Smell a circus?

We have been looking at the recent
accusation that an Alderman was
impersonating another Alderman. The
event supposedly involved “confidential”
information discussed during a closed
meeting.

Since we have never held office, don’t
have a law degree, and haven’t sat in
on any closed meetings, we decided to
find an expert.

We went to the Iowa Attorney General.
On the page listed are links to answers
to most questions involving meetings.

One we found interesting concerned buying
private real estate. If we read it right, it states
that as soon as the real estate transaction
is finished in closed session, all minutes
and tapes of the meeting must be disclosed
to the public.

By law, posting an agenda is required
even for a closed meeting.

“Confidential”
public records are also covered. This
section states one rule of thumb always
applies: A public record is open for
examination by the public unless a specific
law requires or allows the government body
to keep it confidential.

Another site to check is the IFIIC
Open Meetings, Open Records Handbook.

On this site they mention 3 key points:

Iowa law assumes that meetings and records
are open. Most records are open to public
inspection, “even if such examination may
cause inconvenience, or embarrassment to
public officials or others.”

The laws are relatively short, general and
written for public understanding and use.

The laws provide a framework for the public
managing their business, but also provide a
way for an aggrieved citizen denied access
to meeting or record, some recourse.

Now, who decides what is confidential or
not? Are these closed meetings even legal?
We smell a circus.
Comments are always welcome.

Happy Halloween!

Tonight is the night that all sorts of
strange creatures will be seen roaming
the streets. Yes, it is trick or treat
night in river city.

Tons of candy will be given away and
received in a few short hours tonight.
And tomorrow there will be a parade with
more candy given away.

Linus will be in pumpkin patch, and the
vampire kitten may surprise a few people
in our area tonight.

Because he is all black, the vampire
kitten is hard to see at night. But there
is no mistaking the sound of his bat-like
wings.

Do not be alarmed though, because our
vampire kitten isn’t weaned yet and your
neck should be safe until next year.

If you do plan on going trick or treating
tonight, please be careful and get back
home safe.
Comments are always welcome.

Obamarant

We will forewarn all Obama supporters,
Hollywood stars, media pundits, and
liberals that this post does contain
the truth. If you are one of the above,
or have any serious health issues, you
shouldn’t read this post.

It should be no secret that we don’t
like Obama and feel he is taking our
country in the wrong direction. We
will once again state why we feel
this way.

Obama says he saved the auto industry,
but he closed 2,200 dealerships and that
took away over 100,000 jobs . He also
caused the demise of Pontiac in the
process of “saving” G.M.

Obama says his stimulus worked and 5
million people found work. He doesn’t
mention we have a record 47 million
people on welfare, or a record number
of people receiving disability.

We in the middle class are making less,
and will soon be taxed even more if the
lawmakers don’t act.

Obama’s promise to reach across the
table and unite the parties is now
fodder for late night comedians, and we
all know how his promise to lower the
deficit went.

We now have Hurricane Sandy battering
the east coast, and Obama is using it
for a campaign aide.

But when our Embassy was under terrorist
attack and requested aid, he did nothing.
Obama blamed it on a video and denied
knowledge of an attack. And Americans
died.

Even the Des Moines Register has
endorsed Romney. The last time the
Register endorsed a Republican was
Nixon in 1972!

He may be a legend in his own mind,
but we don’t want to give him another
four years of spending our money.

We do get to chuckling though when we
think about the mess he’ll inherit if
he gets another term.
Comments are always welcome.

First victims?

It appears Hurricane Sandy has taken her
first fatalities today. The Bounty, a 1960
recreation of the HMS Bounty sank off our
coast in high seas.

14 of the 16 crew members were rescued
and two are missing. In those kinds of
rough seas we don’t hold out much hope.

The Bounty was built in Lunenburg, Nova
Scotia and most recently its home port
was Greenport, Suffolk County, New York.

For those of us who have gone to sea
in the past, we offer our condolences.

They that toil upon the deep,
And in vessels light and frail
O’er the mighty waters sweep
With the billows and the gale,

Mark what wonders God performs
When He speaks, and, unconfined,
Rush to battle all His storms
In the chariots of the wind.

Comments are always welcome.

A funny thing happened on my way to a post

I was all set to do a scathing opinion
piece on why I don’t like Obama, but
life got in the way.

Before sunrise we were out at Wal-Mart
buying a ham and some goodies because
I got hungry for ham.

After baking the ham, and making enough
gravy for a ton of potatoes and buckets
of biscuits, I made some augratin potatoes.

When I pulled the bubbling roaster pan
out of the oven I had to sample some.
Three helpings later I’m so mellow I
can’t rant.

So I cruised the internet and came
across the picture above, which got me
thinking. What if the critters we
share our cities with picked up on our
bad habits?

What if squirrels started training
with light sabers, or pigeons dive
bombed us with gravel?

Or even worse, what if groundhogs
stuffed our tailpipes full of local
vegetation? It would be chaos.

Would these be considered civil or
criminal actions? We could imagine
trying to explain to a 911 operator
that a gang of squirrels wouldn’t let
you leave your house.

