Quad Copters TED Talks

You are going to want to put this on full screen and I bet you will be back to Ted Talks.

You can thank me by telling others about this site.

Marc

Damn, why didn't I think of this?

From The London Times: A Well-Planned Retirement Outside England ’s Bristol Zoo there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 buses. For 25 years, its parking fees were managed by a very pleasant attendant.....The fees for cars ($1.40),for buses (about $7). Then, one day, after 25 solid years of never missing a day of work,he just didn't show up; so the zoo management called the city council and asked it to send them another parking agent. The council did some research and replied that the parking lot was the zoo's own responsibility. The zoo advised the council that the attendant was a city employee. The city council responded that the lot attendant had never been on the city payroll. Meanwhile, sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain, or France, or Italy, is a man who'd apparently had a ticket booth installed completely on his own and then had simply begun to show up every day, commencing to collect and keep the parking fees, estimated at about $560 per day -- for 25 years. Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over $7 million dollars ......and no one even knows his name.

Shucking and Javing in DC - How to Lie to America

By Bill Neinast

IN PERSPECTIVE

last week, the definition of one word became obsolete in every dictionary on the shelves.  A lie is no longer an intentionally false statement.

In a committee hearing on March 12, Senator Ron Wyden  asked James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, whether the National Security Agency collects “any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans.”

Clapper, who was under oath, answered, “No sir.” After rubbing his ear for a moment he added, “Not wittingly.”

Both the senator and Clapper knew that was not true, but they let the matter slide.

After the news broke about the NSA collecting information on every telephone call made in the country, Clapper was pressed about his testimony in March. His explanation brought back memories of that famous Bill Clintonism, “It depends on what the meaning of is is.”

Clapper’s explanation was that  “I was asked [in effect] ‘when are you going to stop beating your wife’ kind of question, which is, meaning not answerable necessarily, by a simple yes or no.’ So ‘I responded in what I thought was the most truthful or least untruthful manner, by saying, No.’”

So, the new definition of the word lie is a statement that is the least untruthful.

Pair this definition with the recent vision of Attorney General Eric Holder dancing on the head of a pin when he tried to explain that he did not lie about not prosecuting news men for doing their job.  He explained so sincerely that swearing out a search warrant for the phone and digital records of a reporter is not a prosecution.

If a search warrant is not a prelude to a criminal prosecution, what is it?  Is there going to be a new definition for search warrants that will be dropped into new dictionaries to accompany Clapper’s definition of a lie? 

These most recent incidents of the Obama Administration’s complete lack of  integrity can best be described as shucking and jiving.   

This rarely used phrase is an African-American slang term from the days of slavery.  The definition is behavior or joking and acting evasively, particularly  the speech and behavioral mechanisms adopted in the presence of an authoritative figure. There is no better description of Clapper’s and Holder’s actions before two different Congressional Committees.

The saddest part of these two instances of shucking and jiving is that no heads have rolled over this and other blatant acts of misconduct.  All of the current indications are that this is perfectly acceptable behavior for officials at all levels of the White House cabal.

So here’s the perspective.

In their shucking and jiving in committee hearings, Clapper and Holder lied under oath to Congress and all Americans.  Both should be fired. President Obama has unfettered power to do so.  Why has he not done so?

Three other instances of officials thumbing their noses at America are not so easy to correct.

One is Nancy Pelosi, when she was Speaker of the House, saying that “We have to pass the bill [legislation to socialize the American health care system] so that you can find out what Is In It.”

“The bill” became a law known as Obamacare and, as what is in it became known,  a substantial majority of Americans do not like it.  

Only the voters in Pelosi’s district can hold her accountable for that outrageous statement to the whole country.

Then there is Secretary Hillary Clinton’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Jan. 23  concerning the death of four Americans in the attacks on American property in Benghazi in September of last year.  In a display of fake disgust, she testified, "What difference – at this point, what difference does it make?"

That callous disregard of human life can be remedied only by American voters who remember it and vote accordingly when Clinton runs for President several years hence.

Finally, there is the case of Lois Lerner, the IRS director of tax exempt groups.  Under her watch, her department targeted groups that did not agree with the Obama Administration.

When questioned about this abysmal abuse of power, she claimed that she had done nothing wrong, but then claimed her right under the 5th amendment not to testify.  As such rights are claimed to avoid incriminating oneself in criminal activity, you have to wonder who she is protecting.

