My Rides Map has been Updated

I've updated the map of my motorcycle Rides.  I just did a four day ride through 5 states - Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina.  The main goal of the ride was to meet up with fellow Ancient Riders, which as an amazing experience and one which I hope to repeat frequently.

View My Motorcycle Rides in a larger map

New to the map are rides on Lookout Mountain in Georgia via Chattanooga, TN; Ocee to Tellico Plains, TN; The Tail of the Dragon and a couple others.  I was with 9 other bikes on the Dragon, 12 people, if I'm counting right.

On the Ocee to Tellico Plains run, there is a surprise turn - I marked it.  I've talked to others who know the road and agree that the turn is not marked well and it just comes up out of nowhere.  I braked so hard I went sideways - which helped me make the turn.  I was fine, but I'm not sure about the condition of the people in the car behind me (although they were turning there anyway.)

When riding the Tail of the Dragon, there are photo tents set up along the way and you can go look for your photo online.  They use the same photo site, so I created an album on the site!

US129 Photos

Killboy

MoonShine Photos

For example:

When I started out on Thursday morning, it rained on me for the first 110 miles.  The Texaco station in Union, AL was really good to me, letting me charge my phone inside, told me to pull the motorcycle under a back cover to get it out of the rain, so I bought some fried catfish there to eat - which was pretty good.  So, if you are going by, stop in and give them some business!

What country are conservatives Patriots of?

Happy Independence Day!

I've been wondering, "What country are conservatives - Tea Party members and the like - Patriots of," because it is not the United States of America, and  "Whose Constitution do they hold up as their guiding document," because it is not the Constitution of the United States of America.

The United States of America was founded as a Democratic Republic - a government run by a democratically elected group of people guided by a constitution.  The Right Wing Conservatives have re-written the history in their minds so as to create a Theocratic Corporateocracy - a government run by the "Free Market" and guided by a select Religion.

In the CP (Conservative, Tea Party, Right wing-nut Party) constitution, the Preamble says:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, Under God, insure domestic Conformity, provide for the international aggression, enforce our morality upon others, and secure the Blessings of Jesus to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for UhMericka."

In the United States of America's Constitution, the Preamble says:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

In the CP constitution, Article 1, section 8 has, in part:

"The Congress shall have NO Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises as we are Taxed Enough Already, Debts will be paid by the Free Market and every man shall provide for their own Defense and of their own free will come together to defend the UhMericka; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises imposed by the Free Market shall be uniform throughout UhMericka;"

In the USA's Constitution, Article 1, section 8 has, in part:

"The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;"

In the CP constitution, the 1st Amendment says:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of any religion other than Christianity, or prohibiting the free exercise of Christians; or abridging the freedom of Christian speech; or the right of the Christian Conservative people peaceably to assemble, enforce their religious views, activities and restrictions on others, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

In the USA's Constitution, the 1st Amendment says:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

In the CP constitution, the 2nd Amendment says:

"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

In the USA's Constitution, the 2nd Amendment says:

 "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

The CP constitution doesn't even have the 13th Amendment, nor the 15th, 19th or 24th.

The Pledge of Allegiance is a fine example of how the conservative agenda has been eroding the basis of our country for years.

...written in August 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy
In its original form it read:

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

In 1954, in response to the Communist threat of the times, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God," creating the 31-word pledge we say today. Bellamy's daughter objected to this alteration. Today it reads:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

It took 62 years before the Pledge of Allegiance was corrupted by the right wing insurgents.

Another example of right wing corruption of our Nation is the Motto.  

"E Pluribus Unum ("from many, one") had been adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782 as the motto for the Seal of the United States and had been used on coins and paper money since 1795."

"The modern motto of the United States of America, as established in a 1956 law signed by President Dwight D Eisenhower, is "In God We Trust". The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST as a motto for currency (but not as a National motto) first appeared on United States coins in 1864."

It took 82 years from the adoption of "E Pluribus Unum" for them to corrupt our money with their seditious phrase and another 92 years - for a total of 174 years - to worm their will into our government and make it official.

In both cases, they used the threat of war to distract people from the unconstitutional nature of these changes to our Nation.

For many calling themselves Patriots, the country and constitution they claim they want to "get back to" is not the United States of America - their version of "UhMericka" didn't exist until 1954 and is not what our Founding Fathers fought to establish in 1776.

