An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for February 2010
Yeah…Yeah…Happy Valentine’s Day, and All That Sappy Mush!
REAL Homeland Security
Judge Finds Grounds to Sanction Arizona Sheriff’s Office
A federal judge has found grounds for sanctioning an Arizona sheriff’s office for its acknowledged destruction of records in a lawsuit that accuses deputies of racially profiling countless Hispanics in immigration patrols.
U.S. District Judge Murray Snow held off on imposing the sanctions against the office of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in the Friday ruling, but indicted he would do so at a later date once related issues were ironed out.
Since early 2008, Arpaio has run 13 immigration and crimes sweeps consisting of deputies and posse volunteers who flood an area of a city — in some cases heavily Latino areas — to seek out traffic violators and arrest other offenders.
Yeah? So, what’s the problem? Ever been to a border state? There are a LOT of ‘heavily Latino areas’!
The handful of Latinos who filed the lawsuit against Arpaio’s office alleged that officers based some traffic stops on the race of Hispanics who were in vehicles, had no probable cause to pull them over and made the stops so they could inquire about their immigration status.
Seriously? They weren’t speeding? Had a tail light out? Didn’t yield to oncoming traffic? Weren’t acting suspicious?
Arpaio is known for tough jail policies, including housing inmates in canvas tents, and pushing the bounds for how local law enforcement agencies can confront illegal immigration.
Again…what’s the problem? At least SOMEONE is taking the safety of the American LEGAL citizens seriously!
Peter Kozinets, one of those attorneys, said Saturday that the document destruction deprived his clients of records that would have shown deputies were selective in whom they approached during the sweeps.
Granted, there are folks who are not Hispanic sneaking into the country, and they should be dealt with as well, but in a state like Arizona? Odds are, the majority of the illegals, LAW BREAKERS, are.
The sheriff’s office said the destruction was an honest error that sprung from a top official not telling others in his office to preserve the documents.
So, some underlings got rid of some papers. I was under the impression computers were suppose to solve the problem of being buried under piles of paper, and save a few trees too. Quite the opposite is true. We shred paper all the time. 
I’m not sure about other folks, but deleting crap off the computer, especially email, is kind of the norm as well. Sure sounds to me like a witch hunt to me. But then, that’s become the norm lately too. Don’t like someone’s policies, or politics, go after them in every way possible.
Illegals are stealing identities, and this is ok? Pfft!
I honestly wish more law enforcement officers and elected officials, who took the oath, would take security as seriously as Sheriff Joe!
Freedom Of Speech Via the Internet
Control freaks want web licences to end bloggers’ anonymity – be very afraid
by Gerald Warner
The American blogosphere is going increasingly “viral” about a proposal advanced at the recent meeting of the Davos Economic Forum by Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer for Microsoft, that an equivalent of a “driver’s licence” should be introduced for access to the web. This totalitarian call has been backed by articles and blogs in Time magazine and the New York Times.
As bloggers have not been slow to point out, the system being proposed is very similar to one that the government of Red China reluctantly abandoned as too repressive. It was inevitable that, sooner or later, the usual unholy alliance of government totalitarians and big business would attempt to end the democratic free-for-all that is the blogosphere. The United Nations is showing similar interest in moving to eliminate free speech.
Saturday Afternoon – Watching The Pile Grow – Laundry Time
Dean: Republicans don’t believe in science – Hot Air
Down From Slavery – Digital Publius
Leave! Us! Alone! – Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
Um — About Those Vanishing Polar Bears… – Big Journalism
Anything but a ‘centrist’ – American Thinker
On the Butthurt of Liberal Academicians – The Cutting Edge
MSNBC’s Ratigan: Tea Party Includes ‘Birthers,’ ‘Open Racists,’ and ‘Outright Nazis’ – News Busters
UAW KILLED THE GM GOLDEN GOOSE – Angry White Dude
Birmingham Planned Parenthood on Probation – La Shawn Barber’s Corner
Because They’re So Much Smarter Than Us Average Joes – Badger Blogger
Evolution, Anthropogenic Global Warming and Other Non-Falsifiable Theories – The Other McCain
Appeasing Muslims – Woman Honor Thyself
Keep a watch out for this bill: S. 3002 Supplement Safety Act of 2010 – Bear Creek Ledger
President Bush would have pillared – Stepping Right Up!
