I'm NOT a 99 Percenter!

I just can't understand why the socialistic outfits are allowed to continually use the term '99 Percenters' with impunity. To be honest I have only met one of these jokers face to face and he wanted to include me in his troop with that number. I called him on it.

I also asked him, since both the American Nazi Party (AKA National Socialist party) and the Communist Party USA were both backing the Occupy movement, which group he belonged to and was paying him for his work. I finally had to assume that he was a college 'student' and his parents were supporting him. He wouldn't answer me as to where his financing came from. He probably didn't know.

Anyway, What started this tirade is I get email messages from Katrina vanden Heuvel,
Editor & Publisher of The Nation magazine, a socialist rag that continually begs for 'Mo Money' and she had the audacity to write, "We were thrilled to see the emergence of the Occupy Wall Street movement right here in our backyard of downtown Manhattan. While the mainstream media initially reacted with snark and cynicism, The Nation was quick to recognize the power and appeal of this uprising of the 99 percent."

Now she has to realize that the 99% refers to only those who are not uber-rich and the 1% are the uber-rich. She also MUST know that NOT all of the 99% that are NOT part of the top 1% with big bucks in their pocket are in favor of the occupy whatever group. I'm not for one and of all my friends (few though they be) there might be a couple that favor the movement. Sure not many But whether a few or a lot the number, 99%, is a lie!... SO she is LYING when she uses that number and is doing so in order to get money. After all, the little letter said nothing of value to anyone. All it said was how wonderful The Nation Magazine is and to send them money.

Oh well... What did I expect. I am on their email list voluntarily. I thought to get the emails from them in order to stay on top of what he enemy is up to. So I can see that they are up to the same old thing. Lying and begging.

Like that is really a productive way to live a life.


prying1

Christmas - 2012

Looking at my blog I see that I did not even update the yearly Messiah Program that my wife and I sing in every year. Let's call it a hiatus. We once again did sing in it and had a wonderful time. I did stay awake and fully aware the entire time yet still made a few errors. Good thing there are lots of voices there to cover me...
~~~~~
Lately I've been spending time listing books on eBay and letting politics wander aimlessly without my help or input. As far as 'religion' goes I've been keeping up with church attendance and chatting with God throughout the day. Also I get into text message debates with a JW friend.

His (the JW's) big thing this season is, as is every year, DON'T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS! and to this I say, Romans 14:5 - "In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable." - NLT -

I say that that verse says so much more than which days to celebrate or not. It says to me that God expects us to have differences of opinions. The chapter also says to accept people for believing differently than you. ACCEPT THEM? WHAT KIND OF NONSENSE IS THAT? All the people that don't agree with me should be whacked upside the head to have some sense knocked into them.

Well, I think accepting them (in spite of them having pointy little heads) is one of the things that truly makes following Jesus a tough thing to do. But what costs does this type of 'following Jesus' incur? One is losing the ability to proclaim, "I'm better than you because ___________!" (Fill in the blank) - So much for pride and self righteousness. Both of which I have an overabundance of.

That is why salvation is a two part process. - The initial meeting of Jesus. Having Him come into your heart in a real and tangible way. What some call the 'Born Again' experience. And next is having your life changed as a result of that experience.

None of us is 'better' than the next guy because we all have a mix of good and bad in us. Right thinking and twisted thinking. Nice actions/reactions and not so nice. ... We all need fixing. That is by God's standards and not our own.

The only source I've found for getting my life fixed is through my personal relationship with Jesus. Sometimes I work harder at the relationship than other times. Sometimes I'm inspired to walk hand in hand with Him and other times I get self centered and go my own way. - But through it all I've found HE IS FAITHFUL! He promised He will never leave me nor forsake me. I believe that because a.) It is in the Bible and b.) I've experienced it.

This Christmas Season has been great for me because it has presented some faith building opportunities and given me a chance to build my relationship with He who came not to live in a castle but He who came to live in our hearts. One thing that always gets me in the Christmas story is that the only God of the universe became incarnate in a stinky stable.

That can be likened to the way he came to live in my heart. I didn't need to get it cleaned up before His arrival. That was a good thing too because I never would have gotten it clean enough. Instead He came in as soon as I invited him. The simple prayer, "Lord! Come into my heart. I need you Jesus!" did the trick for me. As the song says, "He Touched Me".

Added benefit: As I allow him more room in my heart he does all the cleaning up too. May you find the same benefits in your life. If you don't know Him simply ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Remember there is a holiday that celebrates the other end of His sojourn on earth. At that point in time He rose from the dead and HE IS STILL ALIVE!

Guess I said all that to say this,

Merry Christmas and may the joy of the Lord fill your heart to overflowing.

The Prodigal Blogger

Paul - prying1 -

Temecula & Murrietta Messiah Program is on for 2010!

My wife and I got a missive in our email box and even though I've slowed down on blog posting this is one event I don't want to miss posting! More than once I've met people after the Messiah performance who saw this posted while searching for info on it. My pic is on the right side of this blog (the fuzzy face) so if you can introduce yourself we'd love to meet you.

For those of you in Southern California, particularly Riverside, Temecula/Murrietta area this is a FREE MUST SEE. (Freewill Offering is taken...)

My wife Renee sings soprano and I sing bass so that keeps us on opposite sides of the stage so we don't get to play "The Battling Bickerson's" during the performance. We might put on a show afterward so you might want to stick around.

For those of you who can attend you will not be disappointed. This is not a hokey event. They even make me wear a red bow tie. Great 30 piece live orchestra and this year it might be 70 voices.

One opportunity a year for this single annual performance that is, as it is each year, on the first Sunday of December. This year it will also be held at the same location as last years event...


Modified email below.

Dear "Celebrate Messiah 2010" Lovers

We’re back!

Once again, our annual "Celebrate Messiah" Christmas Concert will be held Sunday December 5th at 4:00 PM at the Temecula United Methodist Church, located at 42690 Margarita Road, Temecula CA 92592. We anticipate having a 70-voice community choir and a 30-seat community orchestra to celebrate Handel’s incomparable oratorio.

This year we will be performing more Messiah selections than ever before, a total of 26 numbers. We are adding 2 new choruses (All We Like Sheep, and The Lord Gave the Word) as well as a new bass solo (The Trumpet Shall Sound). Last year’s event included the addition of sing-along Christmas carols, which we will reprise this year as well. Event Founder Madge Griffing will be sharing conducting duties with her sons Rev. Barry and Steve Griffing.

