Bait taken........ now what?

I always preferred stream fishing over sitting on the bank or trolling in a boat...... I enjoyed the challenge of sneaking up on the next pool, without the trout seeing me. One or two casts is about it on a small stream...... why? The fish learns the difference between what's real and what's bait.

A source of confusion for me regarding the war is the way our "society at large" has responded....... My question is this: "What specifically has/is the American public done/doing to help our soldiers get home?"

My father lied about his age to enter the service in the early 40s...... he was a medic when we landed on Okinawa. My mother volunteered at some hospital in L.A. She no longer wore silk stockings..... they needed silk for the war effort. Aluminum, rubber, steel, fuel..... some things you could not get.... and wouldn't want to, cuz our boys needed it more. Some things we cut back our consumption of in a big way. All for the war effort. In 1942..... farmers in the south were required by the federal government to grow HEMP, for the war effort.

How is it that we here at home have somehow, ever since the beginning of this war, completely dismissed our duty as Americans to cut back on the driving force behind the war????? Oil....... Please read "Spinning the lure..... taking the bait?". If there is any question please consider the following:

1. Not one Iraqi was on any of the 9/11 flights.

2. Bush gets his money from the importation of oil.

3. Iraq is the "second largest oil reserve in the world".

4. At the onset of the war, Bush blatantly told the American people to consume fuel as you will..... it's all good.

5. Bush is comfortably in cahouts with the Saudi's.

6. There were Saudi's on the 9/11 planes.

7. Condee had her namesake taken OFF of an Exxon tanker shortly after Bush won the first election..... to separate the administration from any perceivable connections with oil. Some have left office and gone back to work for the oil industry.

8. ALL reasons the administratiion has given for taking our kids to war....... have turned out to be lies. To the extent that they have to fall back on........... "the world is a better place without Sadam", as the viable reason to take Iraq.

Soooo..... how clear does the writing have to be on the wall for Americans as a whole, to STOP consuming so much fuel? To STOP buying into the smoke screen that, none of these things are connected..... and I have the planetary rights to consume as much as I want, and it will have no consequence on the things that are happening now. I have the money, so I have the right! I have to say..... not once since the war started have I been able to understand the ego/ethnocentricity it takes to put a yellow "I support the troops" on the backside of a Hummer. Don't get me wrong, I know these folks' hearts are in the right place all day long...... but I do contend. It does NOT make any sense! Not one bit when compared the standards set by all Americans in the early 40s................ do we say, but I love the horsepower I get?

Peace to all, pickerman.

P.S. What now?

Prince Andy, the flying puppy

Prince Andy at the Lakes of River Walk in Bakersfield

Prince Andy, the flying puppy
by Joe Cox

Six months ago, my grandaughter, Tasha and her husband Octavio Flores, decided they wanted a new dog to add to our family. So one day she came across a lab that something just said “he’s my dog” to them, so they bought “Prince Andy” home. He was 6 weeks old at the time. We also have a 4 year old chihuahua that hates water and a 6 year old Lab mix that loves water and every summer we put a children’s wading pool out for them to play in. We quickly noticed that Andy loved to run and "Jump" into the water A couple weeks later they were watching a dog "Dock Jumping" competition on ESPN television and Tasha thought, “I would love to have my dog do that”. They didn’t know what they were in for. They decided to take Andy out to the Lake at River Walk to see if he would jump into open water, he passed with flying colors (see enclosed pictures) far exceeding their expectations. His first jump ever was almost 10 feet.

They then decided that they would see just what he could do, so a trainer in the bay area was contacted to show them what they needed to do to get into the sport. Tasha and Octavio decided to have Andy take the plunge at the “WAGS FOR WISHES” competition in San Diego this past weekend. Andy by far exceeding their highest expectations. He was one of only 2 puppies entered in the competition. Andy is 6 months old now. Dogs compete in 5 divisions. They are:

Splash Class 0'1" to 9'11"
Junior Class 10'0" to 14'11"
Senior Class 15'0" to 19'11"
Pro Class 20'0" to 22'11"
Extreme Class 23'0" and above
There were no age groups at the competition.