You can not defend your freedoms while oppressing others!

"...the impious presumption of legislators have assumed dominion over the faith of others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world; that the opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor under its jurisdiction." - Thomas Jefferson (link)

"The clergy, by getting themselves established by law and ingrafted into the machine of government, have been a very formidable engine against the civil and religious rights of man." --Thomas Jefferson to Jeremiah Moor, 1800.

"But a short time elapsed after the death of the great reformer of the Jewish religion, before his principles were departed from by those who professed to be his special servants, and perverted into an engine for enslaving mankind, and aggrandizing their oppressors in Church and State." --Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval, 1810. ME 12:345 

and finally, one of my favorite :

"Believing... that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their Legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State." --Thomas Jefferson to Danbury Baptists, 1802. ME 16:281 

More Quotes from the Founders that will enrage the Tea Party .

... and check out these books!

Work History - long, varied and just weird

I was getting a drink at the little store on the bottom floor of my office and the lady behind the counter mentioned that she was off Friday, but today was inventory, so it balanced out.  I mentioned that I used to take inventory professionally.  That got me wondering what all HAVE I done?  Well, here it is :

First real job - besides having a watermelon stand - was working as a helper/stocker at a video rental place.  I think I was 'let go' from that job for refusing to sweep an aisle with a customer in it.  My granny always taught me to do unto others as you would have them do unto you - and I wouldn't want someone sweeping me out of the aisle when I was trying to decide on a movie to rent.

I've also :

Worked as a cashier/janitor at a gas station - midnight to early am shift.

Construction Gofer

Inventory taker - going around with those hip-calculators taking inventory at gas stations, grocery stores and retail outlets.

Telemarketer - offering tickets to a country music concert for donations to a fire department.

Setup worker - installing shelves, aisles and such for a retail store - K-Mart if I recall.

Coliseum worker - setting up chairs and tables, event cleanup, furniture and inventory moving on a college campus.

Warehouse worker - going from unloading freight to putting unloaded freight on pallets to taking pallets to stock, using a man-up forklift, to pulling freight for loading onto the trucks.

Security Guard - I don't want to talk about it.

Semi Tractor-Trailer driver, over-the-Road 48 states and Canada.

Wal-Mart stockman / garden center cashier

Furniture Upholstry line worker - furniture would roll by, I'd put my two tacking strips on and send it on past.  Got scars from that.

Telephone System (PBX) and Security Alarm installer - running wire, drilling holes, punching down wires, programming.  Three differnt companies at different times.  Set up Voice-Over-IP, set up a call center, Homes, Businesses.

Telephone System salesman

Pre-Planned Funeral salesman (basically Insurance salesman, had to get licensed)

Appliance salesman at Rex.

I went to classes to sell Rainbow Vaccuums and work at Radio Shack, but didn't follow through with either.

Home Builder General Assistant - I'd do whatever needed to be done, from leveling the lot, laying sod, meeting inspectors, power-washing existing homes, taking photos, doing a website, doing the accounting, mowing yards, taking a punch list, delivering papers, etc.

Corporate Computer Help Desk - taking computer related calls and fixing issues.

I've done a lot of stuff.

Obama's Free Cell Phones

Here is one annoying thing about Conservatives - their simple minded parroting of Fox News talking points like "Obama is giving out free cell phones!"

I'm not sure how the parrot phrase got started, but some people do get free cell phones from the government, some discounted or partially paid for.  The program is called LifeLine and it was started in 1985 - during the Reagan administration when the Republicans controlled the Senate, Democrats the House.  Of course, back then it was free or discounted land lines.

"Lifeline for the past 25 years has helped tens of millions of low-income Americans afford basic phone service.  Access to telephone service is essential for finding a job, connecting with family, or getting help in an emergency, and the percentage of low-income households with phone service has increased from 80% in 1985, when Lifeline began, to nearly 92% last year."

 "The Lifeline program is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)."

"On January 31, 2012, the Commission adopted comprehensive reform and modernization of the Lifeline program."

GOPhers seem to think Obama is micromanaging every minute detail about government and government programs and that the congress they have mired in do-nothing gridlock has no control whatsoever over anything.  I don't recall anyone talking about "Reagan's handing out phone service!" back in 1985.

