mnaines's Blog

For all you McCain supporters who think Obama is a socialist, here is my two pennies worth:

Socialism is "A good day's pay for a good day's work", and those of you who are against that are basically advocating laziness and decadence by saying we should continue rewarding people who don't work to earn their keep.  At least Obama The Socialist will force people to work for their food instead of handing it out freely like McCain will.  Those of you who are against the Socialist idea of "A good day's pay for a good days work" obviously are proving beyond a doubt that you think Americans should reward people who sit on their fat butts all day and do nothing for society.  And by bashing Obama for being a socialist, you are basically saying you are lazy and decadent and don't want to work to earn your keep, so you want to favor John McCain because he will continue supporting you while you continue being lazy while Obama will force you to work to earn your keep, and you don't want to, so you immediately become anti-obama.  How hard is it to get up off your lazy bum and WORK?  Obviously very hard because none of you even understand the meaning of the word WORK.  Taken from a book by author Larry Winget:  ITS CALLED WORK FOR A REASON!  YOUR SUCCESS OR FAILURE IS YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT!

If you want to dispute my claim, give me proof that McCain will make people work to earn their keep instead of rewarding them for being freeloaders.

Poll: Voters souring on McCain, Obama stays steady

Courtesy of Associated Press:

By ALAN FRAM and TREVOR TOMPSON, Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to the public's image of John McCain, it's as if somebody dialed the electricity down in the past month. For Barack Obama, the juice is still flowing.

People's regard for the Republican presidential nominee has deteriorated across-the-board since September, an Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll showed Friday, with McCain losing ground in how favorably he's seen and in a long list of personal qualities voters seek in White House contenders.

Perceptions of Obama have improved or remained steady. Beyond views of the two rivals' character traits, McCain faces another problem — Obama is more trusted on the economy, the contest's commanding issue, including a 15-percentage-point edge for better grasping how the raging financial crisis is affecting people.

Obama's image has been sturdy even as voters' views of the overall campaign have tumbled downhill since September. The portion of people saying the contest excites them has sunk to 32 percent while those calling it frustrating have grown to 41 percent — and in both cases, six in 10 of those whose feelings have worsened are McCain backers.

Negative campaigning and a month of intense public focus on collapsing global economic and financial markets have not been kind to McCain. The new AP-Yahoo! News poll of likely voters, conducted this month by Knowledge Networks, shows more people viewing him favorably than unfavorably by just 5 percentage points, down from a 21-point difference in mid-September.

During the same period, Obama went the other way, increasing a 5-percentage-point net favorable rating to 15 points. Now, Obama is seen favorably by 57 percent and McCain by 52 percent — a close margin that masks the opposite direction the two rivals' ratings are heading.

"He kind of scared me," Leesa Zick, 48, an undecided Republican from Edwardsville, Ill., said of McCain's abrupt and short-lived suspension of his campaign last month during Capitol Hill talks on a financial package. "We need a president who can deal with multiple tasks. It seemed like it overwhelmed him."

For McCain, the poll's good news is that despite a difficult month, his public image is not dramatically worse than Obama's and in several areas remains better. The public still rates him higher than Obama for keeping America safe, working with both political parties, and being decisive, experienced and competent.

"He's more qualified than Obama, definitely, because of his experience and history, " said Richard Tosti, 67, a Republican from Rochester, N.Y.

Zick and Tosti are among about 2,000 people the AP-Yahoo! News poll has been tracking since November. By repeatedly questioning them, the survey has opened a detailed window on how individuals have reacted to the campaign's twists and turns.

Less than three weeks from Election Day, Obama has taken a solid lead over McCain in most national and swing-state polls. The AP-Yahoo! News survey underscores the morale problem McCain faces.

Obama supporters are more than twice as likely to say they're excited about the race and significantly more likely to say they're interested and hopeful. McCain backers, meanwhile, more often say they feel frustrated and helpless. Underscoring a period that has seen the rival candidates trade personal attacks, about a fifth of those backing each say they're angry.

"There's a lot of mudslinging, which I've never been a fan of," said Eric Juhl, 27, a Republican and McCain backer from Abilene, Kan. "And to me, the media seems pretty left-wing oriented. It's kind of frustrating."

