Happy New Year!

I have no worries about the fiscal cliff. No way it will happen for more than a day or two. All this arguing and posturing is just political gamesmanship. And no, it is NOT just the Republicans who won't budge.
Face it, Obama wanted $1.3 trillion in new taxes and $900 billion in cuts. Boehner agreed to $1 trillion in new taxes, and $1 trillion in cuts, but that was unacceptable to Obama! That is not in any way shape or form horse trading.

Ah well, we are going to be slammed with taxes anyway for Obamacare. Let's hope when we finally start seeing it in action it will be worth it. But that will be a topic for 2014.

For now, here's hoping that 2013 is better than some of us expect, and as good as many of us hope.

Happy New Year to you, your families, and your friends.

Merry Christmas

And happy holidays.
Whatever your faith, wherever you call home.

Regarding Newtown II (I am Adam Lanza's Father)

I normally post on Mondays, and I was going to follow Newtown number 1 up with some links pertaining to gun control (I'm against it as you might expect).
But the fellow who wrote about his son in the previous post wrote another, and this one is even more poignant. I just can't continue without sharing it with you.

If you, or someone you know, has a child with AS, this will be all too familiar.

I have removed dates and anything else that I feel would readily identify the writer and his family.

Some of you may have read the internet blog that went viral, called "I Am Adam Lanza's Mother". I read it. My wife read it, tearing up and crying while she did so. I was particularly turned off by the comments left for the writer by readers, many of which were condemning, cold, and simply ignorant.

In the wake of the Connecticut shootings, there have been discussions about gun control, gun rights, mental health, and a lot of people on both sides of the fence arguing whether or not the fact that the shooter had Asperger's Syndrome had anything to do with his decision to murder his own mother and massacre over two dozen people, most of them children. I have read articles, listened to people, and considered the arguments. Poor parenting has been blamed, guns have been blamed, and I've even heard people talk about how these "mentally sick" people should be put down like animals.

We live a very average life. The pregnancy was planned (as much as any really are). Her pregnancy was normal, nothing unusual, and he was born one day after his due date. 100% healthy, no issues, and we welcomed him into our family because he was wanted. We go to church. We show our children affection, but have firm rules. Education is stressed. We limit television and monitor what our children watch, encourage reading, keep video games limited to non-violent games. We eat dinner together every night. I coached soccer, baseball, and helped with Cub Scouts. My wife joined the PTA, helped with Scouts, and we both help out at our church. I would say we are the average family.

From the very beginning I knew he was different than other children. As an infant, he cried very little and was content to be left alone, whether in his crib, on a blanket, or in a bouncy chair. Much to our surprise, he became agitated and would cry when held, cuddled, or rocked. We did not think of it too much. But inside I knew that he was not like my friends' children, he was somehow different.

As he grew into a toddler we found that he had some unusual personality traits. Fixation on objects, a need to have things in a certain order, and a certain "distance" from people around him. He did not respond to facial expressions, was extremely sensitive to bright lights or loud sounds, and when you spoke to him he would rarely, if ever, look at you.

Then the tantrums started.

We were told it was normal for a two year old. It was a phase. We shouldn't be worried. Even as I explained to the doctor that he seemed to get far more upset than seemed normal, I was told "It's the 'terrible twos'". So I accepted this. But they didn't end, and would become quite extreme, even for a toddler. Sometimes to the point where he would hurt himself. His anxiety level seemed to grow almost daily, and would peak at virtually uncontrollable levels. On the plus side, he seemed to be unusually bright. When given pre-school tests that children are given at those ages, he consistently scored in the 99th percentile. So again, we were told that he was "perfectly normal". In fact, we were told he was "gifted".

But, the reactions and actions continued to get worse, and more frequent.

Again, we sought the help of his pediatrician who told us that "Kids have tantrums. You just have to work with them." You see, he had no delays in walking, talking, or other "milestones" that the medical community sets to determine if children are developmentally delayed. So he was considered "normal".

We were not so sure.

He has younger sister. Another healthy child, born about a week before her due date. Unlike my son, she was a very typical baby, acting like most babies do. Loved to be held, cuddled, and kissed. Cried when she was unhappy. Everything you would expect.

When he was about 4, he was in the kitchen with my wife. He asked her one day, "Mommy, I wonder what your guts would look like if I cut your stomach open". In looking back, I now realize it was an honest question. He had a thought, and wondered what a person's insides were made of and how they looked. Curious, like a scientist.

When he entered public school, it didn't take long for his Kindergarten teacher to contact us with concerns about him. At this point, I had done a lot of research on autism, as he seemed to display many of the characteristics common to autistic children. Hand flapping, rhythmic movements, fixation on objects or topics, anxiety, poor communication skills, etc. The school recommended we have a psychological evaluation performed. It took months to find someone who would test him, and there was an ensuing battle of who would pay for it; the school, us, our insurance, who? Honestly, I can't remember who footed the bill, but we did pay a portion. We expressed to the doctor who tested him that we were concerned he had some level of autism.

We were told he was not autistic, and especially did not have Asperger's Syndrome. Why? Well, because he wasn't skinny, and according to her being thin and tall were part of the physical profile of Aspergians. We were told he likely had something like an AD/HD type issue, but she would not diagnose it because at his age; the DSM-IV manual allowed for a broad spectrum of behavior that technically narrowed as children got older. So, he was sent back to school with no diagnosis and no plan. The school placed him on a 504 Plan for occupational therapy because his motor skills were poor and his writing/coloring/drawing were messier than they should have been for his age.

