Welcome Home to Wilmington's Own Senior Airman Curt Bennett

Senior Airman Curt Bennett came home today. He has been an electrician in the Air Force for six years, and achieved an Associates Degree in Mechanical/Electrical Technology. For the past few days he has been hightailing it across the country from Nellis AFB, NV with his wife, young son and some kind of dog. I never did see the dog.

His mother asked Warriors Watch for a special homecoming. I won't go through all the shenanigans it took to make this a surprise, but suffice it to say we finally got everyone mustered at Smaltz Harley Davidson out by Exton, PA this afternoon.

It was just like the Army. Hurry up and wait. Curt's wife was in on the surprise, and she was in telephone contact with Curt's mother. The whole time, we were just hanging at Smaltz's.

Here is Chainsaw, Lutz, and Wolfman gabbin' (as usual). Lutz is the founder of Warriors Watch.

Chainsaw and Ducttape:

I liked this 1948 Panhead. There is just something about it:

Some guys are man enough to wear pink, LOL.

Curt and family finally arrived. From right to left it is Curt, his wife, Curt's Mom, and Curt's son. Sorry I don't know everybody's name:

Group shot before we left Smaltz's:

We had a police escort through PA, but lost it once we hit DE. We went Route 100 to 202. There's alot of crazy drivers out there. The Bennett family lives right around the corner from us (little did we know). The neighborhood was out in force, waving flags and cheering the Delaware native as he finally got home:

I loved this lady ! She wanted her picture next to a motorcycle, and found one to match her outfit. I believe it was Mr. Bennett who kept saying, "Back in the day, honey. Back in the day." She was bad to the bone:

Getting ready to go, the old Curmudgeon got her pic taken with Lutz:

Hey, welcome home, Curt. Your family, your neighborhood, your State and your country are very proud of you. And thanks for letting a bunch of knarly old biker vets escort you home.

Random Slices of Life for the Weekend

Him: According to the Mayan calendar, the world is going to end on 12/21/2012.
Me: You mean I cleaned the bathroom for nothing?

Cool quote; can you guess who said it? (the answer is in the comments): “Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.”

Mystery of life: Why do the top of the refrigerator and the back of the toilet get so dirty? Nothing ever happens there, so why the grime? It makes no sense.

Thought: I think my niece and nephew are having second thoughts about inviting me to be their “friend” on Facebook, LOL.

Another thought: Facebook is overrated. I wanted to keep up with the times, but it is pretty useless except for an occasional amusement.

Last thought on Facebook: I don’t even know who some of my “friends” are.

Heh. Did a Tom Sawyer on the old man. I started to mop the kitchen floor when he pointed out that there is a better way. “Oh, there is? So show me”. Teehee.

I’m trying to simplify my life and found this site. Being an anal-retentive control freak might be good in the business world, but you gotta let it go at home. Need to work on trying to be more patient. I’m starting to get on my own nerves.

Everything can be cleaned with baking soda and vinegar in various combinations.

Some people need to stop being douche bags about Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. Read the actual circumstances and the opinion. I actually think Sonia Sotomayor might be a good fit. But what do I know…I’m a registered Republican. Just watch that 2nd Amendment, Ms. Sotomayor. Bone up on the Constitution a bit. I could give a shit about your empathy. The law is the law.

Luckily, I probably will not be alive to see the long-term economic and social repercussions of the current administration. I pity the next generations.

Pickled eggs are the best. I make them just like my Mom did, and think of her whenever I take a big purply bite. Thanks, Mom !

My nephew graduated from highschool and will be a Clemson Tiger in the fall. I still think of him as a little kid and always want to pinch his cheeks whenever I see him. His mother tells him he has to let me do that, because “that’s what aunts are for”. I think that should be in the Constitution or something.

I think my Dad is the Greatest Person in the Entire World. Not sure how I got so lucky. All I can do, even at the age of 55, is to try to be the person my Dad would want me to be. But shoot, he accepts all five of us no matter what (well, almost no matter what). We all have different politics, different circumstances, and different gigs. He just loves us. That is enough.

That is all.

