tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55679704609177748032024-02-20T18:13:51.474+00:00meddling in mediocrityWARNING !!!!
The views and opinions expressed by the author of this blog don't necessarily represent the best interest of our sponsors or management, however we are trying to change this.
This is a FREE SPEECH area and it is quite possible you can and will be offended by something you read here. If you are faint of heart do not continue any further. The author of this blog accepts NO responsibility should you take offense to anything that is written here.tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.comBlogger283125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-40352394796317681962009-04-19T22:53:00.002+00:002009-04-19T23:40:17.908+00:00reflections of an election gone byFor those of you that felt it important that I write this, here you go. Recently the Springfield voters cast there ballots(all <9% of them)for the individuals they would like to direct the direction of the city.<br />It appears for all intended purposes that money and name recognition has much to do with who wins these political races. I've only been a resident of this city for 5 years but in those five years I have done more to stem the tide of big government then my opponent has as a lifelong resident. It is a shame that with all the candidate forums held less then 100 people came out to any of them and the 100 is a combined total. My campaign did not do much in the form of fund raising as I have limited amount of people I know here and those that I do know did donate what they could afford.<br />It has been said that had Fred Ellison and myself knocked on a few more doors that we could have changed the direction of this very liberal minded city. Perhaps this is true however had we done that we would have neglected watching what was on city council agendas, an not been able to formulate solutions to some of the pressing problems of the city.<br />Our pension fund is 190 MILLION in the red and neither my opponent or Fred's offered any solutions except to allow the soon to be created pension task force to come up with a solution. The mindset of current council was to pass a 38% tax increase onto the people, this was also the solution endorsed by Stephens, O'Neal, Whayne, & Rush, along with all the power players behind the scenes pulling some of the strings. Luckily OUR side won this debate and left the big government types scrabbling for a solution, even though a solution to this problem had been presented to them month earlier at numerous council meetings. It is unlikely that any government employee, political appointee, or novice politician is going to endorse an effort of reallocating existing taxes. The mindset of those people just don't function in that manner.<br /><br />I did receive the endorsement of the Springfield News Leader, and probably would have recieved the endorsement of the fire fighters and police officers union as well had it not been for an e-mail which was forwarded by our city manager, which had been bcc'd to him regarding a brain storming session on how to solve this issue. The brain storming that took place in e-mail form was only part of numerous conversations and meetings that had taken place before during and after the e-mail account. The local paper endorsement did help me out quite a bit as people were able to see my opponent for what he really is a follower of the poplar voice.<br /><br />My opponent to his benefit tried to paint me into a CA politics corner even though most of my life had been spent in rural PA. He tried to paint me into an unknowledgable corner on the issues even though I was the one with the answers and his positions were like trying to nail Jell-o to a wall. I have managed multi million dollar construction sites with various jobs being done on different projects concurrently, and I was on a daily basis able to job cost every project in terms of manpower, hours, material, completion schedule. This is something that even out Public Works Department cannot do as trying to figure out what has been spent on completed projects takes weeks of research.<br />I also had a mailer sent out about me the Friday before the election on how I have been a do-nothing johnny come lately to the scene which was paid for by all the big time money players behind the scenes of this city. people such as the O'Reilly's, Mark Gardner(partner of EX Mayor Tom Carlson) current Mayor Jim O'Neal, various members of the Home Builder's Assoc, and others to numerous to mention. In political terms I was the DAVID going up against the goliath, which had goliath just told the truth instead of playing politics as usual he would have been slain.<br /><br />I'm a moral person with principles and if it requires me to sacrifise my principles in order to win something, then I'll come out on the losing end everytime. I'm a firm believer in self responsibility and as such the only person who lost the election of me was ME.<br /><br />To those that donated hard earned money I appreciate you with every fibre of my body, I apologise I did not win.<br />For those that gave up endless hours of personal time to hang literature and knock on doors I can only repay you with my gratitude and hopefully someday I can return the time you have lost in some way.<br />To my family that watched as I eroded over a period of 3 months from lack of sleep, energy, and watched our business start to crumble to almost nothing I owe you the most. It will take some time to replace what has been taken from you both mentally and spiritually. Although you were not mention by name in any campaign literature I know you took the insults personal as you have seen firsthand how much time I give to my neighbors and community, this deed of misrepresentation of others does not only affect the candidate it affects the family as well.<br /><br />In closing Mr. Stephens it is a shame that you could not run a campaign that was based on any factual claim you may have to doing something in the community, instead your path was trying to make others out to be the villian because they dare point out the problems we have in this city. Problems I might add that occured while you were living, working, playing, and sleeping in this very city. You haven't done anything constructive in terms of government here for the 55 years you have been around, I certainly hope for the peoples sake you take the next four years to educate yourself on the issues and represent not only the 52% that voted for you, but also the 48% that did not.tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-9398167540643250962009-02-21T01:04:00.002+00:002009-02-21T01:10:36.512+00:00more regulations on personal behaviorJust as a thought insert church or religious service everywhere you see the term sexual used and the fundamentalist would be screaming bloody murder. I don't frequent adult video stores nor do they possess some power over me that has me walking in the front door of the establishment. This is a personal issue and it is not the job of government to legislate morality.<br /><br /><p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.104167in;">FIRST REGULAR SESSION</p> <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.104167in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 26pt;">HOUSE BILL NO. <a name="1"></a>321</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.104167in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 15pt;">95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY</span></span></p> <hr /> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.104167in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.104167in;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.104167in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES <a name="2"></a>EMERY (Sponsor), NIEVES, NANCE, BIVINS, RUESTMAN, DIXON, SCHOELLER, BURLISON, WOOD, WRIGHT, WILSON (130), RICHARD, FLANIGAN, ERVIN, FRANZ, STEVENSON, JONES (89), COOPER, DAVIS, FUNDERBURK, FAITH, SATER, JONES (117), SANDER, THOMSON, STREAM, ICET AND LARGENT (Co-sponsors).</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; margin-bottom: 0.104167in;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a name="3"></a>0840L.02I<span> </span>D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk</span></p> <hr /> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.104167in;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.104167in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 15pt;">AN ACT</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.5in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.104167in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">To amend chapter 573, RSMo, by adding thereto six new sections relating to sexually oriented businesses, with penalty provisions.</span></p> <hr /> <br /><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:</i></span></p> <br /><p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span> </span>Section A. Chapter 573, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto six new sections, to be known as sections 573.525, 573.528, 573.531, 573.534, 573.537, and 573.540, to read as follows:</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">573.525. 1. It is the purpose of sections 573.525 to 573.537 to regulate sexually oriented businesses in order to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of this state, and to establish reasonable and uniform regulations to prevent the deleterious secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses within the state. The provisions of sections 573.525 to 573.537 have neither the purpose nor effect of imposing a limitation or restriction on the content or reasonable access to any communicative materials, including sexually oriented materials. Similarly, it is neither the intent nor effect of sections 573.525 to 573.537 to restrict or deny access by adults to sexually oriented materials protected by the First Amendment, or to deny access by the distributors and exhibitors of sexually oriented entertainment to their intended market. Neither is it the intent nor effect of sections 573.525 to 573.537 to condone or legitimize the distribution of obscene material.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>2. The general assembly finds that:</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(1) Sexually oriented businesses, as a category of commercial enterprises, are associated with a wide variety of adverse secondary effects, including but not limited to personal and property crimes, prostitution, potential spread of disease, lewdness, public indecency, obscenity, illicit drug use and drug trafficking, negative impacts on surrounding properties, urban blight, litter, and sexual assault and exploitation;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(2) Sexually oriented businesses should be separated from sensitive land uses to minimize the impact of their secondary effects upon such uses, and should be separated from other sexually oriented businesses, to minimize the secondary effects associated with such uses and to prevent an unnecessary concentration of sexually oriented businesses in one area;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(3) Each of the foregoing negative secondary effects constitutes a harm which the state has a substantial interest in preventing and/or abating. Such substantial government interest in preventing secondary effects, which is the state's rationale for sections 573.525 to 573.537, exists independent of any comparative analysis between sexually oriented and nonsexually oriented businesses. Additionally, the state's interest in regulating sexually oriented businesses extends to preventing future secondary effects of current or future sexually oriented businesses that may locate in the state.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>573.528. For purposes of sections 573.525 to 573.537, the following terms shall mean:</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(1) "Adult bookstore" or "adult video store", a commercial establishment which, as one of its principal business activities, offers for sale or rental for any form of consideration any one or more of the following: books, magazines, periodicals, or other printed matter, or photographs, films, motion pictures, video cassettes, compact discs, digital video discs, slides, or other visual representations which are characterized by their emphasis upon the display of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas. A "principal business activity" exists where the commercial establishment:</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(a) Has a substantial portion of its displayed merchandise which consists of such items; or</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(b) Has a substantial portion of the wholesale value of its displayed merchandise which consists of such items; or</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(c) Has a substantial portion of the retail value of its displayed merchandise which consists of such items; or</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(d) Derives a substantial portion of its revenues from the sale or rental, for any form of consideration of such items; or</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(e) Maintains a substantial section of its interior business space for the sale or rental of such items; or</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(f) Maintains an adult arcade. "Adult arcade" means any place to which the public is permitted or invited wherein coin-operated or slug-operated or electronically, electrically, or mechanically controlled still or motion picture machines, projectors, or other image-producing devices are regularly maintained to show images to five or fewer persons per machine at any one time, and where the images so displayed are characterized by their emphasis upon matter exhibiting specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(2) "Adult cabaret", a nightclub, bar, juice bar, restaurant, bottle club, or other commercial establishment, regardless of whether alcoholic beverages are served, which regularly features persons who appear semi-nude;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(3) "Adult motion picture theater", a commercial establishment where films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, or similar photographic reproductions which are characterized by their emphasis upon the display of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas are regularly shown to more than five persons for any form of consideration;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(4) "Characterized by", describing the essential character or dominant theme of an item. As applied in sections 573.525 to 573.537, no business shall be classified as a sexually oriented business by virtue of showing, selling, or renting materials rated NC-17 or R by the Motion Picture Association of America;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(5) "Employ", "employee" or "employment", describe and