~~~~~
Technorati Tags
- Rancho Music Association
- Messiah
- Temecula
- Murrietta
- Music

-~~~~~

2010 Temecula & Murrietta Messiah Concert GREAT once again!

Once again the annual "Celebrate Messiah" Christmas Concert was held on the first Sunday of December at the Temecula United Methodist Church. The church was packed and this singer's view of the audience showed a lot of happy, smiling faces. After the concert I heard quite a few people complimenting the performance. The orchestra was wonderful, the soloists brought tears to people's eyes and even yours truly teared up on occasion as we sang scriptures set to the music of Handel.

This year Madge Griffing had passed the baton of conducting duties to her sons Rev. Barry and Rev. Steve Griffing. Their switching use of the conductor stand went flawlessly and even their differing styles of conducting had a positive effect on the music. A few more songs were added this year for both soloists and the full choir. I especially loved the song, "All We Like Sheep" which really keeps the singers and musicians on their toes and has at the end one of the most profound statements in Christianity.

The recording of our concert evidently did not work properly due to technical issues so I found the above mentioned song on You Tube by the Brisbane Concert Choir which has a lot of excellent postings of their performances of various songs from Handel's Messiah. Maybe next year...

Afterward I also had the opportunity to make some new friends and once again my verboseness (Is that a word? Well! It is now...) had my wife getting on me that it was time to leave. Happens every year. In fact, the first year my wife and I were involved in performing in this concert, it was blogger extraordinaire Douglas V. Gibbs and I, meeting face to face for the first time that had both our wives acting in conjunction and one in spirit as they dragged us apart, both still talking. and I can't remember if we were shouting across the parking lot to one another as we were getting in our cars but I can imagine it happening.

Well (once again) I digress. Put it on your calendar for next year. The first Sunday of December. Temecula California, Rancho Music Association.


~~~~~
Technorati Tags
- Rancho Music Association
- Messiah
- Temecula
- Murrietta
- Music

-~~~~~

Get me to the church on time!

Pastor Mike at 'A heart for God' posted last January (5Jan2010) a piece titled, "Why I'm Showing Up Late for Church" He had recently 'tweeted' the link and I happened to catch it. - Good points he makes in his posting and I had to reply. Since I'm such a slow typist and have not been posting here as much as I should I decided to put my 'comment' on this blog as well as his. Sort of a two-fer.

Also managed to get a song rolling through my head (don't worry it didn't hurt) and just had to use it for the title of this posting. I hope it does not distract those of you that like to sing and dance from the message below... Print it out or send the link to your pastor. Better yet! Add to my ideas with a comment AND get this message to your pastor.

I have an advantage over many in our congregation due to the fact that I (as a lay member congregant not 'paid staff') have pre-service ministry duties. As a result my church time starts well ahead of the service time. Although one disadvantage is that When church starts I'm usually in 'Martha Mode' doing busy work and it sometimes takes a few minutes to switch to 'Mary Mode' where I'm ready to sit at His feet and listen.

I would encourage pastors to seek out those that are continually late, figure out their gifts, find/make helps ministries that would fit them and as Ephesians 4:11-13 suggests, put them to work (hopefully prior to church/services starting times).

From the pulpit I think pastors should also encourage people to get to church early not with events or for Bible studies or meetings with agendas and such but just for the opportunities to fellowship with friends.

Pre-service times can be a great opportunity for people to minister to one another with the unique gifts and fruit of the Spirit that God gives to each of us. Sharing these with one another in the 'safe' environment of the church can only help us when God calls us to use these same gifts and fruits outside of the church.

After all, the Lord does not call us to be 'self centered' but 'other centered'. Getting to church on time is just one of the ways we can fall in line with God's calling.

Some pastors may feel uncomfortable dealing with this issue. If so, that is great! Because it will give them an opportunity to get out of their comfort zone and at the same time get some of the congregants out of theirs...

