A couple of things

Tomorrow night, May 1, from 6-9 pm, there is a Cruise-in at the Dick-N-Sons Lumber Complex in Blue Grass, Ia. They are located at 235 N. Oak Lane, Highway 61 exit #107. The event is free for car owners and spectators alike and there is a Subway Sandwich Shop, Conoco gas station, Godfather’s pizza, Dollar City and car/truck wash on site.

The other thing is about a recent commenter. I just did a post about shooting the messenger, I’ve done a post concerning cussing, and I’ve done a post about name calling. I couldn’t believe it when this person from New York came on this blog and did all three. Then he made several unsubstantiated claims and offered no proof said claims were truthful. Because of this I have barred him from the blog until such time he learns to play well with others and follow simple rules. If he tries to post and has proof of his allegations I will gladly allow it, without the profanity and name calling.
Comments are always welcome unless you choose to ignore a few simple rules. Everyone else commenting has been great about this and I thank you all.

Here we go

It’s Thursday so I thought I’d do some more mini-rants. I haven’t had my finger on the pulse of things because of some commitments but here’s a few things that get me wondering. If you have one not listed feel free to add it.

How about Airforce 1 buzzing New York City accompanied by a fighter jet. All that without warning the public. It may have been a photo-op, but with a cost of over $330,000 I think it merits a little more mention that it recieved. Our President claimed it was a mistake; but I believe the people who were scared when it flew by are owed more than that.

According to State Representative Olsen, the 83rd General Assembly wrapped up at around 5 am Sunday morning after two all night sessions. The end result is that despite the worst economy in recent memory our state will spend more money next year. The budget at $6.3 billion will leave an $890 million deficit for the upcoming year.

This is due in part to borrowing $765 million to spend now. Over the 20/30 year term of the loan the state is going to pay $899 million in interest. The payments will be made from the gambling revenue at $50 million a year that is supposed to be dedicated to infrastructure projects.

In Illinois, it looks like the $1 a pack cigarette tax is going to go through. As usually happens, the State of Illinois has already budgeted the expected $150 million windfall. This will lead to another deficit because we all know the State won’t see that much. First Iowa got the gas customers from Illinois because of prices and now the State is nice enough to send us their smokers.

Locally I’ve been thinking about this River Drive boulevard thing. Since it is a State highway, shouldn’t a bypass be built first? I just can’t see that truckers would be for narrowing the road. If they want people to slow down put up a speed camera and lower the speed limit.

A nationwide cutback by Clear Channels Communications has resulted in three more job loses. Those who got the pick slip are Phil Roberts, Bo J. Spates and Debbie McFadden. Phil Roberts has been with WOC-AM radio news department since 2002, and the station since 1997. Bo J. Spates most recently was program director for KUUL-FM (101.3) and KCQQ-FM (or Q-106.5), as well as serving as the midday host at KUUL. Debbie McFadden most recently was midday host on KMXG-FM (Mix 96). If the bigwigs keep thinning the herd are we going to listening to “Joe the Janitor”?
Comments are always welcome.

Have some time?

I thought I’d give a little background about a group that I feel strongly about, the Guardian Angels. The Guardian Angels were founded by Curtis Sliwa in New York on February 13, 1979. The local chapter began in February of 2007 after Alderman Bill Lynn asked them to come to our town and assess our need for a chapter.

The Guardian Angels, Inc., is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. There are now over 125 chapters worldwide and 25 in development. Besides the United States the Guardian Angels have chapters in Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Phillipines, and Japan.

Besides the Safety Patrol which most people are familiar with, the Guardian Angels also have the Cyber Angels, the world’s largest internet safety group; the Urban Angels for kids 12-16 as an alternative to gangs or drugs through a supportive club environment dedicated to community service; and the Junior Angels for kids 7-11 to
help them develop self-esteem and give them a sense of purpose.

The Guardian Angels work with local law enforcement, fire departments, and with Homeland Security when needed. We conduct Safety Patrols to be a visible deterent against crime, and to talk with people in the area we patrol. We do not do raids, undercover work, or sting operations.

You can join at age 17 with a parent or guardians permission and if
you’re older it’s not a problem either. Anyone who is interested in
joining is encouraged to stop by.

