Pick a Bottom, Ryan*Updated x 2

I've been waiting for you Ryan Leaf.

Ryan Leaf was one of the greatest NFL "busts" of all time. He was a great quarterback for Washington State in the late 90's and took them to a rare Rose Bowl appearance. He was drafted second behind Peyton Manning and all I really remember was that NFL teams that looked at Ryan said he had a shitty attitude. I always suspected otherwise. 

Ryan faded away. He popped up a decade later after he was busted for burglary and drug charges in Texas. That's when I knew for sure. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/ryan-leaf-ex-nfl-draft-bust-arrested-in-montana-burglary-and-drug-possession-charges-033012

I have always taken an interest in Leaf for a couple of reasons. He is a Montana boy like myself. There are so few of us that I hated to see all of that talent go to waste. But mostly I think, Ryan reminded me of me- sans any marketable talent. Reminding me of me can only mean one thing.

You got a bad attitude kid. Ok, so how do I fix that? No one ever handed me the instructions.

Welcome to the "I just don't feel comfortable in my own skin club" Ryan. That's the club where the members try to change how they feel. The club where we lose touch with any spirituality we may have had- and where sometimes our emotions go bad shit crazy. Where sometimes and always later on, we scratch our heads and ask, "What were we thinking?"

I think there's a decent chance you fit in here with us.

We don't talk about the club much, Ryan. It's like fight club and it's first rule. There is no fight club. We don't feel like exposing ourselves for another attack or some more emotional abuse. We've had enough when we get here. So we pick a bottom and mostly we shut up and get well.

You are not required to punish yourself any further Ryan. No need to completely self destruct.

It's bad enough to see all that talent go to waste but it is an unmitigated disaster to throw your life away too, Ryan. It's time to pick a bottom and find your solution.

*I snipped this on 4/1.

The council has provided professional and personal support to Leaf as he battled a prescription painkiller habit, Witter said. Leaf's struggles with addiction came to public light three years ago when he faced drug charges in Texas.

He was still on probation for those violations when he was arrested in Montana. He was released from the Cascade County Detention Center in Montana on Friday after posting a $76,000 bond, authorities said.

Witter said the advisors had dinner with Leaf in Seattle less than a month ago. Leaf had lost a significant amount of weight and showed other signs of his battle with the brain tumor and nearly two months of daily radiation treatments. That therapy ended in December.

"Addiction is a lifelong affliction and you can never let your guard down," he said. "The bottom line is we want Ryan to get all the help he needs."

The hits just keep coming. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/ryan-leaf-arrested-again-no-not-repeat-saturday-181316796.html

When Cops Lose Their Minds

I guess if I had to subtitle this and capture a theme I'd say...most things when done in moderation... are acceptable. That includes ticket writing.

For the record, I am a retired cop. I absolutely hate seeing articles like this one. Turning ticket writing into a sport. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/30/memo-calls-for-connecticut-state-troopers-to-outperform-colleagues-by-writing/?test=latestnews

A certain amount of traffic enforcement is necessary. Quotas and chicken shit tickets don't qualify. I can honestly tell you that in the quarter century that I pushed a patrol car around- I never made a sport out of writing tickets or generating revenue. I wrote a bunch- most all of them were at least 15 MPH over. Pushing quotas and contests means cops have to dip down to hit numbers. That means a proliferation of chicken shit tickets.

I also started a traffic school. I did that because it was a good idea for people and it helped them avoid points and higher premiums. I did not do it to create a revenue source for government.

Writing tickets to the motoring public subjects citizens to triple jeopardy. First they have to pay large fines. Secondly, the insurance companies latch onto those violations like vultures and jack insurance rates just as high as the market will bear. The third consequence is loss of your driver's privileges.

Ok, I get the responsibility side. But stealing from the public has to have some limits.

The state police in Idaho are notorious for writing chicken shit tickets. They are professionals. I have seen 5 MPH over the limit tickets issued by troopers on a straightaway in the desert where not even a self respecting rabbit crosses the road. People written tickets for crossing the white line on a ramp to get around some semi- chugging down the ramp at 20.

That is the kind of garbage I hate to see. Government loves to call driving a "privilege." I disagree with that conclusion. Driving is no more a privilege than riding a bike or eating out- in fact I hate that whole propaganda "privilege" spiel. Driving in America is huge business. Without cars, we'd have no giant oil companies, no giant steel and auto industry, no auto dealers, auto parts, tire dealers, no auto insurance industry. No jobs.

