HURRICANES

229 – Monday, August 17, 2009

Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor, and Wanda – a real list of ‘Who’s Who’ in the Atlantic Tropical Storm names for 2009. Every year about this time, we Floridians grow increasingly aware that these are not the monikers we desire to see streaming ticker-style across the bottom of our TV screens warning of potential destruction. Each station touts their unique and colorful amusing little radar names like Klystron, or Skytower or whatever gives them their ‘virtual edge’ in forecasting accuracy. This season has been pretty quiet so far, which is perfectly fine for this property owner. The one good thing (if that can be stated with even half-hearted sincerity) is that hurricanes offer some semblance of advanced notice that they are coming, unlike their tornadic counterparts of the mid-states. They also have different ‘categories’ so you can really gear up preparedness, if you know what I mean. It is called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale and is probably named after two dead idiots who held a wind gauge as long as they could in a Cat-5 (that’s Category 5 for all you hurricane novices) before it blew them away. (Just in case you could not tell, I made that part up.) Saffir-Simpson is how our hurricanes are categorized by the weather gurus – but if you would prefer a layman’s explanation, find a rainy day, pile the family in the car, and head for the freeway (I recommend a poorly-patrolled and abandoned section of interstate). Once safely there, accelerate to 75 mph, roll all the windows down and poke your heads out – there, that’s a Cat-1 (I assume you are becoming more informed so I can start using the professional lingo on you now). The categories are defined by how much destructive force they carry and a Cat-1 – well, you are doing 75 in the rain with your heads out the windows, you can probably figure it out for yourself. For a better understanding of the scale, speed up to between 96 and 110 (nope, 95 is still a Cat-1, it has to be 96) and you are now in a Cat-2. By now, you have lost your hat (hopefully without your head in it) and possibly the cat too (note small ‘c’ so as not to be confusing) and if you want to see the potential hazards of the storm, drive close enough to the road signs to see if one of the protruding heads can damage them. The experts say that you might also expect power lines to be downed as well – now, I am not all that certain what the qualifications are for becoming an ‘expert’, but I am pretty sure that fogging a mirror must be one of them.

Speed up some more – if you can get the family heap to do between 111 and 130, you have advanced to Cat-3. Right about now, you will be glad you are in your car, because if your home was a mobile (past tense intended), by this time you have a new zip code. The ‘experts’ will mention, in their broadcast alerts, something about the former trees you once had in your community that also have new addresses. To get to a Cat-4, you are going to first have to take advantage of the ‘Cash-For-Clunkers’ program (See blog 216) and trade up from your Neon to a Ferrari or Lamborghini or something that can zip along at a brisk 131-155, we’re talking fun now!! At some point, before reaching 150 hopefully, you need turn your head toward the rear of your ride so the wind will not force-inflate your nostrils and turn your face wrong-side-out. You can forget the house now - all the windows and doors were sucked in when the roof was blown off. You would not enjoy being home anyway because it will be weeks, if not months, before you have electricity in whatever remains of your house so there will be no A/C or TV or any other initials either. If you were smart and planned ahead when you traded cars, you can drop the gas pedal the rest of the way to the floor of your ‘bad ride’ and push her above the 150 mark – uh, so sorry – if you have not already lost all the passengers in your car by now, you are about to - even the driver, who will be sucked from the speeding blur and be deposited as an oily spot on the pavement. You know the really strange part in all this new understanding you now have attained in becoming a hurricane expert – when one of those storms decides to visit our fair state again, there will actually be people in the evacuation zone who will really not want to leave their house where, depending on the category, they will likely not remain anyway!! And they say that homo sapiens is the smartest of all the species!

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MICHAEL VICK

­­­­228 – Sunday, August 16, 2009

Michael Vick is in the news once again. He has been picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFC East as an unrestricted free agent on a one-year, $1.6 million contract, but will have to serve some yet-to-be-determined term of suspension for his involvement and ultimate imprisonment for an unlawful interstate dog-fighting ring which was prosecuted in 2007. Vick, a former Atlanta Falcon quarterback, served an 18-month sentence during which time one of my all-time favorite sports figures, Tony Dungy, went to visit him. As I expected, Tony did not spend time talking with Michael about sports and his future in them, rather he talked to him about his faith, about being a man, accepting his responsibilities as a father and member of his community, and doing the right thing (it is no wonder that Tony is #1 pick in my book). Mr. Vick has offered a public confession of wrong doing, made and continues making financial restitution for his crimes, has publicly apologized to the sports world and his community for the disgrace he has brought upon them – in short, he has done more than the average sinner is required to do to attain forgiveness from a much Higher Power than the media, no matter what you may have been lead to believe about them and the power they weild. The rest of the world awaits Roger Goodell’s decision regarding the future of this superb athlete, reserving their acceptance of Michael until a later time, but not I. I am in full recognition of the effort that has been given and now await the proof of his statements to be forthcoming. We all have a stake in Michael Vick as a fellow member of the human race – a part of his recovery will be dependant upon our forgiveness and reinstatement to fellowship. He has paid a social debt which is all that we would have been required to do given similar circumstances. I, for one, am thrilled that my own personal moral failings have not been paraded across the splash of national media and exposed to the scrutiny of every informed citizen. I am thankful that God has forgiven me in the privacy of my own soul and restored me to right fellowship with Him in an instant and given me another chance and will do the same again if I fail again! Now if God will do that for little old me, who are we to withhold the same opportunity from Michael Vick. Play Ball!!!