A sour public mood is typical late in presidential campaigns as both sides' attacks accumulate, said University of Wisconsin political scientist and polling authority Charles Franklin. This year's disenchantment is probably magnified by worries about how the candidates would bolster the economy, he said.

Even so, Obama has staked out a clear advantage on economic concerns in the AP-Yahoo! News poll. The Illinois senator is trusted more than McCain to improve the economy by 54 percent to 44 percent, and to handle the financial crisis by 53 percent to 46 percent.

Obama also has a 56 percent to 41 percent advantage for understanding how the financial crisis affects people. Unhappily for McCain, six in 10 voters who may still change their minds, about as many independents and even one in 10 McCain backers prefer Obama on that question.

"To me his background indicates he'd be a little more sensitive to the middle class" in addressing economic problems, Peggy Chilton, 72, an independent from Los Angeles who hasn't decided on a candidate, said of Obama.

The numbers don't get better for McCain when it comes to personal traits.

Following debates between the two rivals in which the Arizona senator has appeared angry at times, 46 percent consider him hot-tempered, more than triple the 13 percent who say so about Obama.

"He'd be a little nerve-racking to have in the White House, jumping real fast," Darlene Finley, 48, an Obama-leaning independent from Ossineke, Mich., said of McCain. "When you're talking about war, that's something you don't want to do, jumping real fast."

Since September, McCain has lost ground on nearly every quality tested in the poll, including lower scores for being likable, decisive, honest, competent, intelligent and inspiring.

He's also lost ground for understanding ordinary peoples' problems, caring about "people like you" and improving America's international standing. Growing numbers even see him as supporting big business over the public interest and being influenced by lobbyists — despite repeated vows to do exactly the opposite.

Obama's ratings have stayed level since last month for most qualities tested, though he has shown some improvement in whether he's considered experienced and decisive.

Paralleling McCain's problems are similar ones faced by his running mate, Sarah Palin.

A month ago, more people said the Alaska governor made them more likely to vote for McCain than less likely by 14 percentage points. That gap is now down to 3 points — even as growing numbers say her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden, makes them more inclined to support Obama.

The AP-Yahoo! News poll included 841 likely voters was conducted from Oct. 3-13 and has an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. Included were interviews with 373 people who initially said they were Democrats, 252 Republicans and 214 independents, for whom the margins of sampling error are plus or minus 5.1, 6.2 and 6.7 percentage points, respectively.

The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, which initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free.

———

AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

Polling site: http://news.yahoo.com/polls

I just heard, and maybe the cops on here can correct this if its not correct, that a citation for driving 10mph UNDER the posted speed limit is $135 and 3 points off your license while 10mph OVER the posted speed limit is only $70 and 1 point off your license.  Driving 10mph under the posted speed limit is one indicator of driving while intoxicated in most places, and legally, you should be cruising along right at the posted speed limit.  By the way, 90% of the cars you hypermilers drive make their best gas mileage above 60mph, not at 55mph like you think.  If the car has variable valve timing, then the best gas mileage is had at the rpm range in which the VVT is active, which is generally about 500rpms less than peak torque and 500rpms more than peak horsepower, or to put it simply:  Above 3,000rpms

For all those who think their internet connection is "high-speed", have a look-see at this: http://www.speedtest.net/result/339318670.png

That is the speed of my internet through Roadrunner

I have just finished reading stories of holocaust survivors who say they've forgotten about the concentration camps and forgiven the Germans for their actions during WWII, and I keep hearing that generation preach "Spread love, not hate".  The vast majority of people today have indeed forgiven the Germans for their actions during WWII, but yet those same people still have not forgiven the Japanese for their actions during WWII...The crimes the Germans committed were far worse than what the Japanese did at Pearl, yet people forgave the Germans but not the Japanese.  Why don't the Japanese deserve forgiveness but the Germans do?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27181796#27176
673

This video clearly shows a cover-up after a US M1A1 Abrams fired on a US Army infantry position.  The Army then turned around and told one of the dead soldiers' families that he was killed by the enemy and that he died instantly when the video clearly shows that he had suffered greatly and had to have his leg amputated before he died.  This is damn unacceptable.  America's military is supposed to be the best and most highly trained, not some damn cowards and liars.  That's all soldiers are nowadays...Cowards who fire blindly and not even identify who they are shooting at, then liars who say those killed by friendly fire were killed by the enemy and died as heroes.  The US military has acted dishonorably for the last time.  The dragon has awoken, and he will not be so easily sedated this time.