And the tantrums continued. We tried everything that you're "supposed" to do. Time-outs, loss of toys, privileges, sent to your room, no dessert, etc. My wife walked right out of the movie theater, dragging him along one time when he was upset about something. We did not lavish him with an excessive amount of things, either. We did not spoil him. We taught him what were the right things to do, what were the wrong things, but he struggled with understanding some of these. The only thing I had not done is hit my son. But that would change.

As he grew, my wife became more and more concerned about his tantrums. And scared. Sometimes he would have to be physically restrained from hurting himself, his sister, or his mother. When in a frantic state, he would run, smash his head, bite people close to him, etc. As he grew larger, I became the only one that could physically handle him. Desperate, I asked my father what I should do....nothing was working.

"Hit him. Make him afraid. Teach him respect." After all, it's what was done with me, and "it worked". I had never done it because I did not want to be that type of parent. But yes, by the time he was 6 or so, the spanking started. When he would lose his cool and call his mother swear words, he would get a slap in the mouth. Sometimes hard. But it was not a deterrent for him and this corporal punishment did not seem to have much effect other than enrage him. I resorted to threatening, yelling, and punishing because I felt I had exhausted every other avenue, but honestly we were getting nowhere.

We started taking him to a counselor/therapist, and this went on for quite a few months. She was very good. Then something happened. Our medical insurance changed, my company got a new carrier and the therapy service did not accept our new insurance. We offered to pay privately, but were told that they could not allow us to do that where we actually had medical insurance. We tried to find a new therapist, but our insurance company would only allow for a list of "approved" people, and waiting lists were months long, and there was no way they could tell us when a spot would open up for us.

All along, knowing our son was unusual, we focused our efforts on training him to appear average and "normal". We taught him to hide his physical actions that drew negative attention, trained him to abandon his monotone way of speaking, and taught him to control his tantrums and "hold it in" until he was home, with us, where he could release his anxiety with those that loved him. Our thought was that if he could appear "normal" to everyone, he would be treated as such and nobody would suspect he was, in fact, quite different. You see, the world is a cruel place, with cruel people, many of them children, and we wanted our son to be seen as no different than any other child.

Later our insurance allowed for another psychological examination because enough time had passed that they felt it would be okay. A new doctor tested him extensively, and concluded that he had Asperger's Syndrome, which we suspected all along. At school, my son was listed as a special education student, placed on an IEP, and the school worked to understand his needs, although unsuccessfully. They readily admitted that they had virtually no training in dealing with autism. Most of their plans were ineffective, and my son continued to struggle socially among his peers, which eventually started to affect his academics.

Due to his quirky behavior, manner of speaking, and physical problems (not athletic, not very "smooth"), other children quickly targeted him and the bullying increased exponentially each year as he moved into a new grade. We tried to teach him to shrug it off, it didn't matter what they said. We also continued to teach him how to "fly under the radar", but honestly for him it was almost impossible. Again, our end goal was to teach him to survive and succeed in society even with his particular challenges. When his anxiety would peak, he would still need physical restraining. But, as he grew to over 5' tall and 125 lbs., he became harder and harder to handle.

His doctor prescribed anxiety medication. It seemed to help, some, but as he grew larger the dosage was not changed, despite our concerns, because his doctor concluded that his behavior issues were socially induced, and not due to a chemical issue.

By the time my son was in the 5th grade he had started to withdraw. We didn't know it, it just seemed that on the outside he was dealing with his issues better. Less frequent tantrums, fewer meltdowns, seemed to recover more quickly and "come back to reality". As parents we felt we were being successful; more expression in his speech, fewer outbursts, more humor, and he generally seemed more content. When he did act out, is was still extreme, maybe more extreme than ever, but he would recover more quickly and started to show some empathy and remorse for what he had done, which was something new. He also started to express affection and looked for us to sit with him, hug him, and he told us often that he loved us. So, we felt that we had made real strides.

This did not, however, mean things were smooth. I remember one day in particular, I had gotten this Red Ryder BB gun as a present. My son had a high anxiety day at school and when he came home, he flipped out. I didn't know that he knew where the BB gun was. He went and got it, then proceeded to shoot up various objects; the house, a basketball net we have, his swingset, etc., despite my wife pleading with him. She walked away, afraid that in his state of mind he may shoot her or his sister. Because she just didn't know if he would. I never imagined he would. He had never done anything like that before. I was at work, my wife called me and I came home immediately. He was in a sort of semi-conscious state, sorry for what he had done. The BB gun was given to my father, who I believe may have destroyed it. And there were other things.

We continued to seek medical attention, continued to seek psychiatric attention, talked with the school, read books, implemented plans, and struggled as a family.

Finally, my son's anxiety peaked over a minor issue. He had been struggling in school, was tired of the ridicule from other children, tired of feeling confused and upset, tired of feeling "out of control", and tired of struggling. He had been sent to his room by my wife after an argument. It was this day he decided to end his own life. He took the cords from his blinds, tied them to his bedpost and around his neck, and slid out the window of his second floor bedroom.

Luckily, my wife heard activity from his room and went to check on him; she was able to get him back into his room from the open window before he had seriously injured himself. At the hospital he confessed that he had been planning to end his life for a few months and was firmly committed to doing it. The DSS system took him from us and placed him in an inpatient treatment facility. He was released back to our care 9 days later when they determined he was not an immediate threat to himself or others.

And this is where we are now.

On the other hand, we have a very typical and average 8 year old daughter who displays no issues, is "normal" (if there is such a thing) in every way, and brings a lot of joy to our lives.

