Will Obama Continue The "LIE"?

A recent reminder I received about the movement of Iraq's uranium stockpile to Canada made me think harder about the future of our foreign policy now with Hillary Clinton soon to be running the State Department. The big BUSH LIED-PEOPLE DIED story about WMD has been a lost due in part the success we now have in Iraq, and with the Economy taking front page. While it was a major platform for the anti-war movement that put Obama in the political spotlight, the war and why we went in to Iraq will be debated for years to come. Will Obama continue the fiction, or will he, now that he is privy to the truth, also protect the former administrations from public scrutiny? This is the problem with the new Clinton administration sequel. The truth that we supplied Saddam, a vicious dictator with the means to mass murder his own people with weapons we provided, and the fact that it took a war to insure those same weapons would not come back to our soil and kill us, becomes a public relations hot potato for any president. Even Bill Clinton knew the truth. Don't let history get overwritten, take 10 minutes and watch the video I have posted below. In his own words Bill Clinton, husband to our future Secretary of State, and former celebrity president tells us all how serious the threat Saddam was, now multiply that times 911.

Sunburst Through The Clouds

Cleaning up my photos I noticed a set of shots taken just west of Silverton, where the sun was peeking through the clouds and the field rolled into the distance. None of them had the right exposure but his one was close enough to post. You can barely make out the irrigation in the shot.

Folding Display

Samsung demonstrates a folding display for portable electronics, I hope Apple considers such an idea, my iPod touch would be twice as awesome with twice the screen, I could flip it open into a mini multi-touch net-book! Ok, yeah I'm dreaming again.

Tip Courtesy of Mike Elgan

Daddies Still Swinging

This weekend I took my kids to see the Daddies play in Eugene at the WOW hall. This was the first time Karmann & Isaiah had been to see them. I have taken Nathan before, I think as young as 8 years old if the venue was accommodating to kids. As is normal in Eugene there were several abnormal encounters that made the trip memorable. First there was a drunk guy who was very friendly and talkative while we were waiting in line at the door, and was eager to share the story of how he found some sh*t at the door and it smelled like diesel fuel. He proceeded to inform us that he saved the place my removing the potentially flaming poo, and it was a good thing because it could have exploded. Once we were allowed entry we enjoyed the opening acts The Bad Mitten Orchestre & Vagabond Opera both were extremely entertaining, and loadded with talent. During the show we were frequently distracted by harmonica woman, who was fevereshly blowing on two harmonicas alternately during every performance. She would forcably push here way to the front of the stage and attempt to sit on stage as if she were part of the band. A few times she even stood on stage or sat near the the edge of the stage until being asked to get down. Vagabond Opera even gave her props for adding to the experience, but I found her rude unsolicitated addtion to be annoying. Regardless as always the Daddies delivered a energy filled performance and I am looking forward to there next appearance in Feburary.

We Are A Republic!

Begin Deprogramming

Wind Turbine Syndrome

It has for years been the oil industry out to get us, and then fears of nuclear melt down, the clean hydroelectric power has now been exempt from 'green' status because it impacts salmon, now wh have Wind Turbine Syndrome to put a stop to the evil wind farm corporations looking to turn a profit while delivering a deadly dose of vertigo to unsuspecting rural residents. When will the suffering and the horror subside.

For every thing that appears to benefit society, some whack job group forms to jeopardize our progress in the name of some minority's self interest. www.wind-watch.org is one of these groups, and you can expect that they will do what they can to drive up the cost of developing this new resource in the name of there lopsided agenda.

Salute Our Veterans

Surplus Electricity Good, WRONG

So here it begins... All those wind farms are now starting to make a noticeable difference in our electrical supply in the Pacific Northwest. It seems that unexpected surges in wind production mean other forms of power production must slow down or the green energy is all for not.

Here's the rub, see normally in a free market, higher supply than demand means we the consumer realize lower prices. Right? Wrong! Here in the socialist republic of Oregon it seems the solution is cut hydro production by dumping dam water or subsidizing carbon producing power generatoin so the coal and natural gas power plants don't go out of business.

Nice, So all these customers who invested in higher rates to help build a wind farm now get to subsidize the coal plants.

This is another reason why Nuclear is the key. No carbon, no salmon impact, minimal landscape impact. But not with this adminstration. No way.

Obama Win Not Paying Off Already

ACORN in ACTION

Projection to Prediction to Prosperity

While I am vehemently opposed to Barack Obama's politics, the projected results of the election will deliver at minimum one positive change worth noting for America. For Obama to become the first African American President, no longer with our young black youth have the burden of doubt that they are capable of great things. My hope for our country is that this will elevate that message in every minority community.

History will show this moment as pivotal, in both the issue of race, and the direction of our economy. God willing let the latter be a as positive as the former.

Now Be Patriotic And Pay Your Taxes!

Capitalist vs Socialist LIVE Transformational Map

Getting Raked Over The Coal

49% of US Electrical Production relies on COAL, Do they support any use of Coal?









How will you afford your electricity in these economic times?

Obama IS a Voter Fraud

I am not a closed minded conservative, I watch more than just Fox News, I read more than just the National Review, and I have friends (or at least I hope they will remain my friends through this) that are supporting Barack Obama.

Today, while trying to stomach another one of his deceitful speeches. While I could go on about the spin in today's rally speech, but what shocked me the most was his continued push for early voting.

