Courtesy of the ethanol lobbyists and the Obama Administration:
Global Dashboard catches the Obama Administration selectively explaining the causes for increasing world food prices:
“The increase in February mostly reflected further gains in international maize prices, driven by strong demand amid tightening supplies, while prices rose marginally in the case of wheat and fell slightly in the case of rice.”
“In other words, this is mainly about corn. And who’s the biggest corn exporter in the world? The United States…And where is 40% of US corn production going this year? Ethanol, for use in US car engines.”
And let us not forget that the industry- with help from a bunch of clowns in the Administration- wants to up it from 10% to 15% ethanol in fuel; and screw all the engines it'll damage and so forth.
Monday, March 07, 2011
One of the interesting things about OK is the toys
the National Severe Storm Lab gets.
Navy ships originally used AEGIS phased array radar (called SPY-1) technology to protect naval battle groups from missile threats. Researchers believe the same technology has great potential for increasing lead-time for tornado warnings.
In 2000, the U.S. Navy agreed to loan a phased array antenna to NSSL and provided the $10,000,000 in funding to help build the National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT).
Take a look at the imaging they can get with this setup; it'll look real nice on tv if you can ignore the weather weenie saying something like "Red alert, we're all gonna DIE if you don't get underground!"
Navy ships originally used AEGIS phased array radar (called SPY-1) technology to protect naval battle groups from missile threats. Researchers believe the same technology has great potential for increasing lead-time for tornado warnings.
In 2000, the U.S. Navy agreed to loan a phased array antenna to NSSL and provided the $10,000,000 in funding to help build the National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT).
Take a look at the imaging they can get with this setup; it'll look real nice on tv if you can ignore the weather weenie saying something like "Red alert, we're all gonna DIE if you don't get underground!"
I realize I'm late on this latest (possibly NSFW) medical discovery,
but better late than missed:
Staring at female mammary glands is good for a mans' heart health(maybe some women for that matter). Put in less scientific language,
A recent study by German doctors has discovered that staring at a woman’s sweater puppies for ten minutes a day can lower blood pressure and stress on the heart. While this is something many of us have suspected for a long time, it is nice to see a double-boob, er -blind study confirm it.
So, in my ever-present concern for the health of all five or six of you guys(and maybe a lady or two),
Staring at female mammary glands is good for a mans' heart health(maybe some women for that matter). Put in less scientific language,
A recent study by German doctors has discovered that staring at a woman’s sweater puppies for ten minutes a day can lower blood pressure and stress on the heart. While this is something many of us have suspected for a long time, it is nice to see a double-boob, er -blind study confirm it.
So, in my ever-present concern for the health of all five or six of you guys(and maybe a lady or two),
So this is what (fG)Britain seems to think of as a good idea
for dealing with electricity needs:
Electricity consumers in the UK will need to get used to flicking the switch and finding the power unavailable, according to Steve Holliday, CEO of National Grid, the country’s grid operator. Because of a six-fold increase in wind generation, which won’t be available when the wind doesn’t blow, “The grid is going to be a very different system in 2020, 2030,” he told BBC’s Radio 4. “We keep thinking that we want it to be there and provide power when we need it. It’s going to be much smarter than that.
“We are going to change our own behaviour and consume it when it is available and available cheaply.”
Translation: The government and/or the greenie dictators will allow you to have electricity when and in the amounts they think you should get it.
Under the so-called “smart grid” that the UK is developing, the government-regulated utility will be able to decide when and where power should be delivered, to ensure that it meets the highest social purpose.
And if it's decided that you can freeze or broil so what some politician deems more 'socially important' gets power, you're screwed.
Electricity consumers in the UK will need to get used to flicking the switch and finding the power unavailable, according to Steve Holliday, CEO of National Grid, the country’s grid operator. Because of a six-fold increase in wind generation, which won’t be available when the wind doesn’t blow, “The grid is going to be a very different system in 2020, 2030,” he told BBC’s Radio 4. “We keep thinking that we want it to be there and provide power when we need it. It’s going to be much smarter than that.
“We are going to change our own behaviour and consume it when it is available and available cheaply.”
Translation: The government and/or the greenie dictators will allow you to have electricity when and in the amounts they think you should get it.
Under the so-called “smart grid” that the UK is developing, the government-regulated utility will be able to decide when and where power should be delivered, to ensure that it meets the highest social purpose.
And if it's decided that you can freeze or broil so what some politician deems more 'socially important' gets power, you're screwed.
If Dept. of Homeland Security has the terrorist stuff so in hand
that they have time, money and people to waste on this, then they need their budget cut.
Remember Touching Special Areas searching people at the train station?
Woops.
Amtrak Police Chief John O’Connor said he first thought a blog posting about the incident was a joke. When he discovered that the TSA’s VIPR team did at least some of what the blog said, he was livid. He ordered the VIPR teams off Amtrak property, at least until a firm agreement can be drawn up to prevent the TSA from taking actions that the chief said were illegal and clearly contrary to Amtrak policy.
“When I saw it, I didn’t believe it was real,” O’Connor said. When it developed that the posting on an anti-TSA blog was not a joke, “I hit the ceiling.”
Well, isn't that nice. Does TSA actually care?
O’Connor said the TSA VIPR teams have no right to do more than what Amtrak police do occasionally, which has produced few if any protests and which O’Connor said is clearly within the law and the Constitution. More than a thousand times, Amtrak teams (sometimes including VIPR) have performed security screenings at Amtrak stations. These screenings are only occasional and random, and inspect the bags of only about one in 10 passengers. There is no wanding of passengers and no sterile area. O’Connor said the TSA violated every one of these rules.
And he's surprised?
A posting in late February to the Transportation Security Administration’s blog, which serves as a public relations tool of the TSA, tried to explain why TSA agents took over the Amtrak station in Savannah. But O’Connor said the “facts” as posted on the TSA blog were incorrect. He said the blog indicated that Amtrak had approved of the operation, but it had not. He called the TSA’s posting on blog.tsa.gov “inaccurate and insensitive.” As of the time this story was filed, the same posting remained on the blog.
What? TSA lied? Again, is he surprised?
All this is bad enough. It gets even better:
The group involved is TSA’s VIPR operation, which deals with surface transportation. VIPR is short for “visible intermodal protection and response.” It turns out that VIPR has been far more active than imagined. Teams have searched bus passengers all over the country, have done similar things at train stations, and have even blocked traffic on bridges to search trucks and cars. That even included the busy Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Washington.
Napolitano's power-grab is really spreading; seems she wasn't just talking about searching people all over, she was getting it rolling. Can you imagine the idiocy of blocking a frigging bridge so you can search vehicles?
A: Unless you have some reason to think it's actually no-shit necessary to find something really bad, it's stupid.
B: If you think bad guys have, say, a bomb on a truck, you've just given them a bridge full of stalled vehicles to take down
And when does the head of TSA inform us that driving across a bridge or taking a bus is a privilege for which we give up our rights?
Amtrak Police Chief John O’Connor said he first thought a blog posting about the incident was a joke. When he discovered that the TSA’s VIPR team did at least some of what the blog said, he was livid. He ordered the VIPR teams off Amtrak property, at least until a firm agreement can be drawn up to prevent the TSA from taking actions that the chief said were illegal and clearly contrary to Amtrak policy.
“When I saw it, I didn’t believe it was real,” O’Connor said. When it developed that the posting on an anti-TSA blog was not a joke, “I hit the ceiling.”
Well, isn't that nice. Does TSA actually care?
O’Connor said the TSA VIPR teams have no right to do more than what Amtrak police do occasionally, which has produced few if any protests and which O’Connor said is clearly within the law and the Constitution. More than a thousand times, Amtrak teams (sometimes including VIPR) have performed security screenings at Amtrak stations. These screenings are only occasional and random, and inspect the bags of only about one in 10 passengers. There is no wanding of passengers and no sterile area. O’Connor said the TSA violated every one of these rules.