On Andy’s first jump he bypassed the Splash Class, jumping 12'10" to win 2 ribbons. On the second day of competition Andy bypassed the Junior Class by jumping 15'4" moving into the Senior Class (the classses ar based on length of jump, not age of dog). Andy was the only puppy to be placed in the Junior or Senior Class during the weekend. On Sunday, Andy was again placed in the Junior Class where he Jumped 14'11" to win his "Wave" and the blue ribbon for first place and to qualify for the “Splash Dogs World Championships in Scottsdale, Az on November 1st-4th.

There were over 150 dogs entered in this event. Andy finished 43rd over all. Not bad for a puppy going against mature dogs.

This weekend Andy plans on traveling to Vallejo to compete in the Solano County Fair Dock Jumping Challenge with the "Splash Jumpers". The next competition will be at the Super Retriever Series Super Fly in Reno, NV. on August 11th & 12th.

Dock jumping features ordinary dogs doing spectacular jumps into water, Andy is one of thousands of dogs across the country participating in big-air dock jumping. The concept of dock jumping is simple: Dogs jump as far as they can into a body of water. Specifically, the dogs sprint down a 40-foot dock which stands two feet above the water's edge. Their handlers toss a toy into the air for incentive. Then they leap out over the water in hopes of reaching the toy — and a record distance. Officials then use a specialized camera to create a digital image and measurement of the jump, calculating the distance from the end of the dock to the closest point where dog hits water, minus the tail. Average distances in competition range from 6 to 18 feet, while dogs jumping over 20 feet are considered to be at a professional level

For more information, please call Joe Cox 565-1808

http://www.splashdogs.com/events/register/Cynosports.php

http://www.splashdogs.com/events/register/DelMar7-6.php

I Support our U.S. Troops

I support the U.S. Troops 100%, but not the Bush Administration, which is nothing but Lies and Corruption.

We shouldn't be in Iraq nor Afghanistan at all. So that is my answer to that principle question, definitely not.

My question is; Do you think the president's daughters should volunteer to Iraq or any other country that we have invaded unjustifiably?

Spinning the lure......taking the bait?

As an avid fisherman at one time in my life, I quickly learned that if you want to catch a fish....... you must give it what it wants. Whether the bait is real or not doesn't matter as long as you can convince the fish to behave as you desire....... to take the bait.

As honest, God fearing Americans, or whatever your belief system is...... we deserve the truth from our leaders, period. Our lives, as well as our environment depend upon it. Two areas that are intrinsicly connected to each other..... is the Iraq war, and the prohibition of hemp. (the latter under the smoke screen of prohibiting marijuana)

Let me explain: First, we have been led to believe the war in Iraq is against terrorism for the purpose of securing our freedom. That these folks hate Americans because of our freedom. These are the spinnings of oil barons in an effort to gain support and cloud the truth that.... the middle east hates us because our love of oil, and what we'll do to get it. I support the troops, not oil barons. Out of all the presidential candidates, Ron Paul (R) Texas, is the only one who has his facts straight. Second, we're told that marijuana is illegal because of its effects...... quotes from Harry Anslinger's 1937 presentation to Congress, he says of the 50,000 to 100,000 marijuana users today..." mostly are Negroes and Mexicans, and entertainers", and that their "satanic music caused white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes". This racist misinformation was spread via Hearst newspapers...... This is the foundation marijuana prohibition is built upon. It was the ONLY way to prohibit hemp. It's the hemp the oil barons need to keep illegal!!!!!! You can add the pharmaceutical, lumber, and paper industries to the list who want to continue hemp prohibition.

Why you might ask? Fuel...... Hemp fuel would eliminate the need for the middle east oil. Let alone revolutionize the pharmaceutical, textile, and paper industries..... while eliminating the lumber industry! Read... save trees, and much more importantly, American lives!!!!!!

As Americans....... we MUST demand the truth and STOP watching and listening to tabloid politics......... we MUST understand that big money will say ANYTHING to protect big money.......... even if it cost our children's lives!

dbfresno

P.S. Do unto others as you would have done to you, and God bless.

Assembly Member Fuller Speaks At Kern Association of Cities Dinner

The city of Maricopa hosted the Kern County Association of Cities bimonthly dinner and meeting Tuesday, July 31. Assembly Member Jean Fuller was the keynote speaker for the evening.

