Sompopo's Revenge

Marchello!

We now have a new addition to our family and his name is Marchello. He is about 6 to 8 weeks old and from what we can tell is a mix of Labrador and possibly Chow because of the colored spots on his tongue. Puppys being what they are means watching him every moment for chewing and of course releaving himself on the carpet. It should be fun training and watching this cute little guy grow up. I am sure he will help fill the void in our hearts for our long time friend "Koobie" who passed away last year.

Thanks to the Peacocks for helping to aquire our new friend.

Frilled Shark!

The most prehistoric creature I have seen in my life that is still living. This is a Frilled Shark and is rarely ever seen because it usually stays more than 600 meters below the sea. This photo was captured at the Awashima Marine Park in Shizuoka, south of Tokyo. Staff were alerted by a fishermen nearby and they were able to get some video and picture footage of the shark.

Damn I am glad I did not live during the prehistoric era.

A dark Day For America!

The most vile, vicious and dangerous politician in the United States has thrown her hat into the presidential race for 2008. Of course this is no surprise to anyone unless you have been living in a hole for the last several years. This is the woman who tried to implement a health care plan that would have made it a crime to seek medical care by hiring your own doctor with your own money. The same woman who lied about the Rose Law Firm papers that she knew nothing about only to have them turn up in her private quarters with her fingerprints and handwriting all over them. The same woman who loathes the military and had US Marines in their dress blues serving cheese and crackers at many of her functions. The same woman that believes Americans get their rights from government. Need I go on?

This woman is a pathological lier and will stop at nothing to gain political power. An anti-individual who while discussing her socialized health care plan with republican congressmen in 1993 said " We need to stop thinking about the individual and start thinking about what is best for society". She will put the common good above individual rights and that my friends is wrong.

If the Hilda beast is able to gain political power by becoming president of the United States and the democratic party continues to gain political power then the people of this country will have no one to blame but themselves for allowing the socialization of the United States of America. No longer will we be a republic and the word freedom will be a thing of the past.

This could be a very dark time for America.

Milk And Bread!

Atlanta had its first winter weather scare last night and as usual everybody starts panicking and running to the store to buy milk and bread and a number of other things in order to survive for a few days in case they lose their power. Around three o'clock this morning there were reports that most grocery stores were running very low on milk and bread or out completely. Why is it always milk and bread? I can see the why one would buy bread, but what is the deal with milk? Do they have a milk deficiency or something? As for the bread do they buy something to put in it or eat it by its self? I have never really asked anyone about it but have always wondered.

When I am 100% sure the weather is going to turn bad and the potential is there for power outages milk is the last thing on my mind. I prefer beer and tea as my beverages and a good pot of gumbo or hearty soup with crackers. lots of snacks and toilet paper. Got to have toilet paper. That takes care of the food and bathroom supply's. The only other concern is how to stay warm.

Blankets and the wife will take care of that. :-)

Sixties & Seventies!

As requested by Rudy Giron over at Antigua Daily Photo

The late sixties, early seventies was a time of mixed emotions for me. As a young teenager I was trying like others my age to find myself. The war was still raging in Vietnam and the peace movement was in full swing. In the early stages I did not quite understand it all but that would soon change with time.
My first year in high school I began to gravitate toward some Hippie types (the ones my parents warned me about) because of their philosophy on free love and Peace as well as their anti establishment attitudes. They were so laid back and did not seen to have a care in the world.
My parents may not know it but they were somewhat responsible for my interest in the Hippie movement. Before I hit high school my parents would actually pile all of us kids in the car and drive to downtown Atlanta on 14th street to see the Hippies. In Atlanta Georgia this is where they hung out. In California it was the Height Asbury district. I was fascinated by the whole thing, drawn to it you might say. Within a month of my first year in high school I was introduced to Marijuana. I was scared to death of it because of all the horror stories my parents told me about it. Needless to say I was pressured by my new friends to try it so I did. I clearly remember not feeling any effects from my first encounter with it. The next day was a totally different story. At the end of the day we all hung around the tennis courts and smoked a joint. This time I was stoned as hell and paranoia had a tight grasp on me. I did not know if I was coming or going. As the high began to mellow out so did I and I just laid back against a tree noticing how very green all the foliage was around me. It sounds funny now but then I knew I wanted to feel like that forever.
After awhile my new friends introduced me to others and before I knew it I was part of the culture known as the Hippie movement. The music, politics and free love became a big part of my life from that moment on and NO I did not go to Woodstock.

