curriculum while teaching eighth-grade science at Mount Vernon Middle School, board officials said.
An investigation revealed he continued teaching his beliefs even after he was ordered to stop, the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported Saturday.
The investigation found Freshwater said homosexuals are sinners and branded crosses into some students' arms, the board said. [emphasis added]
Freshwater's attorney, R. Kelly Hamilton, said his client's rights to practice religion were infringed and he plans to call for a hearing with the school board to fight the dismissal.
Hamilton said the allegations are "fabrications created by a couple of students … Not a single child has ever been harmed."
The parents say that Freshwater used a piece of electrical equipment to etch a cross on their son in December. When they complained, the district responded by telling the teacher not to do anything similar in the future.
Administrators began cracking down on the teacher only after the parents hired a lawyer, the suit says.
‘(Washington, DC, June 6, 2008) – New figures showing that US incarceration rates are climbing even higher, with racial minorities greatly overrepresented in prisons and jails, highlight the need to adopt alternative criminal justice policies, Human Rights Watch said today.’
‘The new statistics also show large racial disparities, with black males incarcerated at a per capita rate six times that of white males’
Alternative criminal justice policies? Huh?
What’s the alternative to incarcerating criminals? Not incarcerating criminals? Who thinks that’s a better plan than we’ve got now? Here’s an idea: if you think not prosecuting criminals is better than prosecuting criminals take a deep breath and hold it as long as you can; then I’ll help you hold it a while longer. Moron.
You can NOT I repeat NOT start telling Law Enforcement Officers they have a racial quota for catching bad guys. WHY? HERE’S WHY, YOU NUTJOB: First - exactly how is someone supposed to instruct the police to pick up more green people and less purple people without some freakin’ HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION screaming racism? YOU CAN’T. CAN NOT. CAN’T BE DONE. Second – it’s morally wrong to target anyone due to their ethnic group. You target them when they break the law. THAT’S WHY.
Are there more purple people in jail than green people? Maybe so. Were the criminal charges against them fabricated because the justice system is racist? HELL NO. Should we let them out because we have a racial imbalance? You can’t seriously expect anyone to fall for that tripe. They are crooks and they should be behind bars and I stopped giving a rat’s ass about their rights the second they violated someone else’s. Human rights organizations seem to want us to look at stats before we arrest a crook. Do we let a baby-rapist walk if we already have 3 this month from that ethnic group? HELL NO. Do we need to arrest more green people for blue collar crimes and more purple people for white collar crimes? Probably, but not because they are green or purple; we need to arrest them because they broke the damn law. Are there criminals out there walking free? Yes there are, but again, they are not criminals because of their race, but because they BROKE THE LAW. There are more criminals than the LEO’s can catch. The police are spread pretty freakin’ thin and a few rotten apples aside, are doing the best they can. Considering crooks are playing outside the rules it’s no surprise the Coppers are falling behind in some spots.
It occurs to me that I started taking out the trash when its full of chicken bones and other juicy leftovers instead of leaving it overnight; and my dogs stopped getting in the trash. Perhaps it’s time someone took their spare time and looked into the reason people commit crimes and tried to fix it somehow. Maybe if we stopped shipping food overseas and fed the hungry here in the USA, fewer people would steal in order to feed their families. Maybe if we stopped taxing the working class to death, fewer people would take up tax exempt professions like illegal drugs. Maybe if more people were allowed their constitutional rights to self protection there would be fewer easy victims for criminals to prey upon.
Pause for more oxygen and less blood pressure
Breathe Breathe Breathe
Ok I’m back
‘This represents an incarceration rate of 762 per 100,000 US residents,the highest such rate in the world. By contrast, the United Kingdom’s incarceration rate is 152 per 100,000 residents; the rate in Canada is 108; and in France it is 91. ‘
I think we the people should do more to help the situation; instead of sitting on our collective butts and bitchin’ about all the stuff the LEO’s do wrong. Here’s a tip: the police don’t make the law. Politicians make the law. We the people elect the politicians. So in essence, we make the law. Remember that the next time you think some law is stupid or cumbersome. YOU MADE IT HAPPEN. YOU DID IT TO YOURSELF. Either by voting for the imbecile who enacted it, or by not voting for someone who opposed it.
I don’t know how many counties nationwide have similar programs, but for those of you in AZ with the volunteer bug: http://www.mcso.org/index.php?a=GetModule&mn=Posse
