The Countertop Chronicles

Well, Barack’s strongest support DID cum from San Francisco

An aide to Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has been charged in federal court in Virginia with receiving and distributing child pornography.

Jeff Rosato, 32, of Arlington, Va., was arrested Friday on a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Virginia. Boxer’s office fired him the same day.

. . . . .

The investigation began in January when a man sent more than 600 files of graphic images to an undercover detective whom the man believed was a 13-year-old boy, the affidavit said.

Evidence showed that the man, whose name was not released, had also been trading child porn with other Google Hello users, investigators said. Google Hello was a photo sharing and chat application that was discontinued this year.

For what its worth, I guess we need to give credit to Boxer for firing this guy. I mean, thats an improvement from simply blaming the vast right wing conspiracy.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Rosato worked for EPW on endangered species, oceans and water policy issues. I’ve tangled with the scum bag before.

It seems there was some ta do in DC the other day

Here’s the AP Report

A Jersey City councilman has reportedly been arrested for urinating on a crowd of concertgoers from the balcony of a Washington D.C. nightclub.

The New York Daily News reports in Sunday’s editions that two-term Jersey City councilman Steve Lipski has been charged with simple assault.

The newspaper says 44-year-old Lipski was removed from a place called the 9:30 Club on Friday night.

That’s after club staffers saw him relieve himself onto the crowd from a second floor balcony during a concert by a Grateful Dead tribute band.

Messages left at Lipski’s council office, and a Jersey City listing under his name were not immediately returned.

Hmm, a politician arrested - for a lewd and crude (and most likely drug induced) crime. What other information could they tell us about Mr. Lipski???? Well, maybe they do tell us, cause if he was a Republican, I bet that would be in the opening sentence.

You want signs???

How’s this for a sign.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is challenging Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., for the chairmanship of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. “I began making calls this morning to members and I informed Chairman Dingell that I am running for chairman,” Waxman told National Journal today. Waxman has long been the second-ranking Democrat on the Energy and Commerce panel, and is currently chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. His bid to topple Dingell, the longest-serving member of the House, marks an unexpected battle between senior Democrats for a powerful post overseeing major pieces of expected legislation on health care, global warming and renewable energy. Dingell chaired the Energy and Commerce Committee from 1980-1994, and regained the chairmanship when the Democrats took back a majority of the House two years ago.

PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ONE.

If Waxman succeeds, the overreach is on (as one Democrat friend of mine said). Waxman is the ultimate left wing pinko lunatic liberal. He’d repel the Democrats union base and the strength of Obama’s wins in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, etc.

Its the best sign you’ll get in these early days over how serious Barack was about governing from the middle . . . and how serious Nancy Pelosi is about keeping her majority.

Seriously.

Any place that forces tyrants to listen to the people can’t be all that bad.

After listening for nearly four and a half hours to emotional and at times harshly critical testimony from scores of residents, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg signed legislation at 1:55 p.m. Monday to extend New York City’s term limits law, allowing himself and a majority of the City Council to seek a third four-year term in 2009.

The mayor’s signature was pretty much a foregone conclusion; it was he who had urged the Council to extend the term limits, overturning the results of two public referendums, in 1993 and 1996, that had imposed a limit of two four-year terms. Nonetheless, city law requires that before signing any law adopted by the City Council, the mayor must first sit and listen to any witnesses who want to come forward and speak about it.

What a great law. Maybe we should force it on the President.

Best comment came from a 14 year old Rachel Trachtenberg

“I may not be able to vote yet but I know for a fact that what you are doing is wrong.” She added, “Quite frankly, Mayor Bloomberg, you are cheating, which does not make a good example for the youth of New York City and the whole world.”

Of course, one might point out that when you elect someone who has made undermining a basic tenet of the constitution his political goal, you shouldn’t be surprised to find he’s a liar and a cheater.

update

Her grandfather left a comment!!

