STAND YOUR GROUND, KILL AT WILL, CASTLE DOCTRINE, READY AIM SHOOT!

STAND YOUR GROUND, KILL AT WILL, CASTLE DOCTRINE, READY AIM SHOOT!

(Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel/Frazer Chronicle)

Seems as if people in the age of Aquarius, in this time of insight and enlightenment, receptiveness, understanding and a general caring for your brother and viewing the world as a global community is being challenged by some down-right "cowboyish" attitudes about space, personal property and a man's castle.

The shooting death of Trayvon Martin seems to have triggered a nation-wide buzz about exactly where our country is going with regards to a whole plethora of issues and concerns as well as the rights of people.

Some would call the situation confusing, or complicated, or even a test of wills and the letter of the law. Others however have a different view all together, I call it the "if you crap on my porch" rule, if a fella does his business on my back porch, and I have the right to take whatever action I deem necessary to eradicate the situation.

This "porch" rule might seem a bit much, a little server.....but many people throughout our fair nation have the itchy trigger finger to back up their conviction about the condition of their porch surface. Our space, our grill area, our castle has become pretty important to us, not that these things haven't always been important to us, but for many in our country, shooting first has become acceptable.

With few exceptions however, one very important issue is not being addressed by either the shooter or the shoo-tee, "the guy getting shot," bullets cause great bodily harm, and of course can take a human life. If you shoot and kill somebody, take their life, you open up an entirely new chapter in your life as well as the guy laying on the ground with a bullet hole in him.

The shooter will never be the same; he will wrestle with the burden of taking another life for the rest of his life. There will always be a stigma connected with this person, an unwritten rule that, "hey, this guy is capable of shooting you to absolute death."

For me.....I can't get over how we continue not to contain ourselves and discipline our behavior.....to do what is right, not by "gut reaction," rather by using our thinking power, you know, reasoning power, the thing that puts us apart from the rest of the creatures on earth.

Just because some idiot organization or crazed politician thinks it's okay for people to shoot somebody because they "enter your bubble area" simply isn't right, haven't we as a people traveled this road before, haven't we came a further piece in our life’s travels then to pull out a weapon and shoot somebody?

There are 27 states with a Castle "no duty to retreat in your own home" law, which I tend to agree with. I might not shoot somebody who enters my house at 3:00 A.M. I'd like to feel that if I cooperate, they would leave with whatever they want. Of course the down side of this attitude is a bullet in the head.

I don't think very many thieves are in a home to hurt anybody and if confronted, are more scared then the home owner. Given the choice between a confrontation and running, most wood-be- robbers would turn tail and run like hell.

Invasion of space, of a person’s property, is just wrong, walk across the street, get out of a person's way, move out right now.....and I'm not kidding. Today there seems to be an attitude of "mine," don't touch mine and seems to include "space." But how much space is really yours, that is the question and the space question seems to be the hardest to answer.

I'll give two illustrations.....and let you be the judge. First, Trayvon Martin, walking down a deserted street on a rainy Sanford, Florida night in late February, wears a hoodie, clutching a packet of Skittles. Up walks George Zimmerman, a self appointed neighborhood watch commander, complete with a loaded hand gun. There are two differences between these two right away, Martin is black, and is armed with a packet of Skittles, while Zimmerman is armed with a loaded pistol and is of mixed race.

I mention the race thing because probably to Martin, the race issue was almost a non-issue, while for Zimmerman, race was an issue. Anyways one thing leads to another and before you knew it, a gun was whipped out and a young person was left bleeding in the street, dying.

We now move to Slinger, Wisconsin less than 10 days after the Martin shooting, again at night, this time after 1:00 A.M. and a young "20 years old" black man, Bo Morrison, who is attending a kid’s party next door to Adam Kind house. Of course the party is loud, there's a bunch of underage drinking going on. Adam Kind had called local police, but the cops failed to break up the drinking party, according to reports, "the young people barricaded the garage door,” so the cops parked in front of the party house and were waiting, for what, I'm not sure.

Kind returned to bed, but heard a "banging noise" in his back porch around 1:50 A.M. grabbed his gun to investigate what was going on. In the darkness, Kind made out the image of a man hiding between a refrigerator and a dresser and opened fire. Bo Morrison was dead, his crime, invading Adam Kind's back porch while hiding from being busted at an underage drinking party.

Both deaths are tragic, both unnecessary, yet neither may be against the law. Now I ask you.....which of these young people, taken well before the prime of their lives, is less dead?

 

USAID---IT!

USAID---IT! (Frazer Chronicle)



While meandering through the world-wide net this early Thursday AM,  I ran across a section on America's foreign aid policy and wondered, what with all the "hub-bub" on Capitol Hill, how much money gets funneled to foreign countries through whatever governmental agency has been set up to administer such things.



I do know, according to the constitution, that the president has lots to do with the United States foreign policies, who we trade with, who we help defend themselves, how much we give to help developing countries and whatever food stuffs we might actually ship to needy places around the world.



I, of course, am not an expert on United States foreign policy, or those folks who actually are involved in the process of determining criteria. I do know that foreign policy changes depending on who is living in the White House, which political party is in power and the state of world affairs.



As I said at the beginning of this blog, "whatever governmental agency has been set up to administer such things," I had little conception of how foreign aid was determined, or how and who paid out the money, or materials to favored countries.



USAID is an acronym for United States Aid, or United States International Development, whichever way you say it, the agency was begun in 1961 by President John Kennedy. It was the first U.S. foreign assistance organization whose primary emphasis was in long-range economic and social development assistance to foreign countries.



Much of what has evolved into USAID can be directly traced to former Secretary of State George C. Marshall's plan to commit significant U.S. resources to rebuild war torn Europe's infrastructure and economy after World War II. Let’s see, the United States bombed it, "Europe," the United States crushed its economy, "Europe," and then the country turned around and rebuilt it, "What a nation!"



The assistance to Europe would become known as the Marshall Plan and the plan would help stabilize a post-war Europe by providing financial and technical assistance through the European Recovery Act of 1947. However, the biggest goal of George Marshall and the United States government was to keep the spread of communism to a minimum in Europe.



During the four year period, 1947-1950, the Marshall plan more than $13 billion American dollars were spent on economic and technical help. The Marshall Plan also had a stipulation that all European business had to be opened to American business interests, tainting what was termed "the most unselfish act in history."



Today USAID is operated under the direction of Michael G. Carroll and have a total of 96 countries listed with sub-directors, phone numbers and mailing addresses. I assume that the staff of these 96 countries as well as the overall director and his staff are paid by the U.S. Federal government.



Each of these countries are listed on the USAID web site list their own mission statements, they all profess a democratic system of government, humanitarian causes and programs and want.....money.....to carry out their missions.



Now even though I'm not the smartest guy in the world, I’d never even heard of USAID, and if I did, I sure as hell never knew what it stood for, or that the organization(s) had been around since 1961. Some of the things that USAID is working on at the present time in Afghanistan are economic growth, infrastructure, agriculture, democracy and governance, health and gender constraints against Afghan women.



Look, I think all of these things are great.....as long as "wedon'thavetopayforthem," the United States can't even take care of its own right here in "ye old homeland." There is a war going on right now in the Supreme Court regarding Obama care, you know, affordable health care for all, and “No patient left behind."



Over the past 6 years, 2007-2012, the United States has spent $9.5 billion dollars in Egypt, $4.5 billion in Jordan, $1.4 billion dollars in Lebanon, 1.3 billion dollars in Indonesia and $74 million dollars in Turkey. I'm not really sure how Turkey's $74 million dollar figure snuck on Fox News's political blog, but oh well, it's where I got this part of my information.



The total just for the above listed Middle Eastern countries is a staggering $17 billion dollars, can you imagine how many $75 band-aids or $50 aspirins a guy could get. You might ask "what is the reason for spending so much on foreign aid," or make a statement like "we are, after all the leader of the free world and love doing humanitarian work."



The answer to both potential questions is easy to understand and can be answered with one word: money." Ya "some" Americans stand to make money through our benevolent giving through foreign aid. "Influence peddling" it's called, unless you really believe all that crap about humanitarian sincerity by the most capitalistic country on the face of the planet.