~~~~~

Technorati Tags
- Church
- Religion
- Christianity

-~~~~~

Final Notice: Target - I Though this spam a HOOT!

Found this in my spam box. I thought it a hoot because the headline/leaderline was, "Final Notice: Target"

From:
"Final Notice"

To:
my email address here


=====Confirmed Alert======Confirmed Alert=====

Attention: my email address here

Confirmed for: Target Card

my email address here:

Your Target Card is ready for shipment, please complete the following:

http://124989029.erotic-friend-request.com/***


My Best,

Kurt Litte
Card List Manager

I didn't know Target sold Erotic Friends. Wonder what aisle they keep them on?


~~~~~
Technorati Tags
- Spam
- Porn
- Humor
~~~~~

One of the WORST Scam Letters Yet

Got the following in my spam box.

"Why inflict us with it?", you say.

Well I thought it rather humorous and I like funny OK?

As I said, before you so rudely interrupted me, it was in my spam box and the line said from: 'taran sawhney' --- 'Greeting from Mr. Mr.Peters Jim' --- This piqued my interest because I wondered why Mr.Peters Jim needed to use Taran's email to send me his obvious Nigerian 419 scam. I thought perhaps the letter might have some sort of explanation... - - - Nope. - - - Not even a mention of Taran as assistant or secretary.

Digression Follows ~~~
This came from a Yahoo account to a Yahoo Account, had a nifty little icon of an envelope with a bright yellow key. A mouse rollover showed it clickable with the words, "This sender is DomainKeys verified." appearing. - Clicking it opened a new window for me and on the top line Yahoo says, "DomainKeys is one of the tools Yahoo! uses to fight against forged email. It uses encryption technology to verify that an email is really from the domain from which it appears to be. If a message has been verified through DomainKeys, you'll see a small icon of an envelope and key in the email header."

So the little envelope/key that is designed to instill trust in an email was verifying the scammer did not forge the headers. I feel better about that. Forged headers are the first thing I wonder about with 419 scam letters. And that is cool that it really came from a Yahoo account. Yahoo DOES work fast to delete such accounts and it means the scammer will be spending a bit more time setting up a new account instead of fleecing people. So I've forwarded the message with headers to Yahoo and they will know without jumping around that, 'Yes indeed! This is a misuse of our services'...
End Digression ...

Greeting from Mr. Mr.Peters Jim
Monday, November 15, 2010 5:04 AM
From:

This sender is DomainKeys verified

"taran sawhney"

To:
undisclosed-recipients

Greeting from Mr. Mr.Peters Jim

ATTENTION:

Please i want to inform you that your fund was brought to my desk because the director of the WESTERN UNION MONEY trasnfer said that they should divert your fund to the government treasury account just because that you can not pay the trasnfer fee, As result of the information we got i told them to wait untill i hear from you today so that i will know the reason why you rejected such amount of money $1.7m which is your over due inheritance payment just because of transfer fee.

But the reason why i sent you this email now is that you still have the chance to claim your fund if you could send the$38 today because i have already arranged the special courier company which will deliver your fund to you within 2days with your tracking number to see when it is coming to you but failling to do this, they will have power over your fund by monday morning and am very sorry if you failed as this is the last chance .

Please here is the western union information in the name of my messanger to avoid delay in receiving your fund and remember that i have done my best for you and i will make sure that your fund get to your hand next tomorrow.
i went you to call me if you send the money to him so that i will call him , the number to call is this+229-9836-5568 ok do it now

Receivers Name:...JOHN IKELI

Country/... Benin-Republic
City address is Cotonou
Test Question:.. WHAT CITY
Answer :.. COTONOU
Amount: ...$38.00
MTCN NUMBER....

Send it to me for easy collection, the MTCN control number, amount sent, name and address of sender
Thanks
Greeting from Mr. Mr.Peters Jim

SO for $38.00 they will send me 1.7 million? I bet if I wrote to Mr. Peters Jim he would take $25. Times are tough for the Nigerian scammers too.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Update: In less than 20 hours I received this message from Yahoo!
- - -
Hello,

Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Mail.

In this particular case, we have taken appropriate action, as per our
Terms of Service (TOS), against the Yahoo! account in question that was reported for fraudulent activities. ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks Yahoo! Keep up the good work!
~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~Technorati Tags
- Nigerian Scam
- 419
- Fraud -~~~~~

Questions

According to a Google search I said it first! At least on the internet...