Congressional Candidate Scott Spencer Proposes POW/MIA National Trailway System

On Thursday, May 28th at 11:30 AM, Congressional candidate Scott Spencer will be holding a press conference to announce his proposal for a POW/MIA National Trailway System.

The press conference will be at the foot of the South Market Street Bridge in Wilmington (where the Riverwalk begins). The rain location is the 2nd floor of the Riverfront Market.

From the inbox:

Support Construction of the POW/MIA National Trailway System

“So They Will Not Be Forgotten”

- National network of trailways built on abandoned rail lines for biking, hiking, running and walking

- Each mile, half-mile or quarter-mile named in remembrance of a POW/MIA/KIA

- Links the country with a national trailway system that honors the ultimate sacrifice Americans made for freedom

- Creates an important recreational asset, that is free of auto traffic, to help improve the health of Americans coast-to-coast.

Join the petition drive at http://www.spencerforthepeople.com/ to build the first segment of the POW/MIA National Trailway System from Wilmington's Riverfront to New Castle's Battery Park via the abandoned railroad line that carried many troop trains during World War I and World War II.

“Build It To Remember Them Always”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It sounds like an interesting project; I’d like to find out more about it.

To find out more about Scott Spencer and his ideas for Delaware, visit his website.

Yes, Delaware, there is an alternative to the political aristocracy. As a responsible voter, you owe it to yourself to see what Mr. Spencer has to say. He’s not a member of the political elite, rather he is a smart, enthusiastic and dedicated citizen who is worth listening to.

A Reminder to RTFA

LiThe Pew Hispanic Center recently issued a report, Through Boom and Bust: Minorities, Immigrants and Home Ownership which looks at the housing market over the last fifteen years and the relative rates of home ownship for the white, black, asian and hispanic populations.

While the report itself is worth your scrutiny, what is even more interesting is how the same report was headlined in different media outlets.

New York Times headline: Homeownership Losses Are Greatest Among Minorities, Report Finds

Wall Street Journal headline: Housing Boom Aided Minorities

Heh.

Most will probably read only the headline, and in most cases seek to validate their own opinion rather than take a measured and unbiased look at the report itself. So, be reminded that in all cases the reader should beware and:

RTFA (definition #1).

In this case, read both articles, then read the report itself. Form your own opinion.

h/t IMAO

Frank Buckles: Last Survivor of World War I

Yes I Will Yes I Said Yes

I find the (for lack of a better description) right-and-left debate over sex education to be quite amusing.

The discussion in its simplest terms comes down to education versus abstinence.

Oh, how they roil in what seems to be a choice between religious guidance and high-brow paternalism. Their charts, their statistics, their religion...all presented quite intelligently and matter-of-factly.

On the education side, Lisa Miller of Newsweek notes that there are those who:

“…..believe that comprehensive sex education is the best way to assure that young girls don’t unexpectedly find themselves at the abortion clinic.”

HotAir poster Laura believes in the abstinence mantra:

“Don’t do this; it’s not time in your life yet for this.”

Both sides have merit, and it is not hard to believe that each side would acknowledge that a bit of both messages are not totally unreasonable.

What I find amusing is the fervor of the so-called debate…the either/or. Even at my advanced age, I remember my sex education classes at Concord High School. It was probably a mixture of mechanics along with a little bit of “you’ll be sorry”.

But there is one thing that neither sex education nor the abstinence indoctrination can never do. No matter how wise we want our tweens and teens to be, no matter how many films and presentations we show them, no matter how many times we tell them what can happen if they find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy….how their lives will be ruined, their youth stolen from them…..

No matter what we say or do, no matter how many government programs are dedicated to preventing teen pregnancy, no matter how good our parenting skills, there is something even more powerful than the government and parenting.

I am sorry, Big Brother, and I am sorry Mr. And Mrs. Cleaver. There is something way more powerful than either of you put together. It does not matter that your daughter is an A-student, on the varsity hockey team, and has what you consider to be acceptable friends.

It does not matter at all, because when she is steaming up the back seat of a Chevy with the bass player all that goes out of the window.

Anecdotally speaking, of course.

