BITS & PIECES

BITS & PIECES, (Frazer Chronicles)

CHRONICLE HEADQUARTERS,

Did you ever celebrate a holiday a week after everybody else in the entire country did, well if you have, I'm sure you ran into some of the same problems that I observed from a safe distance. That's right, your editor and chief and his number one proof reader, Candy, who also doubles as the editor and chief's lovely wife just got through sponsoring a ham dinner, with all the usual trimmings.

The event, a belated Easter, actually only six days after the traditional date, April 24th. was, in a word, an event. Our youngest daughter brought her usual entourage, her husband, Jason and their cute little ones, Ariana and Autumn, while our middle daughter, Linnet brought two baby's that she was sitting for, she has a big heart.

Those of you that think that putting off for a week any kind of holiday celebration and figure it's going to run smoothly are sadly mistaken. Number one, there was a several day search for a spiral ham, "the only one my wife wants in our house," seems pre-cut spiral hams are only sold during Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter, who would have thunk it.

Pies were our next search and we never did get the minced meat or pumpkin pies, that I liked the looks of and I'll be dammed if I'm baking one from scratch, "I do lots of the cooking around our house," so I baked a chocolate cake with strawberry frosting, delicious.

Both my wife and I prepared the dinner, she did more then me, and the meal went off without much of a hitch, you know, whenever kids are involved, there are several "hitches," but we got through them. Joanna's eldest daughter, Ariana, "I think shes 5, I' better be right," only seems to eat breakfast and she pitched her usual protests, but as I say, "we got through it."

The fun part was after the 3:30 P.M. meal when  the kids started running off at the mouth and commenced to have races throughout the house, both on the main floor and where I  and my son-in-law were "hiding out" in the basement. I tell you what, "I'm getting old," I can't take it anymore, the noise was tremendous and completely blotted out the sounds coming from the television. I was left sitting there with the channel controller and no matter what I did, I couldn't hear a dam word. It was then that I knew, they had to go.

Jason was going to watch some boxing match on a pay per view thingy and he was more then ready to get the hell back to his place, some 35 miles to the west, where he could curl up with his dog, his channel changer and recline in peace and quite. I must admit, I helped Jason in his quest to get on the road every way I could without being to obvious, our daughter Joanna wanted to stay longer.

Meanwhile, our middle daughter seemed in a state of stoic satisfaction and was tyring to get her sister and two daughters to STAY the night. If that happened, it might be hours before they took the little ones and retired to her apartment for the night.

I quickly assessed my options, which I might add, at my age are few, and decided to push poor old Jason in his pleadings to leave. The time was fast approaching 5:00 P.M. and an episode of World's Dumbest was coming on Tri-T.V.  and I'd already missed one, "it's a marathon Saturday for the show," so I proceeded with my gentle prodding with my son-in-law.

The mess throughout the house was mighty, "I do most of the cleaning also," but I didn't care, one final push and Joanna finally rejected her sister's plans and relented to leaving with her husband, I had won, but it was a hollow victory, the episode that I eagerly anticipated was a re-run that I'd seen just last week. So here I am, sitting at my computer, finishing off my daily blog.

You know there's a guy who said that "life isn't always fair," well, he was right, not only is life unfair, the dam television networks need to stop re-running their programs so close to one another. I'm also adding another saying and you guys better listen up, "celebrate holidays on their day," they work out better that way.



POT BILL UP IN SMOKE, (Frazer Chronicles)

The politicians are at it again, this time it's in the state of Washington, where Governor Chris Gregoire, in her Tacoma office, has vetoed a medical marijuana legislation bill that had made it's way through both chambers of that states government. You could hear the collective smoke come right out of those people that had fought for the bills passage.

I personally detest drugs of any kind, but I do not necessarily agree with banning the use of the weedy cannabis for medical purposes. I have several aches and pains that I have seriously thought might be helped with a toke now and then. I have even thought about talking with my doctor, a very progressive type with a great first name, Paul, but as yet I haven't.

The governor's reason, "she didn't want to put state workers in danger of being arrested by federal law enforcement." Sounds kind of weak to me, I mean, she could have taken a stand, firing up a dubby herself, have you seen her picture, if anyone looks like that they need a hit, it's her.

I guess those people that feel the need for a little medical boost will have to rely on those underground suppliers that they have been using. Of course, as many people do, they can grow it themselves, a word of caution though, don't get caught, they put pot growers in jail in your state, just think, you'd have to rely on prison drugs for relief.



TEA TIME, 3:00 A.M. (Frazer Chronicle)

My wife has a friend, I'll call her Carol, "not her real name," and she was up and brewing a "spot of tea" at around 2:30 A.M. Friday morning in bloody anticipation of the royal wedding. I'll admit that Carol, "not her real name," is from merry old England and still has an uncle living there, but she's lived in the states since, God only knows how long.

My wife hasn't talked to her since meeting for lunch Thursday, but I know Carol, "not her real name," and she did in fact haul her tired butt out of bed for the wedding festivities that ensued in London Town. In fact there was other tea tootling parties all over America during this same time frame. I just can't figure out why.

In England, a "tea" not only is the beverage, which I might add, I do not like, but there is food that goes along that they eat. I guess it's cakes, or crackers or maybe a good old bismark. Again, it's like the man said, "Commonwealth, continents apart, but a royal wedding is common." It must be true.

VIAGRA V.S. SALT PETER

VIAGRA V.S. SALT PETER, (MSNBC,com)

Whenever you need comic relief from your day to day drudgery and the drabness of life, simply turn to your local newspaper and there, hidden within the headlines will be laughable, comical news stories from our fearless elected officials and their appointed emissaries. By far, the beauty of the week appeared yesterday in an MSNBC.com story dated 4-28-11.

Talk about the attitude of "it must be true, a politician said it and it was printed by a news agency" ever applied, it is under the headline of (US SAYS GADHAFI TROOPS ISSUED VIAGRA, RAPING VICTIMS.) Could this be called "casting dispersions" on one of our enemies, I think.....yes. It follows that a dictator that is bombing his citizens, using torture to keep them under control, might add sex as a tool of torture.

Keeping a handy 4 pack of the little blue enhancing pills, to certain areas of a man's anatomy,  makes perfect sense to me, but then, my wife calls me a sex fiend. Forget about the cost, some $20 a pop, pardon the pun, just think of how the distribution of the pill would raise the spirits of the rag tag Gadhafi soldiers. I can just hear the officers handing out the pills, "take these men and then go Burqa hunting,"  Not only is the pill a recruitment booster and a torture tool, the spirit of the soldiers would raise by a factor of 10.

The U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Ambassador Susan Rice, Thursday, reported the issue of sexual rape as a torture tactic by Gadhafi loyalists and some troops had been issued the impotency drug Viagra in the increasingly sexual tactic on village and country women of all ages. If true, that Gadhafi was issuing Viagra to his troops to engage in rape, it would constitute a war crime.

However several diplomats said that Susan Rice provided no evidence for the Viagra allegations, which they said might be an attempt to persuade doubters the conflict with Libya was not just standard civil war but a much nastier fight, where Gadhafi is not afraid to use his troops to commit heinous acts. If the troops are targeting children, as Rice contends, it would open up a whole new slant on the war.

According to other diplomats, Rice's allegations, which by the way are unsubstantiated by anyone else, were aimed at Russia, India and China, countries who have grown increasingly skeptical of the effectiveness of the NATO led air strikes, which they fear have turned the conflict into a protracted civil war that will cause much civilian deaths.

As with most wars, NATO council members and diplomats expected Gadhafi's government and troops to collapse quickly. That however has not been the case, as with most wars, the push-back from the Gadhafi controlled troops has been stiff, part of the reason being the ineptness of the rebel fighters. Frustration  is being felt by Russia, India and China and continues to grow as the length of the conflict continues.

I personally felt that the United States should have never become involved in the conflict in the first place. Whether for humanitarian reasons, or to keep the peace in the Middle-East, neither reason is good enough for the United States to go to war on another front, we can't afford it.

The international court is investigating whether Gadhafi's government has committed war crimes and it's violent crackdown against demonstrators who demanded greater freedom. The rebellion has turned into a civil war, seeming to ebb and flow across sections of the country.

Rice's accusations of Gadhafi soldiers armed with sildenafil (Viagra) to either enhance the ability of the troops to rape women and children, or dogs and cats, to me, is the best joke to come out of the increasing conflict in Libya. The drug does not enhance a desire, it allows a particular part of the body to fill with blood and if physically aroused will stand at attention. The same warnings here in America, do apply in Libya, "if you get an erection lasting more then four hours, stop whatever your doing and call a doctor, right.

