New Fire Department Set To Start On Sunday In Reno Area

This doesn't happen very often, but a brand new fire department is starting up in Washoe County.  The Truckee Meadows and Sierra Fire Protection District starts running calls at 8:00 AM on Sunday.
From the Reno Gazette Journal: On Thursday afternoon, about half of the firefighters that will make up the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District were nearing the end of a two-week academy before their new department became operational Sunday at 8 a.m.
Two firefighters sprayed a water canon from the top of a fire engine as dozens of their colleagues watched the demonstration at the regional training facility just north of town. Inside of a nearby classroom, maps of the region were pinned to walls as officers prepared to start work.
For months now, Washoe County officials have toiled to start its independent fire department after county commissioners decided a year ago to end a 12-year-old merged fire department with Reno. And despite the political acrimony that has come to define the fire divorce between the city and the county, the firefighters who will be responding to calls starting Sunday say what matters now is they are ready to help the community.In all, about 600 people applied for positions with Truckee Meadows Fire, which will include a consolidation with the Sierra Fire Protection District. There are 105 career firefighters, with plans of adding another 10 in the coming months, Truckee Meadows Fire Chief Charles Moore said....
 Schum will be stationed in one of 11 career fire stations in the county’s fire district, which surrounds Reno and Sparks and stretches from Washoe Valley into the North Valleys. The professional firefighters will be supported by another 13 volunteer stations with 120 volunteers.....
 http://www.rgj.com/article/20120630/NEWS/307010051/Washoe-County-firefighters-say-Sunday-just-business-usual?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
The reason why there is a new fire department is that the Reno Fire Department, which previously had the contract, was firm in it's demand that Washoe County pay for 4 firefighters on each fire apparatus (truck, engine, rescue) and the County wanted 3 firefighters on each piece of equipment..  Also, Washoe County thought that they could do the job better, so they started a new fire department.
So, good luck to the Truckee Meadows Fire Department and you know that they are having a pool to see who will get the first run of the new department

Adelson Gives Another $10 Million- To Koch Brothers

This will drive the liberals nuts.
From Fox News: Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has donated $10 million to the Koch brothers’ efforts to elect Republicans and oust President Obama and other Democrats -- forging perhaps the most powerful, well-financed political fundraising machine of 2012.
Adelson donated the money last weekend during a Koch brothers’ fundraising summit in suburban San Diego. The private deal was confirmed Friday, according to the Associated Press and other news agencies.
Adelson has already contributed $10 million to Restore Our Future, which is the super political action committee that backs GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and $5 million each to two organizations promoting House Republicans.
During the GOP presidential primary, Adelson, chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Sands, and family members gave $21 million to a super PAC promoting former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Charles and David Koch are billionaire oil executives and libertarians who founded the small-government, anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/06/30/gop-backer-casino-mogul-adelson-reportedly-gave-10-m-to-koch-brothers-efforts/#ixzz1zKv8XjiZ

I have mixed feelings about Adelson.  First, it's his money and if wants to donate it to conservative causes, he has every right to do so, just as George Soros, George Clooney and the unions do on the left.

But Adelson is a strange man who has a problem with his security guards, especially paying them.  And for some reason, he thinks he needs a huge security detail.  Really?  Is he really that much in danger that he needs numerous armed security guards to guard him and his family?

But in the end, Adelson has every right to give the money to whom he likes and of course, he is trying to buy influence with omny and Sen. Dean Heller, just as the liberals like Soror and the unions do.

And $10,000,000 to Adelson is like a quarter to me.  It's his money to spend.

Wow: 50 Years Of Coaching High School Football

From the Wisconsin rapids Daily Tribune: After 355 wins and 51 seasons, long-time (Stevens Point, WI) Pacelli football coach Bob Raczek was ready to hang up his whistle and call it a distinguished career.
An eight-year battle with prostate cancer had taken its toll physically. Raczek had all but decided the 2011 season had been his last one on the sidelines at Goerke Park.
Not so fast.
The love of the sport and the power of persuasion from family changed his mind. As a result, Raczek will return for a 50th season in the high school coaching ranks as co-coach of the Cardinals along with Steve Raczek, his son and defensive coordinator for 17 seasons.
"He talked me into something," said Bob Raczek, who has been at Pacelli for 45 seasons, compiling a 341-144-2 record.
Steve Raczek felt the time wasn't right yet for his father to leaving coaching behind.
"It took a little coaxing," said Steve, who has relished the time he's spent side-by-side with his father on the sidelines in a sport each has an undeniable passion for first as a player at Pacelli, and then as part of his father's coaching staff. http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/article/20120630/WRT02/206300371/Prep-football-Raczek-returns-coach-50th-season-Pacelli?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
To stay at one job for 50 years is outstanding and to be a coach for such a long time is just amazing and it shows how much Raczek loves the game of football and loves to coach young men how to play football and also how to play the game of life.
Congratulations, Coach.

Golfers Happy: No Fans Allowed!

From the Washington Post: With roughly 40 trees down all over Congressional Country Club’s Blue Course, organizers of the AT&T National golf tournament have closed the event to spectators and volunteers for Saturday’s third round, which has been delayed by nearly six hours.
The roads around Congressional, in Bethesda, are strewn with trees after the violent overnight storms that ravaged the entire Washington area. PGA Tour officials were working Saturday morning with Congressional’s grounds staff to clear the course and make play possible Saturday.
 “In the interest of safety for our fans and volunteers, the AT&T national is closed to spectators and volunteers for Saturday,” tournament officials said in a statement. “The tournament will honor all Saturday tickets on Sunday’s round.”
Play will begin at 1 p.m. from both the first and 10th tees in threesomes, with leader Hunter Mahan taking the course at 3:10 p.m. Tiger Woods, five shots back, will now tee off at 2:40 p.m. Officials were still trying to determine whether television coverage on CBS will be affected.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/atandt-nationals-third-round-delayed-by-storm-damage/2012/06/30/gJQAmYsbDW_story.html
It will be interesting to see how they clean up the course and mark out the new hazards.
But I am sure most players will be thrilled to play before a crowd of 0, especially Tiger Woods.  They won't have to listen to the cameras, the talking, deal with people looking for attention to get on TV, or worry about hitting a spectator with a ball.  The golfers will not get any applause either to stroke the golfers egos.
But I am glad the storm hit at night, when no one was on the course except security because if it during the day, you would have had the potential of a huge disaster.

Update: It s so strange not to be listening to the crowd go oohhh ahhhhh and clapping and yelling "Get in the hole!!!".

7 Year Old Mudered At Her Lemonade Stand...AT 10:30 At Night In Chicago

Sometimes, you just have to shake your head and wonder what is going on in this world.
From the CBS Chicago: One day after a 7-year-old girl was gunned down as her mother watched while she sold lemonade in front of her West Side home, a ministers’ group is trying to persuade people to turn over the killer. “It’s a sad day in Chicago,” said the Rev. Ira Acree of the Leaders Network ministry, which put up the $3,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gunman who killed Heaven Sutton, 7....
Heaven had told her mother, Ashake Banks, 38, that she wanted to move out of North Austin – which the family had called home for six months – because of all the violence in the area.
She had just gotten her hair done for a trip to Disney World that had been planned for next month, and was outside with her mother as they sold lemonade, candy and snacks under a canopy set up in front of their home. Two men opened fire around 10:40 p.m. Wednesday, and Heaven was struck in the chest.
“I had just called Heaven. She was sitting right next to me on my shoulder. Just laying on my shoulder,” Banks said Thursday.
Banks described the horrific sight of seeing her young daughter lying dead.
“For her to die like this – 7 years old, lying on a slab cold, her eyes just open, blood coming out her nose – I just want him to turn himself in. That’s all that I ask of him. And I’m asking for Chicago to help me,” she said.
 http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/06/29/ministers-urge-people-to-turn-in-gunman-who-killed-girl-7/
Why in the world would a mother have her daughter selling lemonade at 10:40 at night and in a dangerous neighborhood.
And, as in the case of many murders and shootings in inner cities throughout the country, no one wants to get involved and come forward with information shootings and murders.  Same thing in Chicago and Las Vegas.  They have the no snitch rule.
In Las Vegas, on January 16, 2012, Betty Pinkney was murdered at a party in the northeast side of the Valley, by Craig and Lamb.  Even though there were many people at the party she was at and people have been talking about the murder for several days after the murder, no one has come forward and identified the killer, even though the murder happened over 6 months ago.  Betty would have graduated 2 weeks ago and I am sure there was at least 1 or two people at the graduation who knew what happened but are refusing to talk.
So, murders will continue to happen in the inner cities of the U.S. and the no snitch rule will still be in effect.  And that is too bad for the families of Heaven and Betty.  And too bad for the people who live in the inner cities because they have to put up with these crimes.  And yet, most people in the inner cities just don't care.
Shameful.