And, at that moment, the pictures of the human reproductive system are the last thing on her mind. She might remember something about condoms…somewhere….somewhere that is in the back of her mind but the windows are steaming and the moment is right and it can’t happen to me and then OMG and then maybe a moment of hesitation and doubt and thinking about what Mom told her and then but the smell is so sweet and everything is all warm and she knows it is wrong but there it is….there it is, and then it happens so fast and she knows it is wrong somehow but not sure exactly why because it seems so right.

And just like Scarlett O’Hara, she knows that tomorrow will be another day.

HotAir contribution Laura goes on to say:

“We object to the theory that teenagers are mindless bags of hormones who can’t be expected to control themselves.”

But oh my dear, of course they are mindless. That is what being a teenager is all about.

The most sophisticated of educations and the most nurturing and enlightened parents are helpless to stop it. Both sides of the faux debate are off base if they are exclusive in their prescription.

Maybe they are a little too old to remember. The intellectualization of sex is a lost cause. It cannot be done. And for those who may be beyond their teenage years, one only has to harken to the words of the middle-aged Molly Bloom to remind us that we are helpless against it:

“……my God after that long kiss I near lost my breath yes he said I was a flower of the mountains yes so we are flowers all a womans body yes that was one true thing he said in his life and the sun shines for you today yes...

...I was a Flower of the mountains yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him and yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will yes.”

I tend to think that it is the parenting that is the most influential, but even that is helpless against the moment.

The true test of parenting, and the true test of society is what happens afterwards.

Gird Your Loins ! There's a Libertarian in the SCCOR !

Delaware Way first posted on Jud Bennett's visit with the Sussex County Community Organized Regiment (SCCOR) on May 7th.

Steven Newton at Delaware Libertarian followed up on Nancy's post, pretty much bashing those who make uninformed assumptions about this group:

"....stop pretending that you have even the slightest evidence that these people are anything except what they have presented themselves as."

Along with Mr. Bennett, the May meeting was attended by Rep. John Atkins, Sen. Colin Bonini and others. Reporter Ron MacArthur of Cape Gazette filed his account of the meeting yesterday.

You really should read the whole thing. Some may be amused at their interaction with Representative Atkins ("you are loved and forgiven", heh).

But what jumped out at me was a quote by Angel Clark, who coordinates public relations for the group:

"Clark said the organization is open to people of all political persuations. Many members are Republicans, but she is a Democrat and her boyfriend is a Libertarian."

What? A Democrat and one of those pesky Libertarians in SCCOR?

Who knew?

Read the Cape Gazette article for more insight. I'm lovin' it.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs

A few of the national blogs have made note of the signs appearing at construction projects noting their ARRA connection. Doug Powers quips that "the only work that has been created by the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” has been jobs putting up “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” signs."

My organization will be administering approximately $7 million in ARRA funds under the Department of Labor (DOL), and I recalled that one of the TEGLs (Training and Employment Guidance Letter) stated something to the effect that all participants should be informed that the services they are receiving are funded by ARRA, and that correspondence with the participant should also include this notation.

I wondered if there was the same such stipulation for Department of Transportation (DOT)? It took a bit of digging, but I discovered that there is practically a whole ARRA signage cult out there !

A page of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) webiste dedicated to ARRA questions is devoted to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Sign Guidance:

"On March 3, 2009 President Obama made the commitment that all projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will bear a recovery emblem to make it easier for Americans to see which projects are funded by the ARRA. To meet this commitment, FHWA strongly encourages agencies to use the economic recovery signs on all projects funded by the ARRA."

The design is important. No sense having people going willy-nilly with this stuff:

"All economic recovery sign design layout and color should be similar to the sign design attached with this guidance."

To make sure everyone conforms, there is a 234 KB PDF with sign layout details, and a 3600 KB zip file with individual sign components and design detail.

I imagine there will be whole departments in the various state agencies across the country dedicated to proper sign design, construction, and placement.

Too bad the market for this skill isn't booming. After the ARRA gig, it might not be the most outstanding thing to put on a resume....an afterthought, at best. But for at least a couple of months the government sign nazis will be a little ticker on that "jobs created or saved" mantra that they are trying to sell.

Heh. Good luck in the real world.

Jeff Flake's Folly? Or Not?