As mentioned here sometime ago, it is possible, but extremely difficult, to fire a federal employee, even for misconduct.  

If the government does decide to fire Lerner, she has the option to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board.  This board exists almost exclusively as a barrier to prevent federal employees from being fired. The board takes almost a year, on average, to review cases, and the ultimate authority rests in the hands of three unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats–two of whom previously worked as lawyers for public-sector unions.

What a shame that every government official does not subscribe to the Navy Seal Code,which includes as Principle 4: Take responsibility for your actions and the actions of your teammates.

Time to Think About Options

The following contribution is from a friend of mine that is the proprietor (yes Mr. Obama, he did build that!) of the web site Old Art Guy, John Pinkerton.  John actually taught me english in high school so all writing skills I have came from him. 

I will be joining John at the Ol' Double-L Nation, an idea he conceived just after the November 2012 fraudulent vote some refer to an election!  Where the hell is Jimmy Carter when you need him!

Enjoy - and check out John's site Old Art Guy!

Marc

The Ol’ Double-L: a Sovereign Nation
By John Pinkerton

My fellow countrymen have put their heads together and have come to the conclusion that the status quo is the way to go.  The House, the Senate, and the Presidency are almost identical after the 2012 election to what it was before the election.  Pardon me.  I misspoke: the Presidency is identical, not “almost” identical.  At first I was shocked.  Then I was sad.  Then I began to chuckle. 

Alexis de Toqueville is attributed to having said, “In a democracy, people get the government they deserve.”  Whether he actually said it or not, he should have said it.  Frankly, those who voted for the liberal agenda deserve what they are about to receive.  I am reminded of the old saying which George Bush mangled a few years ago, “Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.”   Well, I wasn’t fooled in ‘08 nor in ‘12.  I feel that I deserve better. 

While you careless voters were busy shooting yourself in the foot, you were also busy shooting me in the foot.   I kinda resented your misguided aim.

In 1845, the Republic of Texas made a strategic error by giving up its sovereignty to the United States, an error they’ve been trying to wiggle out of ever since.  It first tried to separate from the Union by joining the Confederate States of America.  It didn’t work out.  A recent petition for Texas secession has 72,500 signatures.

“Given that the state of Texas maintains a balanced budget and is the 15th largest economy in the world, it is practically feasible for Texas to withdraw from the union, and to do so would protect its citizens' standard of living and re-secure their rights and liberties in accordance with the original ideas and beliefs of our founding fathers which are no longer being reflected by the federal government.”

  

It will be interesting to see what the White House’s response will be.  I’m pretty sure the Federal Government will be unwilling to give up one of its prized cash cows.  On the other hand, my contributions to the Federal Treasury are minute, and my secession will probably not cause a formal response.

Yes, you heard me.  Secession.   Lately I feel as though I’ve been a passenger in a clown car.  I want out of the car.  I’m withdrawing my allegiance to the country I signed on with in ‘42.  I’m declaring myself a sovereign nation. I’ll continue to pay unto Caesar that which is Caesars, but I’ll consider it a bribe to avoid a confrontation with their thuggish clowns.

I suppose I’ll need a name for my new nation.  I think I prefer a low-profile name.  I’ve used the name “Lou” in my fantasy leagues for years.  I’ve always liked it.   My new nation shall be called Lou...no, no, even better, Land of Lou.  Hey, the ol’ Double-L.  Yeah, that’s the ticket.   It’s an unassuming name much like Chad, the landlocked South African country most folks don’t even know exists.

Now, as a sovereign nation, I guess I must begin thinking in sovereign nation terms.

Up front, I’m the president.  I created the sovereign Land of Lou, so I should at least be its first president.  Now I already have a legislature and supreme court, Linda.  Enough said.

The Land of Lou was founded November 10, 2012.  At its inception it was fiscally sound thanks to a conservative policy that recognized the importance of working to make money, paying one’s bills promptly, and not purchasing crap I don’t need.  Delayed satisfaction is a basic principle of my fiscal policy.  The United States’ citizens seem to have an altogether different viewpoint.