When and where who said what and why and how?

Now, I wonder, if there should be comma's in there, but, the old adage, regarding commas is, "when in doubt, leave it out!".

~~~~~Technorati Tags
- Questions

Prop 8 - Gay Marriage - My Thoughts

Has been a while since I posted. Well, here is something I wrote as a comment on another person's blog -- Separation of church and state except regarding Proposition 8 --

"legally marry" - You used this term and I have to wonder if you have really thought about it. Plus I wonder if you know the history of the marriage license in the U.S.?
- http://www.answers.com/topic/marriage-license -

Prior to the Civil War there was no interference from the state or federal govt. in the union of two people.

It seems that after the Civil War there were many women asking for their legal compensation for their husbands dying in service to their country. This was when the govt really started to hand out the licenses and they found it was a way to control the populace.

From above link: Black's Law Dictionary defines "license" as, "The permission by competent authority to do an act which without such permission [...] would be illegal." The authority to license implies the power to prohibit. A license by definition "confers a privilege" to do something. By allowing the state to exercise control over marriage, it is implied that we do not have a right to marry; marriage is a privilege. Those born in the US receive a birth certificate, not a birth license.

and this: In the early part of the 20th century, the requirement for a marriage licence (sic) was used as a mechanism to prohibit whites from marrying blacks, mulattos, Japanese, Chinese, Native Americans, Mongolians, Malays or Filipinos.[1] By the 1920s, 38 states used the mechanism. These laws have since been declared invalid by the Courts.

The Constitution was designed by The Founders (TM) not to control the populace but for the populace to control the government. Unfortunately this has been turned around on us with everyone wanting a handout and their own interests served first. So now we have a government that is controlling and overbearing and getting more power than The Founders (TM) meant for them to have.

Back to your use of the term "legally marry". - Lets ask ourselves the following, without 'religion' or 'church' involvement.


What is the past & current definition of marriage? (even most of those who want homosexual marriage agree it now is - one man/one woman. That is if they will be honest. That is what they are trying to do after all is redefine the word)

Should one small segment of society (albeit it is growing due to peoples ignorance) be allowed to change the legal definition of 'Marriage' through tugging on heartstrings, with accusations of 'hatred', 'homophobia', and 'bigotry'?

Once this legal definition is changed what is next?

The argument in the comments, "Except for the fact that history does not bear out that slippery-slope argument." is false AND misleading.

History does bear it out and we can see it through numerous examples. Did Hitler take control in a single day? Did Social Security go bankrupt the first day our government started abusing the funds? Even if there were no examples of any past 'slippery slopes' could this be 'the first one'? What would be next? Perhaps something I like and you don't?

I don't expect you to change your mind on this matter. But I do hope that you will slack off a bit on the rhetoric.

Personally I think the government (both state and federal) should get out of licensing peoples relationships as well as licensing pets.

target="_blank"~~~~~Technorati Tags - marriage - prop 8 - religion -~~~~~

More On (or is that Moron?) Spam Emails

Twice yesterday I received messages from friends that their email addresses were compromised and not to click any links until further notice. One was from a MSM account and the other a Yahoo account.

One lead to http://pvc0.ukparasd.com/ (AKA - http://medicaltoystore.net/ - which touts itself as Canadian Health & Care Mall {also Canadian health&care mall} ) which is one of those cheap pill pages. How those sites ever make money I don't know. The competition is immense and they all have the same cookie cutter web pages on them. I just hope that their stuff is not poisonous. Had a friend say that probably all they send out is sugar pills anyway.

The other website that used a friends email address and list of friends addresses is: http://www.snnsn.com/ - Supposedly selling cameras and computer related items. Just thought I'd put this out there so people that might be wondering about using either of these sites will have a chance to find out that there are some people that have been spammed by them.

The owners of those sites might say that they contracted with some other outfit that spammed people. If that were true then they are guilty of not doing their homework and making sure they are dealing with reputable outfits. that excuse still does not assure me that putting my credit card info into their site will be a safe thing to do.

Any outfit that does business like that will not get my dollars

Another thing is when you get a forwarded email with a long list of emails send it back to the person who sent it to you with a reprimand. Using BCC is easy and if they don't know how to use it (AND delete previous email addresses) they should not be allowed on the internet. They only make your email address susceptible to spammers and hackers.



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Technorati Tags - Spam - Emails -

Spam using my email address

Lately I've gotten two spams returned to me as 'undeliverable'. They are abusing my email address. The headers show the original spammers 'from' location as being persons names not associated with prying1. My apologies if you have received spam this way.

"Julia Chase" and "Joseph Francis" are two names used. I suspect there will be more. "Buy quality and safe medications here." and "Same quality of meds for lower prices." are two of the subject lines. Both had links to livejournal.com pages that have been suspended. Kudos to Live Journal for staying on top of their website.

Forged headers are nothing new and years ago I've gotten nasty emails from people that said I gave them a virus. Clicking on links and attachments in emails from people you do not know is not the way to do it.

Even if an email does come addressed from someone you know if it seems fishy it is a simple matter to call or email your friend and ask them if they sent it. So a day passes before you get to see whatever it is they sent. More than once I've done this and found that a spammer was abusing a friends email address.

Be careful out there. The Internet can be a mean and nasty place.
~~~~~
Technorati Tags -
Spam -
Fraud -
Virus -

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Let's Say Thanks In Support of Our Troops

Let's Do It!