And he's surprised?
A posting in late February to the Transportation Security Administration’s blog, which serves as a public relations tool of the TSA, tried to explain why TSA agents took over the Amtrak station in Savannah. But O’Connor said the “facts” as posted on the TSA blog were incorrect. He said the blog indicated that Amtrak had approved of the operation, but it had not. He called the TSA’s posting on blog.tsa.gov “inaccurate and insensitive.” As of the time this story was filed, the same posting remained on the blog.
What? TSA lied? Again, is he surprised?
All this is bad enough. It gets even better:
The group involved is TSA’s VIPR operation, which deals with surface transportation. VIPR is short for “visible intermodal protection and response.” It turns out that VIPR has been far more active than imagined. Teams have searched bus passengers all over the country, have done similar things at train stations, and have even blocked traffic on bridges to search trucks and cars. That even included the busy Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Washington.
Napolitano's power-grab is really spreading; seems she wasn't just talking about searching people all over, she was getting it rolling. Can you imagine the idiocy of blocking a frigging bridge so you can search vehicles?
A: Unless you have some reason to think it's actually no-shit necessary to find something really bad, it's stupid.
B: If you think bad guys have, say, a bomb on a truck, you've just given them a bridge full of stalled vehicles to take down
And when does the head of TSA inform us that driving across a bridge or taking a bus is a privilege for which we give up our rights?
I appears the Federal LEO Assoc. isn't happy
with Obama's statements the other day.
Contrary to what President Obama asserted, all law enforcement officers assigned to Mexico do perform “law enforcement activities.” This may include conducting field interviews, responding to crime scenes, overseeing training and participating in raids. The fact that they don’t actually handcuff suspects doesn’t diminish their role or the risks they face.
And on the 'can't be armed' stuff,
On Friday, FLEOA met with Chairman Michael McCaul’s staff from the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. FLEOA requested that the committee hold hearings in order to demand accountability for why the U.S. government sends unarmed law enforcement officers into hostile, crime-ridden foreign countries. FLEOA also respectfully requested that Congress halt all funding that is used by U.S. agencies to send unarmed law enforcement officers to unstable foreign countries.
Contrary to what President Obama asserted, all law enforcement officers assigned to Mexico do perform “law enforcement activities.” This may include conducting field interviews, responding to crime scenes, overseeing training and participating in raids. The fact that they don’t actually handcuff suspects doesn’t diminish their role or the risks they face.
And on the 'can't be armed' stuff,
On Friday, FLEOA met with Chairman Michael McCaul’s staff from the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. FLEOA requested that the committee hold hearings in order to demand accountability for why the U.S. government sends unarmed law enforcement officers into hostile, crime-ridden foreign countries. FLEOA also respectfully requested that Congress halt all funding that is used by U.S. agencies to send unarmed law enforcement officers to unstable foreign countries.
"The Real Reason the ATF Smuggled Guns (updated)
into Mexico" over at TTaG. He's got three possibles:
1. To catch the “big fish”: he doubts, and gives reasons why.
2. Empire building: again, doubts and the reasons why.
3. ATF Agents enabled smuggled guns to line their own pockets: likely, he thinks:
As in Watergate, the key to this scandal is to “follow the money.” Never mind the guns themselves—even though drug thugs used the to murder two federal agents. Who paid for the ATF-enabled smuggled guns? How much did they cost? How were the smugglers/informants paid, and how much were they paid? How much did the smugglers get for the guns and what happened to that money?
Occam’s Razor says that if you’re forced to choose between competing theories explaining a given event, the simplest explanation is the most likely to be true. I vote for door number three. The ATF didn’t “botch” Project Gunrunner or Operation Fast and Furious.
I reckon they started out setting up straw purchases, and then “forgot” to stop the guns before they crossed the border. They subverted the normal rules of a police sting—NEVER LOSE TRACK OF THE DRUGS/MONEY/GUNS—for cash money.
If I had to guess, #2 and #3 are the big ones, with #1 being the excuse. Reading this brought something into focus I'd wondered about, and that was just exactly what BATFE could expect to gain toward 'getting the bosses' with this: bosses don't deal in stuff like this, subordinates do. And all that nice noise about 'wanting to take down a cartel' doesn't wash, either. Unless as part of the empire-building action: ATF isn't supposed to be doing that, it's not their job. But if they get expanded(lots more agents and money and authority involved there) it could be. Being legally expanded would require real changes in their charter, etc., but if they decided to expand out without worrying about those niceties(counting on some of the Congressional cover that's helped them out before)...
With Mexico finally deciding to start asking questions about Gunwalker, things stand to get really messy, which is actually a good thing: it's going to take it getting monumentally nasty to actually get the truth out AND have any real possibility of those responsible being punished for their actions. At least any punishment more nasty than "You were a bad boy, go to your room; and your next pay raise will be delayed."
On the latter, couple of days ago Sipsey Street had a piece saying good things about John Dodson, the ATF agent who came out into the open to put a line from the compressor on that whistle; Vanderboegh is catching some crap for it. Well, bullshit. Dodson has said some things about the 'why' that I don't care for, and may well have done things in the past I'd not like; neither of which changes the fact that he's put his balls in the vise here and is hoping Grassley and a real investigation can keep the BATFE brass from closing it. And respect is owed to the other honest cops at ATF who've been trying to get something done but whose names we don't know; considering the reputation this agency has for screwing people over they're taking real risks, too, from the miserable excuses for lawmen running that agency
Update: ref the reason #3, I fear I wasn't thinking it through all the way; yes, there could well be some corrupt agents involved getting money, but as Vanderboegh points out this was set up and approved by DOJ and the bigshots in BATFE; while there's the possibility of someone spreading some money around to influence things I don't think it explains Gunwalker. I'll have to go with #2 combined with something else:
Gunrunner, I pointed out to him, predated the Obama administration. "Yes, but 'walking guns' didn't." I told him it seemed to me that given the dates on the documents that the meetings crafting this policy must have taken place sometime in mid-2009. "And who took power in January, 2009?" he replied.
...
...The ATF controlled the reporting of the statistics, the headlines were lurid and if the rest of us gunnies knew that you don't get automatic weapons, hand grenades and RPGs from gun shows and gun stores, most of the American people were too ignorant of the issue to care about the distinction. But the fact was, as the IG report and other sources concluded, the amount of weapons from those legitimate American sources did not meet the allegation. More importantly the statistics didn't meet the policy need. So, how to "fix" that? Project Gunwalker. If there weren't enough semi-auto "assault rifles" in Mexico, the ATF could fix that. And the murders would follow, justifying the policy change of cracking down on "assault rifles," gun shows and the like.
"So," I said, "you're saying that this was a deliberate attempt by policymakers at the highest levels of the Obama administration to subvert the Second Amendment and further diminish the free exercise of firearm rights of honest citizens?"
"You got it. Sucks, huh?" He laughed bitterly.
And, unfortunately, entirely possible.
1. To catch the “big fish”: he doubts, and gives reasons why.
2. Empire building: again, doubts and the reasons why.
3. ATF Agents enabled smuggled guns to line their own pockets: likely, he thinks:
As in Watergate, the key to this scandal is to “follow the money.” Never mind the guns themselves—even though drug thugs used the to murder two federal agents. Who paid for the ATF-enabled smuggled guns? How much did they cost? How were the smugglers/informants paid, and how much were they paid? How much did the smugglers get for the guns and what happened to that money?
Occam’s Razor says that if you’re forced to choose between competing theories explaining a given event, the simplest explanation is the most likely to be true. I vote for door number three. The ATF didn’t “botch” Project Gunrunner or Operation Fast and Furious.
