Christmas Cheer-Not!

Went over to America the other day to do some shopping and after most of the day spent up around Warwick, we made our way to the big Wal-Mart in Westerly where the Missus says she just had to go for whatever reasons. By now, I'm sick of traipsing around in stores looking for those elusive Xmas gifts. Never did get any. So she goes into the store and I sit in the car. After a few minutes I noticed this guy and another lady arrive in front of the store carrying two waist high, 6 inch square boxes with feet to make them stand up and a locking top on them. The guy sets up shop in front of the main entrance and the lady goes to the food store part of the building. Imagine my surprise when the guys whips out a small hand bell and begins to shake it like he was trying to exorcise a devil from inside it! This guy looked like a bum, dirty, no teeth, scruffy beard and a great big parka on one of the days last week when the temp was up in the low sixties over there.This is the guy the Salvation Army supposedly sent out there to represent them. The Salvation Army is one of the charities I always felt was a worthy charity so I got out of the car, dug out a twenty and walked over to the guy and started to put the money in the slot,when he holds out his hand and says,"do you want me to put that in for you?" So I handed it to him and says sure and started to walk away as he puts it in the box. Only I happened to notice that he was holding onto one corner of the bill as he made to insert it. He pushed it in and then pulled it back a little so it was stuck in there with the corner still showing... I said to him that it didn't go down and he makes a show of wacking the box with the flat of his hand which did nothing to make the bill go down. So I stepped back over and pushed it down with my finger. By now I'm a whole lot suspicious if this guy is who he pretends to be, so I went in the store to the customer service desk and asked if these two people were legitimate reps of the "Army". The lady said she assumed so and I mentioned what had just happened and recommended that she call and find out.
I went back out to my car and watched this guy thru a pair of binoculars as he pulled this same scam with about fifteen or so other people. If they walked up and pushed the money in themselves, in it went. If anyone walked up and handed him the money, in it went also,TO HIS POCKET after making the big show about stuffing it in the box!
I don't know what the final outcome was, but he was still there when we left after about two hours, hauling in his ill gotten gains from a bunch of unsuspecting good hearted people. From now on my donation will go directly to the "Army"in the form of a check.
So in the meantime, I would wish for all of you who read this thing, a very, "Merry Christmas"! No PC bull here thank you very much. Hope all of you have a great time over the holidays and have an even better time in the coming year. The very best to all from the whole extended Littlefield family. Peace on Earth. Please!

Refurbished Runway has first crash!

Well that didn't take long did it? Actually it wasn't a full sized aircraft. Before the runway was completed, and on a Sunday morning while the airport was still closed to air traffic, I took my brand new, five foot wingspan, P-51 Mustang radio controlled plane up there to give it, it's initial trial by fire. This plane is a 1/5 scale version of the venerable fighter escort plane from WWII. It was the plane that made it feasible to shadow the bombers all the way to the heart of Germany and give them protection all the way in and back home. It was used almost exclusively by the Army Air Force at the time.
It took me a long time to lower myself far enough to build an Air Farce(just kidding) plane after being an old Navy guy for 20 years, but, what the heck, I'd run out of Navy A/C to model. Besides, this is one fine looking plane in anybodies estimation.

So off I go with all the necessary equipment needed to get one of these babies in the air. Big battery and starter to get it cranking over, big portable air tank to fill the small air tank inside the fuselage, this to make the retractable landing gear operate,fuel cans and pumps,a fully charged radio system, Tx. and Rx. First off I have to attach the wing to the fuse which is done by two 1/4 nylon bolts. Then it is charge the air tank and then fill the fuel tanks. Lots of tank stuff with this plane! Now it's time to take a few pictures of this baby before engine start. After the photo op was complete, there was no way to delay this any further. Turn on the Tx. and then the Rx. Run all the control surfaces through their complete range on high and low rates. Yup they all work fine, throttle also. Okay, pull the prop thru a few turns, crack the throttle, apply the heat to the glow plug, push the starter against the prop spinner and press the switch. It only took about ten seconds of cranking for that OS MAX 1.20 four stroke engine to fire and settle right into a nice idle. Run the engine up to full power and set the needle valve for high and low operation, run the flight control surfaces through their full range of motion again and it is time to go. She is sitting right on the centerline of the runway, so with a smooth steady push to full power and a little rudder to keep her straight down the runway, off we go. After about 15 feet the tail comes up and I let her build up a good head of steam before I gently rotate her into the air. Damn, this thing flies like a dream! A climbing left turn to keep her in close so I can see what it is doing, and I am at about 50 feet altitude with the gear still down, 'cause I'm afraid to let go of any levers just yet to flip a switch! Just as I turn town wind and get level, it becomes deathly silent up there in the air next to my beautiful bird! As in a real plane, when that fan out on the front of the plane stops generating a breeze, the hard sweats immediately start behind the controls! Same thing here. What to do? Try to put it back on the runway is the first thought, but realize that I don't have enough speed or altitude to stretch out the glide. This thing is heavy too! It weighs about 15-18 pounds when fully loaded. So the only option is to push the nose over to see if I can generate a little airspeed, but this thing flies like a brick when all forward motion is suspended. When I pushed the nose over, it used up all my altitude in about 2 seconds, and my hard flare didn't do much to arrest or even soften it's contact with the ground. She plowed into the ground, thankfully about a foot of soft wet mud, and snapped off both of the extended landing gear and buried the engine up to the back of the crankcase! Twas actually a spectacular landing! Kind of like some of Herman's!
After wading thru the mud and retrieving all the various and sundry pieces, it was determined that actually very minimal damage was done to the wing structure and that it could and would be repaired rather easily. Which it has been as of this writing. Just waiting for new decals to arrive before flight number two.

So I am claiming the rights to the title of, first takeoff, first landing(close but not on), and first aircraft incident(read, crash) on the newly refurbished BI Airport. Also the second of each category as I flew an electric powered Islander around for one flight also.

Oh yeah, why did the engine quit you may ask? Well after getting her home and all the mud dug out of the airframe and in the engine room, I discovered that the fuel line from the fuel tank to the fuel pump on the back of the engine had come off. No gas, no go, no fly, result? CRASH!! Oh well, off again very soon I hope! TIFN

What's the plan Nancy?

Well they screamed and hollered for the last year or so about President Bush having no "Plan" for Iraq. Then the new, soon to be Speaker of the house was asked on a news interview just what was the Dems plan for Iraq, she stammered and stuttered, couldn't come up with an answer and changed the subject! Come on Nancy what's the plan?
She also put out a list of what she was going to accomplish in her first 100 HOURS, not days, of her assuming her new position. One of them was that she is going to remove America's dependency on foreign oil and put us in the position of energy independancy! Guess that means she IS going to allow oil drilling in the AWR, which she voted against in the past. Hell maybe she is going to go down to Veneszuela and give old Hugo some straight "grandmotherly" advice. Or something else. In 100 hours? Damn Nancy, what sort of favors have YOU been passing out behind closed doors to make a statement like that? If you can do it, I'll vote a straight Dem ticket in '08!
On old BI, I am pretty happy with the results except one. A totally new council would have been really good, but with at least four level heads, maybe some of the things needing to be done will begin to happen. Beginning with a total and complete accountability of the final numbers on the school. It doesn't have to be withheld till the litigation is finished, because we are going to have to expend ALL the money allocated to the project. Probably more!
Negotiations and resolution of the remaining problems with the school are still going on. Some of the problems have been resolved to our satisfaction, while a couple of the thorniest ones remain in dispute as to whosee problems they are. Roof leaks being one of them. But yesterday the roofing company guys spent the day fixing, or at least attempting to fix them. We shall see after a couple of good hard horizontal rainstorms how they fared.
Thats IT For Now! Thanks for all the responses to the last post. They made for interesting reading.

