Liberal Motorcycle Rider - a Conservative's Worst Nightmare

I found this post in a biker forum about him being a Liberal-Progressive's Worst Nightmare - which is apparently a well circulated hoax?

Well, I thought I'd respond here - since the post is a couple years old and I don't want to raise a zombie.

I am the Republican Conservative Regressive's worst nightmare.

I am a Multi-Racial, Happily Tax-Paying, Liberal, Libertarian, Progressive Motorcyclist.

I am a Computer Technician, a Programmer.  I work long hours with my hands and mind to earn a living.  I get paid to think for myself, use logic and reason to solve problems.

I was born on an Army Base and grew up in the country, feeding hogs, raising chickens, working fields, hunting, fishing and roaming the woods.  I build my own furniture and sheds and till and plant a garden to have fresh veggies and fruit.

I believe in Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Religion and Separation of Church and State, you know, like in the constitution.

I buy American Made products when they are of good quality and within my price range, but realize that doing so is not always possible because the pay of hard working Citizens has not kept pace with inflation or the pay rates of executives.  Everything keeps getting more expensive, but I'm not paid any more.  I also realize that Harley Davidson, Ford, Chevy and others have as many foreign-made parts, if not more, than 'foreign' brands and are not necessarily any more quality nor long-lasting.  Kawasaki - who makes my Vulcan 1700 Classic - has been making products in the United States for over 40 years.

I believe the money I earn belongs to me, but I realize that I owe my share of paying for our military, public roads, law enforcement, utilities and the running of our government - even if I don't always agree with it.  I also don't mind chipping in to help those who are less fortunate, even if some low-life individuals abuse the system.  I also realize that a good bit too much of the money I earn is not given to me, but is given to executives who have little to nothing to do with my contributions to keeping my employer successful.

I think owning a gun is perfectly fine if you hunt for your food (not for sport), but you don't need an assault rifle unless you are in the military or law enforcement - and you should leave that one at work.  I think universal background checks are just a good idea and realize that its not the same as 'taking away our guns.'  I realize that there is a difference between protecting your home and over-compensating for being scared and feelings of inferiority.

I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her God when and where they want to.  I do not, however, believe they have a right to force or coerce others to join them or even listen to them.  I do not believe that our public schools should be used to indoctrinate children into a specific religion - and it is not fair to ask kids to set themselves up for bullying by opting out of school-enforced prayer.  I believe everyone also has the right to not have nor believe in any god and to not pray at all.

I don't hate the rich - I object to rampant greed. I realize that the ones taking more than they need while short-changing hard working people are hurting our economy, not the other way around.  I don't hate the poor who have the system's boot on their necks, keeping them down.  I don't blame the victim.  I realize that being rich or poor doesn't mean you earned it nor deserve it and that either fiscal position is often a conspiracy of circumstances.

I know wrestling is mostly scripted entertainment, not 'fake', but those are some amazing athletes and I'll watch it occasionally.

I've never owned a slave, nor was a slave - but I don't deny it happened and I don't deny that there are some people who would like to go back to that.  I have seen racial, sexual and religious discrimination, persecution and hatred.  I realize that "Freedom" doesn't include the freedom to harm others for your own gain or amusement.  I know that passing laws to try to force everyone to conform to your religion's set of rules and regulations is the opposite of Freedom and Liberty.

This is the United States! One country in America, which has thirty six countries in it if you consider North, Central and South America.  I don't like it the way it is right now - effectively paralyzed by a small group of loud obstructionists - and neither do a lot of our citizens. 

I Love the Promise of the United States, which we have yet to realize.  I want to keep moving (making Progress) toward the promise of all men (and women) being equal, with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - and that means people of every race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, lifestyle and ability.

I support term limits for all elected officials and absolute bans on going from elected official to paid lobbyist.

I believe every citizen has the right and responsibility to vote in our elections - even those stupid enough to believe Fox News tells the truth or is 'fair and balanced.'  Although I'm on the fence about those who can't tell the difference between "There" and "Their" or "Then" and "Than", etc.

If you were born here and don't like it, you are free to move to any fascist country that will have you.  Stop trying to re-write history and 'get back' to that fictional version of our country that you created.

I think the cops have a right - and responsibility - to give you a ticket or arrest you if you are breaking the law, no matter how rich or well connected you are, but not just because you are riding a motorcycle or because of how you look or dress or the bumper stickers on your vehicle.

I also think it is good to have a photo id.  Its also good to register your vehicle and your gun(s) and any other potential weapons of mass destruction.  I think that is just being Responsible for your Actions.

I realize that "God" wasn't on our dollars until the 1950's.  I know that "In God We Trust" wasn't our motto until 1956 - replacing "E pluribus unum."  I realize that there has been a slow and steady erosion of the separation of church and state our founders created, weakening our country and our constitution.

I realize that not every child is lucky enough to have two parents to raise them and that just because they have only one parent or no parent or are rich or poor, that they still deserve every opportunity to learn, achieve and excel.  I prefer to base policy on reality rather than an idealized, mythical version of a 1950's household.

