Fourth Amendment, the FHP and FL Rep. Jimmy Patronis

Panama City talk show host Burnie Thompson, aired on FM radio station 101.5 every weekday morning (850-233-9988) has long vented about the practice of FHP's illegal traffic stops. I'm pretty vocal against them too, for the same reason Burnie's angry (Constitutional rights and violation of the Fourth Amendment). It is a case of "Your papers, please."

I suggested "we" set up a meeting with our state representative Jimmy Patronis, who smiled engagingly enough among the flag wavers and campaign sign holders in McKenzie Park when he wanted a vote. Thompson said he was interested. What I originally wanted was a meeting with Thompson, Phil Lucas, Editor of the Panama City News Herald (850-747-5000), Roger Smith, Editor of the weekly County Press and any other interested party who wanted to come along. Well, Burnie never contacted me, though I talked about this on the air a couple of times and he appeared to be gung ho on the subject. Lucas wanted to send someone in his stead, and Smith was the only one willing to attend.

So I said SCREW THAT, not because of Smith's presence only, but because of the others' inattention to a matter that is not to be taken lightly.

Originally, I also wanted the FHP there, too, but decided to get Patronis' view on things first. In talks with Thompson on the call-ins, he seemed up for that, but then he lost steam.

So I sent the following email to Patronis last week canceling the meeting and never got a reply. (850) 914-6300

I wonder why? I wonder if I will after it's on the internet.




August 20, 2008


Rep. Jimmy Patronis
Suite A
455 Harrison Avenue
Panama City, FL 32401

Dear Rep. Patronis:

Thank you the opportunity to meet with you on August 28, with members of local media. We have decided to decline the meeting and by copy of this letter are canceling it. We are canceling not because of lack of interest, but because of comments made in a telephone conversation regarding the FHP’s unconstitutional traffic stops. In that conversation with a male constituent, you stated that you would get Burnie Thompson together with the FHP. So? The other issue, more important, was your statement that you could reach “middle ground” on this subject.

Stop right there! There is NO MIDDLE GROUND WHEN CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS ARE BEING VIOLATED.

The Florida State Constitution mirrors the Constitution of the United States.

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States states:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment04/02.html#3

No act, local or state law may supersede the founding document. It is THE law of the land.

Since you took an oath of office promising to uphold the Constitution and the Constitution of Florida, you must also honor it by protecting the citizens from the overreach of law enforcement. If you cannot live up to that oath, then you must resign. By even considering a middle ground, you are conspiring against the citizens by not upholding the U.S. Constitution 100 per cent. What is your interpretation of “middle ground”, Rep. Patronis? Does that mean you approve of Bay County citizens being only half safe in their houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures which are warrantless?

When a citizen (pay attention – “civilian” is not used here) is stopped by the FHP, that citizen has been seized. If you question an FHP officer and balk at or refuse to hand over you “papers”, you will be arrested. If I do this on the principle that guarantees me my right to travel freely, standing squarely on my Constitutional rights which were bestowed to me at birth by God, and get myself arrested, are you going to pay my legal bills?

Do not let the thought of “if you aren’t doing anything illegal, why should you mind” enter your head. This is the moment where law enforcement crosses the line, and where the Fourth Amendment guarantees your rights.

Warrantless searches and no “probable cause” have no place in our society, because those who practice this are breaking the law and they are our law enforcement agencies and elected officials who have decided to countermand the Constitution(s) by passing laws to dilute it or negate it completely.

When your family came to this country from Greece and prospered, as did mine from Cuba, Spain and Italy, you can bet the first thing they learned was the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They memorized those rights because they were, at last, Americans. Ask them to refresh your memory about what happened prior to WWII. You will see patterns emerge, especially regarding police and their disregard for rights.

We, and I mean the entire country, have law enforcement agencies accepting federal grants, which is a very dangerous thing. To ignore it, to not do research into what I am saying, is also a dangerous attitude, because that is irresponsible. If we, the citizens who do understand the Constitution and the importance of our rights as sovereigns, do not speak up and stand up, we will lose our rights. We must stand up for our rights and open the dialog – to each other; to law enforcement agencies performing illegal actions against us under the guise of illegal law, or just “doing their job”; to our elected officials. If not, our county, our state and our country will become a full-fledged police state. Vigilance is the responsibility of the citizen, and not a sin.

I wrote an entry in my blog the other day about this very subject, and you may visit it at
http://maylattanzio.blogspot.com/. I invite you to view it. (Please scroll here to find it.)

I have a suggestion. Other communities have instituted CopWatch groups, where, without citizen oversight committees, citizens are armed with video cameras and tape recorders and the resulting records of misconduct by law enforcement shared with the media. News travels by nanoseconds these days by internet. Do I think this is needed here? Absolutely! One or the other, or the formation of citizen oversight committees for every law enforcement agency in the state which I have suggested in letters to the editor of the Panama City News Herald, and discussed on talk radio.

