December 2002 Week 3

Monday  December 16 , 2002

Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.

Special Registration of aliens is activated... between December 2, 2002 and January 10, 2003. The 18 countries listed (The first group was Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria; the second group is Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen who's nationals visiting America must register... Please note that Saudi Arabia isn't listed... 16 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia... it's all about Politics and oil... the people who are affected by this new law have the same worry that the Anti Gun Registration NRA Lobby has, who are afraid that once guns are registered the government will know where the guns are so they can confiscate them easier... Interesting that I can be on opposite sides of both of these positions.

Al Gore has taken himself out of the mix... good, I think he is a good man but I don't think he had a donuts chance at a Sheriffs Convention of winning the nomination let alone the Presidency. He needs some credibility and every time he opens his mouth he finds a way to sound silly. My Republican friends are leaping to Trent Lott's defense... Trent Lott was on BET saying the equivalent to "I am not a bigot, some of my best employees are ethnically challenged" (Paraphrase) I think they ought to keep him for the same reason I think the Democrats needed to get rid of Gore. Lott is a liability, and I like that in a republican. It's about time the country woke up to what these jokers are doing... Americans are letting the media do their thinking for them...

Power was out today from about 1015 till 1400... I was really at a loss, it was so dark from the storm I couldn't even read... so I tried to catch up on some sleep but every time I put my head down the damn phone rang... due for more rain tomorrow  heard a 'meteorologist ridicule the people in the pictures wandering around without umbrellas by saying these people didn't believe our repeated warnings... LA Weathermen/women have NO credibility. The weather people out here consistently do Chicken Little Prognosticating to the point where no one believes a word they say. Nine people have died in this storm so the Newscasters are orgasmic because it's officially a "Killer Storm". I refuse to watch Local News, it is not News, it's exploitation and fluff. If I want car chases and drug busts I will go to the movies. I listen to KNX 1070 on the radio with the pretentious tag-line "You give us 20 minutes, we'll give you the News!", and "All the News you need to know" they have no in depth reporting but their hi-lites give me enough information to know when I have to read the paper tomorrow or tune in NPR.

Tuesday  December 17 , 2002

Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.

Sizzler burned down, Mike said he saw it burning when he went to school at 0630, his driver said the firemen were there when she was driving to work at 0515. Apparently the firemen were unable to get to the gas main to turn it off so they were helpless, all they could do was keep it from spreading... too bad, I don't think Sizzler did a lot of business but it was a nice restaurant, by 'nice' I mean it looked pretty, the interior was very nice solid oak booths and an atrium with a nice view... it was nicely landscaped too... food was not to my taste, it was actually not very good, kids liked it though.

Mikes school is out of business for a while because of the wind damage. Mike got a round trip on the bus this morning.

Geek bothers me... the word 'geek' when I was a kid a Geek was a Circus Sideshow term for a performer who did bizarre things like biting the head off of a live chicken or eating some other disgusting thing. When some ignorant Ludite started to call Computer Nerds, Geeks, I don't know. I am sure it was just a pathetic attempt to put-down someone they had deemed worthy of ridicule but why they chose Geek is beyond me... I wish they would stop, it's a peeve of mine.

Wednesday December 18 , 2002

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

It was cold this morning about 34^o I went out and took a few pictures and stitched them together... it sure was a beautiful view. I got the car SMOG'd and had breakfast with Christy. Mokie called with asthma so Christy picked her up... Mokie played sick for about 15 minutes and then she was outside playing with the dogs...

I read his little book The Prophet in the 60's not long after I got out of the Navy. Kahlil Gibran seemed to be opening doors on every page, explaining simple truths so eloquently that it made me wonder how I could have survived so long without it. I read Ayn Rand in the Navy, Atlas Shrugged, it changed me too, for a different reason, as soon as I finished Atlas Shrugged I read The Fountain Head and I am I... they made me angry... it took me years to realize that she was preaching about an Eden that couldn't exist. There would be no place for me in her world. Not everyone has a John Gault inside them.

Dear Diary,

I hate it when the TV remote is all the way down at the other end of the coffee table, just past the dog, who wouldn't get it for you even if he had hands...

I just read an article about a local authority's decision to ban photography and video recording at school nativity plays and concerts. The measure has been introduced in 156 nursery, primary and secondary schools in Edinburgh to prevent photographs of children falling into the hands of pedophiles (spelled paedophiles in Scotland). Is that insane or what. The articles are copied (HERE). Apparently Scotland is just as screwed up as we are, maybe even more so... there are perverts who have fixations on all sorts of things from the napes of women's' necks to the shoes on their feet, people molest everything from themselves to sheep, where do these loony-toons intend to draw the line? The pinhead on the council who said "When anything disastrous happens, the first question that is asked is, 'Did the school do all in its power to protect the children?'." ought to resign. What the hell did the citizens of Edinburgh elect these Bozo's to do besides cover their own asses. Are we to the point where we are being held hostage by the people who are supposed to be protecting us. Pedophilia is supposed to be illegal, not taking pictures of your own children. How can priorities get so screwed up.

I wonder if those Council Members took into consideration the possibility that a Pedophile might actually disguise himself as a parent and sneak into a live performance... I am proposing some new legislation:

New Laws:

Thursday  December 19 , 2002

I just got this from Linda, a friend in England, I had sent her a copy of yesterday's rant for her input:

Subject: Re: Paranoia Politics

Yes, the whole thing is unimaginable.  I just received a photo of my youngest
grandson sitting on Santa's lap.  That is being banned here.  Father
Christmas will not be allowed to touch the children in any way.
Mad as this sounds, it follows hard on the heels of a vast child pornography
bust--hundreds were implicated and arrested, 50 of them were policemen.
to be honest, it almost defies ranting.

