We have two registrations due in December for our vehicles. I attempted to discern exactly what our liabilities would be a couple of months ago online, only to be told by the State's website that the information wasn't available due to the budget. Well, my family has to budget as well, and these new rates are wreaking havoc.

So, I just received notices in the mail that one vehicle with a tag of $71.00 last year is now $117.00, and the other vehicle went from $224.00 to $479.00. WHAT. THE. ______. 

My sister is considering buying a new SUV. I told her to consider the taxes and tags. She's better off driving her old Suburban until it breaks apart on the 280. 

Why more people aren't outraged by this mess is beyond me. 

Seriously? He learns of the carnage at Fort Hood and when addressing those present at the Tribal Nations Conference AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE PLANET he spends nearly two minutes crowing about the great work he's doing to help the Native Americans. 

Only after patting himself on the the back does he acknowledge the carnage at one of the biggest military installations on this planet, which just happens to be in these United States. His disingenuous attitude and the fact that he put his own ego and agenda first is beyond sickening.

Good job, Obama. Your priorities are quite clear and I do believe this is the most transparent you have ever been. You owe an apology to EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN.

Strong personalities with differences of opinion can co-exist here without the vicious, hateful namecalling and personal attacks. The latest venom spewed by our Virgil was so totally over the top. I would have reported a violation, but alas, the blog is no longer there. Either Taoking took it down or he was kicked off - again. 

How is it possible that Virgil can creep around on these blogs day after day, spamming posts with pictures and deliberately insulting people? In case you missed it, this is what Virgil had to say:

Sam is an insipid hateful cuss who is so certain of his providential inspiration, that he feels it safe to cast aspersions from behind locked doors.

You're an intellectual wimp - a coward and bad witness to the grace of the very god you say to speak for. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

Now, think what you like about Dr. Heath - or anyone else for that matter - but I don't see how anyone could consider this as anything but a personal attack. Dr. Heath has taken all kinds of abuse in the last week or so and I'm sick of it. So what if he doesn't want people like Virgil crapping on his posts. I'm surprised that Virgil can so frequently and consistently violate the terms of service without reprimand. 

Until today, I had been in WalMart exactly twice, and it was not by choice. I was doing some shopping for an ill friend and that's where she wanted me to go, so, of course, I did. That was over ten years ago.

Coming from a family that has owned small businesses in Kern County for over 50 years, I couldn't help but go to the Super WalMart today to see what it was all about. Those of you who think these mega-stores won't hurt not only locally owned businesses but the national chains as well are being unrealistic. Especially after the Gosford site opens and the East Hills store expansion is realized.

Why do I hate WalMart? In no particular order:

I have never seen so much worthless, cheap trinket junk anywhere except a swap meet.

The environment is completely devoid of any pleasing aesthetics; the flat blue walls, the annoying lighting, the sterile flooring, the cheap shelving, the tacky signage, etc.

THE SMELL. My god, seriously, do those people EVER shower? My olfactory sense was offended in every aisle. Pungent body odor nearly made my eyes water, the walking stale ashtrays made me want to vomit, and people who can't be bothered to change their kids' crap-filled diapers should be ashamed of themselves. The cheap perfume doesn't help, either.

The prices. Sure, they have some fantastic loss-leaders, but overall I didn't see much of a difference in what I usually buy. I paid $1.37 for a box of Barilla linguine there today, but when Vons runs a special it's $1.00 per unit when you buy five, so I stock up then. The six-pack of Evian was $8.98 and it's $8.99 at Vons. It made me sad to see the selection of Amy's frozen products at such low prices ... WalMart is charging nearly half the amount that OUR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS does. Shame on them for targeting a random niche like that.

I've ranted on customers and their lack of courtesy at Costco in the past, but I have a new appreciation of what "rude" is. Today marked a whole new and improved rude. Who the hell are these people? Seriously? You get what you give in most cases, and I was particularly pleasant today with smiles, excuse mes, and do you mind if I can get past yous and people were jerks. That crap doesn't happen where civilized people shop.