Lou Dobbs of Lou Dobbs Radio and CNN has sent his approval by email for me to speak on this subject, and I will as soon as I can get in the queue, which will happen any day now.

On this subject I stand like a rock, defending our rights, our liberty and our country. As your constituent, I hope you agree.

Very truly yours,


If you are a Bay County resident, or a Floridian who feels the same as I do, please contact your state representative, your newspaper editors, your talk shows and your law enforcement agencies. It's time to start shaking fingers in front of their noses inside their personal space, asking them WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, AND WHY DID YOU LET THIS HAPPEN, because if you don't know your rights, you don't have any. And I'm not going down because you don't care. I'm going to stand up because I do!

Politicians come in all shapes, sizes and colors. But one thing they have to do for the people who elected them, and that is honor their oath of office and their promises to their constituents. And they need to be bugged every single day until they holler "Uncle - YOU WIN!" and tell the truth for a change, because they owe you.

More OBAMARAMA - This man is HOT!

And this from a black minister. I think you'll be very, very surprised.

Africanized bees attack horse in Arizona

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/08/16/news/doc48a6805a4d2dc295564834.txt

This came from Steve Grenard's Venomlist. It is an international list for scientists and layfolk interested in venoms - snakes, bees, spiders - all venoms. It is extremely interesting and
a great resource. I've learned a lot from this list - but I didn't know until I read the above articles that all bees in Arizona are Africanized (or killer bee hybrids).

My friend, Alyssa, lives in Douglas and has 18 acres of scrub desert on which she keeps Welsh ponies and a couple of quarter horses. I have to tell her about this.

The New World Order quote from Hitler...NWO...it's here.

"The National Government will regard it as its first and foremost duty to revive in the nation the spirit of unity and cooperation. It will preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built. It regards Christianity as the foundation of our national morality, and the family as the basis of national life." : Adolph Hitler, My New World Order, Proclamation to the German Nation at Berlin, February 1, 1933

Did he say...

New World Order?

Didn't George Bush (Daddy Bush) envision pushing us into ...A New World Order?

Words linger through the ages...

These three words are to be feared. There really is a "NWO".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQEc3ejHIaM

Does your vote REALLY count?

http://global-elite.org/?p=460

Harrumph...it's so easy to steal your vote. Just read about it above.

Is it reasonable for me to believe that we who vote in democratic elections, should receive A RECEIPT for God's sake?

Is that too much to ask?

I will sacrifice a tree for that.

How about you?

Were you offended by the riot squads in Denver at the DNC?

I was.

Did you see them? The "line in the sand" drawn by intimidating men in helmets, face shields, black combat clothing, heavy arms, tasers, nylon and metal handcuffs, batons who were controlling political protesters armed with not much more than street clothes, signs, flags and their voice? Why can't the public dress similarly? Aren't we equal? Can't we protect ourselves in our redress of government which is a right, with equal force?

I was very offended at the Star Wars guys - the spawn of Darth Vader - the bad guys in black.

We have the right to redress government, to air our opinions in peaceful demonstrations. Alex Jones was there, and this is the report. Inside every protest there are government provocateurs: the excuse to break up the protesters with violence and these provocateurs incite riots which end up in injuries, arrests, detention, and jail time. Not a good thing in the land of the free.

Check it out: http://www.prisonplanet.com/will-authorities-stage-riots-in-denver.html

And this link with video is important as well: http://www.prisonplanet.com/provocateurs-call-for-violence-to-demonize-legitimate-protesters-at-dnc.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2cnJPSOX4k

Dog behavior - separation anxiety

Eric LeTendre has an interesting blog to which I subscribe. He's got a lot of videos on Youtube. He is a dog trainer, and when this particular entry came in today it touched a cord. I'm dealing with separation anxiety with Maya, my new German Shepherd but not as bad as Eric's subject of the day - the Border Collie.

Maya just knows how to open doors, even the locked back door, and let all the dogs out. Then Buffy and she push open the gate at the bottom and run the immediate neighborhood.
But in the immediate neighborhood as you know, there's the creek - the water and alligators. Alligators love dogs, and on the next block, one came up into the yard, pulled the dog off his chain and took him away. A few of mine wouldn't even make a "morsel".

I've been putting Holly and Maya in the big kennel in the backyard when I leave, but that's not fair, especially when it rains because Holly's afraid of thunder.

Now I'm going to read more - maybe you'll like Eric's site, too.

http://ultimatedogblog.com/

Wind turbines - the right thing for your backyard?

Just in case you're thinking about it, I've sent you the Snopes site so you know not to stand underneath on a windy day...YIKES!

http://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/windmill.asp

Flashback to the 1988 Olympics for a laugh -

Gymnast Paul Hunt gave a little schtick and it's wonderful!

Take a look!

Can you do this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO_BnsrWMnI&feature=related

The NIST findings on 911 is completely flawed,

and here is what Alex Jones has to say. Please click on the links. I have been in touch with Architect Richard Gage's group, and was told they will post their report on the same subject on this entry page as soon as it is put up on their site. Richard Gage is the group of hundreds of architects, engineers and others who have researched this from their point of view.