The New First Warden

Well, after reading all the comments on the BIRA "do" at the School last week and taking a long and reflective look at all the candidates for this position, I have finally made my decision as to who will get my vote this time around.
Most all the positions taken by all the candidates, are just re-hashes of the previous stances put forth by their erstwhile forebearers.
This "endorsement" coming from me, may well be the death knell for this guys political aspirations. We have not seen eye to eye on many of the happenings here on the Island, but I believe he will be forceful enough, fair enough, and able to see past all the stone-walling and foot dragging that has gone on for years, and get some of these projects that need doing, DONE!!
I also think that no matter what he personally thinks of another council persons opinions, he will let them, nay MAKE them, be discussed at the table in full view of the townspeople and not subverted behind closed doors as has gone on with some of the previous councils.
I have not heard him say this next anywhere, but I hope it will be one of his priorities, to get a Public Works director hired, a planner, and most of all, a PROFESSIONAL Town Manager, not someone doing it as a hobby.
So when you go to vote, put aside personal feelings and vote for the guy who just may be a welcome surprise. We all know he is not bashful about stating his opinions. Give Steve McQueeney a shot at getting this town in step with the people's desires. BTW, I am STILL a dyed-in-the-wool conservative, to the right of center, Elephant hugging,constitution loving as it was written, Republican!! Half of a Pox on some of you liberals! I don't want you to die, just be a little scarred or at least sick for a day or two.TIFN.

WIN NUMBER #1!!!

Some good news for a change! The Block Island School fifth and sixth graders soccer team just had their first win today on the final home game of the season!! They have only played five games in their very short careers, but this was one to behold. They couldn't stop smiling and laughing and jumping around like a bunch of kids! Duh! How about that, doing what kids are supposed to do. So I say to them, "Congratulations from everybody on the Island"!
Now it is time to start developing those basketball skills also. See you on the courts guys! From all your fans!!!

Something to think about as we get ready to vote

Foreword: I did not write this, just stole it from friend. It would behoove us all to remember just what kind of people we are dealing with when it comes to Hillary C. She is JUST as bad as her philandering Billy. Wonder just who he is "doing" these days?


I know we hear or see all the stories about President Bush and how bad he is, so here is the story the newspapers don't tell you about the president who gave you prosperity that you wanted and bankrupted the country of its morals.

Subject: REMEMBER THIS WHEN HILLARY RUNS FOR PRESIDENT
Bill &Hillary: Worse than you thought & worth remembering and this came from a Democrat

Dear Mr. Ex President Clinton:

I recently saw a bumper sticker that said, "Thank me, I voted for
Clinton-Gore." So, I sat down and reflected on that, and I am sending my
"Thank you" for what you have done, specifically:

1. Thank you for introducing us to Jennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Monica
Lewinsky, Dolly Kyle Browning, Kathleen Willey, and Juanita Broderick. Did
I leave anyone out?

2. Thank you for teaching my 8 year old about oral sex. I had really
planned to wait until he was a little older to discuss it with him, but
now he knows more about it than I did as a senior in college.

3. Thank you for showing us that sexual harassment in the work place
(especially the White House) and on the job is OK, and all you have to
know is what the meaning of "it" is. It really is great to know that
certain sexual acts are not sex, and one person may have sex while the
other one does NOT have sex.

4. Thank you for reintroducing the concept of impeachment to a new
generation and demonstrating that the ridiculous plot of the movie "Wag
the Dog" could be plausible after all.

5. Thanks for making Jimmy Carter look competent, Gerald Ford look
graceful, Richard Nixon look honest, Lyndon Johnson look truthful, and
John Kennedy look moral.

6. Thank you for the 73 House and Senate witnesses who have pled the 5th
Amendment and 17 witnesses who have fled the country to avoid testifying
about Democratic campaign fund raising.

7. Thank you, for the 19 charges, 8 convictions, and 4 imprisonment's from
the Whitewater "mess" and the 55 criminal charges and 32 criminal
convictions (so far) in the other "Clinton" scandals.

8. Thanks also for reducing our military by half, "gutting" much of our
foreign policy, and flying all over the world on "vacations" carefully
disguised as necessary trips.

9 Thank you, also, for "finding" millions of dollars (I really didn't need
it in the first place, and I can't think of a more deserving group of
recipients for my hard-earned tax dollars) for all of your globe-trotting.
I understand you, the family and your cronies have logged in more time
aboard Air Force One than any other administration.

10. Now that you've left the White House, thanks for the 140 pardons of
convicted felons and indicted felons-in-exile. We will love to have them
rejoin society. (Not to mention the scores you pardoned while Governor of
Arkansas)

11. Thanks also for removing the White House silverware. I'm sure that
Laura Bush didn't like the pattern anyway. Also, enjoy the housewarming
gifts you've received from your "friends."

12. Thanks to you and your staff in the West Wing of the White House for
vandalizing and destroying government property on the way out. I also
appreciate removing all of that excess weight (China, silverware, linen,
towels, ash trays, soap, pens, magnetic compass, flight manuals, etc.) out
of Air Force 1. The weight savings means burning less fuel, thus less tax
dollars spent on jet fuel. Thank you!

13. And finally, please ensure that Hillary enjoys the $8 million dollar
advance for her "tell-all" book and you, Bill, the $10 million advance for
your memoirs. Who says crime doesn't pay!

14. The last and most important point - thank you for forcing Israel to
let Mohammed Atta go free. Terrorist pilot Mohammed Atta blew up a bus in
Israel in 1986. The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him. As part
of the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree
to release so-called "political prisoners". However, the Israelis would
not release any with blood on their hands. The American President at the
time, Bill Clinton, and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher,
"insisted" that all prisoners be released. Thus Mohammed Atta was freed
and eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One of the
World Trade Center. This was reported by many of the American TV networks
at the time that the terrorists were first identified. It was censored in
the US from all later reports. Why shouldn't Americans know the real
truth?

What a guy!!

If you agree that the American public must be made aware of these facts,
pass this on. God bless America and THANK YOU (once again) for spending my
taxes so wisely and frugally.

SINCERELY,
A US Citizen

PS. Please pass along a special thank you to Al Gore for "inventing" the
Internet, without which I would not be able to send this wonderful,
factual e-mail.

AND THE REST OF THE STORY Hillary Rodham Clinton, as a New York State
Senator, now comes under the "Congressional Retirement and Staffing Plan,"
which means that even if she never gets reelected, she STILL receives her
Congressional salary until she dies. (Would it not be nice if all
Americans were pension eligible after only 4 years?)

If Bill outlives her, he then inherits HER salary until HE dies. He is
already getting his presidential salary until he dies. If Hillary outlives
Bill, she also gets HIS salary until she dies. Guess who pays for that?

WE DO!

It's common knowledge that in order for her to establish NY residency,
they purchased a million dollar-plus house in upscale Chappaqua, New York.
Makes sense. They are entitled to Secret Service protection for life.
Still makes sense.

Here is where it becomes interesting. Their mortgage payments hover at
around $10,000 per month. BUT, an extra residence HAD to be built within
the acreage to house the Secret Service agents. The Clintons charge the
Federal government $10,000 monthly rent for the use of that extra
residence, which is just about equal to their mortgage payment. This means
that we, the taxpayers, are paying the Clinton's salary, mortgage,
transportation, safety and security, as well as the salaries for their 12
man staff -- and, this is all perfectly legal!

When she runs for President, will you vote for her?

Candidates Night

Well, I do believe there is going to be a chance for all of us to go and grill, or at least lightly "toast" the hopefuls for town offices tomorrow night at the school.

Here is a chance to ask directly, I hope, each one of them just exactly what it is that they WOULD accomplish if elected. I realize after having sat in one of those seats that it takes three to make anything happen. But some of the things I would like to hear addressed directly are:

What WILL you do about the Neck Road? Go look at it after just twenty four hours of NE wind and tide.

What exactly WILL you do about the Old Harbor Dock without disrupting the lively-hood of all the business people down there?

What WILL you do about the Inner basin down there being filled with sand? The last three or four spots on the east dock, have been lost to rental because of sand infiltration.

What WILL you do to stop the ever increasing deterioration of all the towns buildings? That, mainly because of the towns inability to hire some one to keep ahead of the curve. You can't pay them slave wages to do somewhat semi-skilled work and expect to keep them long term.

What WILL you do to stop the forthcoming disaster down at Bridgegate square? They, the State in collusion with our Town Council has agreed to let them take a perfectly well operating four way stop, and re-engineer it to someones idea of,"we can do it better". It works just absolutely fine right now as long as you are not from, NJ, NY, MA, CT, and can't wait for your turn because you HAVE TO BE somewhere else right now!

