With the turmoil in these United States of America, I believe that these nine principals offer a "roadmap" to both personal and professional success while maintaining personal integrity in all we do.
1. America is good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Time to Exercise your Rights
So very soon, if we do not pay attention, we will wake up in a socialist United States of America and wonder what happened. What happened is that YOU let your RIGHTS slip through your fingers. Wake up and see what our "elected officials" are doing. A perfect example is listed below. We need to re-engage today.......
1/6/2009--Introduced.
Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 -
Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm unless that person has been issued a firearm license under this Act or a state system certified under this Act and such license has not been invalidated or revoked. Prescribes license application, issuance, and renewal requirements.
Prohibits transferring or receiving a qualifying firearm unless the recipient presents a valid firearms license, the license is verified, and the dealer records a tracking authorization number. Prescribes firearms transfer reporting and record keeping requirements. Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain a federal record of sale system.
Prohibits:
(1) transferring a firearm to any person other than a licensee, unless the transfer is processed through a licensed dealer in accordance with national instant criminal background check system requirements, with exceptions;
(2) a licensed manufacturer or dealer from failing to comply with reporting and record keeping requirements of this Act;
(3) failing to report the loss or theft of the firearm to the Attorney General within 72 hours;
(4) failing to report to the Attorney General an address change within 60 days; or (5) keeping a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, knowingly or recklessly disregarding the risk that a child is capable of gaining access, if a child uses the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury.
Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of firearms provisions covered by this Act.
Directs the Attorney General to:
(1) establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse;
(2) conduct continuing studies and investigations of firearm-related deaths and injuries;
(3) collect and maintain current production and sales figures of each licensed manufacturer.
Authorizes the Attorney General to certify state firearm licensing or record of sale systems.
1/6/2009--Introduced.
Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 -
Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm unless that person has been issued a firearm license under this Act or a state system certified under this Act and such license has not been invalidated or revoked. Prescribes license application, issuance, and renewal requirements.
Prohibits transferring or receiving a qualifying firearm unless the recipient presents a valid firearms license, the license is verified, and the dealer records a tracking authorization number. Prescribes firearms transfer reporting and record keeping requirements. Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain a federal record of sale system.
Prohibits:
(1) transferring a firearm to any person other than a licensee, unless the transfer is processed through a licensed dealer in accordance with national instant criminal background check system requirements, with exceptions;
(2) a licensed manufacturer or dealer from failing to comply with reporting and record keeping requirements of this Act;
(3) failing to report the loss or theft of the firearm to the Attorney General within 72 hours;
(4) failing to report to the Attorney General an address change within 60 days; or (5) keeping a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, knowingly or recklessly disregarding the risk that a child is capable of gaining access, if a child uses the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury.
Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of firearms provisions covered by this Act.
Directs the Attorney General to:
(1) establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse;
(2) conduct continuing studies and investigations of firearm-related deaths and injuries;
(3) collect and maintain current production and sales figures of each licensed manufacturer.
Authorizes the Attorney General to certify state firearm licensing or record of sale systems.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Salute to a Fallen Law Enforcement Officer
First, my thoughts and prayers to the family of Captain Scott Bierwiler - may you find comfort in his memory and the lives he touched.
It is with great sadness that the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office announces the in the line of duty death of 42-year old Captain Scott Bierwiler who was killed early Thursday morning in a head on collision. Captain Bierwiler has been with the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office for 23 years and leaves behind a wife, three children, his mother, a sister and a brother.
As is the custom in my Irish family,
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be ever at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall softly on your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.
May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow
May the soft winds freshen your spirit
May the sunshine brighten your heart
May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you
And may God enfold you in the mantle of His love.
And Finally,
Scatter me not to the restless winds
Nor toss my ashes to the sea.
Remember now those years gone by
When loving gifts I gave to thee.
Remember now the happy times
The family ties are shared.
Don't leave my resting place unmarked
As though you never cared.
Deny me not one final gift
For all who came to see,
A simple lasting proof that saysI loved and you loved me.
God bless and keep Scott
It is with great sadness that the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office announces the in the line of duty death of 42-year old Captain Scott Bierwiler who was killed early Thursday morning in a head on collision. Captain Bierwiler has been with the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office for 23 years and leaves behind a wife, three children, his mother, a sister and a brother.
As is the custom in my Irish family,
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be ever at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall softly on your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.
May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow
May the soft winds freshen your spirit
May the sunshine brighten your heart
May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you
And may God enfold you in the mantle of His love.
And Finally,
Scatter me not to the restless winds
Nor toss my ashes to the sea.
