Returning to regular programming.

Feeling much better. Headed south to bid a job this morning. Got a lot off catching up to do. Dead trees, flu, and Grandpa's journal. Rabbit breeding about to start. Weather is awesome. Drought, not so much.

Sign off...Until the crud leaves Casa del Coolchange.

Hey CoolChange, what's on your IPOD, tonight?

Green Day-Good Riddance(time of your life)

Another turning point;
a fork stuck in the road.
Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.

So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.
It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs
and still frames in your mind.

Hang it on a shelf
In good health and good time.
Tattoos of memories
and dead skin on trial.
For what it's worth,
it was worth all the while.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

(music break)

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

Grandpa's Journel

Friday February 3, 1911

Finished pulling Webergs trees. 38. Moved to Hillman pulled 50

Granpa's Journal

Thursday February 2, 1911

No entry.

Moreanmore....

Is this him?

Grandpa's Journal

Wednesday February 1, 1911

To see Weberg in morning.Pulled 104. To H. b. b. in evening.

Last but not least...Two guys...

Are pushing their carts around Wal-Mart

When they collide.
The old guy says to the young guy,
'Sorry about that.. I'm looking for my wife,
And I guess I wasn't paying attention
To where I was going.

The young guy says, 'That's OK, it's a coincidence.
I'm looking for my wife, too...'
I can't find her and I'm getting a little desperate'
The old guy says, 'Well,
Maybe I can help you find her...
What does she look like?'
' The young guy says,
'Well, she is 27 yrs old, tall,
With red hair,
Blue eyes, is buxom wearing no bra,
Long legs,
And is wearing short shorts.
What does your wife look like?'
To which the old guy says, 'Doesn't matter,

--- let's look for yours.'

Ladies please use your rubber bats. They don't hurt nearly as bad as the wooden ones. And believe me when I tell this one to my bride, she'll lend all of you justice! Ducking hard, here!

And then to turn the train wreck where it's really going.

 Firearms Defendant Kills Himself.

I see the change, but not the hope.

I have not been posting much because of several reasons. I see most of the bloggers I read do it so much better. I'm okay with that. This is mostly for me to let me out. However that may be.

Work is up and down and mostly  70 to 80 miles one way through the heart of the 4th largest city,  in the most populated county in the U.S., in the hottest summer in history, in the worst drought in 150 years. Lord? Did I do something wrong?

I have about 40 trees on my property. 50/50 oaks and pines. I live at the bottom of an old farm. The corner I live on was never cleared for farming. The pines are over 80' tall and 2 to 3' in diameter. The oaks are a little bit thicker and about 60' tall. My best estimate will cost me between 8 and 10,000 dolares  to have the dead trees cut down. I'm sorta confused as to why my insurance co. won't pay to cut down my dead trees, but when the claims come in from my neighbors and I for total property destruction they claim they'll write checks . Yea right. In 30 years I have never filed a claim. We'll see.

So the good things. My sweet, sweet wife whom our 6 beautiful grandchildren worship, then of course our 6 perfect grandchildren. Son-in-law that was a great friend before he met our daughter. Then our friends throughout. the years. We all stay in touch with. Most we see eye to eye at least twice a year or so.

Well, hell, I'm working and I'm almost 60. I have spent 30 years building rep. Most of my builders have either retired or passed away. The young guns I work for now heard about the reputation.One or two of the guns knew if it worked for the old guns it would work for them. So all of the old subs are working for the smart guns. We all know each other and know how to work around each other. And mostly we are friends.

Sheesh. One of my best bosses was a crush of my daughter's in high school.Mighta shot him back then. ;) That woulda been a mistake! Something to really ponder!

And now y'all know what my brain looks like in free range mode.

It's all good.

No new speeches for a while? Mehbe?

Where's the Secret Service when you need them?

If you eat napkins you don't have to buy toilet paper.

There's a card trick here somewhere.

My new motto.

This really works!

guess what?!!!
if you say 'gullible' really slowly
it sounds like 'oranges'.

Say it out loud. It really works!

Five things in life you can never recover.