What WILL you do the next time it becomes necessary to do some paving on the roads of the Island, and an asphalt plant needs to be set up TEMPORARILY? Will you cave in to the rants of three or four people, or let it go forward in the interests of the huge amount of money to be saved for the rest of us in the form of less tax money collected?

What WILL you do about getting Port Authority enabling legislation pushed thru, so that we can have some sort of autonomy over how many more ferries can come here?

And finally, What WILL you do about the possibility of taking on the power company as a co-operatively owned entity, run by a PROFESSIONAL manager?

These are things that people WANT to hear your views on, and ferverently hope you will abide by if elected.

Vulnerability on the Neck Road

After taking a walk on the beach across from the Beachead resturant yesterday, I suspect we are going to be in trouble by the end of this winter. If we get two or three real good 'Noth-easter's" that is. It you take the same stroll, you will notice that most of the fill, old cement, rocks etc. that had been put in there years ago and covered with a varied mix of junk, has been being slowly exposed by the wave action and is rolling out on to what little beach is left there. In a few places, the water has already undercut the edge of the road, and after the next storm, it should begin to fall onto the beach below. I expect that after the next few storms we are going to have a much nastier surprise waiting for us the morning after than the one up by at Scotch beach.
As one of the very first actions that I think the new Council should undertake is to start the proceedings to get the State to honor their "commitment" to keep the roads here in good repair. It is going to be a huge job along the lines of what was done on Spring Street below the Spring House in order to slow down the erosion. You can never stop it, because mother nature is a lot stronger and much more persistent than we mere humans.
I hope that this council can work a lot faster than the ones of the last 17 years, as that is how long, at least, that they have all collectively talked the repair of the Old Harbor dock to death with absolutely no action! Yep! Another study for $20-30 K! Just what we need! Come om ALL you wanna be councils folks, lets hear some dialogue on this one.

Blubber for Dinner anyone?

Here is a little surprise sent to us by those lovely east winds. It is supposedly a Blue Whale of about40-50 feet in length. The Herring and the Black Back gulls have found it and will be well supplied with victuals for the foreseeable future. Hopefully it will be all gone by spring except the bones. But don't you dare touch them! This is a protected species, although it comes a little late for this guy. One of those feds didn't do his job well enough I guess. Anyway, there goes my idea of grabbing a few bones and spending the winter making scrimshaw items of the Town Council in action!! I guess it would have to be of bodies in repose and snoring huh? TIFN  

Path to 9/11

Well I see that ABC is finally going to regain some of its credibility as a viable news entity. It is going to, as of THIS date, air a two part mini-series starting on Sunday night. It is called, The Path to 9/11, a movie made by the Disney people wherein it lays out the WHOLE incredible path of events leading up to the actual occurrence of the two towers being destroyed. Apparently it is an absolutely factual account of what happened. How am I so sure of this? Because the four top Democratic Senators sent a letter to Micheal Eiger, president of Disney, threatening him and ABC with the loss of their licenses to broadcast over the US airways if they regain power in the House and Senate this fall! Don't believe that statement? Google up, Democratic Senators letter to Disney, and read it yourself. This is a blatant attempt to squash a movie that portrays Bill Clinton in his true light. When the CIA guys in Afganistan had the house where Osama was hiding, surrounded and they put in a call to the White House to see if it was still okay to go in and get him, Our Uncle Billy sid no, right along with Sandy Berger, one of his top aides(NSA?). I guess Bill had other things on his mind, or other parts of his anatomy, another aide under the desk I suspect.
So lets all watch Sunday night and see if ABC retains its newfound supply of intestinal fortitude and goes ahead with its intended showing of Disneys $40 million dollar movie. I am sure it will portray events in a more factual light than that piece of crap by M. Moore, farenheit9/11. BTW, Mr. Bill has been on the phone with the Disney folks trying to get them to rewrite history more favorable to him. I ferverently hope they didn't cave in. Tell it like it WAS, and let the chips fall where they may. TIFN

Reutersgate on Block Island!

Photoshopped! It even happens in the smallest of newspapers. Apparently Adnan Hajii, a photo stringer of Lebanese lineage, has taken up residence on BI under the alias of "Nameless"! I refer to the photo in this weeks newspaper, emblazoned across the front of the paper. In an amazing display of camera wielding, the local bathing pavilion has disappeared into the nether world, and a very nice looking sand dune has appeared in it's place. Is nothing sacred anymore? Why is it necessary to TRY and dupe we who live here with a false representation of actuality? I can't be the only one who has noticed this. I realize that this is a much better view than that of the boxy building, but come on folks, reality would have sufficed. BTW, don't know who Adnan Hajii is? Go to a web site called "Little Green Footballs" and scroll through a few previous posts of the last week or so. You'll find, in the Blogosphere, the only coverage of the fake,(photoshopped) photos by this man sent to Reuters, and then on too the rest of the world giving totally false apprasials of what is going on in the Isreali/Hezbollah war. NOT ONE WORD has been seen in the MSM about these dupliticious actions by AP/Reuters. Their credibility has been shot to hell in my estimation, and I will find it hard to believe anything they put forth in the future, as nothing more than their reconstructed views of what actually happened. Truth be damned! Another BTW, sorry about my prediliction for the use of comma's. I never learned the rules for the correct usage. TIFN

Lets get Political!!

Now here is a subject that about which I think we can all have a little to say. The "Question" I pose is, "What do you think of the candidates that are running for office this time around?" Feel free to speak your mind and say what you really think about how the performance of each of these individuals, if elected, will Effect/Affect ( both uses of the words) the running of the Island. Now let us NOT have any Nasty or Personally derogatory remarks about them. Just how you think they will do, and wether you are going to vote for or against each and why. Let's make the questions/answers well reasoned and hold the vitriol to a minimum. Okay folks let's go! Here is your chance to vent, good or bad!! TIFN

Still Alive and Kickin'

Well, I'm still here on top of the dirt, but have been too busy with my "other job" to do much here. Will get back at it soon enough. Thanks for hanging around.

Taking back the Old Harbor

In the paper yesterday there was a call by some for the town to "take back control of the Old Harbor". Well it is a sentiment that I am in full accord with, but I think it is too late to happen now. It could be done using the eminent domain ploy but the court fight will go on for years 'til either Interstate et al, runs out of money or resolve, or the town does. I think the town will be the one that falters first. That is unless there are some really strong personalities that are in the wings who will come forward and shepard this thing to it's conclusion. To do that though, is going to take a long time commitment by those folks to get themselves elected on a recurring basis, and have the mental and physical wherewithal to finish it. That and the ability to convince the public at large that this is a good thing for the well being of the Island! And at the same time they should still persue the Port Authority concept with relentless vigor. Nevermind what the nay-sayers will counter with, ad nauseum. Maybe THAT, first! Then the town would have some teeth with which to grasp the eminent domain problem with some hope of resolving it fairly quickly. In case you haven't noticed there are now 22 boats a day coming into Old harbor hauling people and freight, and another about to descend on us from New Bedford.

I've been told by some of the people researching the property ownership of the land in front of the National that my family is one of those 19 part owners of said piece. If that is true, I'll state here and now, that in the interests of preserving some semblence of sanity in the down town area, I'll give up my right of ownership to the town provided it can demonstrate that it will in fact, use that right for the furtherance of a viable and well thought out plan for it's usage. It is NOT a piece of land that can be used for much of any kind of commercial venture what with 19 other "partners" to consider. That being the case, maybe an approach of the others by the town with a good "sales pitch", might elicit the same reaction from them.
Now if this is going to happen, it needs to get going soon, as after I'm out of the equation, family commitments and desires may change! TIFN

And Lets not forget This TWO Faced Bastard

That Was Then, This Is Now

John Kerry on the campaign trail, in December 2003, before the Council on Foreign Relations:

I fear that in the run-up to the 2004 election, the administration is considering what is tantamount to a cut-and-run strategy. Their sudden embrace of accelerated Iraqification and American troop withdrawal dates, without adequate stability, is an invitation to failure. The hard work of rebuilding Iraq must not be dictated by the schedule of the next American election.