This is courtesy of the Associated Press:

Shooting victims sue law enforcement leadersParents of 4 young people killed by deputy say supervisors were lax



updated 8:04 p.m. CT, Mon., Oct. 13, 2008

CRANDON, Wis. - The parents of four young people killed by a sheriff's deputy and the lone survivor of his shooting spree last year claim in a lawsuit that the gunman's law-enforcement superiors were negligent in supervising him and giving him access to weapons.

The lawsuit filed in Forest County Circuit Court also claims authorities knew Deputy Tyler Peterson, 20, had a history of violence, yet gave him too much decision-making responsibility.

Peterson was also a part-time Crandon policeman, and the lawsuit names Crandon Police Chief John Dennee, Forest County Sheriff Keith Van Cleve and their insurance companies as defendants.

Peterson killed his one-time girlfriend Jordanne Murray and five other people during a party at her home in Crandon on Oct. 7, 2007. Authorities have said Peterson was angered by the idea that Murray was dating someone else.

After breaking down the door, Peterson fired at least 30 shots from an AR-15 assault rifle he was issued as a member of the Forest County Sheriff's SWAT team. Peterson shot and killed himself hours later after police efforts to get him to surrender failed.

He killed Murray, 18; Bradley Schultz, 20; Lindsey Stahl, 14; Aaron Smith, 20; Lianna Thomas, 18; and Katrina McCorkle, 18. Charlie Neitzel, 21, was shot three times but survived by playing dead.

The parents of Schultz, Stahl, Thomas and McCorkle joined Neitzel in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Dennee and Van Cleve had been warned that Peterson was a "violent person and a danger," and they knew that Peterson had abused Murray.

None of the complaints against Peterson were investigated, the lawsuit said, adding that the sheriff and police chief failed to protect the public from the dangers posed by Peterson.

Van Cleve and the city attorney for Crandon did not immediately return telephone messages Monday. The sheriff's dispatcher who answered a call for the Crandon Police Department said Dennee was not in his office Monday afternoon.

The city of Crandon and Forest County earlier denied the families' claims seeking more than $5 million in damages. Those decisions opened the door for the civil lawsuit.

The two insurance companies named as defendants in the lawsuit are the League of Wisconsin Municipality Mutual Insurance and Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Corp.

My opinion:
This is proof police brass don't bother with background checks and will do anything they can to keep from admitting an officer is a bad cop.  Its also proof police do not want to take responsibility for their own actions or those of their fellow officers.  This article also proves cops are trained to "shoot first, ask questions later" instead of having self-discipline instilled into them.  Itchy trigger fingers and the shoot first ask questions later policy that all police departments have is what led to the mess stated in the above article.  I remember my mother doing dialysis on a cop one day, and the cop turned to her and said "Don't tell anyone else this, but it is standard police policy for us to lie to get you to say and do what we want you to say and do, and we do not care if you are not the one who did it.  If you really didn't do it, then the jury would be the one to say so." Hmph...Famous last words from a cop on his death bed.  At least he was willing to admit a secret all cop stations have before he died of renal failure.

This picture is courtesy of rdnk74 and is one of my favorite metaphors for those who think they can do whatever they want and get away with it.  I am talking about people who think they can get away with multitasking while driving a car.or motorcycle.