Dosages for the diamond shaped blue pills, which the pharmaceutical company, Pfizer manufactures, are 25. 50, or 100 milligrams. The "shaft" enhancing drug, as some like to call it, should be taken between 30 minutes and 4 hours prior to either sexual intercourse, or allegedly  raping a Libyan median. I am wondering if Susan Rice is any relation to Condi  Rice?

Salt Peter, which undoubtedly few have heard of, was a drug that worked in the complete opposite of what Viagra does for men. It was rumored as a powder that was added to food so that soldiers serving Uncle Sam during the second world war would not be able to function sexually. According to legend, there was still some left after the war and instead of wasting the powdery concoction, it was used in mess-hall chow until it was completely used up.

It lasted well into the 1960's, when I was taking basic training, I know that we were fed C and K rations during the middle 1960's, so I guess it's possible. Hell, over the years I've come to expect almost anything from the government, even Salt Peter.

I however doubt Gadhafi is supplying his troops with the diamond shaped pill, unless the telltale pill dose engraved on one side and the word Pfizer on the other side would be omitted. I'm relatively sure that Pfizer would shay away from connecting their name to any such activity that Ambassador Rice is suggesting.



U.S. SUPREME COURT TO CORPORATIONS, "HAVE IT YOUR WAY" (Huffington Post)

Again a banner week for major corporations and the industrial giants that do business in the United States, thanks to a gift wrapped decision rendered by the United States Supreme Court. The decision regarding AT&T Mobility V. Concepcion, a decision that will have devastating consequences for consumer protection  and civil rights. AT&T asked the land's highest court to allow it to use the "fine print" in contracts to eliminate class actions, a practice that flouts the law in 20 states. In the 5-4 decision, the court granted AT&T it's request.

I probably have a bit of a different view on this court action with regards to the dissenting justices. I'm thinking that if the wording in a contract between a company and it's customer, which specifically addresses this issue, no matter the size of the print, it's the customer's responsibility to READ the contract, (all of the contract) before they sign it. I know it's a novel idea and even though I have very seldom read a contract, and I'm smart,  taking the extra 20 minutes would be a good idea.

The David Arkush article that I read, which appears in the Hoffpost makes some excellent and well taken points. Like Arkush, I detest big corporations and industry that takes advantage of a situation and those people involved. What the company and the sales-person takes advantage of is, the customers anticipated use of whatever article they are buying. The younger the buyer is, the higher the anticipation and the more excitement is involved, reading a contract is far down on his list of priorities.

If small business owners are drawn into the same type of contract that the average Joe of the street signs, the little business guy is either destined to remain small, or fail. Any business person, with that little moxy and business sense deserves what he gets. Those states that do not abide by the wording in a legal document were completely in the wrong and the Supreme Court fixed the practice.

The loss of class action power by wood-be litigants will not shock the markets, nor the legal system. Initially it might increase market power of corporations over those ordinary Americans and small business people that do not read contracts. However in short order, new laws will be enacted that will counter-act what the justices decisions will do.

Hopefully what the decision will do will be to wake people the hell up and when a President picks either a liberal or a conservative to a lifetime position of such magnitude and importance, we will check into his background, (on our own) and weigh in with an educated opinion to our elected officials in Washington.

This decision is a wake up call to the citizenry of America, corporations and giant industry are not in  business to safeguard a potential customer, or to treat that customer in an honest and respectful way. Business throughout the entire world is in business for one reason, to make the sale, no matter the atmosphere that they make the sale in.

Almost without exception, corporate heads care little about the method used for the sale and care less about the welfare of the customer, they are busy padding their own bank account with performances bonuses and stock options. Forget about stockholders, their only interest is the bottom line mentality that permeates  the corporate world that is America.

Today in the corporate world, as in the past, companies strive to make their contracts as one sided, (in their favor) as they can. And conservative say "we don't need governmental controls." Ha, ha. It may seem as if the court rubber-stamped an AT&T scheme, but it only seemed that way, the small print dictated the result and the U.S. Congress and administrative agencies need to be called out and to address the issue, and sadly, protect us, from us.



"SLEEPY'S AT IT AGAIN," (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Well here we go again, Governor Scott "Sleepy" Walker has found another issue that will probably get national attention. This time he "Walker" wants to privatize the Food-Share eligibility portion of the the program. The move could violate federal law and could cost the state of Wisconsin $20 million dollars and more.

In April a letter to  state health officials from the USDA  Food and Nutrition Service warned that the work of interviewing prospective applicants and deciding who would be eligible for the Food-Share program needs to be done by public workers who are essentially civil servants. Failure to adhere to the federal law could cost Wisconsin some of the funds that currently serve more then 800,000 Wisconsinites to the tune of more then $1 billion in federal funding to help low income people buy food. The Food-Share program is the successor in Wisconsin to the Food Stamp program. 

The Walker administration says that by privatizing the service and centralizing  it with the state, would save $48 million a year and eliminate 270 positions. Not only does the public works people, at the present time, screen potential Food-Share recipients, they also qualify those people eligible for the Badger Care Plus medical program, again for lower income folks.

What Walker and his administration is supposed to do, first and foremost is lower state spending and balance the budget in the process, it's what Walker ran his campaign on. However when you continually look to get to a balanced budget, using education and almost attack every entitlement program in the state, and to not raise taxes, at least on a few people, I start to wonder what is going on, the same as some economists around the state.

If a private company is hired to administer both the Food-Share and Badger Care Plus, I'm wondering exactly where the personal touch is going to be. With a private company, where the bottom line is profit, like big corporations, exactly what are we getting for our tax dollar?

The track record for the privatising of these kinds of services in several other states has met with less then sterling success. Both Texas and Indiana have had problems with the companies that they have hired, in fact Indiana is in the midst of legal battles with their company.

The big losers in  both instances has been the members that have used these programs for food and health care. Isn't it about time for "Sleepy" to re-think some of his re-tooling and fix-up programs to balance Wisconsin. Whatever political adventures  the governor might like to take in his future, lets not take them on the backs of the people that need a  "HAND-UP" the most. Change for change alone is very seldom a good  change.



RAGS TO RICHES TO RAGS TO RICHES TO RAGS

RAGS TO RICHES TO RAGS TO RICHES TO RAGS, (San Francisco Chronicle)

Ricardo Ramirez and his story touched a nerve with me that I just had to write about. Like electricity, I know enough to be dangerous, seems as if Ramirez and I have that in common, although I have a better track record then apparently poor old Ricky does. He's created and lost more businesses then Kobe Bryant has shots on the basketball court.

Ramirez started and lost businesses of mainly construction related business, from rental equipment to road construction, seems as if he's done pretty much all of it. Ramirez, a former Marine Corps judo instructor spent more then 20 years as a paving contractor with little to show for it. Between a long list of lawsuits, business failures and bankruptcies, Ricardo seemed to get that break, all of us hope for, when he latched onto a San Francisco and state program for minority-owned businesses.

I remember those programs in Michigan, the one black for every white, qualifications be dammed, it didn't work in Michigan and at least with Ramirez, it didn't work in San Francisco and the bay area. In 1998 Ricardo begin turning out low priced, locally produced concrete for projects that included earthquake retrofit work on the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge. By 2003, his Pacific Cement company was supplying a third of the concrete used in San Francisco's public works projects, a good business if you can get it.

Riding around in big cars, wearing $500 cowboy boots and flashing a big bankroll, Ramirez seemed to be on top of his world. Although his business would never be called "a well oiled machine," he none the less gave off the appearance of a well heeled connected bay area businessman. He had donated nearly $100,000 to state and local politicians and seemed to have made the big-time when he was fined for making illegal contributions. Seems as if your nobody until your fined for illegal contributions.

Even after complaints emerged about some of his concrete being of poor quality, he still got major contracts on city and state projects. Apparently Ricardo's political donations did have some effect in the form of grease in the procurement of at least some of these projects.

Ramirez and his company has a long list of alleged poor quality of product delivered to construction sites which begin in 2004. San Francisco officials said that Pacific Cement's concrete failed a number of strength tests. In a 1985 blacktop paving job, applied by a Ramirez West Bay Contractors, Engineers Incorporated was faulted by city officials for defective work, the blacktop in several areas started to break apart just weeks after it was put down.

In 1997 a Ramirez project replaced sewers along a San Francisco street and the city refused to pay his company nearly $40,000 because of shoddy workmanship and unfinished work. This Jackson street project was a particular tough project for Ramirez and his company, due to third party claims for illegal debris dumping, flooded basements, electrical outages in an apartment building and restaurant and, runaway equipment damaging a concrete truck. A track record was being established.