I have called for the administration to transfer sovereignty, and they must transfer it to the Iraqi people as quickly as circumstances permit. But it would be a disaster and a disgraceful betrayal of principle to speed up the process simply to lay the groundwork for a politically expedient withdrawal of American troops. That could risk the hijacking of Iraq by terrorist groups and former Ba'athists.

Kerry was against cutting and running before he was for it!

Mr Lincoln Chaffee- NOT in his fathers image!

I have been following all the votes of our junior senator and am very dissapointed in what I've seen. He seems to have fallen right into the clutches of the good old Libs. He was the ONLY Republican to vote today, for the "re-deployment" of troops in Iraq. The only one of 39 others all dems. Sounds like he wants to be one.

He has also been sitting on a bill, in his committee, that would end forever that wonderful "death" tax wherein your family has to pay a tax to the government because you had the bad luck or audacity to up and croke out! Bad enough you're gone from them forever, but they rub salt in the wounds by making you sell the house you live in to pay the damned tax! I tell my kids that when it happens to me and they can't pay the money, burn the friggin' house down and ship them some ashes! House ashes that is, not me!

Then there is the issue of him voting for bills with all those wonderful things called "earmarks" whereby any senator can just add on ANY AMOUNT of money they wish for some project in their district and there is NEVER any debate on the subject! Even if voting against such a bill would deprive your own State from gaining some money for a project,I personally think that it would be the right thing to do! Also the MORAL thing to do! Maybe if enough of the people in the Congress had the intestinal fortitude to do this and to hell with the consequences, maybe the people of this country might begin to gain a little more respect for the politicians who they sent down there to look out for their intrests! But NOT at the expense of other folks in the country. Because of people like Congressman Jefferson, Patrick Kennedy and his dumbshit father and quite a few others of questionable integrity, the faith of millions of people in the ability of these bent people to govern us equitably, has been irrepairably damaged. I have absolutely NO regard for nine tenths of the people down there. Chaffee has to go and that is why I WILL vote for Laffey in the primaries. If he doesn't live up to his promises, out he goes on his ass in six years. That should be long enough for anybody anyway. After that, to many "good ole boy" alliances get formed to the detriment of us all. Any bill that comes before them should be debated and voted on strictly on it's merits and not because you 'owe' someone a vote from a previous bill of your choices passage.

So come on all you sinners! Out with the old and corrupt! In with the new and not-quite-so-corrupt!! Another rant to follow some day. TIFN

New Houses and Old politicians

I took a tour, unauthorized, around the lot where the West Side Road Housing Project is being built. The foundations are going in steadily and I think some of the modular units will be arriving this fall sometime. These houses will represent a dream come true for 21 families, or is it 20? Anyway there are a lot of happy folks going to be living there. Yeah we all know that, so you're asking why am I spouting off about it again, right?

Remember when the project was still in it's infancy and our most illustrious,(in his own eyes)councilor tried his best to short circiut the whole process? Well guess what? That self same person wants to become our firt warden so I'm told! This person who didn't care one whit that he was trying to disrupt 20-40 peoples dreams, now wants to have control (imagined) over all of us with his jaundiced decision making processes! If his past performance is a manifestation of what is to come if he gets elected, hold tight to your hat, your wallet and your ass 'cause they are all going to be in jeopardy!

I think it is going to behoove all of us, to take a very close look at all the players who want to be elected to office this fall, and specifically WHY they want to. I don't know who all the people are just yet, but it seems a few from the past want to re-join the fray with their same old tired non-fixes, to the same old problems and to continue the same old croni-ism(sp) that went on for years. You cover and protect my ass and I'll do the same for you no matter how bad you screw the pooch!!! They need to be asked some pointed questions about specific problems and what exactly would they do to fix them! What is THE most glaring and obvious problem staring us in the face? I say it has been the mis-managment or should I say the "non" management of the town. It has been run by seat-of-the pants, off-the-cuff, act-alone, egregious decisions by the Town Manager with little to no input OR repercussions from the GOVERNING council! Where has their oversight disappeared too? Everything is being decided by two or three, and mostly behind closed doors. Why is it allowed to continue? This is not just my feelings about this stuff. I hear it everywhere I go in some form or another.

The towns infra-structure is beginning to fray badly and will soon start to unravel at a faster rate. This council and a few before it have neglected to do anything meanful, about the care and well being of most all of it's buildings. They have got to take the bull by the horns and hire a competent person to spend 40 hours a week performing the required maintenance and upkeep to keep them from falling apart. And you have to pay the person who does it an equitable wage! Minimum wage doesn't cut it. NO ONE can support a family out here on that income!

There are a lot of problems ongoing with the management and running of this berg. Change, and I mean significant change is needed to head off anymore disasters in the making. For starters, a PROFESSIONAL Town Manager! TIFN

Graduation Day at B.I. High

Well here it is another Graduation day on Old BI. Another batch of kids off on their journey through the rest of their lives. I haven't been to a graduation since the last of my four kids began their journey. I was the Chairman of the School Committee at the time, or maybe had just quit after twelve years of doing that job. Can't remember that far back. Anyway it was twenty years ago. So it occured to someone in the school to check and see who the people were who graduated fifty years ago. This is something they have done for quite some time,e.g. mention their names at the present graduation. Every once in a while I would see the names in the paper or have it mentioned in passing. Imagine my chagrin when my name turned up on the list for this year! For the first time in quite a while it really got hammered home just exactly how damned ancient I have become in the intervening period! Damn! 50 years ago! Plus the 17 I spent before that event! Evn i wid mi nw lemitid metal cipassidy caan mak that coom oud two 92! err, 62? 67! thas id!!

So anyway I have been invited to attend this year and will be going. If for no other reason other than to re-inforce to myself that I'm still here on top of the dirt, looking down! I expect that one other of my classmates will be in attendance and that would be Marcelene Conley Mazzur. Of the other three, I know not where two of them are, but the third one, Bob Cyr is somewhere in RI. Hope he makes it. I kind of hope this post will give you reason, as it did me, to think back to a time when things were a lot less hectic than this frenetic time that we now live in. I find myself rushing about doing all the things I want to do before the man with the black hooded suit and the scythe catches up with me! Go too your local school graduation, even if you don't know any of the graduates, and just look at the faces of all those young faces, filled with exuberance and joy, as they head out on their trip through life. It will re-energize you mentally, at least until it's time to take your afternoon nap!! TIFN

Letters! We get Letters!! We get lots and lots of letters!!

I just love fridays! It's when the newspaper comes out and I get all kinds of inspiration to run my mouth. Again this week, there are all the concerned citizens of the west side up in arms about a non-existant TOXIC cloud hanging over their heads. All the time that High Street was all plowed up and torn to hell, everybody pissed and moaned about it and whined about when was it ever going to be finished! Well it is finished, almost! And of all the absolute most treacherous things that could have befallen the the Island, SOMEONE allowed a toxic spewing, lung choking, eye-watering yellow monstrosity, dripping and oozing a contaminating sheet of stinking, sticky, groundwater polluting, concoction of fermented, millions of years old animal guts, bones, and skin, into our sacrosanct water table!! Now I think we should all start packing up our belongings and moving to Nebraska where we can join the masses of deluded and uncouth middle Americans. But back to BI. Mr DuPont, if I were you and I was running an illegal BUSINESS in a residential A zone, I don't think I would be quite so vocal in my criticizisms of a very temporary edifice erection. After all they WILL be gone in due time. I doubt very much that Mr. Miozzi is going to let a many hundred thousand dollar plant sit here for longer than necessary. I believe it is called economic un-viability to let it sit and rot. And so what if was brought here to do the Town Road? Nobody at that time had the foresight to think that others might see these asphalt trucks driving up and down the road and say to themselves,"Jeez, maybe I can get my mudhole driveway paved while it is here"?
And too all the other letter writers who lecture us on what comes out of that plant, why didn't you take the time to go over there, and look at what was going on before you so sanctimoniously pontificated on what YOU KNOW to be the absolute end-all explanation of the emissions coming from the plant? You folks are just going to have to get a grip on reality one of these days. Or maybe not. Lots of people drift thru life with their head up their ass and wonder why they have such a shitty outlook on life. TIFN

Memorial Day

I'm going up to "silent city" this morning as I have for almost all of the years since I retired from the Navy 31 years ago. I go by myself because I don't like to get caught weeping in public. I wind up doing that every time when I get to thinking of all the millions of guys who died defending the US from all who would like to see this one of a kind Democracy eradicated from the face of the earth. Most all of them faced the wars they were going to fight with misgivings as to whether they would ever see their loved ones again. And millions of them didn't. But still they went, and because of them we are able to enjoy to the fullest, the best standard of living and the most freedoms of all kinds,speech, demonstrations without fear of death, religions of all types that go unpersecuted because you dare to practice them. You can rise to the limits of your ability in this country because of those "Defenders of Liberty" and their ultimate sacrifice.