I think the fact that cops limit themselves in the types of cars they drive is a mistake.  Everyone in Kansas City knows that when there's a black and white Crown Victoria out on the prowl, a cop is behind the wheel, and Crown Victorias are now synonymous with police cars and its to the point where anytime one is spotted on the road no matter what color it is, people behave themselves.  If the traffic cops want to catch people driving like idiots or catch car thieves in the act, a big black and white Crown Victoria is actually one of the worst places to hide as that car screams "I'm a cop".  If you don't want people to know you're there in order to catch them in the act, you need a car that's much less obvious, like a Dodge Neon SRT-4 with tinted windows and all pimped out with neons or LEDs and thunderous subwoofers going at full blast, then you need to ditch the uniform - you can keep the badge, gun, radio, radar, and laser, just don't make it obvious you're a cop until you pull them over, or in the case of car theives, until you move in to apprehend them.  The SRT-4...Nobody would expect a cop to be driving a turbocharged sport compact, and its fast enough to give the majority of other cars a run for the money (SRT-4 Neons have been clocked in running 13's in the quarter, and they were the second-fastest cars in Dodge's lineup in their days), so if you really want to catch people driving like idiots, you need a car that people won't expect the police to be driving, and the thunderous subwoofers going full blast will complete the illusion because everyone in the world knows cops don't roll that way.

That idea could also work for the cops who have to go undercover or for cops who are "staking out" someplace or who are on 24-hour surveillance.  If you're sitting out in front of a neighbor's house in a pimped-out SRT-4 with the subwoofers going, you could stage it so the "neighbor" is actually an 18 to 25 year old cop, and he comes out of the neighbor's house in plain clothes and the two of you listen to music and "pretend" to chat about random stuff.  Do it right, and the suspect won't even know he's being watched.  And if you have to follow him, the Neon SRT-4 is far more difficult to spot than a black and white crown vic is, and the turbocharger on the SRT-4 virtually guarantees he can't get away if he suddenly panics and runs, so you can stay closer to the guy with the SRT-4 than you could with the crown vic.  Plus, if you have the LEDs and subwoofers going and are not in uniform, you could ride in the lane next to the guy a couple cars back and so long as you don't go for a radio or anything, he won't even know you're watching him.

Of course, if you're the type who "gets friendly" with the suspect while undercover, one big way would be to pretend to be a new guy in town with a turbocharged sport compact looking for someplace and someone to race and ask him if he wants to see the car and what all you've done to it and stuff then ask if he wants to go out and have fun racing people...Do all that to gain his trust, then try to extract information from him, but don't say the cops are onto you, just say that you heard it from a neighbor whose been watching the house and saw cops parked outside.  Another way to earn his trust would be to tell him the neighbors told you that they spotted cops staking out his house and you want to use your 13-second turbocharged sportscar to get him away from the police. That alone will take the pressure and threat away from you and make him feel more worried about being at home.  Once you're done with the races, tell him that your car can outrun any car the police have and make him know that the police can't touch him so long as he's in the SRT-4.  Then ask him where he wants to go and take him there.  Then once you're there, go inside with him and tell him you need to call "a friend" to help (that "friend" is actually a cop), and say something like "I need you to come get us out of here." then tell him where you are and that you're trying to hide from the police.  Since the "friend" is a cop, he'll bring the entire department with him (hopefully) and get you both out...You back to the station and the other guy to the lockup.  If the guy asks who the friend is, just lie and tell him its one of your racing buddies who can help get the cops off his back.

I had a little debate with one of my friends from school about liberty vs safety and if its possible to have both...Here's the gist of the conversation:  "If we allow too many freedoms, we descend into anarchy, immediately followed by the creation of tribes, and if tribes form, you lose individual liberties in return for guaranteed safety; but aside from that, if we try to go for the best possible safety, we have to give up lots of our freedoms for guaranteed safety.  We have to find some sort of middle ground where we have an equal amount of both safety and liberty, but you've got two political parties, one of which wants guaranteed safety and the other wants guaranteed freedoms, so you cannot really have both security and freedom with the current political system in place.  Freedom is not free - we pay a hefty price for our freedom, and that price is called 'the price of peace'. Freedom is earned, not given, and the price we pay for our freedom come in the form of war, taxes, and basically the fact we have to just smile and nod when the government wants more money from us."