Representatives from Bakersfield, Delano, Maricopa, McFarland, Shafter, and Taft were in attendance, and in addition to Fuller, representatives from Senator Dean Florez's office and the League of California Cities were also there.

Bakersfield City Councilman Zack Scrivner attended, both as a representative for the city of Bakersfield and as Fuller's district director. He introduced Fuller's speech by commenting on her impressive start as a freshman in the legislature, making note of her election to the chair of the State Legislative Rural Caucus, a powerful bipartisan assemblage of 42 state senators and assembly members from rural areas.

Fuller spoke about her experience in the legislature thus far. Describing her honeymoon period, she said, "Before I got here I thought I don't know how to write a bill. It turns out nobody knows how to write a bill … we have to turn everything in to the legislative attorney." In reference to her recent battles with the budget as a member of the budget subcommittee for education, she said, "It's really hard for everybody in there to vote for something that has so many things in it."

Despite her vote against SB 77, the budget act of 2007, Fuller defended the spending plan, saying the assembly has been able to close a significant amount of the budget gap. "The gap we were trying to close this year was something like four or five billion," said Fuller, "and the budget the assembly has passed had [a gap of] 499 million. So instead of billions we're down to millions."

Fuller went on to describe how a tax incentives plan for certain industries could fill in the gap, saying, "We could make $499 million more dollars next year out of this group of people that are receiving a tax incentive." One such incentive Fuller mentioned was a reduction in jet fuel sales tax for industries that spend money on air travel. "Nobody's buying jet fuel in California," said Fuller.

Fuller also said she understands why it is hard for the legislature to meet its self-appointed budget deadline of June 30, which has only been met one time in the last six years. "It's really hard for people to support the budget, because it's going to be a compromise. And that's one of the reasons the senators are struggling right now."

After receiving the necessary two-thirds vote from the assembly on July 20, SB77 has reached an impasse in the state senate. Senate Republicans say they will not sign an unbalanced budget; in order to pass, at least two of the 15 senate Republicans would have to sign on to the bill. Fuller approached the topic with levity, saying, "The senators are older, wiser, and more stubborn about the budget," but also took the situation seriously, noting that " … nobody gets paid from the capitol until it passes, and that puts a lot of pressure on the people that are still sitting there. Lots of schools, hospitals, cities are urging them to get the money passed through." Already, over one billion in payments have not been made to schools, hospitals, colleges and social programs in California.

Also at Tuesday's meeting the Association of cities appointed Maricopa City Councilman Greg Gray to be the west side's representative for the Kern Economic Development Corporation. According to Gray, "The study of economic development is something I've been trying to get more involved in for a while now … I was happy to be nominated."

The next Kern County Association of Cities dinner and meeting will be hosted by the city of Taft on September 27.

Why are we still There??

I think that the US being in this war is stupid. We went over there to help Iraq. We helped them so lets' get out and get our troops home. Bush is only in this war to look superior to everyone else. I think that Bush is wrong for keeping our troops over there. We should have our troops home.

I think this war is getting a little out of hand. We went over there to help get control of the Iraq Government. We did and now it's time to get out and come home. We have been there to long. I think some where along the way we lost sight o the goal. Bush needs to step up and bring our troops home. I think Bush is still mad about 9-11. I know we all are, but that is no reason to keep our troops somewhere they are not needed. All Bush is doing is making the Iraqie people hate the US. We shuld leave before they decide to do something like 9-11 again.

Democracy

I don't understand why we are at war. I guess it is my lack of formal education. We are being told that we are trying to establish a government of democracy in Iraq. We want the Iraqi people to have a say by vote in there government and this is why we are sending our people over there to die. But wait a second why should we die to give the Iraqi people something we don't have ourselves. Everytime our people vote on a subject the leaders of our country doesn't like they allways find a way to throw our vote out. Maybe I just don't understand democracy, stupid me! I believe your own house should be clean before going to criticize someone else. I know this subject isn't popular with many but just look at the madicinal marijuana bill, I guess the citizens that voted and passed that doesn't count somehow. I used to believe that the books we read in school about rights and law were non fiction but I guess everything changes?