When I was a kid cop, we were taught to write tickets in the spirit of the law. What happened to that arcane idea?

Are their better ways to force traffic compliance? You bet. By incentivizing drivers rather than punishing them. By giving people huge insurance breaks or other rewards for ticket and accident free driving and not making motorists wait for those rewards until they are 40. Performance based and individualized. Government and insurance companies could do that rather than employing the punishment theme. But clearly, they like skinning motorists. One day a savvy entrepreneur will change all of that with a new kind of insurance company.

Law enforcement really is about serving the public, not punishing them. Compliance was the original goal. Any monkey can write tickets. Even in Connecticut.

Come Get Some... Gun Porn

I loved the Spas 12 with a J hook. Until I saw this. The SRM 1216.

A few days ago, a friend of mine introduced me to this shotgun. Built right here in Boise. It's a shade over two grand- but if you want to annihilate an army of zombies and fast- I'm not sure there is anything better than this. So if I could only have one gun in the bunker with me at the end of times, it would probably be this bad boy. Note those familiar hills in the background.




Then there's this. Good luck getting one of these.

I Don't Dial 911

A couple of days ago, some kid comes to my door trying to sell me one of those home alarm systems.

He had no idea who he was talking to. But I liked the kid so I invited him in. Sales pitches always have the same scripted components. The first thing salesmen do is try to create a need for whatever it is that they are selling. So I had to listen to the part about the burglary that happened only a block away from my house last week. It sent chills up my spine.

Well, not really.

If I really wanted to mess with this kid I would have asked him a bunch of pointed questions about that burglary- knowing full well he would not be able to answer them- but I liked the kid. So I let him run a bit with the script. They were going to install the alarm system for free... in exchange for putting a sign in my yard. Yea sure. Anyway...I finally had to stop him. I said kid there is nothing in my house worth dying for and I'll stack my preparation and skills up against most idiots short of a tactical team.

Today, I saw this and stole it. I love the west.

Telling Lies

Today, while running around Boise and avoiding traffic collisions, I was listening to Bloomberg Radio.

They were talking about the 7 million barrel build in oil inventories this week and pondering why oil was still over 100 bucks. Unleaded gas hasn't even budged. What Bloomberg didn't mention is how Obama's EPA shut down two east coast refiners and one in the Caribbean. When you lose 50% of the total refining capacity for the east coast- you are going to have a price squeeze all over the US and thus some serious supply problems.

And get this- THEY are still talking about releasing petroleum from strategic reserves. Like that is going to help our refining problems. It won't do a thing. We don't have a supply problem. We have a refining problem.

Then if that wasn't enough bullshit for one little on air segment- Bloomberg reported that there is a good chance that unemployment will be in the 6% range by early 2013. Who were they sourcing??

The NY FED!! Unbelievable. These people have absolutely no shame. None. They are sociopaths.

Here's the best part. You can only lie to people so much. After 4 years, people are starting to catch on. I saw a foreign survey this morning (I wish I could find it again) that put at least 60% of all Americans- realizing that there was not going to be any recovery and certainly no time soon. You can't keep lying to people and hope it works forever. People will give liars the benefit of the doubt for a while, maybe even a couple of years. But year after year? Nah. There are limits. The liars are exceeding those limits now.

When Fascism Becomes the Rage

There are a lot of people talking about fascism in the United States. I've never really liked the term "fascism." I find it to be ambiguous and imprecise. I've embedded the wiki definition here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism

Most people when using that term, are describing a dictator run state wherein all of the power rests with government. Due process is abandoned. The democrats actually support this agenda inadvertently.  As the statists require more and more laws from government, they are creating a fascist state. More and more law means less and less freedom. That is as simple as I can make it.

This morning I read an article on ZeroHedge about the state of California and how it is extorting money from people. That is what a desperate, bankrupt entity does when clinging to survival. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-welcome-united-states-orwell-part-2-law-abiding-taxpayers-treated-criminals

Here then is a wondrous and perfect example. California+ full of democrats and libs =broke. They have now created a fascist state of extortion. Things always seem to start in the golden state.