Although Ramirez lacked knowledge about the concrete business, he became the only provider for the city, certified as a disadvantaged minority contractor, ensuring his success. Operating by the seat of his pants, for Ramirez, this was his modus-operandi, he was getting so good at slinging the bull, that he begin to believe his own crap.

It seems that Ricardo was not the only one that was good at (putting city officials in a dark room and feeding them mushrooms twice a week,)  Pacific Cement, poured several loads of sub-standard concrete in a skateboard park and the city ordered Pacific Cement to remove and replace the concrete at his own expense.

That same year, 2000, Pacific was accused of supplying another batch of poor material at the Golden Gate Park reservoir and pump station, a project with more then $180,000. However the prime contractor got Ramirez off the hook by telling city officials that "Pacific had in no way compromised the project." The Ramirez concrete business was going so will, that by 2003 Pacific Cement had exceeded a ceiling of $750,000 net worth for eligibility for disadvantaged contractor status.

Ricardo Ramirez appealed this decision, saying that he had made mistakes in his application and believe it or not, he was allowed to keep his status as a disadvantaged contractor. By 2004 Pacific Cement had learned the advantages of processing concrete from road rubble, (crushed concrete from old roads) and some of the re-bar that was co-mingled.

Ramirez was warned that recycled concrete did not meet specification for structural projects, but the company went ahead with grinding chucks of concrete and old buildings complete with pieces of wood, glass, wire and whatever else was connected with the buildings. Within months recycled concrete and building parts were all thrown together in the Pacific Cement product and was a common practice.

By 2005 the company was getting orders from the city of San Francisco, surrounding towns and the California Transportation Authority. There were thousands of yards of concrete supplied to scores of city, and state projects, some made with the sub-par mixture. Core samples have been taken on some of the concrete in no particular order and as yet nothing suspect has been discovered.

But the evidence has continued from a number of former employers who tell of rejected material, of recycled mixtures being used in the mix. Some of the biggest public works projects in the bay area were supplied with Pacific Cement material. Rebuilding of freeway approach and exit ramps have Pacific concrete, and an extension of the Muni's light-rail service.

Without exception, each time that Ricardo Ramirez was hauled on the carpet for poor materials, poor business practices, or delays in product, Ramirez cited discrimination against the small businessman, or worse, racial  discrimination.

Over the past decade Ramirez has walked a tight rope, skillfully danced around legal disputes, used his gift of gab and his political connections to side-step almost every roadblock. I'm sure when he has been cornered, he has lowered his eyes  and played the poor immigrant from Mexico.

His defenders call him a good family man, a good active Latino person, a self made man, a Marine Corp drill instructor during the Vietnam War. One defender stated that Ricardo and Pacific Cement were only doing what was needed to survive in a business climate were "white folks" had it in for Ramirez from the start.

He was a Mexican and whites didn't want him in on it, he tried to cut the corners so he could make money like them, and now they say he is a big old criminal, that is what it boils down to, is the way one defender put it.

Ricardo Ramirez's attorney stated that the amount of disputed concrete is so small as to be insignificant. "It's a contamination problem, it's easy to have a contamination problem and the problem was not deliberate, and it makes no sense to claim it was  a substantial  substitution of concrete.

What is clear and undisputed fact is that it costs less then $3.00 to make a ton of recycled concrete and $20 a ton to buy just the rock for a real mix of concrete. There is a strange link between the Michigan equal rights program and Pacific Cement. Like the man said, "it's all in the mix."

  

GUNS TO PEA SHOOTERS

GUNS TO PEA SHOOTERS, (Frazer Chronicles)

Headlines in newspapers across the land cite tragic deaths caused by guns every day, mostly young people that have yet to reach the age of majority. Many are black with nowhere to go, trapped in the nightmare of their surroundings, forsaken by society, with only their homies and guns to keep things straight in their lives. These kids do not know what a comfort zone is, they have no idea of what family circle and an authority figures are, they only know the streets.

There is also, rarely, a kid from the suburbs who brings a gun to school for a "show and tell" and doesn't know the weapon is loaded. Playfully he pulls it out, points at a classmate and pulls the trigger, the ensuing thunderous roar is followed by the sickening sound of bullet meeting flesh and bone.

Twelve year old Johnny and his father tramp through the woods in northern Minnesota on the opening day of  deer hunting, both eager to drop a buck, not for the meat, but for a father-son bonding experience, one that will be talked about for the rest of their lives. They have been out since sun-up and have positioned themselves at the top of a ridge, sitting and waiting.

Without warning a distant shot rings out and an instant later, little Johnny slumps to the ground without saying a word. The better part of the boy's head has been blown off, caused by an errant shot from some nameless deer hunter that might not ever know that he has been responsible for snuffing out the life of a small boy, responsible for changing, forever, the lives of every person that Johnny knew.

All sad stories, and all made from whole cloth, not a scintilla of truth in any of them, but I got your attention, didn't I. Gun accidents in the United States, homicides, gun related theft, errant shots fired and gun drinking, "that's what I call people who drink and have loaded guns," accounts for some of the most meaningless deaths in our country.

Gangland related deaths are not counted in any statistical material that I have used for this blog, I count those deaths as acceptable deaths in thinning the herd, as my dad once said. Thugs, punks and other bad guys are going to have guns, as the N.R.A. aptly points out. However the N.R.A. and I part company almost immediately after that point.

Did you ever wonder who, in the wide world, is the top weapons dealer, here's a hint, initials for that country are U.S. that's right, the land of the flea and the home of the bereaved. Did you know that you can go to a flea market, an institution in America's fabric of free enterprise, and buy an undocumented weapon and nobody will be the wiser.

The average American male usually goes about buying a legal firearm the traditional way, at a licensed gun store. Well over half of all U.S. gun owners use this method to get their guns. They buy their ammunitions, accessories, get some operational instructions and even can receive gun safety training.

Many Americans have gained their guns in an old fashioned way, they inherit their father's gun, that's how I got mine. My dad was a gentle man, who actually was frightened by his own shadow and abhorred violence. I do not recall ever shooting a gun with my dad, there was no gun safety conversations and we never went hunting. He just had a gun in his bedroom for protection, hell I don't know, maybe it was my mother's gun and she  used it for protection from my father.

My point is a simple one, "does that surprise you, me having a simple point, I mean," guns kill people, it's the original reason for their existence. Sure N.R.A. advocates would argue that the very first reason for guns was to hunt game for food on the table and that is absolutely true, I'll give you that, but a close second is to kill people.

By far a bi-product of gun use and the perception of flashing iron was an intimidating factor, I  know that would work every time on me. Of course I get intimidated on a daily basis by my wife and on occasion by my daughters and three sisters. Lets  face the facts of my life, I get intimidated really easy by lots of people, I'm a wimp.

But when at least a third of Americans have firearms in their possesion and there is a drive out there for people to be able to strap on iron and walk down the street, we here at Chronicle headquarters can only lament, "hold on there Tex, maybe we should re-evaluate our gun totting laws for a minute." I don't know about you, but I don't want to go into my favorite watering hole and have to worry about some asshole down the bar, half in the bag  and wonder if he's strapping.

I also wonder about some jerk, setting in this same tavern, who is off his medication for some problems with his behavior,  because when he drinks he gets sick. I don't know about you, but that knowledge would make be just a bit antsy. 

Then of course there's always that special guy, a pillar of the community, a Sunday church goer with an impeccable attendance record, a Sunday school teacher, the guy who donates time, effort and money to charity and is a model father, husband, little league coach and a great friend. 

But every Friday night, this model citizen hits his favorite bar-restaurant, armed to the teeth with a revolver that would make Clint Eastwood green with envy. This upstanding citizen is looking for one thing on his Friday night prowl, and it ain't the best "T" bone in the house, it's a fight. 

When you hit a person with your fist, usually two things can happen, the receiver of the punch either gets pissed off, or he falls down. In some isolated incidents, the guy falls down, hits his head and dies, and you become Willie's best buddy when they put you in  jail.

When you shoot someone,   two things happen, one is bad and the other is worse, both however get you jail time and,  you become Willie's best buddy. The chance that a bullet wound can be fatal, increase by a number of 100 when you look at the consequences of a fist to the jaw, or a bullet to the body, there are so many variables, mostly bad, why take the chance.

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. United States Supreme Court decisions pretty much upheld the Second Amendment that Roger Ramjet had the right to keep and bear arms, unconnected to service in a militia and to use that arm for traditional lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. The court also found that states and local governments are limited to the same extent as the federal government is with regards to restrictions on the ability of citizens to keep and bear arms.