Every dollar spent on foreign aid is a calculated risk with taxpayer money on behalf of industry of some sort either here in America, or some foreign business with strong ties to American businessmen, and it's been going on since 1947.


Dollar bills are leaving the United States economy by the truck-load every quarter of the year. And it doesn't matter who is in the White House, or the Congress or the Senate, its business as usual, if you don't believe me, look it up under ‘USAID’.
  

      

ONE HELL OF A HEADACHE!

ONE HELL OF A HEADACHE!  (Frazer Chronicle)

We live in a fast paced and evolving world, we have little time to sit and ponder our next move, even if that move can be life altering. Many of our decisions, "if we have a family" can be based on medical needs and procedures. Health insurance today is imperative, without medical coverage, a person is opening himself up to all sorts of problems, including financial ruin, long repayment schedules and the worst, not being able to obtain the proper medical care needed to insure a comfortable and healthy lifestyle.

I have a friend who suffered from blinding headaches for many years and as a last hope decided to go to a headache specialist, new to the area.

After an exam and tests, the doctor proclaimed that he had "good news," he could cure "Bills ills." The bad news, the procedure would require castration. You have a very rare conditions, which causes your testicles to press up against the base of your spine and the pressure creates sever headaches and the only way to relieve the pressure is to remove your testicles, or a "testictome."

Bill was very depressed and went home to talk with his new bride about the "testictome."  He wondered if he had anything left to live for, and was so distraught that he couldn't concentrate enough to make a proper decision. Finally his wife, Rita decided for him, "can you live without your testicles," yes Bill said, and the decision was made.



After the surgery and a short hospital stay, Bill was released and felt like a new man. No longer was he dogged by the almost constant headaches.

Passing a custom tailors shop, Bill stepped inside and decided he wanted a new suit. The elderly tailor walked up to Bill and asked if he could help him. Bill replied that he'd like a new suit.....from top to bottom.

The old tailor eyed Bill up and down and said, "size 44 jacket," "wow" Bill replied, "how did you know that." "Been in the business 60 years" the tailor said. As Bill tried on the new suit, he was amassed at the fit, it fit perfectly.

"How about a new shirt and a pair of Flor shine shoes," the tailor inquired, Bill thought for a moment then said, "sure." The salesman eyed Bill up for a moment and said, "let's see, 34 sleeve and 16 and a half neck, and the shoes, size 11 wide," Bill was flabbergasted....."how did you know," "been in the business 60 years," was the reply.

Bill slipped into the new outfit, top to bottom and was struck at how good he looked and how great he felt, now that he was pain free.

"Say," the tailor said, watching Bill strut around the tailor shop, how about a new pair of underwear, "why not" Bill replied. "Let's see, size 36 seems right," and the tailor started to turn to the underwear rack when Bill says "ah ha, I got you, I wear a size 32."

The tailor stopped, eyed Bill up and down and says, "no a size 32 would press your testicles up against the base of your spinal column and give you one hell of a headache."

Poor Bill, he now walks down the street with absolutely no dangle to his angle, he excepted a doctors decision that completely altered his life, his wallet, his health insurance payments and his self confidence.

Doctors and patients make medical decision every day of the week and twice on the week-ends that are costly and in many cases unnecessary. Insurance companies want you to be sick, doctors want you to be sick.....if everybody was healthy, there would be no need for hospitals,  clinics and only about half the doctors we now have.

Of course people get sick every day, it's scary to live without health insurance, but there are people who seem to be willing to try and dodge the bullet or roll the dice when they decide not to purchase a health/medical care plan. And they figure it's there right to go through life without coverage.

Well as far as I'm concerned, these types of people are exercising one of their rights as a free citizen, not to be medical/health insurance, but.....when they get sick, or injured, or have a baby, they can do so on their own. They "made their bed, now they can lay in it."

However that is not the way things work for these free-loaders, whenever something happens, in excess of 95% are driven, limp, or crawl to the nearest emergency room for "free" treatment. Guess who pays for that free treatment, we, the insured do. You don't really think an ambulance ride costs two or three thousand dollars did you, or that an aspirin or band-aid costs fifty to seventy five dollars, these costs are making up for those dinks that refuse to pay for their health and medical insurance.

By far the lamest argument for not wanting Obama Care is the one that "makes" everybody buy health/medical insurance. The doctors, the hospitals, the clinics and the emergency rooms get paid and it's by the people already paying insurance premiums.

When a person walks into hospital, a doctors office,  visits a medical clinic, or an emergency room the attending personnel does not see a human being dressed in clothing, absolutely not, they see a walking manikin, dissected into operational priced areas. They see procedures, codes, and wonder whether you have full coverage insurance, or a deductible, or Medicare or "ugh" Medicaid.



Now a C-section delivery, there is a bonus, a C-section can cost as much as $31,000, is relatively simple with few complications, only problem, lots of blood and clean-up.

Then we get into areas of medical procedures that admitting personnel and emergency room doctors aren't even allowed to be involved with. Like transplants, intestines, heart, bone marrow, lung or liver, these "dogs bark," running anywhere from  $1.5 million to a low of a half million dollars. These are medical procedures that legends are made from, that movies can be based on, not to mention the Lamborghini's and beach front property that can be bought.

And joy of joy, many of these "cash cow" replacement  procedures involve multi-organs, like maybe the heart has to go and what the hell, while we're in there, with things opened up, why not lop of a lung. Hell a simple Tracheotomy can cost as much as $200,000 today, damn, I preformed a "Trach" myself in 1964 during my time in the military when I was in the field and I was only paid .25 an hour.

Not having health/medical insurance is bad, just ask most of the 40 or so million who find themselves in this condition. Another 30 million people will find themselves without insurance coverage at sometime during this year, that's at least 1/5th. of the U.S. population.

People with no insurance, or poor coverage do not, on average, seek medical treatment for small or sometimes nagging injuries, or illnesses for themselves or their family members. This lack of medical treatment leads to a multitude of problems "down the line."

We as a society need to understand the question of health/medical insurance coverage and make sure that everybody has access to affordable care. You might have noticed that I have referred several times to "health/medical" insurance and I did so for a reason. Without good health practices, medical care is a certainty, why to many Americans do not equate the two,  which is a mistake that we ultimately  all pay for in some way, shape or form.

   

WAS TRAYVON MARTIN BLACK?

WAS TRAYVON MARTIN BLACK? (Washington Post/Frazer Chronicle)

Yes, I know that Trayvon Martin was black and that George Zimmerman is Hispanic and thanks to news coverage I also know that Martin was wearing a hoodie at the time of the incident that took his life. I know, like everybody who reads the news papers, or watches news on television or listens to news casts on the radio what transpired in late February of this year that lead to Martin's death.

I also know that the Sanford, Florida police department did not make much of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, or for that matter George Zimmerman and his gun. The entire shooting scenario, directly before, during and directly after merits close investigation and from all appearances, that did not happen.

I for one do not understand how a burly looking Hispanic guy can whip out a hand-gun and blow some guy in a hoodie into the next universe because he says "the guy looked or acted threatening." But hey, it's Florida, the state with the most taser deaths in the United States over the past 10 years. Only in Florida where you can defend yourself with deadly force if a guy looks side-ways at you or invades your "space."

Me.....hell I'm a lover, if I counted up all the people who looked at me side-ways, or got up in my grill, invading my space, I'd have to get me a machine gun to finish them off. This Florida self defense law, this "invading space" thing came into effect several years ago, and defensive shootings have went up by some 70%.

The N.R.A. is proud as hell and pleased as punch that Florida joined several other states with this cock-eyed law. It's a law that allows people to carry concealed weapons and shoot people because they might have intent to harm you. Kind of like president Bush's pre-emptive wars after September 11^th 2001.....and we all know how that worked out.

The real reason Trayvon Martin got shot for brandishing a packet of Skittles.....he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was confronted by a person who took himself way too serious, was allowed to carry a loaded gun and simply decided to shoot a guy in a hoodie with black skin.