I did go to the Atlanta Pop Festival on July 4th, 5th and 6th 1970 in Byron Georgia. We all went to the festival in a brightly colored bus. I cannot say I remember the entire three days but I do remember Jimi Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner at 12 midnight on the fourth. In the years after I was fortunate to see many of the great bands from that era including traffic, Johnny and Edger Winter, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Uriah Heep, Allman Brothers, Greatful Dead, Led Zepplin, Robin Trower, Jeff Beck. I could go on and on. As Dylan said, the times they were a changing. The political climate at the time fueled a lot of good music and Peace was all anybody wanted.
All in all it was some of the best times in my life and I will always cherish being able to be a part of it. Today I continue to listen to the same music and carry the same ideals I had then. I am sad that people today are so distant from each other and that trust and loyalty to ones fellow man is almost non-existent. For me the answer to all the worlds problems is simple “Peace” everybody get together and love one another.

Mardi Gras 2007!

Starting today we are officially counting down for our trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Hopefully our friend Jessie will be going with us to see the biggest party in the world. Nether her or my wife have ever been to Mardi Gras so I refer to them as Mardi Gras virgins. They have no idea of the spectacle they are about to witness. My friend Bill who lives in Houma LA will be our private tour guide for the event. I myself have been to Mardi Gras and spent seven days with my friend Bill partying our ass's off. I 'll tell you one thing, at the end of it all I was ready to come home. I never partied so much in my entire life. It is one of those events that everyone should experience before they die.

My friend tells me that the French Quarter is pretty much back to normal but the surrounding areas are still showing heavy hurricane damage. I can't say if it will draw the normal one million plus people, but I know it will be one hell of a blast of debauchery.

Party on............

Slow Day!

Today was a slow day. I pretty much did absolutely nothing. A whole day and I threw it away. Its not like I can afford to throw away pieces of my life or anything. On the other hand it is MY life to throw away. Only I belong to me and no one else. Nobody owns me but me and that is the bottom line.

Wait, I did do something. I played video games and watched TV. Sometimes I went to the bathroom and sometimes I didn't. I ate alot of food and smoked alot of cigarettes. Surfed around on the net for awhile. I looked out the window several times, to see if the birds were around....They were.

All in all it was a boring day, so I thought I would cap it off with a few beers and some good food and music.

Yep, life is grand every now and then.

So True!

If guns kill people, then...

Pencils miss spel words.

Cars make people drive drunk.

Spoons make Rosie O'Donnell Fat

Wake Up People!

INVASION USA
Social Security billions could go to Mexicans
Critics say benefits would lure illegals to U.S. while giving employers marginal help

An organization of retirees has announced the release, after three years of arguments and a Freedom of Information request, by the Social Security Administration of a copy of the first known public copy of the U.S.-Mexico Social Security Totalization Agreement.

The TREA Senior Citizens League said the document reveals what was expected, a huge threat to the future of Social Security, because any Mexican worker who has as little as 18 months of employment history in the United States could end up qualifying for some Social Security retirement benefits.

The organization of retirees, whose leaders have tried to convince Congress to prevent Social Security benefits from being awarded for work done by people in the United States illegally, said the exact financial impact cannot be calculated immediately, because the number of illegals working in the country isn't clear.

But with estimates ranging to 20 million illegals in the country, even a portion of them qualifying for Social Security benefits could move the costs into the range of billions quickly.

An analysis of the plan by the Center for Immigration Studies noted that at the end of 2003, the Social Security System owed retirees and current workers benefits valued at $14 trillion, with assets of only $3.5 trillion.

"Ominously, these assets include not only the trust fund's current reserves ($1.4 trillion), but also the present value of the taxes that current workers will pay for the rest of their working lives ($2.1 trillion)," the organization said.

The TREA organization, which represents more than 1.2 million people, said the government agreement between the United States and Mexico was signed in June 2004, and now is awaiting President Bush's signature. Once that signature is in place, which can be done without a vote in Congress, the U.S. House and U.S. Senate would have only 60 days to disapprove it by voting to reject it.