Obama Fiddles While West Burns, Homes Burn And People Die

I have been writing about this for a couple of weeks now and it is now making it's way into the main stream media.
The news today is that the Obama Administration is refusing to use the Evergreen 747 Supertanker that can carry 20,000 gallons of water or fire retardent.
Today, Evergreen released a letter stating that the U.S. government will not contract with them, though they are not sure why but is speculating:   http://www.evergreenaviation.com/pdf/Supertanker_Statement_062912.pdf 
The whole letter is here:
We felt compelled to release this statement due to the overwhelming amount of calls we have
received concerning the availability of the Evergreen Supertanker. We at Evergreen are saddened
by the fire devastation now taking place in many Western US states. For over 60 years, we have
supported the US Forest Service in its important mission to battle and control fires, and it is our
desire to continue this rich history of service. While our helicopters continue to work fires for the
State of Alaska under State contracts, unfortunately, our Boeing 747 Supertanker Very Large Air
Tanker (VLAT) aircraft awaits activation with the US Forest Service.
We have never been told why we have not been activated by the US Forest Service, so we can
only speculate as to why we face this outcome:
1. We were offered a Call-When-Needed (CWN) contract a few years ago by the US Forest
Service (proving our technical viability), but we were never called into action resulting in
a multi-million dollar loss to our company as we were required to maintain and have
flight crew available should we be called. The only contract that will sustain a VLAT
program is an Exclusive-Use contract, which provides an income stream to sustain the
program even if the asset is not utilized. We invested over $50M to develop this asset in
the firm belief that we could better control fires as we proved in Israel and Mexico under
CWN contracts that we could afford to offer at the time.
2. There have been recent changes to the US Forest Service procurement policies. Today,
only small businesses are eligible for contract awards concerning air tanker assets;
Evergreen is not a small business and, therefore, is excluded from consideration for any
award.
3. The US Forest Service’s specification for Next Generation Air Tanker aircraft limits tank
size to 5,000 gallons. The Supertanker’s tanks hold about 20,000 gallons, which is
considered outside the USFS specification. The USFS just awarded contracts to four
small businesses with aircraft equipped with these smaller tanks, and excluded the
Evergreen Supertanker. Since World War II, tank capacities have been in the 3,000 to
5,000 gallon range, yet we continue to face the growing threat from mega fires today. We
believe the Supertanker represents an overwhelming response to this growing threat.
Please contact your state representatives in Washington DC to demand an examination of their
current procurement policies concerning VLAT aircraft.
Meanwhile, the wildfires throughout the west are burning , destroying homes and killing people, even though Obama and his ilk can do something to help the firefighters, keep homes from burning and keep people from dying.
Obama sits while people are dying.

And if you are one of the people calling Evergreen, thanks.

Just Leave Lance Armstrong Alone

Lance Armstrong has been investigated time and time again for allegedly being a blood doper when he was riding in the Tour De France, the last time in 2005.  Every time he was investigated, he has been cleared of all charges but the U.S. Anti Doping Agency is taking another crack at it.
From the Houston Chronicle: The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has filed formal charges against Lance Armstrong, accusing the seven-time Tour de France winner of using performance-enhancing drugs throughout the best years of his career.
The agency notified Armstrong, former team manager Johan Bruyneel and several other Armstrong team associates of the charges in a letter on Thursday.
The charges came after a USADA review panel examined evidence in the case, which now goes to an arbitration panel to decide. If found guilty, Armstrong could be stripped of the Tour de France titles he won from 1999-2005. This year's Tour de France begins Saturday.
Armstrong maintains his innocence. Armstrong attorney Robert Luskin called the charges "wrong and baseless."
Also charged are team doctors Pedro Celaya Lezama and Luis Garcia del Moral; team trainer Pepe Marti, and consulting doctor Michele Ferrari. Because they are so closely linked, USADA rolled all of the charges into a single case.
Armstrong and the others "(have) been part of a doping conspiracy involving team officials, employees, doctors and elite cyclists," said the USADA letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press....
 "It is the entirely predictable product of USADA's toxic obsession with Lance Armstrong and a process in which truth is not a priority," Luskin said. "There is not one shred of credible evidence to support USADA's charges and an unbroken record of more than 500 clean tests over more than a decade and a half to refute it....
 Earlier in the day, Armstrong had gone on the attack against one of the review board members, Minneapolis attorney Clark Griffith, using his Twitter account to note that Griffith had earlier this year been charged in a misdemeanor case of indecent exposure.
"Wow. (at)usantidoping can pick em. Here's ... 1 of 3 Review Board members studying my case," Armstrong tweeted, linking to an online story about Griffith.
Griffith entered an Alford plea on June 13. Under the plea, Griffith did not admit doing anything wrong but acknowledged prosecutors have enough evidence for a jury to convict him. A 24-year-old student reported Griffith unzipped his pants in front of her on a St. Paul street.
 http://www.chron.com/sports/article/USADA-files-formal-charges-against-Armstrong-3673843.php
There has been an obsession in trying to find Armstrong guilty of blood doping.  He has been investigated by both the French and U.S. governments and they could never find evidence of blood doping or other illegal activities.
These cases are 7 years or longer.  I think these people going after Armstrong are just jealous of his success and will do everything they can do to smear his name..
Just leave Armstrong alone, he's been harassed enough and the charges are way too old. And to the Anti-Doping thugs, concentrate on the upcoming Olympics instead of an aging bike rider. 

Another Stupid Supreme Court Moment

Yes, the Supreme Court had a bad day on Thursday.  Chief Justice John Roberts was a complete embarrassment in his ruling in favor ObamaCare.
But the worst of the Supreme Court was not that, it came when they said the Stolen Valor law was unconstitutional.  I don't have a problem with the verdict but this quote shows that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy who wrote the opinion, has no clue whatsoever:
From the LVRJ: The court voted 6-3 Thursday in favor of Alvarez, a former local elected official in California. In a judgment written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court noted that lying about valor medals doesn't degrade those that were truly earned and therefore ordered that Alvarez's conviction be thrown out.
 http://www.lvrj.com/news/supreme-court-strikes-down-stolen-valor-law-160679345.html
Are you kidding me?  By having someone say that they are a Purple Heart winner or Congressional Medal of Honor winner and it being a lie does degrade those who have earned those awards. If enough people lie about the awards, it would seem that the awards are easy to get, which, of course, they are not.
Not a very good week for the Supreme Court.

Clueless in Las Las Vegas: Culinary Union Loses Big Time To Station Casinos

From the LVRJ: The National Labor Relations Board has upheld an administrative law judge's dismissal of six out of seven unfair labor practices allegations against Station Casinos LLC, including a complaint made by the board itself last year.
The complaint was issued in October, a Station Casinos executive said Friday. Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which has tried without successful for 15 years to organize 13,000 Station employees, filed the charges.
Of the seven allegations heard by the NLRB, six allegations of threatening an employee for engaging in union activities were dismissed after the judge determined no supervisor was present during the alleged incident or that testimony by a union witness lacked credibility.
"We are very pleased that all but one of the allegations presented to the NLRB were found without merit," Valerie Murzl, senior vice president of human resources, said in a statement.
The NLRB issued its ruling late Thursday in Washington, D.C. The only allegation the NLRB let stand involved a Palace Station supervisor warning a employee to be quiet during a meeting, saying that if he didn't comply, he would be the next to be discharged.
The NLRB settled the case by ordering Station Casinos to post a "Notice to Employees" assuring workers the company will not interfere with their right to engage in union activity. The order covered only Palace Station, where the violation occurred.
 http://www.lvrj.com/business/labor-board-upholds-one-complaint-against-station-casinos-dismisses-six-160899005.html
This is a slam dunk and should have been an embarrassment to the Culinary Union , but the Culinary president has not a clue in the world:  "This is a victory for all workers in Las Vegas and across the country," said Culinary Union President Geoconda Arguello-Kline, in a statement. "It shows no matter how rich and powerful a company may think it is, the law protects workers against abuse."
Hey, clueless in Las Vegas, you lost, you got your collective butts kicked and even the Obama NLRB couldn't side with or save you.
And to the Culinary union members, why do you pay union dues to these rich union morons?  They steal your dues and then live the lavish lifestyle, something you don't get to do.  These union thugs get rich off of the hard work of the casino workers but can't even win a court case with the liberal NLRB. Finally, the dues you pay are used to harass Station Casinos and even if they beat Station, it has benefit to you.  The only reason the Culinary Union is going after Stations is to line the union leader's pockets.
So, one case down, and several more to go and the union will lose most of the cases and be a complete embarrassment to unions everywhere.  And the union leaders and members are just totally clueless.