Like most things in life, it's simple; it is not complicated like lots of people say and would have you think. The Zimmerman guy pulled out his pistol, shot a hole big enough to drive a Tonka toy through the victims chest for one reason and one reason only, he felt that he was doing his job, I'm absolutely convinced of that.

The Sanford police department waited for close to a month before any investigative work began and that was after the shooting became an "issue." The Sanford P.D. didn't need another case on its hands, one with all sorts of implications, so they turned their collective backs on the shooting and hoped it would go away.

Was Trayvon Martin a bad kid, was he a good kid, it depends on who you talk to, but one thing is clear, he sure needed to be packing something more than a bag of Skittles on that February night almost a month ago.

Is George Zimmerman a good guy, or a punk with a loaded weapon? Only time will tell, he luckily has time. He didn't end up on a slab with his innards cut out and formaldehyde pumped throughout his body.

Yes things are simple in life, your born, you live and you die. During the course of your life, you grow, gain experiences and mature into whatever you are going to become. Sadly, Martin will never get the chance to grow and have the pleasure of experiences in life.

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

HERE WE GO AGAIN! (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel/Frazer Chronicle)
I wonder at the size of Paul Ryan's staff, because it can't be just 1 or 2 people that devote their time to his "path to prosperity, or his new alternative path, or a path out of the woods, or a path up the creek without a paddle, or a path to sanity." I applaud his efforts, I really do, I think the guy is sincere, believes in what he is doing, and is trying his best.

But I just can't figure out why every single solitary Republican, to adjust the budget, to bring the budget more in line as a balanced one, wants to lay so much lame crap on us, the electorate with mountains of facts and figures that took months to prepare and dozens of people to complete.

At the end of the day, Paul Ryan, one of the young guns of Capital Hill simply wants us to trust him, that’s right, with almost no questions asked, so that he and his can get on with "their work." Well Paulie, "gee whiz," I'm sorry, but at least this one guy has a few questions, and for me, the system doesn't work the way I guess you'd like it to work.

We all have backgrounds that make up what a person see's in front of him, education, life’s experiences, circle of friends, family, religion and where you came from. In Paul Ryan’s case, he came from a solid Midwestern background, born in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1970.

Now I don't know about you, basically because I can't see you, in fact I can only tell anything about you through your comments to my Blogs. Some comments are nice, supportive, while others respectfully disagree and others hope I eat crap and die a horrific death.

A person like Paul Davis Ryan is relatively easy to get access to, he has chose to allow this "access" because of the very life path he has taken.....the very public life of a statesman. Intermingled with the mundane information like, high school or college attendance, early work history and circle of friends cultivated is a pattern that emerges to give the trained eye an insight into a person’s sole. "I happen to have one of these "trained eyes, I study this stuff."

My dad was a carpenter, my mother a secretary, my father-in-law a farmer/truck driver and my mother-in-law worked for Buckley, Michigan schools and also for the school system in Traverse City, Michigan. There were no extraordinary people on either side of my or my wife’s family, yet I think all in the family were and are good and decent American citizens, just like literally millions of other families in America.

Then we come to Paul Ryan, who worked for as a marketing consultant for Ryan Incorporated Central, which was run by a "branch of his family." Come on, now really, who in the hell works for a "branch of the family." Ryan in addition to his consulting experience also worked U.S. Senator Bob Kasten and Sam Brownback and was a speech writer for former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jack Kemp during his run on the national political stage in the late 1990's.

Finally in 1998 Ryan won election to his current position as representative for Wisconsin's 1st. district. He attended Craig high school in Janesville and is a graduate of the University of Ohio with a degree in economics and political sciences.

Paul Davis Ryan is a Republican who I have no doubt feels strongly about his convictions and most probably would go the extra mile for his beliefs. I think, "No actually I know," that some of his "alternative path" proposals are correct for the country, and should be implemented post haste, without them, as a people and society, we might perish.

The "alternative path" information that I have seen is 99 pages long and needs to be studied before a judgment can be rendered. The Obama white house has roasted the Ryan proposal(s) way less than 24 hours after it was printed.

Wrong.....political rhetoric, election year sound bites.....unless Democrats figure nothing is wrong in America today with our economy. The "crap we now find ourselves in which up to our necks” needs to be addressed right now. Not next month, or next budget, or next year.....but right now, things have to start somewhere and sometime, why not now.

That said, Representative Paul Davis Ryan needs to understand that health insurance, and health insurance access are two very different issues. To say something like "the market will take care of the cost," is just dumb and anybody who doesn't understand that is.....dumb.

The market has taken care of the cost of insurance for years, my daughter used to work for one of the big health insurers in one of their glass, steel and cement edifices, giving confusing information each and every day of her work life there. The "market" is the reason health care costs have skyrocketed over the past several decades.

Longer life is one of the reasons Medicare funds will someday go broke, it's not "years off," rather in most of our futures. Both Republicans and Democrats need to sit down on their collective "duffs" talk the thing out, and get an option done that is acceptable not to either party, but to the American general public.

In the days and weeks ahead, as more direct information becomes available, those people that can read, "those that can't don't worry, you'll be taken care of by us as usual," read, read, read Ryan's "alternative path." And understand it, it's important, possibly one of the most important political issues that have ever had in front of us.

PROFILING IN AMERICA.....ALIVE AND WELL!

PROFILING IN AMERICA.....ALIVE AND WELL! (Aljazeera/Huffington Post/Frazer Chronicle)



It's tough out there, what with the profiling of all sorts of issues by legally authorized unites, and now there's this Florida "grill law." Seems as if you can't get up in somebody’s face during a dispute, "I hope that's the only time, otherwise kissing might go right out the window."



The grill law of Florida goes something like "everybody lives in some sort of bubble, and nobody can invade that bubble space, actually for any reason." If you do, invade that space, the "bubbler can shoot you, or use any means that he might deem necessary to protect his bubble space."



Of course I added the bubble space analogy, but you get what I'm talking about, to invade anybodies space is, in Florida, an affront on a person's rights and can be dealt with in numerous ways including shoot the perpetrator of the space.



In a strange kind of way, the New York Police Department went one step further; they eliminated whatever bubble space some east coast residence might have had when the nation’s biggest "cop shop" decided to spy on people of color, like Arabs, Sikh, South Asian Americans and Muslim Americans.



The Florida shooting, by an armed neighborhood watch captain in an Orlando suburb back on February 26th. The shooter, George Zimmerman, a Hispanic, noticed Trayvon Martin a black walking and looked suspicious, "possibly because he was black," near a gated community, and hand something in his hand.



Apparently Zimmerman felt "threatened" by the general appearance of Martin, "after all, he was black," and had what possibly could be a guy in his hand. Zimmerman, gun in one hand, called the Sanford police with the other, and informed the 911 dispatcher of the situation. The dispatcher told Zimmerman to "disengage" from Martin and wait for police.....but of course, Zimmerman took the typical reactionary way out.



He told the kid to stop, drop whatever was in his hand and wait for police, "funny, even though I'm white, I think I might have run at the most, and at the least become very agitated. I was under the impression that a person could walk through whatever neighborhood he wanted, whenever he wanted.



When all was said and done, Trayvon Martin lay on the ground, withering in pain and gushing blood coming from a chest wound. When the cops arrived, they took control of the crime scene and secured the "weapon" from Martin, a bag of Skittles.



Zimmerman was questioned by the Sanford police department who released him without charges, finding no evidence to contradict Zimmerman, who was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, his self defense claim. I never knew that Skittles was such a lethal weapon, capable, in the right hands of great bodily harm.



The Justice Department issued a statement that they would provide assistance to Florida officials in the investigation of the shooting. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner, Gerald Bailey, with the urging of Florida Governor Rick Scott will use every tool at his disposal to investigate the events of February 26th.



I can tell you exactly what happened, I can clear this whole thing up in just three words, "nigger, gun, shoot." The Sanford and Orlando cops figure another "brother" bit the dust, and that's a good thing, just one less to have to deal with. Now, after almost a month, some stupid Feds want to come in and snoop around.....why don't they investigate a real crime, this was just a nigger boy, in the wrong place and wrong time.



The N.Y.P.D. can really be nominated for "super red-necks" of the year award after their little search for terrorists in several east coast states. People of color, religion or dialect have been targeted by the department in the continuing search for "bad guys."



