Too Big, Too Wierd, Too Scary.

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"I want to remove from office judges who approve "sexting" for minors as young as 13."

I responded in The Union newspaper in Grass valley as follows:

Geez, I just learned of sexting from the sheriff's letter this week. Where is there such a judge?

I fear MegaCorps the way you fear centralized government, for much the same reasons,

Too Big, too weird, too scary. And too powerful. But, look abroad, and see the same thing, in China, and it is pointed at us. If we can't figure out how to hold our own on the world stage, we are screwed, and MegaCorps don't care. Re-read Catch 22 by Joesph Heller, paying especial attention to Milo MinderBinder. Shipping all our jobs overseas, shortchanging our education systems, letting the rich rot in gated communities, is not going to work, no matter how much you pray.

Night Truck on 20 at 49 turnoff to North San Juan

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Monsanto, Shell, Think Americans STUPID!

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Monsanto tries to kill home gardens:

I’ve been noticing an increasing uproar in the blogosphere and the agricultural news community about H.R. 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. Introduced by Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro, a Congresswoman with indirect family ties to agricultural giant Monsanto, the bill drastically revamps and overhauls the food safety mechanisms by which the Federal government attempts to guarantee the purity and safety of the food Americans consume.

Although my default position is to be somewhat skeptical of these mass semi-panics, in this case there seems to be some meat to the complaints. Many of the elements of the bill as it stands seem to put the Federal government in a position of tremendous power over even the smallest of agricultural producers – literally, the gentleman next door growing a row of organic tomatoes – and requiring them to do business pretty much the way that the giant agricultural companies do business.

Shell oil is claiming their fuel has, tada, "Nitrogen!" Whoopido. In fourth grade you supposedly learn that 80% of the atmosphere is nitrogen. How about an explanation of just how an inert gas is used to improve performance? What compound are they adding to gasoline that wasn't already there in the first place, and exactly what is is doing, and does Shell have a patent? Or is just more marketing hype, like "our vacumn cleaner comes with a new invention, a "HOSE!" tada...

If "El Rushbo" Has a Heart Attack, the Repubbys will be

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rudderless. There's no "there" there.

Commentary by Margaret Carlson

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Rush is wrong.

There, I said it. It wasn’t so hard.

Not for me, anyway. If I were Katie Couric I wouldn’t be so foolish. Rush Limbaugh could feast for a week on a big network anchor like her. And if I were a Republican officeholder, forget it. Anyone who dares to quibble with Rush’s wish that President Barack Obama should fail has to publicly grovel, as did the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele.

After remarking on CNN last weekend that Rush can be “ugly” and “incendiary,” Steele contritely said he didn’t mean to question the “leadership” of Rush, for whom he has “enormous respect.” He had just been a “bit inarticulate.”

Inarticulate is one thing El Rushbo isn’t. He fills the air for three hours a day, attracts more than 20 million listeners a week, by his count, and was a headliner at a convention of conservatives in Washington last weekend.

Dressed like Johnny Cash and bouncing up and down as he gave his “first ever address to the nation,” he generated excitement bordering on adoration. He certainly got more juice than Mitt Romney, who has tried hard to woo Rush’s audience and won the convention’s straw vote with 20 percent.

That doesn’t make Limbaugh king of his party, but it does make him a kingmaker, as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and President George W. Bush, who celebrated Rush’s birthday at the White House with a chocolate cake decorated with a microphone, would attest.

Verizon Wireless Internet Runs Poorly

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I am dependent on one tower. The tower located on Oregon House peak. It is less than 3.8 miles away, and it is a completely unobstructed line of sight. I can literally see the tower on a clear day without binoculars.

About once a week, often for hours at a time, the darn thing goes way, way slow, like between 20 and 30 when the minimum is supposed to be around 160, the average is around 300 to 500, and sometimes it really cranks at 1200. It never runs this slowly when I am in an urban area, same computer, same card, same Verizon. Out here, as DSL is becoming available, I've noticed that the top speeds have been improving, substantially.

But it is really annoying to write something like this post, never knowing if the connection will be fast enough when I'm done writing to actually deliver the post to the blogspot server.

Consistency does not seem to be a value held by Verizon, certainly not on the Oregon House Peak tower in California.

Sitting on a Cornflake.....

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Apparently Kellog's doesn't like Michael Phelps "sitting on their cornflakes" anymore.