pertain to any person who performs any service on the premises of a sexually oriented business, on a full-time, part-time, or contract basis, whether or not the person is denominated an employee, independent contractor, agent, or otherwise. Employee does not include a person exclusively on the premises for repair or maintenance of the premises or for the delivery of goods to the premises;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(6) "Establish" or "establishment", any of the following:</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(a) The opening or commencement of any sexually oriented business as a new business;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(b) The conversion of an existing business, whether or not a sexually oriented business, to any sexually oriented business; or</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(c) The addition of any sexually oriented business to any other existing sexually oriented business;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(7) "Influential interest", any of the following:</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(a) The actual power to operate the sexually oriented business or control the operation, management, or policies of the sexually oriented business or legal entity which operates the sexually oriented business;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(b) Ownership of a financial interest of thirty percent or more of a business or of any class of voting securities of a business; or</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(c) Holding an office, such as president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, managing member, or managing director, in a legal entity which operates the sexually oriented business;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(8) "Nudity" or "state of nudity", the showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area, vulva, anus, anal cleft or cleavage with less than a fully opaque covering, or the showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering of any part of the nipple or areola;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(9) "Operator", any person on the premises of a sexually oriented business who causes the business to function or who puts or keeps in operation the business or who is authorized to manage the business or exercise overall operational control of the business premises. A person may be found to be operating or causing to be operated a sexually oriented business whether or not such person is an owner, part owner, or licensee of the business;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(10) "Premises", the real property upon which the sexually oriented business is located, and all appurtenances thereto and buildings thereon, including but not limited to the sexually oriented business, the grounds, private walkways, and parking lots and/or parking garages adjacent thereto, under the ownership, control, or supervision of the licensee, as described in the application for a sexually oriented business license;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(11) "Regularly", the consistent and repeated doing of the act so described;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(12) "Semi-nude" or "state of semi-nudity", the showing of the female breast below a horizontal line across the top of the areola and extending across the width of the breast at such point, or the showing of the male or female buttocks. Such definition includes the lower portion of the human female breast, but shall not include any portion of the cleavage of the human female breasts exhibited by a bikini, dress, blouse, shirt, leotard, or similar wearing apparel provided the areola is not exposed in whole or in part;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(13) "Semi-nude model studio", a place where persons regularly appear in a state of semi-nudity for money or any form of consideration in order to be observed, sketched, drawn, painted, sculptured, photographed, or similarly depicted by other persons. Such definition does not apply to any place where persons appearing in a state of semi-nudity did so in a modeling class operated:</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(a) By a college, junior college, or university supported entirely or partly by taxation;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(b) By a private college or university which maintains and operates educational programs in which credits are transferable to a college, junior college, or university supported entirely or partly by taxation; or</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(c) In a structure:</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>a. Which has no sign visible from the exterior of the structure and no other advertising that indicates a semi-nude person is available for viewing; and</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>b. Where, in order to participate in a class, a student must enroll at least three days in advance of the class;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(14) "Sexual encounter center", a business or commercial enterprise that, as one of its principal purposes, purports to offer for any form of consideration, physical contact in the form of wrestling or tumbling between persons of the opposite sex when one or more of the persons is semi-nude;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(15) "Sexually oriented business", an adult bookstore or adult video store, an adult cabaret, an adult motion picture theater, a semi-nude model studio, or a sexual encounter center;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(16) "Specified anatomical areas":</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(a) Less than completely and opaquely covered: human genitals, pubic region, buttock, and female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola; and</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(b) Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(17) "Specified criminal act", any of the following specified offenses for which less than eight years has elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement for the conviction, whichever is later:</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(a) Rape and sexual assault offenses;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(b) Sexual offenses involving minors;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(c) Offenses involving prostitution;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(d) Obscenity offenses;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(e) Offenses involving money laundering;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(f) Offenses involving tax evasion;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(g) Any attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit one of the offenses listed in paragraphs (a) to (f) of this subdivision; or</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(h) Any offense committed in another jurisdiction which if committed in this state would have constituted an offense listed in paragraphs (a) to (g) of this subdivision;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(18) "Specified sexual activity", any of the following:</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(a) Intercourse, oral copulation, masturbation, or sodomy; or</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(b) Excretory functions as a part of or in connection with any of the activities described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(19) "Substantial", at least thirty percent of the item or items so modified;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(20) "Viewing room", the room, booth, or area where a patron of a sexually oriented business would ordinarily be positioned while watching a film, video cassette, digital video disc, or other video reproduction.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>573.531. 1. No person shall establish a sexually oriented business within one thousand feet of any preexisting primary or secondary school, house of worship, state-licensed day care facility, public library, public park, residence, or other sexually oriented business. This subsection shall not apply to any sexually oriented business lawfully established prior to the effective date of sections 573.525 to 573.537. For purposes of this subsection, measurements shall be made in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the closest portion of the parcel containing the sexually oriented business to the closest portion of the parcel containing the preexisting primary or secondary school, house of worship, state-licensed day care facility, public library, public park, residence, or other sexually oriented business.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>2. No person shall establish a sexually oriented business if a person with an influential interest in the sexually oriented business has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a specified criminal act.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>3. No person shall knowingly or intentionally, in a sexually oriented business, appear in a state of nudity.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>4. No employee shall knowingly or intentionally, in a sexually oriented business, appear in a semi-nude condition unless the employee, while semi-nude, shall be and remain on a fixed stage at least six feet from all patrons and at least eighteen inches from the floor in a room of at least six hundred square feet.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>5. No employee who appears in a semi-nude condition in a sexually oriented business shall knowingly or intentionally touch a patron or the clothing of a patron in a sexually oriented business.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>6. A sexually oriented business which exhibits on the premises, through any mechanical or electronic image-producing device, a film, video cassette, digital video disc, or other video reproduction characterized by an emphasis on the display of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas shall comply with the following requirements:</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(1) The interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view from an operator's station of every area of the premises, including the interior of each viewing room but excluding restrooms, to which any patron is permitted access for any purpose;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(2) An operator's station shall not exceed thirty-two square feet of floor area;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(3) If the premises has two or more operator's stations designated, the interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view of each area of the premises to which any patron is permitted access for any purpose from at least one of the operator's stations;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(4) The view required under this subsection shall be by direct line of sight from the operator's station;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(5) It is the duty of the operator to ensure that at least one employee is on duty and situated in an operator's station at all times that any patron is on the portion of the premises monitored by such operator station; and</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>(6) It shall be the duty of the operator and of any employees present on the premises to ensure that the view area specified in this subsection remains unobstructed by any doors, curtains, walls, merchandise, display racks, or other materials or enclosures at all times that any patron is present on the premises.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>7. Sexually oriented businesses that do not have stages or interior configurations which meet at least the minimum requirements of sections 573.525 to 573.537 shall be given one hundred eighty days after the effective date of sections 573.525 to 573.537 to comply with the stage and building requirements of sections 573.525 to 573.537. During such one-hundred-eighty-day period, any employee who appears within view of any patron in a semi-nude condition shall remain, while semi-nude, at least six feet from all patrons.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>8. No operator shall allow or permit a sexually oriented business to be or remain open between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m. on any day.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>9. No person shall knowingly or intentionally sell, use, or consume alcoholic beverages on the premises of a sexually oriented business.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>10. No person shall knowingly allow a person under the age of eighteen years on the premises of a sexually oriented business.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>573.534. Sections 573.525 to 573.537 do not impose strict liability. Unless a culpable mental state is otherwise specified herein, a showing of a knowing or reckless mental state is necessary to establish a violation of sections 573.525 to 573.537. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, for purposes of sections 573.525 to 573.537, an act by an employee shall be imputed to the sexually oriented business for purposes of finding a violation of sections 573.525 to 573.537 only if an officer, director, or general partner, or a person who managed, supervised, or controlled the operation of the business premises knowingly or recklessly allowed such act to occur on the premises. It shall be a defense to liability that the person to whom liability is imputed was powerless to prevent the act.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>573.537. 1. Any person, business, or entity violating or refusing to comply with any provision of sections 573.525 to 573.537 shall, upon conviction, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imposition of a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed ninety days, or both. Each day that a violation is permitted to exist or occur, and each separate occurrence shall constitute a separate offense.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>2. Any premises, building, dwelling, or other structure in which a sexually oriented business is repeatedly operated or maintained in violation of sections 573.525 to 573.537 shall constitute a public nuisance and shall be subject to civil abatement proceedings initiated by the state in a court of competent jurisdiction. Each day that a violation is permitted to exist or occur shall constitute a separate operation or maintenance of the violation.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>3. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the state may employ any remedy available at law or in equity to prevent or remedy a violation of any provision of sections 573.525 to 573.537.