Patch

In no particular order, some things Rob thinks.
What do you think?
Home Land Security and the Patriot Act do more to protect the US Government from Americans then protecting the American people from terrorist.
Religious Right doesn’t want persecution to stop against them; they want the right to persecute you.
WTO, NAFTA, and now CAFTA, do more harm then good. Help multi-national corporations, Yes, help working people, No.
The US Government, that multi-national corporations have elected, are closer to fascist then conservatives.
The attack on American news media is again done to protect the US government from the people they govern. If the news media don’t or can’t investigate and report news fairly and freely, where are we?
Free markets are not the answer for everything, markets, as with everything, has limits. Free markets are good for producing and selling cars, but not so good for producing health care. I see nothing wrong with the amount of money one has determining the type of car one drives, but the amount of money one has shouldn’t determine the type of health care one receives.
More on health care, it’s a much larger problem for Americans then, say, Social Security by a factor of x100. Why are Americans so aghast at national health care, and so meekly accept HMOs? We don’t want the government to tell us what doctor to see but have little problem with an insurance company telling us.
Health care accounts, who has enough money to put in a health care account that would, say, cover breast cancer?
President Bush and the conservative congress has sold the conservative voters down the river. Three things, smaller government, ha, balanced budget, ha, tax cuts, maybe. Real tax cuts went to so few people I’m not sure they count. Making rich people richer, I don’t think will make the economy better (this is more obvious everyday), create jobs (not yet) or make my life easier.(No change here)
If putting my S.S. in private accounts is such a good idea, why don’t we change a few laws and put the S.S. trust fund in private accounts (Stock Market)?
Tax cuts are/will be paid by cutting social services, who benefits from social services? Bill Gates, George Bush? Or some blue collar worker at Ford/Gm plant that just lost his $20 hr. job?
If President Clinton and a mostly Republican Congress produced a budget surplus, why can’t President Bush and an all Republican Congress do it? Please don’t throw 911 at me, the President and the Congress can’t continue to keep hiding behind this disaster.
Ah, this is enough to keep one thinking for some time.
Patch

http://www.bobharris.com/

Compulsive executive secrecy, lies to Congress, elective war in defiance of virtually the entire world, nationalized surveillance databases, imprisonment without trial, torture without accountability, reporters on the White House payroll, elections with no paper trail, and dozens of other concepts complete alien to any basic understanding of what America is supposed to be have all become a part of the daily landscape


Onward Christian Soldier
http://www.thismodernworld.com/weblog/mtarchives/week_2005_05_15.html#002183


http://www.progressive.org/blogs05/rc052305.php
The distance between American ideals of freedom, due process of law, and democracy and the reality of the torture chambers has grown into a gaping wound.
The revelations keep coming.
We can't ignore them, or blame the media, or pretend these accounts that keep piling up are mere aberrations.
It's time for a full-scale investigation not just of particular instances of torture and the American personnel directly involved, but of the directors of policy at the highest levels who continue to perpetrate these crimes.

Patches

Hampton listening to Rob explain about UFO's. Rob says he is catching on and will be an asset soon, as his eye sight is formidable. Hampton will do about just anything Rob does and go anywhere Rob goes and Rob goes to some strange places. Hampton and Rob have been together for over a week, poor mom and dad when Hampton gets home.
Posted By Patches

Rob is teaching his buddy Hampton how to drive an F-150 4X4. I told Rob he is to small. Nonsense said Rob. First I'll teach him to shift gears, then how to steer, and when he can reach the petals, how to use the cluch, brakes and gas. No problem. He should have it all down by the time he's 5 yrs. old.
Posted By Patches

Rob’s story
This guy Rich that we picked up to help chase the UFOs, well I thing he might have been an alien. He was a weird guy, he was the first one to spot the UFO lights and he was the only one able to use the range finder. My Air Force buddy and I could never get a range, but Rich would use the range finder, 3 kilometers to the light , he’d say. He also made fun of my aluminum lined hat. The hat probably stopped him from reading my thoughts.
Then the way he bugged out was also weird. He was all gung oh on chasing the UFOs until we got to Idaho, then all of a sudden he has to go home. After he left I never seen another UFO until the one that buzzed me on US 26 east of John Day, Oregon.
This is the UFO I followed to the Black Rock desert, no one but myself ever saw this UFO. I think this Rich was a crew member. And I think it lead me down into the Black Rock just to have some fun. Patch thinks I got a dose of radiation when we where around the Idaho National Engineering Labs. Most likely, a crew member gets bored, disguises themselves to look human and circulate among the UFO chasers and they do it for R&R.
Ever been to eastern Oregon? Talk about some wild country, need to go back there and check it out some more. And Nevada, no wonder all kinds of secret things go on there. Leave Los Vegas and drive up to the Black Rock, two different worlds, of which I like the Black Rock a 1000 times better. One thing, if you are afraid of being lonely or afraid of the dark, don’t go to the Black Rock. It is both!
Patch says that if aliens can disguise themselves as humans, they could be anywhere and everywhere. She may be right, could this explain the people that make crop circles? Well anything that can travel across intergalactic space can most likely do lots of things.
The Burning Man Project is out for this year, but I going to try to get there next year.
Rob