I love that term, "bad guys," it evokes all sorts of images of frocked shadowy figures, with deep set eyes, needing a shave, with knives, guns and possible hand grenades under their robes. Completely insane, intent only on their mission to blow something up, to kill as many of the infidels as possible, hell bent on sacrificing themselves for the greater good, and their rewards in heaven.....fanatics.



Too bad N.Y.P.D. you targeted the wrong people, your profiling abilities need a bit of upgrading, you targeted school students, and you did so because they were.....Muslim, or Arab looking peoples. You had no knowledge of any wrong-doing by almost all of these people.....these terrorists.



The worst part, up to 30% of those polled figure that the cops were just doing their jobs, protecting us the best way that they can. That means that any of us can be targeted, hell, I'm white, balding, old, squatting and fat, guess I might be a prime candidate to commit welfare fraud, so let's investigate all old farts who maybe might commit welfare fraud. Let’s see what shakes out.

"SHUSH," THESE REALLY ARE SECRETS!

"SHUSH" THESE REALLY ARE SECRETS! (Frazer Chronicle)





I used to know this guy, his name is Chris, "no last names, I'd have to show you," and he loved the C.I.A. and all the spook and ghost stuff connected with the organization, he called it "the outfit." In his mind, people with the love of freedom and spies who were intent on preserving that freedom at any cost, could co-exist. I never could understand the mentality, I mean this guy was smart, was a college graduate, could articulate on almost any subject, but still, "in my opinion" had this flaw regarding how the C.I.A. needed to operate.



Did you ever read "what you could" about the United States intelligence agencies.....well I did, the list is rather impressive. I never knew that our government took such stock in preserving our freedom. The cost must be staggering, but you can't get most of the operating budget, classified. I wondered how many "secret agent men" were employed by the government and if I might have known one.....sorry, that information also is, classified.



I then thought about all of those "secret agent men" running around out there, doing their spy thing, investigating everything and frisking everybody and I felt.....hey wait a minute, I've never been frisked, could "they" have missed me, could I be "not a person of interest" in anything, I was devastated, for a minute, but recovered quickly.



There are 73 listed intelligence agencies as of November 27th. 2011, each has a director and I guess there is a director overall, of everybody, who answers to, well actually I'm not sure on that one, if there is an overall director of America's intelligence community, he might answer to God himself, probably on a bi-weekly basis, through a specially coded cryptic secret triple agent guy.



Microsoft predicts dazzling technology to surface in the next decade or so that probably would make everything in use today obsolete. But to me that smacks of job security and a "money in the bank" attitude.



I can't imagine people shelling out the bucks necessary to buy a talking dish washer, or a toilet that flapped at you whenever you walked into the bathroom. And what about the intelligent car that talks to you, warning of all sorts of possible problems, or a range of interactive computer devices. The idea is the "touch," somehow the machine will interact with a person simply by the touch.



And in an R.T. article, the question was raised as to the validity of our televisions watching us, while we were watching it, "television." The C.I.A. is exploring new technology with that very possibility, guess picking my nose, scratching certain areas of my body, or farting and putting my head under my "blanky" will become unacceptable.



C.I.A. director, David Petraeus wants to be able to watch you through some sort of portal in your dishwasher, your clothes dryer and your washing machine, good reasons to hand wash your dishes and use a Laundromat for your weekly laundry.



What’s next, do I have to start checking my cigars, can one of the Dutch-Masters be watching, is there a little camera in my Bic, is this the beginning of a "Space Odyssey 2012." Of course I realize that there are all sorts of ways that "authority figures" can track you. We can be tracked by using our cell phones, GPS, ground or land phone lines and of course the ever present "eye in the sky" satellite.



The C.I.A. has tons of restrictions against spying on Americans.....in America, but when it comes to national security, I'm thinking that most of these restrictions are waived and my Tru-TV programs will get bugged, to say nothing of real television channels like CBS, or ABC or Fox, these guys will sell out there sister for a buck.



It's obvious, at least to me, that our government isn't going to raise a finger in defense of its citizen's rights, those citizens, folks, are you and I. But fear not, I have a plan, whenever you are watching television, wear a Halloween gorilla mask, Load your washer and dryer backwards, cook with your elbows and can your fart smells for later enjoyment.



It's a tough world out there, and until we put a short leash on these guys, make sure we know where every penny is going to fund these nut jobs, we are at risk of losing more and more of our freedoms, you know like the ones we haven't already lost.

ONE EXCITING SATURDAY.

ONE EXCITING SATURDAY. (Frazer Chronicle)

I'll admit it, I was glued to my easy chair, complete with my chair-side soft drinks, ash tray and cigars, ready to assist any way that I could with the job at hand, coaching multi basketball teams from boys high school, to women's and men's college N.C.A.A. tournament games.....and I must admit, I was successful in almost every decision that I made, every move I implemented and my teams responded to every shouted command I uttered, from my east side Green Bay La Z Boy.

The very first thing that I must continue to remind myself is that these players are just kids, babies, just beginning their journey through life. The experiences that they gain through athletic competition will remain for the rest of their lives. In some cases the experiences will help, while in others, the experiences might actually hinder, but growing experiences non-the-less.

One game in particular between high schoolers Milwaukee King and Germantown was as exciting as high school basketball can get. The game went back and fourth, the end was in doubt until, well the end. To me the winner didn't matter, how the play went in a flow up and down the court, the rough and tumble effort, yet no pushing, no hot dogging and no "in your grill" crap you see so much of today.

Both Milwaukee King and the Germantown Warhawks had their share of hero's, nobody needed to bow their head in defeat because, like the old line goes, "there were no losers, just participants."  The final was 72 to 69, with Germantown claiming it's first state basketball title. But the final, although significant, wasn't the bottom line, the play, the fans, the players and me, all rooting for their favorite was the winner, no losers in this game, this late March night in Madison, Wisconsin.

I have watched, "on my trusty television" the University of  Wisconsin at Green Bay's women's basketball team 5 times now and, for their size and athletic abilities, they are magnificent. They play as a team, are unselfish and share a common goal, to score more points then the other team. Saturday night in Ames, Iowa, they shot the lights out in the first half, taking a 42-23 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes.

Although things got a bit closer in the 2nd. half, the G.B. women prevailed by a 14 point margin that really didn't tell the real game story. G.B. simply wanted to win more the Iowa State, it showed by the intense play and the final score. How far they will go.....hey, this arm chair coach is unwilling to guess, but I'll be watching tomorrow night.

Both Wisconsin's other basketball teams, "the men," Marquette and the Badgers of Wisconsin pulled out entertaining victories to extend their season. Marquette, to me, looks like a superior athletic team, albeit a little undersized, while the Badgers are a product of their coach, the tough minded Bo Ryan.The Badgers, like always depend on their defense and some great big 6'-11" guys to get the job down.

 

VIOLATIONS, PROVISIONS, ETHICS, "BLAH BLAH, BLAH."

VIOLATIONS, PROVISIONS, ETHICS, "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH."

(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Frazer Chronicle)

By far one of the most ridiculous and humorous stories that I have heard over the past year has to be the David Prosser and Ann Walsh Bradley confrontation. The story has all the ingredients to make a delicious three course story, plus the fact the incident, once again illustrates exactly why government, the law, and the people elected or appointed to carry out the duties of their office and to interpret the laws of the land are a basic flaw, and are human, and as such are prone to mistakes in judgement, or to simply "fly off the handle."

How many ways can I say "I don't care," as Bill Maher would say, "these people live in a bubble," they aren't connected with the real world. These are Supreme Court justices, David Prosser and Ann Walsh Bradley, they don't dance to the same music as the rest of us do, they don't follow the same rules, the same eating habits and for sure the same life styles as the rest of us.

If I put my hands on my neighbors wife, or if I was accused,  I'd first probably get my butt kicked by the neighbor, "he's a big guy," and then rightly carted off to jail after being cited for some sort of attempted bodily harm,  to be the new best friend of some guy named Willie the Wonder.