(1) The Stone...........after it's thrown
(2) The Word...............after it's said
(3) The Occasion......after it's missed
(4) The Time.............after it's gone
(5) A person...............after they die

As to words... in regard to arguments. Our Pastor once said to take a handful of feathers and release them in a strong wind. Then try to gather all of them back up. Such a simple lesson.

Grandpa's Journal

Tuesday January 31, 1911

104 trees for Webergs. Got drums in evening.

Grandpa's Journal

Monday January 30, 1911

Moved puller to Webergs. Pulled 81 trees. Board meeting at G.E's (George Elliot was his brother-in-law) in evening.

Good grief! Go read this...

I may never be able to post again. Even during my best (ahem) times in the sixties nothing like this ever remotely popped into my head. It is indeed surreal.

My hat tip to JayG for this one.

Grandpa's Journal

Sunday January 29, 1911

Sunday morning was as usual. S.S. in PM.

The Sunday funnies.

Please feel sorry for inbred dogs!

 

Seconds to live

Grandpa's Journal

Saturday January 28, 1911 

Pulled 21 trees for E Benton. Got rims straightened at Hillman. Got shoes for puller. To tax meeting in evening.

Hey CoolChange, what's on your IPOD, tonight?

J.J.CALE - Friday

Monday morning comes too early
Work my back to the bone
All day
Monday I keep thinking
"Weekend's coming, gonna go home"
Tuesday I hate, oh Tuesday
Ain't no girls on the streets
Tuesday it ain't good for nothing
Drinking beer and watching TV
Friday, Friday evening
Come on Friday, it's been too long
Friday, Friday evening
Come on Friday, I wanna go home
Wednesday's hump day, hump day's Wednesday
Over the hump, the week's half-gone
If I had my pay on Wednesday I'd hang out, the hump day's gone
Thursday, you know I feel better
I can see the end in sight
Think I'll write myself a letter
Help myself through the night

Hank Williams, Jr. - Keep The Change (Fox & Friends and ESPN)

Newest one from Bocephus

I'll keep my freedom
I'll keep my guns
Try to keep my money
And my religion too

Try to keep on workin'
Try to keep on smilin'
I will keep my Christian name and y'all can keep the change

I will keep my heroes
Pictures on the wall
I'll keep my family safe
You bluff when I call
I'm gonna keep my big V8
Keep my friends the same
Keep the government outta my business
And y'all can keep the change

This country sure as hell been goin' down the drain
We know what we need
We know who to blame
United Socialist States of America
How do ya like that name?
I'll keep the USA and y'all can keep the change

So FOX and friends
Wanna put me down
Ask for my opinions
Then twist it all around
Supposed to be talkin' about my father's new CD
Well two can play that "Gotcha' Game" just wait and see
Don't tread on me

This country sure as hell been goin' down the drain
We know what we need
We know who to blame
United Socialist States of America
Don't ya just LOVE that name?
I'll keep the USA and y'all can keep the change

I'll keep the USA and y'all can keep the change

Yeah, you can keep FOX and friends and ESPN outta your homes too
Cuz Bocephus and all his rowdy friends and his song is outta there!

Yessir!

Grandpa's journal

Friday January 27,1911

Bonnie still sick. Went after Momma early. Raymond went to Bentons. I went at 10:30. Pulled 129.

Grandpa's Journal

Double dose today.

Wednesday January 25,1911

Snowed last night. Got busy. Team ran away with Gerald from Hillman. Snowing at 7 P.M.


Thursday January 26, 1911

Bonnie was sick last night. Went to see Dr. in A.M. Kent went with me. Dr. came in P.M.

Happy birthday!

1925 - Margaret Thatcher, Grantham England, (Tory) British PM (1979-90)

On this day in history.

1845 A majority of voters in the Republic of Texas approve a proposed constitution, that if accepted by the U.S. Congress, will make Texas a U.S. state.

Blessed rain!

Sunday we wook up to a steady downpour. In the end we got 3". They say the last time we got a significant amount like this was July 2010.  Sorry about the pic quality.

Hank Williams Jr.