Good article from NY times on retirement.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/business/government/index.html

How did Social Security and Company pension plans become my fault for failing?

World Trade Organization (WTO)
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
And now, Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)
Are these agreements helping or hurting working people?
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business.
January 1, 2004 marked the tenth anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s implementation. NAFTA promoters - including many of the world’s largest corporations - promised it would create hundreds of thousands of new high-wage U.S. jobs, raise living standards in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, improve environmental conditions and transform Mexico from a poor developing country into a booming new market for U.S. exports. NAFTA opponents - including labor, environmental, consumer and religious groups - argued that NAFTA would launch a race-to-the-bottom in wages, destroy hundreds of thousands of good U.S. jobs, undermine democratic control of domestic policy-making and threaten health, environmental and food safety standards.
Read more.
http://www.citizen.org/documents/NAFTA_10_jobs.pdf
Thea M. Lee, chief international economist for the AFL-CIO. "All the teary-eyed arguments about how this is good for democracy and prosperity -- none of that will happen if all the agreement does is enrich multinational corporations, cost good jobs here in the United States and create sweatshop jobs in Central America."
President Bush shifted from an economic argument to a political one, making a case that more robust commerce with the United States would strengthen the fragile democracies in a region only now emerging from decades of dictatorship and violence

Critics worry Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will use a new 24-hour TV news network to drown out free press ( http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0513/p01s03-woam.html )
We know how this works. Just watch Fox news.

Afghanistan riddled with drug ties
Afghanistan riddled with drug with drug ties (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0513/p01s04-wosc.html )
The involvement of local as well as high-level government officials in the opium trade is frustrating efforts to eradicate poppy fields.
Afghanistan isn’t near as riddled as the United States.

State of the media (http://www.stateofthemedia.com/2005/index.asp )

Patch

What is the REAL ID Act? Simply put it is an erosion of freedom, balance of powers, and states rights under the guise of safety.
The erosion of freedom is simple, your government will be able to track you with uninhibited ease compared to the past. Language within the bill gives the Department of Homeland Security unequivocal control over the implementation of the new national ID.
Section 102 of this bill should cause worry to all Americans, past and present:
IN GENERAL – Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive, and shall waive, all laws such Secretary, in such Secretary's sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section.
NO JUDICIAL REVIEW – Notwithstanding any other provision of law (statutory or nonstatutory), no court, administrative agency, or other entity shall have jurisdiction – "(A) to hear any cause or claim arising from any action undertaken, or any decision made, by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to paragraph (1)"; or "(B) to order compensatory, declaratory, injunctive, equitable, or any other relief for damage alleged to arise from any such action or decision."
The Department of Homeland Security has a strong inclination for RFID technology (which is also being used in future passports). Yes, tracking technology. This is the same technology Wal-Mart uses to track its billions of dollars in inventory as it moves through distribution centers and stores. Why on earth would the Department of Homeland Security want to use tracking technology in licenses? The question answers itself, why wouldn’t they. Mandating citizens to carry a card on their person that has a tracking chip isn’t as Orwellian and draconian as having an implant to keep tabs on citizens
Don’t count on these cards being secure either. We all know how successful corporations have been at implementing secure digital media. Their failure rate has been immense, even given the unconstitutional Digital Millennium Copyright Act which was designed to severely punish those who "hack" and "crack" encryption technologies. One can only guess at how well a growing bureaucracy will do at ensuring our ID’s we have to carry with us will be secure. As the technology stands, you can "sniff" RFID tags from several hundred meters away, once cracked this is a dangerous proposition. Ignoring any Orwellian fears a minute, the simple fact it can be exploited for nefarious purposes by criminals is reason enough to cause alarm. The security of a system is only as strong as its weakest link. How many weak links can we find within the massive and ever growing federal government? ( http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/smith-h1.html )
Just goes to show you the terrorist are WINNING.
Our government promotes democracy to the world, then passes laws as this here at home. History tells us that freedom can't be saved by locking yourself up and throwing away the key. All these laws being passed will not save us from terrorist.