At the very least I'd have spent the night in jail, "no doubt entertaining Willie the Wonder," would have posted bond, then went to court, been fined, because I'd probably have been found guilty,  and put on some sort of probation and had to attend anger management classes, "which I would have had to pay for."

But "oh no," not a Supreme Court justice and since the story has hit the headlines, and is being given legs by the press, I thought I'd delve into the justices background before I convict anybody of anything.

David Prosser first, cause he's older and uglier and has been at "judging" longer then judge Bradley. Prosser was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1942, was educated at DePauw University and the University of Wisconsin. Prosser worked in Washington D.C. ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Wisconsin General Assembly in 1973, lawyered for 2 years and served for 2 years as the Outagamie County district attorney.

Prosser represented the Appleton area in the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Republican from 1979 through 1996. In 1981, he opposed removing criminal penalties on sexual activity and cohabitation between unmarried, consenting adults. He stated that "legalizing sex outside of marriage would increase divorce rates, the number of children born outside wedlock, welfare payments, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions.

And finally, after toiling for years in the public sector, Governor Tommy Thomson appointed him "Prosser" to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.  I know that this is a cut down version of a mans career, but you guys only have a short "span of attention."

Justice Ann Walsh Bradley's career will take even shorter time, less words and paragraphs to complete. She was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin in 1950, was a graduate of Webster University in St. Louis, and the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1976.

Bradley was a school teacher, worked in private law practice and became a circuit court judge in Marathon County, Wisconsin in 1985. Bradley was first elected to the state Supreme Court in 1995 and then re-elected in 2005.

It is clear that justice Prosser is well connected he'd better be after the number of years that he has been at the "public trough." It is also clear that he is bigger and stronger then justice Bradley. So how could either "lose control" last June.....well maybe it was because Prosser had made disparaging comments towards Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson's ability to lead the court.

But to put hands on another person, or even touch another person is, well.....out of bounds, it doesn't matter what the other person did. If some big guy put his hands on my neck, he'd find himself putting his jock strap on a little north of his belly button. You do not, ever touch another person, it's verboten, nixed, not allowed.

It is said that Ann Walsh Bradley came at Prosser with her hands in "fists" in a menacing manner, well she was wrong to, fists and anger between colleagues is not permitted, heated discussions, differences of opinion however are allowed. Why oh why would Prosser tell anybody that the Chief Justice wasn't about to lead, or was losing control, what an idiot.

Were there ethic's violations, absolutely, what should be done, both should be given time outs, their favorite food taken away, and no Tru-T.V. for a week. Oh.....both should have to attend anger classes, and pay for them, themselves. And the 10 year judge-ship, cut that "sucker" back to 2 or 4 years, 10 years is way too long for some of these bubble people to be in authoritative positions.

   

A QUICK TRIP THROUGH A MILITARY ZONE!

A QUICK TRIP THROUGH A MILITARY ZONE! (Frazer Chronicle)

"The only good Indian is a dead Indian, it doesn't matter, young, old, men, women, kill 'em all." That was the mentality of the United States Calvary in the United States more than a hundred years ago and that mentality remains to this day.

Like the man said, "war is hell," the actions of one U.S. soldier, married with two children pointed that out last week when he walked into a small village in Panjwaji, southwest of Kandahar city, and went on a shooting spree leaving 16 dead including 9 children.

Was the guy hopped up on something, was he a time bomb ticking who simply went off, had he lost sight of the mission in Afghanistan, or had he seen too much war and death? Good questions all.....but don't expect an answer any time soon.

There is a pattern here that has been played out literally thousands of time around the world in war time and mostly the questions that rose from the ashes of those tragedies were left unanswered, wisps of smoke in the air that slowly dissipated and were forgotten.

I mentioned yesterday that a pole had shown that "60%" of Americans wanted the decade old war to end in Afghanistan. I said, yesterday, that the pole results were "disappointing because it meant that 40% felt the war was justified." Today, I feel stronger than ever, 4 in 10 still haven't gotten it, 4 in 10 still glory in death, and 4 in 10 still feel that the expense, the wasted effort and the loss of life is worth the war.

When you have war, you have back door smoke filled room secret decisions that either make or break entire societies, or that destroy complete cities, villages and entire regions. These clandestine decisions have long lasting effects not only on enemy states, but to the "good guys" fighting the wars.

This as yet unnamed mass murderer has opened a new chapter in the annuls of American warfare, torture and horror towards human-kind. Should we be surprised, should we be shocked or grief stricken, why don't you be the judge of that.

How many people "out there" really, really feel that the United States is without blood on their hands.....come on, come clean, you don't really think that Americans have any less monsters locked away in closets, to be let out only in case of war, then any other country, do you?

Remember the "only good Indian is a dead one" quote, well that phrase was coined well over a hundred and forty years ago and was, more an attitude then a practiced mentality. Indians were view as half human, savages, ignorant and worse, Godless. Why were they all of these things, well, pal, they had something that Americans wanted, land and resources, so they were swept aside.

Over the past ten years of war, incidents of human atrocities have been reported, prisoner abuses, rape, dismemberment, and murder. It's all still there, whether it was a hundred years ago, or a thousand. People have failed to control themselves.....it is our one fatal flaw, that failure to control our urges brings us as a species to the lowest levels of any living creature.

And the worst part, the enigma of man, most don't understand why, we all seem to hide from the truth and the simple understanding that war is not good, almost no matter the reason. If we know that we can't control our prim-evil urges, well then I guess the most intelligent thing to do is not to put ourselves in those positions where we might lose control.

There was the My Lai massacre in Vietnam well over 300 deaths, the Haditha, Iraq killings, 24 shot dead, the Abu Ghraib fiasco, the Shinwar shootings in Afghanistan, 19 dead, 50 wounded and now the shooting spree in Panjwayi, killing 16 by a single gunman.

Collateral damage it is called, don't let collateral damage blur the mission and the ultimate goal of our troops. Confusing.....actually yes and I don't even serve there, but things a person reads watches or hears changes on a daily basis.

The trip that our soldiers take every day throughout the war torn lands that they occupy has to be, at best, un-nerving, hard to understand, maddening and of course dangerous. It is no wonder that men and women lose control of their frailties, and their priorities. A loose cannon, in a war zone can come completely un-glued; take their weapon, clips of ammo and to rid "their world" of their adversaries.

Alas, there is no "quick trip through a military zone," it is a slow, arduous, danger filled trek; filled with enemy, the possibility of injury or death and the personal demons that each of us has within ourselves. Things can get "hazy" when one is expected to "decide to control himself and not to murder or rape or demean his human counterpart." He has to remember, under all the blood, guts, sweat and dirt that his enemy carries, there is a human being.....just like him.

BUSINESS "REALLY" IS BOOMING!

BUSINESS "REALLY" IS BOOMING! (MSN MONEY/Frazer Chronicle)



Okay so the economy is coming out of the recession, slowly, but before the recovery, before rust-proofing, there was recession-proofing. I guess you could call an industry that employees close to a million people with built in job security and in danger of not losing a single job.....almost ever, recession proof. Hell these people don't get laid off, or fired, or victims of down-sizing, they simply fade away into the mist of retirement.



I'm sure some of these people fall asleep at their controls, pass on, are carted off and replaced by some junior executive. These jobs are what some people would call the proverbial "job to die for," kinda like in the old days when the postal service was a coveted place to work in. Of course that was before some idiots went "postal" giving the service a bad "rep."



Does it pay to make war.....well you be the judge, the accompanying figures that are listed aren't made up, not pulled out of thin air or fudged. They are real, albeit from 2010, the last year these types of figures were available, but every single American should be concerned about them, when the financial figures connected to war make business close to half a trillion dollars, business truly is "booming."



Of course much of the information regarding the military industrial complex and its members is classified, so I guess we should all feel "blessed" to just be able to see this brief financial report from back almost 3 years ago. Most of the "higher ups" in these companies are either ghosts, or frustrated secret agent men, so being less accountable then the average is like a "perk" of the job to these guys.