Here is a website that all Americans should visit, utilize and support. Xerox and other companies print postcards and include them in packages being sent to the troops. - I could wax eloquent about it but I think it just best for you to go to the site, Let's Say Thanks In Support of Our Troops and let our troops know you too support what they do.

PLEASE! Keep your message to a soldier spiritually uplifting and not political.
~~~~~
Technorati Tags -
Christmas -
Military -
Support Our Troops -

2009 Messiah Concert in Temecula / Murrieta

For your consideration

In Murrieta California

- Sunday - December Sixth - 2009, at 4:00PM (Sharp)-
Get there early for a good seat. (See below)***

The
RANCHO MUSIC ASSOCIATION
presents

Handel's Messiah

with 60-70 Voice Chorus
Symphonic Orchestra and Inspiring Vocal Soloists!

Hosted by

Temecula United Methodist Church
42690 Margarita Rd.
Temecula, CA 92592

FREE ADMISSION

A freewill offering will be taken.


~~~~~~~~~~~

My wife and I will be in the chorus. She sings soprano and I sing bass so we stand on opposite ends of the platform. Makes for less arguments.

***Get there EARLY if you can make it. Otherwise you might be shunted to a room with a big screen TV and speakers. Not quite the same as being in the Auditorium Proper.

This is an annual program so consider it for next year if you cannot make it this time. Please consider donating when the bucket passes to help catch any left over expenses and to get a head start on next years program. Thanks!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Each year dozens of people that love to sing spend time practicing in small groups, join together for one group practice and then put on a concert that is enjoyable, uplifting, delightful and a whole slew of positive adjectives.

This has happened in Temecula/Murrieta California for untold years now and is a free event.

Handel's Messiah is one classical music piece that is enjoyed by people of all faiths although Christians versed in scriptures of both Testaments seem to be the majority of audiences. Perhaps because it is most often played in churches.

The entire oratorio now named, Handel's Messiah was written in just 24 days. This is most impressive if one looks at it in it's entirety. The singers, bass, tenor, alto, Soprano (Sopranos deserve a capital letter!) are often individually singing different pieces of music from the rest of the group. The instruments have their own sheets of music that would only confuse most of the singers if the pages were mixed up.

Altogether, if the notes were placed on their sides and laid end to end it would only stretch halfway to heaven. - However! Standing up straight and in the jiggly lines Handel wrote them in they reach all the way!!!

A remarkable feat is what I say.