Congress Matters reports on the slow but steady progress of Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake’s attempts to introduce a privileged resolution which would call for investigations into the relationship between Congressional earmarks and appropriations, specifically in response to allegations of a pay-to-play relationship between Rep. John Murtha and the now defunct lobbying firm PMA Group.

A question of privilege, under House Rule IX, is one which:

….affect(s) the rights of the House collectively, its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings; and second, those affecting the rights, reputation, and conduct of Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner, individually, in their representative capacity only.

Some examples of privileged resolutions in the past include then-Representative now-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 2005 attempt to call for an investigation into abuses related to the Iraq War, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s resolution to impeach Dick Cheney in 2007.

Rep. Flake has introduced the resolution a total of eight times, and as Congress Matters notes, with each introduction he gains additional Democratic votes. The first resolution, H. Res. 189, introduced on 2/25/2009 had 17 Democratic votes not to table. The latest iteration of the resolution, H. Res. 425, had 29 Democratic votes not to table. In looking at the progression of the resolutions, one sees that they have evolved from the general to the very specific: whereas the initial resolution was a request for an investigation into “the relationship between earmark requests already made by members and the source and timing of past campaign contributions”, the latest version focuses specifically on the “raided firm” (PMA Group) and the relationship between that firm’s campaign contributions and subsequent earmarks.

Flake wisely narrowed the resolution’s scope in order to garner more support.

He appears to be making progress through a sheer doggedness of determination, and not as we might hope a sense of propriety in Congress. I cannot make any judgments on the alleged behavior of Murtha and others, but it seems to be there is enough evidence there to warrant an inquiry.

Oh, some will say, wasn’t there enough evidence for privileged resolutions in previous administrations? Perhaps there was, however no one appeared to have the same sense of purpose that Jeff Flake has. Even a site as liberal as Congress Matters offers a somewhat begrudging respect of Flake’s efforts:

"That's exactly what he's been after with his tactics of repeated and unrelenting pressure on the issue. And it's exactly the kind of momentum I expected the tactic to be able to produce. Which is kind of annoying, since this was precisely the tactic I thought might be used by Democratic advocates of investigations into the various abuses of the Bush "administration," but to no avail."

My Own Personal (Totally Unintended) Encounter With Cheyney's Not-So-Secret Bunker

A few years ago, Chainsaw, Cowpie and myself did a stint at Gettysburg Bike Week. It's a great time, with plenty of history and lots of good riding.

After doing the Battleground and getting the appropriate pictures of giving the finger to all the Yankee state monuments, we decided to get away from the madding crowd and go exploring the area: Cowpie on his maroon 1999 Road King, me riding pillion behind Chainsaw on our black Geezer Glide. We headed out Route 30, and saw Route 16 which looked kind of nice. One of us, I forget who, espied an interesting, windy-looking road that went up a small mountain. In search of the perfect view, we decided to take a look.

There were some nice houses as we trekked ever slightly upward. The road winded quite a bit, so it was hard to see what was around the bend.

We reached the top with almost a screech. A dead stop. We had no way of knowing at the time, but we had stumbled upon the entrance to Site R:

"The unmarked back entrance is a twisting lane off Harbaugh Valley Road. To the unknowing, the chain-link fence with a double-wide coil of razor wire might be a tip-off, as would the guardhouse and a big red "warning" sign."

Our levity immediately ceased. This was one of the scariest things any of us had any seen. If you never wore a tinfoil hat before, now was the time to be getting one and getting it fitted properly. The signs all said that this was not a place we wanted to be. The entrance was notable in that it had those tire-tread-tearing things that you find in parking lots for people trying to go the wrong way. Only these were five feet tall. Enough to stop a tank, I guess.

The conversation between the three of us was in retrospect comical. I'm sure it's on tape somewhere ! With the many expletives deleted it went something like this.

Me: Dudes, let's haul ass out of here.

Chainsaw: Do you have the camera? Let's get a picture !

Cowpie. Dude ! We're probably on friggin' camera !

Me: U-Turn. Now. I'm not turning into an X-File episode. Remember that one where Scully was trapped in all that gooey stuff in some bunker? They probably filmed it here.

Chainsaw and Cowpie: I hear that ! We're outta here !