And, oh yes, these companies, their employees and the support staff are true patriots, if you don't believe me, just ask any one of them....."Oh wait," you need a security clearance for that, and of course you don't have one. Anyways, here's the list, enjoy:

a. Boeing, 160,500 employees, $64.3 billion gross in 2010.

b. United Technologies, 208,200 employees, $54.3 billion gross in 2010.

c. Lockheed Martin, 132,000 employees, $45.8 billion gross in 2010.

d. Northrop Grumman, 117,100 employees, $34.8 billion gross in 2010.

e. General Dynamics, 90,000 employees, $32.5 billion gross in 2010.

f. Raytheon, 74,400 employees, $25.2 Billion gross in 2010.

g. L-3 Communications, 63,000 employees, $15.7 billion gross in 2010.



The figures are kind of mind boggling aren't they, I mean the work force for any one of these companies could be the population of a major mid-sized community anywhere in the United States. And the gross amounts of money.....well some small countries aren't worth as much.

NAMES RIGHT OUT OF CENTRAL CASTING!

NAMES RIGHT OUT OF CENTRAL CASTING! (Frazer Chronicle)

Did you ever wonder where they come up with the names that are used for foreign military bases, or troop movements, military battles or skirmishes, they are, in a way romantic and evoke a sense of history, of toughness and urgency, the names are.....so printable.....so profound.....so quotable. The propaganda mills had to be working overtime to accomplish their desired effects.

I mean "Camp Leatherneck," come on, I can't think of a better way to describe where military news from the United States should come from. Called something like Camp Rhino, or Camp Kick Ass, or Camp Testicles in a Jar, or my favorite Camp Redneck with an Attitude.

And then there are the military combat operations which seem to be named for the overall objective of a particular mission. There are names that begin with the word operation, operation eagle's summit, operation silicon, volcano, Achilles, falcon summit or operation Lastay Kulang. Of course there are pretty much standard names like Enduring Freedom, operation Anaconda, or operation mountain thrust, or fury.

And then there's the Tarnak Farm Incident, which is located near Kandahar, Afghanistan and the local airport. The camp, yes that's right "Al-Qaeda use central casting names to," was believed to be the training site for many of the September 11th hijackers and other top terrorists.

In addition to the farm being a training base for those who wanted to donate their lives for the cause and go to heaven and live with 20 virgins, it was allegedly one of Osama Bin Laden safe houses. U.S. authorities occupied the farm and claimed to have captured a "treasure trove" of information.

Although the operation names change as well as the missions, war continues in Afghanistan, more people are killed and millions spent every day in the effort. Originally the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan to rid the world of Osama Bin Laden, hey, guess what, that mission has been accomplished and he wasn't even living in the country. But that's okay; our military burned the bastard down and then threw his body into the sea.

So.....what are we still doing in the country, still fighting.....who, I don't know? And now we got that old hag, "Hillary sure didn't age very well," Clinton trotting that old tired line, "we were attacked," and "that's why we're there" crap. She also cited the old "we are safer today because we are in the country," and "we are creating a better future for the Afghan people."

A poll released yesterday listed 60% of Americans against any further military action in the country, which I find distressing. That means that 40% still figure we should stay in Afghanistan, which means that 4 in 10 don't realize that one of the biggest reason Russia fell apart was because of the war with Afghanistan. I can just hear some of those 40% saying, "No it was President Reagan that defeated Russia." I guess those people forgot that the biggest thing Reagan did was preside over the Screen Actors Guild, not the United States federal government.

All the posturing, all the speeches and all the bleeding hearts for war aside, the United States is in Afghanistan for three reasons and three reasons only, to secure a foothold from which to launch military activity when necessary, to safeguard petroleum resources and to continue the crazy military industrial complex.

This I know, and this is true, when 4 in 10 feel that a stupid war is justified, no matter the cost, our country is in horrible shape and if just one more person falls in with the war makers, then we got ourselves a 50/50 deal and those rednecks will drown out the peace doves every time.

   

"HE NEVER IMPRESSED ME AS BEING VERY SMART."

"HE NEVER IMPRESSED ME AS BEING VERY SMART." (Frazer Chronicle)

I never was very impressed with Governor Scott Walker even during his campaign, in fact, Democrat Tim Barrett left me a little "out in the cold," but in the end, what Walker said made less sense then what Barrett had to say about election issues, and I voted for Barrett.

Right away Walker started to rub me the wrong way, his cutting and slashing programs, his "tools" for a better school system, for eliminating college educational support personal, for quitting collective bargaining with state employees.....except fire and cop personal made no logical sense to me.

What you ended up with was a bunch of pissed off local, regional and state workers, their only job, to service us, the electorate. I also have never understood, "no matter what Walker or his people have said," why both fire-fighters and police officers unions were excluded from the overall cost saving activity that was going on. If it's good for one.....well then I guess it's good for all.

Now we have the recall activity waged by voters and this "John Doe" investigation headed by Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chrisholm and as a casual bystander, I have to ask, "What is going on." Even though I signed a recall petition, "I was forced by my wife," I never fully was in favor of the effort. I figure we elect a politician for the length of whatever office he is in, and if we don't like the job that he is doing, we fire the guy at the next election cycle.

I will admit that Walker has been a bit bizarre in his activity, and "seems" to not have thought through many of his political decisions during the first year of his administration. You can't take everything away, whether the things that you are taking away might be justified. Taking your time is by far the best commodity that can be used in the initial year of a new administration.

I think Scott Walker got caught up in his own press releases, and possibly was looking to his next political position, whatever that might be. I've said this before, "I have never been a member of any union," I have no affiliation with any union, I seldom agree with what unions have to say, yet I know that for each of us non-union workers, we benefit from the unions presents.

But whenever Republicans take over, the first things that are attacked is entitlement programs and the unions, it never fails. Giveaway programs are a necessary evil of a democratic system; it's how people are taken care of in our society that is less fortunate. Without assistant programs, the food giveaway, the medical treatment, many citizens in the country would eventually parish, that my friend is a fact.

Unions have helped to give working men and women across the state and nation simple worker rights, an 8 hour work day, a 5 day work week, better and safer working conditions, the right to speak out and until lately, the right to organize. Unions have also helped set the standard for a living wage that many people enjoy today.

To take these rights away, to circumvent the system is wrong on so many fronts that I'm not going to address each one, I don't want to take the time and effort, and half of you that read this blog won't take the time either.

The rules and regulations that were implemented that govern how political practices are to be done were put into place to keep a lid on how these politicos worked their brand of magic. Scott Walker has a history of breaking the rules, "check out his college political career." Our elected officials need to follow the rules, they, after all, wanted to play the game, and everybody knows that you can't "change the rules after you've started the game."

FROM BURNING BOOKS, TO URINATING, TO SHOOTING, A SICK PATTERN!

BURNING BOOKS, TO URINATING, TO SHOOTING, A SICK PATTERN! (Frazer Chronicle)

It seems as if actions in Afghanistan are slowly beginning to run out of control, which I might add is not surprising. Whenever you have a bunch of young men, with loaded weapons, that are in a rather confined area, left somewhat to their own devises.....well the unthinkable can happen, locals can get shot dead, some of the women can get themselves raped, holy books can get burned and the enemy can get shot and pissed on.

None of this is surprising to me, it happens in every war, whenever you mix a bunch of different minded individuals’ together, violins is always part of the end result. It’s one of the reasons that the "best laid plans of men and mice" never works out, it's called the human factor. When are we going to heed the obvious, that man is basically flawed and needs to be controlled and looked after, in war, with a loaded weapon, in a foreign land, with women, the weak and rushed lying around, ready to be dominated?

U.S. officials didn't mean for any of this to happen, officials thought that a pattern of safety nets were in place to correct any of these urges, but obviously the "safety net" failed. Political, expert and public United States officials are never prepared for public shootings, or rape, or burning of important books, or any of the other unacceptable activity that war breeds.

They say that it is a "break-down, a misunderstanding, or a couple bad apples in amongst all the good. What they really are thinking is, "we hope a couple bad apples won't upset the apple cart." But in the case of burning Qurans, pissing on the dead and randomly shooting men, women and children, the "apple cart" was kicked off its wheels and thrown down a hillside.