Well boo hoo! – Camp4U
Bar Owners React To Stunt Legislation – Speak to Power
Obama’s Greatest achievment.. IRAQ? – American and Proud
Harold Ford Gets Hit For Tax Dodging – Post Politics
Out of Control Spending & Crippling Taxes – Candid Conservative
Literate basketballers (did I say that?!) – The Nigh Seen Creeder
Lawrence O’Donnell Melts Down on Morning Joe and Blames Bush for 9-11 (video) – Bluegrass Pundit
Good News, Minnesota! – Support Your Local Gunfighter
God May Not Be Through With Him, But We Are – Suitably Flip
Pre-Reconstruction U.S. History Targeted – The Underground Conservative
Rep. Bill Delahunt (D, MA): why did you put Amy Bishop back on the street? – RedState
US gives $40M to UN’s ‘Palestinian employment agency’ – creeping sharia
The TRUTH about 9-11 Truthers – Texas Fred’s
Liberals = nice. Conservatives = mean. – Right Wing News
Why the G.O.P. is Resisting Obama – Grandpa John’s
CEO’s take note…Obama is the best friend your political donations can buy! – Conservative Hideout
Marsha Came To Visit
This morning, I had the pleasure, along with about 45 or 50 other folks, to have a chat with our U.S. Rep, Marsha Blackburn. State Senator Delores Gresham and State Representative Vance Dennis rounded out the ‘party’.
Marsha brought along a very large pile of paper, and I do mean a LARGE pile of paper! This wasn’t even the entire bill, just a portion of it. Which bill? Why the budget of course. You thought that pile of health crap bill was big? I’d really hate to see that little bitty woman try to lug the WHOLE budget from meeting to meeting. This “budget” is a $3.8 trillion dollar pile of paper. Shall I repeat that? THREE POINT 8 TRILLION DOLLARS…..$3,800,000,000,000.00! Of OUR money! Why is Washington so dead set on destroying the future of our children and grandchildren? It made no sense to raise the debt limit to $14 trillion when these people can’t figure out how to manage, efficiently, or effectively the funds we have allowed them in the past?
The biggest concerns of the folks in attendance were jobs and the ever increasing taxes, as are the concerns of the majority of Americans. With no jobs, there is no money. No money, no taxes. No taxes, well….hey…wouldn’t that be a good thing? 
Yes, we do have to have some taxes in order to pay the military, provide ‘post roads’, and the few other items that the federal government was limited to in the U.S. Constitution.
There were a variety of statements and questions posed, from the tax issues, to foreign debt, to the NEA (education). All were reasonable concerns of the average American.
Just a few of the topics covered, in no particular order:
1- Education – return control of the money for public education to the states, and allow the state legislatures to deal with their educational systems. There were a couple of teachers who brought up some extremely valid points, like passing students who could barely read or write to the next grade. This may help the teachers pass the problem on, but it doesn’t help the kids at all. With Tennessee ranked at 45th in education, you’d think that there would be more parents concerned, but unfortunately, there are 1.2 million adults who are functionally illiterate, in a state of only 6 million people.
2- Jobs – the cost of doing business has gone up dramatically. The biggest problems are labor costs, taxes, and regulation. Unions pushed the cost of products up to pay for their fat benefit packages. The government taxes businesses so it’s difficult to expand. Then comes the regulations. The EPA and OSHA want to regulate every single aspect of your business. Why even bother? The paperwork alone would discourage any entrepreneur from even considering starting up and provide a few jobs for their community. If the EPA is able to shove through Cap and Trade, you can pretty much guarantee that even more jobs will be lost.
3- Health Care – this is a huge concern for all of us. There were several health care providers in the crowd who expressed even greater concerns with the direction of Congress than us non medical types. Did you know that in 2006, the House actually passed an insurance reform bill that addressed the biggest problems (TORT, portability, pre-existing conditions) that has caused the costs to rise? Unfortunately, the Senate only had 54 votes, not the required 60. Makes ya wonder if the Dems really want reform, or just power. Hmmmmm…… One problem that could be solved quite easily is paperwork. 30% of the cost of insurance is paperwork. Does this make sense? Why don’t the insurance companies use the same form, instead every company has their own. The February 25 “look at me, I’m Bi-Partisanship Obama” isn’t going to solve a single thing. Oh, and the consensus? NO OBAMACARE!
4- Federal Mandates – of the unfunded variety. The federales say you have to do this, we demand it, but we won’t provide the funds for it. Well, they don’t have any funds anyway, so how can they make such demands? Considering they don’t have the authority, how has it gotten so out of hand?