Has something to say. In the best way he knows.

In light of the recent Hank Jr. and ESPN news Hank has recorded a song called "Keep The Change" and is offering it now to all his Rowdy Friends free for 48 hours.  Download it and spread the word!

Get it here!

Occupy Wall Street: Blame yourself

Good article from Herman Cain.

Link here.

Posted: October 09, 2011
7:05 pm Eastern
© 2011 

I'm not surprised I got a question like this from Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC. Given the mindset of Mr. O'Donnell and most of his colleagues, it's to be expected that he would cite my statement – that Occupy Wall Street protesters have only themselves to blame if they are unemployed or lacking wealth – and ask if I wanted to apologize for saying so.
Not a chance.
In fact, I would add this: Anyone who abandons these protests and tries taking my advice is almost certain to end up better off. That's because it's empowering to you when you stop blaming other people for your situation, and start taking responsibility for yourself

Another name the OWS protesters use for themselves is the 99 percent. This is in contrast to the 1 percent of the population whose greater wealth they resent. Their premise is that the 1 percent has been exploiting them, and now the 99 percent is fighting back.
Well …
No one has to tell me about the challenges involved with pursuing success when you are born without a lot of advantages, or to a family without a lot of money. That is the story of my life. I achieved success in business because I worked hard, studied hard, set goals, honed my strategy, weathered setbacks and kept at it no matter what. Sometimes those setbacks occurred because, at least it seemed to me, someone didn't treat me fairly. But I quickly learned that this, too, is part of life. Complaining about it won't help you. Devising strategies to overcome it will.
Pursuing a strategy for personal success is very much like the work a CEO does. A good CEO has to recognize the right opportunities and develop strategies to take advantage of them. There are always problems along the way, of course, so a good CEO has to identify the right problems and work on them effectively so as to overcome them and claim the desired reward.
In my book, "CEO of Self," I explain that each individual has to run his or her own life in much the same way. One of the most important things an individual must master is the understanding of how one accesses opportunity. Even in a poor economy made worse by absurd government economic policies, this is still America and there are still many opportunities. There should be far more, but there are many.

The person whose strategy is to wave a protest sign and complain about the success of others is not going to be successful at accessing that opportunity. Even at the times in my life when I struggled, I did not embrace the delusion that I lacked what I wanted because someone else had too much. I recognized that a person with wealth was the very person who could offer me an opportunity.
But I learned as I progressed in my career that you're not going to get an opportunity just because you need it, or think you're entitled to it. You're going to get an opportunity because there's something you can offer that person of wealth, or that big capitalist corporation, that makes it a mutually beneficial arrangement for both parties. Maybe there's a skill or knowledge you can offer that person or organization, which will make them more profitable, and make their investment in you a wise one for them. But before you can even try to access opportunity in this way – which is to say, the right way – you have to understand how and why people earn wealth.
The people protesting on Wall Street this week give no indication that they understand this. They don't understand that investors and corporations have to put capital at risk, work hard, make good decisions and bring products and services to market that people consider worth their money to buy. They don't understand that you don't earn until you first effectively serve.
When I say they should blame themselves for their status, they may not realize it, but I'm really putting the power in their hands. You can wave signs and make demands, but there's no reason anyone will want to give you an opportunity if that's all you do – especially when the message you send to those who could give you an opportunity is that you resent them.
If you haven't succeeded to the extent that you've hoped, take the blame. And as you do, take responsibility for your own life. And understand that by setting the right goals, doing the right things, developing the right habits and focusing on the right problems, you have it within your power to achieve more than you've ever imagined.
But if you insist on blaming others, then you put the power of your life in their hands. What can you do then? Carry a sign? Hope the government will make things better for you?
Good luck with that. I tried to help you by encouraging you to blame yourself. The best thing you can ever do for yourself is to take that advice.

Grandpa's Journal

Tuesday January 24,1911

Pulled 63 trees for Lark. Drayed hay from south bank. Settled with Dr. and Jackson. Moved puller to Bentons.

Happy birthday!

1901 - Albert Giacometti, Swiss/French painter/sculptor

On this day in history.