I'll take Costco, Vons, Trader Joe's, and Fresh and Easy ANY day over WalMart.

Why on earth do you think it's a good idea to allow bloggers to edit and/or delete their comments after the fact? I've used this convenient feature to clear up a typo here and there, but I have been a big enough person to let my gaffes stand and apologize accordingly.

A recent staff blog had insults hurled right and left that have subsequently been deleted, and certainly not by the host of the blog. 

Could you possibly consider a revamp of your policy?

Aside from a core of veterans that still blog here (Audrey, Nancy, Sagefever, Randomfactor, Siouxcityranch, Tonyh, Sam Heath, to name a few), not many of us have been around since this site was launched back in 2006. And though I never read it, I understand another blog existed on "typepad" before this format we know today.

I've been around for a couple of years (lurked for one of them), but certainly wish I had known a few things before jumping feet first into the deep end of these murky waters.

What would you tell a new blogger to make his/her experience a good one?

I was saddened to see the seizure of what could arguably be Bakersfield's most generous and philanthropic bank. I was a business customer for nearly eight years and other family members also held accounts there and were stockholders. I have not one complaint about the customer service, which was always - and I mean ALWAYS - perfect in every way. 

It truly was the bank where everyone greeted you by name, and if you went into the downtown branch you were certain to run into all kinds of local business people. The rare occasion that one had to stand in line was always pleasantly passed chatting with an acquaintance. 

So, having said that, what REALLY happened, and why isn't the Californian on this like the proverbial Salvaggio "rat on a Cheeto"? Aside from the Crisp & Cole scandal, this is probably the biggest story in quite some time. Evidently Bart Hill has no comment, which is really disappointing. I had hoped to see at least a press release by now ... but no. 

I am perplexed by CEO Richard Beene and reporter John Cox touting all things good about SJB but clearly have no interest in reporting the facts. Those pieces were emotional editorials. 

Could it be because the owner/publisher of the Californian sits on the Board of San Joaquin Bank, and the CEO of San Joaquin Bank sits on the board of the Californian?

Some fear heights, others fear wide open spaces. Or tight spaces. Bodies of water is another. Phobias are quite common; it seems that there's something that makes most people squirm.

My mortal fear is fire. Whether this can be attributed to an incident that happened when I was an infant, I don't know. Apparently, my family's house caught on fire when I was less than a year old. My mother tells the story quite vividly; my dad and one of my sisters went out the front, she and another sister went out the back, then she's screaming "Get the baby! Did somebody get the baby?!" Well, that "baby" was me, subsequently rescued by my father. 

I've heard the story enough to be troubled, I suppose, but I wonder if I actually had the cognitive faculties at such a young age to embed a fear of fire from the actual experience. 

I do love a controlled fire. Fireplaces, firepits, One of my old houses in Westchester had two fireplaces and I had fires burning every cold winter night in both of them. Fire itself does not trouble me; burning to death is most unsettling. 

Anyone care to share their own mortal fear?

 American 'abortion addict' reveals she terminated 15 pregnancies in 17 years

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE
Last updated at 1:06 AM on 14th October 2009

Frank: Irene Vilar, 40, has written her memoir Impossible Motherhood: Testimony Of An Abortion Addict after having 15 terminations in 17 years

A woman has admitted to being 'an abortion addict' after having 15 terminations over 17 years.

Irene Vilar said she had the abortions not from poverty or fear but as an extraordinary act of rebellion against her 'controlling' husband who did not want children.

The 40-year-old's confession has unleashed a torrent of attacks from anti-abortion activists on the internet, including death threats and demands for her to be jailed.

The cycle of pregnancies and abortions, which began when she was 16 and ended when she was 33, was also punctuated by several suicide attempts.

Now a successful literary agent with two young daughters, Loretta, five, and Lolita, three, Mrs Vilar has written about her experiences in a memoir, called Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict.