That's just great, according to the Supreme Court, the chief kahuna, the top dogs, the deal makers of law and order in the United States has upheld this precious right. I can't argue with their judgement, who the hell am I. I'm just your editor and chief, your "go to guy" for all the news that nobody else will print. But do you really think that owning a gun, slapping on the old "hog leg" is anything more then a right of passage, a male  extension of a certain part of  man's anatomy.

I mean lets get real, of the 90 to 100 million gun owners, how many do you think are ready to draw down a some low life dink that figures you are an easy mark walking down the street, or figures nobody is home and you catch him in the act of burglary. Is what you have that important, you know.....to shoot somebody and possibly kill them?

Maybe a coat with embossed insignia or a sign on your house, proclaiming to everybody that you are "packing" would deter personal attacks, it for sure would cut down on paperwork to be filled out by law enforcement personnel after a shooting.

Gun and munitions makers dot the country, whether they are strategically located, I don't know, but they sure seem to be spaced throughout the country in places that you would never dream that manufacturer of firearms would have a market.

The names some of these gun guys have are as exotic as some of their firearm names, Les Bare, Land Warfare Resources Corporation, or LWRC, Rock river Arms, Armalite, Bushmaster Firearms International, Caspian Arms Ltd and my personal favorite, Savage Arms.

Caspian Arms is celebrating it's 100 year birthday this year and has a picture of Granny Danko, a centurion herself holding a Model 1911 pistol. Land Warfare Resources Corporation, formerly known as Leitner-Wise Rifle Company, was taken over in 2006 by army veteran Pat Bryan, who surprise, surprise moved the company into a full-fledged firearms manufacturing company.

Some sobering statistics, at least for me are the numbers of people that lose their lives every year caused by gun-shot wounds. Accidental gunshot deaths in the United States each year is more then 2000, thousands more die not by accident, rather deliberately. Chicago, Illinois seems to be the children's gunshot dying capital of the United States, as more then 400 young lives were snuffed out by guns in 2010.

Not everyone is capable of owning a gun, they have mental or emotional problems, lack the basic smarts that God gave a dog, or are completely irresponsible. We all know people like this, both those of us who advocate gun ownership and those that don't, like me. Why can't we meet somewhere on common ground and use common sense to stop the carnage.

THE TRESSEL TWO STEP

THE TRESSEL TWO STEP, (Frazer Chronicles)

Here we go again, maybe, another college coaching scandal, oh goody, I can't wait for this one to play out. It's just what college athletics need, more controversy. Like most of the other scandals that have taken place in college athletes, this one has taken months to develop, hey, like my old man said, "if your going to do it, do it right."

This time it's the Ohio State Buckeye football coach, Jim Tressel, accused of withholding information and lying to N.C.A.A. investigators to keep players on the field who had accepted improper benefits from the owner of a tattoo parlor. Are you kidding, these guys must have been bench warmers, who the hell would go through the pain of a tattoo, risk possible infection, so that their "peps" could check some sort of body art, or to impress the ladies. Ya I'm sure that these guys were nothing more then bench warmers, dummy tackle holders, needing that extra help, "tattoos" with the female of the species.

The N.C.A.A. issued a 13 page indictment regarding Tressel's behavior, alleging that he had allowed "ineligible players to participate in intercollegiate athletics." Also alleged by the N.C.A.A. was that the coach did not fill out a compliance form in September 2010,  lying when he said that he "had no knowledge of any N.C.A.A. violations by any of his players.

Tressel was informed by E-mail that a federal agency had raided tattoo shop owner, Eddie Rife, discovering a multitude of signed Ohio State football memorabilia including jerseys, pants and cleats. Tressel was tipped off  to the possible trouble by a former Ohio State walk-on player turned lawyer. Instead of informing the athletic department, or the college president, the N.C.A.A. or the college legal department, he forwarded the E-mail to a friend in Pennsylvania who was involved with one of the Buckeye players. 

Come to find out, the players weren't bench warmers, like I was, but starters and stars on the team. The players were handed 5 games suspensions in 2011, but not their last game of the 2010 season, the Sugar Bowl, profit won out over a life lesson for the players.

The case against the players is closed, but the action against coach Tressel is just heating up. I wonder how he will fare during the coming months and the investigation that is ongoing, well he beat the odds, will he join others that used their bad practices as nothing more then a stepping stone to further coaching jobs, will he file suit against Ohio State, the N.C.A.A. the team trainer, or the water boy? Only time will tell, but I thought you might enjoy some of the bad actors who did get caught and where they are today.

MIKE LEACH, (Texas Tech football coach)

Leach was a successful coach at Tech, winning 8 games in 8 straight seasons, had an exciting "air-raid" offense and put butts in the seats. His problem wasn't tattoo parlors, illegal gifts or special grades for his players, it was how he felt he could handle some of his players.

Leach locked a wide receiver in his locker because the player suffered a concussion in a late season game. I've been locked in a locker and although it's not the worst thing that ever happened to me,  it's right up there. When the the coach was asked to apologize by his institution, he refused, pretty much sealing his fate

Right then and there, coach Leach and I part company, he's an idiot and I'm not, I would have done anything to keep my million dollar job, even kiss boots, or whatever. Apparently Leach felt somewhat like me, he's attempting to protect his job,  he is taking his case all the way to the Texas Supreme Court.

RICK NEUHEISEL, (Colorado football coach)

To hell with small change, Colorado Buffalo football coach Rick Neuheisel doesn't play around, he committed 53 violations, costing him his position in the mile high state, or maybe Neuheisel was high, I can't remember.

His next stop was the University of Washington were he lead the Huskies to a Rose Bowel win over the Big Ten's rep, Purdue. It appeared that all was right with Ricky Boy until it was discovered that he had recruited players before the legal date approved by the N.C.A.A. 

However, Neuheisel continued living the charmed life until an innocent bet on a college basketball game cost him his  job in 2003. Reason, he lied about the bet to the N.C.A.A. But wait, Ricky didn't think that the investigation into his illegal activity was (legal), he sued both the University of Washington and the N.C.A.A. and won. Ya that's right this coach, the leader of young men, the very same guy who charges money to make speeches won a settlement of $4.5 million dollars.

I don't blame Ricky Boy, I'm envious, I want a job on his staff, he's coaching at U.C.L.A. where the chicks are tanned and the weather is always warm and sunny.

MARK MANGINO, (Kansas football coach)

If there is a poster child for what you look like after you've been hit with the ugly stick, this guy has a new job. Mangino at University of Kansas had to have had a track record before he ever landed at Kansas, you can't act like a jerk and not have that follow you around. Maybe he just intimidated everybody, I wish you could see his picture....actually I don't.

Physical abuse, verbal attacks were just the tip of the ice burg with 'ol Marko, he regularly busted out at players in rants that would do a drill Sargent proud. His bug eyed fat jowled face with blood veins sticking out all over must have been a scary sight. 

Mangino was not a  physical spaceman, could never be confused with a health freak and was flat out ugly. He got none of the breaks that good looking coaches seem to get.....he got canned. As one assistant coach said, "I'm shocked it took the university this long."

C. VIVIAN STRINGER, (Women's basketball coach, Rutgers)

Never let it be said that women can't be just as silly as men with regards to coaching college sports. The draw of winning is just as important to women as men, men just get more of the publicity. Ms. Stringer had her heart set on Shalica Hume for her 2002 club. Basketball savvy, a nice touch around the bucket and leadership qualities, she was a perfect fit for the Owls basketball program. Sounds like a great choice to me, right.....wrong.

Turns  out that Shalica had been tossed out of two colleges for criminal conduct and her time as an Owl was short lived when she was banned from the team and the university when she  was convicted of assault for stabbing, binding and torturing her roommate. Can I get a ticket to an Owl's game!

These people simply lost sight of the facts that the rest of us have to follow, you have to follow the rules, even when you don't agree.

ANOTHER POLITICAL FAVOR IN WISCONSIN

ANOTHER POLITICAL FAVOR IN WISCONSIN, (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside, another political hail storm hit Wisconsin when newly elected republican governor Scott "Sleepy" Walker appointed another seemingly unqualified, (according to Journal-Sentinel's staff writer, Patrick Marley) Renee Miller to the post of Marinette County Register of Deeds. The appointment, of course, upset some employees in the office who had designs on the position. In fact one of the three employees in the office has transferred to another department in the county, while another is considering such a move. The potential moves would leave the newly appointed Miller without an experienced staff as she takes charge.