Special Olympics to host Special Needs Seminar on August 22

Davida Murphy, executive director of the Kern County Special Olympics, has announced that the organization will host a Special Needs Planning Seminar on Aug. 22 at the Kern Regional Center Conference Room (3121 N. Sillect, Suite 304). The 75-minute seminar will begin at 6:30 p.m. All parents and guardians of special needs children (juvenile and adult) are welcome to attend. Reservations can be made by calling 322-7598.

Attorney Richard McBurnie will provide valuable information to families who have loved ones with special needs. This would include autism, developmental disabilities, Down’s syndrome, mental illness and other disabilities.

Traditional legal and financial planning normally does not take into consideration the special needs of some children. McBurnie will discuss why some families may need a special needs trust. He will explain how to create a special needs trust as well as the difference between a standard trust and a special needs trust.

Other areas of concern for special needs families include providing for quality of life issues and how to make certain special needs children continue to remain eligible for state and federal aid. McBurnie will offer suggestions on these matters and a discussion will also ensue on funding techniques for special needs trusts.

Light refreshments will be served and this program is not only for families involved with Special Olympics but for all members of the special needs community.

Barry Rosenfeld is a local Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant and Chartered Lifetime Assistance Planner and is also a member of the Californian’s Sounding Board.

If not over there, they would be fighting on our own soil

We have two boys in the Marines. PFC Hunter McAtee is stationed in Bangor, WA, in security detail and his twin brother PFC Carson McAtee is currently in the reserve unit 3rd ANGLICO but has recently volunteered to go active. He will report to Camp Pendleton in November and ship out in February.

This is a difficult time as no parent wants their child to be in harm's way. However, these two young men are doing what they feel they need to do. Freedom does not come easy or cheap. We are extremely proud of and support not only our boys but all military personnel and families. They are keeping us safe here on these shores because rest assured without them fighting over there, they would be having to fight right here on USA soil.

Semper Fi

Chicken Ranching vs. Chicken Farming

In 1954, when I was eight years old, I became a chicken rancher. My parents allowed me to have a small pen of chickens south of our garage at 301 Grove Street, where I grew up. We had bought a dozen mixed hen chicks and one red rooster chick from Canterbury’s Feed store on the south side of Bear Mountain Blvd. near “B” Street here in Arvin. They finally out grew the box that I kept them in and were put into a small pen. It was my job to go out each morning and collect the eggs from the nest boxes that my father had built from old fruit boxes that he had liberated from some ranchers orchard. The hens did not appreciate my trying to reach under them to collect the eggs that they had laid and I would get my hands pecked. They would then flap into my face, squawking as they flew off.

Now, as much trouble as the hens were, the rooster hated MY intrusions into HIS territory. There were days, he would not allow me through the gate to collect the eggs. He would challenge me at the gate, spurs bared, leaping and flapping at me. I found that if I took my water pistol when I collected the eggs, I could fend him off with a squirt here and a squirt there, but I would occasionally run out of water while I was still at the back of the pen. Now he was, FOREVER wet rooster mad. I would have to make a mad dash for the gate with the wet rooster in hot pursuit.

I finally went down to the Arvin Sprouse Reitz - 5 and 10 cent store and I bought six water pistols. I would put on my Hopilong Cassidy gun belt, two larger water pistols in the double holsters and four smaller ones tucked into the belt, two in the front and two pistols hidden in the back and I was ready for my daily face off at the OK Corral. My gawd, did that rooster ever hate me.

One Saturday morning, my mother went down to Canterbury’s feed store to get chicken feed. Marvin Canterbury, the owner had come up with a brilliant sales idea to increase his feed sales. He had bought 16 flats of day-old chicks and had a sign on the window. “Come buy a 100 pound sack of feed and get a free flat of chicks”. Now, each flat contained 100 day-old chicks and he figured that since the people would now have chickens, they would buy more feed and thus recoup his cost of giving away the chicks.

There were some unexpected glitches in his plan. First, he had not adequately advertised his sale. Except for the store sign, with a town of 1000 people, not that many people who are into raising chickens drive down the main street of Arvin each day. Secondly, buying chickens would probably be near the bottom of the impulse buying list, while you were waiting in line at the local feed store checkout line, since you would normally need to prepare yourself and you environment for such an addition. Thirdly, none of the chicks knew how to eat or drink and had no food or water in their boxes. Finally, think about how hot the summer days get, in a feed store in Arvin that only had one fan for circulation. The poor chicks were dying left and right and he had only gotten rid of two flats of chicks by early afternoon.