Patch

Rob Speaks
My mistake was taking off the aluminum lined hat. Soon as I took off the hat the aliens struck before I could pull the trigger on the .50 caliber rifle. They must have used some kind of energy force. Whatever it was the aliens used it left no sign, either physical or mental, at least as far as I can tell. Patch says I’m just as crazy now as before the incident with the UFO.
The insurance adjuster paid for the van (it was totaled), but don’t believe my story. Patch says who does? Anyhow, none of the instruments worked on detecting UFOs so I don’t have to worry about replacements. I’m still thinking about another rifle. Patch says, aluminum lined hat or not, aliens will not let me shoot them.
If time permits I may go back to the burning man project in the black rock desert. ( http://www.burningman.com/ ). Bet there will be some UFO freaks at burning man, be freaks of all kinds most likely.
Conservatives are saying that going after Tom DeLay is going to catch a bunch of democrats in the process. I say, good, catch all the bad guys and hang them from a tall oak tree in Texas.

Quote “My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular. Adlai E. Stevenson”

How long before it sets in that Bush’s tax cuts are not working? Bush #1 raised taxes, (cost him the election) and Clinton followed with more tax increases along with Congress going to pay as you go legislation. This produced the economic boom of the 90’s, and produced a budget surplus. With tax cuts the economy is barely chugging along and the deficit is out of sight. I still say, making the rich richer is not going to help anyone but the rich. WTO, NAFTA, Free Trade stuff may or may not be helping multi-national corporations, but it’s doing nothing good for middle class Americans that I can see. If any jobs are created, they always come at a lower pay scale.

The Ohio House Health Committee has approved a bill that would allow women to nurse their babies in public places.
Backers overcame objections from some pro-business lawmakers who had raised concerns about workplace accidents from spilled breast milk. Pro-business lawmakers worring about workplace accidents of any kind? How often have you come across spilled breast milk? (And I'm proud that I vote!)
Ohio law, which currently treats breastfeeding in public as a fourth degree misdemeanor for a first-time offender. Breast-feeding itself is not illegal — just the public showing of the nipple. A fourth-degree misdemeanor conviction can result in up to 30 days in jail and/or a $250 fine … doesn’t know of any women actually charged for breast-feeding, women have been harassed and told to stop, or go to the restroom, she said. "I don’t think you would like to have your dinner served in a toilet or the facilities of a toilet," McLin said

US Air Force Academy
Surveys of present and former cadets have shown that some students said they felt a heavy and sometimes offensive emphasis on evangelical Christianity, with praise for cadets who pronounce their "born-again" status and insults aimed at Jews, Roman Catholics and non-evangelical cadets.
One staff chaplain reportedly told newly arrived freshmen last summer that anyone not born again "will burn in the fires of hell."
The Air Force's new attention to the issue stems from an earlier scandal at the school in which female cadets said commanding officers ignored or played down numerous cases of sexual assault by male students.
Be borne-again, rape your fellow cadet.

Rob says “THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS”

“…in the Federal convention were members who inveighed repeatedly against the growing extravagance of their countrymen. High life and high living sapped the moral fiber. Observe the fate of the later Romans! “Luxury with ten thousand evils in her train,” wrote Abigail Adams from London.”

“we do know that Article VI, after various refinements in committee, exacted from federal and state officers an oath to support the United States Constitution --- “but no religious Test,” shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.””

From “Miracle at Philadelphia” Catherina Drinker Bowen

Patch

http://www.wonkette.com/
Sexy Texas Cheerleader Ban Sashays Forward
The state of Texas, birthplace of sexy cheerleading, continues its efforts to ban it: Yesterday, a bill passed the House and now it moves on to the Senate. Its sponsor, Democrat Al Edwards, thinks unprotected cheerleading leads to "young girls being pregnant in middle and high schools, dropping out of school, having babies, and contracting AIDS and herpes." So in a way, a law against suggestive pom-pom twirling is probably a pretty fair compromise, because if Edwards finds out it's actually sex that leads to all those things, who knows what legislation he'll try to enact? — GREG BEATO
Cheerleader bill passes House [News 8 Austin]

Conservatives blaming Hollywood for the Army’s lack of new recruits
Cinematic patriot Michael Medved insists it's because "many of the major stars today have an Ivy League background." As a result, he suggests, Hollywood no longer makes movies that accurately glorify "the heroic violence of brave men and women with guns, fighting selflessly for their country."
And conservatives keep making fun of liberalsand Hollywood for all the horrible shows they watch.