For many it is the start of the Christmas Season. For me Christmas Season really seems to start when the practices start. The Performance kicks it into gear and fires up the Holiday/Holyday Season.

~~~~~
Technorati Tags -
Handel's Messiah -
Christmas -
Music -
Religion -
Christianity -

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Let the Government do this:

I found this quote to be quite timely with the direction the current administration is going:

Our rulers will best promote the improvement of the nation by strictly confining themselves to their own legitimate duties, by leaving capital to find its most lucrative course, commodities their fair price, industry and intelligence their natural reward, idleness and folly their natural punishment, by maintaining peace, by defending property, by diminishing the price of law, and by observing strict economy in every department of the state.

Let the Government do this: the People will assuredly do the rest.

Thomas Babington Macaulay (Edinburgh Review, Jan 1980)

Couldn't have said it better myself. Although this was written for the English government in the late 1800's the words can be applied across the globe. For the rice farmer in China to the shop keeper in Iran, the teacher in Brazil to the car manufacturer in the U.S. these words should be sent to all government leaders worldwide. Less intrusive government is better for all mankind.

More Thomas Babington Macaulay Quotes can be found here.


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Technorati Tags -
Thomas Babington Macaulay -
Quotes -
Government -
Politics -
Freedom -

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Left Coast Righteo and the Starrettwire

I should have posted this sooner but. Here it is...

For a few weeks now my friend, Doc Mike (Michael Harris) and I (Paul Young) have been doing an online radio show on Blog Talk Radio (BTR). We named the show "Left Coast Righteo". It was designed to allow people to the west of Illinois a place to go after Cyber Pastor and AnnieB finished their Christian, Pro-Troops, Right of Center "Do the Right Thing" radio show also on BTR.

Their show ends early (midnight or later their time) on the left coast and late on the right coast yet there were friends and an online community still clamoring for more online radio with Blog Talk Radio.

As a result Doc Mike and I decided, to fill the void, to do a show together from the Pacific coast on Tuesdays (9:30 PM Pacific) and Thursdays (8:30 PM Pacific). We simply chat and take calls from listeners. Often times we amaze each other with our knowledge and wit. Religion, Politics, Humor, and Animal Husbandry are frequent topics. As is food. We do talk about food quite often too. Doc is Host and I am the sidekick. That is unless I am doing the hosting and Doc Mike is sidekicking. To be honest I prefer kicking his side over his kicking mine...

Why will Thursday, July, 23 209 be special?

This Thursday night (23July09) we are having a special guest and I decided to post this on my blog and to email the link to friends. That is in hopes of you getting this in time (prior to 8:30-10:00 PM Pacific), Click this link and get prepared for when the show is on to join in the fun. When you get to BTR you can register (make up a screen name or use one you already have and join for freeee!), log in and join the chat room. If you click the link too late for the show then you can download the archive and listen in after the fact. Either way I hope you enjoy the show.

Grant Starrett of the Starrettwire will be on the air with Doc Mike and Prying1!

Now you ask, "Who is Grant Starrett and why should I care?" For those who do not get the "Starrettwire" chances are you don't know him. For those who do get the Starrettwire You still don't know him. This is your chance to get educated. I think Grant Starrett is a name you will see in the news in future years.

The Starrettwire is a "Newslinkletter" which comes out of the friendly fingers and mousework of the aforementioned Grant Starrett. As he peruses the daily news he adds articles and cartoons of interest to the Starrettwire which he emails FOR FREE to those on his list. He sends out 3 to 5 Newslinkletters a week. Never any spamming and your name is not added to nefarious lists because he alone controls the whole shebang.

Real simple to get on the list too. Simply email Grant at starrett@stanfordalumni.org and say, "Put me on the list!" If you don't like it simply email back and ask to be removed.


Here is a bit of a bio:

Student/Graduate of Stanford University, Founding member/President of "Stanford Conservative Society". (proving that students can attend a major university and still come out without need of a foil hat.)

(Ex-)Staff writer for The Stanford Review

National Chairman of "Students for Mitt (Romney)" (Do we see a trend here?)

He has worked for: FoxNews; White House; Mitt Romney for President, Inc.; Republican National Committee; U.S. House of Representatives; Eurobuilders.

Currently Accepted/New Student at Vanderbilt Law School - Nashville, TN

And in the mix of all this the great disseminator of interesting Newslinks and Opinion Cartoons through The Starrettwire.

By the way. Doc Mike also has a BTR show on Saturday mornings called Homestead in which he talks of self sufficiency, homesteading and the homestead lifestyle. Food production and preservations, politics, energy, repairs, how to's and so much more. Ask him about the beast that shall not be named.


~~~~~
Technorati Tags -
Internet Radio -
Blog Talk Radio -
Grant Starrett -
News -
Conservatism -

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How Low Can "ART" Go?

Ok! here is the deal. I'm not an artist but I know what art I like. Artists need people like me to appreciate what they do or they starve. Come to think of it if they had to live on what monies I devote from my pocket to art they ALL would starve. I might trade and barter though. Then through eBay they might make a a few bucks...

Anyway! Art I like has to usually make sense. I do like some of the stuff that is like inkblots and you have to guess what it is. I also like the find it pictures like "Where's Waldo". And mazes. But I learned early in life if you start in the center and work out it is easier.

But I digress. ... Rereading I find this whole post is, so far, digression...

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In London at Trafalgar Square there are four "Plinths" or large bases for statues. One of them, the Forth Plinth has been vacant since it's construction initially due to insufficient funds but left empty due to political arguments over what to put there.

Use for the empty plinth has temporarily been settled with a deal called "One & Other", "A grand project that is meant to stretch the boundaries of sculpture by placing 2,400 people on the square’s usually vacant fourth plinth, for an hour apiece (only one at a time), from now through Oct. 6."

"This is not about privilege, not about power, not about war or honoring the dead," said the artist, Antony Gormley. "It’s about celebrating the living." Britons (only) are lifted to the empty plinth by a 'cherry picker' and you can watch. The website has a disclaimer that there might be offensive content and Gormley stated in an interview, "Nakedness is absolutely essential," ... "Nakedness is to art what the ball is to football."

London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, had a different take: “It’s a triumphant meditation on the themes of fame and glory,” he declared. “My friends, someday your plinth will come.”

The idea seems simple, but has been fairly complicated to pull off. More than 17,000 people have applied for the slots, mostly through the Internet, with winners — who have to be over 16 and living in Britain — selected by a computer algorithm that accounts for geographical diversity. The slots for September and October have yet (at the time of this posting) to be filled.

Well I only have seen two people so far and I'm still waiting for the art...

