Hmmmmm

Anthony Johnson First Slave Owner In The Americas

And he was what?

Apparently some mistakes are not specific to any one group.

Update: Wikipedia changes over time, the influential portion of the biography is diluted now, so here is another source which makes if clear that a black man was the first slave holder in America.

Iraq, Won Before The Ascension of Barry

This video is the product of Congressman John Boehner's office.

One of the most telling parts is when the newsman says that the lack of violence means there was no news from Iraq that day; because, in his mind, good news is no news.

Military May Get Squeezed Out Of Their Vote

Decisions by Washington bureaucrats over the next four weeks will have a profound impact on the upcoming November elections. These bureaucrats will decide whether or not those serving in the military from twelve states will have a full and effective opportunity to participate. If they choose to do anything other than aggressively enforce federal laws protecting military voters, many of those serving our nation won’t have a voice.

Every American can do something about it.

As I have written about before, the MOVE Act — signed into law in October 2009 — set a mandatory minimum time of 45 days before any federal election to mail ballots to overseas voters. MOVE was a rebuke to the bureaucrats who were stuck on a non-statutory 30-day standard used as a minimum in previous elections.

Blind bureaucratic reliance on the 30-day standard resulted in 17,000 overseas ballots not being counted in the 2008 election. The military postal service says 60 days is needed to get ballots to our troops and back again, but a law is only as good as the people enforcing it.

Sounds like criminal negligence to me, but at the very least complete incompetence on the part of those responsible for getting ballots our overseas troops. If this doesn't happen, if our military serving overseas is denied the opportunity to vote; heads should roll!

UPDATE-

In Washington, politicians always like to release bad news on a Friday, as fewer people notice. Today, the Pentagon announced that it had granted the waiver requests of five states seeking to escape requirements to protect military voters.

Klaatu Barada Nikto

Classic science fiction, The Day The Earth Stood Still; the story of an alien visitor who leaves a warning without otherwise altering human civilization, much. Somewhat of a forerunner to the Star Trek credo of not interfering with those they met on their voyage, Klaatu's warning essentially says stop your threatening behavior and we'll leave you to be the jerks you are, or something like that.

Their have been other incarnations of the magical phrase used by the visitor, and even a band named in his honor. The band is also from a foreign place, Canada, not Liverpool.

Immigration's Long Song

Word comes that the current administration is fining employers for employing illegal aliens at a greater rate than that of their predecessor administration. But, they are deporting fewer of the illegal alien workers than did their predecessor. So much for a comprehensive approach to the illegal alien worker problem.

To be clear, I applaud the increased pressure put upon the employer, for they need to be a part of the solution, but not just as a revenue stream for the government. Which, when one considers that the illegal alien is permitted to go down the street and find another job while his former employer is charged for giving him his last job, it is hard to take the government's efforts seriously, and easy for the jaded observer to see it as a scam.

Cue up Marvin Hamlisch's theme from the movie The Sting, and listen to this scenario.

Here's the plan fellows. We'll use our rhetoric as leverage to make the illegals sympathetic figures in the public arena. This will allow us to keep them in the country even after we have identified who they are. Next, we find out who is giving them work and we'll use the law to shake those trees for money. Of course, in order to keep our supply of illegal workers at its present level we'll just turn them loose to find another sucker who buys into our associates claims that hiring illegals is the only way the country's businesses can provide the people with food at affordable rates. It is a perfect Catch 22 for the employer, he is still compelled to hire the worker to for economic reasons, the supply of workers remains high, and we get our cut when we put the squeeze on the entrepreneurial employer trying to keep his company afloat. Oh, and one more thing, we'll need to make it seem unfair for people to ask if someone is legal, just to confuse and frustrate those who think it best to comply with the law as employers. KaChing!

Whereas, a serious attempt to enforce the laws would include doing both enforcement of the employer's obligation to ensure that the employer is legal, and documentation into the system as a criminal, followed by immediate deportation, of the illegal as a disincentive for them to repeat their violation of our sovereignty.