Now, That's Going to Hurt

Ouch

Not The Way To Get Your First Win

Austin Dillion, grandson of NASCAR team owner, Richard Childress, is an up and coming NASCAR driver.  Tonight, he won the NASCAR Nationwide race in Kentucky in a very dominating way in a very boring race.  And then, oopps, his car failed the post race inspection.
From ESPN: No one had driven the No. 3 car since Dale Earnhardt's death on the track at the 2001 Daytona 500.
On a warm night in the Bluegrass state, Austin Dillon lived up to the legend, then had the victory called into question when the car failed its postrace inspection.
Dillon took the lead early and was on top for 192 of the 200 laps to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway on Friday night....
 Roughly an hour after the trip to Victory Lane, the No. 3 car failed the inspection for being too low in the rear. NASCAR announced it would issue a ruling early next week.
A similar situation took place earlier this season at Iowa where a car also failed a postrace inspection. The crew chief was fined $10,000 and six points were subtracted from the team.
Reached at the garage, Dillon's crew chief, Danny Stockman, wiped sweat from his forehead as he left a meeting with officials.
"We've had an issue before. We addressed it in a meeting," Stockman said. "It should have been addressed. That's the only comment I've got."  http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/nationwide/story/_/id/8114383/austin-dillon-puts-no-3-car-kentucky-victory-lane
Of course, the Late Dale Earnhardt would never think of cheating when he ran the #3 car.  (cue the sarcasm)
It will be interesting to see what happens.  Will they dock 10 points, 20 points or more?  Will they take away the win?  Was the infraction worth about 9 seconds over an extended green flag stretch, the winning margin?
How much will Childress and the crew chief be fined and/or suspended.  Don't forget that Richard Childress is main man on Dillions team, so, if anybody knew about the infraction, Childress would have been one of them.
In the end, there will be an asterisk by Dillion's name for this race and he will have to win another race without any problems to legitimately win his first race.

Tanked Responds

Yesterday, I ran post about the TV show Tanked and how some of their projects were not what they seem.  Most of the  information was from the Las Vegas Adviser.
Today, in the comments section, a representative from Tanked responded and in fairness, here is their response:
This is Phillip Dominguez a representative of Acrylic Tank Manufacturing. We love criticism because it helps us to build a better product. What we don't like is when people attempt to inform the public of information lacking facts...Let me begin with my favorite part of the blog.... "Now, I used have fish- salt water and fresh, and I would think that the loud music and flashing lights just would not be very good for fish." Apparently the education you earned which does not allow you to pay $11.95 for half an hour of mini golf can be explained by your high-end gramatical craftsmanship. Secondly, if you would do your due diligence you would find that the "speaker" system around the Kiss Tank is a faux look and there are NO speakers around the tank. The client that owned the Phone booth tank had a heart attack and moved back to the east coast. And as far as his 300-400 dollar increase in power bills per month??? You clearly stated the mechanicals were in the garage. That residence did not have a temperature controlled garage??? Next...We were told it was removed due to the outside structure and a conflict between Serendipity and Caesers.This was fun. Please attempt to get the facts before you blog next time...This just in, "Dan" infamous blogger lerans to report... Tanks for listening..
http://lasvegasbadger.blogspot.com/2012/06/tv-show-tanked-not-all-its-cracked-up.html
I could take issue on several things Mr. Dominguez said, but I am not going to get into a pissing war with them.
Obviously, they are a talented bunch and are creative as anybody I have ever seen.  I just hope they go after the Las Vegas Advisor as hard as they went after me.  If they did, then the Advisor is not printing their response.
But to Mr. Dominguez, thank you for your response.

Pahrump Valley Times Editorial Liberal NutjobsAt It Again Again

I'm glad that the editorial board/Matt Ward do not have the Pinocchio Syndrome, where one's nose grows every time they lie.  If they did have Pinocchio Syndrome, Ward's and the PVT editorial board nose's would go from Pahrump to New York City.
Exhibit 1: The PVT almost always publishes letters critical of our reporting and editorials because we feel our readers deserve to hear from both sides of the issues. 
http://pvtimes.com/news/editorial-board-3-for-1-obamacare-valley-electric-and-bmxers/
No one will able to prove or disprove if they actually publish the letters because we never get to see any of the letters that the PVT receives.  However, the PVT often blocks comments in their comments section that are critical of the PVT and I know this because of personal experience.  When I pointed out that their opinions were not welcome in their news articles, they would not print most of the comments.  When I disagreed with their calling people names in their news articles and editorials, especially conservatives, most of the time, they blocked my comments.  Finally, after trying to explain to them about their unethical journalism, they blocked me.
Exhibit 2: The PVT claims they have a pulse on the community.  Well, no they don't.  Not when they call their customers and people in the community names like nut jobs, wing nuts and more.  This is not the sign of a mature and professional journalism staff.  Matt Ward acts like he inherited the newspaper and then acts like a spoiled child by calling people names and their victims have little recourse because the PVT will take their ball and go home and not allow the vitims of the PVT slime machine to respond.
Exhibit 3: Finally, once again, the PVT shows it's liberal bias with it's editorial today.  Nye County is probably the most conservative county in Nevada and probably in the top 10 nationwide.  So, they had this to say about ObamaCare: This issue has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans and everything to do with neighbors helping neighbors while defending the interests of the little guy against that of big business.
We urge you to ignore the Monday morning quarterbacks from Fox News and other outlets of putrid punditry who will flail around desperately over the next few weeks attempting to make Thursday’s Supreme Court decision a political issue.
The fact is the politics of the Affordable Care Act were worked out more than two years ago when this law was first debated and passed by Congress. It’s not the greatest thing since sliced bread, but it is a step toward mending a system that has been broken for decades and decades.
So there .
'So there"?  Wow, talking like a spoiled little baby.  Who uses that term except immature little brats, and Matt Ward and PVT editorial board.
Obviously, the PVT and Ward think they are far more better at reporting than Fox News and other putrid punditry (note to Matt, you suck as a journalist, writer and commentator)  But, ObamaCare is a political issue because the Democrats made it one with all the shenanigans they before the passed it by making deals to get congresscritters to vote for it.  But then, Ward and his ilk are just taking Obama's talking points and reprinting them in their thing they call a newspaper.
So, once again the PVT shows their incompetence, immaturity, bias and stupidity, just in 1 little editorial.

Rep. Dr. Joe Heck, Why Haven't You Signed The Letter?

On June 25, 2012, 57 members of the House of Representatives signed a letter demanding that Rep John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi keep the freeze on earmarks instead of restoring them for the 2013 term.
Mark Amodei of Nevada signed the letter, but surprisingly, Rep. Dr. Joe Heck, also of Nevada and my congressman, has not signed the letter.  Not a surprise,  Shelly Berkley-Dunce-NV refused to sign the letter, because, quite frankly, Berkley hasn't met an earmark she does not like.
The letter says in part: The past two decades have seen a significant rise in our nation’s debt and deficit, with future increases scheduled for years to come. This debt and deficit spending has occurred under both Republican and Democratic Administrations, and Republican and Democrat control of Congress. All Americans recognize that something must be done to address our nation’s unsustainable fiscal situation.

That is why we strongly urge you to resist efforts by some Members of the House to restore earmarks in the 113th Congress. The American people spoke loud and clear in 2006, 2008, and 2010 that they wanted reforms and changes to the way Congress operates. They asked for changes, and the House listened.
One of those changes was to amend the House Rules to prohibit the practice of earmarking. These special interest set asides should not be allowed to return to the House in any shape, form or fashion.

As the House debates our annual spending bills to fund the federal government, we thank you for your commitment to enforcing the current House Rules regarding earmarks, and urge you to reject calls to allow for the return of earmarks in the House of Representatives.
 http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/mkibbe/tell-your-representative-to-sign-onto-letter-urgin
So, I ask that Rep. Dr. Joe Heck sign the letter or put out a statement that he opposes the reinstating of earmarks to the 113 Congress.  Thanks, Rep. Dr. Heck. 
And thank you to Rep. Mark Amodei for signing the letter.
And Shelley Berkley is a lost cause, another reason why she will be unemployed come January, 2013, after she loses her bid to become Harry Reid Junior, err, when loses her bid to become U.S. Senator by losing to Sen. Dean Heller.