We have had for the most part, elections in this great nation, every 2 years, without fail, with little issue, and with everyone's vote getting counted. Democratic operatives are out talking about voter disenfranchising, and yet Obama, at his speech today, in front of THOUSANDS, recommends they go down the street, and vote early.

Not only is this impractical, it is irresponsible. He said "They are open until 5pm" and went on to say "If your in line before 5, they have to let you vote"

So the volenteers, who love our country enough to come in on a Sunday, to help folks who have to work on Tuesday vote early, will be innodated by a bunch of Obama ralley attendees down the road, that are pumped up by Obama's speech, and want to vote early, not because they have a need to vote early, but because Obama, in his arrogant, self centered quest for power, knows, he will acomplish two goals. Insure votes, while disenfranshising voters who may have already planned on voting Sunday for McCain, but since the lines will be hours long thanks to Obama, they may not get the chance.

This is the kind of leadership, America does NOT need.

Diddy Don't Know Duck

Hip Hop Republican gives Diddy the smack down regarding this clip.


Now Click to jump down to my Ugly Duckling Post, Ditty Don't Know Duck

You can't take it with you.

Let's take a break from politics for a minute because another opinion I love to rant about is all the subscription services that are being pushed our way. I can remember when we would go out and sell magazine subscriptions for fundraisers, and I can recall when I got my first cell phone bill. Paying for a land line phone, cable TV, and then adding a cell phone at the time was a big deal. Then we add on internet access, and some people subscribing for XM radio, OnStar, and more recently the popularity of mobile broadband. All these subscription services pile on top of one another and can begin to overtake even your monthly transportation budget. There is a term for this being discussed by other bloggers "Subscription Overload"

One way I cut back, after realizing every member of the family had a cell phone, was like many, we eliminated the land line phone. While this is an option for some, depending on who you call your mobile plan may not keep up with all the peak minutes.

With the economy slowing and energy costs rising, families are trying to find ways to trim budgets and yet keep connected. One recent story posted by Mike Elgan suggests that even laptops will come down in price to as low as $99! This would be attractive but theres a catch, like your fancy new cell phone, your laptop would be subsidized by the data carrier you would be obligated to 'subscribe' to get online. This built in mobile broadband, while convienient, could cost you a 2 year obligation, and who knows what the monthly rate will be. I looked into mobile broadband, but could not justify the cost, at around $60 per month, it was another monthly expense that I can as of yet, live without.

Where devices and providers need to converge is a way to take your connection with you, without having to pay for an additional monthly contract. Avis recently began offering a mobile WiFi solution with rental cars, that you have a portable 'HotSpot' so you can connect all your WiFi enabled devices while you travel. Your kids can stay connected wile driving, you GPS may be able to get traffic updates, and you can grab your stock quotes or weather data on your iPod touch, and the whole family can share it, just like at home.

My suggestion, is handset makers and mobile carriers should add WiFi access points as a feature for our cell phones. This way we can take our data connection with us and share it! While Verizon offers a tethering option for the blackberry, who wants to have to string your laptop and phone together. We always have our phone with us, and what good is an unlimited data plan on the phone if you have to go and upgrade your laptop to an unlimited data plan as well, are you honestly using both connections at the same time? One side effect if only one parent's phone is the hot spot, the kids would want to spend more time around dad, right?

A friend has AT&T and she claims they offer a radio option to stream XM radio on her blackberry. If radio programs, internet, and phone service can be delivered on one device, wouldn't that expand the market for AT&T or Verizon if they offered packages that bundle one device and one bill to feed all your other devices data and media. You could then finally 'Take it with you!'

America, How Does it Feel?

So America, how does it feel to have a candidate spend millions of dollars to speak to you directly, without filter, without rebuttal, and without a wink, lie to your face?
Obama in this 30 minutes told you he was going to cut taxes for those under 200K, just weeks after he told you he was going to cut taxes for those under 250K, so he was lying to those who were between the 200 & 250 range, and some may have already cast there votes.. Remember Vote Early!

Obama told America he was going to help a retired couple afford medicine, a mother with kids, they can afford snacks, and a Ford worker he was going to find help when the Ford plant shuts down. I am sure Ford won't have any trouble keeping the plant open with the heavier tax burden on them, and the new fuel standards.

Obama told us he is going to rebuild our military, when his own plaform calls for cuts in military spending. Who knew he had the ablity to rebuild and reduce the budget.

All I can say is WoW? How gullable is the electorate? Sadly I think very.

Obama Infomercial 1/2 Variety Hour

Mr. Obama says: “We’ve seen over the last eight years how decisions by a president can have a profound effect on the course of history and on American lives; much that’s wrong with our country goes back even farther than that.”

While Obamas plans for American include higher taxes on the wealthy, and more government programs, nither of these ideas are new, and both of these ideas have been done. When spending increases combine with penalties for the wealthiest americans we histirically have moved from recesson to depression. What is wrong with America, is we fail to learn from the past.

He goes on to say: “We’ve been talking about the same problems for decades and nothing is ever done to solve them. For the past 20 months, I’ve traveled the length of this country, and Michelle and I have met so many Americans who are looking for real and lasting change that makes a difference in their lives.”