5- Illegals – H.R. 2406: Charlie Norwood CLEAR Act was introduced by Marsha last year. “To provide for enhanced Federal, State, and local assistance in the enforcement of the immigration laws, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, to authorize appropriations to carry out the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, and for other purposes.” Which is great, as far as it goes. There are at least 1,000,000 criminal illegal aliens in this country, that they know of, but what about the ones who still broke the law coming in? Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to ask why the Border Patrol was being cut.
6- TV – a local issue. Living out here in the boonies, we don’t get weather alerts that are essentials to the safety and well being of the community. Why this has to be addressed in Washington, D.C. is beyond me, but I guess there are other areas that have the same problem.
7- Tea Party – Marsha stated she believes the movement is a good thing. It has brought out people from all walks of life, fed up with the direction of the federal government. She and Michelle Bachman had no choice but to pull out from speaking at the convention in Nashville. Personal opinion, the ethics committee (and I use that term loosely when it comes to Congress) makes up rules as they go along. It’s time for ALL of us to take a good hard look at the candidates, and not just the party affiliation. And yes, she does like Sarah Palin.
A pastor is extremely upset at the direction the nation is heading. What was once shameful in the eyes of God, and society is now accepted as the norm. I tend to agree with him.
A great many topics were covered in a relatively short period of time. I believe if more in D.C. would come out and talk to the REAL folks, a great many problems could be solved for a lot less money in a shorter period of time. I really need to get one of those little tape recorders, so I can cover more. Taking notes is great, but ya tend to miss some things.
Marsha (middle) and a couple of the folks.
“It’s All About ME!”
There was little need for Mr. Obama to include Republicans in his legislative calculus. The Democrats enjoyed supermajorities in both houses and, armed with what they thought was a political blank check, went on a spending and regulating rampage. They exhibited the worst aspects of old-style politics: favoritism, cronyism, unrestrained spending, backroom deals, arrogance, conceit and extreme partisanship. Mr. Obama’s freshman year left the country with astronomical deficits and not much else.
When the public objected to this irresponsible and reckless behavior – exhibited at town-hall protests and Tea Party demonstrations – Mr. Obama responded, “I don’t want folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to just get out of the way so we can clean up the mess.” Shut up, sit down and take your medicine – that’s bipartisanship Obama-style.
Honestly, if ANYONE is buying into this latest smoke and mirrors fiasco, then we are truly doomed. If it were me, I’d tell the Poser to stick it where the sun don’t shine, and start acting like a leader, not a petulant little boy who can’t have all the candy in the store!
More On Matt
When I made this post on Wednesday, I failed to do a little more reading, and I really should have, because I missed a couple of really important articles that were connected, and now I’m even angrier than I’ve been since I found out about Matt’s murder, if that’s possible.
Defense case: Toste slaying was justified
A lawyer for a Santa Rosa man on trial for the slaying of Matthew Toste in a downtown parking garage more than three years ago conceded Wednesday his client did the shooting, but insisted it wasn’t murder.
Rather, defendant Joseph Lopez Jr. thought Toste had shot his father during a scuffle between the two in which Toste knocked the father to the ground, said George Boisseau, the younger Lopez’s lawyer.
WHAT????? What a total load of male bovine excrement! I realize that lawyer’s are suppose to give their clients the best defense possible, but this is so much garbage, I can’t even imagine even a bottom feeder with a law degree trying to pull off such a tactic.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Spencer Brady said Toste, a 32-year-old construction worker, his date, a female cousin and her husband had just parked their car and were walking through the garage to a nearby nightclub when they were confronted by a group of at least six men.
The men, later identified as members of the Norteño criminal street gang, made catcalls and whistled and touched one of the women on the buttocks, Brady said.
When Toste objected, the men surrounded him and began taunting him. “They were saying, ‘Hey whiteboy. What are you going to do?’ ” Brady told jurors.
Not only was this MURDER, but it was also a racially motivated MURDER!
Juror intimidation charged in Toste murder case
The uncle of a Santa Rosa man on trial for murder pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge of felony juror intimidation.
George Lopez, 36, the uncle of Joseph Lopez Jr. — charged in the 2006 slaying of Matthew Toste — is free on $60,000 bail for the incident that prosecutors said happened Feb.1.
(…)
Lopez is the brother of former co-defendant Joseph Lopez Sr. and the uncle of Lopez Jr. His criminal history in Sonoma County includes a conviction for felony assault in 1997 and a felony drug conviction from 1999. He has been sentenced to prison twice.
On Thursday, Lopez requested a public defender. He told the judge he was unemployed and had no money. Chouteau asked him how he raised bail and he said: “I don’t know. Somebody bailed me out.”