In the first 24 minutes I saw one lady holding her hands in supplication to the sky, bringing them down to a prayerful attitude, then bending to place her hands on the ground, then back up to the sky. Some kind of art or perhaps just a statement that I could not understand. She should have set up a sign to proclaim what the heck she was doing. Praying to the Living God or worshiping the sky and earth... The next gal I saw was tearing Kleenex (Reg TM for facial tissue) into little tiny pieces and allowing the wind to litter the city with it. An hour of littering London with bits of paper is art? ... Well I am glad I'm not paying for it. Nor do I have to clean it up. I'll sit entranced wondering if she might have to blow her nose and if she will tear that one into little pieces.

At least it is not a crucifix in a jar of urine, a picture of Mary made from elephant dung nor a bullwhip up some rectal aperture's anal aperture.

This gal with the Kleenex looks self satisfied like she really accomplished something. They are now coming with the cherry picker and the replacement. Some character wearing what looks like a cow costume.

Now That is ART!

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Obamacare is a Job Killer

Warner Todd Huston (of publiusforum.com) sez:

The most insidious part of Obamacare is the backdoor taxes, and defacto control of our healthcare by the nanny state that President Obama’s plan is loaded with. And here is another one that is not getting much play. Employers would be socked with requirements to pay for 72.5 percent of the cost of insurance premiums for their full-time employees under the plan being considered in the House.

Prying1 sez: (posted in Warner's comments)

A business must plan to spend X amount of dollars for their labor. Normally this plan includes at least a bit of profit. Depending on business one year may see a bit more profit, another year a bit of loss. In the middle are expenses of which labor normally takes the biggest chunk.

The way I see this GOVERNMENT is planning on mandating that business put a bigger chunk of CHANGE into the soon to be GOVERNMENT controlled health industry.

Raising the prices of goods can only go so far before buyers go elsewhere or do without. With raising prices the ultimate consumer of those goods and services pays the GOVERNMENT controlled health industry.

These moneys must come from somewhere and even for a very, very low profit margin the only place I can see it coming from is salaries. That is until Government absolutely controls those too through their raising of minimum wages and perhaps someday putting caps on peoples take home checks.

The only difference between Obamacare and Hillarycare is the magnification of the scope and angle of the gun sights on the 'little people'. Some difference huh?

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Google is Soooo Nice to Racists!

Here is one for you. Google has a chance to stand against an insidious type of racism, NATIONALIST BIGOTRY, but they instead fold. And they fold at the request of those that are the recipients of the bigotry.

From Times Online UK... Google Earth maps out discrimination against burakumin caste in Japan...

A handful of innocent-looking antique maps, one offensive word and tens of thousands of offended "untouchables" have plunged Google into an unspoken class war that has raged in Japan for centuries.

Despite its ambition to be the cartographer of the internet age, the search engine has lumbered into one of the darkest corners of Japan - the bigotry of mainstream Japanese society towards the Burakumin, the "filthy mob", whose ancestors fell outside the caste system of the 17th-century samurai era.

By allowing old maps to be overlaid on satellite images of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto on its Google Earth service, the search engine shows how the old ghettos relate to the 21st-century streets.

That, critics say, is perfect ammunition to hurt descendants of the people who lived there 400 years ago.

OK! Got that? 400 years ago sections of Tokyo were the living spaces of outcasts. They were the black sheep of the nation concerning whom Wikipedia says, "The burakumin are descendants of outcast communities of the feudal era, which mainly comprised those with occupations considered "tainted" with death or ritual impurity (such as executioners, undertakers or leather workers), and traditionally lived in their own secluded hamlets and ghettos."

I imagine they were the outhouse cleaners too but Wiki does not say that. The Times Online article goes on to say,

Under pressure to diffuse criticism, the search engine has asked the owners of the woodblock print maps to remove the legend that identifies the ghetto with an old term that translates loosely as "scum town".

Google has unwittingly created a visual tool, however, that would have prolonged an ancient discrimination into the internet age, according to the lobbying group established to protect the human rights of three million burakumin.

Members of the sub-class were condemned by the old feudal system to unclean jobs associated with death and dirt. Laws made 150 years ago supposedly ended the caste system but, their descendants say, the prejudice remains.

Google should have told the burakumin folks that they would work with them to end the discrimination not by removing or changing the maps but instead shaming the perps of the prejudice and encouraging the people of the world to abstain from buying products manufactured by companies that acquiesce, allow, or even encourage this twisted mindset.

Many Japanese people are so filled with this jaundice that they bring it home and fill their lives with it.

Companies sometimes hire private detectives to ensure that they are not employing someone of burakumin ancestry. Parents may run a similar check on their prospective son or daughter-in-law, and children may be excluded from good schools. Property prices in burakumin communities are lower than in the areas that surround them and public works projects take longer to be completed in the zones.

Toru Matsuoka, an opposition MP and member of the Buraku Liberation League, said that it amounted to illegal bullying.