So to fix all your troubles, Obama is going to squeeze more from an already progressive tax program to provide all your hopes and dreams. The same problems Americans have faced for decades will be solved by one man, and your trusted government. It just wasnt' big enough.. yet.

Thanks Obama!

Ugly Duck

Why is the obvious not objectionable?

"If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands."
-- Douglas Adams

Barack Obama has done a great job of running a campaign absent of any substance in regards to Obama himself, his true beliefs, and what he has envisioned for our country. His speeches are full of politically populist rhetoric on lowering taxes for average Americans, and fairness, without any substance or track record of every accomplishing any of these feats.

The politics aside, the most amazing aspect of this campaign remains how he has dodged his past association, even as they continue to stack up and reveal his true motives and philosophic views. His views for government are so far from our nations founding principals, and yet our media, with our so called freedom of the press, fails to illustrate to the electorate who Obama really is, and what he truly believes.

My only conclusion can be that the idea of socialism, and a more powerful government media complex has become a populist idea. The association with radical extremists, terrorist sympathizers, antisemitism, and religious extremists seems to have no effect on the electorate. Had a fraction these associations had been those of a prominent white politician, media would be in a frenzy.

First there was Tony Rezco, then Jeremiah Wright, then Lewis Farrakhan, then William Ayres, then Ralia Odinga Obama, and now, Rashid Khalidi. When will the 50% of Americans the polls show would vote for Obama WAKE UP?

On Rezco, Obama "didn't recall the conversaion" then "did recall", "Bone headed mistake"
On Wright, Obama "He was the Pastor of my church"
On Farrakhan, Obama gave him honorable mention in his book 'Dreams from my father'
On Ayres "He is just a guy in my neighborhood"
On Odinga ? Not comment? Not a word? Nobody asks him? Odinga is socialist, that may be why.
On Khalidi "He is a respected scholar" More of the truth HERE

While inexperience does not seem to sway the elctorate, it appears Obama's qualifcation is not what he is, but what he is NOT...president Bush! While McCains association with Bush is obvious and transparent, they are both Repulicans. Obama has more than a Look and Quack resembeling a socialist extremist, he is an ugly duckling!

Blogette

I have been following John McCain's daughter Meghan McCain's blog, the McCainBlogette.com because it brings to light the reality of the campaign trail, the humanity of the McCain family, and shows how mainstream even an old Republican like John McCain really is. Although I lean much further right of the mainstream, I have stated many times that McCain was not my 1st pick for the Republican candidate. I respect John McCain for his heroism, his love of country, and his policy ideas in comparison to the ultra left policy that is instore for us if Obama is elected.

If you are still undecided read Meghan's recent post about her dad, and consider doing some research on your own regarding Meghan's views. You will find her to be unlike what you would think of a Rebublican senators daughter. Browse her past posts for some great photos of what it is like to travel across the country in this great example of democracy in action.

Media Handicap

Sport are not my bag, but I know that when you play against an unfair advantage the underdog is often granted a handicap to even the playing field. Well in this spirit, the election should provide a handicap to McCain for the unfair press coverage his campaign has received in comparison with the favorable media coverage of the messiah Obama.

Journalism.org has published a non partisan study on the press coverage of the presidential campaign and has proven what has been known all along, that Obama's biggest endorsements have come from the major media outlets themselves. With this in mind and the 20 point positive coverage spread that Obama has received, he should handicap his lead in the election by at least half of that, and throw 10 points McCain's way. Looks like he is going to need it.

While I can understand that when the press actually asks tough questions then the Obama campaign will black list them from future interviews, but is this really freedom of the press?

This guy ROCKS

I don't even need to blog my own posts, this guy says it all, and with enthusiasm.

My New Spokesperson!

The Average Joe

I think Samuel Joseph Worzelbacher will get more than the cliche 15 minutes of fame he may have asked for. If that name doesn't sound familiar you may know him as "Joe the Plumber" and he was used as an example in the last presidential debate with a mention more than 22 times, several more times than the economy, or health care. The unfortunate thing for good'ole Joe is now the press is storming in to get interviews, and vetting his past like he himself is running for office. In an attempt to discredit his comments, they have determined he holds no plumbing license, and in fact owes back property taxes, both facts totally irrelevant to the conversation, and both facts he himself has no problem with. As I write, in an attempt to give poor Joe some backup, I realize that even I am allowing the media to distract us from the point that thrust Joe into the spotlight. Obama's comment. It wasn't average Joe that stirred the debate, it was the answer Obama delivered that has put the Democratic nominee on notice.

"I think that when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody," Obama told Wurzelbacher in response to a question about his tax policy.

What Joe immediately realized is Obama is in fact a socialist, and that agenda contradicts Obama's previous suggestion that he believes in the American Dream.

The social engineering that will come to play if Obama wins, and if the democrats secure a stronger hold on our legislative branch will crush prosperity. Entrepreneurs and investors will go running from our borders, the social programs will attract the rush of third world immigrants into our country like ants to sugar. The haves will flee and be replaced with the have-nots, then who will be left with the bill? If you doubt this prediction, look at the states with the highest immigration, they are blue states with the largest social programs.

China has had no problem loaning money to us, because our prosperity had until now insured a good return on investment. When the social agenda of the democratic majority starts to squash our business growth, that investment will turn to liability, and they will not only be reluctant to finance our exploding deficit, they will begin to ask for some principle in return.