Stolen Election In Wisconsin?

On June 5, 2012, there was a recall election in Wisconsin for the governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, but there was also several other recalls that day as well including one election for State Senator in Racine County, which is just south of Milwaukee County and 1 county away from Illinois.  It appears that the Democrats are trying to steal the election that involved incumbent Van Wanggaard and former Democratic Senator John Lehman.
From the MacIver Institute:  A Wisconsin Government Accountability Board official admits that poll workers in Racine did not follow the law when they allowed voters who registered on election day to obtain and cast ballots without signing the supplemental poll list.
"What is supposed to happen is that, they're not supposed to get a ballot," Michael Haas, Staff Counsel with the GAB said Monday afternoon. "The election official should not have given the person a ballot"
That statement reinforced the one Haas gave the MacIver News Service earlier in the day when we reported on the errors.
However, that same official now asserts that the discovery that thousands of individuals may have been mistakenly given ballots in the June 5th recall election should not disqualify their votes.
"If the election official, made an error and gave them a ballot, you don't disenfranchise the voter," Haas said. "The intent of their ballot can still be ascertained."  http://www.maciverinstitute.com/2012/06/clouds-gather-over-city-of-racine-election-procedures/
Of course not mentioned is that in the WI. Supreme Court election the previous year, 18 nuns who tried to vote had their votes tossed because they lacked a witness signature. 
From Free Republic: In Sauk County, there’s a convent, Valley of our Lady Monastery that is inhabited by 18 Cistercian nuns. These nuns take a vow of silence, with their main occupation being the making the communion wafers. I am not making this up, the website couldn’t be better: http://www.nunocist.org/page2.html. The majority of these nuns stay at the Monastery their entire life…living the simplest of simple lives.
Every election the Town of Sumpter Clerk, Donna Ziegler, drops off 18 ballots so the nuns can vote. She later picks them up, prior to the election in a single, large, sealed envelope—not opening the large envelope prior to the election.
This year, she opened the large enveloped and removed the ballots…counted them, and included them as part of the total 24 absentee ballots for the town.
Fast forward to the recount….last Friday it was discovered that the absentee ballots cast by the nuns didn’t include witness signatures…and no one noticed prior to the election. The Kloppenburg team argued that the ballots should be thrown out—never mind that the GAB has never enforced lack of witness signature as grounds for throwing out a ballot with any regularity—and was successful.
Yesterday, the canvas board reconsidered—bringing in the Town Clerk (Ziegler) to discuss the situation, and she very passionately objected to the dismissal—stating she knows these women, trusts them and has always handled the nun’s absentee ballots the same way. Again, the canvas board after a long and somewhat contentious conversation voted to reject the ballots—at the insistence of the Kloppenberg attorney.
They were forced to “draw down” among the 24 absentee ballots, and Prosser lost 14 while Klopp lost 4.
 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2715163/posts
Then there is this from Dad 29: 

Today, Recount observers in Racine discovered that ballot bags for 9 of the 36 city of Racine wards were sealed on election night, reopened, and then closed (but not sealed) again.

o   Once a bag is reopened, the seal will show evidence of tampering (and did)

o   The bags were shown to be reopened when delivered to the city clerk

o   Upon delivery to the Racine County Clerk, the County Clerk rejected the ballot bags and sent them back to the city clerk because they were not sealed.

o   When the city clerk received the returned ballot bags, the city clerk’s office double bagged the original ballot bag, then sealed the double bag.

o   The questionable bags were then accepted by the County Clerk.
 http://dad29.blogspot.com/2012/06/in-racine-s-gets-deeper.html
Democrats have been know to conservatives to steal elections, like the Al Franken senate election a couple years ago and the Washington State governor's election, few more years back, so the Democrats trying to steal elections in Wisconsin should come as no surprise.  What is surprising is that the Wisconsin Democrats in Racine County didn't even try to cover up their election stealing.  I think this may have been a trial balloon for the Fall 2012 elections and the Democrats are waiting to see if there theft will be allowed.
Watch out for the November 2012 Fall elections, there probably be massive voter fraud like we have never seen before by the Democrats. 

Robert Irvine's Restaurant Impossible In Las Vegas

Would you want to advertise this?:
From the Las Vegas Sun: Robert Irvine didn’t ask producers why they chose the Maple Tree Cafe in Las Vegas for his show “Restaurant: Impossible.” He never does.
“When I first pull up in my car, I’m really seeing everything for the first time, and I don’t want to spoil that,” Irvine said this morning as the Food Network program prepared for its final day of production for the restaurant makeover.
Producers search for restaurants near financial failure and in need of renovations, checking bankruptcy records and making sure the eateries are really in dire situations, Irvine said.
He saw as much at the Maple Tree on Spring Mountain Road near Jones Boulevard, when he arrived early Wednesday.
“The decor and the food was awful,” Irvine said. “And like so many places we visit, we had to fix the relationships first. There was a huge rift in the family that owns it. They don’t get on at all. It’s a bit like having children.”
The crew shot from 7 a.m. to midnight, as Irvine and his crew set about to change the face of the Maple Tree.
“It’s a real two days and a real $10,000,” Irvine said of the time and budget constraints of the program. “We really have less than two days, because we’re constantly stopping and starting. That takes away time.”
 http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/jun/28/tvs-restaurant-impossible-gears-reopen-las-vegas-r/
I've heard of the Maple Tree through a review in the LVRJ and they received an A- grade, so what happened since the review in 2006?
From the LVRJ:  I would've overlooked The Maple Tree myself were it not for a few loyal readers who e-mailed shortly after a review of another breakfast place ran. As I said, it's a fairly small spot, tucked into a strip shopping center. The sign doesn't scream out as you're whizzing by on Spring Mountain Road, and such small places rarely have budgets for much advertising. But -- bless those readers -- I found it, and so should you.
The Maple Tree bills itself as a "countryside kitchen" with "old-time rural country cooking in the tradition of a New England-style sugarhouse restaurant." Redundancies aside, that's just what it is -- a charming little spot, such as used to dot rural areas of the Northeast (and still do, in some places).
We were there for breakfast. As you'd imagine, maple's got a prominent place on this menu, including real maple syrup served with the pancakes. We'd have been remiss to pass that by, and so decided on a Sugarhouse Sampler ($7.99), which included not only pancakes but also two eggs, two links of sausage, two strips of bacon and maple-baked ham. Yes, the ham did taste of maple -- but just pleasantly, not overpoweringly so -- and the pancakes were high and light, gently browned and nicely fluffy, and just right with that syrup.....
 Maybe the Monte Cristo crowd should go right away, for a fix. As for the rest of you: I think The Maple Tree will be around for quite a while.  http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Apr-21-Fri-2006/weekly/6877579.html
Strange that they went from great food in 2006 to awful food in 2012.  Again, I wonder what happened.

TV Show Tanked Not All It's Cracked Up To Be

A TV reality show based in Las Vegas named Tank is a show about some guys who build custom fish tanks.  Because of their unique fish tanks, they were able to land a TV show on the animal Planet named Tanked.
Well, apparently some of their tanks just didn't do so well after the cameras were turned off.
From the Las Vegas Adviser (a web site that is al about Las Vegas and contains some very good information about Vegas): One of the episodes showed a gumball aquarium that was supposed to be on the outside verandah at Caesars' Serendipity ice cream parlor....
 The tank, which apparently dispensed real gumballs, was more than 250 gallons, carried 50 fish of assorted varieties, and was more than 8 feet tall. As it was outside on the verandah, a custom cooling mechanism was incorporated into the design in an attempt to keep the fish at a healthy temperature, but from what we gleaned from some aquatic forums we visited, it didn't work properly, all the fish apparently died within four days, and the tank had to be dismantled.....
Another accusation leveled at the show's stars is that they do not acclimate the fish to their new environment, nor cycle the water through repeatedly as you're meant to when a new tank is being established, as evinced by the superclean sand and water when the final "reveals" are done, and a lack of algae that would be the norm in a new tank environment.
A tank built in the style and to the exact dimensions of a phone booth, commissioned for a private residence in Las Vegas, also proved to have inherent problems. It's currently for sale on eBay, but is being stored at a business in North Las Vegas called Blue Reef Aquatics. A very helpful staff member we spoke with there confirmed our suspicions that the piece has issues, describing it as "temperamental." The vertical orientation would require significant and costly modification to the filtration system to get enough oxygen into the water to support saltwater fish, we were told, so it's currently home to some goldfish. (With a $5,000 price tag, that's got to make it one of the most expensive goldfish bowls in the world.) Apparently, the previous owners, who relocated back to New York, had the filter running through a hole in their garage wall and the necessary water-cooling in the Las Vegas heat was adding $300-$400 per month to their electric bill. Ouch.
 http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/qod.cfm
Last week, they had a fish tank built for KISS at their new Monster mini-golf  at Harmon and Koval. http://monsterminigolf.com/kiss/
The Tanked guys built a tank and then placed speakers next to the fish tank, along with flashing lights.  Now, I used have fish- salt water and fresh, and I would think that the loud music and flashing lights just would not be very good for fish.  So, I think I might pay a visit to the KISS Mini golf and see how the fish are doing, but at $11.95 for a half hour, it may be awhile. 