I reckon they started out setting up straw purchases, and then “forgot” to stop the guns before they crossed the border. They subverted the normal rules of a police sting—NEVER LOSE TRACK OF THE DRUGS/MONEY/GUNS—for cash money.
If I had to guess, #2 and #3 are the big ones, with #1 being the excuse. Reading this brought something into focus I'd wondered about, and that was just exactly what BATFE could expect to gain toward 'getting the bosses' with this: bosses don't deal in stuff like this, subordinates do. And all that nice noise about 'wanting to take down a cartel' doesn't wash, either. Unless as part of the empire-building action: ATF isn't supposed to be doing that, it's not their job. But if they get expanded(lots more agents and money and authority involved there) it could be. Being legally expanded would require real changes in their charter, etc., but if they decided to expand out without worrying about those niceties(counting on some of the Congressional cover that's helped them out before)...
With Mexico finally deciding to start asking questions about Gunwalker, things stand to get really messy, which is actually a good thing: it's going to take it getting monumentally nasty to actually get the truth out AND have any real possibility of those responsible being punished for their actions. At least any punishment more nasty than "You were a bad boy, go to your room; and your next pay raise will be delayed."
On the latter, couple of days ago Sipsey Street had a piece saying good things about John Dodson, the ATF agent who came out into the open to put a line from the compressor on that whistle; Vanderboegh is catching some crap for it. Well, bullshit. Dodson has said some things about the 'why' that I don't care for, and may well have done things in the past I'd not like; neither of which changes the fact that he's put his balls in the vise here and is hoping Grassley and a real investigation can keep the BATFE brass from closing it. And respect is owed to the other honest cops at ATF who've been trying to get something done but whose names we don't know; considering the reputation this agency has for screwing people over they're taking real risks, too, from the miserable excuses for lawmen running that agency
Update: ref the reason #3, I fear I wasn't thinking it through all the way; yes, there could well be some corrupt agents involved getting money, but as Vanderboegh points out this was set up and approved by DOJ and the bigshots in BATFE; while there's the possibility of someone spreading some money around to influence things I don't think it explains Gunwalker. I'll have to go with #2 combined with something else:
Gunrunner, I pointed out to him, predated the Obama administration. "Yes, but 'walking guns' didn't." I told him it seemed to me that given the dates on the documents that the meetings crafting this policy must have taken place sometime in mid-2009. "And who took power in January, 2009?" he replied.
...
...The ATF controlled the reporting of the statistics, the headlines were lurid and if the rest of us gunnies knew that you don't get automatic weapons, hand grenades and RPGs from gun shows and gun stores, most of the American people were too ignorant of the issue to care about the distinction. But the fact was, as the IG report and other sources concluded, the amount of weapons from those legitimate American sources did not meet the allegation. More importantly the statistics didn't meet the policy need. So, how to "fix" that? Project Gunwalker. If there weren't enough semi-auto "assault rifles" in Mexico, the ATF could fix that. And the murders would follow, justifying the policy change of cracking down on "assault rifles," gun shows and the like.
"So," I said, "you're saying that this was a deliberate attempt by policymakers at the highest levels of the Obama administration to subvert the Second Amendment and further diminish the free exercise of firearm rights of honest citizens?"
"You got it. Sucks, huh?" He laughed bitterly.
And, unfortunately, entirely possible.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Ah, those wonderful people at TSA: they want to irrardiate
people everywhere:
Newly uncovered documents show that as early as 2006, the Department of Homeland Security has been planning pilot programs to deploy mobile scanning units that can be set up at public events and in train stations, along with mobile x-ray vans capable of scanning pedestrians on city streets.
Isn't that a wonderful thought?
Ah, but they deny it. Kind of.
A TSA official responds in a statement that the “TSA has not tested the advanced imaging technology that is currently used at airports in mass transit environments and does not have plans to do so.”
I have to say, I'm an amateur at this but I could drive a truck through the loopholes in that statement: 'has not' doesn't mean isn't or won't, 'does not' leaves in 'can change our minds at any time'(or did). Etc.
Just imagine, they want to feel you up or dose you with possibly damaging radiation(have they YET released the safety studies on this crap?) before they'll allow you to get on a bus. Or train. Or subway. Or into the mall, or game, or anywhere else they can get away with it, all for 'public safety'.
Found at the Advice Goddess
Newly uncovered documents show that as early as 2006, the Department of Homeland Security has been planning pilot programs to deploy mobile scanning units that can be set up at public events and in train stations, along with mobile x-ray vans capable of scanning pedestrians on city streets.
Isn't that a wonderful thought?
Ah, but they deny it. Kind of.
A TSA official responds in a statement that the “TSA has not tested the advanced imaging technology that is currently used at airports in mass transit environments and does not have plans to do so.”
I have to say, I'm an amateur at this but I could drive a truck through the loopholes in that statement: 'has not' doesn't mean isn't or won't, 'does not' leaves in 'can change our minds at any time'(or did). Etc.
Just imagine, they want to feel you up or dose you with possibly damaging radiation(have they YET released the safety studies on this crap?) before they'll allow you to get on a bus. Or train. Or subway. Or into the mall, or game, or anywhere else they can get away with it, all for 'public safety'.
Found at the Advice Goddess
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Further demonstration of why I'd never live in the People's Republic of MA
And there you were, thinking that micro-stamping was the be-all, end-all of the government’s attempts to keep track of personal firearms. Nope. It’s micro-tracking. The latest affront to gun rights and privacy is on the table, again, courtesy of the Big Brothers in the Bay State. State Senator Andrew Petruccelli has re-introduced a bill calling for a commission to study GPS tracking for firearms. I’ve belled the Senator’s office. No joy. He might call back. He might not. The text of the bill reads as follows . . .
Yes, those merry socialist bastards aren't satisfied with pushing microstamping, oh no, they want a friggin' chip on your gun so they can track it.
Wonder how long before they want all gun owners chipped?
Yes, those merry socialist bastards aren't satisfied with pushing microstamping, oh no, they want a friggin' chip on your gun so they can track it.
Wonder how long before they want all gun owners chipped?
Friday, March 04, 2011
I do tend to think they might have had to damp out the sound
of his teeth grinding as he said this.
Couple of other thoughts:
Thank whatever deity you have fond thoughts of our founders didn't trust ANYONE or any single arm of government to be given overall power.
Can the Pres of Mexico veto a part of their Constitution? Or did the reporter not understand how ours works?
Don't you just love that the reporter basically blames us for all the dead Mexicans?
Pic stol- borrowed from Rob
Gunwalker and DHS lying about their rules
First, from Uncle,
There were rumors that the border agent that was killed had a bean bag gun. The government denied those rumors. Except that they’re true. Also, who really thought it was a good idea to send someone to the violent sections of the border armed with a glorified paintball gun?
There you have both the initial idiocy of the rules given these Border Patrol agents, and that Napolitano & Co. flat lied publicly about it. Just like they've flat lied about some things in the Gunwalker mess, both in public generally and directly to legislators investigating this.
Second, CBS has covered the "We need to put out good stories to cover up the bad" memo at BATFE:
We've had ongoing requests for information and on camera interviews with both ATF and the Department of Justice since prior to our first report which aired Feb. 22.
A similar lack of response has been reported by Senator Charles Grassley, who has asked for documents and briefings from ATF.
Now, we learn that after our Feb. 22 report, ATF's Chief Public Affairs officer sent an all-call internal memo to ATF Public Information Officers in an effort to "lessen the coverage of such stories in the news cycle by replacing them with good stories about ATF."
One of the lines of that memo that kind of jumps out when you think about it:
At the time, the memo noted "Fortunately, the CBS story has not sparked any follow up coverage by mainstream media and seems to have fizzled."
Makes you think the BATFE and DOJ people involved are really hoping the rest of the major media will keep ignoring this. Our major media being, for the most part, the partisan little hack excuses for reporters they are, they're trying, but the word is out. And we've got to do our part in spreading all this around.