Now pile the social welfare programs Obama has on his platform on top of the financial bail-out and the state of our nations economy and it spells a recipe for disaster. I don't believe we are on the path to another great depression, what I believe if Americans are sucked into Obama's hope and change message, it will be social suicide.

Yes Please, Good Measures In Oregon

Read the always exciting voters pamphlet information on the state ballot measures and was pleased with most of them for a change. I always know they are good ideas when there is one or two arguments in favor, and then 3 or 4 pages of opposition commentary from every union, organization, and bureaucracy in the state. If some of these get passed our courts will be busy overriding the voters again this year.

There are 8 of them so here is my synopsis and my vote, would love to read your comments.

54 - voter eligibility for school board elections, simply YES PLEASE
55 - legislators finish term in same district after redistricting..YES PLEASE
56 - Tax Elections! Omits requirement of over 50% turnout.. NO! Sneaky guys, trying to make it easier to raise taxes... not so fast. VOTE NO, unless you want 51% of a fractional mid-term May election turn out to result in your property taxes to get a surprise hike.
57 - Sounds good, increase sentences, but read the fine print, also prescribes treatment programs, and riskes a conflict with Measure 61 - Vote NO on 57
58 - English Teaching Non English Students - YES - English Always
59 - Deduct federal taxes on state return - YES PLEASE! Lower my taxes!
60 - Merit pay and Merit retention for teachers - OH, YES, look at all the union opposition to this one. This is how you get around the political palm greasing of the unions, put it on the ballot! VOTE YES, YES, YES, Who wouldn't want to give a good teacher a raise? HELLO?
61 - VOTE NO on 57, YES on 61 - This is the peoples lock-em-up measure. Do it!
62 - Allocation of lottery - The lottery is corrupt, so I don't want public safety counting on a voluntary tax system. I'm voting NO
63 - Exempts building permits for small improvements, Hell Yeah! Build me a shanty in the back yard, let farmer john build a pole barn. Why not, permits smermits, VOTE YES. Seriously, stop the permit racket from killing our freedoms.
64 - Penalty for public resources fundraising for political purpose, YES, I think so.
65 - Election process in nominations, NAH, Voting no, Other states have done this, it leads to fraud voting in some cases, and limits our choices in the general election. This is a good way to end up with a one party system. Vote NO.

Economics 101

San Francisco Readying For Great Depression II

"Golden Gate Bridge to get suicide net to catch would-be jumpers"
19 people have called it quits off the golden gate thus far this year. That sounds like alot, more than one per month. I'm wondering if the nets will act as a deterrent or will people liken jumping to a circus act. I'll I can say is I admit the economy may be in trouble when we start building things to catch suicide jumpers.

Eric Risberg / Associated Press

Stainless-steel netting hanging 20 feet down and extending 20 feet on either side will be placed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge to catch would-be suicide jumpers, San Francisco officials decided Friday.

Your Vote Will Count

This year, more than any other election, your vote will be clear. Do you trust government to fix your problems, or do you believe in individual freedom and choice?
While our congress feels the need to socialize more and more, our two presidential candidates could not be more different. One is for socialized health care, increased government control of our economy, eliminating your choices in education, and taking more of your wealth to fund his vision of a more powerful and far reaching government. The other believes in the fundamentals of our nations economy, free markets, and low taxes, smaller government, and the freedom that comes with personal responsibility and the power of the individual. Just ask yourself if you are yet undecided, what has government been able to effectively, efficiently, and successfully accomplish? Should we give them more or hold them to account? If you are honest with yourself and the reality that faces our nation, you will then know who is on your side.

Somebody Stumped

I know you have all seen this already, but I had to find an example worse than Sara Palin performance in the debates tonight and this is what came to mind, something needs to take the focus of what is looking like a liability.

Interesting enough, even while I post this, I am shocked by the fox news commentary that is showing she won and did better than expected. I guess my expectations were to large. I think she lost it. The public is eating her up? I'm still confused with my own reaction.

Biden Gaff Timeline

Biden On Being Presidential, Dumbass!

"When the stock market crashed, Roosevelt went on TV"
FYI, Roosevelt was not the president at the time, and I don't think he had a TV yet.

Photo Euphoria With Picasa 3 (Beta)

Google has released a new BETA version of it's photo wizard, and now it has even more super easy to use features like retouch, text overlay, & video slide show creator! If your not using picasa yet, you really don't know what you have been missing, but now you can download the new Beta3 version and get even more organized and creative with your digital collection!

Pro-Bama?

Why is the media so quick to publish personal attacks on Sarah Palin & allow the democrats to blame the current financial crisis squarely on the republicans when they have been in control of the congress for the last two years?
The only explanation is media bias.

Here is 10 underexploited scandals regarding Obama, that rarely get mainstream press:

1. Obama-Rezko
2. Obama's Red Mentor
3. Obama-Fannie Mae Money
4. Fannie Mae Thanks Obama
5. Obama-Fannie Mae Executives
6. Obama ACORN Connection
7. Obama's Pastor
8. Obama on Redistricting
9. Obama Farrakhan Connection
10. Obama's Buddy Ayres

Obama should just suspend his campaign and let the media take over. John McCain should also grow a pair and start hitting harder. His handlers are playing hopscotch while Obama is playing hardball.