Bail or bond? Since the judge is under a gag order, obviously, only the parties involved know the details, but I’m not real sure why bail was set. This is obviously not an upstanding citizen of the community. Even if bond was posted, $6,000 is quite a chunk of change for someone with no job. And not knowing who posted it? Give me a freakin’ break! I pray the jury will be safe, and the scum that tore a hole in Sally’s family will pay dearly!
Addition provided by Sally:
Witnesses unable to say who killed Toste
This does not bode well.
HAD To Be Swiped!
Swiped from Bear Creek Ledger.
This SERIOUSLY Pisses Me Off!
From our local paper:
Livestock is being shot for cheap thrills
The Hardin County Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate a string of livestock shootings. According to reports, Ronnie Johnson of xxxx County Home Road told officers somebody had shot two of his horses during the night of Jan.29.
Johnson said he believed the first horse, a Belgian mare, died from a gun shot wound to the chest and said the second, a spotted Belgian colt, suffered a similar injury to the neck.
(…)
J.P. Crotts of xxxx County Home Road reported his pregnant Black Angus cow shot earlier the same morning. At the scene, officers spoke with Kenny Talley of xx Covery Chapel Road and Eddie Milan of xx Covery Chapel Road who both said they noticed one of Crott’s cattle down as they drove by the previous night.
Then on Jan.31, T.F. Rich of xxx Moore Road also reported two of his donkeys shot after he said a neighbor saw a pckup truck pull up at 3:30am earlier the same day and fire twice.
According to Rich, officer and the owners of the slain animals found .30-06 casings at each of the three shootings.
While Rich says Crotts’ cow suffered a gunshot wound between the eyes, both of his donkey died from shots to the neck.
What kind of garbage goes around, shooting animals, just for the ‘fun of it’???? For many people around here, these animals are their livelihood! I honestly pray they find the scum buckets, and shove them UNDER the jail!
If anyone has any information about these slime balls, I really hope you’ll do the right thing, and contact the Hardin County Sheriff’s Department! 731-925-3377
Don’t Tell Me….
…..this was caused by ‘global warming’ too!
Record snowstorm leaves 170,000 without power in Dallas area
The storm that hit the region Thursday dropped 12.5 inches of snow at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in the 24 hours that ended at 4 a.m. That broke the previous 24-hour record of 12.1 inches, set on Jan. 15-16, 1964.
Uh huh. Got it!
Lame Stream Media Still Confused
Obama’s Disapproval Jumps, Couric Instead Stresses: ‘Most Think His Priority is Serving the People’
In a new CBS News/New York Times poll, President Barack Obama’s disapproval level jumped five points, to 45 percent since the last survey in mid-January, with approval now at just 46 percent, but Thursday’s CBS Evening News skipped that bad news for Obama and instead highlighted some better news for the President.
Though 80 percent said “members of Congress more interested in serving special interest groups” than the American people, “the President gets better marks on that score,” Katie Couric touted, as “most think his priority is serving the people.” Reporter Nancy Cordes relayed how “only 29 percent think the GOP is trying to work with the President, while 62 percent think Mr. Obama is reaching across the aisle.”
Either those 80% are just flat out ignorant, and the MSM isn’t doing it’s job, or, we live in a nation full of dolts, and the MSM isn’t doing it’s job. “Obama serving the people”?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 
Hmmmm…. Let’s see, GOP locked out of any negotiations concerning some big ticket bills? Well, I’d say, sure….Obumbler is definitely ‘reaching across the aisle”, wouldn’t you? I mean, after all, he’s decided, finally, to let C-Span broadcast his dog and pony show! /snark
Here’s the kicker:
CORDES: But for more than half the country, the Tea Party movement remains a relative mystery.
CORDES TO WOMAN IN BOOK STORE: How about you? I’m sorry, can you tell me what you know about the tea party.
WOMAN: I know that it’s a right-wing kind of conservative movement right now.
MAN: I know that Sarah Palin is associated with the Tea Party, but other than that.
ANOTHER WOMAN: Um, from what I’ve seen, they look pretty angry.
Damn skippy we’re angry! And these people should be too! IF the media had been doing it’s job, they would be. But what can you expect from a bunch of left wing Obama suck ups? I wonder if they are aware of how many people who attend the Tea Parties are actually Democrats? NOT the lefty/progressive variety, but REAL Democrats. And they aren’t all white either, contrary to what they’ve been told!
I would like to inform these types, but they seem to be of the mindset that anything that comes from the alphabets is gospel. Pretty pathetic that so many have been so brainwashed, they are incapable of doing a bit of investigating on their own. I’d highly recommend they read the U.S. Constitution, and if that confuses them, how about The 5000 Year Leap!