Patch

Patch,Hampton and Rob back together

Posted By Patches

Rob’s Story
Received a call from an Air Force buddy stationed at Cannon AFB, Clovis, New Mexico. Strange lights in the sky were being reported around Rhea, Texas, lights that were not showing up on any radar screens, he himself checked it out, strange lights indeed, definitely UFOs. Cannon launched F-16s to check out the lights, strangest of all, while people on the ground could see the lights; the F-16 pilots could not. This is the reason I took the UFO van and took off for Texas. This was the weekend Patches was visiting friends in Weirton W.Va.
Met my AF buddy in Clovis N.M. and proceeded to Rhea, Texas (NE of Clovis on the Texas/New Mexico State line.) The lights were no longer there, bummer. Other UFO chasers said there were new reports that the lights were now in and around White Sands National Monument N.M. Off we went to White Sands. No lights, again bummer. New reports placed the lights in and around Bonneville Slat Flats Utah. We picked up another chaser named Rich to help with all this driving (engine blew up on his truck.) At Bonneville we saw the lights for the first time. White lights, oval in shape, with bluish streaks running through the middle. Before I could get any of the detectors set up the lights disappeared to the north. The guy Rich did get a range detector on them, 15 kilometers (11 Miles). My Air Force buddy called some friends at Hill AFB, Roy, Utah. (South of Ogden), they had no indications of unknown air activity in northern Utah. (Can’t name the AF buddy as he is high up in AF Security and chasing UFOs is a no-no for him.)
By now there were UFO chasers scattered all over New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada and we kept getting reports, thanks to cell phones, information flowed freely. The best reports were coming out of Idaho, so off we go. Speeding north on I84 we spotted the lights and chased them all the way to the area around the Craters of the Moon National Monument. This is near the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (the Department of Energy has operated and tested more than 50 reactors at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) in southeastern Idaho. Also tested were waste-disposal, fuel processing, and fuel handling facilities.) Not too surprised that UFOs would nose around this place. Here we finally got a good look at the lights (UFOs.)
First, we could not detect the UFOs with anything but our eyes, our detectors recorded nothing. WOW!! They were very difficult to see in daylight, but no problem at night. The UFO would zoom from one point to another, like a light beam on a wall and no sound. Also we could only get so close and then they would move off, keeping about the same distance. 1.6 kilometers (1mile) was the limit. And we could not get a good photo, photos always came out blurry. We also got the feeling that the UFO was watching us, just by the way when we moved it moved always keeping about the same distance.