The WAMU is Consumed...Whoo Hoo?

Yes, I am a Washington Mutual customer, have been for years. I used to think it was the best bank, they had a small office blocks from my office, they had ATM's and bank branches everywhere I traveled. They had a great checking plan with free money orders, and at the time, one of the best online banking sites. All was good. Then things just slid sideways, no real improvements, no real incentives to stay. I started direct deposit, so I never needed the branch. I rarely used an ATM, if I needed cash I just took cash back at the store with my debit card. The online account was good when it came out, but more often it was problematic, and slow. While other banks were offering special savings programs that tied to your checking or overdraft protection tied to savings, WAMU stayed behind. The blame will be on the mortgage securites crisis, but I think it is more than that.

If you too are a WAMU customer, the Consumerist posts an interesting account of what to expect now that CHASE has CAUGHT them.

You may also like to read my ATM opinion regarding WAMU's 1st question to every customer.

Watch Obama Spin

Unfortunately, the Republican party does a poor job of communicating their messages, and an even worse job of balancing the platform of smaller government while not looking like it is in favor of an unregulated and out of control wall street.



On the other side, Obama is going to have to continue to spin into dizzy circles to avoid the facts that surround the current securities debacle that is stemming from the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Now he is really going to have to raise our taxes to pay for that mess!

The Bloomberg.com news site has published a direct connection with the current crisis and the Democratic block on congressional reforms. As if the fact that his campaign contacted Franklin Raines seeking housing and economic advise for his campaign wasn't telling enough, it is now shown that Obama is in the top 3 recipients of campaign money from the mortgage companies.

Lies and the Lying Liars

A book by the same title of this post makes an attempt to debunk the growing feeling of an existing left leaning media bias. Unfortunately, current trends are pointing those fingers right back at the author.

I was eating lunch and grabbed the local paper, that I rarely read because of a cover story regarding Gov. Sarah Palin's speech to the troops leaving for duty (including her son) What was surprising was the tone of the write up, and the claim she was connecting 9/11 to Iraq. She clearly was speaking of Al-Qaeda. It is popular knowlege that Al-Qaeda has flooded to Iraq to engage us, and thankfully so. As was your mission to engage the enemy abroad and prevent attacks on our soil.

Several examples of media spin have recently escalated and in the blogosphere, several outright lies have been propagated. To my amazement the liberals are going from fantasy to complete fiction!

ABC Blows it!

Blogs Accuse Track Palin as a vandal!

Washington Post Blows it!

Thanks to Michelle Malkin for digging for the truth.

Never Forget

Some will be critical of the imagery of September 11th, some will say it is being put in the public eye to instill fear, and for political purpose. I say good, because on September 12th 2001, I was both afraid, and empowered. Empowered to become patriotic again, inspired to protect my country, and my freedom, from those who would see us wiped from the earth in honer of there religion, ours be damned.

Never forget, they have been fighting a Jihad with us for years, yet only on September 11th did they inflict a blow heavy enough to wake the sleeping giant. Fortunately this giant stands for freedom and liberty, and she will live in isolation no longer.

Never forget, for when we do, the virus of liberalism and pacifism can take hold. With the false hope of understanding and diplomacy, they will take with them bargaining chips in a delegation to those who's beliefs will drag us along to the grave. For our enemy glory is found through martyrdom, not peace.

Thousands of lives were lost, buildings destroyed, and our world changed forever.

Never Forget.

Sign the National Book of Remembrance

Remember

Sacrifice

Sacrifice is something I understand yet I cannot compare to the level of sacrifice that our proud men and women who serve our nation in her defense give each day. Please support John McCain for president, the majority of those who protect your freedom do, don't let them down. This is my viewpoint, feel free to comment.



This video was introduced to me by Meghan McCain's McCainBlogette, I recommend it for a great insight to life on the campaign trail with a real American hero.

Links:

Voters say McCain better suited to handle Iraq than Obama

Military favors McCain, poll finds

Veterans Solidly Back McCain

Military families support Sen. McCain

Government Transparency In Action!

The following expert from BetaNews again reinforces the position that the McCain-Palin ticket is ready to lead.

"Sen. Barack Obama has made government transparency part of his platform. Gov. Palin has indeed taken that a step further by actually taking action in Alaska government. Currently, any check written by the state government over $1,000 is posted to the Division of Finance Web site."

With the national debt at record highs, and the democratically controlled congressional approval at all time lows, the smart choice is in an administration that will control spending while protecting our nation. While Obama plans to cut spending on our national security, McCain & Palin have actual experience in confronting government waste and earmark pet projects, something Obama has no defense.

Free The Airwaves

I am a big supporter of Google tech, and for this reason I watched the video found on FreeTheAirwaves.com regarding a grass roots movement to push the FCC towards free unlicensed use of some of the radio spectrum being freed by the ban on analog TV transmission.

Unfortunately the video, and it's message is not well communicated, produced, nor clear as to what free use airwaves can mean to us, the consumer. Consumer electronic makers could provide us some exciting connectivity tools without the need for subscription based services if the FCC allows some of the new radio spectrum to become free conditional use, as opposed to licensed use as it currently is. Licensed use, such as TV broadcast, radio stations, and cell phone spectrum, only permit the companies who pay for the licenses to use the airwaves, thus we the consumer pay for access. Consider we already pay monthly fees for phone service, internet access, cable or satellite TV signals, satellite radio, and some even for wireless broadband mobile web access, does the tel com and entertainment industry really need to control more of the airwaves?

