Voters Rights and Voter Fraud

I was reading a few blogs around the internet concerning these issues.  It seems that I feel almost like I lost som IQ points just reading the comments on said blogs - Many most of them nothing more than a regurgitation of talking points and emotionally charged statements with little or no facts.

One of the worst of such comments was something like "If you are in favor of voter ID laws, then you know nothing of how disenfranchised the poor are."  That was one of the dumbest statements I have heard.  I have worked in 3rd world countries and failed states around the world.  Most of the countries require an ID card to vote.  So don't get all on the "disenfranchise the poor" argument about ID cards.  A lot of these people in the 3rd world countries would make our "poor" look like upper middle class.  Yet, they can manage to get ID cards.  The other countries that do not use ID cards require voters to dip their finger in permanent ink and leave a fingerprint on a ballot.  I am sure the people against voter ID cards would be against this policy or any that requires a fingerprint to vote.

If it weren't too costly - I would be all in favor of an electronic fingerprint system where you have it checked for citizenship or against it as you go in to vote.  That is, only if the system works flawlessly.  That, or use paper ballots with the fingerprint and the stained finger idea and scan all the ballots to throw out repeats and not-eligible voters.

The poorest people in the world are not disenfranchised by voter ID laws.
Voter Fraud exists.

So why the venomous opposition to voter ID laws?  A large part is by ignorant do gooders thinking they have a cause to fight for the poor - I am willing to bet none of these people have ever dealt with the poor.  They don't live or work amongst the poor and show their ignorance by claiming the poor don't have ID cards.  They have them.  I am sure there is assistance for those that cannot afford them.

There is no argument against voter ID laws (they are constitutional) other than wanting it to be harder to fight voter fraud.

Stay safe!

Gibson Guitars Gets Their Stuff Back

You can read more details here.

It is sad that when businesses in the US are working hard at producing a quality product and hiring workers, that the government conducts armed raids on them to shut them down.

There was absolutely zero reason for the government to use SWAT teams to enter the Gibson factory to seize all of their products, because maybe they violated some dumb green law concerning wood.

I personally have not owned a Gibson guitar before - just a matter of what I can afford and personal preference.  You can be damned sure I will be getting a Gibson guitar as soon as I can.

On a side note - the government giving back the confiscated supplies will probably count as the Obama administration "helping" the business and creating jobs.

Stay safe!

Football is in the Air - Texans Open 2012 Training Camp

Football is in the air!

Long Snapper Jon Weeks with C-Cody Wallace and Rookie C- Ben Jones.

 Brian Cushing is a beast even when he just gets some water.

 JJ Watt runs on to the practice field.

Coaching up Case Keenum.

Kubiak coaching up Jon Grimes (Grimes did not have a good day)

Mercilus arrives onto the field.

Rookie Receiver Mario Louis.

Special Teamers right where you would expect to see them.

Wade Phillips and Vance Joseph looking over the defense.

Wade working with the defensive backs.

Wade Phillips jogged onto the practice field.

Wade Phillips working with the linebackers - he was really hands on.

Wade giving pointers to rookie Whitney Mercilus.

 A shot of the linbackers - I liked the same shot with different focus in next shot.

Arian Foster in deep thought.

Cushing and Bradie James and unknown staffer.

Defensive back drills.

More defensive backs drills.

Defensive genius Wade Phillips.

Defensive drills.

Duane Brown after elephant tug-of-war contests.

Garret Graham and rookie G- Cody White.

More defensive drills.

Keyaron Fox struggled a bit in today's practice.

Linebackers doing drills - Braman without a helmet (of course).

Live music for all of the fans.

Looking like the Predator, Derek Newton arrives at the practice field.

Tight Ends, receivers, and Swiss army knife players.

Teh Schaub runs onto the practice field.

Schaub discussing a play with back-up Beck.

Schaub giving pointers to Case Keenum.

TJ Yates apparently explaining how he pulled out that scramble out of his but in the Cincinnati game last year.

Texans fans ready for football.

Andre Johnson getting a drink as Case Keenum looks on.

Obama is an A$$

The A$$hole-in chief recently made a speech claiming that people who started their own business did not do it on their own.  This is the typical attitude of a person that has not done anything on their own their entire life.

Obama is an academic.  He has not had a real job since he was scooping ice cream at Baskin Robbins when he was 15.  I am willing to bet he didn't last at that job more that 2 months - because it was real work.

Sorry Obama - I started my own business on my own.  I received no assistance from the government.  Not from any level - the Federal, state, nor local government did not assist me in any form or fashion.  To be real - the government only made it more difficult to start a business.  They do not help people starting businesses.

As a business owner, I pay more taxes than people who do not own a business.  I have more regulations as to what I can and cannot do.

Only an IDIOT would claim that I did not do this on my own.

Mr. Obama - you have totally offended me - I expect an apology.  After all, I have created real life jobs (not government jobs that take 20-50 people to support by their taxes) .  That is something you cannot claim you have done.

Still, as pissed off as I am about the idiot-in-chief's comments,

Stay safe!

Obama May Not Make the Ohio Ballot

There has been a lawsuit filed in Ohio, claiming that Obama does not qualify for the presidential election ballot in 2012.  Before you groan and say something about birthers - his birth has nothing to do with it.  As a matter of fact, a lot of the evidence used to prove that Obama was born in Hawaii actually helps the case filed against him.

According to the complaint filed in Geauga County Ohio, Obama has been using a Social Security number that could not have possibly been legitimately issued to him.  The SSN 042-68-4425 was issued in the State of Connecticut between 1977-1979  (specifically March of 1977).  During this time Obama was never in Connecticut.  There is a mountain of evidence that shows the number was issued there during that time.  This is the same number used by Obama on his 2009 tax return.

Using this fraudulent number is enough to disqualify him from being on the ballot under Ohio Law.

I have no idea the merits of the case, or how it will be handled.  But people should be asking how a kid in Hawaii gets issued a Social Security number from Connecticut without being there.

Stay Safe!

Promises Fall Short

I remember when Obama promised my healthcare costs would be cut by $2500/year.  That didn't happen.  Personally, my health insurance is about 28% higher now than when Obama took office.  Most of it is thanks to the crap they have to do to comply with the new healthcare law.  The Federal government really has no business regulating health insurance companies, the states do that and did that just fine.  All they did was drive up costs.

In a span of 6 weeks, my health insurance company mailed me 7 different "notices" that they were required to send to me, even though only 3 applied to me and my policy.  They had to send them out, because idiot bureaucrats say so.

I do have a question.  What exactly is healthcare coverage.  I have read the law as it was passed, 3 times.  I never saw how coverage was defined.  Oh, there are bits and pieces about annual checkups and whatnot (which there is no empirical evidence that annual checkups reduce health care costs), but there is no definition of what being "covered" by health insurance means.  I suppose this mystery panel of bureaucrats makes that decision. Which brings a second question: how can they make me pay a penalty for not having something that is not defined by law?

I will admit that my policy is pretty crappy, but I cannot afford more - as a matter of fact, maybe I should just pay the fine, because that is a lot less than insurance coverage.

Oh well, more questions than answers - but stay safe!

Capitol of Texas Park

I have set out to get a photo of every Historical Marker in Brazoria County.  This may take a while, but my job takes me all over the county.  While doing so, sometimes I come across some real gems.  In honor of San Jacinto Day, I post the pictures here today.

Take a walk through the Capitol of Texas Park in West Columbia, Texas.  You can browse through these photos and get a quick history lesson on the beginnings of Texas,