President ME! The Musical
H/T Mark
The Day The Music Died
Obama’s Progressive Regime Attacks Local Radio
A Proposed Tax That Could Kill Local Radio, As We Know It.
by J. D. Longstreet
“For more than 80 years, radio and the recording industry have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship: free play for free promotion. And it works. It’s a relationship that has sustained businesses on both sides.
In fact, radio’s free promotion of artists translates to as much as $2.4 billion annually in music sales for record labels and artists. And this doesn’t even include the enormous revenues they receive from concerts and merchandising.
But the labels–like many businesses–are struggling in this economy. They have failed to adapt to the digital age, and find their business model is broken. And now they want to impose a fee called a performance tax on local radio stations to subsidize their losses.
A performance tax would threaten the local radio stations that communities depend on. It would financially hamstring stations, stifle new artists and harm the listening public who rely on free local radio.” … National Association of Broadcasters (You may read the entire story HERE.)
The Great Prognosticator
Joestradamus: Biden Predicts Large-Scale Terror Attack on U.S. ‘Unlikely’
Vice President Joe Biden made his latest eyebrow-furrowing prediction Wednesday night, declaring confidently that another Sept. 11-size terror attack is “unlikely” in the U.S., despite signs that Al Qaeda and and other terrorist groups are actively planning more attacks.
Top intelligence officials told congressional lawmakers early this month that the terror network can be expected to try another attack in the next three to six months. But Biden, interviewed on CNN, downplayed the risk.
“Look, let me put it this way. The idea of there being a massive attack in the United States like 9/11 is unlikely, in my view,” the vice president said.
And if I’m not mistaken, there weren’t too many folks who could ever have conceived what happened on September 11, 2001, that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It’s amazing that anyone ever lets this guy even open his mouth, much less speak!
But Biden may have a long way to go before he can call himself a true Joestradamus.
He admitted in an interview last July that the administration had been way off in its estimates of how the stimulus package would affect the unemployment rate, having “misread how bad the economy was.”
Personal opinion, if Biden says it, consider the opposite to be more accurate.
Now the veep is making economic predictions again, saying late last month that the U.S. should start to see a net increase in job creation on a monthly basis, starting in the spring.
From what I heard of the ‘predictions’ on the radio this afternoon, I don’t think 95,000 jobs are going to take care of the 125,000 needed.
Biden on Wednesday did not rule out the possibility of a terror attack in the U.S. — he said a future terror attack might take an unfamiliar form.
Well, considering that “profiling” is a no no, and many are coming into this country, who do NOT want to assimilate, and Iran is working real hard to get nukes, well, yeah….it might be a different form. But like I said many times in the past, if we can’t profile, isn’t that an open door for the possibility? Remember the Crotch Bomber? If that plane had come down on Detroit, many more than those on board could have died.
Dear Mr Biden:
Some People Are Just Too (fill in the blank)
Dog gets mugged in freezing New York as cruel thieves nab his green wool coat
A Brooklyn woman says a mugger stole a dog coat right off the back of her mild-mannered terrier leaving the pooch shivering in the snow.
Donna McPherson says she tied up Lexie, her 10-year-old Westie, outside a Park Slope supermarket ‘for two minutes’ while she bought milk.
She heard a ‘funny bark’, and on leaving the shop, found her little white dog shivering and stripped.
His green wool coat, with leather trim and belt, were nowhere in sight.
The dog has a fur coat. Dogs come with them, right out of the box.
McPherson said the dog coat was worth $25 and expressed her relief that Lexie wasn’t wearing his pricier Burberry coat.
Do you know how much one of those ‘pricier Burberry’ coats costs for a flippin’ dog? They START at 90 bucks! Does this woman live in the real world?
The investment banker told the New York Post: ‘How could anyone steal a coat off someone’s back in the freezing cold?
‘I asked him; “Where’s your coat?” like he could answer me. I looked all over and could not find it.’
She added that she had tried to make it up to her traumatised pooch by replacing his missing gear.
She said: ‘I felt so bad, I bought him two new coats.’
Well, Mzzzzzz Investment Banker, I don’t suppose it ever occurred to you that the person who took little Lexie’s ‘coat’ was freezing too. Perhaps you should have used that money you spent on your dumb dog’s 2 new coats, bought a child’s coat, and donated it to the Salvation Army, or a homeless shelter, or any number of churches.
No, it’s not right that anyone steals anything, from anybody, and that includes stealing a coat off a dog, but come on…..seriously?
What a total ditz!