There were rumors that the border agent that was killed had a bean bag gun. The government denied those rumors. Except that they’re true. Also, who really thought it was a good idea to send someone to the violent sections of the border armed with a glorified paintball gun?
There you have both the initial idiocy of the rules given these Border Patrol agents, and that Napolitano & Co. flat lied publicly about it. Just like they've flat lied about some things in the Gunwalker mess, both in public generally and directly to legislators investigating this.
Second, CBS has covered the "We need to put out good stories to cover up the bad" memo at BATFE:
We've had ongoing requests for information and on camera interviews with both ATF and the Department of Justice since prior to our first report which aired Feb. 22.
A similar lack of response has been reported by Senator Charles Grassley, who has asked for documents and briefings from ATF.
Now, we learn that after our Feb. 22 report, ATF's Chief Public Affairs officer sent an all-call internal memo to ATF Public Information Officers in an effort to "lessen the coverage of such stories in the news cycle by replacing them with good stories about ATF."
One of the lines of that memo that kind of jumps out when you think about it:
At the time, the memo noted "Fortunately, the CBS story has not sparked any follow up coverage by mainstream media and seems to have fizzled."
Makes you think the BATFE and DOJ people involved are really hoping the rest of the major media will keep ignoring this. Our major media being, for the most part, the partisan little hack excuses for reporters they are, they're trying, but the word is out. And we've got to do our part in spreading all this around.
How the Brady group actually sees you
In any event, it's nice to know that the antis view us as not only terrorists, but WORSE than terrorists.
Ref the 'public right to know' bullcrap on firearms permits
in IL, a new thought from DouT:
It's very convenient that the AG office released this decision just as Concealed Carry is gaining serious momentum in the capitol. Then the bill to prevent the release gets stalled 5-5 in committee w/ no updates on the votes on the web site even though they have been updating the increasing numbers of cosponsors. I'm sure her daddy had nothing to do w/ it.
This is classic Chicago politics in action. Madigan et al are not working for the people. They are working to keep their own power base.
Wouldn't surprise me at all.
From the first link, something that really pisses me off:
“Therefore, even if disclosure of the names and expiration of the (Firearm Owner’s Identification Card) card owners did constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, this fact is outweighed by the public interest that exists in ensuring the integrity of the (police) database,” he wrote.
First, you can't just paper over the 'unwarranted invasion' problem by saying "But I think we should anyway."
Second, how the HELL is releasing this supposed to help 'ensure the integrity of the database'? Absolute effing bullshit, and Assistant Public Access Counselor Matthew Rogina is a friggin' dirtbag and tool to try to excuse this with that nonsense.
But it is Illinois, after all, and it appears none of the corrupt bastards like the peasants doing things the bastards don't like.
I will admit I was surprised the IL State Police are fighting this; whether they're scared of the consequences or someone up top has the balls to stand up for the right, I don't know, but glad they're fighting this.
It's very convenient that the AG office released this decision just as Concealed Carry is gaining serious momentum in the capitol. Then the bill to prevent the release gets stalled 5-5 in committee w/ no updates on the votes on the web site even though they have been updating the increasing numbers of cosponsors. I'm sure her daddy had nothing to do w/ it.
This is classic Chicago politics in action. Madigan et al are not working for the people. They are working to keep their own power base.
Wouldn't surprise me at all.
From the first link, something that really pisses me off:
“Therefore, even if disclosure of the names and expiration of the (Firearm Owner’s Identification Card) card owners did constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, this fact is outweighed by the public interest that exists in ensuring the integrity of the (police) database,” he wrote.
First, you can't just paper over the 'unwarranted invasion' problem by saying "But I think we should anyway."
Second, how the HELL is releasing this supposed to help 'ensure the integrity of the database'? Absolute effing bullshit, and Assistant Public Access Counselor Matthew Rogina is a friggin' dirtbag and tool to try to excuse this with that nonsense.
But it is Illinois, after all, and it appears none of the corrupt bastards like the peasants doing things the bastards don't like.
I will admit I was surprised the IL State Police are fighting this; whether they're scared of the consequences or someone up top has the balls to stand up for the right, I don't know, but glad they're fighting this.
It should be noted- loudly- that Dennis Henigan is a damned liar
who tries to cover up his lies when people notice them.
I am going to descend into bad language again
because even if half the stuff in this report isn't accurate, the other half calls for it:
Southampton Town Police Lieutenant Iberger
Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office(numerous members) and
Officials from the airport, as well as other local and federal law enforcement agencies also responded, including, without limitation, the Southampton Police Department, the Westhampton Police Department, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security.
I'm too pissed, and pressed for time, to go into the particulars; read, and be advised that a breakables alert is in effect.
As I said, if only half of the stuff in this report is true, then every one of these miserable, lying, corrupt, worthless fucking excuses for lawmen should be fired. And personally have to pay their part of the damages. And be banned for life from ever being allowed to wear a badge again because their shit-brained selves would tarnish it forever. As they already have the ones they wear.
I'm specifically speaking of you, Iberger, in particular; you have no excuse whatever for your actions. Assuming your brain was actually working and you actually thought you had reason to question her, you could have asked "Could you show me the pictures you took?", seen that they were shots of a gods-damned public display and let her go; but oh, no, you did what you did.
And please note the names of a of the agencies: municipal LE agencies. She could not have been inside ALL their jurisdictions now could she? And when they leave their jurisdiction, unless their state says otherwise, THEY HAVE NO MORE POLICE POWERS THAN YOU OR I. And if this was outside their jurisdiction what the HELL were they doing there? Besides it being none of their Deity-cursed business they were leaving the place they were supposed to be uncovered while they were fucking off at the side of the road harassing these people. Which is dereliction of duty at the least.
If even half of what is in this report is true and correct, I hope she wins the whole amount. And the assholes who behaved as they did are fired, if nothing else for being such a sorry God-damned disgrace to their badges.
Southampton Town Police Lieutenant Iberger
Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office(numerous members) and
Officials from the airport, as well as other local and federal law enforcement agencies also responded, including, without limitation, the Southampton Police Department, the Westhampton Police Department, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security.
I'm too pissed, and pressed for time, to go into the particulars; read, and be advised that a breakables alert is in effect.
As I said, if only half of the stuff in this report is true, then every one of these miserable, lying, corrupt, worthless fucking excuses for lawmen should be fired. And personally have to pay their part of the damages. And be banned for life from ever being allowed to wear a badge again because their shit-brained selves would tarnish it forever. As they already have the ones they wear.
I'm specifically speaking of you, Iberger, in particular; you have no excuse whatever for your actions. Assuming your brain was actually working and you actually thought you had reason to question her, you could have asked "Could you show me the pictures you took?", seen that they were shots of a gods-damned public display and let her go; but oh, no, you did what you did.
And please note the names of a of the agencies: municipal LE agencies. She could not have been inside ALL their jurisdictions now could she? And when they leave their jurisdiction, unless their state says otherwise, THEY HAVE NO MORE POLICE POWERS THAN YOU OR I. And if this was outside their jurisdiction what the HELL were they doing there? Besides it being none of their Deity-cursed business they were leaving the place they were supposed to be uncovered while they were fucking off at the side of the road harassing these people. Which is dereliction of duty at the least.
If even half of what is in this report is true and correct, I hope she wins the whole amount. And the assholes who behaved as they did are fired, if nothing else for being such a sorry God-damned disgrace to their badges.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Gunwalker is pretty much blowing up now
Didn't see the news segment on Gunwalker this evening, did see this linked at Drudge(finally!). A lot of this boils down to these paragraphs:
Newell, the special agent in charge in Phoenix, was asked at a news conference after the Avila indictment whether his agency would ever let guns knowingly cross the border. Newell answered, “Hell, no.” But, he said, suspects under surveillance sometimes elude agents, which could result in guns winding up in Mexico.