Trying to figure out their mental processes that come up with "Obama is giving out free cell phones," the only thing I can come up with is extreme hatred of anyone with less advantages or opportunity than themselves, whether that be by race, income or ability.

It is like they want to make sure that nobody else has any chance to get ahead - particularly ahead of them.  And then they wonder why the economy sucks.  ( Hint : They are taking money away from people and siphoning it up to the top 2% and 2% having all the money can't maintain a functioning economy. )

Then you have the ridiculous jokes about, "I forgot my password - I should call up the NSA and get them to tell me what it is."  Again, blaming it on Obama when they cheered the passing of the law that set all of it up - the Patriot Act, written by Republicans, passed by Republicans, signed by a Republican - but NOW it is a bad thing.  Right.

Politics - my view on the Two Party system and Voting

Republicans cry freedom and liberty, but they want to pass laws that tell you what you can, must and can't do with your body and your life.
"You can't marry that person because they are different"
"You can't marry that person because they are the same"
"You can't smoke that plant, you should be smoking tobacco"
"You can't use that to make clothing, you should be using cotton"
"You can't use that to make paper, you should be using wood"
"You can't practice that religion, you have to be Christian"
"You can't perform or get that voluntary medical procedure, we don't approve of it."
"You can do that - even in the privacy of your own home, our religion says it is wrong."

Democrats want to pass laws that tell you what you can't do to other people.
"You can't deny their rights based on their race"
"You can't pay them less based on their gender"
"You can't force your religious preferences on them just because you hire them"
"You can't fire them just because you don't like their religion"
"You can't poison them just because you produced a toxic by-product to manufacture your goods"
"You can't ignore your employee's safety while they are working for you"

So, in my view, the Democrats are more about protecting freedom and liberty and the ability to pursue happiness.  Everywhere I look, Republicans are trying to hurt people, deny people rights and impose their 'choices' on everyone else.  Seriously, if you are all about freedom and liberty, why the are you hell bent on denying anyone else the ability to get married or serve in the military or anything else?  I don't believe anyone wanting to keep anyone from doing anything that doesn't hurt anyone else should be using the terms "Freedom" and "Liberty" as a rallying call.

Examples of the screwed up right-wing nuttery :
Ohio Republicans sneak through religious zealotry in Budget Bill.
The Texas abortion bill that won't die.
The Supreme Court says you can't plant seeds from plants you grow - you must buy seeds from giant corporations.  Also, if the plants produced by seeds from a company's seeds have their pollen carried by the wind into your fields, you owe the company money because your plants have their genetics now - even if you didn't want it and it hurts your business!

I'm sure you can dig up tons more crazy, hateful, anti-science crap they are doing.

So, tell me, please, what "Rights" are the Democrats actually trying to take away?  Its not the "Right to Bear Arms."  Making it harder for criminals or troubled people to acquire high-capacity, rapid fire guns isn't the same as taking away Bubba's Shotgun or 30.06 or CZ75b.

The Democrats are the lesser of two evils.  Are they perfect? No.  Not by far.  Both parties voted for Seat belt laws and other freedom-infringing, corporate dictated laws.

Should I be Libertarian?  Well, no... they want to dismantle government altogether, which is insane.
Green Party?  Well...  they are a bit extreme too.

There is no party that is based on the Real Constitution, no party based in Reality in so far as what works for the best in our economy while maintaining the most freedom.  There is no party that is for a Functioning Government that is limited in it's powers, but not powerless to protect citizens from special interests and abusive individuals or corporations.

So what do I do?  I try to prevent the nutcases from doing too much damage - which means vote democrat or independent for people who really get it.  For example, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Until the two-party system is challenged and dismantled, I'll vote Democrat and Independent.

Last Weekend Ride Report

So, last weekend I get the urge to go rambling.  I head up toward town - hwy 18 north to Brandon.  I go across 80, take a left at the T, take a right at the four-way onto El Dorado road and the left to get onto the new 4-lane cut-through to Dogwood Festival on hwy 25.  I take that onto Old Fannin and turn left onto Spillway road, then a right onto Harbor drive.

Here is where it gets interesting.  I took a right at the end of Harbor drive, thinking there was a on-ramp to the Trace back there.  There isn't and I'm not sure why I thought there was, but I headed that way up Rice road.  It was a pretty fun ride, nice curves and such.  I took a left at the light onto St. Augustine road and then and left onto Old Canton Road at Strawberry Patch Park.  Passing the private airport on the left, I saw the big Baptist church on the right - there was a group of motorcycles, led by a trike, coming out of the parking lot and pulling in front of me.