In walked my mother and I, to buy our customary 5 pounds of chicken feed that would normally last us two week or better. My mother was not one to let a good sale or bargain pass. Marvin, with a big smile on his face said, “Have I EVER got a deal for you!” He gave my mother FOUR flats of chicks for each 100 pound bag of feed. Before you knew it, he was loading out three 100 pound bags of chicken feed into the back of our station wagon along with all of the flats of chicks he had left. He threw in a couple extra flats – Just in case some of the chicks were dead. We were off to home with well over 1000 cheeping hungry chicks in our hot car. When we got home I thought Dad was going to have a cow. He huffed and he hollered, but finally settled down. He and my brother Leo, started building cages while mom and I tried to get the little chicks out of the car into the shade, fed and watered.

For several days, mom and I would have to push all of the chicks to one side of the cage with a 1 x 6 board, grab one chick at a time and dip its beak first into the water, then into the feed and release it on the far side of the cage. This kept up until the chicks either learned to eat or decided to die. Most figured out that the food and water was good for them. Eventually all of them were released in our original coup and started growing and laying eggs. My task of gathering eggs grew by leaps and bounds. The rooster was strutting around as King Cock of the World and had no time to bother me. The cage was totally wall to wall chickens. It was so full that you could not walk without kicking a chicken.

Eggs were anywhere that the chickens could squat for two moments. My egg gathering turned into a Easter egg hunt without coloring on the eggs. My mother was selling eggs and fryer chickens to all of the neighbors and friends as fast as she could. We had every chicken and egg dish for dinner known to mankind. Finally, they had all reached full fryer size and my dad checked the prices they paid for fryers in Bakersfield and he found that the market had gone down to the point that if you had them killed and cleaned by the wholesalers, you might wind up owing them money for the service rather than getting any return for your chickens to pay for the feed and time raising the chickens to maturity.

One Saturday Dad showed up with this great big boiling cauldron pot and started a wood fire beneath it in our back yard. He showed Leo and me how to ring the chicken’s necks and then let them run around without heads until they bled out. Occasionally the headless chickens would fly up and land in the English walnut tree in our backyard. My brother would either climb up and knock out the headless chickens or hit them with a football, thrown to get them to fall out. The dead chickens were then dropped into the boiling cauldron where dad and mom would hand pluck out all of their feathers before putting them into the freezer. Many neighbors came over and bought the cleaned chicken fryers right then. The rest were sold to the wholesaler on Monday. I think we at least recovered the cost of the feed for our efforts. I was back to my original 12 hens and one forever mad rooster.

Now, as you remember, I said I was a Chicken Rancher. I am guessing you are wondering what the difference is between a Chicken Rancher and a Chicken Farmer. There is this story I once heard about the ole country veterinarian who was downtown in the town feed store.
He ran into Clem, a farmer in the local community. The Vet went over to say “Hi!” Clem told him that he had decided, with the price of chickens so high, that he was going branch out and try his hand at farming chickens. The Vet wished him well and said he should have great success, since they were so easy to raise. About a month later, the Vet again ran into Clem in town and asked how his new venture was coming. Clem hung is head in shame and said, “Not too good Doc, they all died.” The Vet said, “What happened? Did you get some virus or disease?” Clem said, “I ain’t for sure what happened, but I think I either planted them too deep or too far apart”.

THE END

Home by Christmas

War is an atrocity (savage, cruel); there's no better word. Our elective decision to invade and occupy Iraq however benign our "intent" hardly makes it no less atrocious. The Iraqis who are active in the "insurrection" can make a better case (even if it's only to themselves) that their savage and cruel resistance is justified.
Our troops are targets standing around in a "free fire zone"; supporting them means bringing them home.
Those of us who were stationed in the Far East in 1961-62 well remember that our most frequently played song on PX jute boxes was "Please Mr. Custer I don't want to go". I guess no one was listening. Now we should be playing, "I'll be home for Christmas" over and over again until somebody does listen.