If this sounds like a group you would like to be a part of, we will be accepting applications to join tomorrow, Thursday April 30th, at out headquarters. There will be someone there from noon to 3pm. The address is 230 West 3rd, Suite 411. There is an elevator if you don’t care to take the stairs to the 4th floor. If you can’t make it tomorrow, or have questions you can Repo at (563)579-2301.

We will be doing some fundraising in the near future. All monies raised here stay here and will be used for radios and other gear, hiring people to train our group CPR and first aid, local law and other needed skills, to retain professionals for training session to help our recruits become more proficient in crisis management and violence prevention, and to help the chapter broaden our safety patrols.
Comments are always welcome.

Mixed bag

Repo and myself had a ball on the Jim Fisher show and would like to thank him once again for allowing us airtime. The group has some things in the works and will be talking with him again in the near future.

Clear Channel Radio has an online auction going on. They have some neat stuff and the bidding starts at 40% of retail. To find out more of what they have and what the bids are up to go here.

If you’re like me and enjoy looking at old car club plaques from all over, then this is for you. The Quad Cities are well represented on this site. If you’ve been around awhile it’s a site to spend some time at.

If you enjoy history, the FBI now has a page with pictures taken of John Dillinger and Little Bohemia. Given the timeframe they are black and white pictures but I thought it was interesting. To see the pictures of gangsters and Little Bohemia go here.

And while I’m cruisin’ memory lane how about some penny postcards to look at. Go here for a look at how we used to live.

Lastly, I ran accross an article on delayed onset PTSD. Since it involved incidents of 9/11 I’ll pass it along. I think it’s a pretty good article and if you want to read it go here.
Comments are always welcome.

Sad news, and news

I was saddened to see that Tom Saul has passed away. We always looked forward to his articles in the QC Times because we knew he wouldn’t pull any punches. Our condolences to his family.

GM has announced that they will end production of all Pontiac models next year. While we felt the end was near I can’t help but remember some of the great Pontiacs we’ve had. I’m sure there will be more cars biting the dust until the economy gets straightened up.

As I mentioned earlier, the Guardian Angels are going to be guests on the Jim Fisher show this afternoon. As a member of the local chapter I’d like to thank Mr. Fisher for his continued support. He got behind the program from the beginning and has always been a gracious host and a supporter of our efforts.
Comments are always welcome.

Allowing children to die

I ran accross a website that once again got me thinking. The first sentence in the text part of this site is “Why are these children dying?” I knew things were bad, but this is insane. As you scroll down the page you see pictures of hundreds of children, all who died while under the care of our social service agencies. You can click on the pictures to get the news stories about the child.

If even half of these incidents are true our country should forget about going green and save our children. Is it really that bad that nobody can come up with a number of children killed every year? This issue should be priority one to all of us. It’s a sad legacy we will leave our children if something isn’t done. So brace yourself and go here. I also
found another site here.

I guess I’ve had my head under a rock because I would have never guessed it was this bad. I clicked on about a dozen pictures, read the news stories about the kids, and came away saddened. It left me with many questions and no answers. I don’t know the answers to this problem but I do know something has to be done.
Comments are always welcome.

Some weekend things

Since it’s Saturday, and supposed to rain; I thought I’d gripe a little, give an update on the local Guardian Angels, and lead you to a link to a neat site. So, in that order, here they are.

By now most of us have heard of House File 809 being hammered out in our State Legislature. Basically it is a bill to allow gas stations and convience stores to acquire a Class E liqour license. To be honest I don’t think hard liqour should be sold in gas stations, but that’s just my take on it.

What surprised me in our recent economy is the proposals that didn’t make it into the bill. Yes in our tough economy these proposals that would have saved the state around $95 million, and didn’t pass: prohibit the purchase of State cars for one year, a savings of $11 million; eliminate filling “phantom empolyees” vacancies,a savings of $25 million; cut office supply purchasing by 50%, a savings of $10 million; reduce Regents library acquisitions by 50%, a savings
of $12 million; have State employees pay a portion of their health insurance costs, a savings of $17.8 million; Board of Regents
employees pay a portion of their health insurance costs, a savings of $14.3 million; and delay DNR land acquisition for one year, a savings of $5 million. What’s up with that? I believe our State government is sending the wrong message with acts like this.