Remember now those years gone by
When loving gifts I gave to thee.
Remember now the happy times
The family ties are shared.
Don't leave my resting place unmarked
As though you never cared.
Deny me not one final gift
For all who came to see,
A simple lasting proof that saysI loved and you loved me.
God bless and keep Scott
Sunday, February 15, 2009
American Public Screwed Again
Yes, the American public takes it in the shorts once again. Think that crude prices and the price of gas is not artifical, read on.............
NEW YORK - Crude oil prices have fallen to new lows for this year. So you'd think gas prices would sink right along with them.
Not so.
On Thursday, for example, crude oil closed just under $34 a barrel, its lowest point for 2009. But the national average price of a gallon of gas rose to $1.95 on the same day, its peak for the year. On Friday gas went a penny higher.
To drivers once again grimacing as they tank up, it sounds like a conspiracy. But it has more to do with an energy market turned upside-down that has left gas cut off from its usual economic moorings.
The price of gas is indeed tied to oil. It's just a matter of which oil.
The benchmark for crude oil prices is West Texas Intermediate, drilled exactly where you would imagine. That's the price, set at the New York Mercantile Exchange, that you see quoted on business channels and in the morning paper.
Right now, in an unusual market trend, West Texas crude is selling for much less than inferior grades of crude from other places around the world. A severe economic downturn has left U.S. storage facilities brimming with it, sending prices for the premium crude to five-year lows.
But it is the overseas crude that goes into most of the gas made in the United States. So prices at the pump will probably keep going up no matter what happens to the benchmark price of crude oil.
"We're going definitely over $2, and I bet we'll hit $2.50 before spring," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. "This is going to be an unusual year."
On the last day of 2008, gas went for $1.62 on average, according to the auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express, a company that tracks transportation data.
The recession in America has dramatically cut demand for crude oil, and inventories are piling up. So prices for West Texas crude have fallen well below what oil costs from places like the North Sea, Saudi Arabia and South America.
That foreign oil sells in some cases for $10 more per barrel - and that doesn't even include shipping.
Brent North Sea crude, which feeds some East Coast refineries - and therefore winds up at many gas pumps around America - now costs about $7 more per barrel than the West Texas crude. Deutsche Bank analysts say the trend should continue.
Historically, West Texas International crude has cost more. So nobody bothered building the necessary pipelines to carry it beyond the nearby refineries in the Midwest, parts of Texas and a handful of other places.
Now that the premium oil is suddenly very inexpensive, refiners elsewhere can't get their hands on it.
"It's so cheap," said Lynn Westphall, the senior VP of external affairs at San Antonio-based Tesoro, which owns a half dozen refineries on the West Coast and Hawaii. "But you can't just build a pipeline to everywhere. We know we can't get it."
Tesoro's refineries in North Dakota and Utah use locally drilled oil and Canadian oil, which also has been running about $10 more per barrel than West Texas crude.
So why not build more pipelines? Because investing billions of dollars over several years makes no sense when the prices could just flip a year from now to where they were before.
"How long is WTI going to be cheaper than Venezuelan oil? Than Canadian?" asked Charles T. Drevna, president of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. "You just don't build a pipeline like that."
At the same time, refiners have seen the same headlines as everyone else about job losses and consumer spending. They've slashed production just to avoid taking losses on gasoline no one will buy. Result: Higher gas prices.
"Why should a refiner produce more gasoline when the stuff we produce is not being used?" Drevna said.
Of course, complex explanations of the diverging price paths of West Texas crude and gas are unlikely to placate frustrated drivers. Memories of last summer's $4-plus gas have not receded.
"Drivers are being ripped off even more now than before," said Stuart Pollok, who was filling up recently at a Chevron station in downtown Los Angeles. He pointed out Exxon Mobil Corp. reeled in billions in profits last year when oil prices neared $150.
Others see the conspiracy reaching higher.
"It got really low during the elections and now it's going back up," said Christel Sayegh, a 23-year-old graphic designer in Los Angeles. "They do that every election, though, right?"
NEW YORK - Crude oil prices have fallen to new lows for this year. So you'd think gas prices would sink right along with them.
Not so.
On Thursday, for example, crude oil closed just under $34 a barrel, its lowest point for 2009. But the national average price of a gallon of gas rose to $1.95 on the same day, its peak for the year. On Friday gas went a penny higher.
To drivers once again grimacing as they tank up, it sounds like a conspiracy. But it has more to do with an energy market turned upside-down that has left gas cut off from its usual economic moorings.