Ooops, Obama Loses Another $400 Million In Green Energy Loans

From Michelle Malkin: Abound Solar Inc., a U.S. solar manufacturer that was awarded a $400 million U.S. loan guarantee, will suspend operations and file for bankruptcy because its panels were too expensive to compete.Abound borrowed about $70 million against the guarantee, the Loveland, Colorado-based company said today in a statement. It plans to file for bankruptcy protection in Wilmington, Delaware, next week.U.S. taxpayers may lose $40 million to $60 million on the loan after Abound’s assets are sold and the bankruptcy proceeding closes, Damien LaVera, an Energy Department spokesman, said in a statement today...  (Yeah, right)
 Back in 2010, President Obama promised America in his weekly radio address that Abound would “manufacture advanced solar panels at two new plants, creating more than 2,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs.” Energy Secretary Steven Chu waves his green pom-poms, too. “Not only is this investment creating thousands of jobs, but it is also increasing our renewable energy manufacturing capacity and putting us on the path for our future prosperity.”...
A123 Systems, a manufacturer of batteries for electric cars, received a $249 million grant from the Energy Department but has laid off some workers and acknowledges that it faces serious challenges.
 http://michellemalkin.com/2012/06/28/abound-solar/
 Hey, what's a few million here a hundred million there, after all, it;s just taxpayer money, not real money.

Spot the Bias

Firehouse.com is a nice little magazine/web site, mainly for firefighters and it advocates for firefighters.  Bu this article makes me wonder if Firehouse has a liberal bias in their articles when it comes to politcs.
From Firehouse: Federal benefits for volunteer and non-profit EMS personnel who die in the line of duty took another step forward Wednesday when the the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the measure.
For several years, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has pushed for legislation to grant the families of volunteers and non-profit agencies the same PSOB funds that firefighters, police officers and career EMS providers receive.
Leahy has led the charge for the change after one of his constituents, Dale Long, was killed in an ambulance crash in June 2009.
"We have been working to address this gap in the federal program for some time, and the loss of Dale Long reminded everyone that first responders of many uniforms literally put their lives at risk every day," Leahy said in a prepared statement. "These brave emergency professionals never let their communities down when a call comes in, and no one asks the lifesavers at an emergency scene whether they work for the federal government, a state government, a local government, or a nonprofit agency. This provision will erase that unnecessary distinction from the PSOB program."
Congress created the PSOB program more than three decades ago to provide tangible help to the surviving families of police, firefighters and medics who lose their lives or are disabled in the line of duty.

NAEMT has pushed for the PSOB change for many years, and personnel lobbied once again at its annual EMS on the Hill day in May.  http://www.firehouse.com/news/10735950/house-oks-psob-for-volunteer-medics-emts
First off, Firehouse doesn't name the author, which is strange.
But now, Firehouse has a love fest with Sen. Patrick Leahy, which is fine except the article is about the U.S. House passing the PSOB in which Leahy is not a member.
Then, the U.S. House is run by the GOP majority, not the Democrats, so the GOP had a little something to do with passing this bill, something the Senate has not done.
When the Bill passed the House, it was by voice vote and the voice vote was overwhelming...
So far, Leahy has been trying since 2009 to get the bill introduced into the Senate.  Why hasn't that happened since the Democrats have controlled the Senate for 6 years?  This bill has not been introduced into the Senate by Leahy, or anybody else.  Why?
There 18 co-sponsors of the bill, 9 GOP and 9 Dem, so it was clearly bi-partisan.
So, bias can come from CNN, MSNBC or any of the major media outlets to little outlets like Firehouse Magazine.
But now, with the Internet, the media can be called out on their bias by little blogs like this.

New Poll Questions

There are 3 new poll questions up today.
First, will Eric Holder be still be the U.S. Attorney General in November, before the elections.
Second, who will benefit most from the Supreme Courts ruling on ObamaCare.
Finally, for NASCAR fans, which car will Matt Kenseth be driving next season.
As always, thanks for taking the polls and expressing you opinion.  If you have any suggestions on a poll to run, please let me know.  Thanks

Obviously, They Don't Watch Pawn Stars

From ESPN: A California man has pleaded guilty in a New York court to trying to sell for $200,000 a 19th-century baseball glove he falsely claimed belonged to Babe Ruth.
Irving Scheib entered the plea to a count of wire fraud in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday.
The government says the Bonsall, Calif., resident bought the glove on eBay for $750 in January. It says he then claimed the late "Father Knows Best" actor Robert Young had gotten the glove.
The government says Scheib is married to one of the actor's granddaughters.
Prosecutors say a buyer backed out after Scheib refused to notarize a letter. They say Scheib was caught after an investigator posed as a New York buyer.
 http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/8110103/irving-scheib-faces-20-years-jail-babe-ruth-glove-ruse
Most people would have had the glove looked at by an expert and and not take the word of the seller.
I got to say that I think it may be wrong to file the charges unless he absolutely knew the glove didn't belong to Babe Ruth or that the signature was a print.  Further, the seller should have done his/her homework and would have found out that a glove signed by the Babe would be worth in the thousands to ten's of thousands.
Obviously, the seller has never watched Pawn Stars.

Racist Holder Contemptible

From Fox News: The GOP-led House voted Thursday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for failing to provide key information pertaining to Operation Fast and Furious, making Holder the first sitting Cabinet member to be held in contempt.
The vote was 255-67, with 17 Democrats breaking ranks to side with Republicans in favor of contempt. 
The vote follows a roughly 16-month investigation by the chamber’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee into the failed gun-running sting known as Fast and Furious -- run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a division of the Justice Department led by Holder.
Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., filed two subpoenas over that period requesting additional information. But he has more recently focused on information related to a February 2011 letter to Congress that falsely claimed the ATF was unaware the operation involved the underground sale of the assault weapons.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/06/28/house-holds-holder-contempt/#ixzz21y40A7sl

Not surprisingly, a bunch of Democrats played like stupid chickens and waddle out of the House floor:

Among Democrats most opposed to the votes were members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who led more than 100 House party members in boycotting the vote and walking out of the chamber. 

What a bunch of asinine babies.

Holder is a contemptible human being.  Instead of trying to solve the killing of a Border Patrol agent, they are trying to hide information, some of which may help find the killer of Border Patrol agent, Brian Terry.

The Congressional Black Caucus says it's racism that the House is holding Holder in contempt.

How about this, maybe Holder is hiding information on the murder of a white Border Patrol Agent.  Perhaps, it is Obama, the Congressional Black Caucus and Holder who are the racists.

Believe It Or Not, There Is Life After The ObamaCare Ruling

Even though  I was disappointed in the ObamaCare ruling, life goes on.
The family went to sell fireworks at the fireworks stand at the Wal-Mart on Sunset and Marks for the Foothill H.S. band.  It was about 107 outside, no humidity but with a breeze and in the shade, it really wasn't too bad.
And for those who don't want to travel to Pahrumpo or to Moapa to get the real fireworks that are the true true fireworks, like M-80's or something close to that, Roman Candles and other big fireworks, please shop at the Foothill H.S. Band fireworks booth.  The have booths at the Wal-Marts at Marks and Sunset and Lake Mead and Boulder Highway.
CCSD gets ripped for being a bad school district, but there are programs that some of the best in the Country and the Foothills band, orchestra, flag and dance team ares some of the country's best.  They participate in competitions throughout the country including Ohio, California and Washington D.C..  They even have their own semi tractor-trailer to carry their instruments around the State and country.  They are not the only good arts program in the district; my school has one of the best Mariachi bands in the District and State. 
So, we are back into air conditioning and will work another shift, perhaps, next week.