But as far as our son, in his life he's gotten pushed aside by doctors, pushed aside by clinicians, pushed aside by educators. As parents, we've gotten the same thing. Pushed aside by insurances, given the run-around, etc. No special medical treatment for my son. No special educational facility. No help for him or us. Hell, even the military would not allow him to enlist even if he wanted to because of his diagnosis.

Gerber Life Insurance refused to insure my son for a $5K policy based on the fact that he has autism. Imagine that. And the insure most any kid whose parents can fill out a piece of paper.

Adam Lanza's mother cannot tell her tale. But I can. So before you write "stupid mother", "bad parent", or "face of evil, should have been put down like a dog", stop and consider where the real failures are, or most likely were.

This has been long. If you have been patient enough to read it, thank you. If you have been open-minded enough to allow it to, well, open your mind, thank you even more.

Sad, and I suspect that Adam's mom went through similar pains, wealthy though they were.

My own father suspects that the reason no doctor or organization wants to touch these children is due to a fear of being sued. I suspect he's right.

Regarding Newtown I

I live a few towns over from there, and I have friends with children in the school, so it hits close to home.

The subject. No need to click the link if you know about it.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2012/12/newtown-connecticut-school-shooting/59999/

The first post I will make about this concerns some general information on Asperger's Syndrome (AS), which afflicted Adam Lanza. You have most likely seen the story by the woman who has a very violent child with this sort of affliction. I will link to that at the end.
Here however, is a quotation from a friend (personal info withheld), who has a child with AS, but not so violent. It is moving, and enlightening, and more people need to see it.

In parenting a child with AS, I've learned an awful lot about the condition. I've made a lot of mistakes, too. Let's assume that these reports about Adam having AS are true. People will be quick to blame bad parenting, poor morality, video games, or whatever. I will no be so quick as to make that judgement.

A little bit about AS; it is an autistic spectrum disorder. Because most people who have it appear relatively normal and can function in society (to a point), it is often brushed off and just viewed as a "quirk". People living with AS are also, typically, very bright, with many testing at advanced scholastic levels that can border on "genius". Because they learn facts and figures quickly and appear exceedingly bright, many people don't think much further as far as how their mind functions in other areas. And Aspergians, unlike many other forms of autism, are amazingly observant of others and conscious of their difference from them. As they grow, they often develop their own coping mechanisms and try to do what they can to model after their peers, but often with poor results because in many ways they cannot understand some of the concepts that come to others naturally. Where Aspergians struggle the most is in social interactions with others and in controlling their anxiety, which can build to unimaginable levels over things that, to you or me, may seem inconsequential or minor. Their perception of the world is very unusual, and my experience is that Aspergians can be quite paranoid and may react very unusually to others when they feel threatened, whether that threat is real or not. In many cases, the threat they are dealing with is rooted mostly in their own perception of an event or person. When their anxiety has peaked, they enter an extreme "flight or fight" mode, and the reactions or actions of the Aspergian can take either form; extreme isolationist behavior and internalization or acting out, sometimes in a virtually uncontrollable manner. This may continue for minutes, hours, or in some cases longer (maybe even days). The only thing I can equate it to is saying this; think about a time in your life when you've been more scared, worried, or afraid than you thought you could imagine, remember the confusion you felt, how choices were difficult, and how you didn't know what to do, often reacting how your first instinct told you to. Someone with AS may go through this on a regular basis. An additional component common to many Aspergians is that they have difficulty with empathy. It's not a natural emotion that many have, and in some cases they struggle with abstract concepts like "right and wrong" (they see them as abstract because they are conceptual). This is where the teaching begins, but sometimes it simply has to be taught to them in the simple terms of what's legal and illegal. Firm rules are something they can understand, actually they like them the most in daily living, but when the anxiety peaks, all cards are off the table.

Because Aspergians are so bright and so aware of themselves, as they grow they will often figure out a way to mask their anxiety to most people, but it's still there and will erupt at a time or in a place that they feel most comfortable. That's why you hear things like "He seems a little strange, but overall he is quiet, doesn't say much, seems like a nice person. Never would have imagined that about him."

One of the biggest issues with AS is that because it is primarily a social disorder, there are very poor treatment programs or access to help for those who either live with it or parent a child who has it. And, to make matters worse, the current DSM-V has eliminated the diagnosis and replaced it with "High Functioning Austim Spectrum Disorder", and in some cases people will be diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Counselors don't know what to do. Public school teachers have little or no training. Doctors simply push anxiety medications. Mental health facilities put them in outpatient programs where they are seen maybe once a week for an hour, maybe once a month. Educationally, they may have a very hard time in the standard school setting but due to the education laws regarding inclusion, they don't have a choice but to accept these students into the student body while struggling to develop proper IEP plans. There are specialized schools for people with AS, but around here tuition will run anywhere from $30K-50K per year. If you can pay for it, you can have it, otherwise you are at the mercy of your public school to either choose to send the child there, or be told they have to because they are incompetent. Insurances dictate which clinicians you can visit, as well as whether or not visits are paid for. As a parent, you are left with many question, few answers, and a lot of struggles. Then, when they do reach adulthood, you have to hope that everything you taught them will provide a good framework for them to structure their lives and be successful. I suppose this is no different from any child.

When you have an AS child, a common theme (that you are told by social workers and counselors), is that one of your best avenues to follow in life to help your child get treatment is to hope they commit a crime and are imprisoned. The prison system has the resources to provide more extensive mental health treatment than is available to the public (unless, of course, you have a big fat checkbook).