Grassley got a similar answer.
In a Feb. 4 letter to the senator, the Justice Department said ATF never “knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser who then transported them into Mexico.” ATF, the letter added, makes “every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation into Mexico.”
Newell flat lied at the conference; the Justice Department flat lied to Grassley in their letter; and BATFE and the JD are spinning this as hard as they can to try and make this look less nasty. Speaking of spin,
Gentlemen and Ladies, This just hit minutes ago. Panic and chaos are taking place at ATF headquarters in advance of the anticipated media releases today and tomorrow. Below is a message just sent from the subordinate of Jim McDermond from the ATF Office of Public and Governmental Affairs. An emergency request is being issued to all ATF Public Information Officers to find ATF stories with a positive spin to counter-influence was is expected today. Very insulting and very much the character of ATF management. Please respond to me that you received this. I think it will be critical to your stories and for Senator Grassley to further see demonstrated ATF’s continued desire to spin and cover up.
Sipsey Street has this link to the letter and documents in Sen. Grassley's latest letter to Holder; transcript of the letter at Sipsey if you want to read it there. I'm going to borrow these paragraphs; imagine yourself a clown at JD or BATFE who reads this:
In light of this evidence, the Justice Department‟s denials simply don‟t hold water. On February 4, 2011, the Department claimed that the ATF did not “knowingly” allow the sale of assault weapons to straw purchasers and that “ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation into Mexico.”13 Clearly those statements are not accurate. These documents establish that ATF allowed illegal firearm purchases by suspected traffickers in hopes of making a larger case against the cartels. ATF was not alone. The U.S. Attorney‟s office appears to have been fully aware and engaged in endorsing the same strategy.
Congress needs to get to the bottom of this.
After close of business last night, I received a one-page response to my letters of February 9 and 16.14 The response asks that I direct to the Inspector General any individuals who believe they have knowledge of misconduct by Department employees. You should know that just after Agent Terry died in December, at least one whistleblower contacted the Office of Inspector General before contacting my office. Despite reporting the allegations multiple times by phone, Internet, and fax, no one contacted the whistleblower until after my staff contacted the Acting Inspector General directly on February 1.
I have received no documents in response to my February 16, 2011, request. Last night‟s DOJ reply cites the Justice Department‟s “longstanding policy regarding pending matters” as a reason for withholding documents “relating to any ongoing investigation.”15 However, as you know, that policy is merely a policy. It is not mandated by any binding legal authority.
and
In addition to providing the documents I previously requested, please explain how the denials in the Justice Department‟s February 4, 2011 letter to me can be squared with the evidence.
Very polite way of saying
You lied to us.
You tried to blow us off.
You ignored the whistleblowers, and have lied about that.
Knock off the "We couldn't tell you" bullshit, and
We're waiting to see how you try to spin having lied to us. Again.
From Codrea's latest,
There was one moment of unintended hilarity, though, in the statement from Acting Director Kenneth Melson:
Oh, your strategies are going to be reviewed, alright, Mr. Melson.
Count on it.
Yeah. And not by people you can count on to scratch your back.
Newell, the special agent in charge in Phoenix, was asked at a news conference after the Avila indictment whether his agency would ever let guns knowingly cross the border. Newell answered, “Hell, no.” But, he said, suspects under surveillance sometimes elude agents, which could result in guns winding up in Mexico.
Grassley got a similar answer.
In a Feb. 4 letter to the senator, the Justice Department said ATF never “knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser who then transported them into Mexico.” ATF, the letter added, makes “every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation into Mexico.”
Newell flat lied at the conference; the Justice Department flat lied to Grassley in their letter; and BATFE and the JD are spinning this as hard as they can to try and make this look less nasty. Speaking of spin,
Gentlemen and Ladies, This just hit minutes ago. Panic and chaos are taking place at ATF headquarters in advance of the anticipated media releases today and tomorrow. Below is a message just sent from the subordinate of Jim McDermond from the ATF Office of Public and Governmental Affairs. An emergency request is being issued to all ATF Public Information Officers to find ATF stories with a positive spin to counter-influence was is expected today. Very insulting and very much the character of ATF management. Please respond to me that you received this. I think it will be critical to your stories and for Senator Grassley to further see demonstrated ATF’s continued desire to spin and cover up.
Sipsey Street has this link to the letter and documents in Sen. Grassley's latest letter to Holder; transcript of the letter at Sipsey if you want to read it there. I'm going to borrow these paragraphs; imagine yourself a clown at JD or BATFE who reads this:
In light of this evidence, the Justice Department‟s denials simply don‟t hold water. On February 4, 2011, the Department claimed that the ATF did not “knowingly” allow the sale of assault weapons to straw purchasers and that “ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation into Mexico.”13 Clearly those statements are not accurate. These documents establish that ATF allowed illegal firearm purchases by suspected traffickers in hopes of making a larger case against the cartels. ATF was not alone. The U.S. Attorney‟s office appears to have been fully aware and engaged in endorsing the same strategy.
Congress needs to get to the bottom of this.
After close of business last night, I received a one-page response to my letters of February 9 and 16.14 The response asks that I direct to the Inspector General any individuals who believe they have knowledge of misconduct by Department employees. You should know that just after Agent Terry died in December, at least one whistleblower contacted the Office of Inspector General before contacting my office. Despite reporting the allegations multiple times by phone, Internet, and fax, no one contacted the whistleblower until after my staff contacted the Acting Inspector General directly on February 1.
I have received no documents in response to my February 16, 2011, request. Last night‟s DOJ reply cites the Justice Department‟s “longstanding policy regarding pending matters” as a reason for withholding documents “relating to any ongoing investigation.”15 However, as you know, that policy is merely a policy. It is not mandated by any binding legal authority.
and
In addition to providing the documents I previously requested, please explain how the denials in the Justice Department‟s February 4, 2011 letter to me can be squared with the evidence.
Very polite way of saying
You lied to us.
You tried to blow us off.
You ignored the whistleblowers, and have lied about that.
Knock off the "We couldn't tell you" bullshit, and
We're waiting to see how you try to spin having lied to us. Again.
From Codrea's latest,
There was one moment of unintended hilarity, though, in the statement from Acting Director Kenneth Melson:
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will ask a multi-disciplinary panel of law enforcement professionals to review the bureau's current firearms trafficking strategies employed by field division managers and special agents.
Oh, your strategies are going to be reviewed, alright, Mr. Melson.
Count on it.
Yeah. And not by people you can count on to scratch your back.
Is Geithner serious in thinking
we can just go out and 'tap oil reserves'? Does he not have any idea what it takes to find the spot and then drill, etc? Or is he just throwing bullshit around and hoping people will believe it?
Hey, if he couldn't use Turbo-Tax properly, he may actually be stupid enough to believe this.
And he does work for this clown, who can't be troubled to annoy Calderon for an exemption to allow our agents to be armed when in Mexico(but don't worry, Calderon said Mexican officials are "deeply analyzing alternatives." Probably involving payoffs).
AND the crap the cartels have generally tried to keep south of the border is spilling over:
Authorities have determined a man who was stabbed and beheaded in a suburban Phoenix apartment was killed for stealing drugs from a Mexican cartel, in a gruesome example of drug cartel violence spilling over the border.
But not to worry, as Incompetano still insists the border is more secure than ever before.
Gunwalker stuff to cover, that's going in A Post of Its Own
Hey, if he couldn't use Turbo-Tax properly, he may actually be stupid enough to believe this.
And he does work for this clown, who can't be troubled to annoy Calderon for an exemption to allow our agents to be armed when in Mexico(but don't worry, Calderon said Mexican officials are "deeply analyzing alternatives." Probably involving payoffs).