So anyway, I got distracted. But I
will do the Obama post soon.
Comments are always welcome.

Our wonder cat

The creature in the photo is Yoda, our
many-toed wonder cat. Some of you may
recognize her if you’ve been to the
house, and some have expressed interest
in the cat.

The wife got Yoda and her brother from
some family friends who rescued them as
very young kittens from a certain death.

An unkown lowlife had taken a litter of
kittens, tied them in a burlap bag, and
threw them over a chain link fence in a
dark alley.

This was bad enough, but the fence was
around a business which had a guard dog.
The dog saw the moving bag and tore it
to shreds, killing two of the kittens.

Our friends rushed in and got the
kittens out, nursed those that needed
it, and asked us to take a few off
their hands.

Her brother, who has since died, had
his throat crushed and couldn’t meow
but was otherwise alright.

We took Yoda because she does have 22
toes and thought she might be hard to
find a home for, since normal cats have
18. We have not regretted our decision.

Linda, a friend of the wife’s, stated
Yoda was a “Hemingway” cat. This got
me on a search engine to find some facts.

Yoda is a cat with polydactyly, or a type
of genetic mutation of the body. Cats
with this condition may also be called;
conch cats, boxing cats, mitten cats,
snowshoe cats, thumb cats, cardi-cats,
and Hemingway cats.

We are told most polydactyl cats in
America are found along the east coast,
and also South West England and Wales.

Earnest Hemingway was one of the famous
lovers of these cats, and we learned his
home and museum has 50-60 of these cats
to this day.
Comments are always welcome.

Historic event

On Friday we didn’t post any events but
felt there was one worth mentioning in a
post. It isn’t often a dealership
celebrates 75 years in business.

Dahl Ford opened in 1937 in Davenport,
Iowa. Sunday, October, 28, 2012, Dahl
Ford will host a “Caravan” starting at
the Old Car Home, 5215 Grand Avenue,
Davenport, Iowa beginning at 10 am.

The Old Car Home contains some of the
Dahl family collection of antiques,
classics, and hot rods.

We’re not sure of the route, but around
noon the Caravan will arrive at the Dahl
Ford dealership at 1310 East Kimberly
Road where they will host a classic car
show.

If you bring a car there will be prizes,
food, and music. It should be a dry,
cool day, and would be a good reason to
get out the ride and cruise.

The great thing about this show is you
don’t have to have a Ford to attend, all
makes and models are welcome.
Comments are always welcome.

Rainy day time wasters

We thought we’d share a few things we
ran across while cruisin’ the net. Some
you’ve probably seen, and if not it is
a reason to grab a beverage, kick back,
and kill some time.

An oldie but a goodie

Drag week 2012

A different rat truck

Miss the first issue of Rat Rod
magazine? Try this.

A site just for rat rods.

And finally, with Halloween right around
the corner, here is the 2011 version of
“Fright Night”.

Comments are always welcome.

Show down at the circus

We don’t think anyone is surprised by the
decision of the City Council to move ahead
with the purchase of the Rhythm City
Casino.

We were pleasantly surprised that Alderman
Matson voted against it, and we thank him
for doing so.

After hearing the wife’s retelling of the
event, and reading the article in the paper,
we were once again thinking of the circus
that was.

It would seem a former Alderman stepped
on Goober’s toes. We haven’t seen the
video yet but have our own preconceived
idea of what happened.

Goober didn’t like something said by
Keith Meyer, and instead of handling it
like a leader, showed he had no sense of
humor and a God complex. His liberal
roots are showing.

Much like when Nikki Bowles kept getting
the mic turned off because the Council
didn’t like what she was saying, we don’t
believe in censorship.

Get a sense of humor, grow some thicker
skin, and get over it.

Regardless of what the official City
statement is, we have a feeling this is
going to cost us.
Comments are always welcome.

Can you see sound?

A friend sent an email that promised I
would actually see sound. The attached
video was all about the speed of sound.

I had heard of gifted children who
could actually see musical notes as
colors, but not adults.

A short time into the video I realized
that I had seen sound. We were on a
Guided Missile Destroyer in the middle of
the Pacific doing Ops with a squadron
of fighter jets.

For this manuever I had the watch on
the flying bridge, which stood 68 feet
above the water line.

Dressed in battle gear and armed with
binoculars and a headset, my job was to
alert the bridge of the oncoming jets.

Young, eagle-eyed, and full of confidence,
I was sure this was going to be easy. Told
that when we spotted the aircraft report
location and position angle.

Location started with 12 o’clock straight
ahead off the forecastle, and 6 o’clock
straight back off the fantail. Position
angle went the horizon to straight up.

Sighting a moving dot I keyed the mic on
the 1MC and reported “Bogie at 1 o’clock,
position angle…

That was when the jet shot by me on the
port side while pouring on the coals 60
feet off the water! In his next pass the
pilot broke the sound barrier.

I did see sound that day and also got a
little attitude adjustment compliments of
said fighter pilot. But I’ll never forget
the event.
Comments are always welcome.