So on this Day, take a minute to bow your head and reflect on just how lucky you were to be born in this country and why it is that so many also want to be a part of this "Grand Experiment"!

I came across this piece on the net and thought it described accurately the feelings of those left behind after a husband, son, or father had given their all to the "CAUSE" of freedom. I say, "Thank you all from the bottom of my heart and soul"!

THIS IS NOT SATIRE

She places the stems in the green plastic vase, and lightly pushes the blooms around until six colors work together. She approaches the stone, careful to avoid treading on the area directly before it. She pushes the spiked end of the vase into the rain-softened soil next to the stone. Her fingers flit across the petals, making slight adjustments, until she brings unity from diversity again. It pleases her to do so. She groans faintly as she stands straight. She steps back to take in the picture. A stone. Brightly dying flowers. Green grass.

Around her, perfect rows of identical stones radiate out, so it seems, from this one. As if they all come together at this point.

“It’s a shame the children can’t be here. Busy lives. They have grown children of their own, lives of their own.”

“I wonder what it would have been like to raise those children with you? To sit next to you at graduation, holding your hand? To see your face when your son said they had named the baby after you? To grow old with you? To trade places, leaving you to stand talking to a stone in a field of stones?”

“It’s a national holiday, you know. We’re remembering the sacrifice of all of them.”

“But I didn’t know the others. I knew you.”

“And I can’t remember the sacrifice. It’s not in the past yet. Because you’re gone, the sacrifice lives on. For me, it’s not a national holiday. It’s your day. It’s my day.”

“Sixty two years I’ve come on this day to say these hard words. It takes me all year to recover the strength to say them again.”

“Thank you.”

“And just in case I don’t make it back next year…”

“Thank you.”

TIFN.

The "Roof" !!

What is that thing rising next to the old Town Hall? Oh yeah, it must be the New Town Hall! I don't think I've ever seen so much roof for a one story building. Is there going to be useable space up in that aerie, you know a room or office or two? Or is that all dead space good only for hiding all those skeletons? I'll bet there is more lumber in it, than in the rest of the building. Now if we had put a nice little saltbox roof on there, we wouldn't have had to appropriate all that extra money. And what is the big assed bird house doing up there? I thought that the final plan agreed on by all concerned eliminated that "little" extra? Was that another of those "executive decisions" implemented by the TM on her own hook? Hmmmm? Well at any rate it is humming right along and in the near future, Mr Hutchins favorite trailer park will disappear only to be replaced by an enlarged version of the old Howard Johnson motel/restaurants along the nations high and by-ways TIFN  

Bait and Switch, and Screw You!!

Well here is another instance of our wonderful Town Council showing their true colors! When the guy who is doing the paving of High Street came before them to get permission to set up his asphalt making plant,TEMPORARILY, in the sandpit on the west side, they told him, " sure bring it right over, you don't need a permit for it." After it had sat there for a few weeks in it's component parts, a few,three or four, of the neighbors decided they didn't like the look of it and for some reason that they pulled out of their asses, made a big stink about how awful it looked and how smelly it was going to be when it went into operation! Well the thing gives off less odor than some of the big deisel trucks that ply the roads around here on a daily basis. So anyway, because the paving contractor, Miozzi Paving, knew he wasn't going to make much money by doing just High Street, he thought he could make it worth his while if he could pick up a few driveway jobs while he was here. Now all of a sudden, either this pussy town council, or the incompetent Town manager or both in COLLUSION, notified Miozzi that he would have to have a permit from the Town in order to do any PRIVATE paving jobs here on the Island!! Can you believe that they are so damned two-faced and spineless,and hypocritical, that they would let those two or three people with the loud mouths, stampede them into such an odiferious,( that means it stinks to high hell!) decision? This reeks of Bob Smith and Mrs.Dodge! It must be a lawyer thing. I would bet all the money that I have that this behind closed doors, and last minute screwing of a private contractor was perpatrated by the two of them on their own. Haven't seen anything about this in the minutes of any of the previous council meetings which is what leads me to believe it is strictly their doing, or that maybe we are again having illegal meetings and decisions emanating from the council chambers. And by the way, having the plant set up on the Island has saved the Town somewhere in the neighborhood of $21K on just the High Street project! This is just the worst case and form of ingratitude I've seen in a long time. Geez, I wonder if it had anything to do with the Depot parking lot being paved? Seems like that instance got some peoples noses bent out of shape 'cause THEY didn't get to vote on it. This town and most all of it's boards have become havens for those people with Bonaparte complexes and their over-riding desire to control and have a say in EVERY stupid little action that takes place. I am fed up to the gills with all the Assholes who have arrived here on the Island over the years and think that we hick's living here are unable to survive with out their visionary and enlightened leadership!! Jesus H Christ, go back where you came from and leave us the hell alone! We did alright for 300-400 years. TIFN

Up next: What's this "secret", letter of agreement that has been bandied back and forth between the town manager and some un-named conservation group. How bad is it that it has to be discussed behind closed doors and in executive session? Would it not be in the best intrests of the people of the town to have it discussed openly? I'll be back when I know something of what's happening! Toodle!

Sweepin' and such

Some of you might know that for the last three of four months, I have been volunteering some time at the school to sweep the new gym floor on a daily basis. It has amazed me just how much crap gets tracked onto it! One day while the new addition was nearing completion, I was engaged in conversation with one of the members of the School Committee and he was lamenting the lack of someone who could keep the the building in good repair and looking good. He said that, that someone needed to go through the building to discover just exactly what was wrong with it and how to get it fixed. So I told him I'd think about it for awhile and see if I could suggest someone. No names came to mind in over three weeks but one. Mine!

So I undertook to do as he requested and with the, tenous agreement of the S/C, have rooted around in all the little "holes" in the basement and every nook and cranny I could get myself into. What it all amounts to is that we have a brand new $7 M addition to an $8-10 M older building put together in two building episodes,that is in dire need of lots of tender loving care. Over the years the lack of someone dedicated to the upkeep and repair of the physical plant, has lead to it's being on the verge of becoming unusable. There is a huge list of things that need to be fixed/repaired. Some of them need to be done yesterday!

So this coming monday evening I'll be bringing my pile of problems and reccomendations to the S/C for some sort of resolution.It will take some soul searching on each of their parts to come to a decision that will hopefully put the old place back on a track that will see it still useful to the future generations of Island kids. I went to that school for all of my twelve years of public education, and I hope it will be there for my grandchildrens grandchildren. A lot of really fine people started on their road to elucidation in that beautiful old building.TIFN

New Swimming Pool!

Yep! I've got one IN my house this year. First we bitched all winter about how far we were behind in the accumulated water department. "The ground water level is going down fast" we cried! "OMg we might have water problems again this summer" we lamented. Well guess what? For anyone not living along the RI shore, we have reduced our water deficit to an over abundance of same commodity! I'm up to my ass in it down in my new pool. eerr, cellar! Pumps and vacuums going full bore and all of my model planes want to become amphibians. For the last eight days I believe, we have not even had a glimpse of the sun. It must be restricted to SPI in Texas where Sam, the Wiff&Poofs guy, says it was up to 100 the other day. Or was that 100% hum-ditty? But that would be rain huh? duh.