The price of gas is indeed tied to oil. It's just a matter of which oil.
The benchmark for crude oil prices is West Texas Intermediate, drilled exactly where you would imagine. That's the price, set at the New York Mercantile Exchange, that you see quoted on business channels and in the morning paper.
Right now, in an unusual market trend, West Texas crude is selling for much less than inferior grades of crude from other places around the world. A severe economic downturn has left U.S. storage facilities brimming with it, sending prices for the premium crude to five-year lows.
But it is the overseas crude that goes into most of the gas made in the United States. So prices at the pump will probably keep going up no matter what happens to the benchmark price of crude oil.
"We're going definitely over $2, and I bet we'll hit $2.50 before spring," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. "This is going to be an unusual year."
On the last day of 2008, gas went for $1.62 on average, according to the auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express, a company that tracks transportation data.
The recession in America has dramatically cut demand for crude oil, and inventories are piling up. So prices for West Texas crude have fallen well below what oil costs from places like the North Sea, Saudi Arabia and South America.
That foreign oil sells in some cases for $10 more per barrel - and that doesn't even include shipping.
Brent North Sea crude, which feeds some East Coast refineries - and therefore winds up at many gas pumps around America - now costs about $7 more per barrel than the West Texas crude. Deutsche Bank analysts say the trend should continue.
Historically, West Texas International crude has cost more. So nobody bothered building the necessary pipelines to carry it beyond the nearby refineries in the Midwest, parts of Texas and a handful of other places.
Now that the premium oil is suddenly very inexpensive, refiners elsewhere can't get their hands on it.
"It's so cheap," said Lynn Westphall, the senior VP of external affairs at San Antonio-based Tesoro, which owns a half dozen refineries on the West Coast and Hawaii. "But you can't just build a pipeline to everywhere. We know we can't get it."
Tesoro's refineries in North Dakota and Utah use locally drilled oil and Canadian oil, which also has been running about $10 more per barrel than West Texas crude.
So why not build more pipelines? Because investing billions of dollars over several years makes no sense when the prices could just flip a year from now to where they were before.
"How long is WTI going to be cheaper than Venezuelan oil? Than Canadian?" asked Charles T. Drevna, president of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. "You just don't build a pipeline like that."
At the same time, refiners have seen the same headlines as everyone else about job losses and consumer spending. They've slashed production just to avoid taking losses on gasoline no one will buy. Result: Higher gas prices.
"Why should a refiner produce more gasoline when the stuff we produce is not being used?" Drevna said.
Of course, complex explanations of the diverging price paths of West Texas crude and gas are unlikely to placate frustrated drivers. Memories of last summer's $4-plus gas have not receded.
"Drivers are being ripped off even more now than before," said Stuart Pollok, who was filling up recently at a Chevron station in downtown Los Angeles. He pointed out Exxon Mobil Corp. reeled in billions in profits last year when oil prices neared $150.
Others see the conspiracy reaching higher.
"It got really low during the elections and now it's going back up," said Christel Sayegh, a 23-year-old graphic designer in Los Angeles. "They do that every election, though, right?"
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Not all HD Dealers are Alike
I have now had the opportunity to compare price quotes and have some revelations:
Front Fork Seals
Old Town Harley $380
Manatee Harley $290
Private Certified HD Mechanic $150
What a difference. IF you were not sure about paying for Ferman overhead, here is the real proof. It would also seem that customers are LEAVING the Tampa HD dealers and are headed to Manatee an Fletchers. Better work, prices that are more in line (less overhead) an NOT associated with car dealers.
The battle with HD rages this week fired my attorney and hired another. Seems that "mother HD" has very long arms and my first attorney fell into the death embrace. My new attorney is a SHARK and been instructed to pull all the stops!! There are a few of us that operate on principal (yes, indeed missing from far too many businesses in Tampa). A reasonble settlement offer expires tomorrow, and based on the testimony of the mechanic (HD Certified), the findings will bury two dealers and HD. ON Monday, my proposed settlement increases well into 5 digits. More to come for those that are interested.
The lines are drawn and I will see HD in Hell first BEFORE I will back down!!
Front Fork Seals
Old Town Harley $380
Manatee Harley $290
Private Certified HD Mechanic $150
What a difference. IF you were not sure about paying for Ferman overhead, here is the real proof. It would also seem that customers are LEAVING the Tampa HD dealers and are headed to Manatee an Fletchers. Better work, prices that are more in line (less overhead) an NOT associated with car dealers.