As for the foundation of my fiscal policy, I think I should go on the gold standard.  I’ll need to start using my own currency, and without a lot of fuss and bother, I can instantly satisfy this need with gold.  It was good enough for the US until 1974 when some smart alecks in Washington decided to back their country’s money with bullshit.  How’s that working out for you?

If you continue to have an open border policy, kind of like the one you have to the South, I guess there won’t be much need to worry about traveling on your roads and highways.  Maybe I should stockpile food and water just in case you close the border.  While your border is porous, I guess I’ll continue to take advantage of your nation’s goods and services.

I suppose I should have some sort of defense policy.  Never owned a gun.  Well, yes I did.  My brother gave me one which someone promptly stole.  I guess I could buy another gun while they’re still available.  I used to feel that running through the house seminude shouting was enough to frighten imagined intruders away, but at 70, maybe a gun wouldn’t be a bad idea.

What about Lou’s policy on foreign aid?  Well, I’ve always been pretty generous with relatives and other derelicts, but I think my future policy will be in those immortal words of Nancy Reagan, “Just say no.”  I know she wasn’t speaking of foreign aid, but I was able to shoehorn it in for my purposes here anyway.

I guess I’ll need diplomatic relations with a few countries.  I guess I’ll establish relations with Israel and Great Britain.  These don’t seem to be favorites of the United States presently, and maybe my diplomatic moves toward them will cheer them up.  I think I’ll throw in Australia because they speak English and maybe Hawaii...oh yeah, they’re one of the US states now.

I suppose I’ll need a constitution just to keep me in line.  I know where there’s a perfectly good one which is hardly used anymore.  It’s been a little tarnished by folks who believe it’s a “living document” which means the interpretations of it depend on the political winds.  No political winds here, so it should do just fine.

Issues that have been big issues in the old US of A, will be minimized in LL.

Take for example the “environmental” issue.  What damned issue.  The air and water are cleaner than they’ve ever been.  You Americans did a good job, and I’ll try to keep my yard mowed.

As for you folks who see fossil fuels as the anti-Christ, when alternatives are ready for the world to use, we promise you’ll be the first to be told by the conservatives who will be making a ton of money from the new resources.  As for man-made global warming, blow it out your backside.  The land of Lou loves oil and coal and thanks the Lord for killing off those pesky dinosaurs so that we’d having something to propel our SUVs over their decayed bodies.

Some of you Americans have some social issues you seem to like to talk about a lot...a lot.  I recently heard about a war on women.  If there is a war, I’m on the women’s side.  I ain’t no damned fool.  As for women.  You have a right to birth control.  You have a right to abortions.  You have the right not to be discriminated against in the work place.  What more do you want?  One small point I’d like to differ on is that I’d rather my bribe money not be used to pay for this stuff.   Just tell me what else you want, and I’ll get it for you just as soon as I finish taking out the trash. 

As for yesterday’s minorities, civil rights were settled years ago.  Your problems are no different than other Americans.  I expect it to be no different in the land of Lou.  We just won’t rehash it endlessly.

As for Hispanics.  Those of you who are US citizens are no different in the eyes of the law than anyone else.  Ditto for the Land of Lou.  Those of you who are illegal, I sympathize with your plight, but you areillegal.  I don’t think illegals will be a problem in the land of Lou.  None have tried to climb over my fence so far.

As for unions, I’m all for them in America, but not unions for government employees.  Being that there are no union members in the ol’ Double L, this isn’t a problem.

As for a drug policy, do whatever you like.  At the ol’ Double-L, we don’t do drugs, but we have no problem with ya’ll stoking up on whatever you wish in the US.  We’re a tolerant people.

If Texas is ever allowed to withdraw from the Union, I’ll consider giving up my sovereignty to the Republic of Texas.  “Consider” I say.  I don’t want to repeat the Texas error.

You’re welcome to create your own sovereign nation.  I’ll immediately recognize your new state, but please don’t try to set up a consulate in my living room.

Sleep Well, the Government is Watching Over You!

Bill Neinast

IN PERSPECTIVE

As President Obama and Attorney General Holder undergo their own water boarding, the fear of drowning must be growing. 

The drips mentioned here last week have turned into torrents.  The wet rag of scandals draped over their faces are becoming increasingly hard to breadth through.

So there was an attempt to give them some relief.  To give them a short breadth of air,  information on collecting phone records was released to divert attention from the IRS, the Justice Department, and Benghazi.   