Walkers move brings back memories of one of my heros, you remember, Brian Deschane, the 28 year old college drop-out with two DWI's and no experience, in almost anything. Ya, the very same "kid" with no environmental regulatory or management experience. Seems Brian's daddy, a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Builders Association, which gave $121,000 to Walker and his running mate, Rebecca Kleefisch had a bearing on the appointment.

Sadly after a raise of more then  $16,000 dollars, after a short time in the state's service, to $81,000, Deschane became an unwilling political pawn, was demoted and shortly thereafter resigned from his position and returned to the private sector, possibly to gain more experience.

Lost in all the rhetoric and condemnation in this latest appointment is the fact that like Deschane, Renee Miller has a seeming "tight" relationship with Representative John Nygren, a republican from Marinette County, she worked for his campaigns for at least five years and her husband, Paul Miller, is campaign treasurer.

Although Renee Miller has absolutely no experience and "leap-frogged" over at least two qualified candidates, based largely on the recommendation of Representative Nygren, the Walker administration chose Renee. Miller has experience as a bank service manager and has been active with the Jaycees, in fact was the organization's president, and in her own words, is a quick learner.

I personally can think of no better resume for the keeper of county statistics, including birth, death and marriage certificates and esoteric legal descriptions of county properties then a bank manager (they have so many of those types of records), an official of the Jaycees, and to boot, she's a quick learner. I'm sure if one looks deeper into Miller's background you'd find that she also worked in the fast food industry.

Although the staff here at Chronicle headquarters is split on this appointee, I, for one, endorse the Miller candidate with enthusiastic support, look at how many unqualified politicians that we vote into office through a popular voter system that we use here in America. As a people, we need heros and Miller is my new, best hero, I just wonder if she needs an older, semi retired employee who knows the score. 

The really funny part of this whole appointment issue (at least on the democratic side), was the date it was announced, April 8th. at the height of the Deschane controversy. Maybe "Sleepy" and his administration thought they might slip this one through,  amidst all the hub-bub regarding my former hero.

It must be pointed out that Miller was appointed by the governor to fill the post because of a mid-term retirement. Miller will serve from this past April and will be eligible to be elected in the general elections that will be held in 2012.

PAMPERS TURNS 50, (Freep.com)

Hard to believe that the original Pampers wearers are at least 50 years old. That's right, yesterday was the anniversary of the fabled throw-away paper and plastic, preformed catch-all diaper. In one swell swoop, Procter & Gamble kicked the soaking pails, safety pins and diaper delivery trucks to the curb of American baby bottom care.

There have been other disposable pooper and pee collectors, but Pampers  pretty much revolutionized the industry and is regarded as the vanguard of the business. To be anybody, you had to wear Pampers, as the hall of fame wearers list is filled with successful business people, pillars of communities across the nation, political leaders and coaches.

Initially the lower body wrap was priced at .10 cents, but outcrys of price gouging were leveled against the company and the price was lowered to a more affordable .06 cents each. Hell I can remember the cloth diapers that we started our son out with in 1966 and would have gladly paid much more for the throw-aways. Our son seemed to have the run-away trots throughout the first years of his life, always needed a change and the diaper pail seemed always to be full.

Today the disposable diaper industry is worth more then $25 billion annually, can you believe that. During the process of  establishing the throw-away units, the cloth diaper industry market almost completely dried up. But like many former American institutions making inroads,  the cloth diaper is making a comeback in our  environmentally aware society. As the throw-aways begin to clog landfills, cloth now makes up 5% of the diapers used in this country, up from about 1% several years ago.

Throw-aways have been around since the middle 1930's, used usually by those people traveling away from home, however the use was restricted to those people with means, not the dust bowl, or unemployed searchers for greener pastures in this dark period of American history that defined the many travelers.

With the outbreak of World War II,  most research turned to bomb making that was used for the war effort, not those bombs dropped by Jr. in his diapers.  Cloth remained the diaper of choice in a mother's battle to control a seeming endless pile of soiled, stinky, fly attracting feces and urine filled and mostly stained material, washed either on wash boards or manually ringer operated washing machines. 

Talk about "a women's work  never being done,"  women were forever tackling mountains of messy stinky diapers that would be used almost as soon as they were hung out to dry in the fresh air during temperate weather, or laid out to dry on every available flat space or chair in the house.

That however would all change, as the way changing practices routinely had been done for hundreds of years. The history of disposable diapers, a luxury in the 1930's and 40's,  would take innovations by the paper producing industry to produce a tape type disposable diaper and further research to completely revolutionise the throw-away industry.

However the overall driving force behind the fledgling new industry was the young housewife of the late 1940's and early 50's. Emboldened  by an awareness that was gained during the war years, women had discovered that they, in fact, held power in the progressive society that had emerged. Conveniences, more options and a sense of  worth created by the "Rosie Riveters" of the war years made American industry sit up and take notice of the power of women.

Cloth advocates today are "snapping" the cause of cloth diaper use, much like a towel snapping contest by boys in a gym class. The "new" cloth diapers come in the traditional cotton or wool, but also bamboo, hemp, "smoke it when your kids outgrow their use," and organic forms. They are preformed, fitted, pocketed so that baby can keep his pacifier or a place for  spare change, expandable for that baby with over active bowels and leak proof for what could only be called "the little pisser protector." These additional advent to cloth diapers are tethered together by either a Velcro snaps, or a three armed fastener called a snappi, all for mother's peace of mind.

There is also a decorative and personalized cuteness factor in brightly decorated designs or animals. Racing strips can also be an option, but most mothers, for obvious reasons "shy away" from the catching strips, citing a subliminal message that might be sent to baby.

During the early stages of diapers, like a thousand years or more ago, mothers had to deal in many different ways when their babies heard the call of nature, lifted a leg and let fly with a bowel movement induced mess that would dribble down a leg onto where ever they happened to be. Urinating wasn't quite as messy, but warm urine on a lap was quite disconcerting and interrupted many a conversation.

A rough type of cloth material was strapped onto babies bottom, but it was changed so infrequently that several days of a child's business would accumulate, which must have caused a stench unlike modern people could imagine, and the accompanying diaper rash that could have went down in the annuals of diaper rash history. 

Other ancient diaper types in  the evolution were made of animal skins, moss, leaves, linens, old clothing and possibly even weeds, grass and wood chips, chopped from trees. Babies in tropical environments were never clothed, allowed to crawl and then walk, crapping or peeing whenever the notion or urge came along. No wonder there average age of these early babies was low, as well as that of adults, less then 30.

The role of the cloth diaper continued it's advancement throughout the history of man and as world technology evolved, cloth became the material of choice for mothers the world over. As awareness of bacteria became known, used diapers were boiled before re-using.

Clasping and holding diapers in place was always a problem until the introduction of a pair of rubber pants that went snugly over a diaper and held it in  place. It is not known whether the Swed who introduced his idea to Swedish mothers in 1942 made any money. 

In 1946 an American mother invented the "boater" a waterproof covering for diapers. The material of choice for the lady from New England was  shower curtain fabric that was cut in the shape of the diaper and sown into the fabric.

In the years following these early exploits, their successes as well as the failures, many new and inventive ideas and names have come down the road. Fuzzi Buns, Pocket Diapers, Poochies, Honey Boys, Happy Heinys and Hyen Cart just to name a few.  However though there are many diaper companies out there, they all have one common goal, both cloth and throw-away, they seek to do the best job of stemming the unending tide of baby poo and pee that has been a problem since the beginning of motherhood. Thank God the problem seems to a women's, not a man's.

THE DAY IT COST A GRAND TO FILL MY TRUCK

THE DAY IT COST A GRAND TO FILL MY TRUCK, (Frazer Chronicles)

Actually the cost to fill my truck was more then $1200, the two saddle tanks took 150 gallons each,  on  my semi-truck in July 2007. Independent drivers (those drivers who owned their own rigs) were going out of business right and left. Most of these independent drivers had little leverage to pass these historic prices on to their customers. The company I was driving for had a fuel surcharge built into their contracts with many of our customers and they shared with the increase with prices.

My truck was a year old Freightliner that was getting around 6 miles a gallon, decent mileage for a semi tractor,  meaning that it was costing the company that I drove for a little more then  .80 cents a mile. If you add my per mile wage .34 cents per mile, licenses, insurance, office administration and truck upkeep, the cost to drive that 2006 Freightliner down the road was more then $1.40 a mile. I do not know how my company made any money, let alone stayed in business.