The battle with HD rages this week fired my attorney and hired another. Seems that "mother HD" has very long arms and my first attorney fell into the death embrace. My new attorney is a SHARK and been instructed to pull all the stops!! There are a few of us that operate on principal (yes, indeed missing from far too many businesses in Tampa). A reasonble settlement offer expires tomorrow, and based on the testimony of the mechanic (HD Certified), the findings will bury two dealers and HD. ON Monday, my proposed settlement increases well into 5 digits. More to come for those that are interested.
The lines are drawn and I will see HD in Hell first BEFORE I will back down!!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Scum by Any Name is Still Scum
While the loss of a dear friend still looms (see post below) I cannot remain silent about Mark Lunsford and the embarrasment he has become. He used the tragedy of the death of his child, a child he should have protected against all others, for his own personal gain. Mark, may your days remaining on this Earth be full of shame and sorrow. You have successfully manage to place a price on that which is priceless......the life of a child. You bring shame to your family, those of us that rode beside you in your alleged crusade for justice and all those that ride a motorcycle. May God have mercy on your soul.............
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys and the father of a 9-year-old girl slain by a convicted sex offender say the sheriff's office missed several opportunities to save her.
Mark Lunsford and his lawyers say they're considering filing a lawsuit because of what they claim was negligence by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office in the investigation of the disappearance and murder of Jessica Lunsford.
The attorneys released a stack of documents at a news conference today. The documents showed deputies made four visits to the trailer where John Couey was holding Jessica and never asked to go inside. They claim if police had searched the house, they might have found her alive.
While the attorneys contend the girl was held four days and five nights before she was killed, the sheriff's office contends she was killed immediately.
Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsey forcefully disputed the allegations by Lunsford's attorneys. He also said the matter will be resolved in court.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys and the father of a 9-year-old girl slain by a convicted sex offender say the sheriff's office missed several opportunities to save her.
Mark Lunsford and his lawyers say they're considering filing a lawsuit because of what they claim was negligence by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office in the investigation of the disappearance and murder of Jessica Lunsford.
The attorneys released a stack of documents at a news conference today. The documents showed deputies made four visits to the trailer where John Couey was holding Jessica and never asked to go inside. They claim if police had searched the house, they might have found her alive.
While the attorneys contend the girl was held four days and five nights before she was killed, the sheriff's office contends she was killed immediately.
Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsey forcefully disputed the allegations by Lunsford's attorneys. He also said the matter will be resolved in court.
The Loss of a Friend.....
It is with a heavy heart that I write this note as a near and dear friend - dare I say family member is gone. While I was not related to Dick Fletcher, he was an invite guest into my home every night. The station has lost a great weatherman, I have lost a friend......
Dick Fletcher died February 26 after suffering a massive stroke on Monday, February 18. Dick had been hospitalized shortly after the stroke, but he did not respond to treatment, passing away in the early morning hours of Tuesday.
Dick’s wife, Cindy, and his family were at his side during the final moments. It’s been a difficult time for the Fletcher family, but they have been comforted by the outpouring of support they’ve received from you through comments online, e-mail, phone calls and cards.
“We’ve lost a legend” says Tampa Bay’s 10 President and General Manager Sam Rosenwasser. “People counted on Dick Fletcher for their weather. He really did touch a lot of lives and he will be missed tremendously.”
Dick suffered his first stroke in 2003, but made a quick recovery and was back on the air just a few weeks later.
Dick Fletcher was a giant in the world of TV meteorology. He frequently served on national weather panels and mentored younger meteorologists, teaching them what he knew. Dick pioneered the use of graphics in weather presentations in the 80’s and was a computer master all of his professional life.
Dick Fletcher died February 26 after suffering a massive stroke on Monday, February 18. Dick had been hospitalized shortly after the stroke, but he did not respond to treatment, passing away in the early morning hours of Tuesday.
Dick’s wife, Cindy, and his family were at his side during the final moments. It’s been a difficult time for the Fletcher family, but they have been comforted by the outpouring of support they’ve received from you through comments online, e-mail, phone calls and cards.
“We’ve lost a legend” says Tampa Bay’s 10 President and General Manager Sam Rosenwasser. “People counted on Dick Fletcher for their weather. He really did touch a lot of lives and he will be missed tremendously.”
Dick suffered his first stroke in 2003, but made a quick recovery and was back on the air just a few weeks later.
Dick Fletcher was a giant in the world of TV meteorology. He frequently served on national weather panels and mentored younger meteorologists, teaching them what he knew. Dick pioneered the use of graphics in weather presentations in the 80’s and was a computer master all of his professional life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)