The book, which was published yesterday, has shocked many Americans, who remain bitterly divided over the issue, and has angered campaigners on both sides of the abortion divide.

Charmaine Yoest, president of pro-life pressure group Americans United for Life, said: 'It really underscores everything we always say in the pro-life movement - that abortion is part of a very sad story for women.'

However, pro-choice campaigners said Mrs Vilar's book raises uncomfortable questions about abortion as a form of birth control.

Mrs Vilar said of the book's reception: 'I am worried about my safety and the hate mail. I just imagine the "baby killer" stuff and I could be a poster child for that kind of fundamentalism.'

The attractive one-time academic prodigy attended a boarding school in New Hampshire and was accepted into a New York university when she was only 15.

A year later, she fell in love and married a 50-year-old Latin American literature professor, who she says was opposed to having children.

She claims he bragged that his relationships never lasted more than five years and told that having children killed sexual desire.

In response, Mrs Vilar said she rebelled by 'forgetting' to take her birth control pills. 

Puerto Rican nationalist Lolita Lebron, pictured at an anti-U.S. protest in 2000, is Ms Vilar's grandmother. She left her own daughter with relatives as a baby

'In the beginning I was taking pills and I'd skip a day or two or give up one month,' she said in a television interview. 'I'd think I'll be better next time.

'But slowly, my days took on a balancing act and there was a specific high. I would get my period and be sad, then discover I was pregnant, being afraid, yet also so excited.'

She claimed she had the abortions so her husband wouldn't leave her although she failed to reveal whether he knew of the terminations.

'Of course, this did not mean I wanted to do it again and again,' she said. 'A druggie also wants to stop every time.

'Women have written memoirs about their anorexia or their bulimia, and they explain the best that they can what motivated their addiction or their behaviour. I try to do the same in this book.'

Her first husband, Pedro Cuperman, a professor at Syracuse University in New York, could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

In her book, Mrs Vilar also revealed how she is haunted by a tragic past. Her grandmother, Puerto Rican nationalist Lolita Lebron, was jailed for 25 years after storming the U.S. Capitol building with a gun in 1954. 

She was convicted of attempting to overthrow the government and was jailed for 25 years before she was pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

Divided: Ms Vilar's book has split opinion on the issue of abortion

The author was eight when her mother killed herself by jumping from a moving car and died two days later. Her husband had been driving while her tiny daughter had made a pathetic attempt to hold her mother back.

Two of Mrs Vilar's brothers became heroin addicts.

Although she said she did not see herself as a victim, she admitted she felt she had let the women's movement down.

Now re-married, she is raising their two daughters and two teenage stepchildren in Denver, Colorado.

'Motherhood has made me feel accountable,' she said. 'It hasn't made me less pro-choice.

'It's just that I understand and feel the weight of the privilege we have in exercising our right to choose.'

Yesterday, a report released by the U.S.-based Guttmacher Institute revealed the number of abortions fell from 45.5million in 1995 to 41.6million in 2003.

The study claimed progress had been made in reducing unintended pregnancies, but too many women were still having unsafe abortions, with 32 countries having laws that make the procedure illegal. 

The manuscript for Impossible Motherhood was rejected 51 times, before finally being published by Other Press.

Miss Vilar married her second husband in 2003 and now lives with her two daughters and two stepchildren. She is planning a new memoir on motherhood.

It wasn't until September of 2007 that I had the experience of living in a sheet rock house. 

Up until the move here, I've lived in older, established neighborhoods ... all lathe and plaster. 

New(er)  construction is a joke. I have seams coming apart on the ceiling in the garage, baseboards peeling with the slightest touch of moisture, grout and caulking dissolving in the bathrooms and kitchen, cracks running up the elevation ... 

And the worst of it all is the interior insulation. With sheet rock, it really doesn't matter how big your house is; if someone is awake, it's likely everyone else will be too. Especially if you have stone tile floors with poorly hung bedroom doors.

I often miss my old lathe and plaster abodes.