Here’s the you tube of Rachel telling the Mayor where to stick it

And here is her webpage

Speaking of buying a hunting license, well, the prices in Virginia are still outrageous.

Resident State Hunting $18.00
Resident Bear, Deer, & Turkey $18.00
Resident Muzzleloader $18.00
National Forest Permit $4.00
Migratory Waterfowl Conservation Stamp $10.00
Contribute $2.00 to Hunters for the Hungry $2.00
Total Fee $70.00

Since its still early, and I’m not hunting deer for another 2 months, I opted to just get the Resident State Hunting license, the National Forest Permit, and thethe Migratory Waterfowl stamp (I also picked up a federal stamp).

Once deer season rolls around, I’ll add the others.

I made three visits down to the trainer this week, Last Saturday’s was not very productive, thanks VDOT, but I was determined to work with the dog. I found time to do that on Tuesday, and left the office early to make the drive down. We spent about 2 hours with him.

Rex is coming along nicely. He’s turning into not only an incredibly intelligent lab but a picture perfect lab - with the height and dimensions of an American field dog and the gorgeous blocky lines of an English show dog. Jack Jagoda and the folks at Deep Run really know how to bring out the best in a litter of pups. My trainer, who has a gorgeous black lab puppy 1 week older than Rex has consistently called Rex smarter and better looking than his dog: a perfect lab.

We’ll see if I can turn this terrific foundation into a field champion and hunting master.

Anyway, on Tuesday we took out 3 dogs - Rex, the trainers black lab pup Dylan, and his 3 year old German wirehaired retriever who’s name I forget (Sandy??) and worked on double inbound retrieves.

We would switch each dog off to work the retrieve, with the other two staked out to the left and right. This worked to train the dogs both to be obedient until it was their turn as well as to get the dogs generally excited but able to maintain discipline.

Trainer went out about 30 yards and blew the duck call, then threw dummies to the right and left. On my command (and we worked on both my command and my signalling) we would send dogs out IN A STRAIGHT LINE to retrieve dummy and immediatly return it to hand and then come to a heel/sit position for direction for the next retrieve. Dogs had this down cold, but it took some work with me to get my motions and direction down. We discussed pack theory some, and how dogs learn/respond and take command in wild (and his experience training wolves compared to training coyotes) and how that relates to my role as team leader. We also worked on the form of my hand signals and my presentation to the dog, as well as little things like clearly demarking for him the difference between work and play (attention/at ease).

Yesterday, I woke up at 4:00 am, packed the car (was heading down to the Georgia coast for vacation) and was on the road by 4:30 to meet the trainer. Hit traffic, at 5:00 am, on I95 in Stafford (VDOT’s 511 traffic info called it “congestion from volume,” they had closed 3 lanes and an exit down for construction/re-paving”), and made it to the trainers just before 7:00 am.

Had another client there (with an english pointer) and Doug anounced that he saw the quail moving and wanted to get the dogs on em quick. We immeditly let the dogs out - Rex, Dylan, the german wirehair, the english pointer, and a springer spaniel. Had them quarter the field, crossed a stream, and drove the quail into a thick brush. Dogs then rouded up the birds, got real birdy, and started to flush them directly at us one at a time on Dougs command.

Nothing as pretty as a covey of quail launching. Really, all the upland game birds are gorgeous on take off.

Afterward, we went back up to the kennel, put a bunch of pigeons out in traps in the brush, and then worked the dogs on them, releasing and shooting them, and sending dogs out one at a time to retrieve.

Very good day, worked the pups hard, and was back on the road by 9:30 am (finally made it down to Georgia at 5:30 pm).

Well, there is something fundamentally wrong with the road system in Virginia. Somewhere, someone, screwed up in a tremendous way, and frankly I doubt this state will ever be able to fix what is wrong. And no, simply throwing money at Northern Virginia isn’t the solution - in fact, the idiots at VDOT have shown time and again that more money only leads to more ill considered worthless projects.