John Roberts Becomes The New Harry Blackmun

 

 






Harry Blackmun was the Supreme Court justice that penned the Roe v Wade decision that legalized abortion in the United States.  Blackmun was nominated by GOP president, Richard Nixon and was thought to be a moderate to conservative.  Since the Roe ruling, and it was a 7-2 ruling, Blackmun has been known as the justice that legalized abortion and conservatives, for the most part, have never forgiven him.

Today, Supreme Court Chief Justice sided with the liberal wing of the court and upheld ObamaCare.  Roberts was nominated by George W. Bush, a conservative president and forever Roberts will be known as the justice that opened the door to the largest tax increase in the United States, socialized medicine and the downfall of medical care in the U.S.  Conservatives are going to hate him while liberals, despite this ruling liberals will still hate him.
That will be Robert's legacy.  He will go down as the 21st Century Harry Blackmun. 

Obama Policies Allow WildFires To Grow

From The Weekly Standard:
Colorado's wildfire has exploded into an "epic firestorm," in the words of Colorado Springs fire chief Richard Brown. Over 30,000 people have evacuated, and already hundreds of homes have been consumed. Ironically, the U.S. Air Force Academy has also been evacuated, at the very time that Colorado desperately needs more Air Force C-130s to fight the massive fire.

A C-130 fitted with the Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) can drop 3,000 gallons of fire-retardant material in 5 seconds, and reload in just 15 minutes. This tempo is crucial to containing wildfires like the one devastating Colorado Springs. However, of a current fleet of nearly 380 C-130s, only eight can be fitted with the MAFFS—and four of them are already in the skies over Colorado. With another fire looming in the north of the state, there is no excess capacity to help protect civilian areas. That means thousands of exhausted firefighters on the ground are without enough of the crucial support they need to control the fires.

All this raises concerns about President Obama’s defense budget, which cuts 65 C-130s from the fleet over the next four years. While that will leave 318 C-130s, the demands on the fleet are not shrinking in Afghanistan or other places. Nor did the Air Force have much choice in the matter. 

 http://www.weeklystandard.com/print/blogs/colorados-epic-firestorm-reveals-danger-air-force-cuts_647897.html

Meanwhile, a large 747 supertanker that can do the same as 7 smaller air tankers sits idle.

Yeah, What He Said

From Grandpa John and Steve Burri:
"Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.   And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.  He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.  He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.
And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us,   that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”  (Excerpts from 1Samuel 8, ESV)
I just wish I was half as smart and witty as those at Grandpa John  http://grandpajohn.blogspot.com/

Liar Liar, Pants On Fire

With the Supreme Court ruling, we just got the highest tax increase in U.S. history.

Stunner: ObamaCare Constitutional

I'm stunned.  Shocked.  Sad. Disappointed.  Pissed.
ObamaCare was found constitutional today but the way it was found constitutional on a 5-4 vote.  It would be one thing if Justice Kennedy, a moderate, would have voted for ObamaCare. 
But Chief Justice Roberts?  Seriously, Roberts voted for ObamaCare?  A conservative voting for ObamaCare?  That part is probably the worst part of the ruling.
Many of the pundits are now talking about who wind and who loses, politically. No, the biggest losers are the vast majority of Americans who will pay higher taxes, pay higher premiums and reduced services.
Yeah, Obama will proclaim victory for now, but in the end, I think this will hurt him and the Democrats.  This is a true Democratic bill- the Democrats pushed it and they almost all voted for it.
And, to Dina Titus and Shelly Berkley of Nevada, us conservatives are coming after you at the ballot box in November because you two wenches/bitches voted for it.
Elections have consequences and this is the consequence of Republicans putting up a horrible presidential candidate in 2008 and  poor Congressional candidates from 2002 until 2010.  I blame the Republicans just as much as I blame the Democrats.
At the end of the day, it is a good day for liberals and a bad day for everyone else.

What Will Happen If U.S. Liberals Get Their Way With Healthcare

As we await the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare, even if Obamacare loses, the liberals will not stop until they get a single payer healthcare system in the U.S.So, let's look at Ireland, with a government run healthcare system.

From the Dublin People: THIS man, who suffers from debilitating bouts of migraine headaches, will have to wait 18 months for treatment at Beaumont Hospital.Joe Hedderman, from Ballymun, couldn’t believe his eyes when he received an appointment for the end of November 2013.The 35-year-old has suffered from severe migraines for more than a year and was referred to the Migraine Clinic in Beaumont Hospital by his doctor.He recently received his hospital appointment, which has left him speechless.“I thought it was a misprint and it should have been November 2012, not 2013,” he told Northside People.“I even called the hospital to double check and was absolutely gobsmacked when they confirmed it was November of next year. It’s an absolute joke.”Mr Hedderman is worried that the migraines could be a sign of something more serious.“I’m 35–years-old and suddenly I’ve just started to suffer from migraines having never had one before last year,” he stated.“I’m worried that it could be something else. I just want answers and help but I’ll have to wait almost a year and a half for that.” http://www.northsidepeople.ie/article.php?id=1279&l=100

I'll willing to bet that when Ireland decided to go with government run health care, they promised better health care no reduced wait times.  Well, they were wrong.

And if adopt the liberal's government run health care, this is what we can expect- long waiting lines just for a doctors appointment.

Let's hope the Supreme Court throws cold water on Obamacare and the other wacky ideas the liberals have on health care.

Hypocrite Democrat Women Haters At It Again

Last week, the liberal women haters attacked the wife of Rep. Dr. Joe Heck for receiving unemployment compensation after she was laid off from her job at Heck's medical office.  She is a RN.
From the LVRJ opinion page:
It is the silly season, of course, but this is much ado about not much.
In the first place, the attacks on the congressman's spouse aren't very "progressive." Lisa Heck did nothing wrong. She isn't running for office. The choices made here were hers. Liberals quite correctly insist that husbands and wives are free to have separate careers, and that the career choices of one should not be held against the other - unless the wife in question is married to a GOP congressman, apparently.
More importantly, when the new farm bill was being debated by Congress this month, Republicans proposed an asset test for those receiving food stamps. Someone with no job and no income but a net worth in the seven figures doesn't need a taxpayer grocery subsidy, Republicans argued.
But Democrats defeated the food stamp asset test, indicating they're all for allowing a multimillion-dollar lottery winner collect food stamps. So how can they then imply that Lisa Heck did something wrong in drawing her unemployment insurance benefits because her husband earns $174,000 a year and has that much again in some retirement account?  http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/unemployment-brouhaha-160494565.html
Why do Democrats and some liberals hate women, especially those who are conservative?
And why don't we have a means test for those receiving food stamps along with those receiving Social Security, farm subsidies etc.
But why do Democrats and some liberals hate women?

Holder Contempt Vote Going To Be Bi-Partisan

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune: At least four House Democrats plan to vote with Republicans to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress and dozens more may join them, potentially undercutting the Obama administration's argument that the vote is an election-year ploy by Republicans.
The four Democrats -- Collin Peterson of Minnesota, John Barrow of Georgia, Nick Rahall of West Virginia and Jim Matheson of Utah -- maintain generally moderate voting records and face challenging re-election campaigns in moderate- or Republican-leaning districts....
 The list of supportive Democrats could grow. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a Democratic member of the House Appropriations subcommittee, said that "a couple dozen" other Democrats could join with Republicans because of NRA pressure. Schiff said: "Is it just the NRA's fight with the attorney general and are the members who support the contempt vote, from whatever party tomorrow, merely supporting the NRA and others in a partisan attack on the attorney general?"  http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/160619365.html
First, up until now, I didn't know the NRA had a big role in this vote.  Apparently, all the articles and opinion pieces, both left and right, apparently have forgotten this part.
If the Democrats would have taken this case seriously, especially after Border Patrol officer Brian Terry was murdered, we would never have come to this point in time.
But by the way Holder and President Obama have acted, it seems highly likely that they are hiding something.  If they are not, then why not turn over all the documents?
But in the end, Holder will be a disgraced Attorney General and he will soon be thrown under the bus Obama.