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span> </span>573.540. Nothing in sections 573.525 to 573.537 shall preempt or prevent any political subdivision in this state from maintaining, enacting, or enforcing any local ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, or similar law concerning the regulation of sexually oriented businesses or similar adult oriented businesses.</span></span></p>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com53tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-32773760250555246502009-01-17T21:15:00.002+00:002009-01-17T21:32:57.409+00:00You threw the first rockI received a mailer from my competitor over the weekend and some people have received NUMEROUS mailers from Robert Stephens. How much money should one spend to sit on a volunteer board ? I think the voters perhaps should ask that question. We know the current mayor spent close to $10,000 last election to obtain the seat which has benefited him in oh so many ways, could perhaps Bob be able to benefit from sitting on council, or perhaps someone in his family.<br />I didn't mind getting the card since it allowed me to see his mindset as he proceeded to try to convince voters that Lyle Foster and myself are either Johnny come lately's or people with personal agendas.<br />If creating a smaller more limited government that doesn't require more money out of my wallet is a personal agenda then I proclaim to be guilty. If not being from this area allows someone to be called Johnny come lately's then guilty as charged.<br />If not caring which direction the city continues off in then Mr. Stephens is guilty on both accounts, I mean after all where was he when the police and fire pension system was bleeding cash ? Where was he the night that the U.D.A. was trying to close the square from the people who pay the bills ?<br />Where was he in trying to come up with solutions to fund the police and fire budgets and pension plan ? Where has he been while the people of the West Central Neighborhood Association battle a crime rate along with a police problem ? Where was he while the restaurant owners were being ASSESSED a FEE for a service that is mandated for government to perform by government ?<br />The man clearly has no regard to what has been transpiring in the city and he is a LOCAL. Come to think of it so is everyone sitting on council currently and so was the previous council. If electing locals gets you a pension fund which is under funded by 198 MILLION DOLLARS isn't it about time for a REAL change ?<br /><br />I'm Tom Martz candidate for General Seat "A", man with a personal agenda, a johnny come lately and I approve this message.tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-79451206051371344462009-01-16T20:24:00.004+00:002009-01-16T20:57:41.432+00:00Article in question<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CBusiness%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CBusiness%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CBusiness%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 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mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults ext="edit" spidmax="1026"> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout ext="edit"> <o:idmap ext="edit" data="1"> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Recently much has been made of an article that the <a href="http://www.cfpmidweek.com/">Community Free Press</a> printed and that article is posted below. The uproar has been raised by one of my challengers <a href="http://www.stephensforcouncil.com/">Robert Stephen's</a> who seems to believe that the CFP is being biased because they printed an article penned by me on the police and fire pension shortfall and the wording of what would transpire if indeed this tax passed. If Mr Stephens was as concerned for this community as he lets on he is, he would have been speaking out on the obvious ploy on words which would have had the city possibly once more short funding the obligation of the police and fire pension system. Added to this complaint is that KSGF broadcast live from our other challengers place of business Big Momma's Coffeehouse on Commercial Street.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Never does Mr Stephens point out that KSGF was broadcasting from Big Momma's long before Lyle Foster was even a candidate, and the article written below was penned by me before I even turned in my signatures. Not once do I mention that I was thinking about being a candidate during this article so Mr Stephens is way off base on his assessment of favoritism.</span>
<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Much has been made lately of the 45 minute presentation to solve the police and fire pension system given by City Manager Greg Burris. I have had the opportunity to sit through a couple of these presentations along with viewing the one on the internet and I believe there is much room for improvement. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">After passage of this tax increase the plan will generate up to 40 million dollars annually in revenue for the pension system, depending on shopping habits and tourism. Based on the current verbiage of the bill this tax increase will sunset in five years, or when the pension is 100% funded. Milliman, the company tasked with finding the solution to the funding shortfall, is one of the country's largest investment consulting firms in terms of assets under advisement. Included in the initial findings of Milliman was a statement that it would require six or more years to fund the pension plan fully. In his presentation, City Manager Greg Burris has PROMISED that the city will contribute 29.88% funding into the pension plan during the five year timeframe. This means that approximately 40 to 50 million dollars will be placed in the pension system by the end of the first year of this tax.<span style=""> </span>The reason for all this was so every player on the field has "skin in the game.” This should put us well on the way to solvency you’re thinking; NOT so fast!! <span style=""> </span>The devil is in the details.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Here in lies the problem with this bailout plan of our city manager. Once We The People have voted YES to increase our taxes, absolutely NOTHING prevents the city council from spending the 29.88% else where in the confines of the city; just as occurred earlier when the city failed to fund the plan for four straight years. The skin that the city has in the game can be overlooked because the sales tax will be generating the required actuarial amount, thus allowing the city to meet the guidelines of state statute. There have been numerous requests that an ordinance be passed forcing city council to fund this 29.88%; however road blocks keep getting thrown in the way under the heading of, binding future city councils. According to City Attorney, Dan Wichmer, binding future city councils is defined as:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><u> <span style=""> </span>Budget is year to year. It is only good for 1 year. That is why we can't bind future councils. We cannot make fiscal commitments beyond 1 year. Even bonds are subject to annual appropriation. <o:p></o:p></u></i></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">In short one council cannot oblige another council with commitments, which in hindsight is exactly what has been done with the short funding. Past city councils obligated present and future city councils for this debt. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">A cursory research project was started to define what "binding a future city council” meant and how it pertains to our situation and the response we found came directly out of the California constitution. The following is a basic rule for municipal law; <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">*The Power and Limitations of a City* </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style="">*Binding Future Councils* One city council cannot forever tie the hands of future city council with respect to legislative enactments; no ordinance passed by one city council may remain beyond the repeal or amendment of a future city council. Each council is elected by the people to serve the needs and desires of the people at that time, and cannot be restricted, from a legislative standpoint, by prior council action. A council may however enter into certain long-term contracts such as leases, cable television franchises, or rubbish contracts, provided there are not antitrust (anti competitiveness) problems.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11;"><span style="font-size:100%;">By the definition of binding future city councils anyone can see nothing prevents city council from passing an ordinance requiring that the guaranteed amount promised by City Manager Greg Burris of 29.88% gets funded. The argument being used by our city attorney is disingenuous and has people asking, why won't our elected leaders put "skin in the game" and pass an ordinance requiring the city to fund the portion for which they are responsible? </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><span style="font-size:100%;">The city leaders have earned the distrust of the citizens of Springfield and closing this obvious loophole with a proactive approach will benefit the city, city management and city council.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-31943227062125156672009-01-12T20:10:00.003+00:002009-01-12T20:37:05.038+00:00A slippery slope indeed<h4><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;">it was not that long ago that <a href="http://www.constitutionpartymo.org/travis_maddox.html">Travis Maddox</a></span><span style="font-style: italic;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">was requested </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;">to leave the employ of his city job under the very provision of which I have posted below. This section is taken directly from SPFG city charter.</span></h4><span style="font-style: italic;">Recently a <a href="http://jackehammer.blogspot.com/2009/01/policefire-pension-sales-tax-initiative.html">committee</a> was formed to help the effort of voting YES on the proposed police/fire pension tax which will be on the ballot on FEB 3rd. In this committee are various police and fire officials(employees)which have not yet been asked to resign the positions within this committee or lose there employ. Personally I think 6.11 needs to be rewritten in a manner which allows city employees to be able to voice there 1st amendment rights while they are not on duty</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">even if it means they put candidate signs in there front yards or issue signs. However the city can not have it both ways in this issue and I believe the highlighted section in the charter language is quite possibly where police and fire personnel could get into trouble.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Are we seeing two different issues on this or has the meaning been implied to mean something completely different.<br /><br />I'd be the first one to want to see anyone get fired or relieved of duty over issues regarding politics in or out of office, but until changes can be made to certain sections of the charter I would like to see it used equally. The sheer fact that police and fire personnel have and are part of this formation committee will bring in donations to help convince the voters to vote YES on this issue. The highlighted section below is thus being broken by the members with the spirit of how this charter issue is written.<br /></span><br /><h4>Section 6.11. Prohibitions</h4><p> No person in a classified service or seeking admission thereto, shall be appointed, promoted, reduced, removed, advanced, or retarded on any basis for any reason other than qualifications, merit, and fitness for the service or lack thereof. Any such actions shall be taken wholly without favoritism or discrimination and on no basis other than provided herein. No person shall willingly or corruptly make any false statement, certificate, mark, rating, or report in regard to any test, certification, or appointment held or made under the personnel provisions of this Charter, or in any manner commit or attempt to commit any fraud preventing the impartial execution of such personnel provisions or other rules and regulations made thereunder. No appointive salaried officer or employee of the city shall continue in his position after becoming a candidate for nomination or election to any public office. No person seeking appointment to, or promotion in, the classified service shall either directly or indirectly give, promise, render, or pay any money, service, or other valuable thing to any person for, or on account of, or in connection with, his test, appointment, proposed appointment, promotion, or proposed promotion. No appointive salaried officer or employee of the city shall make any monetary contribution to the campaign of any candidate for city office. No appointive salaried officer or employee of the city shall during the hours when he is on duty engage in any form of political activity calculated to favor or improve the chances of any political party or any person seeking or attempting to hold political office, nor shall he engage in any political activity when not on duty to such an extent that his efficiency during working hours will be impaired or that he will be tardy or absent from his work. <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">No appointive salaried officer or employee of the city shall directly or indirectly solicit or receive subscriptions or contributions of money for any candidate for city office, a campaign committee for any such candidate or on behalf of any person or committee when there is an election issue which involves an election to be held by the city or by the county clerk on behalf of the city. </span>However, the prohibition against the receipt of contributions shall not apply to any such employee who holds an office in a political organization and receives money in the course of his duties in said office. No appointive salaried officer of employee of the city shall solicit any monetary contributions to the campaign funds of any candidate for office or to the campaign funds of any political organization when such funds are to be used to support candidates directly or indirectly. No appointive salaried officer or employee of the city shall use his official title or job designation in the form of any political activity calculated to favor or improve the chances of any political candidate or any person seeking or attempting to hold political office. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the exercise of the rights of the appointive salaried officers or employees as citizens to express their opinions and to cast their votes. </p><p> Approved by vote of the people April 4, 1978. </p>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-34396740029069691672009-01-03T16:07:00.003+00:002009-01-03T16:36:57.311+00:00politicsAs you may be aware of, I transposed a letter(rough draft)of things that are going on in this current city council race and asked in a public forum area if someone would be willing to take my letter and its ideas and run with it and see if it might get published in either of our news outlets.