No, things need to be peeled back - and the entire morass needs to be examined and perhaps, if possible, ripped up and started all over.

Case in point:

I was supposed to do three things on Saturday. I was going to head down to meet my trainer and work with the dog. Then, I was going to head over to Richmond to the Virginia Sportsman’s Show - I had free tickets compliments of the Roanoke Times. Then, we were gonna race back up to NoVA and shoot some skeet.

We had it timed out right, but then we hit the Virginia road system.

Dog Training
Told the trainer, I’d be there at 10:30 with my buddy. We were gonna work the dog a couple of hours in the field . . . shooting some birds over him and working on different retrieving scenarios. I left, for the hour and 45 minute drive, at 8:30. No traffic at all, till I got to I-95 - and then just sat. And crawled. Finally making it to Fredericksburg at 10:30 and not getting down to his place till noon. Where I got to spend all of 15 minutes with him because I was so damn late.

Sportsman Show
We then left, drove on I64 over to Richmond. No problems here, and the sportsman show was neat. Great, impressive, buck collection. Someone clearly has better property to hunt than I do. Saw lots of neat hunting gadgets, almost bought a couple of duck calls, and got to speak with some hunting guides. All in all, it would have been worthwhile, except I was so ticked off about not getting to train with the dog it just ruined the whole experience for me.

Skeet Shooting
We raced on out of the Sportsman Show by 2:00pm, with what should have been a 90 minute drive on a lazy Saturday afternoon to get to shoot skeet. Heh. By 3:30 we had traveled 30 miles and reached Fredericksburg, where I tried to hop on VA17 to save time - and went 3 miles in 1 hour - before bailing and hopping back on 95. In another hour we moved another 25 miles and I was able to hop on VA 234 to cut across over to Mannassas. By then, it was nearly 6 and having sat in a car for 8 hours already it was too late to do much skeet shooting - so we hopped on I66 - and sat for another hour, not getting home till 7:30.

Thanks Virginia, For Ruining My Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday
I made up for it Sunday.

Started the day looking at canoes. I think I found a great one - I’ll be testing it out tonight to see if I want to buy it. Its an Old Town Duck Hunter - about an 18 year old canoe - thats perfect for hunting as well as for trips down the river with the family.

From there, I threw my kayak in the Potomac at Pennyfield lock. It was a gorgeous ride.

I paddled up into the islands and explored them a bit, taking coordinates on my GPS and checking out how they had eroded since last duck season. Your not allowed to built permanent blinds on them, but we constructed a series of makeshift blinds with deadfalls, etc. last season that survived most of the winter. Unfortunatly, it doesn’t look like any survived the spring floods. Whats more, there was a fair bit of erosion going on, and some new channels opened up.

I ran into this guy right in front of one of our old blinds.

I also got out and did a bit of scouting in one of the areas I go deer hunting. The corn didn’t look so good, but they had a real healthy crop of beans. It should be a good season!

So, I went to New York City last weekend - to visit my parents.

Frankly folks, I just don’t care how bad Bloomberg is, NY is still the greatest city in the entire world. Its a shame what they’ve done to it - I don’t know if the nanyism is worse or the Disneyification of Times Square - but I long for the hot summer days of a time long ago. And to think, my dad used to ride the subway with a .44 Mag Marlin strapped over his shoulder to go upstate deer hunting . . . wish those days were still here.

Took this Saturday afternoon - right before closing (say, 5:25) at the American Museum of Natural History. The Museum the Roosevelts built.

18mm, F3.5 at 1/3

I posted about him playing with the Second Amendments the other night. Most of the press, and attention to him, focused on his role as the touring keyboardist for the Rolling Stones. Of course, he was pretty damn rocking long before that . . . coming on originally for the Brothers and Sister’s album taking the place (on piano) of the departed Duane Allman in the Allman Brothers. Here he is talking about how they came up with Jessica from that album

Of course, one could argue (one will argue) that from an American perspective, Jessica is really why Rock and Roll was invented.