Stay tuned.


http://www.prisonplanet.com/nist-wtc-7-report-shameful-embarrassing-and-completely-flawed.html

As promised, the trailer at the top of the page on the 911 Truth (Richard Gage) page is up and ready for viewing. Here's the link. http://www.ae911truth.org/
or here: http:





http://www.ae911truth.org/audio/AE911truth%20News%20Conf%20080821_web.mp3

hEMP for the hungry. Makes good sense. Watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tejJ25KcBXE&feature=email

Watching the gray morning from my window. My patch job fixed the porch roof and it didn't leak on the porch last night. We got a copious amount of soaking rain, and just a few branches down in the yard. Little wind. So Fay has come and perhaps will leave a little rain for us when she finally says goodbye.

I came across this video as a link from someone else. It makes good sense. All of it. Listen closely.

Visited the creek a little while ago -

We in the Panhandle are waiting for the arrival of tropical storm Fay. The water in the creek has been drawn down at the dam to avoid the flooding we had in early spring. If you scroll far enough, you'll see a slide show of that flood. They boys at the controls were caught with their pants down.

It began to drizzle so I came back, but I wanted to stay. The sky is white, shrouded in overcast.
Had some left over chicken bones for the turtles. The catfish wriggle up to the scraps, the bream, the occasional bass. There are always turtles. Eggs have hatched all over the place. It's been a good year for hatchlings. No little carcasses in the street to be fried on the asphalt, and that's a good sign. They just head for the water a thousand feet or so away. I wonder how many are successful.

When I paddle the creek, I usually see the dime store variety - little red ears about the size of a half dollar, sunning on floating vegetation. They are too little to climb up on floating logs.

I found a butterfly pea - I'll upload and edit it later that was nearly perfect, except that a caterpillar had munched a perfect bite out of a petal.

I saw my first Florida salamander on the side of the house the other night after a rain. I have never seen one. This was soft pink with red spots and eyes. Very cute. Very small. Just a few inches long, if that. I ran up the steps for the camera, but it slipped into a siding vent and disappeared.

The sycamores are starting to turn. They are the first to show the signs of an oncoming autumn, and signal that another season WILL come, no matter what.

I just got my Spirited Woman newsletter and commented back to one of the bloggers (Vicky deCoster) on interesting lunch guests. I chose Carmen Miranda, Shirley McLain, Birute Galdikas-Brindamour who worked with orangutans in Borneo, and my late friend, Mary Cornell-
Bonenberger, who was taken from us much too soon, in her 50s, about 15 years ago.

Mary was a double amputee. She crawled out to a railroad track at the age of 14 months, and the train ran over her. A hobo wrapped those little stumps in rags and saved her life. He was arrested. Mary was uniquely independent and could do anything and more than a "normal" woman. She had artificial limbs that were ugly, and they hurt, yet she kept her sense of humor and when they hurt she'd take them off and get very short. She would sit in the passenger seat up front and prop her legs feet side up so they'd poke out the open back window. Mary loved to garden. She knew when the nursery dumpsters were full and we'd go to the orchid farm where her son would boost her up, and she'd disappear. Shortly, the culls would be flying over the top and I'd gather them and put them in the station wagon. She kept a goat herd, chickens, many registered Welsh ponies, which she broke, road and taught to drive. She put me to shame, and when I get blue, and the world is full of mean spirit, I think of Mary and her positive spirit, and it first shames me and then fills me with positive light.

I miss her. I miss her auburn hair that made ringlets around her face and her blue eyes. I miss her voice and her hearty laughter.

I hate that she died of lung cancer - too early. I hate those cigarettes that were so much a part of her. I speak to her daughter, Alyssa, quite often. She sounds just like her mother. I watched her grow up. I love her, too.

What would you do if this happened to you?

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8849272&nav=1TjD

As I understand it, the arresting officer is still on duty.

Bear in mine -

the abuse and killing of animals is used to demoralize the human who owns them.

US Experiments on Children During Cold War

I don't know what to say. I'm almost speechless. I've been given two suggestions for research - one is the US experiments on foster children with radiation, and the other is a procedure called "icepick lobotomy". More to come on that one, which was invented to control behavior and used on young children.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5014080
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=us+experiments+on+children+with+radiation+in+cold+war&btnG=Google+Search

My son was "all boy". I'd get calls from the teachers - he was the class cut-up. He grew up in the '70s just before ADD and related afflictions. One day he climbed to the roof of a school with his buddy and got caught; one day the teacher found him swinging from the plumbing pipes. It was constant. And he was also a daredevil...to get out of my sight and go a little wild on his Honda 3-wheeler in the desert with the kids across the street was a thrill...until Mom's sixth sense kicked in and she climbed in the old blue Chevy station wagon and tracked him down. (David - if you're reading this - I'm so proud of how you turned out!)