We scurried back down the mountain, wondering if we were being followed. Two long-haired, beareded, tattoed bikers with the rebel flag flying off the back of their bikes, and one middle-aged woman hauled ass outta there sooner than you could say "The truth is out there".

Yes, Site R exists, and we just happened to run across it in our wonderful ignorance.

There are some things I just don't want to know.

A Very Small Notation for an Extraordinary Man

Fox News marked the passing of Newt Heisley, the designer of the POW/MIA flag. He was 88 years old. It seemed almost as an afterthought, and did not do credit to this man's life.

I searched further, and found this on a website called Angelfire:

"Newt Heisley was a pilot during World War II, a dangerous role that accounts for many war-time POWs and MIAs. Years after the war he had come to New York looking for work. "It took me four days to find a bad job at low pay," he later said of his introduction to "Big Apple" advertising agencies. But, by working hard, by 1971 he had gradually moved upward in the industry, eventually working for an agency with many national accounts.

As a veteran, the call for a flag designed to raise awareness of our Nation's POW/MIAs was a personal challenge. It was even more challenging when he considered that his oldest son Jeffrey was, during these Vietnam War years, training for combat with the United States Marines at Quantico, Virginia. As he pondered this new challenge a series of events set in motion the ideas that would create a flag unlike anything since the days of Betsy Ross. First, Jeffery became very ill while training for combat. The illness, diagnosed as hepatitis, ravaged his body emaciating his face and structure. When he returned home, medically discharged and unable to continue further, his father looked in horror at what had once been a strong, young man. Then, as Newt Heisley looked closer at his son's gaunt features, he began to imagine what life must be like for those behind barbed wire fences on foreign shores. Slowly he began to sketch the profile of his son, working in pencil to create a black and white silhouette, as the new flag's design was created in his mind. Barbed wire, a tower, and most prominently the visage of a gaunt young man became the initial proposal.

Newt Heisley's black and white pencil sketch was one of several designs considered for the new POW/MIA flag. Newt planned, should his design be accepted, to add color at a later date...perhaps a deep purple and white. "In the advertising industry, you do everything in black and white first, then add the color," he says. Mr. Heisley's proposal for the new flag was unique. Rarely does a flag prominently display the likeness of a person. None-the-less, it was the design featuring the gaunt silhouette of his son Jeffrey that was accepted and, before Mr. Heisly could return to refine his proposal and add the colors he had planned, the black and white flags were already being printed in quantity by Annon & Company. (Though the POW/MIA flag has been produced in other colors, often in red and white, the black and white design became the most commonly used version.)

The design for the MIA/POW flag was never copyrighted. It became a flag that belongs to everyone, a design that hauntingly reminds us of those we dare not ever forget. Behind the black and white silhouette is a face we can't see...the face of a husband, a father, or a son who has paid with their freedom, for our freedom.

Beneath the image are the words.... You Are Not Forgotten.

The website also gives some interesting additional insight into Newt Heisley, the man in his own words.

Rest in Peace, Sir. Your watch here is over.

Biker's Prayer

Lord, please watch over us. We know we're not perfect. Oh, my goodness how we love to ride in Your creation:

This I Believe With All My Heart

Delaware Libertarian's team of bloggers is so prolific, it must be checked more than once a day. You never know what you might miss. Today, in a post titled Books you obviously should not be reading, Steven mentioned the autho Robert Heinlein.

This name nagged at me. Robert Heinlein.....Robert Heinlein.....why was that ringing a bell with me? I know I have never read any of his work, but there was something....I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Then, you know how those flashes of insight come upon you at the most unusual times and for no apparent reason....I remembered. A few years ago, probably running on about five now, I came across a short essay by Robert Heinlein titled "This I Believe". I remember that at the time I came across it, it was something that was sorely needed for my soul. It lifted me up. It gave me hope.

It also happens to be much needed right now. As we are bombarded with bad and disturbing news from all fronts, and as we see the virtual melting of the very foundation of our society, maybe these words will help you through whatever angst you may be going through at the moment.