Lyrics?? Who needs lyrics. This is the Allman Brothers were talking about!!!

Of course, there is a second part to this post . . . .and thats to quote this NY Times article on Chuck and how he incorporates hunting as an active part of the management of his land.

For Mr. Leavell, hunting is an integral part of responsible land stewardship. Voracious herds of deer need constant thinning, and hunters, like tree huggers, he points out, are important allies in the battle for land preservation.

Stick that in a hippy Vegan the next time they attack you for hunting.

In their editorial on D.C.’s proposed new gun law (expected to be passed today), the Washington Post states

Likely to be enacted today by the council on an emergency basis, it would permit only handguns in homes for self-defense. Sawed-off shotguns, machine guns and short-barreled rifles would still be banned. To register handguns, residents would have to complete an application, pass a written firearms test, provide a photo and proof of good vision, and be fingerprinted — all sensible requirements that are generally seen as being able to pass court muster.

I’ll let others point out how ludicrous the machine gun ban - which defines any gun that has the potential to hold 12 bullets in a magazine as a machine gun - is (and how quickly its going to fall).

What I want to discuss are these registration requirements

Application - ok
Written test - well, seems to me some states have already tried to require African Americans to pass poll tests and were rightly struck down.
Photo - ok
proof of good vision - So the D.C. government isn’t only a bunch of racist bigots? Their also anti handicapped? Folks, this forget the smell test - this doesn’t pass either the American’s With Disabilities Act or D.C.’s Human Rights Act

§ 1-2501. Intent of Council.

It is the intent of the Council of the District of Columbia, in enacting this chapter, to secure an end in the District of Columbia to discrimination for any reason other than that of individual merit, including, but not limited to, discrimination by reason of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, disability, source of income, and place of residence or business.

(1973 Ed., § 6-2201; Dec. 13, 1977, D.C. Law 2-38, title I, § 101, 24 DCR 6038; June 28, 1994, D.C. Law 10-129, § 2(a), 41 DCR 2583.)

PROHIBITED ACTS OF DISCRIMINATION

§ 1-2511. Equal opportunities.

Every individual shall have an equal opportunity to participate fully in the economic, cultural and intellectual life of the District and to have an equal opportunity to participate in all aspects of life, including, but not limited to,

in employment, in places of public accommodation, resort or amusement, in educational institutions, in public service, and in housing and commercial space accommodations.

(1973 Ed., § 6-2211; Dec. 13, 1977, D.C. Law 2-38, title II, § 201, 24 DCR 6038.)

§ 1-2532. Discriminatory effects of practices.

Any practice which has the effect or consequence of violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed to be an unlawful discriminatory practice.

(1973 Ed., § 6-2278; Dec. 13, 1977, D.C. Law 2-38, title II, § 268, 24 DCR 6038.)

§ 1-2556. Private cause of action.

(a) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice shall have a cause of action in any court of competent jurisdiction for damages and such other remedies as may be appropriate, unless such person has filed a complaint hereunder; provided, that where the Office has dismissed such complaint on the grounds of administrative convenience, or where the complainant has withdrawn a complaint, such person shall maintain all rights to bring suit as if no complaint had been filed. No person who maintains, in a court of competent jurisdiction, any action based upon an act which would be an unlawful discriminatory practice under this chapter may file the same complaint with the Office. A private cause of action pursuant to this act shall be filed in a court of competent jurisdiction within one year of the unlawful discriminatory practice, or the discovery thereof. The timely filing of a complaint with the Office shall toll the running of the one year statute of limitations while the complaint is pending before the Office.

(b) The court may grant such relief as it deems appropriate, including but not limited to, such relief as is provided in § 1-2553(a).

(1973 Ed., § 6-2296; Dec. 13, 1977, D.C. Law 2-38, title III, § 316, 24 DCR 6038; Oct. 23, 1997, D.C. Law 12-39, § 2(d), 44 DCR 4856.)