://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5014080

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ice+pick+lobotomy&btnG=Google+Search

So I'm thinking, if I were raising him now, I would be faced with giving him drugs to modify his behavior. I would have to resist and home school him. I would not give in. That crap is poison. Do your research.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dangers+of+ritalin&btnG=Google+Search

Anyhow, the links are at once chilling and enlightening. Trust your government with your children?

Senate Bill 1959 makes patriotism punishable

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s110-1959

Are you a homegrown terrorist? Do you love your country? Want to go to jail for this? This bill is in committee NOW! Big brother doesn't like you thinking freedoms and rights.

Toll free to Congress:

1-877-851-6437

http://www.opednew
s.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=5058

A fascinating blog called "The Political Inquirer"...

answers questions and gives new thought to your Constitutional rights and how to insure they will survive through you. Bookmark this one. It is excellent without being strident and just may give you new confidence to act on what you believe in: http://politicalinquirer.com/

Privacy is an inherent human right...

and you will find this entry from "The Great story at Wired on responding to “If you aren’t doing anything wrong, what do you have to hide?” Noteable excerpts:

Some clever answers: “If I’m not doing anything wrong, then you have no cause to watch me.” “Because the government gets to define what’s wrong, and they keep changing the definition.” “Because you might do something wrong with my information.” My problem with quips like these — as right as they are — is that they accept the premise that privacy is about hiding a wrong. It’s not. Privacy is an inherent human right, and a requirement for maintaining the human condition with dignity and respect.

Two proverbs say it best: Quis custodiet custodes ipsos? (”Who watches the watchers?”) and “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Cardinal Richelieu understood the value of surveillance when he famously said, “If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged.”

I love to bake...

Bread, pastries, bread, cakes, cakes, pastries, cookies, bread.

What I've always wanted to try was a good English muffin recipe, and I may have found it here:

http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/09/11/sourdough-english-muffins/

As soon as I find a good sourdough starter (and start it myself), I will edit this entry.

The Butterfly (and Moth) Cookbook

If butterflies and moths excite you, and following them around the yard results in less than perfect shots, then maybe you should try some "non-plant" baiting (or sugaring). I have collected these recipes from the web and from people on various butterfly and moth lists. Your spectacular images, if you want to share them with me at your sugaring stations, will be placed here in later entries.

Last night on the creek, the light was beautiful, and then the frogs began tuning up...

The light was so beautiful last night so I stayed to watch the sun go down. I was on the dock across the street when the nightly frog chorus tune up began. One will start to sing, the millions of others join in, but only for a few minutes. Then they stop abruptly and start the songs when it gets dark. I think it has something to do with the angle of the sun. I think I got it all on this video.

Fourth Amendment Rights and illegal procedures by law enforcement

At this site, you will find, to your horror, law enforcement agencies all over the country violating our Constitutional rights, including the Fourth Amendment. Take your pick.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Police+violations+of+the+4th+Amendment&search_type=

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.


Warrantless searches, dynamic entries, traffic stops, trespass, all without warrants by whatever agency appears at your property line (including your automobile), are ILLEGAL!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights

In Florida, here is the oath of office including the Loyalty Oath:

OATH OF OFFICE

2.01.2 Oath of Office State of Florida:

I do solemnly swear that I will support, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, the State of Florida and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of Police Officer.

The Public Employees (Loyalty) Oath is mandated in Chapter 876.05, of the Florida State Statutes. The following oath shall be sworn and subscribed to by all Department personnel, and filed prior to the approval of any salary, expenses, or compensation:

LOYALTY OATH

2.01.3 Loyalty Oath:

I,_____, a citizen of the State of Florida and of the United States of America, and being employed by or an official, and a recipient of public funds as such employee or officer, do hereby solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Florida.

PROBABLE CAUSE? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probable_cause

The reason for this entry is that we here in Bay County Florida have a state representative, Jimmy Patronis (R), who on phone declared that "We will find a middle ground" regarding illegal traffic stops. We were told by his secretary that Mr. Patronis had already addressed this issue with Burnie Thompson, local radio talk show host, WYOO FM, 101.1, who has been stopped multiple times, and would have the head of the FHP contact Thompson.

This has to stop. There is NO MIDDLE GROUND when it comes to this subject. Discussions with radio talk show hosts don't restore the Fourth Amendment rights of the citizens of Bay County, FL. These stops are in direct violation of both the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of Florida which mirrors the US Constitution. The oath is clear. The response of nationwide law enforcement has been to trample the Fourth Amendment throughout our nation and this continues on a daily basis.

Essentially what this means is that we are being conditioned by the government, whether it is local, state OR federal, to accept the loss of our Constitutional rights; to be "good little civilians"
and acquiesce to the state or be arrested and taken to the closest detention center.

I SAY NO!

Asserting and enforcing our rights and freedoms as sovereign citizens of the United States begins with me and with you.

We are in good company with the Founding Fathers, who gave to us a Republic to keep - if we could.