This may have given them a gasp of fresh air.  Conversely, however, opening up about Big Brother watching yet another area of personal information resulted in even more concern about the Administration’s attack on personal liberty. 

Collecting the phone data is legal.  Telephone companies have been doing it since the days of Alexander Graham Bell.  Information about what calls are made from and to what phone numbers plus the date and duration of each call is essential for business purposes.   Statements for billing and decisions on when and where more capacity may be needed are made on these stored records.

There is no need, however, to know either the subject or content of those calls.  Consequently, that information is not collect.

This was temporary storage.  When the needed information was extracted, the records were destroyed.

After 9/11, however, a new need arose.  The phone records of suspected terrorists could lead to other suspects and terrorist cells.  For this purpose, the content of the messages also became important.

This need was one of the reasons for enacting the USA Patriot Act of 2001, which significantly weakened restrictions on law enforcement agencies' gathering of intelligence within the United States.

Under this Act, various intelligence agencies under Presidents George W. Bush and Obama began to preserve the phone records permanently, or at least for a long time.  Accordingly, they required the phone companies to transfer the records to them for permanent storage.

This was necessary because who suspected terrorists were communicating with might extend backward for many years.  Who they were communicating with years ago is as important as who they are talking with today.

Having this information was essential for obtaining legal search warrants from appropriate courts to tap the lines of the suspects and begin recording their conversations.  This is the type of information that foils terrorist attacks.

The procedure described here is thus perfectly legal.  Appropriate committees of Congress were kept informed of the procedures and found no fault.

When the program became public last week, however, pandemonium reigned in the streets.  The procedure was not correctly understood by many who thought they were being spied on every time they picked up a telephone.

This concern is misplaced.  There is no invasion of privacy in storing the records that phone companies have collected for years.  There is good reason, however, to be concerned about how easy it is to misuse that data to invade the privacy of anyone coming to the attention of various political operatives.

For that reason, the leak, if that is what it was, was poorly timed.  The news came in the middle of genuine concern over IRS and Justice Department agents spying on citizens and misusing information they garnered from that spying or prying.

Low level employees of the IRS in Cincinnati who were expected to take the fall for the Administration refused to do so.  Two of them testified under oath that they were ordered directly and indirectly by officials in the Justice Department’s Washington office to target specific organizations opposing Obama and to send certain information to that office.

Simultaneously, news broke that the Justice Department cast an even wider net of spying.  The Internet messages of AP and Fox News journalists were being read in the hallowed halls of justice.

In at least one case, Attorney General Holder testified under oath that he knew nothing about the affidavit bearing his signature that Correspondent James Rosen was a possible criminal conspirator.  That affidavit was taken to three judges for the issuance of a subpoena to monitor Rosen’s internet traffic, and the third judge finally issued the subpoena.

Oh! That’s right.  Holder said he knew nothing about prosecuting reporters.  He did not say that he knew nothing about just accusing reporters of misconduct.  

White House Spokesman Jay Carey has tried to explain the difference between accusing and prosecuting.  Unfortunately for Obama and Holder, few men on the street can understand the difference.

So here’s the perspective.

Big Brother is alive, well, and growing, but there is nothing to fear.  Holder and the new IRS Administrator have been tasked to look into the activities of their departments and to correct any little bitty thing they find wrong.  

Their reports will never be seen in the White House, because “the buck” never gets there.

Benghazi is one of those bucks that never got there.  Why are there no pictures of the President in solemn concentration in the White House as Benghazi was exploding like there were of him watching bin Laden being taken out?  The answer would probably echo former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s, “What difference does it make now?”

Those who believe that the contents of their telephone conversations will never be monitored should talk with Mitt Romney.  Ask him how the information of his donations to a Defense of Marriage organization got into the Gay community.

So sleep well.  Big Brother is watching over you.

How Obama will survive the Current Scandals!

IN PERSPECTIVE

Bill Neinast

What an irony.  President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder believe that making a terrorist who wants to kill Americans think he is drowning is an abominable, illegal torture.  

Ironically, now they are being water boarded by some of their own.  The drip, drip, drip of scandals, with each drip getting a little larger has to give an impression of drowning. 