I believe Illegal is Illegal, no matter how much money you have or how well-connected you or your parents are and that being poor and unable to afford a lawyer (or congressman) is not a crime.

I believe "too big to fail" is a myth and that corporations are NOT the same as people.

I don't feel the need to belittle or deprive others just to make myself seem more powerful or privileged.  I realize that the better off my neighbors are, the better off that I am.  I realize the only rights you are entitled to are the ones you afford everyone else.

I don't need weapons to feel safe, I'm not afraid of people who don't look, talk or believe like me and I don't need a specific version of God, or any God, to be and do good.

I believe in The United States of America, in Freedom, Liberty and Justice for All.

If you think that makes me a Communist or Socialist, then you don't understand either term.  If you think that makes me a Bad American, then you don't understand our country.

Feel free to share and spread this if you like it.  Also feel free to comment, expound on it, etc.

Genetics Blows Bigotry's flimsy basis away

So, some mental Neanderthal claimed that 'it is proven' that Black people come from Neanderthals and White people come from a more advanced ancestor.

Well, that is just not true.  In fact, the factor that determined skin color is....

The Amount of Sunlight

Yes, as our common ancestors grew in population and spread out over the Earth, those who went to cloudy, rainy areas got pale.

Where our ancestors moved to and lived for thousands of years determined their skin color - and hair color.  I can just imagine the taunts and bullying that the lighter skinned children received at first.  Just because they were adapting so they could get more vitamin D from the sun in the cloudy region they were born into.

We all have African genetic traits in our DNA.  Some of us just changed more to fit our less sunny environments, our more forested environment, etc.

So, come on, people, now, smile on your brother, everybody get together and love one another right now....  :)

Fear and Living in Los Divine

Do you wish to be overwhelmed by something coming at you, or by something coming from you?

I've been thinking a LOT lately on why people act certain ways and I've pretty much boiled it down to one thing - Fear.

Many people are just plain Scared - terrified even - of so many things.  Somebody is going to steal something from them - somebody is going to try to beat them up - somebody is going to cut them off in traffic - somebody is going to have a belief that doesn't match theirs (so theirs might not be right?) - even extra terrifying (apparently) is if its someone who doesn't look or talk or dress like them.

For many people, their fear drives them to become exactly what they are most afraid of.  Often in an "I'll do it to them before they do it to me" reaction.  Or in the spirit of confronting what you fear - drive fast and aggressive to confront the fear of being cut off in traffic, Carry guns all the time to confront the fear of being robbed or shot, etc.

In essence, fearful people create the environment they fear the most.

Its not like I've stumbled upon something new or anything :

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration."  litany against fear, the Bene Gesserit, Dune, Frank Herbert

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” - Yoda (Star Wars)

"the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes" FDR, 1st Inaugural Address

“Fear is not in the habit of speaking truth.” Publius Cornelius Tacitus

“Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear.” Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), English logician and philosopher

“No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.” Edmund Burke

“We tell lies when we are afraid… afraid of what we don’t know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But every time we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger.” Williams Tad

Below is a link to a great book to read or audio book to listen to if you prefer.  One reviewer I read said, "this book truly frees one's soul to live life without fear."

"NDW: Yes, but it just all sounds so overwhelming.

God: You are being overwhelmed now. It's just a question of what you choose to be overwhelmed by: present conditions, which could destroy your lives, or magnificent ideas that could re-create them.

NDW: Well, when you put it that way...

God: That is the only way to put it, because that is the way it is. Here is the question before all of humanity right now. BY WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE TO BE OVERWHELMED? Do you wish to be overwhelmed by something coming at you, or by something coming from you? You are right, this does all "sound overwhelming." It is supposed to be overwhelming. With this force -- the force of your ideas, the power of new beliefs -- you can overwhelm all the negativity in the world."

There are still things that I fear, but I am working on those.  One of the big ones is being humiliated (thanks, jerks in school).  I don't say things or do things a lot because of that fear and I hope to change that soon.

Liberals don't Cower

Some moron from Arkansas tweeted :

I wonder how many Boston liberals spent the night cowering in their homes wishing they had an AR-15 with a hi-capacity magazine?

Well, Nate, let me tell you this - Liberals don't cower.  While Conservatives are cowards, afraid of change, progress, losing anything, trying anything and what everyone else - especially those who don't look like them - might do, Liberals are not that way.

Conservatives are like the townsfolk being terrorized by the outlaws in old western movies - their first instinct is to go along with it and hope the outlaws' wrath doesn't turn on them.  They will attack anyone who tries to stand up to the outlaws and proudly tell the outlaw leader that they were helpful.  They see the "Hero" of the movie as someone 'interfering' in the way things are - sure, they might be trying to improve things, but they could make things worse, so its best to just leave things the way they are.
(and there is science to back that up!)

Liberals are the explorers, the adventurers, inventors and those who challenge the status quo.  Liberals don't (usually) quake in fear of "what if" - they wonder and look forward to "what if."