Honeybees in peril -

I wrote about their scarcity in an early post here, which was about luring Mason bees to your yards. You'll have to scroll through the old posts.

This article has such serious implications for us here in the US and all over the world. Without bees, we don't eat. We won't be able to grow crops or livestock, because they will not have food.
No fruit. No vegetables. No livestock. It is a grave situation. There's a link to a petition somewhere on this site. I urge you please to sign and send it in.

http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/06sum/bees1.asp

Economic news - bank failure foreseen...

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article4563171.ece

Be a good little protestor...

at the DNC National Convention in Denver, or you'll go to the detention center, now called "Gitmo on the Platte", where tasers are used, and who knows what else. So much for freedom to assemble, of speech, and privacy rights. BECAUSE 'THEY', THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T WANT YOU TO HAVE THEM!

http://infowars.net/articles/august2008/150808Camps.htm

A warehouse was used for the RNC in New York.

GOD FORBID WE DISAGREE WITH THE CANDIDATES AND GOVERNMENT POLICY.

Having trouble achieving goals?

While this comes from the Belief Net Meditations for Women site, it's relevant to anyone stuck in the quagmires of life. All of us need a kickstart once in a while, so to gently remind you, here are some points you may have forgotten to think about:

The 6 Habits of Goal Achievers

The first step is you have to let go of old habits and adopt new ones. There are 6 crucial habits that you have to master. When you do these 6 things, you no longer have to worry about setting and achieving your goals - you will just do it! And, when this happens, you'll feel empowered, your self-confidence will take a huge leap and best of all, you'll knock down doors of opportunities that before have felt insurmountable.

Habit #1 - Conquer Fear
The first habit is to overcome your fears. Fear is a goal stopper! Think of the goals you have only dreamed of but never made a plan to achieve. Think about how much happier you would be if you could just achieve that certain career, health, financial, relationship or education goal.

Habit #2 - Free Yourself from Perfectionism
There are healthy and unhealthy sides of perfectionism. The unhealthy side leads us to set unattainable, lofty goals that no one could reach. We punish and criticize ourselves until we kill off our faith, hopes and dreams.

Habit #3 - Stop Procrastinating
Many women struggle with procrastination for years. We want to break free so we can achieve professional and academic success, have fulfilling relationships, a cleaner house or even a healthy body.

The good news is procrastination is learned and it can be unlearned with the right tools. This section gives you everything you need to know to break free from the “ball and chain” and begin to live a more productive life.

Habit #4 - Goal Setting and Achieving Know-How
This section of the course is the practical information you need to achieve your goals. You'll learn the strategies and techniques I have used for years to accomplish my goals. In no time you'll have them mastered. You'll achieve your goals faster than you ever have before. You'll also learn about my goal "litmus test." Before you even pursue a goal this will tell you whether you'll be successful or not.

Habit #5 - Victorious Values
Values are your own ideals and principles that guide you in everyday life. Much of the unhappiness that people experience comes from believing one thing and doing another. But when your goals and values are in harmony, progress begins.

In this section I lead you through a value discovery process. You will finish this section intimately familiar with your values. You'll be energized to pursue your goals with vigor.

Habit #6 - Optimism
It's a fact of life that there will always be obstacles that need to be overcome while in pursuit of your dreams. In this section you'll learn how to let go of negativity and embrace optimism. You will increase your resilience and your ability to maintain hope through tough times.

I

Who doesn't love elephants?

The Maue Kaye Foundation has a sanctuary for zoo and retired circus elephants in the mountains of Tennessee. Here on 2700 acres, they are free of chains and bars, to do what they choose. I thought you'd like to see this video. And if you want to visit the site, go to http://www.elephants.com/

The subject of illegal immigration...

The Fire Coalition has a presentation you might want to view - whatever your view on the subject is. Backtrack to www.firecoalition.com and you are at the home page.

http://www.firecoalition.com/30minuteeducation/

There are links to several other sites promoting LEGAL immigration. Go back and you'll find out that I am FOR LEGAL immigration.

But, you know that by now.

A couple of photo/writing contests that look interesting...

http://www.thetimeiswrite.net/contests

Heck - I may even enter one myself!

Good luck!

We can all rest easy -

That nagging feeling that you are not alone in the forest when you're camping, may be confirmed soon. Bigfoot may have been found!

CNN thought the find was important enough to print -

You folks in north Georgia who thought something was afoot in your mountains may be vindicated.

Here's the link: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/14/bigfoot.body/index.html

What is vivisection?

It is the use of live animals in research. Find out more about it here:

http://www.navs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=index

Dennis Kucinich and the Petition to Impeach GW Bush...

is here at this link.

Excellent video of Kucinich is worth watching.

http://www.kucinich.us/#

Attack of the Rat-Brained Robots

Coming to your theater soon? Sorry. Read on! They're here!

http://technology.newscientist.com/article/mg19926696.100-rise-of-the-ratbrained-robots.html?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=mg19926696.100

Then tell me what you think.