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Larry Melton, husband of </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://jackehammer.blogspot.com/2009/01/hats.html">Jackie Melton</a><span style="font-style: italic;">(a contributor of the Community Free Press) replied back that he would run it by Breck Langsford(owner of </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.cfpmidweek.com/">CFP</a><span style="font-style: italic;">) and his wife to get it published. I have known Larry for longer than I have known Jackie. Larry and I are active in the FairTax movement and Larry helped me some on a campaign that I was involved in a couple of years ago. Larry is also active in our local taxpayer advocacy group and he seems to volunteer for quite a lot, I do not hold this against him. There are involvements that Larry volunteers for that our local taxpayer advocacy group will not use him for because of the possiblity of a preconceived idea that might occur because of his wife's position with the CFP.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">I believe a person can maintain a business relationship and a personal one without the two becoming intertwined but we will avoid anything that might bring to light any improprierity real or not.</span><br /><br />Back to my point. Mrs Melton has taken exception that I would rough draft a letter and ask someone else to sign there name to it for the letter to get published, somehow I guess she sees this as being dishonest or something. Many candidates have positions within their own political platform that has been read and reread and changed by various people to make it sound much more coherent and yet I don't see anywhere that gives credit to those who have shaped and molded the wording of these positions.<br />I have a position paper on the issues which was quite a rough draft until I shared it with others for there input, according to the some in this community I should take those sections not authored by me and give credit to the individual(s) who actually made it sound correct.<br /><br />I don't know if my letter is going to get printed or not or even if it is in the same context of how I transposed it, if it does great if it doesn't who cares, but it some instances it is best to have someone other then the writer attribute there name on the documentation so the actual writer does not get slammed for expressing a concern in a manner of which it wasn't meant.<br /><br />Will this cost me the election, I'm not odds on favorite anyhow and I don't have the deep pockets of my competition which puts me behind the 8 ball. What I do have is a compassion to speak up when the city is heading off in the wrong direction, to voice my opinions in front of city council whether they agree with it or not, and a penchant to call people out when they are not what they profess to be. <br />Every one of these current crop of candidates can make excuses on why they weren't active during the timeframe of the pension collaspe, West Central Neighborhood crime problem, the container issue, and currently issues which are too numerous to mention but all of the excuses don't wash. This is your government people and if you do not get involved then do not complain when they do something to take away your piece of the American Dream whatever that might be to you.<br />I'm involved locally, others are invovled on state issues while many others are involved on the federal level, meanwhile many on the ballot in FEB are only involved because of an upcoming election.tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-85429404417862810612009-01-02T18:50:00.003+00:002009-01-02T19:15:38.220+00:00It was worse then 14 pointsAs a Penn State fan I have to be honest I did bet against them as I just knew USC would ring them up much more than the 10 point line. For all the hoopla of the Rose Bowl this one should have been a good one and at the end it was, but there is a first half of every football game.<br /><br />Much to the surprise of everyone when USC scored first the Nittany Lions marched right down the field and answered that score with there own. With the score tied 7-7 what I watched happened next reminded me of a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/redskins/longterm/1997/history/allart/xxii.htm">Super Bow XXII</a>l between the Washington Redskins and the Denver Broncos. In the XXII Denver fell apart after an early second quarter turnover and watched as Washington rung up 35 points in that one quarter. No matter what Washington did it went well during that quarter. The result was the AFC got drubbed in the big game again.<br /><br />Fast forward to the '09 Rose Bowl. USC has the ball on there side of the field and what looks to be a QB sack and turnover into Penn States hands was called back due to an offside penalty. Completely unacceptable since the lineman actually lined up offsides he didn't anticipate the snap count and get caught.<br />From that point on in the second quarter USC could do nothing wrong and Penn State could do nothing right. Halftime score of <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/allthingstrojan/2009/01/2009-rose-bowl.html">31-7 </a>said it all. Penn State only had to play for pride in the second half and hopefully prevent this from being an epic blow out.<br /><br />Penn State won the second half and actually wrung up more point in the second half on USC then all the teams combined that played USC this year. USC was known for shutting down teams in the second half, this didn't happen yesterday. Minus the second quarter the game belonged to Penn State even with the interceptions in the fourth quarter, but a game has four quarters and two halves and PSU didn't show up in one of those quarters.<br /><br />Now the homers are proclaiming that USC is the best team in the nation to which I doubt seriously. I believe OU is and I have another week to see if they are. I believe USC and OU would be a game for the ages it is too bad that USC faltered to Oregon State and this game will NOT take place. OU lost to Texas when Texas was ranked near the top, USC lost to Oregon State when they(USC) were on top and Oregon State was a middle of the raod ranked team.tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com212tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-18083445984920067722008-12-28T02:10:00.003+00:002008-12-28T02:15:24.234+00:00For this Americans gave up their lives<h1 class="headline">In land scarred by violence, dogfighting makes a comeback</h1> <!-- /kicker & headline --> <!-- subhead --> <!-- /subhead --> <!-- byline --> <div class="byline"> <div class="dots"><img src="http://img.iht.com/images/dot_h.gif" alt="" width="3" height="1" /></div> <div id="author" style="float: left;"><strong><a href="http://www.iht.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?query=By%20Kirk%20Semple&sort=publicationdate&submit=Search">By Kirk Semple</a></strong> </div> <div id="pubDate" style="float: right;">Published: December 27, 2008</div> <div class="dots"><img src="http://img.iht.com/images/dot_h.gif" alt="" width="3" height="1" /></div> </div> <!-- /byline --> <!-- body text --> <!--<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript"> document.writeln('<div id="bodyText" style="font-size: ' + currentTextSize + 'px; line-height: ' + currentLineHeight + 'px;">'); </script>--> <div id="bodyText"> <!-- article tools - narrow (used with span photos) --> <div class="ISI_IGNORE" id="at_narrow_wrapper"> <div><img src="http://img.iht.com/images/articletools/at_narrow_top.gif" alt="" width="123" height="2" /></div> <div id="at_narrow_inner"> <!-- email article --> <div class="at_link"><a href="javascript:pop_me_up('/bin/email.php?id=18950614&code=0&type=Article','email','height=600,width=600,scrollbars=yes,resize=yes');"></a><br /><!-- printer friendly --> </div><div><img src="http://img.iht.com/images/articletools/dots_at_narrow.gif" alt="" width="108" height="1" /></div> <div style="padding: 5px;" align="center"> <!-- 88x31 button --> <!-- No ad for asia_88x31_article --> <!-- /88x31 button --> </div> </div> <div><img src="http://img.iht.com/images/articletools/at_narrow_bot.gif" alt="" width="123" height="3" /></div> </div> <!-- /article tools - narrow (used with span photos) --> <!-- copy --> <p><strong><a id="articleLocation" title="Click to view map" href="http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/27/asia/28dogfight.php#">KABUL, Afghanistan</a>:</strong> In a dingy butcher's shop reeking of slaughter, a half-dozen sheep's carcasses dangled from hooks, and two men spoke of dogs.</p> <p>"My dog is younger than his dog, I have the advantage," said one of the men, known as Abdul Sabour, 49. "And my dog is more energetic than his dog."</p> <p>"He's lying," grumbled the other man, Kefayatullah, 50. "His dog is old. He's just here wasting his time. How many dogs has my dog beaten? Sixty! My dog has been a champion for three years!"</p> <p>The men were arranging a dogfight, largely in the international language of trash-talking. They represented two groups of bettors. The purse, they said, was $50,000, a fortune in this impoverished country and one of the biggest prizes here in recent memory.</p> <p>Afghans like to fight. They will boast about this. They will say that fighting is in their blood. And for all the horrors of three decades of war, they still find room to fight for fun, most often through proxies: cocks, rams, goats, camels, kites.</p> <!-- sidebar --> <div class="ISI_IGNORE" id="sidebar"> <!-- today in links --> <div class="sidebar_content_box"> <div class="dots"><img src="http://www.iht.com/images/dot_h.gif" alt="" width="3" height="1" />And dogs. Dogfighting was banned under the Taliban, who considered it un-Islamic. But since the Taliban's ouster in 2001, the sport has regained its earlier popularity, with dogfighters entering their charges in informal weekly tournaments on dusty lots in the country's major cities.</div> </div> <!-- /today in links --> <!-- 170 x 60 ad --> <div align="center"> <!-- No ad for asia_170x60_article --> </div> <!-- /170 x 60 ad --></div> <!-- /sidebar --> <p>The sport has even experienced a resurgence in the south, where the influence of the Taliban is strongest, though the crowds have thinned somewhat since February, when a suicide bomber detonated himself at a dogfighting match. About 80 people were killed and more were wounded.</p> <p>Here in the capital, there are two tournaments every week, both on Friday, the day of prayer. The bigger one unfolds in the morning in a natural dirt amphitheater at the bottom of a craggy slope on the city's outskirts. It draws thousands of men and boys as spectators — like most sports and sporting events in Afghanistan, it is almost exclusively a male pursuit.</p> <p>"It's something from our ancestors," said Ghulam Yahya Amirzadah, 21, whose family owns 17 dogs in Kabul and in their hometown in the northwest province of Badghis.</p> <p>Amirzadah, who is known in dogfighting circles as Lala Herati, said he inherited the pastime from his father, who ran fighting dogs in his youth.</p> <p>"It's not about money," Amirzadah said. "If my dog beats another dog, it makes me feel like I've won $100,000. I can survive just from the happiness."</p> <p>On a recent Friday, Amirzadah was at the dogfighting amphitheater, though without his dogs. He was watching the fights and arranging future matches for his stable.</p> <p>More than 2,000 people were there — poor men who had arrived on foot as well as former warlords in sport utility vehicles accompanied by Kalashnikov-toting guards. And there were dozens of dogs — hulking, big-headed mastiff breeds that, in the right light and the wrong setting, might be mistaken for small bears. Some were so big that they had to be restrained by two men. A few owners, their arms tired, had lashed their dogs to the wheels of cars.</p> <p>An informal committee of arbiters, including Kefayatullah and Abdul Sabour, was selecting the fights and matching up the dogs. Some fights had been organized days in advance, with hundreds of dollars, sometimes thousands, riding on each.</p> <p>The event was presided over by a ringmaster, a toothless old man with a turban and a limp. He carried a wooden staff that he used to beat spectators who crowded the pitch and members of the dogfighters' entourages who blocked the spectators' view.</p> <p>Though dogfighting is again popular here, it is far from universally embraced. The country's elite disparage it as the domain of the uncultured and the criminal.</p> <p>"In my personal view, it's not a good thing," said Ghulam Nabi Farahi, deputy minister of information and culture. "In today's world, these animals should be treated well. But unfortunately, there's a lot of fighting."</p> <p>But dogfighters generally shrug at these sorts of remarks. In modern Afghan society, there are not many sources of entertainment, they argue. In addition, they say, the dogs are well fed and well treated.</p> <p>"The interest of the people is increasing day by day," said Sher Mohammad Sheywaki, 50, who was standing on the edge of the fighting pitch. "Even if people are starving, they'll still keep dogfighting."</p> <p>A fight was about to begin. Two dogs were brought close by their owners, then released. They lunged at each other, thrusting upward on hind legs and clamping their jaws onto each other's face. They tugged and twisted each other, looking for leverage, each trying to knock the other off balance.</p><p>Their handlers pressed in, shouting encouragement and slapping the dogs on their haunches, as a jockey would a racehorse. A cameraman crouched nearby, recording the fight for collectors' DVDs. A large cloud of dust enveloped the scrum.</p> <p>This fight, like most others, was over in a few minutes when one dog had pinned the other to the ground and held him there. They were pulled apart and hauled out of the ring.</p> <p>In some countries, dogfighters will fight their dogs to the death. But Afghan dogfighting is more akin to Greco-Roman wrestling. A dog is declared the victor when he clearly establishes his dominance over the other, or when the weaker dog displays one of the telltale signs of submission, including backing off from the fight or putting its tail between its legs. They are usually pulled apart before they can inflict serious damage on each other.</p> <p>The stakes for dogfighters are too high to risk their charges any further. Dogs may be a costly investment for the average Afghan, but they can also make their owners money.</p> <p>On the eve of the fight between Kefayatullah's dog, Palang (meaning tiger), and Abdul Sabour's dog, Zambur (bee), the planned $50,000 purse dropped to $10,000, according to Kefayatullah.