UnderArmour, better known for their sports apparel, now has a line of trainer shoes out that are designed to go head-to-head with Nike and Reebok shoes.  Their Proto-series trainers, the ProtoSpeed, ProtoEvade, and ProtoPower.  The ProtoSpeed (what I wear) is designed for break-away speed and maximum linear grip and stability.  Perfect for runners.  The ProtoEvade shoes are designed to provide "explosive lateral grip and evasion", perfect for tennis players.  The ProtoPower shoes are desiged to provide "explosive verticle power and maximum downward support" perfect for basketball players.  I do not know if they can compete with Nike or Reebok, but I did notice that the ProtoSpeeds are much more comfortable and are more supportive than the Nike and Reebok shoes are.

First off, I want to say that I see no point in demanding someone do something we are not willing to do ourselves.  By that I mean I see no point in demanding that every legal immigrant learn English if Americans are not willing to learn a foreign language.  I think it is only fair that we learn their language if we want them to learn ours, because in the foreigners' eyes, if we are demanding they learn English but we are not willing to learn their language, it causes resentment and anger because they feel like they are being treated like they are inferior to us.  I think it is pathetic that Americans still think they are the kings and queens of the world and that they can do whatever they want but everyone else has to bow down to their every beck and call.  Americans bray and cry over their petty freedoms and I feel my tolerance wearing thin.  I have taken it upon myself to begin Japanese language lessons as the first step to moving to Japan, so for those of you who whine and complain about me not leaving America if I hate this country so much, all I have to say is this:  Just like you are demanding immigrants learn English to become citizens, I am learning Japanese for the same reason.  Now, before you go off on me about leaving the country, let me just say this:  If you want to pay for my plane ticket out of here and pay for my housing and stuff until I can support myself, then I will let you whine and complain all you want about how much I hate America.  I will end this by saying put up or shut up.  If you want me out of America so badly, then give me the money to let me leave.  If you don't want to do that, then shut your trap and stop complaining.

I must first say I am not a germophobe like the majority of Americans.  In fact, I actually welcome disease-harboring germs into my life as I feel they boost my body's natural immunity to that disease.  As such, I tend to drink out of cups other people leave behind.  If there is no residue on a used cup, I will take it and fill it up with my own drink, then just drink.  And if I get sick, then I let my body's immune system fight the disease on its own knowing that my body will either develop full immunity to the disease or build up a resistance to the disease.  If someone has the flu or a bad cold, I still drink out of cups they use because their flu or cold only makes my body's immune system more resistant to the cold and flu.  At present, my immune system has developed enough of a resistance to the flu that I have not needed a flu shot nor have I actually caught the flu bug since my freshman year of high school (the year 1999, so almost 10 years of natural resistance to all strains of the flu).  As far as how I go green when drinking coffee?  Well, if I am using a cup someone else previously used, even if it has coffee residue all over it, that is my way of "recycling".  I don't mind having Hazelnut coffee residue (or whatever other flavors people drink) in my cup of French Vanilla coffee or Chai Tea Latte.  And instead of washing the mug or cup out, I will just fill it up with water and drink the water and repeat the process until the coffee residue is gone.  I don't mind the taste at all.  That is how I go green with re-usable cups or mugs.  I attribute my natural resistance to the cold and flu to the fact I don't fear germs like other people do, and to the fact I will re-use cups or mugs other people used before me in an attempt to save the environment by reducing the number of times those cups and mugs are actually washed.  I don't think twice about drinking out of a cup someone else used before me unless that person has some really evil disease that would cripple or kill me.  My antibiotics and antiviral medicines are Vitamins A, B, C, D, and E as well as calcium, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and the occasional glass of cranberry juice.  Basically everything the body needs to stay healthy and work at its best.  I feel far too many Americans have become germophobes, and as a result of that, they try to wash down everything all the time in an attempt to rid themselves of the germs other people spread around, but I am living proof that those very same germs people fear are actually beneficial to the body's immune system.  I don't think people should be upset about the fact I am still able to spread all of these diseases to other people, because look what spreading germs around did to me.  I am a very healthy 24 year old with a very powerful immune system that works in overdrive all the time thanks to all the germs people gave to me, and I am living proof that germophobia is actually a bad thing.