1877 General Custer's funeral is held at West Point

It's not road rash...

It's pasture rash. It wasn't my road bike. BTDT 40 years ago. Never again. It was actually funny, but I do want to know who beat me with the 2x4 when it was over. at least that's the way my body feels this morning.

Grandpa's Journal

Monday January 23,1911

Pulled 20 trees for Nielson. To Redmond and got blacksmith work done. Pulled 27 trees for Lark.

Grandpa's Journal

Sunday January 22, 1911

Got up late to Sunday school and preaching in the P.M. Some of the kids ate fudge and popcorn with us. Bonnie weighs 16 1/2.

BLOGGER SUCKS!

Once again

What did you expect?

Local news report says violent crimes are down, thefts are up. Imagine that. 6000 sheep? I know that it was in San Antonio where the men wear boots and the sheep fear them...(yea I know it's a cheap shot, can't  help it), but how many trucks does it take to steal that many sheep. Or did you just herd them across the front of the Alamo, then hoof 'em on down the river?

Grandpa's Journal

Saturday January 21, 1911

Pulled 121 trees for Nielson. To community meeting in evening.

On this day in history.

October 08, 1871 Four major fires break out on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Holland, Michigan, and Manistee, Michigan. The Great Chicago Fire is the most famous of these, having left nearly 100,000 people homeless, although the Peshtigo Fire killed as many as 2,500 people making it the deadliest fire in United States history.

It's the weekend!

Hey CoolChange, what's on your IPOD, tonight?

Pat Green - Adios Days

Adios days on the wide open prairie
Nights in the canyon are gone
Steven is dead, Johnny got married
and me I'm here all on my own
I'm all on my own

Used to have nights on the town of Loredo
Spinning them girls 'cross the floor
Now I'm too old for dancing
Too far gone for the whiskey
so I don't go down there no more

CHORUS (BOTH)
Now it's adios days on the wide open prairie
Nights in the canyon are gone
Steven is dead, Johnny got married
and me I'm here all on my own

(Cory Morrow)
My dad was a top hand
When he was a young man
He road for the Diamond Bar Jade
He pushed all day long
From the back of his pony
At night time he'd gather the streets

(Pat Green)
He hated the cities
Cussed all the railroads
Said they would lead us to fall
Now we have street cars
Cowboys dieing
Guess he weren't too far from wrong

CHORUS

Grandpa's Journal

Friday January 20, 1911

Pulled 137 trees for Nielson. Wife and I went up to the boys and Hillman.

Happy birthday!

1952 - Vladimir Putin, Russian politician

On this day in history.

1944 - Uprising at Auschwitz, Jews burn down crematoriums

Grandpa's Journal

Thursday January 19, 1911

Raining this morning. Got ring made at Hillman. Pulled 52 trees. In P.M. took tag (?) at Larstons.

Because my bride asked me to.

But why did I even think there would be toasted coconut in it?

I think breakfast tomorrow will have a pound of bacon in it.

When the economy is bad and you can't afford Disney World, this happens!

Watch as long as you want. I can look two times then I have to turn away.

A truth...

Public Safety Warning

Inbred cats.

Gotta love 'em!

That awkard moment.

When your girlfriends arm makes you look naked.