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COMMENT ON 226

227 – Saturday, August 15, 2009

This blog is posted in response to #226 from yesterday in an effort to not extend it with comment, rather to allow it to stand alone. In it, I opened by making the statement that I had thoughts to share – it may help if you read the previous post first as a reference. * I love this country and all that it stands for (or perhaps I should more accurately say, stood for). We have offered a helping hand to nearly every other country on our planet and for that we have earned their disdain. Our motives have predominantly been noble and just. I hold no malice in my heart toward any race, color, or creed. I do not fault any person for wanting to come to America for the opportunity it offers, equal to all. We do, however, have a legal process that makes this wholly acceptable. Many have taken that path and have earned my respect and trust. For those who have not or do not, I say, “Why not?” Is it just too difficult to attain? I think not, for many have succeeded. Is it just too much effort? It should not be, for anything worthwhile will have a price to pay for it. Shame on our government for being enablers and funding those who choose to move in circles outside the ordained process for naturalization. Shame on the peoples who illegally enter this country with no intentions whatsoever of merging into our social order by embracing the mores and language of our nation and who instead prefer to expect our legislature into bestowing privileges they have neither earned nor deserve. I do think the atrocities of war are tragic, but they do not degrade our culture or compromise patriotism. I despise the toll extracted in the form of human lives given for the maintenance of our (my) freedoms. The cost in the wealth of our land is disconcerting, but not insurmountable. As you know from experience, the wastefulness of lawmakers at the expense of their own constituents is appalling. Given the climate in Washington these days and the erosion of trust of the American populace, Mr. Obama had better enjoy his only term in office if he can somehow even make it through to 2012. I think the people are so fed up with current trends and the continuing exposure of dichotomy between congressional welfare and that of the common man who they are to represent that you may anticipate radical changes if not a total purge in the coming election. We are nearing a fever pitch which, if left unchecked, could escalate into a new form of rebellion. People feel they have had enough - paid enough. On a personal note, I am more convinced than ever that we are entering or have entered the beginning of the end which ushers in the new heaven and earth. Everything has always been and shall be spiritual in its ultimate form. I am not thrilled at the forthcoming events other than the fact that they are the precursor to perfection personified, and for that day, this day shall be worth it! I have heard it said that we should toil as though the Lord will never come and anticipate that this might be the day he does.

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COST OF ILLEGALS

226 – Friday, August 14, 2009

I received the information included in this blog from one of my readers and the contents unnerved me to the point I wanted to comment. In the interest of space, I am posting this today and my comments will be as a follow-up in tomorrow’s blog. Thanks for reading – you are welcome to comment. We hear so much about the extreme cost of the wars in Iraq and against terror – check this out.

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments. Verify at:http://tinyurl.com/zob77

2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, & free school lunches for illegal aliens. Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens. Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary & secondary school education for children here illegally & they cannot speak a word of English! Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html

5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies. Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.ht

7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers. Verify at: http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html

9. $200 Billion dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the wages earned by illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two & a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt..01.html

11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin & marijuana, crossed into the U.S. from the Southern border. Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht

12. The National policy Institute, estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 & $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 & $46 billion annually over a five year period. Verify at: http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf

13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances to their countries of origin. Verify at: http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm

14. The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One million sex crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States. Verify at: http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml

The total price tag paid for by you and me for illegal aliens is a whopping

$ 338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.

If this list of facts does not bother you, it should!

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545

225 – Thursday, August 13, 2009

In today’s blog, I happily relinquish the floor to a veteran writer of nearly a half-century because I his article embodies my sentiments entirely.

About Charlie Reese:

Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years, reporting on everything from sports to politics. From 1969-71, he worked as a campaign staffer for gubernatorial, senatorial and congressional races in several states. He was an editor, assistant to the publisher, and columnist for the Orlando Sentinel from 1971 to 2001. He now writes a syndicated column three times a week for King Features. Reese served two years active duty in the U.S. Army as a tank gunner.

545 People - By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits? Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes? You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred Senators, 435 Congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices -- 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country. I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank. I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party. What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted, by present facts, of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist. If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red. If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ. If they do not receive Social Security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do. Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses, provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees. We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

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