So, knowing this, I can imagine and put a sort of "storyboard" to the hours or days leading up to this horrible, tragic event. At least what, in my mind, makes sense.

If it is indeed true that the young man was living with AS, and it contributed to his decision to commit this crime, this is not a gun control issue. It's a mental health issue and a tragic example of how our educational and medical system failed 20 children and 10 adults (including the Lanzas).

In addition to those lost at the school, my heart also breaks for Adam Lanza's mother who was eventually murdered by her own child. A child she was likely unable to help. And of course, for Adam Lanza who, in some way, felt so tortured, anxious, and "broken" that in his mind this decision made some shred of sense, enough sense that it went beyond a thought and became an action.

Note that in the last few paragraphs, our mental health and school systems are not equipped to help this man's child. Just so with Adam Lanza, and most all children with AS.

I Am Adam Lanza's Mother

In future posts, I am going to link to issues of gun control. I offer few if any words of my own, as I so often find that the articles I link to or passages I quote are far more eloquent than I am.

I post all of this, now and in future, only in the hope that I can put together something calm and reasoned, giving some information or hope in this tragedy.

End Of The World!

I love these end of the world scenarios! I don't believe any of them, but I really enjoy them immensely.

Now I have come up with my own twist on the end of the world. I am having so much fun with this, I just want to take days off from work to mess with it.
But since I can't, this little bit will have to do.

It goes like this...

Start with the strange fixation on zombies that has been going on for a while. Sure, there have been movies, comics, and jokes (no one takes a redneck seriously, until the zombie apocalypse). But there are actual products made, admittedly tongue in cheek. Such as zombie ammo, and zombie guns:

That right there is a Mossberg ZMB. Here's a link:

Mossberg ZMB Chainsaw Special Purpose

Big deal, well what happens when the U.S. government gets involved?

http://www.hhs.gov/open/initiatives/hhsinnovates/round4/cdczombies.html

Using the Zombie Apocalypse to get the public involved eh? Hmmmmm...

OK so we've established a rather odd national fixation on zombies. Remember that, it's item one.

Now we have the Mayan calendar. You all know about that, I'm not even going to link anything. The world will end on December 21, 2012. OK, got that? It's item two.
Related to this is item three, many people are saying that the Mayan calendar does not mark the end of the world, but a kind of rebirth into an enlightened, better world. Uh huh!

Now on to item four, the approach of the planet Nibiru! Basically, there's a huge-ass planet that orbits close to the earth every 3,000 some odd years. Here's a Russian video about it:

Nibiru approaches

Some say Nibiru is actually Nemesis. You can look that up yourself.
So this looks like a bunch of crap right? Well maybe. But here's a NASA employee talking about it:

NASA Employee Speaks About Nibiru

So, when Nibiru goes by, the following will happen:

• The earth's poles will shift.
• The earth will be bombed with huge meteorites and asteroids.
• Floods
• Other natural disasters of all types.
• And now, refer to item one. Anyone getting caught in the magnetic field of Nibiru will have their brains turn to mush. They'll be drooling idiots wetting themselves. What does that sound like? ZOMBIES!

So we will have zombies stumbling around the surface of a blasted lanscape. Sure sounds like item two, the end of the world.
Ah but there will likely be people in underground bunkers who survive quite well. Preppers, Survivalists, call them what you want, they are the ones that will survive with brains intact.

Like these folks:

Family Survival

Here are some shelter links:

Vivos

Or build on your own: Underground Shelter

So when Nibiru (item four) goes by, the prepared folks will be in their underground shelters and survive. When they emerge, they will be faced with brain fried zombies (item one) from Nibiru's magnetic field. Seems like those zombie guns and bullets will indeed be needed.
But survive they will.
So the folks who claim the Mayan calendar predicts an enlightened age (item three), they may be right. But it will not be an enlightened age born of Birkenstock urban progressives. It will be born of Preppers and Survivalists.
And a final relationship, some predict that Nibira will pass close enough for the problems to start right around December 21, 2012. So the Mayans may have called it after all.

So these diverse predictions, planets, and fixations are all related!

And me without an underground shelter. Crap.

Working Joe vs. Welfare Joe

Another email tale that has been making the rounds for years.
Some are exactly the same, except it's Joe Legal vs. Joe Illegal. Now that one is way off base, as illegals are not fully eligible for welfare bennies as the comparison would have you believe.
But this one is fairly accurate, except for the author being a bit math challenged right at the beginning.

WORKING JOE vs. WELFARE JOE 

You have two families: " WORKING JOE " vs " WELFARE JOE ". Both families have two parents, two children, and live in New York . 

WORKING Joe works in construction, has a Social Security Number and makes $25.00 per hour with taxes deducted. 
Welfare Joe does not work, has a Social Security Number, and gets paid $15.00 per hour "without leaving the house". 

Ready? Now pay attention... 

Working Joe : $25.00 per hour x 40 hours = $1000.00 per week, or $52,000.00 per year. 
Now take 30% away for local, state, and federal taxes. 
Working Joe now has $31,231.00 net.. 

Welfare Joe : $15.00 per hour x 40 hours = $600.00 per week, or $31,200..00 per year. Welfare Joe pays no taxes. Welfare Joe now has $31,200.00 net. 

Working Joe pays medical and dental insurance with limited coverage for his family at $600.00 per month, or $7,200.00 per year. Working Joe now has $24,031.00 net. 

Welfare Joe has full medical and dental coverage through Medicaid and local free clinics at a cost of $0.00 per year. Welfare Joe still has $31,200.00 net. 