Desperate governments have to abandon the rule of law. There is no time for due process and they are really not interested in what is "fair." Fair to them is survival and if that means economic death to you- tough shit. That is fair to them.

Ultimately it pits politicians against citizens. It is us against them. That is the mentality.

That is what is about to happen as fascism becomes the rage. In fact, you see it now amongst the left in general as they desperately want government to tax the rich and spare them. The problem with that theme is that it is too little too late. Bush and company put the frosting on that cake with that decade of tax cuts.

In the future, I expect government to really amp up it's efforts to extract every dime they can from taxpayers all the way down the strata. They will do anything they can up to and including marginally illegal activity. This will include seizing property without due process. It will be your job to defend yourself and pay for the costs of your defense. And you will lose. The fascists don't have time to waste in a clogged court system. They want your money. Because you see- they have spent all of their allotted tax revenue and then some. Your money after all, is their money.

The fourth amendment was designed to prevent illegal search and seizure. Government will exempt themselves from the 4th amendment. They are already doing that. In that type of scenario, I can't imagine having anything of value left to the "safekeeping" of a third party. That would include banks and other financial custodians.

All that thievery would be bad enough. But I think what frosts my ass the most is the idea that if we don't turn over everything we own- we are criminals. Tax evaders.

I know who the real thieves and gangsters are. I'm not going to make it easy for them. 

Obama Pimps the White House

Ya wanna see the the white house? Just give me a bunch of dough. http://news.yahoo.com/obama-rewards-biggest-donors-white-house-visits-133040474.html

The press says it is a legal and established practice. So is getting drunk. So it's all good.

I got to thinking. Maybe Obama should open up a gift shop in the West Wing and have Michelle run it. They could sell decks of cards, cocktail napkins, autobiographies signed by Wiliam Ayers, lots of snacks, and maybe some of those fake ID's. Maybe have a section of the gift shop dedicated to photography- Michelle could sell pictures of all of the places she has traveled to.

The problem is staffing. You have to actually be in the White House to sell shit. Playing golf, vacationing, and pissing off Netanyahu is not going to bring in the campaign dollars. They should hire about 100 part time workers and then drop the unemployment rate a percentage point. Recovery bitches!

Maybe they should just turn the WH into a giant daycare instead. That way, the rich and elite could drop off their kids, or their grandkids, and have the Secret Service look after them. Maybe take them on a field trip to Mexico once in awhile on one of "Obama's jets." I think that is an established and legal practice too.

Nobody Can Steal Like The Government Can

Back in the day, when I was Chief, we'd hire these young kids on the police department. Very often, and almost without exception, the first thing these kids would do is run out and buy a new truck. That is a rite of passage in Idaho.

This of course, was quite possibly the worst investment they could make. Insurance companies love young white males. They gouge the shit out of that segment of drivers and then adamantly defend their positions by stating that young male drivers are the most accident prone. I agree. But that doesn't give them a license to steal. Insurance companies could not get away with price gouging tactics if their statistics weren't pooled and lumped together. In other words if insurance was specifically assigned to individuals rather than groups- there is no way they could justify that thievery. And good drivers would not be paying for bad drivers. Of course they will never do this, having manipulated this categorical age and sex gouging for maximum profitability. Insurance companies may have perfected the art of business thievery- but they are mere pikers when compared to the real professionals. The creme de la creme is government.

In fact, what I am going to try and show here is that the government has stolen the lion's share of the discretionary income of Americans. When you steal the discretionary income of an entire population- people are forced to make hard choices. Since government steals from its people with the threat of prosecution and prison hanging over their heads- people will inherently pay tax because they have to. Government becomes the priority lien holder on all working class slaves. They will pay taxes until such point that they can buy nothing else or quit working all together. That is happening now.

So let's use the purchase of a car as our example of how government has obtained a license to steal. First let me put up a map of US gas taxes for simplicity's sake. http://www.newyorkgasprices.com/USA_Tax_Map.aspx

The process of building a car is complex. Somebody has to furnish the raw materials. Rubber, steel, aluminum, glass. All of those raw materials are subject to mining or export taxes. The workers furnishing the labor to find and extract raw materials are taxed. The companies profiting from turning raw materials into components are taxed. If the parts are imported- they are subject to special taxes. The workers assembling the car are taxed. The auto manufacturer is taxed. The transport used to get the car to the dealer is taxed and pays use and fuel tax. The auto dealer and its employees are taxed. They pay title and origination taxes and fees. The buyer shows up and pay anywhere from 5-10 percent sales tax. The buyer pays registration costs which are taxes. He stops to get gas and pays gas tax. In fact, in California, gas tax is 67 cents a gallon- or somewhere close to 20%! That is outrageous. If a driver travels 20,000 miles a year at 20 MPG, he will pay 670.00 dollars a year or about 3500 dollars in gas tax before the note is paid off in five years.