Puts the whole thing in a different context doesn't it, Cops, Priests, Fathers... despicable. The aspects of that sort of degeneracy that I find hardest to understand is how do they justify it in their own minds and then how do they sleep at night.

We are due for a "Monster Storm" tomorrow morning... lots of rain, up to two inches an hour (Accu-Weather my aching butt) Looks pretty nasty on radar though. We are at 3700' here, snow will be at the 5000' level tonight and down to the 4000' level by morning... weather-wise, it's going to be an interesting day tomorrow.

Had a discussion with Mike tonight, he has invited Mark to visit again this weekend, Mark is a nebbishy Eddy Haskell without the quick wit. We told him he's restricted to the house and property and he is trying to argue his way down to his buddy Donny... Mike is getting grass from somewhere. Arguments with him are bordering on sureal, Mike can't comprehend the concepts of truth, trust and honesty... he really can't.
 

Friday  December 20 , 2002

Got another e-mail about the Paranoia Politics, this one from John in Derby, UK, he had another perspective:

Subject: Re: Paranoia Politics 

Its very difficult to sympathise with Edinburgh Council, Pete, but speaking as someone who has to pay council (local) tax each year, I don't want my money being used to pay out court inflicted damages to somebody who decides to sue the council for whatever - the results of paedophilia or anything else - instead of providing the essential council-run services required in the area. As far as I'm concerned, that is a gross mis-use/appropriation of public funds. 

There are times when I feel like suing these individuals who sue the council for them wilfully removing my access to communal services which I have already paid for! 

On the other hand, if the right to sue the local authority is removed by statute, the bastards will promptly start abusing their positions - so that right is necessary as well. Cache 22! 

Until recently, this country was not a litigation-hungry place - unlike the States - but your (national) example has gradually educated the UK public (and legal profession) to the pecuniary advantages of suing anyone and everyone, every chance you get! 

Yes, the council ban is totally ridiculous, but if their funds are to be protected to be used for their proper purpose, what else can they do? I dislike our local council who, as far as I can tell, couldn't raise a single IQ point between the lot of them and I hate paying out the tax they demand every year. But, short of going to jail for refusing to pay it, I have to support any action they take which ensures that this tax money is available for the proper purpose - rather than making some individual rich.  

I see today, that relatives of the people killed in the fire in the Australian trekker's hotel when a pyromaniac set fire to it are now suing everyone they can think of from the owners to the local council and national government. I don't see how any of these could be expected to stop a madman from entering a public place and torching it. These bastards are not after compensation - they just see the opportunity to make large amounts of money at the expense of others who will have to pay the tax to support the claim if they win. Their lawyer says it is a turning point in Australian justice. Yeah, the day it died! 

The only way out of this is for the courts to find for them and then award just 2 cents, reduced to one cent on appeal, with no costs. The claims would stop then and we could get back to some sort of sanity. Wanna bet it will happen?] 

As the law stands, Edinburgh has to demonstrate a duty of care - how else do they do that? 

One way which might improve matters is for all councillors - and all their employees above a certain grade - to be made personally liable. It wouldn't take very long for the local legal vultures to realise that there was no pocket book lining to be made after the first one or two court actions as the individuals would then be bankrupt and then maybe the amount of legal action might fall, but I suspect we might be very short of council members and senior employees if that happened! This would also be unacceptable to me because I still want - no, require - my local services! 

The problem is one of acceptable options, Pete! A good one as far as I am concerned would be for all paedophiles to be caught and imprisoned for life (where the other jailbirds will give them a real nice time!).  

Do you know of a means of doing that? 

Perhaps not the kind of answer you were expecting but, well...... 

Interesting isn't it, My outrage over the insane political correctness, Linda's compassion for the desperate measures that frightened communities felt needed to be taken after a monstrous Pedophile bust and John's commonsense reaction to the financial reality that makes this sort of lunacy necessary.

Met some nice folks at breakfast this morning, they are into the 7th month of an odyssey that will last 3 years. They intend to break some World Records and see the world... every damn inch of it. (John Martin; you will be interested in this, they are riding BMW's) I posted some remarks and pictures (HERE)

Two kids hammered on the door at noon just as I was going out to take Cindy and "B" some lunch money. They had two Chihuahua's with them, they had been stuck all night in a pick-up truck that had fallen off the side of the hill ... weird... Peanut went bezerk. Stunk up my van.

Saturday  December 21 , 2002

Why do some people try to hijack Santy Claus Day, the most important commercial holiday of the year, and try to make it into some kind of religious event?

I wrote a Genealogy rant http://members.tripod.com/petedaggett/genealogy.htm.

Didn't accomplish much else, cleaned the house while Christy was at church, I took Mike to Mark's, and did some shopping on the way home...

Sunday  December 22 , 2002

Pretty cold today, never made it to 40, any Mainers reading this are smirking but it's pretty chilly for Southern California.

I watched a Motocross race on TV, took Mike some medicine after stopping at Kaiser, they are putting him on Welbutrin (sp) for depression... stopped at Wall-Mart. My printer crashed, something inside it broke. I little piece of plastic about half the size of a pea lodged itself into the paper feed slot, so that paper jammed. Christy and I got it out but now it won't even start to load paper.