</p> <p>The fight took place on a sunny and chilly Friday morning this month. It was heavily anticipated, and the crowd was large. For more than 10 minutes, Palang and Zambur tore against each other, drawing blood. Kefayatullah, Abdul Sabour and others with money riding on the fight stayed close and yelled encouragement, according to Amirzadah, who attended.</p> <p>Eventually, Zambur, Abdul Sabour's dog, ran out of steam and Palang overwhelmed him, prompting the men to call a halt to the fight. In celebration, friends of Kefayatullah swarmed Palang, whose fur was wet with blood, and showered him with Afghani bills.</p> <p>Except for deep wounds on a leg and an ear, Palang was O.K. But his owner was not. Minutes after the fight, Kefayatullah collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. He had suffered a heart attack.</p> <p>"It was a stroke of joy and happiness!" he joked a week later, as he lay in a ward in the Wazir Akhbar Khan Hospital in Kabul. His wife and daughter sat at his bedside. "I'll be up in no time," he said, "and everything will be back to normal, like before."</p> <p>His wife's face visibly tensed. "No you won't!" she said, glaring. She was serious. He was smiling. The daughter looked embarrassed.</p> <p>"It's over," Kefayatullah's wife continued. "I will kill the dogs! I will give them some pills."</p> <p>Kefayatullah shrugged and smiled again, trying to defuse the situation. "She says a lot, but I don't listen," he said, and he vowed to be back at the Friday dogfights — with his champion dogs — soon enough.</p> <p><em>Abdul Waheed Wafa contributed reporting.</em></p></div>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-24192044369277852662008-12-27T02:23:00.003+00:002008-12-27T18:59:13.906+00:00The hype of Jay Nixon !!!<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Mr Nixon,<br /><br />The best thing you could do is have the state legislature to pass a law which requires much tighter restrictions on malpractice suits. Doctors are scared of being sued and you also have people who want everything under the sun covered and if it isn't then we will have pending litigation. Insurance companies try there best on coverages but at some point people need to be responsible for their own actions as well.<br /></span><br />Jay Nixon believes that every Missourian should have access to quality health care.<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br />Every Missourian and every individual in this country has ACCESS to quality health care, please point to me where they don't.<br /></span><br />Unfortunately, that is not the case today.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Once more the people have been led astray by hyperbole, of course Hulshof was not any better.</span><br /><br />Because of Governor Matt Blunt's massive health care cuts in 2005, nearly 700,000 Missourians, including 121,000 children, do not have health insurance.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">What does this have to do with access to quality health care</span><br /><br />Businesses are struggling to provide health care for their employees,<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Open up the market place so more companies can come into the state and be competitive in the marketplace. The I.C. has maintained the same insurance companies for years, where is the competition ?</span><br /><br />seniors are paying too much for prescription drugs,<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">There also over medicated just like much of the population of this country</span><br /><br />and our medical research facilities aren't getting the resources they need to move forward.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Stem-cell research an amendment 2 will take care of this.</span><br /><br />As Governor, Jay will make it a priority to fix our broken health care system so Missourians can live longer, healthier lives and so that our state can lead the nation in medical research.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">By living longer we can lead the nation in medical research ?? Living longer creates a draw on the social security funds, the nonexistent funds</span>.<br /><br />While Governors in other states are making smart investments by expanding health coverage for their citizens, Matt Blunt is doing the opposite here in Missouri. Since taking office, Blunt has slashed or eliminated the health care coverage of more than 400,000 Missourians, including 73,000 children.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Taking people off the roles of government is some how bad ?? Sometimes people need a little motivation to get motivated to better themselves.</span><br /><br />Because the number of uninsured has increased so dramatically, Missourians with health care are being forced to pay higher premiums.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">My rates haven't increased and I haven't noticed increased cost because of this issue in billing either.</span><br /><br />The Governor unexplainably turned down over $1 billion federal dollars that would have helped provide the neediest Missourians with health insurance. When it comes to investing in a healthy Missouri, Matt Blunt is clearly taking us in the wrong direction.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Would this be the same federal government that is 10 trillion in debt and currently is printing bill faster to devalue the dollar even more.</span><br /><br />As Attorney General, Jay has a record of finding creative ways to improve Missouri's health care system. He helped create the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH), a foundation dedicated to strengthening Missouri's health care system and to promoting prevention and healthy lifestyles.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Perhaps requiring people to pay something into the system would be quite beneficial, we just can't keep requiring the middle class and wealthy to continue to pay for the poor.</span><br /><br />The Foundation formulates public policy proposals to advance efforts to increase access to high-quality health care, particularly for the insured, throughout Missouri. <p>Jay understands that many small business owners who want to provide health care for their employees are simply unable to afford it.</p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">I'm not buying this statement !! If Jay truly understands that many small businesses want to be able to have health insurance why then are small businesses restricted from forming co-ops to make insurance more affordable and why then are there 27 state mandates on what is REQUIRED to be covered.</span><br /></p><p> In fact, more than 50 percent of uninsured workers in Missouri either work for small businesses or are self-employed. As Governor, Jay will be committed to working with small business owners to help them provide health care to their employees.<br /></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Then get government out of the insurance industry and get government out of the insurance policy industry.</span><br /></p>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-64947289412121186592008-12-24T01:00:00.002+00:002008-12-24T01:28:24.185+00:00Just exactly who are they talking about<span class="sqq">I have found some interesting quotes from some talk show host on both sides of the aisle and I thought it quite interseting how you can use the quote for either political party president.<br /><br />“Is the president purposefully using propaganda and hyperbole to garner the American public for support?” <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Are we talking about Bush the elder, Bush the younger, Clinton, or perhaps (PEBO) President Elect Barack Obama<br /><br /></span></span><span class="sqq">“Why should one U.S. airman give up his life when our national security is not in imminent danger?” <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Good question are we talking about Iraq or Somilia?<br /><br /></span></span><span class="sqq">“trying to get every tax dollar for every pork barrel project.” <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">republican or democrat?<br /><br /></span></span><span class="body">"If Thomas Jefferson thought taxation without representation was bad, he should see how it is with representation.</span>" <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Which political party controlled congress at this point<br /><br /></span><span class="body">"If you commit a crime, you're guilty.</span>" <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">perhaps one should be careful on what becomes a crime<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"</span></span><span class="body">There's a simple way to solve the crime problem: obey the law; punish those who do not.</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">see above</span><br /><br /><span class="sqq">“Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from.” <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Words to live by<br /><br /></span></span><span class="sqq">“He'd be natural liberal Senator. Nobody listens to him.”<br /><br /></span><span class="body">"And yet, if we don't, first and foremost, act responsibly with the national tax dollars that we have, we can't properly address those regional priorities that we would like to." <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">which side of the political aisle does this one come from?</span><br /><br />"</span><span class="body">By overhauling current rules and speeding the entry of competitors in the market, we encourage competition and provide our constituents with new choices and cheaper bills.</span>" <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">see the same question above<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I found this exercise quite enlightening as both sides of the political spectrum use the same language to keep their voters coming back for more.</span><br /></span>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-58974457417287734312008-12-23T12:56:00.003+00:002008-12-23T13:08:23.664+00:00Laissez-Faire Capitalism Should Be as Dead as Soviet Communism<span class="dateline"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">By this read Ms Huffington hasn't the slightest clue of how capitalism or the free market is supposed to work. Arianna seems to believe that the market place can successfully be over regulated and be considered the free market at the same time. Sorry but the two are NOT conducive to one another. A free market would allow the consumer to determine which cars manufacturered are the ones they want to purchase, but government long ago took that option from Detriot. Remember the muscle car era ?? It was under Carter that the stripping of horsepower occured, the EPA brought in the cataylic convertor which once more stripped a motor of even more horsepower. I could continu this list but a free market economy as we know it has too many governmental guidelines.<br /><br />You'll notice in the article how she tries to tie the Bush Administration to the failure in the housing market, however she ignores the portion from Carter onward where government regulators convinced the lenders to move loans into a sector of the economy where they had not gone before. People were allowed to borrow money when they clearly had not the capacity to pay it back. It was all done in pursuit of the American Dream and home ownership. Once more government was allowed to reek havoc in a sector where it should have stayed out of.<br /></span></span><br />December 23, 2008 </span> <h2 class="h2-article">Laissez-Faire Capitalism Should Be as Dead as Soviet Communism</h2> <strong>By</strong> <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/author/arianna_huffington/"><strong>Arianna Huffington</strong></a><br /> <p>The collapse of Communism as a political system sounded the death knell for Marxism as an ideology. But while laissez-faire capitalism has been a monumental failure in practice, and soundly defeated at the polls, the ideology is still alive and kicking.</p> <p>The only place you can find an American Marxist these days is teaching a college linguistic theory class. But you can find all manner of free market fundamentalists still on the Senate floor or in Governor's mansions or showing up on TV trying to peddle the deregulation snake oil.</p> <p>Take Sen. John Ensign, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, who went on Face the Nation and, with a straight face, <a href="http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/ensign-calls-financial-crisis-a-body-blow-to-gop-2008-11-02.html">said of the economic meltdown</a>: "Unfortunately, it was allowed to be portrayed that this was a result of deregulation, when in fact it was a result of overregulation."</p> <p>Or Gov. Mark Sanford, who told Joe Scarborough he was against bailing out the auto industry because it would "threaten the very market-based system that has created the wealth that this country has enjoyed."</p> <p>If a politician announced he was running on a platform of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" he would be laughed off the stage. That is also the correct response to anyone who continues to make the case that markets do best when left alone.</p> <p>It's time to drive the final nail into the coffin of laissez-faire capitalism by treating it like the discredited ideology it inarguably is. If not, the Dr. Frankensteins of the right will surely try to revive the monster and send it marauding through our economy once again.</p> <p>We've only just begun to bury the financially dead, and the free market fundamentalists are already looking to deflect the blame.</p> <p>In a comprehensive piece on what led to the mortgage crisis and the subsequent financial meltdown, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/21admin.html?pagewanted=all">the New York Times shows</a> how the Bush administration's devotion to unregulated markets was a primary cause of our economy to ruin. But the otherwise fascinating piece puts too much focus on the "mistakes" the Bush team made by not paying attention to the warning signs popping up all around them.</p> <p>"There is no question we did not recognize the severity of the problems," claimed Al Hubbard, Bush's former chief economic adviser. "Had we, we would have attacked them."</p> <p>But the mistake wasn't in not recognizing the "severity of the problems" -- the mistake was the ideology that led to the problems. Communism didn't fail because Soviet leaders didn't execute it well enough. Same with free market fundamentalism. In fact, Bush and his team did a bang-up job executing a defective theory. The problem wasn't just the bathwater; the baby itself is rotten to the core.</p> <p>William Seidman, the longtime GOP economic advisor who oversaw the S&L bailout in 1991, cuts to the chase: "This administration made decisions that allowed the free market to operate as a barroom brawl instead of a prize fight. To make the market work well, you have to have a lot of rules."