America's Got Talent WTF Moment

From the l Paso Times: The singing former soldier whose battle injury claims were questioned sang his last song on "America's Got Talent."
Timothy Michael Poe crooned George Strait's "The Chair" before he was cut from the NBC talent competition on Tuesday's Las Vegas-set installment.
The 35-year-old country singer appeared earlier this month on "America's Got Talent" and said he was injured by a grenade in Afghanistan in 2009, but Minnesota National Guard records didn't support his story....
 Poe, who now lives in Texas, later told WFAA-TV in Dallas that he believed he was telling the truth but doesn't know what is real. He also provided a photo to "America's Got Talent" of a soldier that he passed off as himself. Poe's fiancée, Carrie Morris, said he accidentally submitted the photo of Staff Sgt. Norman Bone in Afghanistan in 2006 because he was rushed. Bone is a Fort Bliss soldier. 
 http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_20944841/singing-soldier-who-submitted-fort-bliss-soldiers-photo?source=rss_viewed
My guess America's Got talent is going scrutinize their contestants more closely.

52 Years Old And Never Called For Jury Service

I am almost 52 years old and have never been called for jury service in all the communities I have lived in. 
I guess my name never came up in all the drawings they have to call people for jury service.
I guess this is the same reason why I never win raffles or win at BINGO.
Is this unusual or do most people not get called?

Stupidity In Nye County Courts.Again

There must be something in the water that makes judges in Nye County act like stupid idiots.  The latest stupid judge in Nye County is Judge Robert Lane.
From the PVT:  Willing’s defense attorney, Donald Green, filed two motions shortly after Willing’s conviction. One sought a new trial. Another attempted to use a misunderstanding on the part of jurors to reduce the three kidnapping charges to false imprisonment charges, which carry much lighter penalties.
Judge Robert Lane denied both motions. It was clear, however, that the judge was worried the kidnapping charges could be reversed on appeal. The jury, when convicting Willing, convicted him on the three kidnapping charges as well as on the false imprisonment charges, when in fact jurors were supposed to merely choose one over the other. When argued at trial, the judge let the kidnaping charges stand, which is why Green asked for a new trial.  http://pvtimes.com/news/former-county-worker-gets-75-years-in-2010-home-invasion/
The charges stem from a case in where the defendant hired a bunch of thugs to rob his boss's house in retaliation for a write up at work.
Now, I don't side with the defendant in what he did but you cannot convict a guy of kidnapping and false imprisonment at the same time when they were supposed to convict on only one or find the guy innocent.
This case will be overturned and he will have to go trial again on the kidnapping charges.  It doesn't take a 5th grader or a Pahrump Valley Times editor to figure that out.
Once again, Nye County justice shows that they do not have the brightest bunch on the bench.

Gas Prices $2.98 In...Pahrump?

From the PVT:  Melanie, a slender blonde from Las Vegas, came out to Pahrump on her annual trip to buy fireworks and did something else — she filled up her big, brand new Chevrolet Silverado extended cab pickup with gas.
Pahrump gas prices for the last few months have been lower than over the hill by at least 30 cents recently, giving visitors another business to patronize locally.
Prices have been steadily dropping, the $3 plateau fell this past weekend.
Terrible’s Country Store at 1801 S. Highway 160 had regular, unleaded advertised at $2.98 per gallon Monday, so did the Kwik-Serve at the Winery Super Mart at 2301 E. Winery Road., on a sign facing the Maverik Market store. The Kwik Serve sign advised that was a cash only price; ironically the Shell station sign, visible to motorists on Highway 160 at that same convenience store, advertised regular unleaded Shell gas at $3.45 per gallon for cash with a $3.50 price for credit.
http://pvtimes.com/news/gas-prices-below-3-for-now/
Strange that gas would be that low, even with the long delivery drives but hey, if you are in Pahrump, get the gas before you go back to Las Vegas.
BTW, what happened to those predictions of $5 a gallon?

Stockton Bankrupt, Others Should Be Following

From the San Francisco Chronicle: : After desperately trying everything from huge budget cuts to secret negotiations with creditors, the Stockton City Council finally ran out of options Tuesday night and voted to file for bankruptcy.
The 6-1 vote was to authorize a day-to-day operating budget, called a pendency plan, that will go into effect when city officials file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection in federal court in Sacramento. That filing is expected Wednesday.
Stockton, a river port with 292,000 residents, will become the biggest city in U.S. history to vote itself into bankruptcy. The previous largest bankrupt city was Vallejo, which filed in 2008 and resumed solvency last year.
A federal judge will now be charged with deciding how much money on the dollar Stockton will pay creditors and how the city will restructure its budgets in the future.
Bankruptcy became the only option after the city failed to erase a $26 million deficit or to renegotiate millions of dollars it owes in retiree health benefits and on huge civic projects it built in the past decade.
 http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Cash-strapped-Stockton-set-to-vote-for-bankruptcy-3665400.php
Stockton is the latest, but North Las Vegas should follow in their footsteps.  Not only North Las Vegas, but cities like Detroit and other large cities should also consider bankruptcy to get out of burdonsome union contracts.
One reason why Stockton is in trouble:  Before the vote, retired police Officer Nicholas Huerta, 57, summed up the feelings of his fellow retirees and said he won't be able to afford his medical insurance if the city reduces its $1,500 monthly contribution. 
So the guy is not only receiving a pension of a few thousand dollars a month but he gets $1500 in health benefits?  That's more most single people get charged per month.
So, good luck to Stockton and I hope other cities do the same.

Where's Jesse Jr?

Come out, come out, Jesse Jr., wherever you are!
From the Chicago Tribune: A day after U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s office announced that he was on medical leave for exhaustion, people who know him offered no new details Tuesday, but they did issue new denials.
A Jackson lawyer insisted that the congressman's absence was unrelated to longtime family friend Raghuveer Nayak's arrest last week.
A Jackson spokesman refused to say whether the congressman was in Illinois or was even in a medical facility, but he did beat back a rumor that Jackson was staying at a hotel in Puerto Rico. "That would be absurd," said the spokesman, Frank Watkins.
When asked when Jackson would return to work, Watkins said, "We don't know at this point."
Jackson, 47, who entered Congress is 1995 and sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, has been under scrutiny over his attempts in late 2008 to get then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to appoint him to President Barack Obama's Senate seat. He predicts that a House Ethics Committee investigation will vindicate him.
Nayak, a political fundraiser central to the question of whether Jackson tried to steer millions in campaign contributions to influence the Blagojevich appointment, was indicted last week on unrelated federal counts. The Oak Brook resident is accused of bribing doctors to send patients to his surgical centers.
Chicago attorney Paul Langer, one of Jackson's lawyers, said he does not know where the lawmaker is but that he "is suffering from exhaustion" and "I can tell you unequivocally it has nothing to do with the arrest of Mr. Nayak."  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-jesse-jackson-jr-leave-0627-20120627,0,6898416.story
So, Jesse Jr. is missing and no one knows where he is?  WTF.  Exhaustion?  Please.  If you are exhausted being a congressman, then you are not capable of doing most any other job except maybe being a community organizer.
But then, the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree.  Leave it to JR. to run away and fleece the taxpayers who pays his salary, just like papa who fleeces anybody who he comes in contact with.

Old Man Joins Las Vegas 51's

The Old Man of baseball, Jamie Moyers is joining the Las Vegas 51's.
From Channel 13, KTNV: Veteran pitcher Jamie Moyer is expected to join the Las Vegas 51s this week after signing a Minor League contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.
MLB.com reports that Moyer is expected to join the starting rotation but is not on a guaranteed deal.
Moyer, 49, is the oldest pitcher in baseball and has spent parts of 25 seasons in Major League Baseball.
He began the season with the Colorado Rockies and was traded to the Baltimore Orioles before inking a deal with the Blue Jays.
No word yet on when Moyer is expected to make his first pitching appearance for the 51s.
http://www.ktnv.com/news/local/160458195.html
This may make me go to a 51's game, even if it is 105 degrees out.  Moyer is still a good pitcher and is capable of playing in the big leagues.
Funny thing is that he probably has been in professional baseball longer than most, if not all of the 51 players.

Cheaper Than A Value Meal

This is like old time Las Vegas.
The Fiesta Casino in Henderson and their buffet, the Festival Buffet is offering their meals at $3.99 for breakfast, $4.99 for lunch and $5.99 for dinner, including drinks.  All these prices are cheaper than many value meals at the local fast food restaurants  and you get all you can eat with supposedly 100 food items.
Of course, the food isn't the greatest, though the desserts are pretty damn good IMHO.
So, if you are in Vegas and running short of money, here is really a cheap place to eat.
 https://fiestahenderson.sclv.com/Dining/Festival-Buffet.aspx

Latest Stupid Education Fad: Parent Trigger Laws

In education, every year, every semester and sometimes, every week, there is the next biggest and stupid education fad.  Whether it is learning without books, no rules education or let the kid learn at their own pace, most education fads are quickly found to be found to dumb and it quietly goes away for at least 1 generation.
The latest fad, this time, and I think this is a conservative idea, is trigger laws.  Trigger laws allow parents to fire teachers and principal if they get the majority of parents to agree.