Wireless Security 101

You have an office or home where you might possibly have 1, 2 or more computers. You have broadband, and now you need a wireless router to sync everything together. You are sharing personal and sensitive information through file sharing, printers, and fax machines. How can you secure your data? How can you know for sure that your information will be secure even when you log onto Web sites and enter personal information?

The answer is simple, you can't. You will never know for sure 100% that nobody is gathering or stealing your sensitive data, but there are measures that you can take to drastically prevent this type of theft from ever happening:

1. Enable WPA2!! NEVER use WEP under any circumstances. Its algorithms are extremely weak and can be hacked within minutes. WPA has a flaw if you are using short, weak passwords. Your password should always be 72 characters long of mumbo-jumbo (ex. h*kP,3@c).

2. Shut down your SSID broadcasting. This will hide your network to those who are looking for it, it will show nothing. This can be bypassed rather easily. However, the more fences one must hop the better.

3. Enable MAC filtering. This will only allow certain computers that have a specific MAC address to connect. This is easily the weakest security of them all, because all an individual needs to do is spoof his/her MAC address. But again, enable it anyway.

4. Invest in a small, affordable and easy-to-use VPN (Virtual Private Network). This will route your traffic elsewhere and will keep prying eyes off your data with 256-bit AES encryption (the strongest available).

5. Miscellaneous - Switch to a different channel if you suspect that someone is breaking in. Also enable your Firewall, disable remote management, and I would not recommend using DMZ (which opens up all ports for a specific IP address).

6. Finally, set a password for your router/VPN/modem. Simple but frustrating to those trying to break through. Again, very easy to bypass.

Many of these options I've listed here are simple to break through. The whole point is to put up as many road blocks as possible in order to perhaps frustrate anyone trying to break into your wireless network. The best defense is to not let anyone in to begin with. So, enable WPA2 and use the longest and strongest password you can. And invest in buying a VPN. I recommend taking a look at www.iphantom.com. Phantom gateways has a very easy-to-use, affordable and powerful VPN that even the simplest of computer users can figure out.

The best security is to switch to WPA2 by far. Get rid of WEP, its security is almost as equal to nothing. And if you have information that needs to be kept secret, WPA2 is the best option by far.

This is a "Wireless Security for Dummies" guide and very simple, yet it is written so that even the uneducated user can apply it to protect their data.

What do I think of the war in Iraq?

I think that someone has lost sight of the mission, and I guarantee you that person is not a soldier!

Our troops have to be sensitive to the religious beliefs of the Iraqi people while in Baghdad, by using metal detectors instead of frisking them. This decision was made by a politician who forgot something. It was their religious beliefs that caused the death of American people on 9/11. Well, I will never forget....

This war is costing our country billions of dollars, meanwhile my son has to occasionally visit the infirmary because of dehydration? Sleep under the same roof as the Iraqi police? And gets shot at by the people he is supposed to protect?

We teach our boys what to do when we are at war, then the politicians hold them back just long enough to cost them their lives.

I am confused, is this war for Iraq...or against it?

The war in Iraq

I pray and worry every day about the war in Iraq. I have a daughter in the Air Force and a son and grandson in the Army. My question is: How much longer will I have to keep this up.

K. Fidler

The Challenger Spaceship — To Christa

You gave us excitement, an Astronaut elite.
Surpassed mundane lives, and earth-bound feet.
Your moment of glory, vapor trails in the air
Filled us with elation, and sudden despair.

Oh! to change that moment, erase the time and scene
Of gentle tracing vapors, into a sea of green,
Give back to you the glory, your children, time in space
Your dedication to our future, mankind, the human race.

Your legacy is etched in time, the future now is clear
Our nation must continue and conquer human fear.
Your joy of great adventure, the challenge of your dreams
Have placed a torch in heaven ... guiding Astronaut Teams.

— January 28, 1986

Pauline Brasswell, 82, of Lake Isabella wrote this just two hours after the Challenger exploded. She was filled with great sorrow for those who perished and the loved ones watching. She just had to put it down in paper. A few years later, she received a large book in the mail titled "America at the Millenium: The best poems and poets of the 20th century." In it, was this poem. It had been selected from the International Library of Poetry, where she has her copyrighted her poems.

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