Working Joe makes too much money and is not eligible for welfare. Working Joe pays $500.00 per month for food, or $6,000.00 per year. Working Joe now has $18,031

net. 

Welfare Joe has no documented income and is eligible for welfare. Welfare Joe still has $31,200.00 net. 

Working Joe pays rent of $1,200..00 per month, or $14,400.00 per year. Working Joe now has $9,631.00 net. 

Welfare Joe receives a $500.00 per month federal rent subsidy. Welfare Joe pays out that $500.00 per month, or $6,000.00 per year. Welfare Joe still has $31,200.00 net. 

Working Joe pays $200.00 per month, or $2,400.00 for auto insurance.. Working Joe now has $7,231...00 net. 

Welfare Joe says, "We don't need no stinkin' insurance!" and still has $31,200.00 net. 

Working Joe has to make his $7,231.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, etc. 

Welfare Joe has to make his $31,200.00 stretch to pay utilities, buy gas, prepaid cell phone card, (alcohol/cigarettes) and play at the Casino. 

Working Joe now works overtime on Saturdays or gets a part time job after work. 

Welfare Joe has nights and weekends off to enjoy with his family and friends. 

Working Joe and Welfare Joe's c hildren attend the same school.

Working Joe pays for his children's lunches while Welfare Joe's children get a government sponsored lunch.

Working Joe's children go home after school, while Welfare Joe's children have an after school program provided free. 

Working Joe and Welfare Joe both enjoy the same police and fire services, but working Joe paid for them with his taxes and Welfare Joe did not.

The numbers may be off a bit. For example 70% of 52k is about $36,400. But the overall idea of this is spot on.
Now, some folks out there may claim that I am a racist. Go ahead, I don't give a rat's ass. The race card is dog eared and no longer has much bite.
Some may claim that this is all preposterous. The ravings of a right wing loon making crap up. Well Che, when my wife and I first married, we lived in a very low rent apartment complex with a large percentage of section 8's (welfare folk in CT getting housing assistance). Mostly white, so suck it on any racist attacks.

I can tell you from that first hand experience that welfare recipients in CT get some pretty hefty bennies. Housing assistance, heating assistance, medical paid, food stamps, school meals, and God only knows what else.
Well, OK, the kid's need shelter and food and so on, and they are innocent in all this, so shouldn't be punished. But consider that those kids grow up to be on welfare, and their kids, and so on. We have several generations of welfare recipients. They know no other life.

Here's a little story to illustrate how utterly corrupt and foul the system is:
One of our neighbors in the aforementioned apartment complex had two kids, each from a different father. She was not married to either, but was currently dating another guy. One day, while chatting with us, she said that if she had a third child, the state would rent her a house. She really wanted a house, so she was considering getting pregnant so she could get one. But she really wasn't sure she wanted a child by her then current boyfriend.
She thought nothing of this. She spoke about it in the same way that we would talk about considering a car purchase. She simply considered welfare to be the way things were, and she would take advantage of whatever was offered.
That was one woman among how many thousands upon thousands?
There are other stories I could tell you about those days, but in the end, all that matters is that I saw and experienced first hand the waste that is the welfare state.

Here is a breakdown of the CT budget.

Where Your State Tax Dollar Goes

Granted, Medicaid is huge, but man there's a lot for programs such as the one our former neighbor was milking.

Don't give me any crap about helping the poor. President Johnson had the best of intentions when he foisted the Great Society on this country, but the end result is a disaster. Poverty is still huge, and no, it's NOT Bush's fault. Hunger, disease, crime, all no better. A permanent underclass has been created, and continues being bred, on and on. We have institutionalized poverty, and enslaved generations to welfare, just so some of us can smugly say "look at all we are doing to help the poor." Don't throw your shoulders out reaching around to pat yourselves on the back.

I offer no thoughts on fixing the problem here. There are many ideas out there, by men and women far smarter than me. I will at some point in the future link to some of those ideas, but for now, this post states the problem that desperately needs to be solved.

Global Warming is Crap XVI

Getting close to the end of 2012. I guess with the Mayan calendar being true and all, this whole thing is moot right?

I once again came across some old articles that I don't want to leave out, even though some are two years old at this point. Also, I admit I'm covering some of the same ground once in a while, but it just makes clearer the fact that this info has been out there in several places for years, but ignored.

Here's a fellow who felt that the warmies would finally be exposed due to proof of a central clique that protects it's own with no regard to truth. Well, I'm afraid he overestimated the power the warmies hold over many governments, media, and overaged flowerchildren.

Phil Jones reinstated

And from Canada, a mathematical argument against some global warming claims.

The Carbon Cycle and Royal Society

Here's something a bit more recent, and a truly excellent source for global warming info. This is another person who truly researches, while I just link to articles.

Global Warming Due to Solar Activity

Turned out the sea level change was doctored. Lying as only warmies can do.

Research Reveals Sea Level Adjusted

Well, well, well. Now I've seen it all. NASA data turns against the warmies? How did this ever get out?

NASA Data

You know how the Antarctic ice is melting right? Of course you do, we hear about it a lot. Proof of the global warming caused end times. Um, about that ice:

Antarctic Sea Ice Sets a Record

Time after time, over and over, the warmies are proven wrong. But you will rarely hear of it, because that message doesn't fit with the media money making message, which of course is that we are all in peril and you need to stay tuned to "learn" more.

Political Divorce Agreement

This was supposedly written by a college student. I haven't found anything to verify or contradict that claim. I don't know if the person credited as being author is accurate.
But I do know that it is pretty cool, and though several years old, is fitting for this day of secession talk.
I don't agree with 100% of it, but most is spot on.
Read and enjoy, or spit your latte all over your quiche.