We chased these UFO around for a couple of hours and the zoom off they went heading west towards Oregon. So off we go heading west on I84 and Oregon.
Reports came by cell phone that the UFOs were around John Day, Oregon and later they were near John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. My AF buddy had to get back to Clovis, New Mexico, duty called, and the guy Rich said he had enough and wanted to go home. I dropped them off at the Boise, Idaho airport and went on alone.
This is where the fun started. Heading west on US Route 26 in eastern Oregon, I stopped to take a break. This was just west of Brogan, Oregon. I was standing in front of the van looking west when I see the UFO, 12 O’clock high, heading east and down right at me! In the blink of an eye the UFO was right on me, everything got very bright, like I was standing inside the thing. I couldn’t see anything, just light. Then zoom it was gone, heading south towards Nevada. This action took 2 seconds at the most, leaving me to wonder did it really happen. No pain, no strange feelings, nothing but light like someone shone a spotlight over you. Got in the van and it checked out ok, started right up, nothing missing, everything worked. Got back out and looked around, nothing, not a sign that anything happened. And no sound, how can something move like this and not make any noise? Hay it was great, I’ve been looking for UFOs for along time. Called some of the other UFO chasers, no one but me had seen any, that’s strange. I watched that UFO zoom all the way across southeast Oregon into Nevada and no one seen it? Nothing to do but head south to Nevada and see what happens.
I picked up US 95 south towards Winnemucca, Nevada. At Orevada, Nevada I saw the UFO to the south and west. It would zoom away, then zoom back, like it was telling me to follow it. So like a bright boy from Cincinnati, Ohio, I did. I followed the stupid thing all the through the black rock desert to Gerlack, Nevada Now the black rock desert is no Shenandoah Valley. This is the home of the burning man festival. ( http://www.burningman.com/ )
Talking to the locals (all 37 of them) about UFOs, they said there is always some flying around the black rock, they think its US government stuff out of area 51. They also say that they have the same problem as the folks down in Utah with the Government spraying poison gas, LSD and who knows what all around the desert. Finally left Gerlack and headed north into the black rock, set up a camp and started waiting for that stupid UFO to show up.
And show up it did, come zooming down and stopped and just sat there hanging about 150 meters above the desert floor. As the daylight faded the UFO kept getting brighter and easier to see. I tried driving closer but as usual it kept the same distance from the van. So I went back to my camp site opened a beer and watched the dumb thing. This is when I went against Patches advice. I removed the infrared detector and mounted the .50 caliber rifle, should have listened to Patch. The laser scope on the rifle takes a bit to warm up, as it was warming I pointed the rifle at the UFO and the thing moved. As soon as the laser was warm I put the sight on the UFO, got the range, 1.5 kilometers (bit under a mile.) No wind so I sighted on the top half of the UFO and started squeezing the trigger.
……woke up with a freezing cold rain falling on my face, day was beginning to break, just enough light to see the van. Holy Cow the van or what was left of it was sitting 30 meters from where I had parked it. It was empty, everything gone, all the detectors, the .50 caliber rifle, even Hampton's new car seat, all gone. How could I see this laying on the ground 30 meters from the van. Easy, as all the body parts on the van were also gone. Looking at my watch, it was 0530, it was around 2200 hrs when I shot at the UFO. Or I think I shot at it, as the last thing I remember is pulling the trigger. I don’t remember the rifle going off. What happened? I staggered over to the van and checked it out, it seemed ok, started up ok, steering was ok, transmission ok. Good thing as I was 160 kilometers from the nearest town, Gerlack. Also found my backpack with some dry clothes and rain gear, wonder why the UFO didn’t take it? Cell phone was gone, not that it was of any use out here, gas, do I have gas? Yes, more then enough to get back to Gerlack, Whew! Beer, any beer? No, that stupid UFO took the beer and the cooler it was in. Good thing it took the rifle or I’d try shooting it again, taking a man’s beer.
So I got in the van and headed to Gerlack, man it was freezing cold driving through the desert in the rain. Well all 37 residents of Gerlack got a good laugh when I got to town. Ha Ha Ha, what happened to your van? UFO got it, HA Ha Ha, you must come back for the burning man project, you’ll fit right in. Ha Ha Ha. I called Patch, come and get me, fly to Reno, rent a truck and hauler, drive to Gerlack. How will I find you in Gerlack Patch asked, just ask for the UFO guy, no problem Patch.
Rob
Van before UFO encounter and After

From Patch; Insurance adjusters having a ball, needless to say they don't buy the UFO story. Rob may have to eat the van. All the contents were covered, helps some. Rob said he would tell more of the story in latter post. We had agood time coming home. Spent 3 days sitting on those hills out in Colorado watching sun rises.

Patch

U.S. Army PFC Lynndie England arrives for a court martial hearing at the judicial center at Fort Hood, Texas, May 2, 2005. England is expected to plead guilty to several charges related to the Iraq Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. REUTERS/Jeff Mitchell

FORT HOOD, Tex., May 2 -- Army Pfc. Lynndie R. England formally pleaded guilty Monday to mistreating inmates at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison,
We continue to let this scandal go without questions. Why? Torture and prison abuse goes on unabated, it’s becoming national policy. We throw PFC’s in prisons and let policy wonks walk.

By TOM RAUM Associated Press April 28, 2005
WASHINGTON - It's a rare day in Washington when ethics wins a round.House Speaker Dennis Hastert persuaded fellow Republicans fearful of political fallout to retreat from a fight over ethics rules Democrats insist were written to shield Majority Leader Tom DeLay.The 406-20 vote Wednesday night to return to the old House ethics committee rules opened the way for a probe of the Texas Republican by that panel.
The controversy is generating a lot of nervousness in the halls of Congress. For sure, there are other members who have taken free golf trips or stayed at a resort at a lobbyist's expense.
And the rules that are being broken are very liberal rules that should be tightened up. Until control over lobbyist and campaign finances is achieved we the voters lose no matter whom is elected.

Patch