Of course if the car is bought and resold, the new buyer, pays tax. In theory, it would not be a stretch of the imagination for one car to generate sales tax of 3000- 6000 dollars depending on purchase price and residual values.

So in five years time, a white male California driver buying a 30k car pays nearly 3000 dollars in sales tax, 3500 in gas tax, registering a car in California will cost you 3000 bucks over 5 years. And then you could possibly pay 1500 a year in insurance. (I liken insurance to a tax for two reasons. It was made mandatory with the full effect of law by the state, and like taxes- insurance pays you nothing back if you do not make a claim. Like unemployment insurance.)

So disregarding all of the taxes paid to generate and deliver the car- the end user pays nearly 10,000 dollars in taxes for the first five years of car ownership. Another 7500 dollars in insurance costs. That amounts to a hidden 300 dollar a month car payment. So take a 400 dollar car payment and add 300 to it. A true cost of ownership on the order of 700 a month emerges. In Idaho, that would probably be 400 and maybe only 150 or about 550 a month. All of that for an asset that will lose nearly all of it's value in ten years.

Wow. 

The beauty of this government thievery is that it is almost completely hidden from view. The Bureau of Labor Statistics only reports on the price of vehicles. It does not index for taxes. In fact nobody really reports the true cost of anything with tax- which is an inescapable part of our lives. 

I've given you this illustration to point out just how much government steals from you. It's not just your income tax, or property tax, or the sin tax you pay for booze and smokes. They have essentially inflated the cost of everything you have whether that is a house, car, insurance- but they have also stolen all of our discretionary income as well. And they still can't pay their bills. Think about that, tax slaves.

And now they want to force place health insurance on everyone.

We have arrived at the end game. We simply cannot afford this government any longer. All that really remains to be seen is how long it takes us to implode. Trying to predict that is tricky. It will simply get worse and worse every year. There is no alternative or solution. I just hope we can manage the upcoming conflict. It will be interesting to see whether government has the money and the nerve to try and lock up a few million of us. They can't even afford the prisons they have now.

As a nation, most of us agree that we have to pay a reasonable tax for reasonable safety and preparedness provided by a government. Reasonable left the building decades ago. Outrageous has taken over. Desperate. Nobody can steal like the government. Nobody. Not even the mob.

Statists Rejoice! Collecting Rainwater and Feeding the Homeless Now Becoming Illegal

Like I said. They won't stop until they have a law for everything. Except abortion.

Oh do explain Republocrats and Democons how the Libertarians are stark raving mad... http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2012/03/25/feeding-the-homeless-banned-in-major-cities-all-over-america/

Angry White Dude Lashes Out

Thanks Kenny.

One more reason to hate the media. One more reason to dislike Obama.

Nothing says media bias like this. Click here for a fascinating look at media spin. http://angrywhitedude.com/2012/03/zimmerman-has-two-defending-him-so-far/

Over at Kenny's. http://ogdaa.blogspot.com/2012/03/and-truth-is-coming-out.html

It really frosts my ass that this "President" of ours inserts himself into every news event (think beer summit, slut accusations, and this)  to steal some face time. To call Obama a self centered narcissist- is a blow to self centered narcissists everywhere.

Obama and that Kardashian gal would make a great couple. Sans flour.

Predatory Women

A woman broke into a home in Australia and assaulted a man by performing oral sex on him.

She has been charged with rape. Let's hope they make an example of this woman. Stop this before it becomes commonplace.

The state department will probably issue a traveler's warning for folks traveling to Australia.

I'm not sure I feel safe anymore. That sounds like some sort of evil, savage, and lawless frontier they have down under. http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/crime/woman-rapes-man-after-breaking-his-home?utm_source=OV+Newsletter+List+2&utm_campaign=271da66c65-OV_Newsletter_March_233_23_2012&utm_medium=email