</p> <p>Even Alan Greenspan, whose owl-eyed visage would adorn a Mount Rushmore of unregulated capitalists, has begun to see the light, telling a House committee in October that he "made a mistake in presuming that the self-interests of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms."</p> <p>But most Republicans are still refusing to see what's right in front of them. Especially Bush, our CEO president, who lays the blame not on the failures of the marketplace but on past administrations and corporate greed. "Wall Street got drunk," he says. Maybe so, but who made the last 8 years Happy Hour, and kept serving up the drinks?</p> <p>Last week, Ben Smith reported that the GOP was launching "a new, in-house think tank aimed at reviving the party's policy heft." In a private memo explaining the think tank, RNC chairman Mike Duncan wrote: "We must show how our ideology can be applied to solve problems." But, of course, it's that very ideology that's causing the problems. It's like the old horror movie cliché: "We've traced the call -- it's coming from inside the house!"</p> <p>We've got to do everything we can to make sure there will be no sequels to this political horror. The blame shifters cannot be allowed to make their case without the truth being pointed out at every turn. It's time to relegate free market fundamentalists to the same standing as Marxist ideologues: intellectual curiosities occasionally trotted out as relics of a failed philosophy. </p> <div id="article-author"> Arianna Huffington is co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post. </div>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-32956276587031775392008-12-22T03:35:00.002+00:002008-12-22T03:42:13.453+00:0023 in the booksToday was the 23rd anniversary of my wedding vowels to Janine O'Dell Marion, she is the mother of my two children, the drive behind my desire to achieve unmitigated success, and the reason for my being. If ever there was a time that GOD was truly looking out for me it was definitely the day that I met the women who has been my faithful companion since march of 85 and marriage in December of 85.<br /><br />It can only be said with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vfjM5C9P0A">these words...</a><br /><br />I love you dearly.tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-21823245674825050962008-12-20T00:45:00.003+00:002008-12-20T01:36:55.754+00:00animal control meetingIt was not apparent at the onset of the meeting that there was an agenda, however since this meeting was being conducted by council members one should have figured the AGENDA was going to be forthcoming.<br /> In attendance were people from animal rescue agencies, a local breeder, some people from a local vets office and a veterinarian that I had met the night before at the Young Conservatives meeting, a mayoral candidate, concerned citizens from Springfield and quite a few from Fordland and me. It appeared the meeting was on how we can grow the abusive force of government and require everyone to come under the same governmental umbrella. In terms of a level playing field I felt sorry for one Jenny Thrasher as she tried to explain the HUGE difference between a "breeder" and a reputable breeder.<br /> The wife and I have owned quite a few "papered" dogs, A <a href="http://www.akc.org/breeds/norwegian_elkhound/index.cfm">Norwegian Elkhound,</a> which had won quite a few first place ribbons however she had a flaw which prevented her from showing any further. She was too big for her gender to continue showing but made a GREAT family pet. She also wouldn't have been of breeding stock for show dogs so we agreed to have her spayed. The breeder from which we got her researched our backgrounds through our references and came by the house to make sure that we would be suitable owners for her dog.<br /> On the flip side of this coin we purchased a <a href="http://www.akc.org/breeds/schipperke/index.cfm">schipperke </a>from an AKC registered breeder and we made sure we got the papers for this dog but I would classify the individuals we bought it from as being a backyard breeder. The dog had a terrible skin condition which we eventually overcame with treatment and "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_purification">processed water</a>" baths. The differences between the individual dog owners/breeders was quite immense which allows me to form my opinions on this subject. Reputable breeders don't just have litters in order to make a few dollars. In many instances breeders are asked by a friend or business acquaintance for an animal to complete there family and in that regard they will have some animals to sell. A reputable breeder will <a href="http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/">show</a> there animals, they become much like family and as such they just aren't given to anyone nor are they just breed like rabbits. Are there abuses in this system YES!!!, but these are the individuals which city ordinances are designed for not those who are abiding by all the laws of common sense.<br /> All of these organizations need to come together and find the areas of commonality and from that direct the city council in the manner of which common sense legislation is drawn up and passed.tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-79000675496609404092008-12-10T15:12:00.002+00:002008-12-10T16:01:12.285+00:00Detriot's FAILURE<span style="font-style: italic;">We as a nation are on the verge of <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-autobailout10-2008dec10,1,1752306.story">bailing out</a> (<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">when you click on this link LOOK very carefully at the flags the workers are holding</span>) General Motors, Chrysler,</span> & <span style="font-style: italic;">Ford. Are we really bailing out the auto manufacturers or are we bailing out the United Auto Workers union ? I believe we are purchasing out the unions and not the manufacturer of the vehicles. The UAW much like our very own fire fighters & police pension system it is UNDERFUNDED !!!!!!!!! How did this happen you might ask, management wrote out checks post dated to the future without the knowledge of whether the future was going to be able to pay the bills.<br /><br />I also have a theory as to why the manufacturers are having a hard time selling cars, it has nothing to do with the economy because personally our economy isn't in that bad of shape as compared to the same time frame before 9/11. Remember Bill Clinton got rid of the WORST economy in 50 years by defeating Bush 1.0. Once he was term limited his VP took the Democrat nomination for President and LOST (yes all you democrats I said LOST not stole) the election to Bush 2.0. Up until 9/11 we were in the economy which was created by President Bill Clinton and we all know it was better than the <a href="http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/roaring_twenties.htm">roaring 20's</a>.<br /><br />NASCAR</span> unofficially got started when deep in the back woods, farmers around the depression era made moonshine to earn money to support their families. Money for the bare necessities was hard to come by. They learned to outrun the law by making their cars faster than what the lawmen had. One famous moonshine runner is Junior Johnson from Ingle Hollow, he was never caught while running moonshine.<br /><br /> As this sport has gained popularity so have the vehicles which have toured the track. In any given era the cars which dominate the highways and byways of America are the counterparts to their racing cousins. There are exceptions to this rule as well since <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Superbird">Plymouth Superbirds</a> and <a href="http://www.allpar.com/model/superbird.html">Dodge Charger Daytonas </a>were designed strictly for the track with a limited production for purchase just in order to beat Ford and the racing Torino.<br /> The long list of cars that have been on the track resemble a who's who of auto manufacturers nameplates. During anytime in NASCAR history the car which dominates the track also dominates the sales. This list includes such fantastic vehicles as:<br /><br />General Motors<br /><br />Buick Regal<br />Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme<br />Chevrolet Lumina/Monte Carlo<br />Chevrolet Malibu<br />Pontiac Grand Prix & the current model the Chevrolet Impala<br /><br />Ford Motor Company<br /><br />Mercury Montego<br />Mercury Cougar<br />Ford Torino<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><br />Ford Thunderbird<br />Ford Taurus & the current model the Ford Fusion<br /><br />Chrylser Corporation<br /><br />Dodge Intrepid<br />Dodge Charger & Charger Daytona<br />Plymouth Valiant<br />Plymouth Superbird<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">There are others that I'm missing but as you look through this list think about the cars you have seen in your lifetime. Ford Thunderbird dominated the track in the 80's and it sold up until the Ford Taurus took over NASCAR duties. The Thunderbird got a redesign and the sales hit the tiolet while the Taurus started to perform quite well on the track it also started performing well on the showroom floor. Same can be said for the Lumina, Monte Carlo, and the Dodge Intrepid.<br /><br />What we have now is considered the <a href="http://images.google.com/images?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&q=nascar+car+of+tomorrow&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title">car of tomorrow</a> which has no defining body style and realistically has no defining front or rear tail clip. It is not by mistake that sales have dropped of the current models of NASCAR vehicles since they have NO definition on the highways and byways of America. NASCAR and cars sales work best when we have cars that LOOK like there race track counterparts.<br /></span>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-64882419729675414342008-12-08T15:43:00.002+00:002008-12-08T15:59:48.633+00:00FOR THE RECORD<h2><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Using the logic of Ms Noonan can we then say that every administration before Clinton protected our interest since we were not attacked on our soil ?? Actions that we have taken as a nation from the very beginning led up to at some point our shores being attacked.</span></span></span></span></h2><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">We blockaded Japan during there time of war with China, this led to the attack on Pearl Harbor</span>, <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-weight: bold;">many say our intervention into Europe was the reasoning behind 9/11, along with our meddling in the Middle east. I don't know for sure but then again I don't blame Bush for 9/11, I don't blame Carter for the Shaw of Iran, Reagan for the marine barracks bombing in Lebanon and the list can grow. However at the end of the day can we really say our troops in Iraq are keeping us safe ?? Was Iraq ever a threat to our shores or just there neighbors borders ?? I believe someone in government was over zealous and chose to make Iraq a focal point of this so called War on Terrorism. Don't forget that 14 out of 19 hijackers were Saudi Arabian, this is NOT by accident. The first bomber loaded up should have been scrambled for that nation.<br /><br />In the coming elections we will need a strong President one that will state that any act of aggression on an American is an act of aggression on American soil, this will result in a swift but calculated payback.<br /><br />If we are not attacked in the next coming four years I wonder will Barack Obama get the credit or will they once again pat the back of George W. Bush even though he will be long gone at that point. Once Obama is inaugurated we will still have boots on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with every other nation that had them before 9/11. If Bush deserves the credit for no attacks since 9/11 then doesn't the Clinton administration deserve the blame for allowing them to fester in this manner //<br /></span><br /> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">"In the seven years since 9/11, there were no further attacks on American soil. This is an argument that's been around for a while but is newly re-emerging as the final argument for [President] Bush: the one big thing he had to do after 9/11, the single thing he absolutely had to do, was keep it from happening again. And so far he has. It is unknown, and perhaps can't be known, whether this was fully due to the government's efforts, or the luck of the draw, or a combination of luck and effort. And it not only can't be fully known by the public, it can hardly be fully known by the players at all levels of government. They can't know, for instance, of a potential terrorist cell that didn't come together because of their efforts. But the meme will likely linger. There's a rough justice with the American people. If a president presides over prosperity, whether he had anything to do with it or not, he gets the credit. If he has a recession, he gets the blame. The same with war, and terrorist attacks. We have not been attacked since 9/11. Someone -- someones -- did something right." --columnist <a href="http://link.patriotpost.us/?136-164-164-190576-759" target="_blank">Peggy Noonan</a></span></p>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-75677814868498244872008-12-05T19:47:00.001+00:002008-12-05T19:49:10.752+00:00Who gets this voteI say if you aren't smart enough to ask for a new ballot because you made a mistake then NO one should get the vote.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.newser.com/story/43251/who-gets-this-vote-you-decide.html">http://www.newser.com/story/43251/who-gets-this-vote-you-decide.html</a>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-66896489163489270052008-12-03T21:42:00.003+00:002008-12-03T21:50:18.519+00:00Georgia voters decisively rejected Obama at the polls yesterday ??<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">This is sooooooooo comedy laden I had to post it as a blog. Chambliss winning in GA had nothing to do with a statement to Obama but rather a political race where only two candidates were on the ballot and a larger percentage of the black population stayed at home. The blacks were motivated to get Obama elected not to get Martin elected.<br /><br /></span></span> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#0000a0;"><strong>An urgent message from our Newsmax Sponsor,<br />The National Republican Trust PAC</strong></span> </p><br /><table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="#000000"><img alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td> <td width="598" bg style="color:#ffffff;"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5"> <tbody><tr> <td> <table width="575" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td> <table width="97%" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5"> <tbody><tr> <td> <p align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">The Media Won't Tell You This:<br />Obama Lost Big Time in Georgia<br /></span></strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Dear Newsmax Reader: </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Republican Saxby Chambliss won an incredible victory in Georgia, beating Barack Obama's candidate 57 to 43 percent. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">This was nothing short of a landslide. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>The results are a terrible disaster for Barack Obama.</strong> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>The media won't tell you this, but I will.</strong> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Remember, Obama lost Georgia to McCain by a margin of 52 to 47 percent just a month ago. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">And in the November Senate race Chambliss just barely nosed ahead of Democrat Martin, forcing the special run-off election. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Almost a month after Barack Obama's presidential win and the media's "honeymoon" with him, <strong>Georgia voters decisively rejected Obama at the polls yesterday.</strong> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">The media won't admit this in any coverage today, but the Georgia election was simply a referendum on Barack Obama. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>We at the National Republican Trust spent over $1.2 million to defeat Obama in Georgia thanks to donors like yourself. </strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">In our TV ads, we made it crystal clear a vote for the Democrat would give Barack Obama a filibuster-proof Senate. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Obama would be able to pass his radical agenda of more taxes, left-wing judges even citizenship for 12 million illegals. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>This was the only issue for Georgia: should Barack Obama be given a blank check.</strong> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>Georgia voters voted overwhelmingly "NO" to Obama.</strong> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Consider Chambliss' victory Tuesday was almost three times McCain's victory over Obama on election day. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Despite the media's love affair with Obama, the American people are simply not buying it. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Despite Obama's radio ads backing Democrat Martin, millions in Democratic money and thousands of Obama volunteers in the state, Georgia still said "NO" to Obama. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>Since Obama was elected, he has already proposed the largest federal public works program in history -- a $700 billion program to put 2.5 million people basically on the public's payroll. This means you the taxpayer will have to pay for all these new workers!</strong> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Obama promised a socialist agenda. He is now delivering one. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">We at the National Republican Trust fought during the presidential election campaign to expose Obama. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">We lost, but with our small budget of just $10 million we had an incredible effect. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>Tennessee's Chattanooga Times Free Press described our role in the presidential election this way: </strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>"On Election Day, virtually every undecided voter went to McCain, and Obama's final vote share was no more and no less than the 52 to 53 percent the surveys had predicted. This unanimity among undecided voters is attributable to the end game of such groups such as GOPtrust.com (the National Republican Trust) . . . " </strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Indeed, we know our strategy had an effect. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">And it certainly worked in Georgia Tuesday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Obama Still Must Be Stopped</span></strong> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">We need to prepare for many battles ahead. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Barack Obama has the almost total support of the media. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">He has large majorities in the House and Senate. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">He even has some liberal Republicans who have signalled they may join with him and Pelosi in pushing through liberal legislation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>I hope you can join with us in fighting Obama, Pelosi and these forces for liberalism in Washington.</strong> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>The stronger we are, the more we can do to stop Obama.</strong> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">We need your help to do. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>You can donate to us today <a href="http://news.newsmax.com/?KKOvYsjauGYCngiADXXhneTZfxlkxJUAK&https://secure.yourpatriot.com/ou/tnrt/the_national_republican_trust_/donate.aspx" target="_blank">Go Here Now</a></strong><a href="http://news.newsmax.com/?KKOvYsjauGYCngiADXXhneTZfxlkxJUAK&https://secure.yourpatriot.com/ou/tnrt/the_national_republican_trust_/donate.aspx" target="_blank"> </a></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">You may feel tired after a long election period. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">I can assure you that Obama and his allies don't feel tired. They are anxious to ram through Congress their radical agenda. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">We need to raise more money. Here's why. The larger our war chest the more worried Congressional Democrats and Republicans will be about us. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">We will make it crystal clear to our Congressman and Senators that we at the National Republican Trust will target them for defeat if they sign on to radical legislation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">The more you can help us today will make our job that much easier tomorrow. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>You can still make a difference <a href="http://news.newsmax.com/?KKOvYsjauGYCngiADXXhneTZfxlkxJUAK&https://secure.yourpatriot.com/ou/tnrt/the_national_republican_trust_/donate.aspx" target="_blank">Go Here Now</a></strong><a href="http://news.newsmax.com/?KKOvYsjauGYCngiADXXhneTZfxlkxJUAK&https://secure.yourpatriot.com/ou/tnrt/the_national_republican_trust_/donate.aspx" target="_blank"> </a></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Thank you for all of your support in these challenging times. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">We won't let you down! </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Yours for America, </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Scott Wheeler<br />Executive Director </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>P.S. It was the National Republican Trust that Michael Reagan used to make his endorsement to put the full "Reagan legacy" behind Saxby Chambliss. We at the National Republican Trust are the guardians of the Reagan legacy in Washington. Become a guardian of that legacy with us today <a href="http://news.newsmax.com/?KKOvYsjauGYCngiADXXhneTZfxlkxJUAK&https://secure.yourpatriot.com/ou/tnrt/the_national_republican_trust_/donate.aspx" target="_blank">Go Here Now</a></strong> </span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><br /> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td> <table width="475" align="center" bg border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" style="color:#cccccc;"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center"> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Paid for by The National Republican Trust PAC.<br />Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.<br />2100 M St. NW Suite 170-340 Washington, DC 20037-1233</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table width="475" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3"> <tbody><tr> <td> <p align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Contributions to The National Republican Trust PAC are not<br />deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.<br />No corporate funds are accepted. </span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-23983758222457676512008-12-02T23:39:00.003+00:002008-12-03T00:06:39.318+00:00Who or what do T.I.F. districts benefit<a href="http://www.realtor.org/smart_growth.nsf/Pages/tifreport?OpenDocument">TIF</a> is a tool to use future gains in taxes to finance the current improvements that will create those gains. <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">When a public project such as a road, school, or hazardous waste cleanup is carried out, there is often an increase in the value of surrounding real estate, and perhaps new investment (new or rehabilitated buildings, for example).</span> This increased site value and investment generates increased tax revenues. The increased tax revenues are the "tax increment." Tax Increment Financing dedicates tax increments within a certain defined district to finance debt issued to pay for the project. TIF is designed to channel funding toward improvements in distressed or underdeveloped areas where development would not otherwise occur. TIF creates funding for public projects that may otherwise be unaffordable to localities.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I highlighted the above section in red to make a point, exactly who sets the values of this property ?? GOVERNMENT !! Is my house worth more because I'm close to a park ? or a school</span> ? <span style="font-style: italic;">how about a landfill ?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />The answer to the above is quite simple IT DEPENDS ON WHO IS LOOKING !! A family with children under the age of twelve might find my house more desirable because of closeness to an elementary school, however a retired couple may not want to move into an area where the kids are screaming nine months out of the year walking home from school. The simple equation that my property is worth more because of close proximity of various emergency services, grocery stores, and the like is a HUGE FALLACY generated by the real estate industry.<br /><br />Instead of inflated revenues based on some government generated assumption and manipulation of the going rate in an area, why doesn't government take the existing revenues being generated in that area and convince developers to move in by creating a tax haven to move into distressed areas. Dilapidated buildings occur when industry vacates an area to move to a better location because of tax structure, infrastructure, ease of employee generations, a host of reasons. This causes the infrastructure in an area to start to deteriorate, and instead of the city working towards rejuvenation of the area they abandon it.<br />This creates a need for government to create a solution to wit they were the problem to begin with.<br /><br />A simple solution to this problem would be to create blocks of revenue districts of which a percentage of the collected tax created by these areas are rolled back into the infrastructure of the area.<br /><br />Eventually TiF's do create a stream of occupied buildings but in the mean time the city gave up a greater percentage of the tax base in this area to benefit NOT the many in the area but the few. Government should NOT use money from one business or individual to benefit some other individual or business when they are in direct competition with one another.<br />Generally TiF's create <a href="http://www.ded.mo.gov/BDT/Community%20Services/Local%20Finance%20Initiatives/Community%20Improvement%20District.aspx">Community Improvement Districts</a> which would be beneficial if the consumer was made aware that they are walking into an area that has a higher percentage sales tax to pay for the enhancements.<br /><br />People complained when banks did not notify them of withdrawal fees from ATM machines, people should be made aware that the area they are in has a higher sales tax thus allowing the consumer to determine if they really want to spend there hard earned money in that area.<br /></span>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-17792022328288687992008-12-02T03:16:00.004+00:002008-12-02T03:24:55.171+00:00Free speech is a two way street<span class="Dateline"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-style: italic;">this is why some should consider there actions and be able to see the end results. the types of actions here were led to by years of the religious telling people of *no* religion there opinion and thoughts aren't welcomed on the square during the holiday season. I guess as a religious person I'm an anomaly since I can see and do look for both sides of these types of issues. </span></span></span><b class="Dateline"><br /><br />OLYMPIA, Wash. -- </b>An atheistic sign is included in the state Capitol's holiday display that includes a holiday tree and a Christian nativity scene.The sign, a new addition this year, is sponsored by the <a href="http://www.ffrf.org/">Freedom from Religion Foundation</a>. The sign reads, "Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."Annie Laurie Gaylor, foundation co-president, said in a prepared statement that the sign is a reminder of the "real reason for the season, the winter solstice." The solstice, on Dec. 21 this year, is the shortest day of the year.The Capitol has had a holiday tree, provided by the Association of Washington Business, for 19 years.In 2006, it was joined by a menorah sponsored by a Seattle Jewish group. A menorah is a candelabrum that recognizes Hanukkah.That prompted a lawmaker from Spokane to stage a protest at the Capitol, demanding the holiday tree be called a "Christmas tree." It also led a local real estate agent to sue the state to allow the nativity display depicting the birth of Jesus.There have been no requests for a menorah display this year.The tree -- officially called the "Capitol Holiday Kids Tree" -- is part of a charity drive for rural fire departments.A lighting ceremony for the tree -- up to 30 feet tall -- is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);"><span style="font-style: italic;">on a side note were there such things as Christmas trees during the birth of Christ. Based on where he was born I doubt it, however my buddy Kevin will weigh in if I'm incorrect.</span></span>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-4703639725655842082008-12-01T20:39:00.002+00:002008-12-01T20:43:44.131+00:00Disney corrupting the minds of children<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">An to what of the gluttony of the Catholic Church ? <span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">Hmmmmm.