Judge: Americans do not have right to choose food

A Wisconsin judge has decided – in a fight over families' access to milk from cows they own – that Americans "do not have a fundamental right to consume the milk from their own cow."
The ruling comes from Circuit Court Judge Patrick J. Fiedler in a court battle involving a number of families who owned their own cows, but boarded them on a single farm.
The judge said the arrangement is a "dairy farm" and, therefore, is subject to the rules and regulations of the state of Wisconsin.
"It's always a surprise when a judge says you don't have the fundamental right to consume the foods of your choice," said Pete Kennedy, president of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, which worked on the case on behalf of the farmers and the owners of the milk-producing cows.
The judge's original ruling came in a consolidation of two cases that presented similar situations: Cows being maintained and milked on farms for the benefit of non-resident owners. He refused to grant a summary judgment declaring such arrangements legitimate, deciding instead to favor the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, which opposed them.
"Plaintiffs argue that they have a fundamental right to possess, use and enjoy their property and therefore have a fundamental right to own a cow, or a heard (sic) of cows, and to use their cow(s) in a manner that does not cause harm to third parties. They argue that they have a fundamental right to privacy to consume the food of their choice for themselves and their families and therefore have a fundamental right to consume unpasteurized milk from their cows," the judge wrote.
Bunk, he concluded.
"They do not simply own a cow that they board at a farm. Instead, plaintiffs operate a dairy farm. If plaintiffs want to continue to operate their dairy farm then they must do so in a way that complies with the laws of Wisconsin."
He cited an earlier consent decree involving one of the farm locations, which had been accused of being the source of a "Campylobachter jejuni infection" and said there are state reasons to require standards and licenses.
Identifying the cases as the "Grassway plaintiffs" and the "Zinniker plaintiffs," the judge said both were in violation of state rules and regulations.
It was, however, when the plaintiffs petitioned the judge for a "clarification" of his order that he let fly his judicial temperament.
"The court denied plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, which means the following:

"(1) no, plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to own and use a dairy cow or a diary (sic) herd;
"(2) no, plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to consume the milk from their own cow;
"(3) no, plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to board their cow at the farm of a farmer;
"(4) no, the Zinniker plaintiffs' private contract does not fall outside the scope of the state's police power;
"(5) no, plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to produce and consume the foods of their choice; and
"(6) no, the DATCP did not act in an ultra vires manner because it had jurisdiction to regulate the Zinniker plaintiffs' conduct."

"It is clear from their motion to clarify that the plaintiffs still fail to recognize that they are not merely attempting to enforce their 'right' to own a cow and board it at a farm. Instead, plaintiffs operate a dairy farm," he wrote.
Kennedy said the ruling is outlandish.
"Here you have a situation where a group of people, a couple of individuals, boarded their cows which they wholly owned, with Zinniker farms, and paid them a fee for the boarding."
He continued, "The judge said people have no fundamental right to acquire, possess and use your own property."
The dispute is part of a larger battle going on between private interests and state and federal regulators over just exactly who makes the decision on the difference between a privately held asset and a commercial producer.
The Los Angeles Times recently profiled a case in which prosecutors had arrested the owner of a health food market and two others on charges of allegedly illegally producing unpasteurized dairy products.
The arrests of James Cecil Stewart, Sharon Ann Palmer and Eugenie Bloch just a few weeks ago advanced the government's crackdown on the sale of so-called raw dairy products.
But Fiedler's arguments weren't unique.
Attorneys for the federal government have argued in a lawsuit still pending in federal court in Iowa that individuals have no "fundamental right" to obtain their food of choice.
The brief was filed early in 2010 in support of a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's ban on the interstate sale of raw milk.
"There is no 'deeply rooted' historical tradition of unfettered access to foods of all kinds," states the document signed by U.S. Attorney Stephanie Rose, assistant Martha Fagg and Roger Gural, trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.
"Plaintiffs' assertion of a 'fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health, which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselves and their families' is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish," the government has argued.
WND has reported several times on fed crackdowns on producers of raw milk for friends and neighbors, including when agents arrived to inspect a private property belonging to Dan Allgyer in Pennsylvania at 5 a.m.
The Iowa case alleges the federal restrictions on raw milk are a violation of the U.S. Constitution, according to a report at Natural News.
The federal attorneys want the case dismissed.
"The interest claimed by plaintiffs could be framed more narrowly as a right to 'provide themselves and their families with the foods of their own choice,'" the government document states. But the attorneys say that right doesn't exist.
"The FDA essentially believes that nobody has the right to choose what to eat or drink," said the Natural News site, which explains it covers topics that allow individuals to make positive changes in their health, environmental sensitivity and consumer choices.
"You are only 'allowed' to eat or drink what the FDA gives you permission to. There is no inherent right or God-given right to consume any foods from nature without the FDA's consent."
The Natural News report continued, "The state, in other words, may override your food decisions and deny you free access to the foods and beverages you wish to consume. And the state may do this for completely unscientific reasons – even just political reasons – all at their whim."
The report blames the aggressive campaign against raw milk on large commercial dairy interests, "because it threatens the commercial milk business."
The reason cannot be safety, the report said, since a report from the Weston A. Price Foundation revealed that from 1980 to 2005 there were 10 times more illnesses from pasteurized milk than from raw milk.
The federal government attorneys say the FDA's goal is to prevent disease, and that's why the "ban on the interstate sale of unpasteurized milk" was adopted.
The attorneys conceded that states ordinarily are expected to regulate intrastate activity but noted, "it is within HHS's authority … to institute an intrastate ban as well."
Natural News reported the ban could be seen as violating the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which leaves to states all powers not specifically designated in the Constitution for the federal body.