The reason for the current raise in petroleum products is, to say the least, "complicated."  To say that greed was the only factor would be convenient, but sadly wrong. There is no simple answer with regards to this problem, the answers are convoluted for the average person, "boy am I average," and those technical folks in the know refuse, or are unable to answer questions about their industry in  a concise simple form.

Its all about control, profit margins, the declining dollar value and as some think, lax regulations on extended housing loans, expenditures without recovery, (wars) tax rebates/cuts and free trade without reciprocation. The percentages of imported crude oil to the United States from the Persian Gulf typically is between 10 and 15%,  Our biggest supplier, (of imported oil) comes from Canada, while the U.S. gets imported crude from many  smaller suppliers.

Instability drives crude prices and to say the least, "the United States is hugely unstable." The Pentagon is now directing wars on three fronts, unemployment hovers around 9%, America's economy is sluggish, the value of the dollar runs hot and cold,

The raise in crude effects everything that we do, from farming, to industry, to government operations, to the family vacation. As a nation we rely on petroleum products and when prices raise, we curtail our consumption in all sorts of ways. However business is hard pressed to cut back on use, hence prices raise for the lowly consumer, as a way for business to recover the higher cost of producing product.

The excise tax, built into the price of a gallon of gas, has a long and fruitful history and has tacked on from .1 cent to as much as .18.4 cents a gallon during the tax from 1932 to the present. Originally the excise or "road tax" was instituted by the Secretary of the Treasury as a tax-raising and expenditure-reduction proposal which was to last only until 1934, guess what.....1934 was skipped over by the fed and the tax remains to this day. Like a banker, the fed has never seen a dollar that they didn't want a piece of.

Today gas prices, "as of 4/18/11 reported by the department of U.S. Energy" averages more then $3.84 a gallon, while the price of diesel fuel is at more then $4.06. The squeeze is on as summer approaches, a time when family outings dominate our domestic economy. Summer is also the time when there is more activity in the trucking industry, as delivery helps to fuel summer trade. 

The simple answer to why gas prices are on the raise again is fear. The entire petroleum industry is driven by fear coming from several different directions. Fear of instability, fear of war, fear of deposed country presidents, dictators or leaders, and the fear of lower prices by a multitude of reasons. These people that trade in petroleum futures must be the most stressed people in the world.

The current raise in crude prices is being blamed on unrest in the Middle East and some African countries and is being ignored as just another burp in the world of free market trading.It seems as if nobody in government has the ability to understand, or do anything about the recent raise in prices.

Economists steadfastly downplay the effect that speculation has on the price of crude, instead say that "speculation does not drive the oil prices, driving does." Well, I'm not an economist and I non-the-less have an opinion and thankfully that opinion is unencumbered by some ideology or hidden agenda. I filled my pick-up truck the other day and it cost me close to $80.  

When petroleum companies report "windfall" profits, I get pissed off, wondering why, or how gas companies can make these types of profits when the average workers wage has been stagnate since the 1980's and the Reagan era. I can remember the very first gas attack in the United States back in 1974. Prices doubled and tripled almost overnight, lines of cars around the block were waiting for a chance to fill up. The reason given, shortages of crude oil and the possibility that the world was running out of petroleum producing capabilities.

I swear to God, that was the beginning of an organized effort to regulate prices and to control the prices. I have watched prices, over the years, raise for a while and then fall back to within a few cents of where it was, but always on the high side, you know, "going from $2.00 a gallon, to $2.50 and then back to $2.10." I always called that pricing system "an exploration to see how far petroleum company's could good with pricing before custom uproar demanded a lower of the price." And it's worked, we now have price per gallon gas at "almost the levels" of a couple of years ago and when the prices come down to $3.75, the price will be called "good."

When I used to drive, professionally, I was amazed at the number of gas hogs that people were driving at the height of the last significant raise in gasoline prices, eight of ten were gas guzzlers. Clearly American citizens were not interested in saving money at the pumps. Clearly the United States driver was not concerned about the availability of gas, rather he was concerned, (a little) about the price.

We Americans share the blame for higher crude prices by the very driving practices that we continue to pursue. As the saying goes, "bigger is better," and that sure is correct when we chose the vehicles that we drive. When I hear people talk about cancelling a family vacation because gas prices are too high, to me, that means that those families could not have afforded the vacation anyways, no matter what the prices were.

In the final analyse, we share in the problem that is the petroleum industries pricing structure and how they arrive at their prices. If Americans refused to pay, the price would come down, they don't produce gas to sit on, it's to be sold, and like my father said, "half a loaf is better then none." Better governmental regulations are necessary to help stem the tide of higher prices as well as the greed factor that now permeates the industry.

Again  we need to govern ourselves, I say "lets have a drive out, a day when nobody drives," wouldn't that be fun to watch. Can you imagine the look on the collective faces of the industry, priceless.

THE WILD WEST

THE WILD WEST, (MSNBC news)

Here we go again, call out the posse, women and children first, keep your powder dry, duck sucker, some are suggesting ground troops in  Libya. Western nations are past the point of discussion  on the issue of "boots on the ground" even though Moammar Gadhafi's has issued threats and there is opposition from France. This time the European Union said it is "willing to deploy forces" to escort humanitarian aid, to which Libya rules called "tantamount to a military operation."

I guess if I were in the Libya ruler's shoes, I would have said, "boots on Libyan soil is an act of war and appropriate retaliatory action will be taken." Britian officials said Tuesday that it would "dispatch military officers to advise rebel forces.

Strangely the European Union does not have a standing military force, so member nations would have to "pony up" the soldiers. As far as funding for the humanitarian action is concerned, member countries supporting the action would.....have to financially give support.

Lets see, the initial, or "down stroke" cost to America was six hundred million dollars, and each proceeding day is another forty million. I don't know, after costs reach a billion dollars, like most other Americans, I get kinda numb and can't comprehend the figures that are listed, or in some cases, aren't listed.

On a cheery note, the Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini has announced a meeting in May to discuss ways that would enable oil from Libyan oil wells, controlled by the rebel  to be sold on the world markets. All future economic agreements will be "especially directed towards those who have supported us today in this delicate phase," Frattini said in his statement. The minister however did not say where the money from these sales would go.

Sounds strangely like what some said during the initial stages of the war on terror in Iraq, remember, the oil revenue would pay for the war, we'd be greeted with cakes and flowers and the war would be over in short order. Can the world never learn? 

RECYCLING MANDATE ELIMINATED

WALKER RE-THINKS RECYCLE MANDATE, (Associated Press)

Well, I'll be, I read it, but I'm not sure I believe it, Wisconsin governor Scott "Sleepy" Walker, newly elected to Wisconsin's top job, is having second thoughts about dropping a state subsidy of $29 million dollars for state mandated recycling programs. In Walkers initial proposed budget, the mandate and the subsidy were eliminated, however home owners and business' would still be required to recycle.

At the present time the city of Green Bay has several recycle only trucks that pick up items including glass, tin cans, metal cans, cleaned paint cans, metal aerosol, caps removed and paper products. There is a long list of unacceptable paper products as well as a pretty extensive list of glass and metal not to be recycled.

The recycle program in Green Bay, "I can only speak of that program" is on a  bi-weekly basis and seems to work will. Special recycle or other large "bulk" pick-ups may be scheduled, but a special charge will be assessed for this type of service.

The recycling mandate has covered every resident in Wisconsin since 1995, "oh oh, a state mandated law, much like Obama's mandated health care law. But under "Sleepy" Walker's budget, home owners and business would still be required to dispose of their trash, "how exactly would that work"?  What about old people, what about sick people, what about those derelict types that take absolutely no responsibility for themselves.  I guess each city and county across the state would have to enlist trash cops, wait, that won't work, they would have to be paid and would get benefits after 90 days on the job. Maybe some things are better left undone.

But in the first of possibly many retractions, or re-thinking budgetary issues, the Walker administration has suggested that some communities merge their garbage collection services to save money. Maybe here in Brown county, the city of Green Bay, maybe DePere, Ashwaubenon, Howard and Bellevue could re-organization their services into one centrally located facility, share their trucks, personnel and administrators and even eliminate some personnel in a cost efficient move. 

The reason for this move, pressure from some of his own party members, republican. I have sat and watched for many years the changing of the "guard" with regards to political parties and administrations and don't understand why almost without exception changes are not "suggested" rather they are roughly mandated along those same political party lines and pushed down our collective throats.

In the end, GOP lawmakers, some members of the states Department of Natural Resources and a concerned group of  solid waste and recycling organizations traded proposals late last week and how to manage and fund recycling in the future. The good old American $buck stopped right there.

