AS IT STANDS

Monday, December 1, 2008

Here are some rare Black Light Posters from the 1960s

(Rare -Above- 1969) Rare 1960s silkscreen Scarce- Iron Butterfly

Remember these ads from the 1950s and 1960s? Oh the ironies!

Obama appoints Clinton and Gates to his cabinet

The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place as Obama firms up his administration. I wonder what kind of impact Bill Clinton will have now that his wife is back in the limelight?

He's been told to clean up his act with his Presidential Library and foundation so it doesn't reflect badly on Hillary.

I view Hillary's appointment much like I view what Lincoln did when he appointed his enemies to positions so that he could keep an eye on them.

Obama has the same idea. Gates was probably a good pick for the short term, to give continuity to our efforts in Iran and Afghanistan.

There's nothing like a heater on a cold Japanese day

These ring-tailed lemurs are warming themselves at the Monkey Center in Inuyama, Aichi Perfecture (state), central Japan.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Looking Like Christmas at Nana and Papa's house!

It was the last week of November, and all through the house, Nana and Papa were getting ready for some Christmas fun.

In 25 days there will be five grandchildren, and the rest of our family, here at our house which must be transformed before then to a place of wonder for children and adults alike!

In a slow, but steady stream, Christmas lights have slithered out from normally sealed red and green plastic crates throughout the household these past four days.

Stuffed Santa's and Angels have climbed out of their storage spaces, while the two, 3-foot-tall tin Nutcracker Kings, took up their positions on either side of the fresh pine sweet Christmas tree (still bare but waiting patiently for adornments sure to come).

The front porch glitters like a thousand stars when it's dark outside now with white and colored lights blinking in greeting to all visitors. Christmas ivy forms wreathes around the windows, inside and out, adding to the already colorful seasonal display.

Mrs Claus and elves are busy at work in one corner while Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer lights the way to a Nativity scene on one counter. The scents of the holiday dance throughout the room, a pleasant combination of odors for the visitor's delight.

This is what it's like in Nana's and Papa's tonight...

The high cost of low price: Wal-Mart Christmas in the T-S

The cost of doing business with Wal-Mart is another nail in American manufacturers/workers coffins.

There's a reason why they sell for less.

Perhaps even more troubling is the response this year to shopping specials at Wal-Mart - one man dead (trampled to death by crazy shoppers) and others injured.

Do Americans really want a deal that badly? Are the deals at Wal-Mart worth dying for?

As It Stands, in today's Time-Standard I look at Wal-Mart with a critical eye, and a deep suspicion they have contributed to this country's financial woes by their business practices.

Click Here to read today's column.

Check out this blog by Josh Richmond of the Political Blotter

This is a sampling of political writer Josh Richman's blog, The Political Blotter. Read more and post comments at www.ibabuzz.com/politics.

Nov. 19

Oakland-based Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana advocacy group, sued the California Department of Motor Vehicles today on behalf of Rose Johnson, 53, of Atwater. The Merced County Superior Court lawsuit claims that despite Johnson's clean driving record — not having caused an accident in 37 years of driving — the DMV refused to renew her license in July after finding she's a medical-marijuana user and deeming that she had an "addiction to, or habitual use of, [a] drug" that renders her unable to safely operate a car.

"The only evidence introduced by the DMV to support this conclusion is the fact of Johnson's medical marijuana use pursuant to state law," the lawsuit says. "The DMV abused its discretion by suspending Johnson's license on this basis."

ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford issued a statement this afternoon saying when California voters passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, "they never intended to authorize the DMV to strip medical marijuana patients of their drivers' licenses. The DMV should not be in the business of revoking the licenses of drivers like Ms. Johnson simply because she is a medical marijuana patient."

And ASA says this isn't an isolated incident.

The DMV has suspended or revoked licenses of medical-marijuana patients in other counties, including Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Glenn, Merced, Placer, Sacramento, and Sonoma.

Johnson's case seems particularly ironic because Merced County, where she lives, this past year instructed its sheriff's deputies to respect state law and not cite medical marijuana patients or seize their medicine. Yet Johnson, never accused of driving while under the influence of marijuana or anything else, was denied her license renewal by a state agency for an activity allowed by state law.