Another Friday night Guardian Angel patrol went off without a hitch and other than the heat it was an enjoyable walk. There was a pretty bad car accident at 4th and Division but we weren’t involved with that. We also noticed the skybridge was once again a hangout for kids and the skatepark was busy.

Monday at 5pm, Repo and myself are going to be guests on the Jim Fisher show on Newstalk 1420 am radio. This is to kick off our recruitment program and also to let people know we are still around. We recieved a lot of comments from fellow citizens who thought the group disbanded. For some reason these people thought that because we haven’t been in the newspapers or TV that we were no longer
around. We celebrated our 2nd anniversary last month and are here to stay.

And as I sometimes do, I’ll share a link with everyone else. Cruisin’ season is getting ready to take off and as always I think of cars. Bum sent me a link that I think is pretty cool. If you want a look at how cars used to be go to the Cars.
Comments are always welcome.

Just a thought

I’ve been noticing a trend while cruising the world-wide-web. It seems like when someone makes a statement as to what they think on a subject other commenters attack the messenger. I won’t go so far as to say it’s name calling, or even personal attacks, but it seems when people disagree it is rarely with an alternative idea.

Sometimes I get flak when I mention “agree to disagree”. There are some who believe this isn’t possible. But if we have an intelligent discussion from both sides of an issue it brings all the good and bad elements of the issue into the public eye. At that point readers who know nothing of the issue can form an intelligent opinion and perhaps even offer a viable
solution.

Some of the problem could be generational as each generation grew up dealing with a different set of issues. Those who grew up in the depression era think differently than those who grew up in the Vietnam era. But as rational adults we are able to discuss issues and offer solutions regardless of our age, ethnic background, or monetary situation.

This “shoot the messenger” theory came up at a cruise-in last year and has stuck with me ever since. I’m going to keep watching this problem and see if I can come up with a solution. We can get along even we if we disagree. That’s just my thoughts on something I’ve
noticed as I cruise the web.
Comments are always welcome

A few more mini-rants

Here are a few things that are going on around the country and around our town. These are just a few of many that popped up in the last week. If you have one of your own feel free to comment about it.

Now Pelosi is pushing a climate bill and claiming it’s the end of the
world if we don’t tax emissions. Yes the cost is going up for the fossil
fuels we use. The Democratic bill wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in 2020. This would also raise our electric rates because coal is a no-no. It will also raise the cost of any fossil fuel that we now use. Of course the “cap-and-trade” system is included.

These lawmakers have proven they are the best money can buy. If this bill was really about saving the planet why sell emissions credits to those who don’t meet the guidelines? Wouldn’t it be greener to fine these people until they are in compliance?

The non-news issue that the gay Miss America judge was outraged because a contestant said she was against gay marriage is something else. For some reason he thought he was the voice for all gay people in the world. To me the judge acted a lot worse than the contestant who graciously answered his question.

Why do we put up with a vocal minority who try to push their agendas on us? If anyone disagrees with them they say we’re racist, sexist, on the sauce or off our rockers. If we disagree with an intelligent reply we are not the ones with the problem.

Once again the local government comes up with a solution to penalize the people when they made the mistake. I’m talking about the handicapped parking signs. If the city doesn’t have anybody to check the signs, how can it be the fault of the people who are handicapped? Wouldn’t common sense dictate designating someone to look over the signs? Too little, too late.

Now that the city wants to put boulevards on River Drive I’m reminded what our Mayor said during the campaign. “If you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig”. If you honestly believe this is needed, take a drive on 2nd street from Harrison street west. If you don’t need an alignment by the time you get to Brown street you’re a better driver than I am.
Comments are always welcome.

2 less guns on the street

Last night I recieved a phone call about some guns being taken off
the streets. The caller, a former Guardian Angel, said they noticed
some young men walking down the streets carrying handguns. They
got out of the way and called police who a short time later arrested
two of the kids for having stolen guns on them. Good job to the
police and the citizen who made the call.

If the rumor is true these guns were part of a theft at a local
sporting goods store. What bothers me is the fact that these kids
are 15. I hope on such a serious charge they are tried as adults.
How are these kids getting away with this on 6th and Marquette
streets? I’ll wait to hear the specifics if the story makes the news-
paper in the morning.
Comments are always welcome.