We here at Chronicle headquarters can only say, "whew" it appears, anyways, at the present time, Ms. Ofeelya Hiney won't be required to take our trash, which is considerable, to the local land fill. She can still take it home after work on Tuesday for pick-up at her curb Wednesday. 

DOPE, (Green Bay Press Gazette)

I read with a bit of humor an article about how athletes are prone to drug use, says an expert. I say "humor" because once again, school officials are attempting to take over what parents are supposed to be doing. Thank God I'm past the age of worrying about my kids and the trouble that they might get into at school. My wife and I fought those battles and lost most of them long ago.

To say that high school kids are "prone to drug abuse" is, well rather silly. It seems as if the very athletic programs that were devised by some of these same people, is coming under attack. High school kids did not invent even one controlled substance, never dreamed of  an enhancing or mind altering drug. Grown-ups did, parents, teachers, coaches and Athletic Directors did, they all contributed.

Not one student athlete devised an out of season  training program to hone his abilities and to keep what abilities he might have sharp. Again, without exception, grown-ups organized these types of basic illegal programs, parents, coaches and Athletic Directors.

There are coaches who do take their position seriously, want to see their players win, but more important want to see them exert their best effort, learn a bit about themselves, to get along in a team atmosphere and have fun. Nobody, and I repeat, nobody ever said "work ball", they all said "play ball, from the coach, to the official, to the player's friends, to the parent.

More professional athletes need to come forward and talk about their personal experiences with their fight against drugs, and the excepted drug in our society, alcohol. The abuse of drugs in high school is a problem, but we need to address where the problem is coming from. The scares suffered by professional athletes and the revelation by these people will do more then any $75 fee to listen to a  speech by the president of the American Athletic Institution.

Way to many coaches out there are hired because they are teachers, not because they are outstanding human beings, or that they bring a world of experience to the sports table. Some people, both men and women, should never be coaches.

Until parents, teachers coaches and school officials learn these lessons, kids will be held hostage by adult shortcomings. Kids don't have shortcomings, they acquire them along life's pathways, from the very people that they love, respect and look up to. The job of being a kid is a full time job, right up to the time that they are cut loose from school. The discoveries, the adventures and the brand new experiences are all they need to deal with. As adults, it is our sacred duty to keep their pathway clean and unencombered with pitfalls.  

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING, (USA TODAY, MSNBC.COM)

When you say  "Hydraulic Fracturing" the term sounds innocent and innocuous, sounding like some sort of technical term that would take some sort of education to understand. However in the literal meaning of the term, it is actually quite easy to understand, the process fractures rock, (cracks) and a proppant is pumped  into the creaks, (usually sand) to keep the crack  open.

The process, which has been used in it's basic form,  in Manistee, Michigan for years as a means to forcing salt to the surface,  from one of the worlds largest salt deposits which runs south from the northern Michigan city into New York state. A whole different set of chemicals mixed with water has achieved  a less expensive way to capture salt and pass the savings on to the general public.

The method of injecting water, chemicals and sand into the ground enables gas and oil exploration companies to extract either  natural gas, or oil from deep underground, from depths reaching as much as 20,000 feet underground. A drill hole is bored to the suspected reservoir areas and the solution is then forced into the area, and wala, natural gas or oil is produced.

We now get to the interesting part of the process and what it really means to those people living close to the process and sometimes those folks that might live hundreds of miles from the site. The slang term for Hydraulic Fracturing is Frac, or Frac Job, or Fracking. Right away you get into a grammatical circus with this term, "frac." It can be misunderstood so easily, like "have a fracking good day," or "frack off," or "today was just fracked." All legitimate terms on the gas and oil fields, yet possibly misconstrued in the regular world.

Kidding aside, the hydraulic fracturing process can be a highly controversial issue as three Democrat house members raised questions about millions of gallons of potentially hazardous chemicals and known carcinogens that were pumped into the ground between 2005 and 2009 during routine searches for natural gas and oil. 

A long list of chemicals that are used to fracture rock formations have been listed and I will take just two to examine as I am not a chemist and do not wish to get technical and attempt to write about issues I know absolutely nothing about, I would no doubt "Frack things up." 

The first chemical is 2-Bromo-nitro-1,3-propanediol, listed as part of the fracturing fluid that is injected into the ground. The listed hazards to human health include eye contact, skin contact, inhalation and ingestion, in any of these cases, flush the area with water and get immediate medical attention. If the solution is ingested, do not induce vomiting and, again, get immediate medical attention.

The second chemical is methanol, listed as an ingredient in the fracturing process. Methanol has a high toxicity in humans and can cause blindness if ingested even in small amounts, and death in ingested in pure form. Methanol poisoning can be treated, although it can be hard to recognize and analyze as it resembles a person under the influence of alcohol. Lack of coordination, confusion, central nervous system depression and dizziness, like my sisters usual state. You know who you are, you know....the adopted sister. 

Natural gas exploration is going on at the headwaters of the Pennsylvania watershed which feeds the eastern part of  that state as well as much of New York state, New York city and parts of New Jersey. If these waters are in peril by the exploration, all the natural gas in the world will not replace the water that is needed by the millions of people that would be effected.

Greed seems to be fueling this search by major gas and oil industry as well as land owners "cashing in" on the opportunity to get rich quick. This environmental problem is one that is not years off, rather could effect a major portion of the United States within a few years. Before we allow our environmental watch-dog committees and departments to be de-funded by lobbyists and politicians, we need, as a concerned people, ask the important questions about the impact that these processes will have on our resources. 

BITS & PIECES

BITS & PIECES, (Frazer Chronicles)

Man this week has been brutal for politicians, liberals, conservatives, public teachers and air traffic controllers. You'd think that living in the United States would not be a number one choice for many people, yet Mexicans and other foreigns continue to enter the country. I thought I would take this opportunity to list just a few of the tough instances that have occurred throughout the country this past week, that might cause pause and the possibility of re-thinking the move.

A mother in a southern state, on Wednesday was busted for using her 5 year old daughter to smuggle drugs across her city. She put 10 packets of dope in her kindergartner daughters back-pack, sent her off to school on the  bus where her brother would intercept his niece, retrieve the marijuana. The school bus driver, an eagle nosed type, apparently sensitive to weed, stopped the bus and called police.

A less then private dancer was busted on a main street in a southwestern city, after causing several auto accidents. The nude toe tapper, when confronted by local police, refused to stop, telling arresting officers that she was a member of the CIA and that her husband was having relations with the president of the United States.

A women refused to pay a taxi driver a $30 tab for a ride home from jail and was arrested and jailed again. 

A postal worker driving without her headlights on admitted to drinking brandy on the job and was cited for a DWI. Her personal vehicle, belonging to the postal service was returned.

A Midwestern city man reported his truck stolen after he had just paid it off. The man reasoned that a  bumper sticker reading "my pit bull is smarter then your honor student" might have been part of the reason.

A women was arrested for not wearing her seat belt, her reason, "I'm too fat to wear one."

A women told police that a man that she was riding around with told her that "she was too good for him," stopped the car, pushed her out and begin pouring soda pop on her.

A hungry man was caught by police shoplifting hot pockets, frozen popcorn and a jug of Powerade at a fast food store and was given a verbal warning and next time to chose more nutritious food.

And to those young people thinking about making a move to Russia, should maybe think a bit longer about your choice. The spring draft for active military service has just started and the General Staff plans to enlist 203,720 conscripts. On a bright note, the Presidential administration is considering repealing the move.

There you have it, the brighter side of the news from around the United States and Russia, readers can either E-mail or send suggestions on facebook for consideration in next weeks edition of Bits & Pieces.

REPUBLICANS, NEW AND OLD

REPUBLICANS, NEW AND OLD, (Frazer Chronicles)

Since we have a new governor here in Wisconsin and he is Republican, I thought it might be interesting to research and find out if there were any similarities. Surprise, surprise, there are. It seems to be increasingly popular to attempt to systematically dismantle organized labor, attacking at the very heart of the labor movement of collective bargaining that was battled for by in the middle 1930's.

I have never been a member of any unionized organization and I do have some reservations as to how unions have operated, how they have attained some of their concessions reached with business and some of the people that have seemed to populate their ranks,  in their hierarchy. That said, I have come, during the past five to ten years, to respect the basic idea of unions and their drive for safety regulations, workplace conditions and bargaining on a level and honest playing field.

Like people, unions are imperfect and protect those members that should be jettisoned because of poor work performance, bad work attendance, or those who take advantage of every single loophole in a union negotiated contract. Some people simply do not want to work, some people are do not want to think on their feet while others think only of themselves, not seeing the big picture that all unions are aware of.