And as I write this item, having just finished an article on the state Supreme Court's impending review of Proposition 8, I wonder how much longer we'll have to keep litigating and re-litigating the effects of a medical-marijuana initiative approved by voters 12 years ago. It seems California just can't find a way to stop stepping on its own toes.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Aphrodisiac from Ants: Man executed for massive investor scam!

Chinese authorities announced that they executed the leader of a scheme to swindle investors out of their money by making aphrodisiacs from ants. Wang Zhendong, was put to death in the northeastern province of Liaoning, according to Xinhua News Agency (China's official news source).

Wang managed to steal about 3 billion yuan ($439 million) from numerous investors. One of the investor's even committed suicide when he discovered he'd been ripped off. China does not mess with crime like this. If they catch you, that's it. You're dead. Needless to say, not many people try it.

Can you imagine if we did that here in the United States? Hmmmmm....as a matter of fact that's not a bad idea! That would help deplete the overcrowded prisons. Of course, we would have to start off by executing all the mass murders, serial killers, and just plain old murderers first. And we all know that'll never happen. Oh well...just a thought.

Lakers beat Mavericks to extend their record to 13-1

I know the game was Friday night, but as a Laker fan since the early 1960s, I just wanted to crow about their NBA best record so far.

The Lakers have been dismantling opponents this season by an average of 14 points a game!

Left, Trevor Aziza gets a tough rebound against two Dallas players, and on the right - Pau Gasol makes life miserable for Antoine Wright driving to the basket.

What's a Wal-Mart Christmas Mean? See Sunday Times-Standard

As It Stands takes a look at what Wal-Mart's business practices and what they have done to help destroy American manufacturers who can't keep up with the giant retailer.

How desperate are people this year to get a good deal?

How about desperate enough to kill?

That's what happened in Valley Stream, New York, on Friday when shoppers trampled a Wal-Mart contract worker to death!

Where does it end when getting a great deal is worth this? See Sundays Time-Standard's Opinion Page and see where the wages of greed have taken us.

Police look at video tapes to see who killed Wal-Mart worker

Police are looking at surveillance cameras from Friday morning, when an unruly crowd of shoppers burst through the front door of a New York Wal-Mart store and trampled a worker to death. The store was back open hours later. The sales had to go on! Click here for full story.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Wal-Mart Worker Trampled To Death by Mob of Shoppers!

It really is Black Friday for one family in New York. A 34-year-old man New York man was knocked down when (according to Nassau police) "an unruly shoppers physically broke down the front door to rush inside." The man was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead this morning at 6:00 a.m. A pregnant woman shopper was also injured and taken to the hospital. her condition is still unknown at this time.

To me, this is a sad reflection of the desperate times we live in financially. Pundits have called this day Black Friday in reference to businesses coming out in "the black" this holiday shopping season. Still, I find it hard to believe that people wanted a "good deal" that badly, where they felt they had to actually break into the store! These are hard times in more ways than one.

My sympathies go out this Friday morning to the family of that poor man who died while working in Wal-Mart. The whole situation makes me feel sick.

I already hate Wal-Mart's business practices and have even wrote a column that is going in this Sunday's Times-Standard about Wal-mart's affect on the economy. Especially this season. Little did I know something like this would happen to put a punctuation mark on the price of doing business. CLICK HERE to read more.

Meet James Kuhn: Eccentric Face Painting Artist!

James Kuhn calls his creations self-portraits because he uses his own face for a his artwork.

These are just some of the vast amount of characters he has come up with.

Happy Birthday to my wife Shirley who won't share her age today!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

My wife and I couldn't find the turkey so we're dining out today

I've heard tales of how dumb turkeys are supposed to be, but I suspect some are smarter than others!

I watched a great special on the History Channel about turkey's last night and it mentioned the rumor that turkeys would drown if left outside in the rain.

Not so, say the experts. The wild turkey's are smarter than the domesticated version grown in the millions every year - but neither version is THAT DUMB.

Scientists have managed to "dumb down" the domesticated turkey (which is kinda scary when you consider that wild turkey's are the dumbest birds in the bird family!).

I guess the good news is...No dishes or cleaning up this year!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers - including Turkeys!

My interpretation of Thanksgiving has nothing to do with Pilgrims and myths.