I used to have rats as pets. They were rescued from research labs. They are smart, clean, gentle creatures, and they lived out their rat lives happily.

I am very much opposed to animals used in research. To cause emotional or physical pain to a any animal, especially if it is restrained and caged is no better than torturing a helpless child. Computer modeling could and should be used instead because the technology is there. It is a heinous practice; brutal and immoral.

We, the human race, are treading where we have no right to tread with these fun little robots.

We must always be careful of what we wish for.

Right out of the "Invisible Man" and "Harry Potter"...

comes the pursuit of an invisibility cloak. Well, sort of. Because if I remember the "Invisible Man", he didn't need one. There was some kind of mad scientist potion involved - but anyway - it's on its way. Spooky stuff. Imagine the uses for good and evil!

Think I'm kidding? http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/08/11/invisibility.cloak.ap/

How important is the internet to you?

Do you believe in freedom of speech, the free exchange of information and privacy? Do you believe that this wonderful tool of communication Me, too.

Listen carefully to the link below. We're going to lose the internet. We know too much, we've become too web-savvy for government to hide. We are too vocal, spend too much money not to be taxes. Although we are surveilled now, we don't care or don't know. Our emails and our visits to websites are scrutinized for buzz words and sensitive areas. There's no privacy here.

Net neutrality. How would you feel if you were made to pay for your emails, for the sites you visit?

Wouldn't that effectively shut you up? You want to be SHUT UP?

The Fairness Doctrine stands squarely in the way of your freedom of speech and your right to privacy while unloading your wallet.

Be careful.

Listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIDukx138UA&eurl=http://www.prisonplanet.com/fcc-commissioner-fairness-doctrine-could-lead-to-government-regulation-of-web.html/comment-page-11

The War Prayer ...

by Mark Twain

It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener. It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety's sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way.

Sunday morning came -- next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces alight with martial dreams -- visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender! Then home from the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory! With the volunteers sat their dear ones, proud, happy, and envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor, there to win for the flag, or, failing, die the noblest of noble deaths. The service proceeded; a war chapter from the Old Testament was read; the first prayer was said; it was followed by an organ burst that shook the building, and with one impulse the house rose, with glowing eyes and beating hearts, and poured out that tremendous invocation

*God the all-terrible! Thou who ordainest! Thunder thy clarion and lightning thy sword!*

Then came the "long" prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was, that an ever-merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in His mighty hand, make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset; help them to crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory --

An aged stranger entered and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to ghastliness. With all eyes following him and wondering, he made his silent way; without pausing, he ascended to the preacher's side and stood there waiting. With shut lids the preacher, unconscious of his presence, continued with his moving prayer, and at last finished it with the words, uttered in fervent appeal, "Bless our arms, grant us the victory, O Lord our God, Father and Protector of our land and flag!"

The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside -- which the startled minister did -- and took his place. During some moments he surveyed the spellbound audience with solemn eyes, in which burned an uncanny light; then in a deep voice he said:

"I come from the Throne -- bearing a message from Almighty God!" The words smote the house with a shock; if the stranger perceived it he gave no attention. "He has heard the prayer of His servant your shepherd, and will grant it if such shall be your desire after I, His messenger, shall have explained to you its import -- that is to say, its full import. For it is like unto many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware of -- except he pause and think.

"God's servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two -- one uttered, the other not. Both have reached the ear of Him Who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this -- keep it in mind. If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain upon your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse upon some neighbor's crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it.

"You have heard your servant's prayer -- the uttered part of it. I am commissioned of God to put into words the other part of it -- that part which the pastor -- and also you in your hearts -- fervently prayed silently. And ignorantly and unthinkingly? God grant that it was so! You heard these words: 'Grant us the victory, O Lord our God!' That is sufficient. the *whole* of the uttered prayer is compact into those pregnant words. Elaborations were not necessary. When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory--*must* follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen!

"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.

(*After a pause.*) "Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits!"

It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.

Secondary poisoning in cats and other animals...

Last night a friend called sobbing. His companion of seven years, a small, spayed tiger-striped cat, was in his lap, dead. She had been in the house all day, started coughing and having breathing difficulty last night. He was trying to find an emergency vet when she died in his arms.

Because he lives in a semi-rural area, and has noticed her bringing rodents home and eating them,
I thought perhaps it might be second hand poisoning. Here's an excellent article on second hand poisoning from an interesting website you might find useful. It's www.animalpeoplenews.org.

http://www.animalpeoplenews.org/IMPORTANT_MATS/catPoisoning.html

We can't have eyes in back of our heads when we let our animals out - not even in our own yards.
The best thing for every cat is to keep them home and in the confines of the house, without fail.

http://www.nmanimalcontrol.com/training/FACT/poison_list.html
The link above is relevant to first aid in poisoning. Good to have on hand.

Dancing in the rain...

You can't sit and wait for the storm to be over. You've got to learn how to dance in the rain."


I love this quote. I'm going to have to find out who said it.