And, then, once these basic steps are being met we can establish a guest worker program, which prefers those who have shown themselves to be good citizens in the past, for temporary entry in our labor market. Then, and this is imperative, we must ensure that the guest worker program is correctly and consistently applied, thereby putting an end to illegal incursion by those only seeking a paycheck. Once all of this has been in place and working correctly, consistently, and, for as much as possible, glitch free; it will time to consider what criteria fits for allowing the guest worker to apply for a permanent place within our society; (these standards should be a high bar to cross with the burden of proof being upon the applicant not our nation and its citizens and governments).

In the present political environment it seems that getting to a resolution to the illegal alien situation is a long way off, the present state of capitulation endures without enough threat to its existence, too often we are just repeating the same stanza in a song that remains the same.

Total Madness

I knew their song Our House, but did not know the band's name. A mate introduced me to them the other night, I present this video and recommend that you watch at YouTube (which can be accomplished by clicking on the YouTube icon on the video), so that the entire collection will play as intended. They are Madness.

On The Merits Of Purchasing Florida's Lifetime Fishing License

An economic question arises. Should a man only eight years away from being allowed to fish without purchasing a fishing license purchase a lifetime fishing license.

Does it make sense from a cost standpoint? Is the convenience factor enough to balance out any savings over making yearly (or an every five year) purchase of a renewed license? What other are the other benefits to owning a lifetime license?

My interest is mainly in "saltwater fishing", and I am a resident of the state, so we will evaluate the feasibility of buying that lifetime license. A Lifetime Saltwater License (residents only) sells for $301.50. So is that a good deal for me.

The first step to getting our answer is to calculate what yearly and/or five-year licenses would cost over an eight year span. And, to do that we must assume that the current prices will remain stable; a big assumption. However, that is the only data we have to work with, so let's begin with what we know.

Presently, a One-Year Saltwater license costs $17.00.

A Five-year saltwater license sells for $79.00.

A quick calculation shows that buying five Annual licenses would cost $85.00 at current prices the Five-year license saves us $6.00 over five years. Buying consecutive five-year licenses would cost $158.00, (2 x $79), and buying one five-year and three one-year licenses would cost $130.00. So, it makes sense to take the savings and buy a five-year license and three one-year licenses to cover the eight year period instead of eight one-year licenses, or consecutive five-year licenses.

Using that arrangement we arrive at a cost of $130.00 for eight years. However, we are not done because the Lifetime License includes additional permits which we want and would have to purchase separately. So, let's add in the cost of the Snook stamp.

A Snook stamp now costs $10.00 per year, up from $2.00/yr in 2009. A five year stamp offers no savings as it costs $50.00, or exactly five times the annual rate.

So, our cost now is $130.00 plus $80.00, or $210.00. But, the Lifetime License also includes the taking of spiny lobster, another $5.00/yr permit, which we may, or may not use. (After thirty years as a resident I have gone after spiny lobster one time, and that trip was unsuccessful). But, being a dreamer, I imagine that I might take up that pursuit; and I wouldn't want to find them and not be able to take them.

So, adding in both permits, we arrive at $250.00 for the next eight years, meaning that at the current rates I was lose $51.50 if I buy the Lifetime License now.

So, $301.50 versus $250.00, an easy choice? Not so fast. Let's consider the convenience factor, if I buy the Lifetime License I will never need to wonder if my license is current, I'll never need to go to the store to buy another one, and if I were to move out of state the Lifetime License remains in effect. Is that worth $51.50 (91.50 if I accept that the spiny lobster stamp will never be needed) over the next eights years? And, how much credit do we give to the notion that these rates will remain stable?

If, or perhaps I should say when, the rates go up will the increase more than equal the $51.50/91.50 extra I would pay now if they were to remain stable until 2018? As I already mentioned, the Snook stamp saw a 500% increase in just one year, and the spiny lobster stamp went from $2.00 in 2009 to $5.00 this year, a 250% up charge. And, while the saltwater license price remained the same as last year, who knows when, and by how much, it will be increased.