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al: We have stuck together since the late 1950's for the sake of the kids, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship

has clearly run its course.

Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right for us all, so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable  differences and go our own way.

Here is a model separation agreement:

--Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a similar portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

--We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them.

--You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU.

--Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military.

--We'll take the nasty, smelly oil industry and you can go with wind, solar and biodiesel.

--You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell. You are, however, responsible for finding a  bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.

--We'll keep capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street.

--You can have your beloved lifelong welfare dwellers, food stamps,

homeless, homeboys, hippies, druggies and illegal aliens.

--We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks.

--We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood .

--You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.

--You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

--We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.

--You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, political correctness and Shirley McClain.  You can also have the U.N. but we will no longer be paying the bill.

--We'll keep the SUV's, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Volt and Leaf you can find.

--You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors.

--We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.

--We'll keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "The National Anthem."

--I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute "Imagine", "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", "Kum Ba Ya" or "We Are the World".

--We'll practice trickle-down economics and you can continue to give trickle up poverty your best shot.

--Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.

Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like-minded liberal and conservative  patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete.

In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you answer which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.

Sincerely,

John J. Wall

Law Student and an American

P.S. Also, please take Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin & Charlie Sheen, Barbara Streisand, & ( Hanoi ) Jane Fonda with you.

P.S.S. And you won't have to press 1 for English when you call our country.

I Will Not Vote Democrat Nor Republican

I wrote a short piece for a political symposium, and I reprint it here.
Unfortunately, like most everything I write, I had little time to really think carefully about my words. I certainly couldn't edit it. I just had to knock it out as quick as possible, much like these blog posts.

But here it is:

In 1976, a few days after my 18^th birthday, I registered Republican. I’ve always voted Republican for president until Ross Perot in 1992. I voted Republican again until 2008, when I wrote in Ron Paul, as I saw no use in either Obama or McCain. I firmly believed a popular slogan at the time that went like this:

“Either way we’re screwed”.

This election- I plan to vote for Gary Johnson.

Why the change? From 1976 on, I always liked the Republican candidate, and disliked the Democrat. Simple. Then, in 1992, I suddenly found myself not liking either candidate. Something was very wrong, as both Bush and Clinton seemed strangely ‘programmed,’ not quite in touch with reality (though Clinton was very adept at manipulating feelings). Along came Ross Perot, and I saw someone outside of the country club, trying to crash the gate. He alone seemed to actually address the economy in an honest, intelligent way. I voted for Bob Dole in 1996, simply because he deserved a few votes, even if he couldn’t win.

Following that was George W Bush (Dubya). I actually liked him, though not as much as any previous Republican presidential candidates. Though he seemed like a bit of a decline in quality, he was not too bad overall. And he was certainly superior to Gore, though that was not much of a challenge. By the next election, it was clear that Dubya wasn’t really a conservative, and I found myself being ambivalent about his presidency. Still, I considered Kerry to be a real stinker. And so that was my first real “lesser of two evils” election. I was still only vaguely aware of third parties, and I didn’t really understand them, nor did I agree with them at the time, based on what little I knew.

As I gradually switched my news source from television and newspapers to the internet, I found that the information in front of me had become much more diverse. As I learned and branched out more, I became aware of other parties, especially the Libertarian party. This switch was not wholly on purpose. I just found that I could get more news here and there on the internet during workbreaks than having to sit and dedicate blocks of time to the tube or paper. But what a great intellectual liberation it was to see news about my country from foreign news sources and not have to depend on all the carefully scripted scraps our own sources allow us to see. What a pleasure to simply visit fark.com and drudgereport.com and read news sourced from around the world, and from those with differing points of view. How great it is to log into my faceboook and Twitter accounts, and see links to articles from authors I would never have found otherwise.

And therein lays the reason I am voting for Gary Johnson. I have been the recipient of information that has made me far more knowledgeable about world affairs and our very broken political system. With this new understanding comes the realization that it is absolutely imperative that I contribute to fixing that broken system as best I can. It’s that simple.

The more you learn about the world, the further you can get away from the talking heads and “newsmakers” who will try to manipulate you, the more you will find that the DNC and GOP are not in the game for you, nor our country, but only for power. The clearer it will become to you that the duopoly must be shattered and other voices heard.

No one who relies on television and newspapers will ever know this.

This is frightening

This must be stopped.
Please, tell everyone about this. Write your government reps at all levels.

This is the worst thing to come out of our government ever. Think of history, think where this will likely lead.

Homeland Security graduates it's first class of FEMA youth

Supposedly for disaster relief right? Then why the guns, massive ammo purchases, armored vehicles?

The One referenced this back in '08. Never heard about it again after this little speech, though Rhambo did love the idea.

FEMA Youth, a warning sign years ago

We are in serious trouble. Don't think for a New York minute that these full time paid youth are only for natural disasters. What, you need a gun and armored vehicles to rescue people?

UPDATE: 5 November 2012

There are several articles out there that report related information. There are some that are not directly related, but report about similar programs or indirectly related info. I'll keep poking around and repost them here.

