5/14/2006

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

5/12/2006

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

4/26/2006

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.

4/24/2006

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.

3/29/2006

What is missing in this picture?

  Posted by Picasa 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

3/18/2006

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

3/16/2006

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

3/13/2006

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

3/06/2006

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

3/01/2006

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?

2/13/2006

$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! Posted by Picasa

2/06/2006

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

1/29/2006

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!!

1/25/2006

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.

1/13/2006

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

1/02/2006

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.

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