MaxRedline

In Honor Of Our Wildfire Season

In all probability, you've not taken the time to check out the Oregon Wild site that's been listed for several years in the "Cool Visits" section of the sidebar here. The site's name has changed, but the link still works, and is well worth your time.

In recognition of the wildfires that have been affording us some spectacular sunsets of late (one of the few benefits that they do afford), I've copied the embed code from one of the gifted photographer's time-lapse videos of the Mt. Hood "Dollar Lake" fire. You should visit the site to see Mr. Durham's still shots, as well. Do enjoy!

Univision Investigation

A couple of surprises: who knew the investigation into Rapido Y Furioso would translate into an hour-long program, or that it would be so thorough? They followed guns, blood, and bodies across Mexico, SW USA, and into Honduras and other countries. The sheer numbers involved are amazing. Small wonder that the US media has done nothing but dodge and hide. This expose isn't likely to bump Barky's favorables up amongst the Latino crowd.

What Recession?

It's nice to see that the southern Oregon coastal town of Coos Bay has resolved all other problems, so they can now focus on the pressing concern of banning plastic shopping bags - at least, that's what City Councilor Mike Vaughan seems to believe. Hey, the economic powerhouse known as Portland did it, so Mike's eager to follow. It's known as "leading from behind".

Apparently unaware that most stores offer bag recycling stations, Mike offers up the same old mantra:

Vaughan said he is eager to hear public comment on the issue at Tuesday's meeting. He called the proposed ordinance a way to get people to think about recycling and bettering the environment.

'The intent of the ban is to change habits," he said.

'This starts at the bottom of the recycle stream, which is one-time use plastic bags."

As is so often the case among today's politicians, Mike eschews the quaint but outmoded concept of representing constituents; in his view, his job is to limit their choices with an eye toward changing their behavior toward something that he personally finds more suitable. Question, Mike: when you were running for office, did you tell citizens that you wanted to enact a ban on plastic bags, require them to pay for paper bags, and take other steps to modify their behavior?

Of course you didn't. Seems more than a little sanctimonious and deceitful.

 

No Worries, It's Not A Hate Crime

Just a cultural misunderstanding. Girls just wanna have fun.

Pretty Amazing

Particularly coming from a Democrat. And he's correct: the American Legacy media have become nothing more than the propaganda arm of the Left, rendering them a threat to the Republic. This is why so many increasingly depend upon international outlets for actual journalism.

Desperados

There's no other term for it, when Barky and his gang are pressing contractors to break the law by not issuing mass layoff notices in October. Barky and thugs are willing to have taxpayers foot the bill for litigation costs and fines that may result if contractors cut him a break and don't follow the law.

Some defense companies—including Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and EADS North America—have said they expect to send notices to their employees 60 days before sequestration takes effect to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires companies to give advance warning to workers deemed reasonably likely to lose their jobs.

Barky and his buddies claim that the law is only for the little people, and if the contractors follow through, it could hurt his already dimming chances for re-election. This is Chicago-style politics, through and through. His policies caused the mess, but he wants to hide it until after the election. Had he been in Chicago during the Richard J. Daley years, he might at least have picked up a degree of subtlety.

Oregon's 25-Year-Old Tax Millionaire

Krystle Marie Reyes earlier this year managed to snag a $2.1 million "tax refund" from the state of Oregon, with which the roughly 500-pound woman rushed out to purchase an 8-basket deep fryer, some inflatable mattresses, and a 13-year-old van, among other prizes. She might never have been caught, but for the fact that she claimed to have lost the high-value debit card, and called for a replacement. Somehow, the state found a cell large enough to hold her, and she's currently doing some 5.5 years in the state pen.

But something's not right: first, she's functionally illiterate, and second, she's almost impossibly stupid. Let's face it, if you got a $2.1 million "refund", would you use it to buy a deep-fat fryer and a beater of a van? Of course not: you'd be in a Caribbean country with no extradition treaty, you'd convert the debit card to cash and bonds, and you sure as hell wouldn't "lose" the card - much less call to request a replacement.

Is it believable that somebody that stupid could have pulled off such a massive fraud - unassisted?

Might-See TV

Univision has been the only broadcast media daring to ask some tough questions of Barky, and now they're taking it a step further: airing tonight at 7 p.m PT with English subtitles, their "Here and Now" program explores Barky's gun-running operation in-depth.

A person familiar with the recent congressional hearings called Univision's findings "the holy grail" that Congress had been searching for.

Barky and his buddy Eric can only hope that most folks are taking siestas or are otherwise too occupied to tune in. Small wonder that Barky wants to be able to seize control of the Internet and other media. As it is, they'll have little choice but to spin it as a nefarious Republican plot to disenfranchise his Latino voters.

Swedish Officials Voice Concerns

It appears that wild boar hunters in the southern part of the country are using cinnamon buns and other baked goods to lure the critters out of the dense woods so that they can get a better shot at them.

But local officials warn that the practice, while increasing the chances of a successful hunt, it increases the risk that the boar suffer from weight problems and poor dental hygiene.

And evidently, faster than a speeding bullet.

Stock Up Now

It looks as though acrylic acid's going to be in short supply, as a fire at one of the main producers - naturally, in Japan - could soon be raising a more or less global stink:

Nippon Shokubai is one of the world's biggest makers of acrylic acid, the main ingredient of a resin called SAP, which is used in diapers.

Yep, your Huggies™ and Depends™ are likely to become a lot harder to find - and more expensive.