A Message to the President from Rural America

Dear Mr. President,

Socialism?

Yours sincerely,Rural America

AT THE MIDDLE PASSAGE

By Walter Mills


A Crack in the Universe

Late last week the universe shuddered a bit, but didn’t collapse. Newton 
rolled over in his grave and Einstein was heard to mutter “Vat is das?” 
But most of us ate breakfast, hugged the children, went to work. The sun 
didn’t quit shining; the bills tumbled through the letter slot.

In a time of deep pain and economic woe, the discovery that an invisible 
subatomic particle was clocked breaking the speed limit of light is 
little more than a distraction to most of us. In the physics world, if 
it is proven to be something other than a measurement error, it is a 
revolution.

Because nothing is supposed to beat the speed of light, according to the 
world’s most famous formula, the only one everyone knows, Einstein’s 
special relativity theory, which says E=MC2. But now if there is a crack 
in the formula, we may be able to peek through it into an even stranger 
universe than we already thought we had -- one that is strange enough 
already.

After all, we have quantum entanglement, which Einstein called “spooky 
action at a distance,” and dark matter that makes up 83 % of the 
universe, but we don’t know what it is. There appear to be entire 
galaxies being sucked toward some specific part of the sky like water 
gushing down a drain. Maybe our universe is emptying into another 
dimension. It’s a dangerous neighborhood to live in, but what other 
choices do we have?

The big reason that UFOs always seemed like a silly idea was that our 
nearest neighbor lived at least four years away from us and there was 
probably nobody home there anyway. Some scientists calculate that the 
likelihood of other intelligent life in the universe is 100%, which 
given the number of new planets astronomers have discovered in orbit 
around other stars, seems like a safe bet. But if there is a law against 
faster than light travel, we might as well be on separate islands in the 
ocean without a canoe. We can hail each other, but it might take a 
thousand years to get a reply.

If the little muon neutrino really is coasting along faster than light, 
the game has changed. Now we can imagine FTL communications -- neutrino 
dots and dashes from another island in space. And the dream of my 
teenage science fiction fantasies -- the faster than light drive, 
galactic empires, alien contact, the whole wonder-inspiring trip I took 
when I looked up at the night sky -- is a little less far-fetched.

That’s a lot of hope to put into a little neutrino that weighs next to 
nothing and has so little strength that billions have zipped through 
your body while you were reading this, without your noticing. We’ll have 
a hard time harnessing neutrinos to a starship and taking off on the 
greatest adventure of all time. But if it can be done, if things with 
mass can break the light barrier, then someday, somehow, someone will do 
it. Then, of course, we will be the aliens.  




Read more of Walt's writing at his blog:
http://americanimpressionist.wordpress.com/

(The above column originally appeared in the Centre Daily Times and is 
copyright © 2011 by Walter Mills. All rights reserved worldwide. To 
contact Walt, address your emails to    awmills@verizon.net ). 

Vince Gill and Carrie Underwood

What a gift. This is what it sounds like when angels sing! And if you have been washed in the Blood, then you better grab a big towel!

Today is scrub my email box day.

Stay tuned!

Happy birthday!

1914 - Thor Heyerdahl, Norway, anthropologist/explorer (Kon Tiki)

On this day in history.