From MSNBC: On its face, the idea sounds so simple: if a school is persistently failing, give parents the power to change it. But the reality of putting that notion into practice is proving challenging, at best.

In the last two years, California, Texas and Mississippi have passed so-called "parent trigger" laws. In each, the law stipulates that if at least 51 percent of the parents of children enrolled in a school sign a petition, they can trigger change. The laws vary in terms of the specifics, but in general, the new law allows parents at persistently failing schools to fire the teachers and principal, and in some cases, turn the school into a charter school instead. Twenty-two other states are considering giving parents the same kind of power....
 Backers of the "parent trigger" laws say they were born as a way to give parents the right to intervene if the system to which they entrust their children is in a downward spiral. The laws offer a way to vent anger and frustration, and effect real change, they say.  
But there is a learning curve. Proponents are now out campaigning to remind parents the laws have to be about more than just signing a petition and hoping the rest will take care of itself. They argue the trigger attempt should be a starting point for parents to organize, rally, meet and educate themselves. They've even started handing out what they call a Parent Power Handbook, a slim pocket-size notebook with hints about how parents can stay involved and remain active in the day-to-day operations of their children's school.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44671945/ns/nbcnightlynews/t/trigger-law-put-test-compton-calif/#.UBIkdJE8VXs
First, I want to put out there that I am a teacher and belong to the teacher's union, though I am about the only conservative card carry union teacher in CCSD.
The reason why I think this is bad policy is this: Do we use taxpayer triggers if a cop is bad? How about a firefighter, lawn cutter or paper pusher?  Do we march into city hall and sign a petition and to fire all the cops and the police chief?  Of course not and that is why we elect the local representatives.
And though there is politics in education, there will also be politics in this. The fact is, most parents, especially in inner city schools don't give a rip about their kid's education. Some do, obviously, but most don't When our school tried to have parents help decide policy in our school, only 5-9 parents would show up out of 2500 kids, even though we tried to bribe the parents with food, prizes and meetings during the entire day, not just the school day. So, if you only have a few parents caring about the education, they will be the loudest and and they may want things done their way, even if it may be wrong.
I might also add is that why are only parents allowed to make a change? While they have kids in school, the entire community has a vested interest if a school is doing good or not, so why limit trigger laws just to parents? Why not a bring a wealth of experience to the table? Further, most parents in elementary schools generally are quite young- from teenagers to twenties and don't have much life experience. Why not include people like business owners, the retired, independent educators, professionals, blue collar types etc. Are their opinions any less important than parents?  Is their experience not worth a single bit in helping a school as it is with trigger laws?
It is frustrating, as a teacher and a parent, to see kids failing and I think there is much more that can be done, but Trigger Laws are not the way and like most education fads, these will soon fall by the wayside.

Apple To Make Major Investment In Reno Area

Apparently, Apple Computers are getting tired of doing business in California and will instead make a major investment in the Reno area.
From the LVRJ: Computer giant Apple wants to open facilities in Sparks and Reno as part of a proposed $1 billion investment in northern Nevada over the next decade.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that local officials are in the process of approving an incentive package that includes $89 million in county, city and state tax abatements. Analysts say that's a 79 percent reduction in the company's tax burden.
Steve Hill of the Nevada Office on Economic Development said the tax breaks are critical for Nevada to compete with other potential Apple sites, including sales tax-free Oregon.
The project would include a data center east of Sparks to house Apple's cloud computing service, and a business and purchasing center in downtown Reno.
Hill says approvals could take a month, and construction could begin as early as August.
 http://www.lvrj.com/business/xyx-xy-xy-xy-160462995.html
Even though the story did not mention Gov. Brian Sandoval, I am sure he played a major part in getting Apple to invest here.
And now that Apple is coming here to Nevada, I hope other California companies will find out it is much better doing business in Nevada than California and more companies will start doing business in Nevada.

Matt Kenseth Leaving The 17 Car At the End Of Season

This was a shock- Matt Kenseth is leaving the Rousch-Fenway Racing and will be a free agent at the end of the season.  Currently, Kenseth is first in points in the Sprint Cup series.
From ESPN: NASCAR points leader Matt Kenseth, one of the longest-tenured drivers in the series, is leaving Roush Fenway Racing at the end of the season.
He will be replaced in the No. 17 Ford -- the car he has driven for all but one of his 452 career starts -- by Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kenseth's long relationship with Ford will apparently come to an end.
Why? Good question. The team offered no answers in the sudden divorce of one of NASCAR's longest active relationships. Only Jeff Gordon, with Hendrick Motorsports since 1993, has been with his team longer than Kenseth has been with Jack Roush.
"I'd like to thank Matt Kenseth for his many years of loyal service," co-owner Roush said Tuesday. "Matt has been an integral part of this organization for well over a decade, and we are extremely appreciative of his accomplishments and contributions to the team, and will always consider him a part of the Roush Fenway family."
Kenseth and teammate Greg Biffle are ranked first and second in the Sprint Cup Series, clearly poised to make a run at the championship. Kenseth opened the season with his second Daytona 500 victory, and has 11 top-10 finishes through 16 races.
Kenseth did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press on Tuesday, but tweeted about his departure.
"I'm very thankful to Jack Roush for the opportunities he's given me over the past 14 years. Together we have enjoyed a lot of success," he posted. "And as a team we are committed as ever to the remainder of the 2012 season and chasing a 3rd sprint cup title for Jack and RFR."
http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/8097532/matt-kenseth-leave-roush-fenway-racing-end-season
So, where will Kenseth end up?  If I was a betting guy, I thik he will end up in the 20 Home Depot car.  While the current driver, Joey Logano, is an ok driver, he is not beating the #48 car, the Loews car driven by Jimmie Johnson.  Home Depot is probably not that happy that Loews is beating on most weekends.
For some reason, Kenseth has not found full time sponsorship this year, despite the fact that he won Daytona and is leading in the points and gets a lot of air time on TV.  Considering that Rousch has troubling finding sponsors,  it's more likely that Kenseth will not have a problem finding a sponsor next year and Rousch will eventually go the way of the dinosaurs. 
So, good luck to Matt at his next ride and it will be an interesting off season to watch the merry-go-round of drivers.

Air Force Basic Training Sex Scandal

As a former Air Force enlisted man, I find this disgusting
From the El Paso Times: From a chapel pulpit on Lackland Air Force Base, where every American airman reports for basic training, Col. Glenn Palmer delivered his first order to nearly 600 recruits seated in the pews: If you're sexually harassed or assaulted, tell someone.
"My job is to give you a safe, effective training environment," Palmer said firmly.
What the colonel did not mention directly was a widening sex scandal that has rocked the base, one of the nation's busiest military training centers. Allegations that male instructors had sex with, and in one case raped, female trainees have led to criminal charges against four men. Charges against others are possible.
The most serious accusations surround an Air Force staff sergeant scheduled to face a court-martial in July on charges that include rape and multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault. The other three defendants were charged with lesser crimes ranging from sexual misconduct to adultery. All of the defendants were assigned to turn raw recruits into airmen in eight weeks of basic training.
A two-star general is now investigating alongside a separate criminal probe, which military prosecutors say could sweep up more airmen. Advocates for female service members and members of Congress have started taking notice.
"It's a pretty big scandal the Air Force is having to deal with at this point," said Greg Jacob, a former Marine infantry officer and policy director of the Service Women's Action Network. 
 http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_20935424/widening-sex-scandal-rocks-texas-air-force-base?source=rss_viewed
When a person and in this case a female recruit, are in basic training, they are highly stressed because of the training and being away from home and very vulnerable and when they have a drill instructor preying on them, it's just presents a horrible situation.  I also wonder if any woman recruit was sent home or back in training because they refused the drill instructor's demand for sex.
I am certainly proud that I was in the Air Force and my time at Lackland,  but I am disgusted by the behavior of the Air Force and some of their drill instructors.  The DI's need more supervision, it appears and that shouldn't have to be if these DI's, who acted, like thugs acted professionally and with honor.