An excellent Piece on Abortion from The Union Newspaper

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Tracy

A couple of other things you might want to contemplate. Mother Nature performs a thousand times as many abortions (miscarriages) as humans do. Most of the time the female is completely unaware of this. Is this some kind of murderous genocide going on?

Second, your statement:

�sex is made to have children�

Is rather odd. Ninety-nine percent of sexual acts are entered into for pleasure and intimacy with the hope of NOT getting pregnant. Women past menopause lead active sex lives. A woman can get pregnant easier with timed, impersonal artificial insemination than engaging in sex. Sometimes I wonder if that is the way the Catholic Church would like it. They have for generations been against anything but missionary style intercourse and found sex for pleasure sinful. You are too young to fully understand all this. Remain a virgin until you marry and stop judging everybody else. Open your mind and write back 10 years from now.

"None Dare Call It Treason"

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Jeff,

Great to see your blog here. I've just joined you in being excommunicated from our local paper. Hurwitz was/is the precursor, along with Milken, to our current crop of greedies. I think I got dumped because I mentioned the treason connection.

Al Qaeda wants to destroy the USA.
Taking down the economy would be a good 2nd act.
The brokers and folks like the former Secretary of Treasury aided and abetted Osama's cause, with the invention of 4th order derivatives.

"How could have we have known?" is their version of Bart Simpson's, "I didn't do it."

It is a bald faced, in-your-face, lie.

Anyone who got paid $200,000/year and up plus bonuses into the millions had a brain very capable of working through the scenarios and the consequences.

They should be tried, convicted, thrown in jail, and all their assets seized.

This line of thought is what I think got me ousted from the comment boards. Plus, I got it out in its entirety on Joanne Green's KGO talk show the other night, 50,000 plus listeners. At the Union, he who has the sharpest pitchfork and brightest torch is removed, ASAP

My final insult was to use the line, "None Dare Call It Treason." I guess they considered that copyright infringment.

Americans Are All of Us ?

Should everyone (all ethnicities and melanin contents) refer to themselves as Americans? This question was posed in The Union newspaper today.

The problem is that "America" is itself a European derived named:

Amerigo Vespucci (March 9, 1454 February 22, 1512) was an Italian explorer and cartographer. The continents of America are popularly understood to derive their name from the feminized Latin version of his first name (see Naming of America).[1]

Vespucci played a senior role in two voyages which explored the east coast of South America between 1499 to 1502. On the first of these voyages he discovered that South America extended much further (the Indies). Vespucci's voyages became widely known in Europe after two accounts attributed to him were published between 1502 and 1504. In 1507, Martin Waldseemller produced a world map on which he named the new continent America after Vespucci's first name, Amerigo. In an accompanying book, Waldseemller published one of the Vespucci accounts, which led to criticism that Vespucci was trying to usurp Christopher Columbus' glory.

If there had been a Pan AmerIndian (there it is again!) Culture, and the name had been derived from that one culture, then maybe E. German would have a case. But alack and alas, the waves of immigration that make up the existing "native" "Americans" apparently came from everywhere, at differing times, and the is no universal AmerIndian culture. Even the AmerIndians have a problem ---> they're named generically after a group on a continent clear on the other side of the planet! Stupid Europeans that the AmerIndians discovered on their beach didn't have a clue as to where they were!

Let's move on folks, the governor is short changing the poor and helpless, and we haven't charged anyone yet with treason for trashing the "American" and the world's economy. Chase the Nicolsons, boy did they do big damage! Leave those Wall Street brojokers alone! How could have they known???!!! Give me a break!

Haiku for a Bad Economy

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Or maybe,
We should stop having,
So many babies....

I'm not sure if this is really a Haiku, but it feels like one.

Looks like Obama Reads my Blog

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"We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do."

Of All the Nerve!

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Of late, GE, Chevron, and Exxon/Mobile have been running ads which suggest that they have been in the forefront all along of the eco-energy coalition, and, "wouldn't the rest of us please get in line and join them?"

The chutzpah of it all.

Let them post a website with a summary of their anuual reports and the percentage of cash flowing to real eco-energy sound inversments and research. That would be worthwhile reading matter.

In the meantime, fie on double-speak!

Who Pays for Signature on Marriage Certificate ?

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A Reply to Keith Miller's Letter to The Union newspaper:

Miller is ancient an honorable name, designating those who grind the good grain from the fields. What if we decided that the moment you dropped that occupation, you could no longer use that last name? That makes as much sense as claiming gays are unable to use the word marriage, and receive a state printed copy of a marriage licence.