Another thing that strikes me about the dufus's tweet is why do you 'need' an AR-15 with high capacity magazine 'just in case?'  If someone is threatening your home, a handgun works a lot better and doesn't cause as much damage to your home as your scared-outta-your-mind blasting around with an AR would.  Some stealth and a butcher knife work just fine - or a baseball bat or kukri.  Liberals don't need a gun to make them feel powerful.  ( a little Tequila works wonders... lol )

Heck, Conservatives won't even stand up and do anything to protect the country's children from random nutjobs toting their precious machine guns because they are too scared of what might happen - of changing anything at all, even if it is to improve things.

No matter how big they talk, conservatives are mostly cowards and cowards can't be trusted.

My Sugru Project

Or
How to trigger traffic lights on your motorcycle
Many traffic lights now have vehicle sensors in the turn lane or even in all lanes that will only change a light if there is a vehicle there.  These sensors work by detecting the amount of metal over them.  Motorcycles often don't meet the metal requirements.

This will not work on a traffic light that doesn't have a sensor!  It doesn't force all lights to change immediately. The only thing it does is increase the chances that the sensor will detect your motorcycle!

The solution is magnets.  There are some commercial items available that you can purchase to solve the issue.  However, if you have access to an old hard drive and some sugru - then you can make it yourself!

On the left is a sugru packet and a hard drive magnet.  Actually, its two hard drive magnets - the paper towel is doubled over and keeping them separated.  There are plenty of places that will show you how to get the magnets out of the hard drive, so I won't cover that here.  Fair warning - the hard drive will be destroyed. For this project, I used two sugru packets and two hard drive magnets.

On the right is the magnet wrapped in sugru.  I left a bit of the magnet exposed, but wrapped a good, protective lip around the edges.  From here, you just stick the sugru to the bottom of the front forks.  Make sure that it will not interfere with anything and won't have to be removed for any maintenance or tire changes. I wrapped the sugru up over the fork edge because I wanted it showing and wanted more secure attachment.  I'm sure it could be hidden from sight if you wanted.

About three hours after applying this to both forks, I rode over some rough streets and then on the interstate and on home on bumpy roads - about 22 miles in all.  It is still attached.  I haven't had the opportunity to test the effectiveness at troublesome lights yet, but will do as soon as possible and add an update here.

It is not the Government taking your money!

The top 10% of income takers - because you can't earn that kind of money - are walking away with 149% of all gains in income.  But, one hundred forty nine percent is more than the whole, you say?  Yes, it is.  Some of that is because the income for the bottom 90% fell, dropped, was stolen by the top 10%.

You can admire "Job Creators" or "The Wealthy" all you want, but the top 10% are not either.  They are the Uber Rich Robber Barons of modern times.  They create wealth for themselves at the expense of others - only now it is on a National or even Global scale.

The fact is that the tax burden is the lowest it has been in a very long time.  We are all paying less taxes than in 1979.  So why are people complaining about high taxes - because taxes are lower than they have been in decades?

Republicans want to destroy the government.  They want to turn control of the United States of America over to the corporations and the uber-wealthy robber barons.  What else can be happening?

In looking for supporting documentation, I found a Politifact article.

Conservatives note that even though the rates are dropping, upper-income Americans still account for the lion’s share of the nation’s income tax revenue. "So while it is true that tax rates … are significantly lower than they were 30 years ago, the rich are paying a lot more of the overall tax burden," says Cato Institute economist Dan Mitchell. Federal figures show that the top 5 percent of taxpayers accounted for more than half of the income tax dollars paid.

Well, Duh-hu, Danny boy!  The rich are taking more than the lion's share of income, they SHOULD be paying the lion's share of taxes, Genius!  The top's income is rising and the middle and lower's debt is rising.  The greed of "The Rich" and the sycophants that worship them are destroying the country!

On a side note - a bone jarring funny :

Apparently, replacing cartilage fixes scanning or printing problems!

Mississippi Hailstorm Relief - Donate

March 18th, 2013 at around 4:00 pm, my part of Mississippi - Jackson, Pearl, Clinton, Brandon - got hit with a hailstorm.  I captured some video at my house:

I say in the video that I've never seen anything like this - and its true.  I've also seen :

“It sounded like the world was coming to an end,” she said. “I’m 55 years old and I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”

The noise was intense.  We are not used to and couldn't anticipate this kind of damage from hail!

I am taking donations to help with recovery.  My wife's car needs a new windshield and we're going to have insurance deductibles.  We, like many in Mississippi, are barely scraping by as it is, so this will be a huge financial blow even with our insurance.

Anything over what we absolutely need will be used to help those who have fallen through the cracks of the system - those without insurance or not enough insurance or the right kind of coverage.  I'll try to help those who can't get help elsewhere and I won't make people fill out paperwork or jump through hoops.  I will post the story of anyone we help here.

The help may be a little money for rent after they get a new windshield or buy a little food or help cover the deductible on their insurance, etc.  Nothing will be used for anything other than Hail Damage Relief - nobody will get a salary or compensation, etc. like the big 'charities' that will be asking for donations.

At some point very soon, I am going to put up a sturdy cover over our concrete parking pad, but donations from this will not be used for that, its not a need.  Well, not an emergency need anyway. That will mostly be the Home Depot credit card, unfortunately.  Trying to dig out of credit card debt, but keep getting dragged back in.