An article about a similar Boy Scouts program:

Scouts Training

In the next link, it's no surprise that an Eagle Scout has been chosen. I don't know if this fellow attended the type of training mentioned in the above link. But I'd like to find out.
As an aside, I remember years ago hearing some liberal folk talking about how the Boy Scouts preps youth for the military, brainwashes them, and so on. I dismissed it as crazy left wing rants It seems I haven't heard such talk since The One took office, so I have to believe that libs would have no problem with the Scouts performing paramilitary training now if only they would accept gays. And yet, now is when the Scouts are truly trained for war and paramilitary. I never saw this way back, though I have no idea when it really started.
Anyway, here is the possible connection.

Eagle Scout Accepted

On a different front, we see here that the Department of Homeland Security has an open order for up to 450 million rounds of bullets. You may not believe this, you may say that this article is simply not true.

DHS buys 450 million bullets

Before you dismiss this, here is a message from a Congressman regarding the purchase.

DHS buys in bulk

OK, buying in bulk makes sense. I actually like the overall idea of doing this. But did you note that FEMA is one of the organizations to receive some of these bullets?
Also, these are big damn bullets. And hollow point. Man these are serious killer rounds!

OK, big deal, 450 million over 5 years would work out to 3 or 4 rounds per person per day.
Yes but those aren't the only purchases.
DHS is also looking for 175 million rifle rounds.

.233 caliber bid

Hmmm, put this all together with one of many executive orders and a very nasty picture emerges.
Here is the order itself, if you would like to read it.

Executive order

Here is an article that explains the order. Also, these folks have done an excellent job in putting together links to other nasty orders and laws. If you are in a hurry, just read and click the links in the last paragraph of it.

Executive Order explained

OK, now maybe I'm connecting dots where there are no dots. But I see it this way.
Obama signs an Executive Order basically allowing full Martial Law and the total revocation of all your rights and property. And it isn't truly clear what would trigger this.
The Boy Scouts have been running armed response drills for years.
FEMA now graduates a 'youth corps' that can be armed and is trained. Possible connection to the Boy Scout drills?
DHS orders millions of rounds of bullets. Some slated for FEMA.

I really see something emerging.

Now here is a website for Police Chiefs. This particular page is about ordering cool stuff like armored vehicles. Note the Q&A.

Police Chief magazine article

FEMA authorization? Note the third paragraph of the first Q. Last couple of sentences. Needing an excuse are we?

As a small aside, if you didn't click the link, here is the FEMA first responder knowledge base. Terrorism and violent extremism portals. Clearly, FEMA is indeed working hand in hand with DHS, FBI, etc.

FEMA knowledge base

Who can we trust anymore?

Global Warming is Crap XV

2012 saw some great articles exposing the myth of global warming. So, I really want to catch up!

But I found a few interesting bits from 2009 and 2010, and I just don't want to go on without posting them.

Here's one from 2009 again (I really thought I was past that). The Goreacle, head of the all knowing AlGorian religious sect (aka "warmies"), pulled a slide from his most perfect show because, well, it was off base.

Gore pulls slide of disaster trend

Here are three articles, the one from 2009, the two from 2010, showing that the rising seas aren't rising so much. Have you heard of this yet? No? I'm not surprised.

Note that this first is from the NYT, a leftie publication that one would NOT expect to publish such things:

Study halves prediction of rising sea levels

And this Reuters article:

UN climate panel admits flaw

And another about changing their minds:

Climate scientists withdraw journal claim

Now, pay special attention to this next article. Note that it is from 2010. Just a few days ago (from this post), an article was published admitting the same thing. Why is this still news 2 years later? Could it be that most so called journalists don't want to argue against global warming, but instead want to continue scaring us with it? And facilitate the making of big money for their buddy Al Gore? AND offer an excuse for more and more government control, right up to UN world regulation?
Yup.

Climategate U turn

Remember, this is admitted to again.

Global Warming is Crap XIV

I'm starting off here with 4 little tidbits, and finishing up with 2 great articles.

Well well, an audacious idea to save the world from certain doom. Or, maybe just a bunch of idiots. Highly educated, but still idiots.

Solar shield to reduce earth's temperature

This is just a little reminder of how government screws things up and ends up costing us all more money. Remember the cash for clunkers program? If so, you know it was a joke of a solution, but did you know that you had to pay taxes on your $4500?

Surprise Tax

Al Gore can be trusted, really he can. He has always had nothing in mind but saving the world and humanity. If ever anyone deserved a Nobel prize, it's world saviour Al Gore, yessiree.

Gore's dual role

Progressives (what a cute name they chose after Liberal became a bad word), detest Senator Inhofe. Call him all sorts of things ranging from various rabid versions of "stupid" to "evil." Suck it, because as you can see from the transcripts here, he predicted an event such as Climategate about 5 years before it happened. He knew what you warmies were about and how you behave.

Committee on Environment

And now,

Climate change is natural 

And now to wrap this post up, a short article from Science Daily.

The answer to the question is "no"

And so much for these links "being solidly into 2010."

Book: Luna Last of the Pagan Goddesses

The book is by Beau Allen Pacheco.

I haven't read this book yet, but I've read some non fiction stuff by the writer, and he's good. This is, in fact, his first shot at fiction.

Basically, Luna is a Roman goddess who reunites lost loves and she winds up in the 21st century, continuing her work. But, well, she's violent. Really violent. So don't get in her way.

There's not a lot more I can say about Beau or the book that isn't better written on the book's website.

So here's the link:

Luna Website

By the way, I'm not getting any kickback for this. I just like the guy and expect this to be a kick ass book.
However, I myself came across it from a Google ad, and you'll notice there's Google ads to the left. It's entirely possible that you'll see an ad for this book there. No need to click it, as it will take you to the same place as my link.

I have already emailed him asking to make an audio version, in addition to the paperback and Kindle now available.