Anyway, I keep on trucking,aah bailing, and hope that we will soon be able to put out the tomato and pepper plants that are threatening to break through the glass of the greenhouse in order to find some sun. Onward and Upward! TIFN

New Highway

I see that there is a nice new dirt road here on the Island. I'm assuming, (bad thing to do), that it was one of the Conservancy groups that owns the old Preston Dunn property out on the cliffs past Black Rock, that had it built. I'm told it was done so that rescue vehicles could access that property from the main road. It certainly was a risk too the vehicles if you went in through Snake Hole road. So after all that work, I understand that it will be blocked off to anyone else but Conservancy and or service/rescue vehicles. I have also heard throught the inimitable BI grapevine that they are concerned about the proliferation of "rogue trails" on that property and that they intend to restrict access to that form of trespass also. So if all the property owners who own the Snake Hole road access suddenly decide to restrict travel over their right of way too just homeowners and service vehicles, where does that leave all the would be fishermen, surfer dudes, and sunday walkers nee birdwatchers. I was always under the impression that this "preserved" land was for the use of the public, but only in ways that didn't destroy the reasons it was saved in the first place!

What is up with all these Conservation groups? Most times shortly after they acquire a piece of the Island, it becomes off limits to the general public except on their own strict rules that "let" you trespass. Witness the old Beane property and Hodge properties. For years my family used to go out there, the Beane property, with their permission, to have picnics swimming, clamming etc. Shorty after the confiscation by the Feds, it turned into a private little "get-a-way" enclave strictly for their use and little signs popped up all over the beach threatening you with prosecution if you dared to trespass on "their" land. For generations the original owners let Islanders travel over their land freely as long as you closed the gates etc. after yourself. Now you have to practically have to have a signed pass from god, whoever that is. Comments anyone? TIFN

This Will Elicit a Giggle!

I was online checking up on a tax question with the wonderful State of RI and came across this little gem!
TAXATION OF MARIJUANA AND OTHER CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES


The law requires dealers of illegal drugs to purchase tax stamps from the Rhode Island Division of Taxation and have them affixed to marijuana or other controlled substance packets, bags, bottles, etc. Holders of drugs seized without the appropriate tax stamps are subject to an assessment plus a penalty equal to 100% of the tax. The tax rates are as follows:

$400.00 on each 10 dosage units of a controlled substance that is not sold by weight or portion thereof.

What I want to know is, Who is the guy that goes to all the dealers and checks for the stamps? I want that job.

An Indication that I'm still in business

Here is a little poem composed by someone who lives with me and is married too me but will be mortified that I put this up here. So I'll name no names!

Acorns to Oaks

The tiny acorn fell to earth and rolled upon the ground,
Looking for a place to rest, before the sun went down.
A place was offered, soft and warm, on which to lay his head,
Without a thought he covered up, as he lay upon the bed.
The seasons came, the seasons went, with rain and wind and snow,
Inside the tiny cap and shell, his limbs began to grow.
The warming sun encouraged growth, till limbs reached for the sky,
Now this stately oak, freely, gives shade for you and I.

What is missing in this picture?

   Have you figured it out? It is that derelict boat that has been thee all winter and for some time before that. Yesterday, for most of the day, a few guys working in concert got the thing winched up on the beach. Then along came Mike McGinnes with his big excavator and picked it off the rocks and into a flatbed truck where it made a short overland trip to the dump, eerrr, landfill where it is assumed it will be reduced in volume in preparation for a trip to the landfill.
Who did this job? Well lets see, there was Bob Littlefield with his big old red Hummer with a 12 ton winch dragging it ashore. Chris Willi, Troy Milstead and John Swienton, were in and on the water doing the line rigging and riding herd on it as it made it's way ashore. It was mostly an all day affair, but in the end all hands worked very well together to get a job done that has needed doing for some time. Good Job Guys, Free beer at McGovern's, the Town Manager is buying!! or should be. TIFN

Cyber-Sniper, Where are you?

After going through all the previous posts and re-reading the answers put forth by the person whom we call The Cyber-Sniper, we have concluded that this is the person to lead the town forward, out of it's present quagmire, and into the future with all of his political acumen and ideas he has so vociferously put forth!!

So, Mr. Sniper, if you will call this number 466-2949 extension 11, and speak to the person who answers, we will be sure and get you on one of the tickets for the forthcoming election in November. We will be waiting to hear from you!TIFN

Another "Take" on the RoP

This is also an email sent to me by a very learned friend. It seems to me that we should be listening to the victims of the last thousand years or so instead of all the PC apologists from our current era. Islam has NO GOOD intentions toward we 'Infidels' and that means ALL of us! Now let the SHTF!

Because They Hate
By Brigitte Gabriel
FrontPageMagazine.com | February 20, 2006

[Editor's Note: Below are selected excerpts from Brigitte Gabriel's speech delivered at the Intelligence Summit in Washington DC, Saturday February 18, 2006].

Preview Image

We gather here today to share information and knowledge. Intelligence is not merely cold hard data about numerical strength or armament or disposition of military forces. The most important element of intelligence has to be understanding the mindset and intention of the enemy. The West has been wallowing in a state of ignorance and denial for thirty years as Muslim extremist perpetrated evil against innocent victims in the name of Allah.

I was ten years old when my home exploded around me, burying me under the rubble and leaving me to drink my blood to survive, as the perpetrators shouted “Allah Akbar!” My only crime was that I was a Christian living in a Christian town. At 10 years old, I learned the meaning of the word "infidel."

I had a crash course in survival. Not in the Girl Scouts, but in a bomb shelter where I lived for seven years in pitch darkness, freezing cold, drinking stale water and eating grass to live. At the age of 13 I dressed in my burial clothes going to bed at night, waiting to be slaughtered. By the age of 20, I had buried most of my friends--killed by Muslims. We were not Americans living in New York, or Britons in London. We were Arab Christians living in Lebanon.

As a victim of Islamic terror, I was amazed when I saw Americans waking up on September 12, 2001, and asking themselves "Why do they hate us?" The psychoanalyst experts were coming up with all sort of excuses as to what did we do to offend the Muslim World. But if America and the West were paying attention to the Middle East they would not have had to ask the question. Simply put, they hate us because we are defined in their eyes by one simple word: "infidels."

Under the banner of Islam "la, ilaha illa allah, muhammad rasoulu allah," (None is god except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) they murdered Jewish children in Israel, massacred Christians in Lebanon, killed Copts in Egypt, Assyrians in Syria, Hindus in India, and expelled almost 900,000 Jews from Muslim lands. We Middle Eastern infidels paid the price then. Now infidels worldwide are paying the price for indifference and shortsightedness.

Tolerating evil is a crime. Appeasing murderers doesn't buy protection. It earns one disrespect and loathing in the enemy's eyes. Yet apathy is the weapon by which the West is committing suicide. Political correctness forms the shackles around our ankles, by which Islamists are leading us to our demise.

America and the West are doomed to failure in this war unless they stand up and identify the real enemy: Islam. You hear about Wahabbi and Salafi Islam as the only extreme form of Islam. All the other Muslims, supposedly, are wonderful moderates. Closer to the truth are the pictures of the irrational eruption of violence in reaction to the cartoons of Mohammed printed by a Danish newspaper. From burning embassies, to calls to butcher those who mock Islam, to warnings that the West be prepared for another holocaust, those pictures have given us a glimpse into the real face of the enemy. News pictures and video of these events represent a canvas of hate decorated by different nationalities who share one common ideology of hate, bigotry and intolerance derived from one source: authentic Islam. An Islam that is awakening from centuries of slumber to re-ignite its wrath against the infidel and dominate the world. An Islam which has declared "Intifada" on the West.

America and the West can no longer afford to lay in their lazy state of overweight ignorance. The consequences of this mental disease are starting to attack the body, and if they don't take the necessary steps now to control it, death will be knocking soon. If you want to understand the nature of the enemy we face, visualize a tapestry of snakes. They slither and they hiss, and they would eat each other alive, but they will unite in a hideous mass to achieve their common goal of imposing Islam on the world.

This is the ugly face of the enemy we are fighting. We are fighting a powerful ideology that is capable of altering basic human instincts. An ideology that can turn a mother into a launching pad of death. A perfect example is a recently elected Hamas official in the Palestinian Territories who raves in heavenly joy about sending her three sons to death and offering the ones who are still alive for the cause. It is an ideology that is capable of offering highly educated individuals such as doctors and lawyers far more joy in attaining death than any respect and stature, life in society is ever capable of giving them.