What we the public must demand of our airwaves is free use by us, our gadgets, and providers of content to deliver our entertainment and communication across our public airwaves, without service fees. Although free airwaves still may require end connection to require some access agreements like you see when you visit an airport with free-wi-fi, or login to subscription based WiFi accesspoints, the free use of the spectrum provides choice, and open access for competion.

Imagine being able to access the web in your car with a mobile WiFi signal as reliable as your FM raidio station, and free of a monthly fee. Have live content such as traffic, weather, and local news accessable wheverver you may be without paying some content provider for access to there privately licensed wireless service.

The possiblites with GPS & in car navigation systems, WiFi enabled media players, to name a few, leave unlimited possibilites.

Don't let the major media, cable, and phone companies steal our airwaves and charge us access fees to use them, sign the petition and tell your friends to support this as well. This will shape our future and how we communicate, and more importantly what it costs us to keep connected in the future.

That's It, Im Going For it And Going VIRAL!

Explore With Eye-Fi

A new version of the Eye-Fi wireless SD card has been out for a time, and I recently read a review here and was somewhat interested, however the using Skyhook Wireless as a method of geotagging does take some of the cool factor away from true GPS accuracy. Skyhook uses WiFi access point locations to approximate your position, similarly some cell phone services use your wireless signal to triangulate your location without using the global positioning satellites. Both methods get you within a few thousand yards, and can help with directions, but for photo geotagging, true accuracy within feet should be realized.

The feature that Eye-Fi Explore provides that I most see appealing is a 1 year Wayport hotspot access subscription. The original Eye-Fi card that I own, only allows pre-set hot spots to work, and only once you configure them using the provided software. This is fine for travel to frequent destinations where you can program in the access point and have your pictures transfer when you are in range. The trouble is no support for roaming access, when you are in public hot spot locations. Wayport has many public hot spots around the globe allowing your uploads to get transferred without being at your home base.

The usefulness of the Eye-Fi card is mostly realised for me around the house, taking photos for craigslisting sales, and getting shots for my work transferred in the background while I type away has saved a few valuable minutes now and again. If they could just shove a GPSr into this chip I might upgrade.

"For those who tag or organize, for those who blog or share in real-time, for those who need to upload here, there or somewhere else, and all the rest who are simply passionate about managing, sharing and saving their memories, there is now Eye-Fi Explore.
It uploads photos wirelessly to your computer and to the web, of course. But, Eye-Fi Explore also automatically adds geographic location labels to your photos and allows you to upload from more than 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the nation. Your memories will be easier to search and more fun to share with geotags, and you’ll be able to upload them on the go."

My Energy Plan

Watching Fox News this morning, the pundits debated the issue of off shore oil drilling, and congress failing to lift the ban. The ban will expire anyway in a few months unless the Dems are bold enough to vote on a continuation, further cementing our dependence on foreign oil, although they state they are for energy independence (just not OIL independence)

The Democratic line is "we can't drill our way out of the energy crisis" yet they want to penalize oil companies with taxes both on the incentive side as well as profit taxes. The Republicans are not much better, they are so afraid of the environmental special interests, they won't propose anything, much less point out the illogical and outright misinformation that the Democrats keep pushing.

Here is my energy policy, and why it will work:

Make a deal with US oil companies that we will allow off shore oil drilling, and drilling in ANWR provided they agree to hold actual oil production and delivery. In exchange we will not tax there profits nor withdraw tax incentives. This will put domestic oil within reach of our shores in the future, with only a switch needed to be turned on when the need arises. The oil companies will see the future potential of having these reserves online, and there stock prices will soar, while they don't even need to pump a single barrel of oil.

This provides 3 key points of national and economic security:

1. We insure we have a domestic oil supply at the ready baring any future instability in our foreign supply chain such as conflict, embargo, or countries such as china monopolizing supplies.
2. We send a message to the oil exporting nations that we currently want their oil but we don't NEED their oil. This will change the tone of negotiations when it comes to issues like Iran's nuclear ambitions, and the Saudi influence in our foreign policy.
   
3. This will bolster the US economy by creating jobs now, while eliminating uncertainty of our future energy needs without softening our current focus on conservation and alternative fuels.

Additionally this policy makes sound domestic sense. By doing so, have planned for our own future, by the time all this oil is ready to go online and into production we have eliminated our own need for it by conservation and alternatives. We should become an exporter of oil to nations like China and India, improving our trade imbalance that has been a leading cause of our current economic declines.

Unless you ride a bike to work, this issue effects you. China is fast becoming the the largest consumer of oil and energy, and they have none of the hurdles that we face, yet we continue to cripple our own nation as if we alone can save the planet. If we truly wish to be an effective environmentally conscious society, we need to strengthen our country, and demand the same environmental protectionism of China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Africa. Before we allow the Environmentalists to bankrupt our nation, cripple our defenses, and be bought out by China we must act. Many of the European nations have already embraced offshore drilling, and nuclear energy. Why we have become a follower rather than a leader? Because of people like Nancy Peolosi. If she wants to save the planet, she needs to run for the president of the world, then we can get a speaker that wants to save the Untied States of America!