I’m looking for a client

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

Last week, Fannie’s stock plummeted to $10.25, down 74 percent in 2008. Freddie’s shares also dived, closing at $7.75, a loss of 77 percent this year.

So, besides EVERY member of Congress for the last 40 years (throw every last one out - Republican and Democrat - and sue them and their estates to recoup the bill) who’s really to blame for this?

James A. Johnson, a longtime member of the Washington establishment who previously worked as a campaign adviser to former Vice President Walter F. Mondale, ran Fannie for most of the 1990s.

“Jim Johnson was the architect of Fannie’s lobbying strategy. He was the muscle guy, if you will. The guy who would walk the halls of Congress,” said Bert Ely, a banking consultant in Arlington, Va., and longtime critic of the companies. Freddie, Mr. Ely said, soon copied Fannie’s playbook.

Hmm, Jim Johnson . . . haven’t we heard that name before???

Oh, here it is, 8 paragraphs later HIDDEN far down in the article

(Mr. Johnson was compelled to step down as the head of Senator Barack Obama’s vice-presidential search team last month after he was criticized for receiving mortgages on favorable terms from Countrywide Financial.)

Of course, Barack Don’t-mention-my-middle-name-is-Hussein-and-my-family-is-muslim-
and-I-did-more-to-finance-gun-bigots-than-any-other-America Obama didn’t fire him for single handedly creating and funding the system that looks to do more damage to America than Osama bin Laden . . . no, that was actually the reason he was hired.

Is anyone really surprised?

In an article in Cuba’s communist youth newspaper, Juventud Rebelde, the 14-year old Gonzalez said he would never let ex-President Fidel Castro and his brother Raul Castro down. He joined more than 18-thousand others who joined the group on Saturday.

I mean, come on. To him, this is the face of America.

And sadly, I don’t think its improved very much under Shrub.

Kudo’s to VCDL for getting the ball rolling and the NRA for getting it across the goal line!!!!

The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), through the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, today issued a proposed rule to amend regulations prohibiting firearms in National Parks and Wildlife Refuges. The National Rifle Association (NRA) led the effort to amend the existing policy regarding the carrying and transportation of firearms on these federal lands.

The proposed rule was filed today and will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, and can be found online. It provides sixty days for public comment.

Go Forth and Submit Your Sane, Reasonable, Well Thought Out Comments.

What ever you do, don’t be a loon.

And by that, I mean, keep the black helicopter talk to a minimum, don’t tell them your offended they are doing this because they don’t have the authority to limit your ability to carry a gun one way or another, or otherwise come across as someone who might scare generally anti gun DC residents (they are, like it or not, the folks who will be reviewing the comments and implementing the rule)

Remember, the other side doesn’t have crap. Let them come across as dysfunctional. We need to keep the high road.

UPDATE

In light of this post, I’d point out that the Virgin Islands have a wonderful National Park, very much worth visiting.

Wisdom

PPS Since 1964 every Democratic president has come from south of the Mason Dixon line.

PPPS Democrats need to get off the Gun Prohibition bandwagon, and Republicans need to get off the Abortion Prohibition bandwagon and Gay Marriage Prohibition bandwagon, and they both need to get off the Drug Prohibition bandwagon. Americans don’t like having their rights restricted by the government, and they don’t like the side effects of bureaucracy. Of course, sometimes Americans like having other people’s rights restricted, but never their own. You have to show people how restricting other people’s rights ultimately infringes on their own.

PPPPS Have you noticed how your cell phone is handy, but other people talking on their cell phones are annoying? Same deal. Don’t think about controlling other people’s freedoms. Think about maintaining your own freedoms. Infringing on someone’s behavior should only be done if their behavior endanger’s others. Several studies strongly suggest that talking on a cell phone while driving might be an example of a behavior that needs to be regulated.

What was true then, is true now.

More Here (warning, ugly graphic violence depicted)

Linked from the comments of this excellent post at Daily KOS