Awkward, right?  You don't want to just fall in with a group and act like you're a part of them, but you don't want to just slow down and fall back just to avoid them.  I was hoping they were not headed north on the Trace like I was.  So, they passed the Trace on-ramp and I took it... awkward averted.  Until I realized that this on-ramp was a South-Only ramp.  No signs indicating that - no signs indicating the Trace at all on Old Canton coming from Madison.  I just knew that was about the spot to get on the Trace as I saw the Trace bridge.  Well, as I hit South, I saw the group of riders hit the Northbound side.  Yeah, that would have been weird.

So, I keep on to the next point of interest - the Craft Center.  I turn around and head back North.  I stop at the Overlook briefly to take a sip of my Monster Rehab Green Tea.  Then back on the Trace toward the Cypress Swamp!

I realized about that time that I had left my long lens at home and only had the 35mm with me.  Aaarrrggghhh!

I did get some okay shots though :

So, I go on up toward Riverbend.  Then I recall someone mentioning Ratliff Ferry as a motorcycle hangout.  So, I skip Riverbend, setting myself up for a long ride.  Just as I settled in, there was Ratliff Ferry on the right.  It is kind of a longish road to the Trading Post, but there is a big parking lot and picnic tables a store and a "bar" with a live band that day.  I got a Gatorade from the store and sat down at the picnic table just outside.  There were motorcycles parked and a large group of people - including, I think, the group from the church - hanging out under a shade tree.

Now, I'm not a very outgoing person.  I'm shy and socially awkward.  Nervous even.  So, basically, I just sat there and watched.  I didn't want to try to insert myself into a conversation - though I almost commented on one guy's shirt that was pretty cool, it said " Cars Suck " - and I didn't go stand around on the edges like I belonged.  I consider that I pulled a 13th Warrior - standing on the bow of the ship to give the locals time to decide whether I was real or an apparition.  I may do that a few more times.  :)

#mynameanagramsto - Just for Fun

I saw this on Twitter.

So, I tried it.

My Name - Bobby Kearan - Anagrams To :

A Baby Broken

Try yours at Internet Anagram Server or Anagram Genius.

Anagram Genius spits out one - A Baby Broken - but IAS gives you lots of options.

Here are some of my IAS results : ( I've rearranged the ones in italics to make more sense )

A Baby Broken - Wow... I feel so exposed right now...

A Bye Bar Knob - What do you say we get outta here?
A Barb By Keno - Keno is slinging some harsh words, yo!
Ye Knob A Barb - Having sex with a superficial blonde woman?
A Bare Knobby - Kind of illicit.
A Bark Be Bony
A Bone By Bark
A Bark By Bone   
A Bear Knobby - It's big I tells ya, big as a bear!!
A Bye Bra Knob - What do you say you get outta that thing?
A Kebab By Nor
Yak Born Abbe
No Bark Abbey  - A name for a manor?
Abbey Bark On
Yak Born Babe
Baby Ark Bone
No Baby Baker
Baby Baker On
Baby Boar Ken
No Brake Baby 
Baby Brake On
No Break Baby 
Baby On Break
Bark Bane Boy - Don't make that noise around me!
Bar Any Kebob
Aye Barb Knob
By Barb En Oak 
By Oaken Barb - A sharp oak stick is all I need to take ye down!
Bare Knob Bay  - Interesting place for a vacation!
Bark Bay Bone
Barn Be By Oak  - Where is the barn??
Barn Ya Kebob - Another way to say Stable Your Stallion or Zip Your Pants!!
Bean Bark Boy
Bear Bank Boy
Bear Bay Knob
Bear Yank Bob - And so, Bob goes up to the bear and yanks on his tail!!
Brake Ban Boy - "I ain't got no brakes and thats the way I like it!!"
Bran Oak Be By
Break Ban Boy
Kabob Near By - There is always a skewer of grilled meat a veggies somewhere close...
Kebab Barony - King of the Grill beware!!
Oak Ran Ebb By

Adding my middle name into AG comes up with 'Bleak or by banana' - which makes no sense whatsoever.