Global Warming is Crap XIII

Take a look at this bright idea:

Cloud Ship Scheme

Did you happen to read some of the other great ideas to reduce global warming? See, this is another reason that the warmies are so bad for us all. Not only are they spending unspeakable sums trying to solve a problem that is at worst not very bad, and closing power plants and eliminating jobs, but they actually propose to do something that actively combats the non-existent threat. Imagine that they succeed in building these things, or similar. I suspect they won't do diddly, but who knows, maybe they will work as planned and we can have another year without summer.

Here we see why the above is so disgusting. Global Cooling anyone? Oh, and before any of you warmies dismiss this article, you may want to really read it and see that it's not written by Rush Limbaugh:

The mini ice age starts here

The first paragraph is pretty much all you need to read on the following, though you should continue. Warmies lie, then claim everyone else is. It's the way of the warmie:

Glacier scientist says he knew data had not been verified

Ah yes, the warmies base their claims on solid science, and the skeptics on pseudo science. After all, mountain climbers and college students are renowned the world over for unmatched exactitude  and rigorous, objective data analysis:

UN Climate change basis

Another return to those good ol' emails.
"Hey, you believe in global warming?"
"Yes I do."
"Great, this study shows it's true."
"Well, then it must be true."
"That's just what I was thinking."
Peer review my ass.

Climate change emails reveal flaw in peer review

That's it for now. At least I'm solidly into 2010.

Gary Johnson

Not sure about Romney nor Obama? Maybe don't like either?

You need to watch this short video. It's a real eye opener:

Gary Johnson

GM Bailout

The Democrats love to crow about how successful the auto bailouts were. I've noticed they particularly mention GM. Well of course, Chrysler was handed over to Fiat (percent ownership is a detail), but GM is truly Government Motors!

Here is an article that does a great job explaining the reality:

Democrat's GM Fallacy

In the face of this truth, it is interesting to go back to a discussion of this very subject in 2008:

Bailouts: Where to draw the line?

Notice that the two auto companies discussed were GM and Ford. Note that GM got the bailout, and is still not viable, while Ford avoided bailouts, and is doing fairly well (certainly making much better vehicles).

Ford Focus may become world's best seller

But on the GM side:

GM using sub prime loans to drive sales


Chrysler is now led by Sergio Marchionne of Fiat, and a great job he seems to be doing!

Chrysler Sales

GM sales are not so bad, in part due to the sub prime loans and the fact that the federal govt including the military is buying GM cars almost exclusively. But the fundamentals are no better than they were before the bailout so it's a pretty good bet that it'll crash again. Pray they don't get another bailout.

Global Warming is Crap X11

Once again, I let myself fall far behind.
I love this topic though, so I keep on with it. These are all old news here. I suppose I should just let these go and focus on new items. But it's interesting to see old news and compare it to what's happening now. So, I'll post these dusty tidbits.

President Obama had only 4 years to save us all from doom. Well, he aint no Jesus, so he has failed to save us all, with just one year left of human life on earth.
Obama has four years to save us

This is also from 2009, and is not directly related to global warming. But it gives a little insight into the fact that climate is measured over long periods of time, and yelling about one or two incidents just makes you look silly:

year without summer?

Now we know that both sides throw numbers around. But here again, from 2009, we see that the debate has never been "over." The numbers change, up and down, but never ended.

Climate change debate

Boy, I'm just stuck in 09 aint I? It is kind of neat to look back on some of these articles and see that we have indeed been putting up with this crap for too long.

Polar bears are not dying

An admission that there are causes we simply don't know:

Past warming shows gaps in our knowledge

So, uh, how they doin' with this eh?

Britains carbon tax

Old news here too. You've heard about the emails that showed attempts to silence those who were non believers? Did you ever read any quotes from those messages? Very scary, and sad:

Climate emails

If you sit and wonder why we've done little about global warming, well, warmies are liars.

NASA coverup

Anyone remember the coming ice age in the 70's? I was young, but I remember hearing about it. Boy was that scary! Oh, and, uh, WRONG!

Forbes: coming ice age

Hah! But going the other way is dandy I suppose:

Copenhagen climate talks

Now here we see that even after being caught red handed, the warmies can't stop lying and threatening. And they continue to get away with it!

Climategate & George Monbiot

Back to Copenhagen in '09, a leaked paper. Ooooh, secret cool stuff:

Copenhagen leak


There are many more links on my list. Some as old as these. I'll put them up in the future. And this time, I'll keep going enough to catch up in this year.

The Ant and the Grasshopper - Again

For years, there's been emails going around telling two versions of the old ant & grasshopper story. The "new versions" varied little.
But this one is the most extensive and detailed new version I've yet seen. I think it's quite suitable for posting.
From this one, all the way back to the first one ever written, these are great.
I include the old one just in case you are unfamiliar with the original.

OLD

VERSION

The ant works hard in

the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and

well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE

OLD STORY:

Be responsible

for yourself!

MODERN VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving..

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC

show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper

is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green...'

Occupy the Anthill stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the SEIU group singing,

We shall overcome.

Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright

has the group kneel down to pray for the grasshopper's sake,

while he damns the ants.

President Obama condems the ant and blames

President Bush 43,

President Bush 41, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight..

Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid

exclaim in an interview with Larry

King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper,

and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity &

Anti-Grasshopper Act

retroactive to the beginning of

the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them bec ause the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and peaceful, neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Be careful how you vote in 2012.

Larry King can be found on Hulu as of this writing:

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/articles/20120827larry-king-missed-asking-questions.html