"The Social Security Administration itself warns that Social Security is within decades of bankruptcy – yet, they seem to have no problem making agreements that hasten its demise," said Ralph McCutchen, chairman of the league.

It's not the first such agreement; the U.S. already has nearly two dozen other agreements with other nations. They are intended to eliminate dual taxation for people who work outside their country of origin. But the other agreements are with developed nations with economies similar to that of the U.S., the league said.

For example, a worker who turns 62 after 1990 generally needs 40 calendar quarters of coverage to receive retirement benefits. Under the cross-country agreements, workers can combine earnings from both countries in order to qualify for benefits in the U.S.

The agreements generally provide that workers need only 18 months of coverage in the U.S. to qualify.

However, the league said Mexico's retirement system is "radically" different from other nations, the group said. "There, only 40 percent of the non-government workers participate in the system, as opposed to 96 percent of America's non-government workers. Additionally, the U.S. system is progressive, meaning lower-income workers get back much more than they paid into the system. But in Mexico, workers get back only what they put in, plus interest."

"I applaud the persistent efforts of TREA Senior Citizens League to try to get documents from the U.S. Government about the U.S.-Mexico Social Security totalization Agreement," noted Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C. "The American people are finally beginning to get some of the information regarding this Agreement that they have been seeking for so long."

The CIS said the plan should not be approved it this form. "It represents a sell-out of American workers and their families," the group's analysis said. "Such a one-sided pact with its enormous financial risks should never have been negotiated in the first place."

"It is unfortunate that the Commissioner of Social Security signed it despite the serious and specific concerns expressed in the GAO report and again in Congressional hearings in 2003. It would have been far better to pull the plug then rather than extend negotiations with Mexico, which now has every reason to believe the agreement will be accepted. We owe Mexico an apology for leading it on. But embarrassment over a diplomatic blunder should not get in the way of extricating ourselves from an agreement that is not in our national interest," the analysis said.

The CIS said the circumstances could attract illegals to the U.S., while providing only marginal benefits to any U.S. workers or employers.

The retirees' organization is made up of active senior citizens who are concerned about protecting their Social Security, Medicare and veteran or military retiree benefits.

It is working on changing the way Cost-of-Living Adjustments are made, obtaining reforms in the system for those people born in the "Notch" years of 1917-1926, and resolving threats to civilian or military work force retiree benefits.

The cost of Social Security is just one of the concerns being raised by those who oppose the "Premeditated Merger" of North America, a subject fully explored and explained in the newest issue of WND's Whistleblower Magazine.

It also raises the issues of plans to scrap the dollar in favor of an "amero," eliminate U.S. sovereignty, and create a "brave new world."

The issue documents the 1,000 pages of government forms assembling a "shadow government" to operate, how NAFTA superhighways would facilitate the economic changes demanded by the revolutionary concepts and highlights revealing excerpts from the Council on Foreign Relations' radical 59-page blueprint for "North American community."

Artical From World Net Daily.com

Day One! 2007

2007 Started out with big bang here at our house. At the stroke of midnight we lit fuses on more than three thousand firecrackers all at the same time. The power generated by the explosions actually shattered a clay flower pot that was sitting close by. The sound was deafening and definitely got the attention of the neighbors. It was fucking aw-some. Our neighbors up the street were setting off some Hugh mortars that shook the ground when they went off.

I had a coffee can slam full of bottle rockets and thought "hey, I will just light them from the can they were in" bad move. As I lit the first bottle rocket I knocked the can over which caused other rockets to ignite and the chain reaction led to all of them going off at once. It was funny because everybody ran for the hills when the can went over. There is one thing I realized while doing these fireworks in the rain and that is, less chance of any fires getting started by fireworks. As wet as it was that night we never feared it happening which allowed us to focus on the fun and not the "what If".
It was the best fun we could have considering how much it was raining. We were wet most of the time.

The worst part of the evening was not having all our friends over to bring in the new year. We were all together in spirit.

All in all it was a blast "No pun Intended" LOL.

Pray for Peace and have a Healthy, productive 2007
Me & The Better Half