The United States has been a prime target for radical Islamic hatred and terror. Every Friday, mosques in the Middle East ring with shrill prayers and monotonous chants calling death, destruction and damnation down on America and its people. The radical Islamists’ deeds have been as vile as their words. Since the Iran hostage crisis, more than three thousand Americans have died in a terror campaign almost unprecedented in its calculated cruelty along with thousands of other citizens worldwide. Even the Nazis did not turn their own children into human bombs, and then rejoice at their deaths as well the deaths of their victims. This intentional, indiscriminate and wholesale murder of innocent American citizens is justified and glorified in the name of Islam.

America cannot effectively defend itself in this war unless and until the American people understand the nature of the enemy that we face. Even after 9/11 there are those who say that we must “engage” our terrorist enemies, that we must “address their grievances”. Their grievance is our freedom of religion. Their grievance is our freedom of speech. Their grievance is our democratic process where the rule of law comes from the voices of many not that of just one prophet. It is the respect we instill in our children towards all religions. It is the equality we grant each other as human beings sharing a planet and striving to make the world a better place for all humanity. Their grievance is the kindness and respect a man shows a woman, the justice we practice as equals under the law, and the mercy we grant our enemy. Their grievance cannot be answered by an apology for who or what we are.

Our mediocre attitude of not confronting Islamic forces of bigotry and hatred wherever they raised their ugly head in the last 30 years, has empowered and strengthened our enemy to launch a full scale attack on the very freedoms we cherish in their effort to impose their values and way of life on our civilization.

If we don't wake up and challenge our Muslim community to take action against the terrorists within it, if we don't believe in ourselves as Americans and in the standards we should hold every patriotic American to, we are going to pay a price for our delusion. For the sake of our children and our country, we must wake up and take action. In the face of a torrent of hateful invective and terrorist murder, America’s learning curve since the Iran hostage crisis is so shallow that it is almost flat. The longer we lay supine, the more difficult it will be to stand erect.
The picture didn't come through, but she appears to be about thirty years old and a very beautiful Lebanese Lady! TIFN

Islam- The Religion of Peace

Now this is Not a topic that I should be delving into as I am a self professed athiest and have been since I was old enough to read and understand a few of the teachings of different religions. But here are a few things that you might not know as regards the ROP and Allah, Peace be upon him!

This is something everyone should understand thoroughly because it is factual and to the point. If there is no Commitment or loyalty to this nation no matter how they cloak it a Muslim will never be and American.

Can Muslims be Good Americans?

Can a devout Muslim be an American patriot and a loyal citizen? Consider this:

Theologically, no. Because his allegiance is to Allah, the moon god of Arabia.

Scripturally, no. Because his allegiance is to the five pillars of Islam and the Quran (Koran).

Geographically, no. Because his allegiance is to Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day.

Socially, no. Because his allegiance to Islam forbids him to make friends with Christians or Jews.

Politically, no. Because he must submit to the mullah (spiritual leaders), who teach annihilation of Israel and destruction of America, the great Satan. Democracy and Islam cannot co-exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or autocratic.

Domestically, no, because he is instructed to marry four women and beat and scourge his wife when she disobeys him (Quran 4:34).

Religiously, no. Because no other religion is accepted by his Allah except Islam (Quran, 2:256)

Intellectually, no, because he cannot accept the American Constitution since it is based on Biblical principles and he believes the Bible to be corrupt.

Philosophically, no, because Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran do not allow freedom of religion and expression.

Spiritually, no, because when we declare "one nation under God," the Christian's God is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as our heavenly father, nor is he ever called love in the Quran's 99 excellent names.

Therefore, after much study and deliberation, perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. They obviously cannot be both good Muslims and good Americans. Call it what you wish, it's still the truth. The more who understand this, the better it will be for our country. This war is bigger and will be fought longer than all presently living. TIFN

20 New Homes Update

If you can't stand MaryJane Balser/Logan, then you had best quit reading this particular post.
Remember all those twenty houses that are going to be built over by the cemetary? Remember that they were to have an unfinished second floor because of lack of money? Well she has been at it again. Writing grants again, although the Town Manager won't let her write them for the Town anymore because she is so "inept" at it. Anyway, she has come up with enough more money so that all 20 of the houses will now have a completely finished second floor including the bathrooms! This from an incompetent and inept grant writer. Just for this project alone, the total so far comes to about $3.277 million and it is not quite done yet. And the best part of all is that there are NO matching funds required from ANYBODY! That works out to about $164,000 per house.
Over the years she has brought into the coffers of this town over $18 million in various grants for a lot of projects. Yet at the Council meetings she and her ideas are routinely dismissed by Dodge, Savoi, Smith, and Sisto as being of no import and of no substantive good to the town.

When it comes time for us to elect the new Town Council in the fall, let's see if we can remember who it is that has done a lot of VISIBLE good for the Town and it's people. Compare those accomplishments with the output of the rest of this present Council and you will immediately see there is no comparison. TIFN

Champlins dead?

Probably not. Even though the CRMC came to a stalemate last night, I don't believe it can be regarded as a permanent checkmate. I'm absolutely tickled to see a developer get his head handed to them for a change instead of getting everything they wanted. I am absolutely sure we will see a slightly different proposal coming back in a year or two.

I would be really interested in seeing just who it was that voted for, and against the proposal. Do ANY of us think that our "resident" representative on the board did the "right" thing and voted against it? Come on now, let's see a show of hands/comments on that.

What does this decision do to the application by Paynes dock to expand? Maybe they just put theirs in to counter the Champlin's grab attempt. Hopefully now it will be withdrawn. The first one to get okay-ed will spawn about fifty more, as every home owned abutting the water will want a dock then.

Looks like we are going to get another little dose of 'poor mans fertilizer' shortly. Better get those peas and spuds in the ground. Whadda ya mean the ground is frozen?

$7 Million+ Leaky Roof

After all the concern over there being a performance bond posted for the New Town Hall, I certainly hope there is one in force as regards the new school addition! I was up there today in the brand new gym with the nice hardwood floor and there, dripping from the netherlands of the ceiling were two seperate cascades of water onto the floor! Apparently the horizontally driven snow got inside the roof somehow, in sufficient quantities to cause some good sized puddles down below. How in the hell do we manage to spend that much money on a new construction building and have the damned roof leak? And how do you fix it in the middle of the winter? You can't strip it now I wouldn't think. When the wind blows NW or SW and it is raining, you can hear and FEEL the raindrops hitting the wall covering "inside" the tin covering on the outside of the building. How can THAT be possible? Someone needs to give someone else a good ass kicking and hold back a good sizeable chunk of money until this is all fixed!! TIFN

Happy Valentines Day

 
Roses and Chocolate
Up the gazoo
ALL from me
And all for you!
I palagerized(sp) it from another post 'cause it's the best I could do with only a months notice! 

Response To BIB Anonymous Request

 
 

Heard Any Good Rumors Lately?

Try this one on for size. The grapevines are beginning to sizzle with this one. It seems as if there is a leetle bit too much water in the Towns resevoir. Which by the way doesn't completely belong to the town. It seems, because the water has reached a certain level that the Town Manager, at the behest of a private property owner has requested that the town take on the responsibility and handle the cost of draining down the pond by quite a few gallons. Lets see now, the pond is approximately 7.2 acres as of this date and has an average depth of, (I forgot to ask), so that in the end, in order to bring down the depth of the pond by one foot, 5 million gallons of excess water has to be, evaporated? trucked off? dumped down the road? or, pumped to the south across about three to four pieces of private property and down the South East Bluffs! How much of the bluffs are going to eroded in a short period of time with that much water running down them? How much is it going to cost to buy the trespass rights from each of the land owners? Or is the town just "going to do it"?

It also will involve digging a couple of trenches across two town roads unless we are to undertake horizontal boring. It is also going to entail the installation of a pipe that doesn't come free and the use of some sort of a pump to do the job. And I expect this will be a 24/7 job till it is done. Who's paying the troops to do that? And finally, just why in the hell is the town going to take on this job when private landowners own MOST of the pond? To top it all off, the powers that be say that we cannot even use the pond for water anymore because it is "impaired"! I guess it doesn't hear very well or is somewhat blind.