Crikey!

"I thinks we fractured me coccyx!"

Energy Charts

Perot Charts has compiled a good deal of charts to better educate us on the energy debate. I have previously published outdated data, such as the 2006 chart that lists Mexico as our 2nd largest importer of oil when currently it is actually Saudi Arabia. Take the 13 question energy quiz to see how much you know about our oil debacle. Like the after school message says "The More You Know!"

Rise of The Rock Star Politician

Rise of The Rock Star Politician

Although I doubt anyone reading this will be voting for Obama this year, with the exception of possibly my sister. If you can muster the patience or have a fascination for all things political then you must read the New Yorker write-up on how Chicago formed Obama's political rise. In fact I urge you to do so before you cast a vote. It is a long historical account of who's who, and how BHO grew to be the Rock Star he has become, or more accurately, who he has stepped on and how the seemingly outsider has bamboozeled America into belief of his brand of change. From the the deck stacking of redistricting to win his Senate seat, to gladhanding the right people at the right time and place. Like a blockbuster hollywood super hero remake, Obama has the right make-up, right special effects, and the publicists to become the Rock Star/Super Hero saving the liberals from Bush's evil empire!

Oil Independent

Because the US congress is controlled by those who want you to ride a bike, bus, or walk to work, we will never be energy independent. Congressman Lynn A. Westmoreland has compiled a petition to help you see if your representative is for, or against US oil independence, or are they for continued import of oil, and sending all of our wealth overseas in the form cash paid for foreign oil. Before our country gets owned by the very countries be buy our oil from, we must demand our leaders permit our own oil companies to exploit our own resources. Why we get most of our oil from Canada and Mexico when we have our own oil right here that we could extract if our own government would permit it is insanity.

200 Found and Counting

I just logged 4 of my most recent geocache finds putting me at 204 total found since I started playing. There really hasn't been any goal to hit a certain number but it was a shock that I have been to so many locations. They have taken me to places that I would have never visited had I not started up this hobbie, and it is one of those things that you can pick up and put down depending on your situation. Recently as the weather has improved I have been excited to go hunting and even hid 4 new caches in the last month. If you havn't tried it out before, it can be addicting at first, but eventutally it just becomes something you can do when you are visiting new places. Like a self guided tour of your everyday world.

Fireworks On The Fourth

Fireworks photography rarely works out, considering my small point & shoot Canon SD400, I was satisfied with a few. Oh, and revisit my Panoramio map below, for new photos of Opal Creek.

Happy Birthday USA!

Panoramio Photos

I just signed up for a Panoramio account to share some of my photos around the Google Earth community. Once approved these photos then become results in Google Map searches, and on Google Earth as well. Below are some of the photos & places they were taken that I published. You may have seen these before in my prior posts. Now you can see exactly where they were taken.

Quest For Alternate Energy

Congress was recently spotted on C-SPAN in a search to locate new reserves of renewable fuels.

AEI Syndrome (Alternate Energy Idiot)

All the news pundits that comment on the high price of gas love to bloviate about flex fuel vehicles, electric cars, hybrids and the new hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. What drives me crazy watching all these talking heads, is nobody will actually share the facts about our real energy needs. Surprisingly Bill O'Reily actually shared some facts regarding how the Norwegians, and the French generate much of there electricity with Nuclear plants, (Read here for more on Nuclear) , but sadly we don't dare build another power plant, or dam another river for hydro power. We just sit on our thumbs and hope the energy fairy delivers us from our energy crises with a magic hydrogen wand, or ethanol fountain.

If today it was possible that ALL cars sold were flex fuel, and all existing cars could be converted, there is now way we could produce ethanol quickly enough to make any dent in our energy needs. It would cause ethanol based products to skyrocket in cost, and production of them could not meet demand. We have already seen pricing for animal feed rise and effect dairy and beef prices.

In the same way if you could plug your car in to charge it tomorrow, our power grid could not keep up with demand, we would start burning more coal, and firing up the natural gas back up generators to keep the country from going into a brown out. You think the heat wave rolling black outs in CA were bad?! People! If you don't allow new power plant construction, such as clean coal, nuclear or hydro, where will you get your volts for your wheels?

Now take the Hydrogen fuel cell. Do you just plug it into your homes hydrogen socket? The fuel is not readily available, and it requires energy to create hydrogen gas, revert to my previous paragraph.

Lastly, although "in-town" hybrid cars are more efficient that gas, on the freeway they barely make the grade. When a Prius actually makes freeway speeds, it has to run on gas, getting around 34MPG, you can buy a turbo diesel engine in a better performing car that will last longer and achieve highway MPG nearing 50! Again why the Europeans prefer diesel to petrol.

Don't ge me wrong, I am no euro-liberal, I am just your average American sick of all the talk about alternative energy that is lacking any facts. We need nuclear NOW and more drilling until we get some supply chains built for a diverse future energy grid.

Pass this on to your Prius driving, Salmon worshiping, anti-nuke, greeney weenies, while I go gas up my SUV.

Thank You! Gratitude Campaign

Spread The Word

Iraq Hussain Osama

Happy Mothers Day

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Obama Does Comedy

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Watch For Zombies!