In the illustrious words of leading foreign policy expert Robert Kagan, "anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn't know what he is talking about." Oh yah Bobby, I guess you didn't know that "some" U.S. military personnel didn't know a Playboy magazine from a Quran, or that some soldiers might have a sudden urge to urinate on people that they had just shot, or that some jerk would go crazy.....deep into the night, and go around town shooting men, women and children dead.

"Our mission in Afghanistan" seems to change like the weather in Wisconsin, sometimes from hour to hour. Didn't you and your pals, "Bobby", ever think that maybe a mission changes so often it  might become a bit frustrating to military personnel.

Does it sound like I'm "picking" on Robert Kagan.....I sure hope so, because I AM! I have always carried distaste for book experts, people that help forge foreign policy and never live "on the ground" activity in the country that they are talking about. It is a recipe for disasters that are happening right now in Afghanistan and I'm sure having happened in the past but have been repressed.

If the United States continues to serve as the worlds cop, we need to be prepared for the kind of fall-out that stupid mistakes made by kids bring. We need to understand that these "experts" calling the shots are standing right next to the young G.I.'s that have a wide eyed innocence to the fall-out from their uncontrolled actions.

Is the power of the United States in decline, I don't know, and worse, I really don't care, I guess I would as soon be equal with other countries, to share in knowledge, to share in traditions, hell, to share in cooking recipes.

Why is it that our experts figure that we need to be "above" everybody else? Who is keeping score? Where are the referees? And which countries have teams in whatever league we are playing in? Money, money, money is the driving force. Shame on you people and remember, I do not need your representation, thank you, I am more than capable of getting along on my own, I have no illusions about where the U.S. is in the pecking order of the World's nations.

WISCONSIN IRON MINING, KEYSTONE PIPELINE, THE SAME!

WISCONSIN IRON MINING, KEYSTONE PIPELINE, THE SAME! (Frazer Chronicle)

I know it sounds kind of strange, iron mining and oil and gas drilling, but both industries are at least similar in their final goal, extract something from the ground that has taken millions upon millions of years to create. I am not suggesting that we leave natural elements underground in their pristine state, quite the opposite, I think that we should use the nature's elements as we please and for whatever purpose we deem necessary.

I do however feel that there are kind of "rules of thumb" that should be followed by these "extracting" companies, and that these rules should be "cut in stone." Of course new technology may tweak the cut in stone rules, but operational rules should never be changed to "speed up the process," or to "stream-line" licensing rules.

Ore and oil exploration really are quite similar; both use techniques to "sniff out their respective elements." There primary goal is to extract their respective natural underground products, refine them and then to sell them to industry, both in the United States and internationally. That is the long and the short of the process.

Restrictions were, and are set in place to protect a variety of issues, mostly human, unless you feel that as a species we can get along without water. Many of the protecting rules have come about through painful experiences in the past that have proven necessary to almost protect us from.....us.

There is much mis-information out there, actually on both sides and this mis-information does nothing that could be termed good. For instance, I heard a former iron ore ship worker actually say that "he was somewhat an expert on iron mining, and that they, (mining companies) could throw the waste rock, "rock without iron ore" back in the holes created in searching for ore."

Well sirs, if that were the case, please tell me how you think open pit mining works? Here are the facts, trenches are dug in the search for ore, the excavation continues deeper and deeper as the ore body is followed. Using the former ship workers analogy would mean that the mining company would have to continually remove the dirt that they had put back in the hole that they had just created and then remove it all over again in their search. This former ore boat work is a prime example and poster child of what an idiot looks like.

Fracking is a process used by oil and gas exploration companies inject water, sand and other liquid elements to force out the elements that are then separated, refined and sold to people just like you and me for a variety of a reasons.

As I have stated in the past, "exploration groups that probe the earth" need watching, they are dangerous, always. They need to be some of the most highly regulated businesses in the country, and when they threaten to take their derricks, or shovels and picks and go home, let them, it’s a bluff, they don't really mean it, they'll be back, and they are like politicians, only worse.

When Wisconsin didn't pass a "fast track" for opening up state iron mining in the northern portion of the state, it wasn't a victory for environmentalists, or a defeat for business or employment. Only a fool would applaud the prospect of lost jobs for an economically depressed area. Only an ass would applaud circumventing safety rules put in place to protect.....anything.

There were no winners or losers, just people with different opinions, driven by either money, or ethics, and those in the middle, "average Joe America" again do the suffering, and actually are the losers, no matter who wins.

BAM, BOOM, THE PENTAGON'S SUPER BOMB!

BAM, BOOM, THE PENTAGON'S SUPER BOMB! (Russian Times/Frazer Chronicle)
Talk about your big bomb, it is being reported by the Russian Times that the Pentagon is working on developing a 13,600 kilogram, or more than 2700 pounds "bunker busting bomb" designed to knock out underground nuclear facilities and would supersede Israeli forces if used in Iran.

"It has great capability now and we are continuing to make it better. It is part of our arsenal and it will be a potential if we need it in that kind of scenario," said Lt. Gen. Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle at a U.S. defense conference.

This is way too good for a peace dove like me; I mean I could dream for nights on end and never come up with a war mongering name like General Hawk Carlisle. Exactly where do they come up with these guys anyways, where do they hide them. It's kind of like those pre-emptive strikers keep these guys in a "bunker" somewhere until they need them, and then they break um out at just the right moment.

The latest Pentagon idea or "the massive ordnance penetrator" is capable of smashing through almost 200 feet of reinforced concrete before detonating its target. I'm impressed; I wonder if this "ordnance" could be used in some form of productive activity?

The Pentagon, "which I must add is a building and serves to house the United States war department," has already begun to work on an array of military options if the heavy sanctions currently imposed on Iran fail to curb its alleged atomic weapons program. Leon Panetta, U.S. Defense Secretary has said that such plans have been in the "pipeline" for a long time.

Although the Obama administration favors diplomatic and economic sanctions to pressure Iran to curtail its military activity, still, the president wants to be prepared and has stated that "no option is off the table."

I have heard the term "bunker buster" in the past, and I'm wondering... just kind of "spit balling here," why haven't these "super bombs" worked over the past ten or so years. I'm sure there are at least 7000 survivors of dead American soldiers who would like to know, and in excess of a hundred thousand injured G.I.'s that would like to hear an answer.

Here's a novel thought, instead of building bigger bombs, instead of guessing on whether a country is attempting to arm itself, why don't we just defuse the situation.....and stand down, destroy are bombs and risk taking a chance for peace.....I'm willing.

THESE ARE THE LAWS OF THE LAND!

THESE ARE THE LAWS OF THE LAND! (Frazer Chronicle)

And you thought you knew the laws of the land, "huh," how little you know, actually none of us knew much when it comes to some of the most obscure and bizarre laws that were ever passed. It really, really illustrates how some highly paid publicly elected officials can carry their own personal agenda, or those of some of their constituents.

These aren't proposed laws or statutes, they are laws "on the books," laws that can and should be enforced, if you believe in our country. Laws like a Georgia legislature, Yasmin Neal, proposing a ban on vasectomies, reason.....they leave thousands of children deprived of birth. IT'S TRUE.

I guess during slow time in office, or campaign promises, or conversation held with constituents, some of these ideas were born. Possibly these ideas were hatched during either drunken stupors, or drug induced euphoric periods where public officials were watching fish swim around in a fish tank.

Probably the laws that we will talk about were perpetrated on us by some will intentioned folks, who, like former president George W. Bush never thought that they would get elected to office. Nobody will ever make me believe that the former president, G.W. wasn't surprised every day of his 8 year presidency. I'm sure he woke every morning, in the president's bed, wearing his president's P.J.'s and said, "damn, I can't believe this."

These are the kinds of people that enacted these really stupid laws, they were probably "add ons" to legitimate bills that have helped society in many different ways. Anyways I hope that is the case, I sure wouldn't want sober politicians passing some of the laws forthwith.