So where are all the people who screamed so loud when Fresh Pond was being "killed" by the oh so obscene and destructive pumping that went on there in the 90's? Where is the Department of Environmental Mis-Management on this one? I think I've heard it said that they said," it is okay to do so, so have at it"! Wonderful folks up there in PVD. They worry themselves and property owners sick over inconsequensial(sp) tiny things but give the go ahead on this without batting an eye. I guess they don't really care what happens to the bluffs. Oh yeah I forgot, that jurisdiction belongs to that OTHER department that gives private land to developers and guards our natural resources with uncommonly zealous zeal! Oh yeah, they don't care either, 'cause they can't give that piece of ground to anybody. Sick of reading this rant? Thats all. TIFN

Remember This??

Subject: Do you Remember THIS???? An incredible look back to what now seems like ancient history!! An early look at an old foe's name!





?Thought you might be interested in this forgotten bit of information..........

It was 1987! At a lecture the other day they were playing an old news video of Lt.Col. Oliver North testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan Administration.

There was Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree, but what he said was stunning!

He was being drilled by a senator; "Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security system?"

Ollie replied, "Yes, I did, Sir."

The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience, "Isn't that just a little excessive?"

"No, sir," continued Ollie.

"No? And why not?" the senator asked.

"Because the lives of my family and I were threatened, sir."

"Threatened? By whom?" the senator questioned.

"By a terrorist, sir" Ollie answered.

"Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?"

"His name is Osama bin Laden, sir" Ollie replied.

At this point the senator tried to repeat the name, but couldn't pronounce it, which most people back then probably couldn't. A couple of people laughed at the attempt. Then the senator continued. Why are you so afraid of this man?" the senator asked.

"Because, sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of", Ollie answered.

"And what do you recommend we do about him?" asked the senator.

"Well, sir, if it was up to me, I would recommend that an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth."

The senator disagreed with this approach, and that was all that was shown of the clip.


By the way, that senator was Al Gore!

Also:

Terrorist pilot Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986. The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him. As part of the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree to release so-called "political prisoners."

However, the Israelis would not release any with blood on their hands, The American President at the time, Bill Clinton, and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, "insisted" that all prisoners be released.

Thus Mohammad Atta was freed and eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One of the World Trade Center. This was reported by many of the American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were first identified.
It was censored in the US from all later reports.

If you agree that the American public should be made aware of this fact, pass this on.



Do Not Break - it is 3 years strong


This is why I always say I love YOU....


This has not been broken since 9/11/01, please keep it going...
This has been kept alive and moving since 9/11. In memory of all those who perished this morning; the passengers and the pilots on the United Air and AA flights, the workers in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and all the innocent bystanders. Our prayers go out to the friends and families of the deceased.

Deadly Dull on BI

I guess we are going to have to wait till next month for the beginnings of cabin fever to take effect and have people rampaging around, trying to relieve the boredom and dullness that has pervaded the Island this winter. Man there is nothing of note going on that is worth getting all in an uproar about. Althought there is a good one in the works in the form of the new management plan for the Old Harbor put forth by the Harbormaster Chris Willi. It is a good plan, and one that I have to say I advocated way back when I sat in a council seat. At that time it was poo-pooed by two fellow council-people as not being appropriate to BI as it would change the whole look of the down town area and not be something that the townspeople would want. Yeah right! Just like the tourism bldg. and Interstates freight shed was going to screwup the "viewsheds" down there so bad as to be intolerable to the normal person! What a crock ! Had it been done the Town would have been enjoying the fruits of it for the last ten years and it would be by now all paid off. So If this council has any fortitude left in their guts and hearts, they will immediately get on the stick and get the damned thing in the process of completion! Come on folks, do something proactive for a change without talking and analyzing it to death!

Oh BTW, the new, long, ongoing saga of the school looks as though it will be coming to an end in the very near future. Lots of little things left to do but all the major stuff is "virtually" done.

And if you need something entertaining to do on these not so cold winter days, go up to the new gym on Tuesday afternoons and watch these young kids in the 4th 5th 6th grades playing basket ball. There are a lot of "commers" in this group. Also hie thee hence and take in a few of the last home games of the JV and Varsity teams. They will provide you with an enough adrenaline to get you through the last dregs of the winter. I find it hard to believe the level of play that goes on up there. GO HURRICANES!!

To Kill an American

> > Written by an Australian Dentist...
> >
> >
> > To Kill an American
> >
> >
> > You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.
> >
> > So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is . so they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!!!)
> >
> > " An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.
> >
> > An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.
> >
> > An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim.
> > In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan . The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.
> >
> > An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.
> >
> > An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.
> > The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence , which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.
> >
> > An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return.
> >
> > When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!
> >
> > As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan . Americans welcome the best of everything...the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services. But they also welcome the least.
> >
> > The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty , welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America.
> >
> > Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.
> >
> > So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

Bad News for Certain People!

Well, I went off the Island yesterday to see the old Cardiologist, to see if I was still alive. It went well as he said it appears on the surface that I will probably be around for another annum(sp) to inflict continued torment upon the Island Voice blog readers. But I guess that is only true if you log on.

We all still sit here with bated breath, waiting for the infamous, I KNOW that is what it is going to be, CRMC decision as to the fate of the New Harbor and its environs.

It looks as though we will be "scooter" less for at least one summer anyway. That is until all the crooks and collaborationists wreak their particular form of wrongheadedness on the rest of us, up at the State house and give back to a 'very few', the right to deluge us again with them. Can you imagine going up route 4 where it joins to US195 at the usual speed of about 75 mph, and having to dodge unskilled moped drivers that can at best go 35 to 40 mph? I own one myself, but would not by any stretch of my imagination take it up there! It is bad enough on an 1100 cc Yamaha motorcycle that most car drivers can't see to see! TIFN

Seawinds, The next Disaster!

I haven't followed the saga of the Seawinds fiasco too closely so I don't really feel qualified to make any comments on it other than to say that it is an abomination to the Island, and to the area for which it has been proposed. It continues to sound like business as usual as far as D Packer is concerned. For some reason or other he thinks he IS one of the council members himself and acts accordingly. It is time for him and that other useless being to be shitcanned, and somebody with at least a first year law students knowledge of the law to be hired. If it wasn't for BI, these guys would be in the bread and soup lines somewhere! Comments anyone?? TIFN

Just something to chew on

Good Deeds Aren't Always Punished, But They're Not Always Recognized, Either
By Francis W. Porretto Francis W. Porretto

The president of the United States gets no holidays. Frequent Old Media references to his "vacations" are rather misleading; no matter where he is, he has to remain available to his lieutenants, and conscious of national and world affairs. In effect, he wears an electronic leash, by which he can be hauled back to the Oval Office, figuratively or literally, at an instant's notice.

Which is why it's so important for Americans to be aware of reports such as this one:

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) -- President Bush began the new year on Sunday at the bedsides of wounded servicemen and women, and awarded nine Purple Hearts to U.S. troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The president, as commander in chief, feels it's one his most important duties to visit with those who are serving in the armed forces and providing great sacrifice for this important mission," White House spokesman Trent Duffy said.

The president boarded the Marine One presidential helicopter before dawn on his ranch in Crawford, Texas, and flew more than an hour to Randolph Air Force Base. His motorcade drove to Brooke Army Medical Center, a 224-bed hospital at nearby Fort Sam Houston, to meet with about 50 injured members of various branches of the armed forces and their families.

"He thanks them for their service. He asks how they're doing. He is always interested in seeing if they are getting the kinds of care they need," Duffy said, adding that not all the troops' injuries were sustained in combat.

Your Curmudgeon is a promoter of individualism in politics, but he sees immense value in charitable communalism in the private sphere. When a public official behaves in a fashion that implies that stance, it's worthy of note and wide dissemination. When a man as heavily burdened and as widely assailed as President Bush takes time away from his ranch, his pastimes, his family, and his not-all-that-remote official duties to do simple but memorable kindnesses such as are reported above, he deserves our praise.

The author asked that this one be passed around if you are so inclined!