AND the crap the cartels have generally tried to keep south of the border is spilling over:
Authorities have determined a man who was stabbed and beheaded in a suburban Phoenix apartment was killed for stealing drugs from a Mexican cartel, in a gruesome example of drug cartel violence spilling over the border.
But not to worry, as Incompetano still insists the border is more secure than ever before.
Gunwalker stuff to cover, that's going in A Post of Its Own
Insty asks 'Is the Navy trying
to start the Robot Apocalypse?' Which reminded me, you ever see a David Drake collection of shorts called All the Way to the Gallows, get it. And read Mom and the Kids first.
In weather, they're currently saying
it'll turn 'very cold!' tomorrow night: 32-33F; three weeks or so ago that would've been a wonderful number for a low.
Hell, for a while there it would've been a nice number for a high.
Hell, for a while there it would've been a nice number for a high.
CBS will have another piece on Gunwalker tonight
CBS News Investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson will follow up on her February 23 report about a major scandal within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). In an exclusive interview with Attkisson, a Phoenix-based ATF agent risks his job to describe the practice of letting guns "walk," and gives an insider's perspective about how the ATF knowingly contributed to the escalating violence in Mexico and American border states to that country.
Following are advance excerpts from tonight's broadcast.
On his bosses' denial of the gunrunning practice and going public:
ATF Agent: "I'm here boots on the ground in Phoenix, telling you we've been doing it every day since I've been here. Here I am. Tell me I didn't do the things that I did. Tell me you didn't order me to do the things I did. Tell me it didn't happen. Now you have a name on it, you have a face to put with it. Here I am. Someone now – tell me it didn't happen."
Codrea also notes that Sen. Grassley has written to AG Holder(Head Bigot-JD). Basically, "You're hiding information from us and your excuses suck; we want the facts."
You know, when Holder got pissy the other day and made his 'my people' comment, I wonder if the stress of what's coming out about Gunwalker is one of the things causing him to say what he did; which makes me wonder just how involved he is in the mess?
Following are advance excerpts from tonight's broadcast.
On his bosses' denial of the gunrunning practice and going public:
ATF Agent: "I'm here boots on the ground in Phoenix, telling you we've been doing it every day since I've been here. Here I am. Tell me I didn't do the things that I did. Tell me you didn't order me to do the things I did. Tell me it didn't happen. Now you have a name on it, you have a face to put with it. Here I am. Someone now – tell me it didn't happen."
Codrea also notes that Sen. Grassley has written to AG Holder(Head Bigot-JD). Basically, "You're hiding information from us and your excuses suck; we want the facts."
You know, when Holder got pissy the other day and made his 'my people' comment, I wonder if the stress of what's coming out about Gunwalker is one of the things causing him to say what he did; which makes me wonder just how involved he is in the mess?
I would like to know what clown came up with
"Use beanbags against the smugglers" as a way to deal with armed intruders crossing the border.
The documents say the group of illegal border entrants refused commands to drop their weapons after agents confronted them at about 11:15 p.m. Two agents fired beanbags at the migrants, who responded with gunfire. Two agents returned fire, one with a long gun and one with a pistol, but Terry was mortally wounded in the gunfight.
Border Patrol officials declined to answer questions about protocol for use of force, citing the ongoing investigation.
But Terry’s brother, Kent Terry, said the other agents who were there that night told him that they were instructed to use the non-lethal beanbags first.
The documents say the group of illegal border entrants refused commands to drop their weapons after agents confronted them at about 11:15 p.m. Two agents fired beanbags at the migrants, who responded with gunfire. Two agents returned fire, one with a long gun and one with a pistol, but Terry was mortally wounded in the gunfight.
Border Patrol officials declined to answer questions about protocol for use of force, citing the ongoing investigation.
But Terry’s brother, Kent Terry, said the other agents who were there that night told him that they were instructed to use the non-lethal beanbags first.
A: That's definitely a threat
B: Piotroski is a dirtbag. The kind of lawyer who's one of that 97% that gives the other 3% a bad name.
And any of the po-po who go along with this threat should be fired.
I predict that if Sen. LaRose starts catching any crap from LE, they won't like what happens next. Fact is, the kind of crap some of them pull on private citizens won't fly from someone in a real position to kick back.
And any of the po-po who go along with this threat should be fired.
I predict that if Sen. LaRose starts catching any crap from LE, they won't like what happens next. Fact is, the kind of crap some of them pull on private citizens won't fly from someone in a real position to kick back.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Since the Mexican government doesn't seem to care
how many peasants have been murdered with ATF assistance, how about "How many US citizens are dead because of it?"
The gun that was used by a smuggler to kill ICE Agent Jaime Zapata last month in Mexico has been traced to a Texas gun shop, where it was purchased by suspected gun traffickers who had reportedly been under ATF surveillance for over a year.” An email blast from firearmscoalition.org provides more details . . .
I come back to a question I've asked before: there are some good LE agents working for this agency, and I do have to wonder, now more than ever, why?
The gun that was used by a smuggler to kill ICE Agent Jaime Zapata last month in Mexico has been traced to a Texas gun shop, where it was purchased by suspected gun traffickers who had reportedly been under ATF surveillance for over a year.” An email blast from firearmscoalition.org provides more details . . .
I come back to a question I've asked before: there are some good LE agents working for this agency, and I do have to wonder, now more than ever, why?
What level of stupid Updated
was required to do this in the first place? And even more, how effing stupid do they have to be TO NOT FIX THE DAMN PROBLEM?
As often as three times a week, Rose and Walter Martin are greeted at their front door by cops brandishing guns. Far from criminal masterminds, the innocent 80-something couple are upstanding citizens who are the victims of a mistake in the NYPD’s computer system. Apparently when the department put in a new system in 2002, they entered the Martin’s Brooklyn address as the default address for warrants. Since then, their house number appears in warrants for rapists, murderers, and drug kingpins, all because of some bad lines of code.
So some idiots picked a real address, and no moron ever involved in this has bothered to fix it.
I realize it's New York, but still. SOMEONE there should have at least three working brain cells to rub together.
Update: in comments Sendarius points something out that hadn't hit me: ... the police officers involved are REPEATEDLY swearing false affidavits TO A JUDGE about the warrants in question.
If the address is wrong - and according to the story it has been wrong over 80 times - then what else that the police officer states in supporting affidavits is a lie?
As often as three times a week, Rose and Walter Martin are greeted at their front door by cops brandishing guns. Far from criminal masterminds, the innocent 80-something couple are upstanding citizens who are the victims of a mistake in the NYPD’s computer system. Apparently when the department put in a new system in 2002, they entered the Martin’s Brooklyn address as the default address for warrants. Since then, their house number appears in warrants for rapists, murderers, and drug kingpins, all because of some bad lines of code.
So some idiots picked a real address, and no moron ever involved in this has bothered to fix it.
I realize it's New York, but still. SOMEONE there should have at least three working brain cells to rub together.
Update: in comments Sendarius points something out that hadn't hit me: ... the police officers involved are REPEATEDLY swearing false affidavits TO A JUDGE about the warrants in question.
If the address is wrong - and according to the story it has been wrong over 80 times - then what else that the police officer states in supporting affidavits is a lie?
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Thoughts on the day
In the aftermath of the Tonsils & Adenoids Relocation, spent some time thinking about some things. Partly on the idiocy and bigotry of the people who call parents 'breeders'. Leaving everything else aside, barring a real change of mind they've completely blocked themselves from ever knowing how simultaneously wonderful and scary it can be having kids.
Father of goddaughter is my age and until marriage(wife had some from previous marriage) and birth of daughter had no real experience with small kids, let alone kids of his own. While she was in surgery we went to pick up some drink and calories for him & wife* and while doing so, at one point he said "Now I know why parents get old; kids can be the most terrifying thing in the world." Yeah. That's one side; the other is the look on his face when he held that baby for the first time. He's having the usual problems with a stepchild; I've seen him mad as hell when the kid deliberately does something to screw things up, and I've seen the desperation he has, that desire to be a good father, to help raise the kid. And the delight when they can get things to work. It's all rolled together into one big, messy stew. The kind the jerks who sneer at 'breeders' will never taste.