I share used bath towels, silverware, plates, food, and cups with people who are sick, and I don't run around like a paranoid mad-man spraying everything down with Lysol or disinfecting everything in sight.  I don't take medications when I get sick.  Instead, I just eat healthy like I normally do and let my body do the rest.  After the disease has run its course, the next time I get it, its either a lot less severe or it doesn't affect me at all.  For example, the flu bug.  I have not had a flu shot (heck, I haven't even had the flu) in as long as I can remember.  My mom, stepdad, and brother all catch the flu every year, but even spending every day with them, I never get it.  My mom thinks its wrong for doctors to pump people full of medicine every time they get sick because medicine doesn't boost your body's ability to fight the disease on its own and doesn't make you immune to the disease.  I was purposefully exposed to chickenpox and mumps as a kid so I would never need shots for it, but I know that increases my risk for getting shingles.  The doctors warned my mom that was not a very good idea, but she defied their warnings and exposed me anyway.  My mom feels natural resistance or immunity is by far the best solution to this fear of germs, and that people who spend hundreds of dollars on medicines every time they or their kids get sick are just paranoid and cheating themselves out of money.

My mom's secret to all this:  Eat healthy, exercise, and if you get sick, just let the disease run its course.  The nutrients you get from eating healthy are far more powerful and far more effective than any medications ever will be in fighting diseases.

I know you cops don't like me being so critical, so I decided to be nice today and do a little research for you guys to make up for all the times I was critical.  I researched a car that can replace your aging fleet of Crown Vics and still match the prowess of your performance cars.  The Hyundai Genesis: Powered by a 4.6L 375hp V8 (375hp on premium gas or 368hp on regular) that can run zero to 60 in 5.69 seconds - faster than both a base-model Porsche Boxter and a BMW 750i, boasting a skidpad of 0.94g - better than the Dodge Charger SRT8's you guys use as performance cars, with handling equal to or better than World Rally Championship cars like the Subaru Impreza WRX STi, EPA estimated 25mpg highway on a 20.3 gallon tank with a drag coefficient of 0.27, a final drive ratio of 3.07:1, a power-to-weight ratio of 10.7lbs/hp and a RWD powertrain with standard limited-slip differential that splits power 50/50 to each wheel for superior all-weather traction.  When the Genesis was first introduced during the Super Bowl last year, the ad video had this quote:  "Ah, yes.  The Genesis.  A brand new luxury car as spacious as the Mercedes S-Class, but priced like a C-Class, making its debut during the big game.  Well, by now you're probably expecting some crazy, big twist.  Well, here it is:  Hyundai - Think About It"  As far as safety?  The Genesis boasts a high-strength and ultra-high-strength steel safety cage that is as good as a roll cage, a 70mph-0 braking distance of 162 feet (more than 10 feet shorter than the competition), Hyundai's legendary array of standard safety features, and laminated glass on every window.  As for room?  Its got enough room to seat FIVE 6-foot tall adults in orchestra-style seating, boasts a 15 cubic foot trunk, and an almost unimaginable amount of storage bins.  And the best part?  The Genesis is built to take the abuse the police will put it through.

For a true show of the Genesis' prowess, go to www.hyundaigenesis.com and click on the Performance tab, then watch the tests done by independent automobile testing company AMCI comparing the Genesis to BMW and Mercedes.

All you'd really need to turn the Genesis into a high-performance road-racing monster is a 20lb bottle of 75hp dry-shot Nitrous Oxide, which would bring you up to 450hp...Or a twin turbo kit with 15psi on each turbo...THAT would be fun to watch.  A powerful race car with enough room to haul three criminals to the slammer.  Or, if you feel like spending the extra money, you could opt to make the Genesis do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qYZNgJhigs or this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ex-2AjsHho&NR=1

The right to freedom of speech.  Freedom of religion.  Freedom from want.  Freedom from fear.  These freedoms would not exist without a fifth:  The right to defend all other freedoms by any means necessary.

Those are the only freedoms Americans have.  Nothing in there about the right to bear arms or even the freedom to petition or criticize the government.  These freedoms are also known as "Civil Liberties", and the government is slowly taking them away from us.  Ask yourself this:  What freedoms is John McCain going to grant us?  Will he take away our freedoms in favor of heightened security from terrorism?  Or will Obama do that?  And what about the bible thumpers?  Are they not taking away our freedoms when we don't believe the way they do?