Dog lovers, this is for you...

http://ultimatedogblog.com/

You might want to subscribe...good tips on all phases of dog training, behavior, diet, etc.

This is so neat!

I just found a jigsaw puzzle generator. This means you can take your photo, upload it, select the size of the pieces, and it will turn your photo into a jigsaw for you to solve. Great for the kids and adults, too.
http://www.flash-gear.com/npuz/

Simple and fun.

Today's Quote

Today's Quote

We aren’t what we ought to be. We aren’t what we’re going to be. We aren’t what we want to be. But, thank God, we aren’t what we were.

-Anonymous

Vet bills or euthanasia?

Have you been to your veterinarian's lately? Have you noticed the bills going up for everything?
It feels like going to your doctor's office with your child and wondering how you are going to pay when the sign on the wall says you must pay when services are rendered. For some of us, the decision to euthanize or not to end the expense is very real.

That's a far cry, when in the '70s, I opened the gate to see my neighborhood vet, Dr. George Bernard Shaw (his mother was a fan of the writer), standing with this wondrous new machine called an "ultrasound" in his grip. It was for my old, grade goat, Ivy. She had delivered twins and was in terrible pain with mastitis. She had raw, draining holes in her udder where the infection had ulcerated and perforated the skin. It was swollen and scarlet. She had a fever. I didn't think she would pull through. He came back day after day. The charge? NOTHING. He wanted to see her well again. Due to the combination of care at home and his efforts, old Ivy, a plain, rather homely, sweet goat (a rescue from Thanksgiving dinner in which she was destined to be the main course), she recovered.

Dr. Shaw was one of a kind. I wonder where he is now.

Anyway, just this minute, I have found a site that may be of help. If you are a giving sort of person, you may want to contribute. If your back is against the wall with a suffering furry companion/child, then this site may help you. Here it is: http://www.imom.org/fa/

I hope you never have to use it.

An Aesop's fable for you...

If this fable annoys you, it's only your collar chaffing - it will pass...as you get used to it.

THE WOLF, THE DOG AND THE COLLAR
A lean and hungry wolf came across a fat dog lazing in a yard. Surprised, the wolf asked the dog, "Where can I find enough food to make me fat like you?"

'A man gives me all the food I could ever eat,' the dog replied.

The wolf then asked him, "And what's that thing on your neck?"

The dog replied, "Ah, that. Well, the man makes me wear this heavy iron collar. I've gotten so used to it that I sometimes forget that it's even there.'

The wolf then jeered at the dog and said, 'If the price of eating every day is to wear a collar and chain, I would rather starve!'

- adapted from Aesop's fable

No health insurance?

Maybe this will help lower your costs:

http://www.bankrate.com/cnbc/news/insurance/20061204_care_cost_health_a1.asp?caret=2g

Did you ever think you would have to "negotiate" to stay alive?

Wait till we get universal health coverage! Remember the word "eugenics". You may have heard it here, first (depending on your age).

Have you visited Spirited Woman yet?

As it sounds, it's a website for women who are blessed with sense of self, spunk, creativity and, well, "spirit". Naila Francis visited Peru, and it became a life changing experience. She wrote a poem that transported me to Cusco with her, and here is the link. You can backtrack to the home page from there if you want to browse the site. Naila's poem is called "Abuelita", or Little Grandmother. I loved it.

http://www.thespiritedwoman.com/go_blog_blog_blog/2008/08/abuelita-little.html

This is a great site...

with lots of links. I was just visiting our Minutemen in the Tucson area. Click the Immigration tab for that.

http://usawakeup.org/mission.htm

Obama's red mentor...

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=302827467707515#

How many nuclear bombs do you think are in our arsenal?

Please forgive me for the use of the word "overkill". No pun is intended. I was unaware of this madness until I watched the video. Who'd be left on the button after the world was destroyed? What would he do when nothing was left?


http://www.truemajority.org/bensbbs/

Love fur? Then watch this.

I've watched videos and television presentations on puppy mills, wholesale euthanasia at our animal control facilities, stallion fighting, bullfighting, bile bears, Korean dogs and cats strangled by barbed wire before killing them cruelly to insure tenderness on the plate, dog fighting videos, those of downed cows, but never so heart wrenching a video as this. I do not belong to PETA, but I get the newsletter. There are many campaigns and petitions I've supported.

This is why I will never go to Asia. Whether it's human or animal rights and welfare, Asia is on the bottom of the list. And this video is also part of why I will not purchase Chinese products if I can possibly avoid it.

Do NOT let your children watch this video unless they nearly adults and can handle it. It is violent and unspeakably cruel. But it's important, if you are an animal lover or a "fashionista", that you watch it.

I embedded it yesterday. It was so horribly graphic and disturbing I took it out today. So really do some soul searching before you click. It is called, "Skinned Alive". The video was taken by an undercover PETA photographer.