These words, far more eloquent than I could ever even attempt to write, pretty much sum up what I believe as well. He wrote them in 1952. I pray to God that we can be this country again:

"I am not going to talk about religious beliefs, but about matters so obvious that it has gone out of style to mention them."

"I believe in my neighbors."

"I know their faults and I know that their virtues far outweigh their faults. Take Father Michael down our road a piece --I'm not of his creed, but I know the goodness and charity and lovingkindness that shine in his daily actions. I believe in Father Mike; if I'm in trouble, I'll go to him. My next-door neighbor is a veterinary doctor. Doc will get out of bed after a hard day to help a stray cat. No fee -- no prospect of a fee. I believe in Doc."

"I believe in my townspeople. You can knock on any door in our town say, 'I'm hungry,' and you will be fed. Our town is no exception; I've found the same ready charity everywhere. For the one who says, 'To heck with you -- I got mine,' there are a hundred, a thousand, who will say, 'Sure, pal, sit down.'

"I know that, despite all warnings against hitchhikers, I can step to the highway, thumb for a ride and in a few minutes a car or a truck will stop and someone will say, 'Climb in, Mac. How how far you going?'

"I believe in my fellow citizens. Our headlines are splashed with crime, yet for every criminal there are 10,000 honest decent kindly men. If it were not so, no child would live to grow up, business could not go on from day to day. Decency is not news; it is buried in the obituaries --but it is a force stronger than crime."

"I believe in the patient gallantry of nurses...in the tedious sacrifices of teachers. I believe in the unseen and unending fight against desperate odds that goes on quietly in almost every home in the land."

"I believe in the honest craft of workmen. Take a look around you. There never were enough bosses to check up on all that work. From Independence Hall to the Grand Coulee Dam, these things were built level and square by craftsmen who were honest in their bones."

"I believe that almost all politicians are honest. For every bribed alderman there are hundreds of politicians, low paid or not paid at all, doing their level best without thanks or glory to make our system work. If this were not true, we would never have gotten past the thirteen colonies."

"I believe in Rodger Young. You and I are free today because of endless unnamed heroes from Valley Forge to the Yalu River."

"I believe in -- I am proud to belong to -- the United States. Despite shortcomings, from lynchings to bad faith in high places, our nation has had the most decent and kindly internal practices and foreign policies to be found anywhere in history."

"And finally, I believe in my whole race. Yellow, white, black, red, brown --in the honesty, courage, intelligence, durability....and goodness.....of the overwhelming majority of my brothers and sisters everywhere on this planet. I am proud to be a human being. I believe that we have come this far by the skin of our teeth, that we always make it just by the skin of our teeth --but that we will always make it....survive....endure. I believe that this hairless embryo with the aching, oversize brain case and the opposable thumb, this animal barely up from the apes, will endure --will endure longer than his home planet, will spread out to the other planets, to the stars, and beyond, carrying with him his honesty, his insatiable curiosity, his unlimited courage --and his noble essential decency."

"This I believe with all my heart."

Ron Paul Says: Stop "Helping"

This is change?

While much of the country’s attention is on other issues, a serious situation is developing in Pakistan that threatens to plunge us into another fruitless and bloody war. It is very frustrating to see that many who were so vehemently against the wars of the last administration have suddenly lost interest in foreign policy simply because we were promised change.

Those still paying attention know that nothing could be further from the truth. Very little has changed, except perhaps rhetoric, but what does that matter when the bombing missions are only getting deadlier? Rather than drawing down violent military interventions into the affairs of other countries, the new administration is escalating the foreign policy of the previous administration.

Be sure to read the whole thing.

Oh My, How the Reactions Differ !

Barack Obama, Presidential candidate, Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency, August 16, 2008:

“I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman.”

Carrie Prejean, candidate, Miss USA Pageant, April 19, 2009:

"I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman ... that's how I was raised."

Kaufman is Notable

Allan Loudell posted recently that Mike Castle didn't make the list of the top 10 bipartisan Republicans (although he got a "mention"). I was surprised at that.

But no fear, Delaware ! On the other side of the aisle, we have our own Senator Kaufman who makes it to the top 50 ! The "50 Richest Members of Congress" list, that is:

According to the Delaware lawmaker’s financial disclosure forms, Kaufman and his wife, Lynne, have an estimated net worth of about $7.97 million

My parents steered me wrong somewhere. I should have been a political operative

Too late now.