Without exception, unions were created to protect their membership, to ensure that fair treatment is observed and that a living wage can be obtained over the long haul by all members. Sadly along the way, management as well as union membership has lost sight of the above mentioned basic principles of what unions should be all about.

The fall from grace by unions hasn't just happened, it has taken probably fifty or sixty years. The perception that the average non-union worker has of unions is, run-away wages, benefits and early retirement with phenomenal payments involved. sick days, personal days, five and six week vacations seem to be the norm. Sandbagging working hours during the final two or three years of one's employment tends to drive up retirement pay and management seems to allow this practice in many city settings throughout the midwest.

Lunch breaks, work breaks and even personal breaks, all bargained for, are in place, all paid for by taxpayers. These union members seem to have lost sight of the fact that taxpayers pay for these benefits, are not a bottomless pit of money and in fact most are broken today. Pensions, medical  insurance after retirement are great benefits, but in the end are unrealistic and unsustainable.

City employees, those people that repair roadways, administer recreation programs, collect garbage, plow snow, cut grass, fight fires and protect communities were never positions that, in the beginning were designed to pay employees $25 or $30 an hour, the tax base could simply not support and sustain that level of pay.

We Americans are a people of extremes, we are an either or society, we can't seem to meet at a middle ground, operating in a reasonable manner, one that is geared not only for the present, but for the future as well.

We are now faced with a dilemma of the well running dry, of a financial situation when some of us are unable to continue paying in the same fashion as we have in the past. There is anger out there against the local, state and federal workers, their pay and benefits packages that are paid.

The anger is misplaced, there is much misunderstanding by the general population that does not have one of these plum governmental jobs. If I own a baseball team and my top pitcher comes into my office and asks for $25,000,000 for winning 10 games and I go along with his wishes and pay him those "big bucks," who's fault is that, the player for asking, or me for paying?  I can answer in one word, "me." It's my ball team and I control every pay issue involved with the team. As long as the player is tied to my team through a signed contract, he's mine for better or worse.

Municipalities and their workers are exactly like a baseball team with one exception, they can't strike, baseball players can. Public employees can't strike, it's the law, look it up. So who is to blame for the seeming run away wages and benefits, negotiators, city councils, mayors, elected officials and to a degree, department supervisors.

With little exception, the General Electric pays little attention to labor disputes that are carried on at the local, or state levels and views federal labor problems as not really involving them, and are taken serious only when services are interrupted.

Now we come to a time when not only are services going to be interrupted, some will actually cease to exist. There are threats that medical programs and social programs are in real trouble and the time has come for all local, state and federal employees need to pony up and pay their fair share. Contracts are being broken, pay scales are lowered and some positions are being eliminated.

A new wave of politician is beginning to emerge throughout the country, a new brand of political attitude is creeping across the fruited plains and major change is in the air. It's called a more "responsible kind of thinking," thinking that will safeguard our children and our grandchildren and their children as well.

There are new republican governors in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin and they have some radical ideas and feel embolden through their election results to implement these radical processes. Republican Mitch Daniels, a second term Indiana governor has signed unto some of these ideas and although not quite as strong with change, non the less is watching closely.

In an almost predictable result, the three newly elected officials popularity is at almost all-time low in each state. Even with those responsible for their win, find their actions somewhat worrisome, objectionable and many say "if they had known the agenda, they would have voted for the other guy."

Each of these new governors have several things in common, besides their political beliefs, each seems to be taking the same path, cutting positions, attacking the teaching profession, endangering our future through their collective attacking on education and "Roger Ram Jetting" their agendas through their states governmental systems.

On the federal level, Paul "I would be king" Ryan is doing the same on a bigger stage. President Obama, in my view, is making all the wrong moves and needs to stand up, quite the cool attitude, "it doesn't impress me," and sit down with both parties and get a hold on the entire situation and make some tough decisions.

We are all going to lose some of the services that we get, locally, on the state level and the federal level as well. It's going tom be tougher on us older folks, we don't bounce back as quickly as we once did. But when I hear talk about having only so much medical services available and after that your "on your own," well I get mad, wondering why, we as a nation can spend almost a billion dollars in a foolish Libyan no fly zone and can't take care of are own, no matter the reason.

I have pointed out only the Midwest governors, discounting Illinois and Minnesota because those two states couldn't be fixed, even with a partnership between Republicans, Democrats and the tea baggers.   

UNCONTROLLED SLEEPING CONTROLLERS

UNCONTROLLED SLEEPING CONTROLLERS, (Frazer Chronicles)

The rash of sleeping air traffic controllers over the past several months has brought the resignation of  the head of the organization that oversees the nation's air traffic control system, Hank Krakowski. The incidents are well documented and the snoozing  controllers have each been reprimanded, suspended and face the possibility of losing their jobs.

Was the sleepy headed controllers lack of professionalism and their seeming penchant for napping  on the job the fault of Hank Krakowski?  Of course not. The poor executive is nothing more then the fall guy for the FAA, which faces  a far deeper problem. Recalling past ills that have dogged the industry since the 1981 decertification of  the original Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) union that represented the more then 17,000 controllers. 

PATCO had started out as simply a professional organization in 1968, assisted by famed attorney F. Lee Bailey. Usually professional organizations might hold annual meetings to air commonly held complaints, to address issues within the organization and to kick back and drink beer. However that all changed during the initial year of the organization's operations, when a "operation air safety" was called nationally. The resulting slowdowns caused numerous flight delays and cancellations.

The United States Civil Service Commission, angered by the action, ruled that PATCO was no longer a professional organization, but in fact was a union.

During the 1970's the newly designated union orchestrated a controlled sickout to protest FAA actions that the union felt was unfair to it's representative members. The result was that the controllers were ordered back to work by the federal court and the government was forced to the bargaining table to address some of the PATCO issues.

Issues continued throughout the 1970's between PATCO and the federal government with regards to safety issues, lack of ATC personnel, pay and a training school for controllers in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Although some of these issues were resolved between the union and the government, many continued to be hotly contested.

Finally in August, 1981, PATCO instructed it's members to strike and more then 15,000 members walked off the job, protesting long hours, (reputed to be the longest in the world) upgrading computer equipment and retirement after 20 years of service.

The move, walking off the job, was, to say the least, "ill advised."  In the past, PATCO held the false impression that they had were above the law so to speak, and they, didn't have to obey  the 1956 federal law that forbid government union workers from striking. President Ronald Reagan ordered the controllers back to work, citing the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act and that the strike was a peril to national safety.

The ATC went on strike on August 3rd. and on August 5th. when the workers refused to return to work, Reagan fired the more then 11,000 who had ignored the return to work order. Not only did these people lose their jobs, they were banned from federal service for life, (later lifted in 1993 by President Clinton).

With little fanfare, the country, at the time, applauded Reagan and his decisions and actions and few realized the long ranging ramifications of this seeming isolated act by a former actor turned politician and president. However that issue and resulting story is for a different time.

We now fast forward to 2010-11 and once again an ATC mess, brought on by a lax attitude towards rules and regulations that govern the nation's air travel system. When somebody tells me that "only one controller is in an airport control tower for an entire shift," I, well, I can't believe it. What in the hell does the guy do if he feels the call of nature and needs to take a number 2 and it turns out to be a "ghost crap," you know, where you grunt and grunt with all your might and nothing comes out, but you still feel the urge. Wow, what a dilemma.

What if a controller has a heart attack, what's the back-up, doesn't anybody take over, some of these guys slept for hours on end. These guys are highly trained professionals, with a heavy job description, where a mistake might mean lives could be lost. What in the hell is going on with the FAA, which employees more then 90% of these people.

Wait a minute, I've got it, light staffing during low volume of flights saves money, that's the ticket. Did you know that the average attendant makes $106,990 a year, more then $52.00 an hour, before any benefits. That's more then six times the amount of some of our nations top airline pilots, how could anybody jeopardize that rate of pay?

Clearly the danger to planes, their crew, passengers and the innocent civilians near airports were lucky during these naps that were taken by these ATC people. I used to drive a semi-tractor trailer and I once drove more then 1000 miles in a straight 24 hour period, so I have an idea of  what sleep depravation is all about. On a scale of one to ten, my driving job, compared to an air traffic controller is like zero. Yet some of these guys fell asleep, go figure.

Although I no longer fly, (my arms get too tired) I do hope for the sake of those that still fly, the FAA will get this part of their act cleaned up. There is no way of telling how many of these naps have taken place, but hopefully with two guys in the tower, one an keep the other awake.