Way back when the kids were little, I got a call at work; wife had walked by sons crib and he didn't seem to be, well, doing anything. She touched him and he jerked and took a big breath. She called the doctor who said "Bring him in. Now." Which led to the call, as she was currently at the hospital; the doc had done a quick exam and admitted him for tests, and he'd had another episode not long after they got there. So I spent the rest of the shift burning calories like gas in a muscle car, and at the end blew out the door. He spent the night there with his mother, I at home with daughter. He had several episodes during the night, and SIDS was the diagnosis. So we got to spend the next few months with him hooked to a monitor every time he went to sleep. Fortunate compared to some kids: if he stopped breathing for more that 'x' seconds the alarm sounded, it'd startle him and he'd start breathing and the alarm would stop. Kind of amazing how fast you can adjust to something like that: in the night it would sound, you'd sort-of wake up(after the first couple of nights) and drift back down when the alarm stopped. And that went on for about six-eight months, can't remember exactly, and he grew through the danger age/phase/whateverthehellitis. Do I wish he hadn't had to damn near die with this? Oh, HELL yes; but it was part of the package. Just like learning to shoot was happy, so was puppies and cats and "How the hell did you get up there?" was a bit of a mix.
Daughter didn't have that particular problem as a baby, but she's had some health problems, not quite the same stress-inducing level as SIDS but not fun. The balance to that was watching her first shot(.54-caliber muzzleloader with a light load when she was three, story for another time), and the pet mouse that would sit on her shoulder and groom, and finally getting the hang of a bicycle, and quenching oil up to her shoulder(dropped a piece of coal in the bucket and of course she had to get it...)
I've been scared to death when one was sick or hurt, and worn to death pulling a makeshift sled through snow with two kids on it. Some was delightful, some most definitely not, but all part of the package.
You know what's one of the hard things? When you look back and see the times you were not the man/father/husband you could have been. Can't change those times, can try to teach the kids so they don't make the same mistakes. Another part of the package.
Remember the line about "Old age is not for sissies"? Neither is parenting.
*When I got to the hospital I looked at him and said "I cannot tell a lie; you look like hell." Wife was somewhat better, but not a whole lot.
Just got a message from the dad: before the surgery goddaughter had said one of the things she'd like to eat was chicken noodle soup; says he "I thought I'd get some chicken and stars too. Then the thought occured to me: chicken soup is referred to as 'Jewish penicillin' so, if it was Jewish chicken and stars, would the stars have SIX points?"
Father of goddaughter is my age and until marriage(wife had some from previous marriage) and birth of daughter had no real experience with small kids, let alone kids of his own. While she was in surgery we went to pick up some drink and calories for him & wife* and while doing so, at one point he said "Now I know why parents get old; kids can be the most terrifying thing in the world." Yeah. That's one side; the other is the look on his face when he held that baby for the first time. He's having the usual problems with a stepchild; I've seen him mad as hell when the kid deliberately does something to screw things up, and I've seen the desperation he has, that desire to be a good father, to help raise the kid. And the delight when they can get things to work. It's all rolled together into one big, messy stew. The kind the jerks who sneer at 'breeders' will never taste.
Way back when the kids were little, I got a call at work; wife had walked by sons crib and he didn't seem to be, well, doing anything. She touched him and he jerked and took a big breath. She called the doctor who said "Bring him in. Now." Which led to the call, as she was currently at the hospital; the doc had done a quick exam and admitted him for tests, and he'd had another episode not long after they got there. So I spent the rest of the shift burning calories like gas in a muscle car, and at the end blew out the door. He spent the night there with his mother, I at home with daughter. He had several episodes during the night, and SIDS was the diagnosis. So we got to spend the next few months with him hooked to a monitor every time he went to sleep. Fortunate compared to some kids: if he stopped breathing for more that 'x' seconds the alarm sounded, it'd startle him and he'd start breathing and the alarm would stop. Kind of amazing how fast you can adjust to something like that: in the night it would sound, you'd sort-of wake up(after the first couple of nights) and drift back down when the alarm stopped. And that went on for about six-eight months, can't remember exactly, and he grew through the danger age/phase/whateverthehellitis. Do I wish he hadn't had to damn near die with this? Oh, HELL yes; but it was part of the package. Just like learning to shoot was happy, so was puppies and cats and "How the hell did you get up there?" was a bit of a mix.
Daughter didn't have that particular problem as a baby, but she's had some health problems, not quite the same stress-inducing level as SIDS but not fun. The balance to that was watching her first shot(.54-caliber muzzleloader with a light load when she was three, story for another time), and the pet mouse that would sit on her shoulder and groom, and finally getting the hang of a bicycle, and quenching oil up to her shoulder(dropped a piece of coal in the bucket and of course she had to get it...)
I've been scared to death when one was sick or hurt, and worn to death pulling a makeshift sled through snow with two kids on it. Some was delightful, some most definitely not, but all part of the package.
You know what's one of the hard things? When you look back and see the times you were not the man/father/husband you could have been. Can't change those times, can try to teach the kids so they don't make the same mistakes. Another part of the package.
Remember the line about "Old age is not for sissies"? Neither is parenting.
*When I got to the hospital I looked at him and said "I cannot tell a lie; you look like hell." Wife was somewhat better, but not a whole lot.
Just got a message from the dad: before the surgery goddaughter had said one of the things she'd like to eat was chicken noodle soup; says he "I thought I'd get some chicken and stars too. Then the thought occured to me: chicken soup is referred to as 'Jewish penicillin' so, if it was Jewish chicken and stars, would the stars have SIX points?"
Let's see, people who really demonstrate
prosecutorial and judicial misconduct and being vindictive assholes:
By speaking out in defense of a Kansas doctor and nurse accused of running a “pill mill,” pain treatment activist Siobhan Reynolds annoyed the federal prosecutor assigned to the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway was so angry that in April 2008 she sought a court order telling Reynolds to shut up. Concluding that such an order would be an unconstitutional prior restraint of speech, U.S. District Judge Monti Belot said no.
But by the time Belot sentenced the defendants, Stephen and Linda Schneider, last October, he was so irritated by Reynolds’ advocacy that he could not contain himself. He said he hoped the harsh sentences—three decades each—would “curtail or stop the activities of the Bozo the Clown outfit known as the Pain [Relief] Network, a ship of fools if there ever was one.”
...
After Treadway failed to obtain a gag order silencing Reynolds, she instigated a grand jury investigation of her for obstruction of justice, obtaining subpoenas that demanded material related to PRN’s activism. Reynolds unsuccessfully challenged Treadway’s fishing expedition on First Amendment grounds, and last November the Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal. Perhaps the Court was impressed by the reasoning of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. We can’t judge for ourselves, because the appeals court’s decision is sealed, like almost every other document related to Reynolds’ case.
I've mentioned the preacher asshold Jim Wallis before; he's currently pushing "Jesus would increase funding for the needy, no matter how badly it would/things are screwed up." Mind you, this is from a shithead who, if someone of a more conservative bent pushed their viewpoint, would be screaming "SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE!" a loud as he could.
Among the excuses for AG Holder not prosecuting the Black Panthers:
Rep. Chaka Fattah, a Democrat from Philadelphia, said the Black Panthers "should not have been there." But he said the GOP was making too much out of a fleeting incident involving a couple of people.
"The most unethical thing a person can do is make allegations based on absolutely nothing," Fattah said. "The only issue of race is singling out this particular decision...That this rises to national significance is bogus on its face."