Prying1 would like to see Google set up an OUTING service. One that would OUT those idiots that are guilty of continuing a 400 year 'tradition' of ostracizing fellow human beings. A way to present the people guilty of this nationalist racism to the world and show them for what they are. Segregationist rectal apertures.

Shame them and if that does not work hit them in the pocket book. They need to be taught the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

And these narrow minded bigots are not even using the color of skin as a standard to throw their unreasoned hatred at but instead the jobs their great, great, great, great, great grand parents held. Talk about stupid...

One more thing. Japanese government intervention concerning this problem seems to have it's own set of problems with fraud and waste.
Breaking the silence on burakumin By IAN PRIESTLEY


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Does Portions of Our Government Have Our Best Interest at Heart?

Jim Kouri has posted on American Daily Review an article titled, Cyber Threats and Vulnerabilities Continue

In his commentary/post Jim Kouri states:

Cyber threats to federal computer systems and cyber-based critical infrastructures are evolving and growing. These threats can be unintentional and intentional, targeted or non-targeted, and can come from a variety of sources, such as foreign nations engaged in espionage and information warfare, criminals, hackers, virus writers, and disgruntled employees and contractors working within a targeted organization.

Moreover, these groups and individuals have a variety of attack techniques at their disposal, and cyber exploitation activity has grown more sophisticated, more targeted, and more serious. As government, private sector, and personal activities continue to move to networked operations, as digital systems add ever more capabilities, as wireless systems become more ubiquitous, and as the design, manufacture, and service of information technology have moved overseas, the threat will continue to grow.

I had to comment and since I type my diatribes slowly I thought to bring my comment here to get more bang for my buck...

I'm a cynic and as a result when I read government names such as "Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative" I instantly ask, "How much graft and corruption is going on there?" So I Googled, Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (no quotes) and the first hit took me to the NIST.gov website for it... Comprehensive National Cyber Security Initiative: Leap-Ahead Security Technologies
(+$5 million) ...

After reading about it from their website I could see that such a wing of our government could, if run by ethical people, have a benefit to the security of our nation and be in line with the Constitution. You know. The part that says government's purpose is to protect U.S. citizens.

Looks to me like the NIST program could do it's job and do it well IF politicians stay out of it's way. According to this Wired story ... What’s Up with the Secret Cybersecurity Plans, Senators Ask DHS Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) asked questions that I think, if answered, might give cyber terrorists and criminals new directions for hacking that they otherwise may have been ignorant of or ignored.

There does need to be oversight but not at the expense of security.

Pryinng1 sez: If the politicians try to micromanage this department all bets are off regarding it's effectiveness.

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Is a State Official Driving a Stolen Car?

From Publius Forum we have, "Corruption: State Police Bureaucrat Gets Confiscated Luxury Car Assigned Him"

Warner Todd Huston, of Publius Forum fame, links to a Saint Louis Today story "Illinois bureaucrat driving seized hotrod"

There! Hat tips are in and now on to the story...

(Taken by cut and paste from both links...)

A 2006 Illinois State law allowing state police to seize the personal property of repeat drunk driving offenders resulted in the seizure of a high performance car early this year.

Taken from it’s rightful owner was a 2006 Dodge Charger with a V-8 Hemi engine that speeds from zero to 60 MPH in five seconds and has a topped out speedometer reading of 165. The high-end cruiser had only 26,000 miles on it when the police forcefully took it from its owner.

But instead of using the car to snare lead-footed drivers or selling it to raise money for the state budget, officials assigned it to the director of the State Police Merit Board, according to interviews and a review of records by The Associated Press.

Why isn't the Charger on the road? It's too powerful and conspicuous, State Police spokesman Lt. Scott Compton said.

Compton said there's nothing improper about handing over the sports car to the director of an agency that administers state troopers' hiring, firing and discipline. Merit Board director Ronald Cooley agreed.

"It's not a situation where I'd do anything for them or they for me," Cooley said. "It helped our budget and they had something they couldn't use."

Prying1 sez:

"It's not a situation where I'd do anything for them or they for me," Cooley said. "It helped our budget and they had something they couldn't use."

Analyze that and we see the typical twisted logic necessary for compromising integrity.

They did DO something for you Cooley! They GAVE you a car! (Although "ASSIGNED" does sound official it is still the same thing.) Whose budget did it help? By the word "OUR" did you mean you and your family or the state you are supposed to serve?

I'd like to know also how much taxpayers money was spent on salaries of how many 'public servants' as they farted around figuring out who should be awarded (or is it rewarded?)this vehicle.

Is it politically correct to suggest tar and feathering be brought back into vogue?

(the above was my comment left on Publius Forum comments)

I'd like to know when the public will wake up and realize that the Local, State and Federal Governments are imposing CONFISCATORY FINES on the citizenry to benefit themselves and line their own pockets.


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