</span></span> I don't doubt the cleric one bit but what he speaks of is a personal choice and many within the realm of religion are the ones doing as he suggest. Perhaps a stronger sermon next Sunday will have the masses looking in the mirror</span><br /><br /><p> Christopher Jamison, the Abbot of Worth in West Sussex, has accused the corporation of "exploiting spirituality" to sell its products and of turning Disneyland into a modern day pilgrimage site. </p> <p> He argues that it pretends to provide stories with a moral message, but has actually helped to create a more materialistic culture. </p> <p> In a guide to helping people find happiness, the abbot, who starred in the hit-BBC series <i>The Monastery</i>, warns that society is in danger of losing its soul because of growing consumerism and the decline of religion. </p> <p> He suggests that many people have become obsessed with work, sex and eating in an attempt to ignore their underlying unhappiness, and criticises corporations and industries that have benefited from promoting false notions of fulfilment.<br /></p><p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/3534960/Disney-accused-by-Catholic-cleric-of-corrupting-childrens-minds.html">read article</a><br /></p>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-4871452253131497702008-11-29T22:27:00.003+00:002008-11-29T22:45:26.770+00:00BLACK Friday<span style="font-style: italic;">So just what is the allure of this day anyway? people get up early or stay out all night just to be first in line at the front of the store and for what ?<br />products which have been sitting on the store shelves all year long, products which are going out of fashion, and even technology devises which in a month will be obsolete by the next generation gizmo. on top of this you get to sit in traffic and get irritated by those individuals which act like they don't know where they are going just to get you to let them in line so they wouldn't have to wait as long. you could get the joy of being trampled when the doors open to the store.<br />there are numerous reason just to sit at home on Friday after Thanksgiving and I chose to obey everyone of them.<br />buying an overpriced gizmo, or clothes even after the markdown is NOT a reason for me to venture outside the house on a day where the masses are idiots.<br /></span>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-89675415093030192682008-11-29T06:20:00.002+00:002008-11-29T06:24:42.770+00:00Dad raped daughters for 27 years<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style="font-style: italic;">I can think of numerous things to do to dad, none of them kind<br /><br /></span></span><p> <b>(CNN)</b> -- A British man was jailed Tuesday for raping two of his daughters and fathering nine children over 27 years, a case with echoes of Austria's Josef Fritzl.</p><p> The two daughters were made pregnant 19 times; there were nine births, five miscarriages and five terminations. Seven of the children are alive but suffer genetic deformities.</p><p> The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons banning the identification of his victims and the surviving children, pleaded guilty Tuesday at Sheffield Crown Court, northern England, and was sentenced to serve 25 life sentences to run concurrently.</p><p> The judge said the minimum term the 56-year-old rapist should serve in jail should be 19½ years.</p><p> South Yorkshire Police Chief Superintendent Simon Torr said, "The victims of these terrible crimes have asked me to state the following: 'His detention in prison brings us only the knowledge that he cannot physically touch us again. The suffering he has caused will continue for many years, and we must now concentrate our thoughts on finding the strength to rebuild our lives.' "</p><p> Speaking for the police, Torr added, "The main concern ... is for those who have been so badly affected: the victims who have suffered a terrible ordeal. We will continue to offer them our full support to try and help them get on with their lives.</p><p> "As far as the sentence goes, we are satisfied that this offender has received the strongest possible punishment for his heinous crimes. Now we need to ensure continuing support for those who have suffered as a result of his actions."</p><p> The daughters first told police about their ordeal in June, but the abuse dated to 1981.</p> It emerged that in 1998 one daughter rang Childline, a charity to help abused kids, and asked for assurances about being able to keep her children if she came forward. When Childline could not make that guarantee, the daughter did nothing more to raise her plight.<br /><p> The UK's Press Association reported that the rapes began in 1981 with daily attacks and that for long periods, they would be raped up to three times a week, and the assaults would continue through pregnancies. Their only reprieve came after they had just given birth or when they were ill because of the abuse.</p><p> If either daughter tried to refuse their father's attacks, they would be punched, kicked and or held to the flames of a gas fire, burning their eyes and arms, PA reported.</p><p> Despite visiting hospitals and meeting with social workers over the 27 years of abuse, no investigation was launched into the family.</p> <!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude--><p> The case comes in the wake of the death of a baby, known only as Baby P, which has dominated headlines in Britain. The baby endured horrendous torture and died despite being on the local authority's child protection register.</p> In Austria this year, Josef Fritzl was arrested, accused of keeping his daughter in a basement dungeon and fathering seven children through the rapestomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-12598489185140059892008-11-24T01:43:00.002+00:002008-11-24T01:48:23.977+00:00The games that destroyed a GREAT seasonThe game that destroyed the season was the very first one played. You can't expect to play teams of the caliber of Coastal Carolina, Syracuse and Temple and yet be taken seriously for the national championship.<br /><br />A Rose Bowl victory will more than make up for playing three opponents who shouldn't even be on the same field as the Nittany Lions.<br /><br /><br /><table class="tablehead teamTop colOne" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr class="oddrow"><td>8/30</td> <td align="left"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=324">Coastal Carolina</a></td> <td align="center">1-0 (0-0)</td> <td align="right"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=282430213">66-10</a></td> </tr><tr class="evenrow"> <td>9/06</td> <td align="left"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=204">Oregon State</a></td> <td align="center">2-0 (0-0)</td> <td align="right"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=282500213">45-14</a></td> </tr><tr class="oddrow"> <td>9/13</td> <td align="left">@ <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=183">Syracuse</a></td> <td align="center">3-0 (0-0)</td> <td align="right"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=282570183">55-13</a></td> </tr><tr class="evenrow"> <td>9/20</td> <td align="left"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=218">Temple</a></td> <td align="center">4-0 (0-0)</td> <td align="right"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=282640213">45-3</a></td> </tr><tr class="oddrow"> <td>9/27</td> <td align="left">No. 22 <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=356">Illinois</a></td> <td align="center">5-0 (1-0)</td> <td align="right"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=282710213">38-24</a></td> </tr><tr class="evenrow"> <td>10/04</td> <td align="left">@ <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=2509">Purdue</a></td> <td align="center">6-0 (2-0)</td> <td align="right"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=282782509">20-6</a></td> </tr><tr class="oddrow"> <td>10/11</td> <td align="left">@ <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=275">Wisconsin</a></td> <td align="center">7-0 (3-0)</td> <td align="right"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=282850275">48-7</a></td> </tr><tr class="evenrow"> <td>10/18</td> <td align="left"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=130">Michigan</a></td> <td align="center">8-0 (4-0)</td> <td align="right"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=282920213">46-17</a></td> </tr><tr class="oddrow"> <td>10/25</td> <td align="left">@ No. 9 <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=194">Ohio State</a></td> <td align="center">9-0 (5-0)</td> <td align="right"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=282990194">13-6</a></td> </tr><tr class="evenrow"> <td>11/08</td> <td align="left">@ <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=2294">Iowa</a></td> <td align="center">9-1 (5-1)</td> <td align="right"><span class="redfont">L</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283132294">24-23</a></td> </tr><tr class="oddrow"> <td>11/15</td> <td align="left"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=84">Indiana</a></td> <td align="center">10-1 (6-1)</td> <td align="right"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283200213">34-7</a></td> </tr><tr class="evenrow"> <td>11/22</td> <td align="left">No. 15 <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=127">Michigan State</a></td> <td align="center">11-1 (7-1)</td> <td align="right"><span class="greenfont">W</span> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283270213">49-18</a></td></tr></tbody></table>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-41680407381443854632008-11-24T01:39:00.001+00:002008-11-24T01:41:48.949+00:00NEW BCS standings<table class="tablehead" style="clear: both; width: 539px; height: 323px;" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr class="oddrow" align="right"><td align="left" valign="top">1</td><td align="left" valign="top" width="100"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=333">Alabama</a></td><td><b>.9872</b></td><td><b>1</b></td><td>1</td><td>2839</td><td><b>.9961</b></td><td>1</td><td>1518</td><td><b>.9954</b></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td></tr> <tr class="evenrow" align="right"><td align="left" valign="top">2</td><td align="left" valign="top" width="100"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=251">Texas</a></td><td><b>.9209</b></td><td><b>3</b></td><td>4</td><td>2577</td><td><b>.9042</b></td><td>4</td><td>1370</td><td><b>.8984</b></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td></tr> <tr class="oddrow" align="right"><td align="left" valign="top">3</td><td align="left" valign="top" width="100"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=201">Oklahoma</a></td><td><b>.9125</b></td><td><b>5</b></td><td>3</td><td>2598</td><td><b>.9116</b></td><td>2</td><td>1412</td><td><b>.9259</b></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td></tr> <tr class="evenrow" align="right"><td align="left" valign="top">4</td><td align="left" valign="top" width="100"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=57">Florida</a></td><td><b>.8755</b></td><td><b>4</b></td><td>2</td><td>2644</td><td><b>.9277</b></td><td>3</td><td>1401</td><td><b>.9187</b></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td></tr> <tr class="oddrow" align="right"><td align="left" valign="top">5</td><td align="left" valign="top" width="100"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=30">USC</a></td><td><b>.7974</b></td><td><b>6</b></td><td>5</td><td>2387</td><td><b>.8375</b></td><td>5</td><td>1288</td><td><b>.8446</b></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td></tr> <tr class="evenrow" align="right"><td align="left" valign="top">6</td><td align="left" valign="top" width="100"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=254">Utah</a></td><td><b>.7858</b></td><td><b>7</b></td><td>8</td><td>2113</td><td><b>.7414</b></td><td>7</td><td>1153</td><td><b>.7561</b></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td></tr> <tr class="oddrow" align="right"><td align="left" valign="top">7</td><td align="left" valign="top" width="100"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=2641">Texas Tech</a></td><td><b>.7789</b></td><td><b>2</b></td><td>7</td><td>2118</td><td><b>.7432</b></td><td>8</td><td>1073</td><td><b>.7036</b></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td></tr> <tr class="evenrow" align="right"><td align="left" valign="top">8</td><td align="left" valign="top" width="100"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=213">Penn State</a></td><td><b>.7520</b></td><td><b>8</b></td><td>6</td><td>2187</td><td><b>.7674</b></td><td>6</td><td>1157</td><td><b>.7587</b></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td></tr> <tr class="oddrow" align="right"><td align="left" valign="top">9</td><td align="left" valign="top" width="100"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=68">Boise State</a></td><td><b>.6581</b></td><td><b>9</b></td><td>9</td><td>1901</td><td><b>.6670</b></td><td>9</td><td>1033</td><td><b>.6774</b></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td></tr> <tr class="evenrow" align="right"><td align="left" valign="top">10</td><td align="left" valign="top" width="100"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=194">Ohio State</a></td><td><b>.6210</b></td><td><b>10</b></td><td>10</td><td>1827</td><td><b>.6411</b></td><td>10</td><td>994</td><td><b>.6518</b></td><td><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567970460917774803.post-61781298160816297212008-11-15T01:36:00.003+00:002008-11-15T01:57:07.795+00:00shameless plugRecently while my wife was driving home the transmission in her Suburban locked in what is referred to as "limp home gear". This allows for a vehicle still to be driven just at a second gear ratio. 16 months and 15,000 miles ago before leaving on a CA vacation we had <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=V9U&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=ACE+transmission,+springfield,+mo&fb=1&view=text&latlng=8563025632030229847">ACE Transmission</a> out on W. Kearney put a transmission in the suburban since it was beginning to slip.<br />My first instinct was to jump up and down and cuss out the people at ACE since I knew this transmission was just barely out of warranty, which is 12 months and 12,000 miles.<br />The very next day I went down to ACE explained my situation and informed the gentlemen behind the counter I would be a rather upset customer if the need was another transmission. ACE also replaced the transmission on my company truck just this past summer so I was quite worried that in another year I would have another transmission meltdown.<br />After having my wife's vehicle down there for the day they called to inform me it was done and I asked my son to drop his mother off at ACE to pick it up. I was quite surprised when she got home and informed me that a wiring problem was the cause of the problem an that there was NO charge for the repair work. Wiring is NOT under warranty in any manner so ACE went above and beyond the call of duty to fix our vehicle and there customer service was outstanding.tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17156943875749350309noreply@blogger.com0