All things considered I believe it is still worth the investment for me. Had I thought to do this analysis even three years ago the answer would be obvious, buy it, and save! Now it is a bit of a gamble, but a cheap one. And, besides, I never thought to mention the prestige factor. when I tell people that I bought a Lifetime License it will surprise many that such a thing exists and I will be seen as more interesting, it will make me seem like the consummate sportsman with skills and dedication, and just think how impressed the ladies will be and how many hot dates I'll have when I'm ashore......; there I go dreaming again.

Harry Right On Point

Who can argue with the wisdom of his position? Why should America, or any sane group. give away the right to be a member of the group? They shouldn't!

That you Harry Reid, you have convinced me, no more anchor babies in the USA! Great speech Harry.

Boycott New York City

It is a thought that came to mind in light of the City's acceptance of the insulting (Ha)Mosque planned as a victory monument in the shadow of the fallen Twin Towers.

Of course, it is probably not practicable as almost every area of our nation's business, news, entertainment, politics, etc.. is linked to the Big Apple. Now, with the proposed (Ha)Mosque looming near Ground Zero, there is likely to be more influence upon the City from the Middle Eastern money (Iran and Saudi Arabia are cited as contributors to the building) than the American people could/would exert upon the City with an attempted boycott.

And, the idea of boycotting NYC would have probably never come to mind if not for the ridiculous boycotts levied against Arizona as that state seeks to conserve its attachment to the United States, and a civil life for its citizens. But, the boycott card has been played, and I can think of no better time to play the counter-boycott card than now, when so many American haters are attempting to use our laws against us. Some radicals chose to sue Arizona to prevent AZ from enforcing the law, citing the Federal government as the only one allowed to enforce immigration laws, and now some other cowards wish to recite the First Amendment to the Constitution as a shield against civility and common sense. In fact, in both of those cases common sense is defiled by those using a broad interpretation of our laws to impose their will at the expense of those simply seeking to pursue their own happiness. Building a (Ha)Mosque next to ground zero with money from a declared terrorist state, Iran, inhibits the peace of mind, (i.e. happiness) of those who lost friends and loved ones to the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001 and the happiness and of all who saw the 9/11 as an unjustified attack. That building is an insult to intelligence and an assault on decorum. It will not promote peace and understanding, in that purported mission it has already failed.

So, as absurd as it sounds, as impractical as it may at first seem; it is imperative that the rest of the country boycott everything which comes from the city of New York until and unless the (Ha)Mosque is denied permission to build its shrine to terrorism and its monument to terrorist victory.

Note: the term "(HA)Mosque" is my alteration to a concept introduced to me by Rush Limbaugh. The Ayatollah in charge of the building of the shrine, (commonly referred to as Imam Rauf), supports the terror organization Hamas, and thus Rush has taken to calling the proposed shrine the "Hamasque". I separated out the first two letters partly for clarity, as it makes the tie to Hamas and partly because it illustrates what a joke it is that we are needing to have this discussion.

Jackie Wilson Sad

The following is from an email sent to my Dad by one of his acquaintances, Jackie Wilson.

Dear Friends and others who may be interested,
This story reminds me of the times when I and my Moore TEA citizens group went to Raleigh on two different times for a rally on the grassy mall that is in front of the state legislature buildings. We had a permit and yet the police chose to challenge us both times about having American Flags!!!! They told us that having the flags might cause a problem with some groups that may be along the “parade route” (which was the sidewalks around the outside of the buildings) and a therefore those flags could be a “weapon”. Eventually, after about thirty minutes when we would not leave and we would not give up our flags (we had to take the poles from our posters -- which we did) we then were allowed to walk on the public sidewalks for our parade! What do you make of this???? By the way, there were maybe 200 or less people in our group and quite a few less than that along our route.
-Jackie

Amazing times we live in, now it is a problem for the authorities if you display the nation's flag?

Mr. Wilson had attached his personal story to that old email we have doubtless all seen about WWII hero Van T. Barfoot who ran afoul of his local authorities when he chose to display the flag at his Virginia home. Amazingly fouled up times, well beyond SNAFU, in my opinion.

Sailing Canoe

Ayatollah Leave Those Kids Alone