My taxes and gays taxes go to pay for the salary of the civil servant who signs those documents. To have a state only agree to one religion's version of the definition of marriage, and to only pay that civil servant to sign for that religion, is a violation of the separation of church and state.

Pass it on. An attorney can make a name for him/her/itself with this. Another Keachie Koncept original.

Dog Eat Dog Worlds

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Reading, a "The Union" newspaper Commenter, wrote:

"Keachie~The "system" or human nature?

There can be rich people without poor people, unless you depend on taxes for your wealth! If you live off of recycled tax in the form of a paycheck, then you do need the poor to keep you employed.

I don't believe in taking from someone to "help" someone else. That is a spirit breaker. People need to have character within themselves to give and help without force for it to be meaningful both to the giver and receiver. "


Keachie wrote:

In a dog eat dog world, only the stupid dogs would stop to help others, as every dog would supposedly need all their resources to survive against stronger dogs who are out to control it all.

Reading, is it "the system" or just "human nature" that causes some individuals to be born in a ghetto and unwanted, vs being born to a family on Banner Mountain?

Yes, some do manage to claw their way up to a PhD, but out of how many originally born there, vs. how many of those born in Banner Mt. type homes? We both already know the answer, you just want an excuse to turn your back on the problem. The problem is, what do we need to do to achieve a society in which there is a respectable and self sustaining job (shelter and medical) for anyone willing to work a 40 hour week?

One Suggestion:

For the slugs, thugs, and dregs, fly them, separated by sexual preferences, to separate valleys in Nevada, such that it is a 10 - 20 day walk out, with basic food an shelter every 8 miles

Access to the food and shelter is via airlock style entryways, activated via thumbprint or retinal scan. As soon as the next bunch is flown in, the quality of food and shelter available to an unwilling to walk person goes down a notch. Put in several layers, and in the end, it is bread and water and a vermin free concrete slab with a blanket.

In time, you will identify all your true mental cases.

The workers coming out of the ends of the valleys will be 10 - 20 days drug free and in fairly good physical shape. There they receive free transportation to a job of their choice for which they are qualified, and shelter housing until their first paycheck.

Great background for a sci fi novel, any takers?

Limbaugh = Goebbels, Done Fatter

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Let's see.

I choose for my dad a man in prison, I choose for my mom a lady strung out on drugs, I choose for my group home leader some loser who couldn't make a lot of money in the private sector, I choose for my school a place surrounded by shootouts and drugs and sex on the corners, populated by 20% kids desperately trying to leave, like me, and 20% by kids who view at as their prime mission in life, to wreck any semblance of a learning situation. I choose ZERO in inheritance. Yup, those are all my choices, and I am responsible for every one, so says Reading.

Her kids, of course, "choose" somewhat differently.


Reading, a commenter in The Union Newspaper, wrote the following, which inspired my post above:

"reading wrote:

Who really in America is "low socio-economic"?

IF there really are "low socio-economic" in America MOST cases are a result of bad choices/lack of motivation. (I am NOT talking about people with any physical conditions [MS is an example] that limit their choices)"

All I Want for Christmas.....

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I am rather hoping that Obama will see fit to set up tele-learning for prisons that links an instructor and a student through a phone line and a shared screen, such that the instructor can work one on one with a student across the country, thus minimizing risk to the instructor, and increasing one on one interaction. The instructor could opt in for the prisoner seeing him or her, depending on rapport established. If we are going to keep recidivism down, we need to get the educational level of "graduates" up.

Verizon Time SCREWUP! Check your Clock

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Both of our phones were reset to TWO (2) hours back instead of one hour back. If you depend on your phone for time or alarms, you should double check it before going to sleep.

So Who Does Make Money in a Market Downturn?

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When stocks are sold, the money doesn't disappear. It is then in the hands of the seller. If the seller bought it some time ago, or arranged for a short sale yesterday, even if the stock as gone down from its high, (only if it has gone down from its high in a short sale) the seller makes money.

The people who lose money are those that buy at or near the high of the market, as true buys, not short sales, and hang onto the stock as it slides below where they bought it, until finally they do sell it, "at a loss" to themselves. Their loss provides a gain to the seller who sold it to them, from the paragraph above.