Fire in Mill Town

We came upon a house fire on our way back to the office, post lunch today. A garage or as it looks converted room off the back of this old dilapidated house was ablaze and we were driving by only as the fire department we being called. Five young children, in poorly fitting, dirty clothes and pajamas were in the street (amid a school day BTW) worried about their cats. When asked if anyone was left in the home they said there uncle was still inside. In a panic we yelled and beat on the door to determine if he was going to escape. In a slow labored pace, the heavy and calm man eventually evacuated while complaining of asthma and fatigue. While I tried to tell the children that the animals would find some way to safety on their own, we quickly realized as the vinyl siding began melting off the neighbors home, that the nearby vehicles need relocated or they would become victim to the flames. Just then, the man who had just barely climbed up from his seat to escape was returning into the burning house to retrieve his car keys. One of our brave employees (Jim you know who you are) risked life and heath to climb into the man's bio hazard on wheels, moving it to safety. We also had to alert a neighbor whose vinyl siding was melting off, because her car was too in jeopardy. She 1st moved her car and then returned to the house and evacuated her child to a safer location. Only then did the fire department arrive and began attacking the blaze. Once all life an property were best out of harms way, I ran back to my office to get my camera and shoot. You can see more here. The real story is the kids. I wish I had taken the time to learn the fate of the kids and family. These kids were living in filth, and should have been in school. Life hits you this way at times. My job is providing affordable housing, and right before my eyes, footsteps from my desk, are homeless children with uncertainty as to where they might sleep tonight.

More iPod Touch Toys: PC Remote

iPod Command Central

My iPod touch has become my most valued possession, and to keep in close at hand for the hundreds of miles I drive each month I invested in a ProClip dashboard mount. This gadget & vehicle matched system delivers a perfect custom solution for safely reaching your toys while in transit. My iPod touch is already my portable jukebox, media player, and weatherman, and as soon as the LocoGPS navigation add-on is available it will be my navigation system as well. Unlike an expensive in dash radio, I can pocket my iPod so it doesn't get jacked, and unlike your typical vehicle nav system, my iPod can check the weather and email when a WiFi spot is in reach. If you have not experienced the iPod touch or iPhone yet, im sorry.

Giganoes?

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My Eye-Fi Review

As posted earlier I purchased the Eye-Fi wireless SD card for my digital camera. This is one of those items I wish I had long ago, it just became availible in October and I don't know how I missed it until this year. Because I am cheap I shopped for the best deal, and Costco.com provided free delivery and $10 off the $99 MSRP, so $89 poorer my patience had to endure the week it took UPS to get it in my hands. Because I was anxious to learn more about my investment I Google'd for some reviews to see how it worked and how people rated it. Pleasntly surpised most reviewed it favorably, with most of the critics just pointed to the fact that the Wi-Fi transfer speed for your 10 Megapixel photos takes too long. My response to that is, WHY do you need 10MP photos? Are you in the business of posting bullitin board graphics online and plotting out poster size prints of your daily shots? If you are into high quality photography and your camera is a mega expensive digital SLR and you typically need a portable hardrive to backup all your gigantic photos you take, than this is not for you. If you have a pocket point & shoot that used a SD chip, you loath the hassle of locating your card reader or USB cable, and you typically just like to quickly share the latest shots of your kids, adventures, or need to get your ebay photos online, this chip will be just the ticket.

Just like the instructions state, and the reviewers confirm, it takes less than 5 minutes to go from opening the box to snapping photos and having them magically appear online. The one thing I found interesting, is my Picasa web album was getting the photos about 2-3 minutes before my hardrive was. So it is apparent that the card sends the photos to Eye-Fi's system, then back down to your computer. When setting up your card, you do need to create a Eye-Fi account, that concerns in the event they go broke as companies like this often do, will my card become just your ordinary 2GB memory card w/o them to handle my uploads? On the bright side, from my understanding of the service, they hang on to your photos for you until they are safely stored on your computer in the event your computer is turned off. One example where you may want to resort to the old fashoned way of taking photos, is if you have a large assortment of photos you plan to take before you will be near one of your pre-set Wi-Fi upload spots, and then are in a hurry to review them. Because they do take a minute or so each to transfer, if you have 100 shots, it would be much faster to just use the provided USB reader to copy the photos to your hardrive. Since my typical collection of new photos is rarely this many, I would be fine with allowing the chip to do my work for me while I take off my shoes, and watch the evening news.

The choice to invest in this was simple for me, I often take only a few shots each time I power-up my camera, and then I usually want those photos off the camera as soon as I get home. Now with the Eye-Fi chip, the only thing I need to remember is to turn my camera on when I want my pics, and by the time get a chance to sit down, my photos will be there to greet me.

As this is my first night with my new toy, you can be sure I will post some more details on how it is working out in the near future. Now if there was only something to photograph?

Eye-Fi Wireless SD Memory for Digital Cameras

The convergence technology has taken another step in the right direction with this new memory card for your digital camera, the Eye-Fi Wireless Memory Card. This little number eliminates the need to keep track of that cord you use to connect your camera to your computer. It also saves you the process of uploading your photos to your computer and/or your online photo album. If you have a wireless network nearby, and a subscription to one of many online photo album services you can have your photos visible anywhere around the globe without ever touching your PC. I will post my full review when I get mine in my hands, I ordered it from Costco.com for $89 and I should have it by next week! Merry Christmas to ME!