CATS & DOGS LIVING TOGETHER:

a. French Lick Springs, Indiana passed a law requiring all black cats to wear bells on Friday the 13th.

b. Cats in International Falls, Minnesota are not allowed cats to chase dogs up telephone poles.

c. Dogs cannot nap in barbershops or beauty salons in Duluth, Minnesota, and makes it illegal for dogs, cats, horses, or any other animal to sleep in a bakery.

d. In California, animals are banned from mating in public within 1500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship.

e. In Birmingham, Alabama, no dog may be tied to a shade tree.

f. Cats in Columbus, Georgia may not yowl after 9:00 P.M.

g. A policeman in Paulding, Ohio may bite a dog to quiet it.

h. In Eastlake, Ohio there is a $25 fine and 10 days in jail for molesting a dog.

i. In Chicago laws prohibit anyone from feeding whiskey to dogs.

j. In Kentucky, dogs are not allowed to attack or bother cats, but can fight with one another.

FARM ANIMALS:

a. In Fort Lauderdale, Florida horses must be equipped with headlights and a horn.

b. In Ohio it is illegal to set a fire under a balking mule.

c. In Clawson, Michigan it is legal for a farmer to sleep with his farm animals, but the animals must be out of the house by 9:00 A.M.

d. In California you can't keep chickens, turkeys, cows and other farm animals in your rented apartment.

e. In Kingsville, Texas there is a law against two pigs having sex at the airport.

f. Florida has a law on the books making it illegal to transport livestock on a school bus.

WILD ANIMALS AND FISH:
a. You can't take a lion to a movie in Baltimore, Maryland.
b. In Atlanta, Georgia, it's against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or a street lamp.
c. Crocodiles in Detroit may not be tied to a fire hydrant.
d. It's illegal in North Carolina to take a deer swimming in water above it's knees.
e. The town of Manville, New Jersey decreed that it is against the law to feed whiskey or offer cigarettes to animals at the local zoo.
f. No one can catch fish with his bare hands in Toltec, Colorado.
g. It's illegal in Chicago to fish while a person is in his/her pajamas.
And finally, in Santa Clara, California, it's against the law to drug a trout in inland lakes or rivers for the purpose of catching them.

You see, I am perfectly capable of writing on the lighter side of issues, the proof, I neither agree or disagree with any of the above listed laws that are on the books.....you can't make um up, only idled politicians could ever think this crap up, special interest groups be damned. 

 

ISRAEL IS IN A STATE OF DENIAL!

ISRAEL IS IN A STATE OF DENIAL! (Frazer Chronicle)
Israel is referred to as a Nation State. Nation States are countries where the social concept of nation, coincide with the political concept of state. Actually what Israel is, is a patch of ground with a sovereign government that was established in 1948. David-Ben-Gurion, executive head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency of Palestine declared Israel an independent state, free from the British mandate for Palestine.

Israel is bordered on three sides by Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon and to the east by the Mediterranean Sea. Israel is the world’s only Jewish majority state, and as such are sensitive to all things Jewish.

The United States has been a staunch ally of Israel for many years, the reasons way too obvious and numerous to list. Israel, like the George W. Bush administration, is talking pre-emptive military strikes in Iran for perceived weapons of mass destruction and nuclear bombs.

Iran says that it does not have any such weapons and that their nuclear researching is for power only, for their people. In today's world of instant information, of big brother watching "your big brother," how could it be possible for one nation to secretly make an atomic bomb?

Israel for years has been rumored to have unlisted nuclear capabilities and in fact does have a nuclear device.....or two lying around. If that is a fact, pretty much everybody who is anybody believes, why shouldn't Iran be allowed to build the bomb?

Military might in today's world, as in past times is nothing more than a deterrent to war, a way for "boys with their toys to flex their muscles from time to time," to let everybody know who's the strongest kid on the block.

At first it was sticks or rocks, then spears and arrows, then flint-locks, then repeater rifles, and now nuclear devices. Sticks and stones, spears and arrows, and even flint lock rifles were okay to wage war with, the collateral damage was minimal. Once carpet bombing, bunker busting and precision bombing came along, war began to injure way too many people.

We now are faced with another war in the Middle East, a war that we as a nation are ill equipped to enter. The United States is teetering on the edge of financial ruin and has been off and on for much of its history. It's funny, I believe if the U.S. tipped over, and the country had to start over, not much would change, people would still pay their bills, services would still be rendered, it's a sign of how strong our system really is.

If Israel does in fact, attack Iran, over this question of nuclear capability, shots will be fired on the ground and in the air, but not one nuclear bomb will be let loose. Rest easy folks, everybody knows the wrath that any kind of nuclear weapon would bring the world. Everybody is scared by the prospect, even those half witted jerks that the United States calls its enemy.

Binyamin Netanyahu and for that matter, our own President Obama are doing nothing more than flexing their muscles, doing photo ops and getting face time. I hate war, but I guess I have to admit that the peoples of the world need some sort of war's derivative. Why doesn't Obama take on Netanyahu in a 1on1 game of HORSE, the winner either advances to Putin, or whoever else wants to play.

For Israel to threaten war over some sort of possible threat to its population is ridiculous, the religious wars have ended, let’s remember that and move on.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE, IT'S DOMINATING THIS NEWS OUTLET!

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE, IT'S DOMINATING THIS NEWS OUTLET!

(Frazer Chronicle)

If the Keystone XL pipeline was a person, it would, like a cat, have 9 lives. A news source that I read every day, Google News on line, devotes 4 to 7 stories and coverage about "where" the proposed pipeline is" on a particular day. This morning, 3-4-12, at 4:45 A.M. there were 7 headlined and accompanying stories about the "fate of the project, why it would boost prices at the pump, why it would lower prices, a proposed land grab battle, the project being fraught with problems, and the use of common sense.

These headlines appear on the same week-end as news stories cover a massive billion dollar settlement between B.P. and some of the oil well spill victims from the April 2010 oil disaster out in the Gulf of Mexico. With regards to "timing" the news coverage on the on-line Google News web page was, ah, not to well timed.

Does the petroleum industry control what the Google news outlet post on its web.....of course not, that would mean that elephants could fly and that bears actually do use Charmin toilet tissue after they use the bathroom.

I have been tracking this news coverage "stance" that Google has taken on this issue every since President Obama nixed the project, citing a "lack of time to explore all the issues." The view points and issue are not going to go away, pro job makers, pro business makers and pro money makers simply see a "new" way to make more money and in the process, create new, well paying jobs.

But there is a down-side to this issue, as there is with almost every issue that depends on a segment of people having to "trust" the so called experts. As a people, we need to believe that nothing bad is going to happen with thousands of miles of pipeline, both above ground and some below won't spring a leak, bust, or become a target for some terrorist group and their evil plans.

We are also supposed to believe the oil experts who list as possible, "very probable" the aspect of up to 20,000 jobs connected to the XL and the support structure. There are 20,000 jobs that are well paying, not to mention the entire infrastructure that the project will need.

That's jobs, jobs, jobs and then.....jobs. How long will these jobs last.....well, that seems "not to be so clear." I can give you an example, a generation of workers time, from say 18 years old till the time of retirement, so to be 68 or even 70, would mean closer to 50 years. There was an oil field near Traverse City, Michigan which began back around 1960, and was over by 1990, that would be 30 years my friends.

I don't have any doubt that the Keystone Pipeline XL will happen, "some" jobs will be created, and some people will get extremely "richer." Will there be environmental accidents, you bet, will there be fines of restitution, absolutely, and in the end will people suffer for the XL, of course. Will the aquifer that part of the line goes over be breached, or in danger, of course.

Is the underground oil field called the Macondo, where the Deep Water Horizon disaster occurred leaking today? Absolutely. There is a visible oil "slick" out there today, a slick that is being monitored by environmentalists and scientists who care, are knowledgeable about these issues. They issue there reports, make speeches, appear before governmental committees to testify, and then retire.

As long as we are dependent on fossil fuels, oil will be drilled for, coal will be dug for; it's just a reality of life as we know it today. The sludge that will be pumped through the XL will cost more to refine, will probably spew more contaminants into our air and in the end, costing people more money.

Whenever you have the capability to search for, and drill for at more than a mile and a half under the sea floor, whenever you have the capability to send sludgy oil through a 3 foot round pipeline from Canada through the entire middle of the United States to sea ports in the southwest, the potential for accidental risk is great and.....with each passing year, the risk factor heightens.