1781 - Americans & French begin siege of Cornwallis at Yorktown; last battle of Revolutionary War

How much damage can he do before he's ousted?

A lot!

Hundreds of thousands disarmed by ATF ruling

The Obama administration is at it again. With the stroke of a pen, the U.S. Justice Department has just subjected hundreds of thousands of Americans to a lifetime gun ban.
 
In an open letter to all licensed firearms dealers, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) unilaterally decided that any person who is prescribed marijuana for medical purposes is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
That means over 300,000 people in the states that allow medical marijuana suddenly cannot buy or possess a gun.  Oh yeah, and for the many who already own firearms, watch out.  They are now felons and could be subject to lengthy prison terms of up to ten years.
Gun Owners of America is not going to wade into the marijuana debate, but the fact that such a large group of people are losing their constitutional rights without even seeing the inside of a courtroom leaves a lot of people scratching their heads.
After all, this is the same Justice Department that, in 2009, basically advised federal prosecutors to turn a blind eye to medical marijuana use.
And, in a bit of twisted irony, the ATF itself has helped thousands of guns to get into the hands of known and dangerous drug cartels in Mexico through their operation “Fast and Furious,” which has led GOA to call for anti-gun Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation.
The Justice Department makes it perfectly clear in the letter what it expects from gun dealers and gun purchasers, even though the Department and ATF obviously consider themselves above the law-both at the federal and state levels.  According to the agency:
Any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her State has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use for medical purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by Federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition. (Emphasis added.)
Notice that persons need not be regular users of the prescribed drug; just the mere possession of a prescription card from a doctor is sufficient to trigger the gun ban.  Firearms dealers are further instructed by the ATF:
If you are aware that the potential transferee is in possession of a card authorizing the possession and use of marijuana under State law, then you have “reasonable cause to believe” that the person is an unlawful user of a controlled substance.
As far as the overbearing, overreaching federal government is concerned, there is no need for a finding in a court of law that the person is a criminal, and there is no need for a finding that a person is a danger to self or others.
In fact, the gun ban is not even limited to when a person is actually using the drug for medical purposes.  If you have the prescription card, you can’t own a gun-period.
This is just one example of how the government uses various existing laws to sweep people onto its gun prohibition list.  The same thing occurred over the past decade to more than one hundred thousand military veterans who were prohibited from owning guns because of ailments such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)-in this instance, too, without the benefit of due process of law.
The fact that the ATF is acting against a state-sanctioned medical issue is also particularly troubling.  The reason Gun Owners of America has opposed ObamaCare so vociferously is over the concern that medical records databases could be abused by the government.
How many other heretofore legally prescribed drugs could be frowned upon by federal agencies and subject masses of people to a lifetime gun ban?
If the ruling in the ATF letter is allowed to stand, we will have allowed the federal bureaucracy to arbitrarily carve out-with no input from the peoples’ representatives in Congress-an entire class of persons for whom civil rights may as well not exist.
And, to make matters worse, this letter looks like more proof that the ATF is doing all it can to draw attention away from its own “gunrunning” scandal and to avoid investigating and punishing official wrongdoing along the U.S.-Mexico border.

John Velleco is the Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America, a position he has held since 2001.

Man ordered to surrender guns – just for blogging!

An Arizona man has filed a federal lawsuit against some of the state's top judges, claiming they're taking away his freedom of speech and right to own firearms, all because someone didn't like what he wrote on his blog.
"You can't suspend someone's constitutional rights [for blogging]," said Mike Palmer, who is bringing forth the legal action. "Everybody in America blogs or Twitters, so it's a First and Second Amendment issue."
The scenario started when Palmer, a 55-year-old Christian missionary from Phoenix, was online discussing "spiritual death" often referred to in the Bible.

But, according to the suit, a woman from Prescott, Ariz., Melody Thomas-Morgan, complained to authorities that Palmer was threatening her with "death," keeping that word in quotes in her legal filings.
Palmer explains, "It is true that the blog, 'That Woman Jezebel,' talks about spiritual life and spiritual death. ... Spiritual 'death' as in 'The wages of sin is death.' (Romans 6:23) ... It is not true that the blog ever mentions the 'death' of Miss Thomas-Morgan."