My guess is that getting the timing right for personal gain, is probably 25% blind luck, and 75% economic smarts. I would also guess that 95% of the time the wins go to folks AT THE HIGHER ENDS of the economic scale, where they can have access and time to learn the ins and outs of the marketplace, or pay someone who does.

Of course, if the market tanks so badly that nobody thinks anybody can make any money, then we all wind up having the government (us, our social security, grandchildrens; taxes) bail out the rich banks to get the markets happy again, so that we all stayed employed and our businesses can remain open.

Congress could have chosen to prime the pump from the bottom, giving all the consumers tons of money and limiting the interest rates on mortgages and credit cards to say 14% max, but no new purchases via credit cards till the balance is $0, and no fees above $10/month, all inclusive, but they didn't.

The rich keep on getting richer, with this kind of bailout, and eventually the country will fall apart.

Somehow I just don't think the current band-aid is going to do much for the cut to the carotid artery. Somewhere along the line an evil Bugs Bunny is going to jump up and say, "What's Up, Doc?"

We really need to retrain and retool this country in earnest, and go solar nuclear ASAP. We have 306,000,000 Americans with 50,000,000 civilian guns. We can take care of any terrorists who might get in easily. We've been playing fraidycat. Time to stop the war and fix America.

Interest Rate Caps, Foresight

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Over a year ago, in ricketyboats.blogspot.com com, I posted:

"This is fairly self explanatory. The people of this country need to pass a consititutional amendment which sets the maximum chargable interest rate at 18%, and any fees/service charges could not be used to push that figure effectively higher. Yes, South Dakota will lose its luster for credit card companies, as their 29.99 % allowable rates would be prohibited.

If you must gamble, you should not be allowed to do it with your credit cards and mortgages in such a direct fashion.

The Congress and President will of course fight this tooth and nail, supported as they are by bank and credit card lobbies. This will have to be a grass roots effort. Drive the money lenders from the temples of Washington ! "

Nowadays I am advocating an even lower rate of 14%. I wonder what they will finally adopt?

Cap Interest Rates at 14% for Consumers

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All of the efforts to save the economy are bandaids for the top. We need to help the bottom by establishing a maximum interest rate of 14%, effective immediately, for all existing and future consumer loans. Also cap all bank "fees" to $10/ month, regardless of how many ways the banks figure out to get them. ATM fees to a max of $10 per withdrawal.

By putting money back in the hand of the "little people," the economy will unfreeze. If we don't do this, there will be a depression.

An Equitable Way to Pay CEO's

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For those who think understanding a home loan should have been a no-brainer for an inner city person, you will have no trouble following this potential cap on CEO earnings. The notion is, the bigger a company is, the more stable it is at earning income. Yes GM may be the exception.

The CEO may not earn per year more than 10 million time more than the minimum wage worker who works 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, all year long, divided by the total number of employees earning twice that amount, or less. If a company has just one such employee, the CEO can make 137 billion at current rates. Of course, if a company has 100,000 such employees, he will make considerably less. This will incentivize paying more to existing employees, and raising the minimum wage. It will also discourage MegaCorps.

Sarah Palin's Secret New Age'er Connection

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At the site www.noogenesis.com, there is a discussion of teaching techiques and the use of phrases of praise. Here's the part most closely associated with Palin, the perfect elementary school teacher.

"Not all situations require this kind of descriptive recognition. If we are just having a conversation, and wish to encourage the speaker to tell his story, we can use minimal encourages, which are short phrases letting the speaker know you are listening (Bolton, 1979, pg 43-44):

Minimal Encourages

Tell me more. You betcha!
Oh? Yes.
For instance... Really?
I see. Gosh.
Right. And?
Then? Go on.
So? Sure.
I hear you. Darn!

Just repeating what a person says can be encouraging."

Birds of a Feather and Politics

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Sentient beings with intelligent, rational minds recognize one another regardless of what feathers, etc., they happen to be stuck with.

Flocks of all one stock, make for a boring soup.

Todd Palin for President!

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"How could you vote in such a way as to put a woman in the White House? Do you realize that in following all of the Bible baggage she comes with, Todd Palin would become the Decider?"

From one of my Comments in The Union newspaper.

Nothing like a non-elected King with a direct pipeline to God in the White House. A direct pipeline that is filled with oil....

Graphic Icon of Titanic, McCain, Palin, Flag

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This was inspired by a Patti Ann M. image of Obama against the old Soviet Union flag in a Leninesque pose. Please download and use, wherever you like.

The flag upside down is a universal symbol of distress.