Simple Gifts

Delmar Dustpan posted a lovely piece last week that brought back alot of memories. It was all about the performance of the Delmar Middle School Choruses on April 29th. What a lovely time that must have been !

I was quite active in the school chorus as a t'ween, and even went to "music camp", though for the life of me I can't remember where it was. Believe it or not, I was also in a barbershop quartet for a time (LOL).

One song I remember oh these many years later was a Shaker hymn called "Simple Gifts". I hadn't heard it in quite a long time, but could still hear it in my soul somewhere. Just like the title, the words are very simple as well, and they warm this old heart:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come out right

I found a video of the song performed by the Warrensburg-Latham Concert Choir. I was probably about the same age as these young men and women the last time I sang this song. I sure hope we sounded just as good: (2:53)

Thanks for sparking that memory, Howard.

On Slippery Slopes and Unintended Consequences

There were apparently unrelated items in the News Journal today which by themselves probably rate less than a passing glance, but which taken together forebode the dangerous path we are taking as a nation.

In Business Briefs there is an item titled Fed says more banks tighten home loans:

The Federal Reserve says a larger share of banks made it more difficult for people to obtain home mortgages over the last three months. The Fed's new quarterly survey finds about 50 percent of U.S. banks tightened their lending standards on prime mortgages, up from about 45 percent in the survey issued in early February. Meanwhile, 65 percent of banks say they tightened standards on nontraditional mortgages, such as adjustable-rate loans with multiple payment options. That's up from 50 percent in the last survey

This isn’t conjecture or extrapolation if what would happen or could happen. This is a fact. It I becoming more and more difficult for people with average credit ratings to get a mortgage.

Why? Because there is always the threat that in the event of a potential default, the government will get involved after the fact to renegotiate the terms, which means the banks will end up losing money. It is only common sense to make the loans harder to get in the first place.

Even though the “cramdown amendement” to a separate housing bill failed to pass last week, there is always the chance that it could be revived. Better safe now than sorry later, the banks say.

Another item in the business section today is about the Catch-22 in recent Credit Card Holders’ Bill of Rights legislation. Although the wording of the legislation may sound reasonable (especially to those who cannot or will not read the fine print in their credit card statements), it more than certainly will have two effects: higher costs due to the need to reinstitute annual fees and reducing grace periods, and loss of Delaware banking jobs due to lower bank profits.

As one banking policy expert noted:

"If you can't charge it to the borrowers that are causing that risk, you've got to spread it around," Monahan said.

So, while a “bill of rights” and “homebuyers' rights” sound all feel-goody, there is still the fact that there are real risks that must be borne by some entity. In both of these cases, the entities are the banks.

I am not an apologist for banks and admit that there have been abuses in some cases, but one must admit that in order to continue as viable concerns and to continue to provide the services we depend on, they must be able to calculate and determine their own risk assessments and their own risk tolerance. There is no sense in punishing an entire industry for the profligacy of a few.

Once the government starts determining those assessments and those tolerances, we are starting down that slippery slope.

But that is what we are doing, and it is that very slope that we are starting to descend.

It will not arrive with a bang or with much bluster, but when your children cannot get a mortgage, and when you happen to be late on a credit card payment just once, well, that's when it will kick in and you will know what havoc has been wrought.

Cash-Strapped D.C. Charging People for Parking in Their Own Driveway

Hey, they gotta make money somehow:

Beverly Anderson is mad as hell. She just started to get tickets for parking in her own driveway.

That's right. The District of Columbia is ticketing people who park their cars in their own driveways.

"This is clearly an attempt by the city to extort money out of property owners," Anderson tells WTOP.

It seems that there is an obscure law on the books that says:

"Any area between the property line and the building restriction line shall be considered as private property set aside and treated as public space under the care and maintenance of the property owner."

So, you not only don't own your own driveway, you don't even own the land leading up to the sidewalk. Of course, you have to maintain it.

Beverly Anderson was told that as an alternative, she could lease the property from the District of Columbia. Heh.

Constitutents are in a tither, and the politicos are trying to make sense of it all.