Judge Kenton Jones

Kenton Jones, superior court judge for Yavapai County, went along with the woman's harassment complaint and ordered Palmer to surrender his guns.
"The order says that I am not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition, and directs me to turn over any weapons to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office," Palmer told WND.
Palmer indicated he does not own any weapons at this time, but when pressed on whether he had any guns previous to the order, he said, "No comment."
"I certainly want my gun rights," he added. "There is no law in Arizona which allows the courts to suspend any constitutional right, but in this instance, my Second Amendment right. And, of course, my life's in danger now. I can't defend myself, I can't defend you. I can't defend my fellow man."
Palmer's suit is seeking a restraining order that would grant him back his constitutional rights.
He wonders if the Christian nature of his blogging has anything to do with the action taken against him.
"Being a Christian seems to make me fair game," he said. "I bet if I were Muslim and writing about physical beheading on a blog, no judge would dare touch me with an injunction. Ironic."
Not only is Justice Jones named as a defendant in Palmer's suit, so are five other jurists on the state supreme court, including Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch

Link

I'm always cautious around a woman with two last names!

Grandpa's Journal

Pulled 94 trees for Nielson. To Hillman in evening.

Happy birthday!

1902 - Ray Kroc, Illinois, founder of MacDonalds

On this day in history.

1947 - 1st Presidential address televised from White House- Harry Truman

Truth

Grandpa's Journal

Tuesday January 17,1911

G.R.Davidson helped me cut wood along the road.

On this day in history.

1957 - USSR launches Sputnik I, 1st artificial Earth satellite

Happy birthday!

1931 - Dick Tracy, comic strip crimestopper

From the "No Comment" Dept.

Grandpa's Journal

Monday January 16, 1911

Cut some wood. The whole family went to Hillman. Hauled hay.

Happy birthday!

1900 - Thomas Wolfe, American novelist (Look Homeward Angel)

On this day in history.

1913 - Federal Income Tax signed into law (at 1%)

Grandpa's Journal

Sunday January 15, 1911

Fore noon as usual. To S.S. in P.M. Took Dad and Mamma to ?(house in corning)?

Grandpa's Journal

This is a  scan of the first 2 weeks of 1911.

Happy birthday!

1948 - Chris LeDoux, Biloxi Miss, Rodeo cowboy, country singer. If you don't read anything else today, read this one!

A celebration of life!

Life is a Highway

Life's like a road that you travel on
When there's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind
There's a world outside every darkened door
Where blues won't haunt you anymore
Where the brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore
We won't hesitate, break down the garden gate
There's not much time left today

CHORUS
Life is a highway
I want to ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I want to drive it all night long

Through all these cities and all these towns
It's in my blood and it's all around
Lyrics www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/chris_ledoux/
I love you now like I loved you then
This is the road and these are the hands
From Tennessee to those L.A. nights
From San Antone to the Vegas lights
Knock me down get back up again
You're in my blood I'm not a lonely man

There's no load I can't hold
Road so rough, this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Tell 'em we're survivors

CHORUS x2

There was a distance between you and I
A misunderstanding once but now
We look it in the eye

There's no load I can't hold
Road so rough this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Tell 'em we're survivors

CHORUS x3

On this day in history.

1835 The Texas Revolution begins with the Battle of Gonzales: Mexican soldiers attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, Texas, but encounter stiff resistance from a hastily assembled militia.

Happy birthday!

1881 - William Edward Boeing, founded The Boeing Company

Just got this in a post on a fishing board adding to my IPOD.

I think Tracy Byrd is awesome. I've done my share of road runs to the salt. Down 249 to 59 south.Through Refugio. To Rockport and AP! Yea it's road running music. Sometimes it might be the gospel. Here you go!

Grandpa's Journal

Saturday January 14,1911

Still cold. Cut wood. To H-man after the mail. To Redmond in P.M. To water user meeting.

On this day in history.

1890 - Yosemite National Park created