">http://www.peta.org/feat/chineseFurFarms/index.asp">


This is on the fur trade in China. Please don't purchase fur in any form. When you see this, you will understand. If we, not only as Americans, but as people, don't supply a market for fur, then cruelty like this will not exist anywhere. The countries in Asia have a notoriously dismal reputation in dealing with animal body parts for traditional medicine and the illegal killing of animals and trade of such parts to other countries. I cannot believe our country has given so willingly of our resources, our jobs, our technology to a Communist country run by a military regime which employs prison and forced labor.

I'm not sure that I can ever view this entry again. I will be haunted by the last scene. It left me with the same feelings evoked when I forced myself to watch a video of a beheading of an American in Iraq by Muslim extremists. It's not for the faint of heart.

Genetic engineering...

I can truly say, I am against this subject. I think it's against the natural order of things. Even if things are done to "benefit" man, who can say where it will lead. In this brave and strange new world, as if the one we have to deal with on a daily basis isn't strange enough, comes this.

The website is something I haven't seen before, and thanks to the venomlist, which is a one that encompasses all venoms with scientists attending all over the world, and layfolk, like me, I have found something really interest. But here's the link to the genetic engineering of goats and spiders, and it's a portent of things to come. I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this, my two or three readers. It disturbs me greatly.

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977414420

http://www.nexiabiotech.com/en/01_tech/01-bst.php

Remember Jack Webb and Johnny Carson?

Two masters at what they did -

Have a laugh on me and watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpVjW30I-YU

31 Flavors of political opinion...

and one site for everyone:

http://www.nolanchart.com/index.php

I watched "Sleepless in Seattle" again this morning...

and I spent a good half hour in tears at the end. I LOVE THAT MOVIE!

Back to earth - I just found a neat blog from Lindy, who lives in a bus. A homesteader/survivalist blog, you might find some of the items interesting. First article is about inverters, which still mystify me, but seem to be a really good idea to understand; especially for going on long trips with old vehicles. Like for leaky tires. http://amongtheoaks.multiply.com/journal

Anyway - I'm going to the store up the road. I just don't feel like driving into town. Lowest gas I saw was $3.80 two days ago. "They" would like you to think the crunch is over. Just wait.

I just don't trust those buggers in Washington.

Who said everything "electronic" has to be black...

Black tvs, black audio equipment, black remote controls, black wall warts, flashlights,portable telephones. My cell phone is gray. I'm so happy...not.

Two days ago I misplaced a phone. Since then, I'd been looking for it off and on. Couldn't find it.
This morning I spent over an hour looking for it with a black flashlight. Remember this. Black Flashlight. I tried hunting for it with the beeping locator. Nothing. I'm sure it had run out of battery. While doing that, I misplaced the black flashlight. At least another half hour was spent looking for that while I turned the air blue around me with favorite words sure to offend everyone. I was HOT.

Finally, the phone in its cradle, the flashlight in its place, I'm thinking What Crazed Someone makes flashlights black? If you need it in the dark, unless it's attached to a piercing somewhere on your body, how will you find it? Fumble around, stumble around when the earthquake is making gel of solid ground, or when the tornado has ripped your roof off in the dark of night and you really need it?

Who's going to read this and provide flashlights or television remotes, emergency radios, etc. with OEM luminescent paint to glow in the dark? Or with a feature that beeps when it is more than x amount of feet from the item that charges or belongs to it after 15 minutes?

Remember who lit the spark. I'll be waiting for the check.

By the way, that's the end of my rant for the day.

Never mow the lawn again...

Throw away the edger, the pesticides, the herbicides, and give some character back to your yards with these thoughts from Wayne Pacelle. http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2008/07/natural-lawns.html

You should see my yard! It's just about totally wild save for the plants I've chosen to plant. Most of those are natives, too. I have Crossvine that climbed into an oak tree which was joined by wild grapes and morning glories, and the hanks that grow from ground to limbs are sturdy enough to climb. The birds nest in there or take cover from rain and wind. They love it.

I remember a discussion with a man who was the head of the federal bird banding lab in Maryland: Plant berries. Blueberries, here in Florida, specifically, or wherever they grow. Birds dine on the flowers for two months, then the fruits, which can feed them for five months. Anything with berries. So I have to find some young plants and transplant them - they grow wild here, as you know if you read the prior posts.

They also eat and spread native grass seed. Beauty berries grow here, too, and I've noticed I have at least a 10 footer in the yard. They have clusters of magenta berries that the birds love to pick at in the winter.

I didn't see any of the solar eclipse which was partial here. I sent my son an email on his 38th birthday (which doesn't seem possible), that said the universe celebrated with an eclipse in his honor. He gets email through his Blackberry, and he probably trashed it because it was too difficult to sift through for the link. But the thought was there. So, officially, "Happy Birthday, David! Stay healthy and happy, and enjoy this and every day you live."

And let your two-inch manicured lawn grow a little longer between mowings if you can (there are rules in his subdivision), and consider a jungle in the backyard. Want some Crossvine for the fence?

Love,

Mom