The times, they are a' changin'. And not for the better.

h/t The Agitator

Do People Who Hang Out in Bars Have Inadvisable Sex? Let's Spend $400,000 To Find Out !

Sounds like a good use of taxpayers' money, doesn't it?

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding a study that seeks to discover a link between drinking and having sex among homosexuals in Argentina.

The study will send researchers to six bars in Buenos Aires to interview both patrons and proprietors in an effort to discover what it is about those bars that may encourage the risky behavior.

The study began on Sept. 30, 2008, and runs through Aug. 31, 2010. It already has cost taxpayers $198,776. By the time the project ends, it will have cost $403,902, according to NIH.

Now, I'm certainly not talking from personal experience, mind you. Oh, hell YES I AM ! Let's just say that "back in the day" there were times......and anybody who went to The Buggy Tavern or The Stone Balloon can tell you: you went, you partied, and you hopefully got laid.

It doesn't matter if you are gay or straight. The dynamics are the same. In that, there we no one who can say we are note definitely equal ! Drinking leads to bad choices. They may be fun choices, but probably not in your best interests in the end.

The study wants to "understand the various factors that contribute to the creation of a high-risk sexual space." Dudes ! C'mon !

Who are these "interviewers" that are going to be hanging out in gay bars in Argentina? What kind of job description is that? If I was a patron and was being asked these inane questions I would tell the person to take a hike or worse. They'll be lucky if they don't get pummelled by a bunch of folk who don't appreciate a buzz-kill.

I guess that the National Institute of Health has decided that since all of the other problems of the world have been essentially solved, they can afford to drop almost half a mill to hang out in South American bars.

Puh-leeze. Does the insanity never end?

News Release: COPS Announces Inaugural Memorial Motorcycle Ride

April 30th, 2009

Ride to benefit survivors of Delaware officers killed in line of duty.

Seaford/New Castle, - Thirty-three officers have been killed in the line of duty in Delaware. On May 9th, the local chapter of an organization which offers both emotional and financial support to surviving family members of these brave individuals is holding a Memorial Motorcycle Ride to support construction of a memorial in their honor.

The Delaware chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) will hold their Inaugural Memorial Motorcycle Ride on Saturday May 9th. Registration begins at 9 a.m. in two locations, the Seaford Harley-Davidson and the Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson in New Castle. The ride will be police escorted to provide safety for all involved. Both groups will leave at 10 a.m. and ride to the Little Creek Fire Hall where they will join up and ride as one large procession to Legislative Hall. There the riders will have a chance to rest and eat, before a short ceremony which will include the reading of the names of the fallen officers.

Registration is $25.00 and the proceeds will go to support the local COPS chapter as well as the construction of a Fallen Police Officer’s Memorial on Legislative Mall. COPS is a national non profit organization aimed at helping the families of fallen officers. There are chapters nationwide, including one in Delaware, serving over 15,000 families. Members, who don’t pay dues, receive emotional and financial support when a loved one is killed in the line of duty. The remainder of the ride’s proceeds will benefit the local chapter and help pay for counseling for victim’s families, scholarships, attendance at retreats and Healing Seminars as well as transportation to National Police Memorial Week. This year, National Police Memorial Week begins May 10th, the day after the ride. This is the 25th anniversary of the national COPS organization.

Portions of the May 9th ride will also be filmed as part of a video project involving several area high school students making an educational video on sharing the road with motorcycles. The first 175 riders to register at each site will receive a free t-shirt with the names of the 33 fallen officers and their End of Watch dates. At Legislative Hall, a banner with the same information will be on display.

The 33 officers killed in the line of duty in Delaware come from several different police departments including the Delaware River and Bay Authority, Delaware State Police, the Dover Police, Ocean View Police, New Castle County Police, Seaford Police and the Wilmington Police. The last line of duty death was DSP Cpl. Christopher Shea on July 18, 2004. Food for the riders has been donated by Grotto’s, water by NKS Distributors, and entertainment is being provided by the First State Force Band. The rain date for the event will be June 7th. For more information you can contact the COPS Chapter President at (302) 388-2657 or Joe Wagner at (302) 994-9183.