Got that? Honest-to-God voter intimidation by a couple of racists is a fleeting incident; these bastards ON VIDEO doing this is allegations based on absolutely nothing; demanding the Justice Department deal with this the exact same way it would if whites had done it is bogus on its face.
Bull-Fucking-Shit. Fattah, at best you're an ass-kissing excuse maker; at worst you're a racist yourself. And Holder is a racist bastard who wants very much for this to just go away.
But it won't.
"Do not surrender to the ICANN!" Nabil Kisrawi yelled during one of the conference's sessions, according to a story in the Register, an online publication on Internet governance. "There is even a representative of the ICANN in this room!" Kisrawi said. (Kisrawi recently died.)
Translation: "We want to be able to shut up anyone on the internet who offends us!" And, not surprisingly, this administration seems to sympathize with the assholes.
What? People who want the peasants disarmed lying about the facts?
Are you surprised?
Hmmm. Democrat nailed for sexual misconduct whines 'the charges are a distraction; then yells "You are fucking dead!" to a female Republican. Some polite discourse, huh?
Code Pink demonstrates once more that they don't care about peace, they're just on the enemy side.
To Connecticut: fuck you. You defining a standard magazine as 'high-capacity' demonstrates once more that 'Gun control is what politicians do instead of something'.
Why yes, I am using a lot of bad words tonight.
Attention S&W and Kahr: Oklahoma would love to have you move here. Tell the PROM to screw itself and get out.
This is what happens when assholes with badges get to spend other peoples money with the 'oversight' people not bothering:
School Police wouldn't show us any of those guns, but confirm that over the last few years they bought 14 AR-15s for training.
Add in the weapons maintenance kits and the grand total comes to nearly $13,000, plus another $23,000 for bullets--just in the last two years.
Even though they train on the assault rifles, if patrol officers want to carry them, they have to buy their own.
So they spent all this damned money for rifles used ONLY FOR TRAINING?
AND the $450 blouses AND $130 belt buckles... and the people supposed to oversee the spending?
Darcy Spears: "Of course, it's an expense that's approved by the Board."
Carolyn Edwards: "Yes."
Darcy Spears: "So...?"
Carolyn Edwards: "Many expenses are approved by the Board. We don't go through every expense with a fine-toothed comb."
Darcy Spears: "But don't you think the taxpayers expect that?"
Carolyn Edwards: "Well... they may expect that, but the purchase orders that we see every month, every Board meeting, is hundreds and hundreds of pages."
God-damn you, Edwards, and every other shithead on the Board; one of the things THEY PAY YOU BASTARDS FOR is to go through the damn orders to make sure money isn't being wasted and/or wrongly spent, but you apparently think that's too much trouble. You should be fired, immediately.
Richard The Turd Daley & Co. in meltdown. A beautiful sight. He lies, too.
Japete provides more entertainment. Or demonstrates a need for new meds. Or something.
That's about enough for now; I need to think about some far more pleasant things.
By speaking out in defense of a Kansas doctor and nurse accused of running a “pill mill,” pain treatment activist Siobhan Reynolds annoyed the federal prosecutor assigned to the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway was so angry that in April 2008 she sought a court order telling Reynolds to shut up. Concluding that such an order would be an unconstitutional prior restraint of speech, U.S. District Judge Monti Belot said no.
But by the time Belot sentenced the defendants, Stephen and Linda Schneider, last October, he was so irritated by Reynolds’ advocacy that he could not contain himself. He said he hoped the harsh sentences—three decades each—would “curtail or stop the activities of the Bozo the Clown outfit known as the Pain [Relief] Network, a ship of fools if there ever was one.”
...
After Treadway failed to obtain a gag order silencing Reynolds, she instigated a grand jury investigation of her for obstruction of justice, obtaining subpoenas that demanded material related to PRN’s activism. Reynolds unsuccessfully challenged Treadway’s fishing expedition on First Amendment grounds, and last November the Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal. Perhaps the Court was impressed by the reasoning of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. We can’t judge for ourselves, because the appeals court’s decision is sealed, like almost every other document related to Reynolds’ case.
I've mentioned the preacher asshold Jim Wallis before; he's currently pushing "Jesus would increase funding for the needy, no matter how badly it would/things are screwed up." Mind you, this is from a shithead who, if someone of a more conservative bent pushed their viewpoint, would be screaming "SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE!" a loud as he could.
Among the excuses for AG Holder not prosecuting the Black Panthers:
Rep. Chaka Fattah, a Democrat from Philadelphia, said the Black Panthers "should not have been there." But he said the GOP was making too much out of a fleeting incident involving a couple of people.
"The most unethical thing a person can do is make allegations based on absolutely nothing," Fattah said. "The only issue of race is singling out this particular decision...That this rises to national significance is bogus on its face."
Got that? Honest-to-God voter intimidation by a couple of racists is a fleeting incident; these bastards ON VIDEO doing this is allegations based on absolutely nothing; demanding the Justice Department deal with this the exact same way it would if whites had done it is bogus on its face.
Bull-Fucking-Shit. Fattah, at best you're an ass-kissing excuse maker; at worst you're a racist yourself. And Holder is a racist bastard who wants very much for this to just go away.
But it won't.
"Do not surrender to the ICANN!" Nabil Kisrawi yelled during one of the conference's sessions, according to a story in the Register, an online publication on Internet governance. "There is even a representative of the ICANN in this room!" Kisrawi said. (Kisrawi recently died.)
Translation: "We want to be able to shut up anyone on the internet who offends us!" And, not surprisingly, this administration seems to sympathize with the assholes.
What? People who want the peasants disarmed lying about the facts?
Are you surprised?
Hmmm. Democrat nailed for sexual misconduct whines 'the charges are a distraction; then yells "You are fucking dead!" to a female Republican. Some polite discourse, huh?
Code Pink demonstrates once more that they don't care about peace, they're just on the enemy side.
To Connecticut: fuck you. You defining a standard magazine as 'high-capacity' demonstrates once more that 'Gun control is what politicians do instead of something'.
Why yes, I am using a lot of bad words tonight.
Attention S&W and Kahr: Oklahoma would love to have you move here. Tell the PROM to screw itself and get out.
This is what happens when assholes with badges get to spend other peoples money with the 'oversight' people not bothering:
School Police wouldn't show us any of those guns, but confirm that over the last few years they bought 14 AR-15s for training.
Add in the weapons maintenance kits and the grand total comes to nearly $13,000, plus another $23,000 for bullets--just in the last two years.
Even though they train on the assault rifles, if patrol officers want to carry them, they have to buy their own.
So they spent all this damned money for rifles used ONLY FOR TRAINING?
AND the $450 blouses AND $130 belt buckles... and the people supposed to oversee the spending?
Darcy Spears: "Of course, it's an expense that's approved by the Board."
Carolyn Edwards: "Yes."
Darcy Spears: "So...?"
Carolyn Edwards: "Many expenses are approved by the Board. We don't go through every expense with a fine-toothed comb."
Darcy Spears: "But don't you think the taxpayers expect that?"
Carolyn Edwards: "Well... they may expect that, but the purchase orders that we see every month, every Board meeting, is hundreds and hundreds of pages."
God-damn you, Edwards, and every other shithead on the Board; one of the things THEY PAY YOU BASTARDS FOR is to go through the damn orders to make sure money isn't being wasted and/or wrongly spent, but you apparently think that's too much trouble. You should be fired, immediately.
Richard The Turd Daley & Co. in meltdown. A beautiful sight. He lies, too.
Japete provides more entertainment. Or demonstrates a need for new meds. Or something.
That's about enough for now; I need to think about some far more pleasant things.
Tonsils are no longer attached to goddaughter,
she's doing well. Parents may recover in a day or two.
Goddaughter is losing her tonsils today
and I'm away to provide moral support. Or something. Possibly whiskey to the father.
See you later
See you later
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