The fear of drowning currently is most pronounced for AG Holder.  The House Judiciary Committee is now investigating whether he committed perjury when he last testified before the committee.

Holder’s testimony that is now under scrutiny was the Sergeant Schultz response that he and Obama give to every suggestion of misconduct, “I know nothing, nothing.  I saw nothing, nothing.” Every bit of wrongdoing, if there is any, was done by some low grade underling way, way down the chain away from Washington.

The discussions now among media pundits are which of the drips is the most serious and damaging to the Obama legacy.  For the general public, the IRS targeting and harassing conservative groups is the preferred answer to that question.  

This is no surprise.  Every tax paying American has to deal with, and probably fears, the IRS.  Seeing and hearing that the agency is not always fair and even handed should be of concern.

The media, however, has a different dog in the hunt.  Most of the pundits are most concerned about the Attorney General trampling on the 1st Amendment rights of a free press.  If reporters are designated potential criminals for printing material leaked from within the administration, the function of the press as a watch dog for governmental misconduct is severely curtailed.

The concern for those two blots on the Obama legacy must be a blessing for Hillary Clinton.  Interest in the IRS and Justice scandals has moved the spot light off the Benghazi tragedy.  Everyone seems to have forgotten about determining the level of responsibility for the lack of security, the failure/refusal of a rescue attempt, and the cover up.

With those issues off the front burner, the Clintons can breath a short sigh of  relief that questions about Hillary’s qualifications to be the next president are left for another day.

To shove questions about his legacy into the same shadow that Hillary is now enjoying, Obama is saying, “Let’s change the subject.”  Now he wants to talk about ending the “war” on terror and closing what he considers to be a blight on our appearance, the confinement of prisoners of war at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or Gitmo.

He may come to regret that tactic.  His remarks on this subject prompted a lengthy review of his concern about Gitmo by Time magazine.  A lead article in the magazine’s June 10 issue is entitled “Why GItMO Will Never Close,” and contains this:

“At last count, military medical personnel at Gitmo were force-feeding 35 of the more than 100 inmates who refuse to eat.  Twice a day those men are strapped into restraining chairs as tubes that run up their noses and down their throats fill their stomachs with a compound called Ensure, a supplement used by everyone from athletes to dieters.  The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has called force-feeding a violation of international law, and the World Medical Association, of which the U.S. is a member, declared in 1991 that the practice is ‘never ethically acceptable‘ unless a prisoner consents or is unable to make a rational choice.  (The WMA calls it ‘ethical to allow a determined hunger striker to die.)” 

The accompanying photos of the contraption into which the prisoners are strapped and the implements used to force the Ensure into their bodies are not pleasant to view.

As mentioned previously, Obama and Holder believe that making a prisoner feel like he is drowning is torture.  They apparently believe, however, that keeping a prisoner alive when he wants to die and doing so by strapping him down and forcing instruments into his body is in keeping with the highest standards of international law.

So here’s the perspective.

President Obama’s legacy is being written every day.  The revelations of the last few weeks of misconduct in the Justice and State Departments and the IRS are rapidly tarnishing that legacy.

Nonetheless, recent polls indicate that 45% of the population still believe that he is doing a good job in the office.

That is almost 50% of the population and gives credence to Rush Limbaugh’s coining of the phrase “no-info or lo-info voters.   

The Price of Freedom

The freedom we have is not free.  It is paid for by the lives of those who unselfishly serve this great Country.

Memorial Day is the a day for honoring those who died in the service to our country and the best way I know to do this is to also honor and say thanks to our veterans and active duty military.  Always remember that that every service member, whether active duty or reservist, when they enlisted in essence signed a blank check, payable to the Citizens of the Untied States of America for an amount up to and including his or her life.

Memorial Day is a day for honoring those who died in the service to our country. One such young man that I had the honor of personally knowing, is Michael Weger, the son of Greg and Tricia Weger.   Michael gave all that he had to give for America on October 12, 2004 when he and several members of his platoon were killed in action in Iraq.  Greg and Tricia we can never heal your hurt but please know that Michael and you two are in our hearts and prayers and that we are thinking of you always, but especially today.

This tribute to the American soldier by Lt. Col. Oliver North was done on Veteran's Day, but it is the best expression of honor for our troops I have ever seen or heard.

God Bless the United States of America and the men and women who keep our country free!