Instead I choose to make this a day of thanksgiving (not because of the myths and vague history) but because we ALL have something to be thankful for.

I set aside this day to be thankful, and to remember all of my personal blessings, which seems more appropriate.

I'm thankful for my wonderful family, and I'm thankful that people read my column and other articles that appear in this blog.

I'm thankful to have a blog. I didn't know what I was missing all that time! I started this blog in July, but it seems like just yesterday.

Peace to All!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Using a Turkey To Make A Social Statement

There's just not much to say here. Turkey Day is indeed a bad day for for birds. It's like the Native Americans celebrating our so-called Thanksgiving...I don't think so! The White man brought nothing but grief to the original inhabitants of this country. FREE THE TURKEY! Become a non-meat eater in time to give a bird a reprieve this year!

Recent World Visitors and Today's Reader feedback comments

I really enjoy getting visitors from everywhere. I've found that most of my readership comes from around the US and other countries. I do have some California readership, but it doesn't compare to the other two segments of visitors.

Thanks to the following recent international readers from: Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; Gif-sur-yvette, Centre, France; Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia; London, United Kingdom; Tukums, Tukuma, Latvia; Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa; Taipei, T'ai-pei, Taiwan; New Westminister, British Columbia, Canada; Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Kalnciems, Tukuma, Latvia; Riga, Latvia; Vanda, Southern Finland, Finland; Bangalore, Karnataka, India; Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom; Skopie, Karpos, Macedonia; Beausoleil, Provence-alpes-cote D'azur, France; Portsmouth, United Kingdom; Paris, Ile-de-france, France; Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan; Quarry Bay, New South Wales, Australia; Biringham, United Kingdom; Rotherham, United Kingdom; Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom; Vancover, British Columbia, Canada; Matlock, Derbyshire, United Kingdom; Rekhasim, Hefa, Israel; Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada; Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada; Pembroke, Ontario, Canada; Munster Nordrhein-westfalen, Germany; Rotterdam Zuid-holland, Netherlands; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Chester, Cheshire, United Kingdom; and Seoul, Seoul-t'ukpyolsi, Korea.

Now let's talk about some reader feedback on one of my past columns. Today I got four emails regarding a column that I wrote October 5th "America in Crisis: Are we facing martial law?" (I'm just putting names and not where their from)

Jeff Betts wrote, "

I am not sure how much you follow what is going on as far as

arms sales and ammo sales. As I have observed people are stocking

up on both. So if say there are 150 million armed people out of the 300

million in this country good luck to this unit. Also after having talked to

active duty Marines they told me they would not fire on there own people

for Obama anyway. I know for a fact that I have never seen this many

people preparing for an uprising in the 30 years I have followed politics.

They don't trust Obama and are not prepared to roll over and let him

take away our rights.

Chuck Mason wrote:

Good morning,

I wanted to write you and thank you for your article on Martial Law. I share your concerns and have been speaking to my family at home about this. I wanted to share links that may be of interest to you. Please take a moment to view or read each one.

Thank you again,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P-hvPJPTi4

I WROTE BACK:

Thanks Chuck,

For the good informative links.It's nice to know that there are other people as considered as I am about this "strike force" in the American homeland.

CHUCK WROTE BACK:

I am in Warrenton VA and I read your work.

I feel when voters speak, the government listens.

In this case, http://www.times-standard.com/davestancliff/ci_10461558, the govt is clearly demonstrating that states no longer have rights and this is really why the Civil War started. Slavery was the cause, but States Rights were the issue. When voters cast their ballot, our govt needs to listen. Thank you for your hard work.

Carlene & Ken Richardson wrote:

THANK YOU, THANK YOU...This kind of information really needs to be out to the

public...We appreciate your effort.

Gerard Neautt wrote: (email to me & a Letter to the Editor at the Times-Standard.)

Sir,

Your columnist wrote:

"As It Stands, the idea that active duty soldiers will be used to control unruly civilian crowds is both terrifying and unconstitutional."

and

"The last time I checked, the use of the military in domestic activities was prohibited by law, with the exception of the National Guard units under the authority of the states."

Those statements are incorrect. The use of active duty Federal Military forces is governed by the "Posse Comitatus" law, not the Constitution, which prohibits the President from unilaterally sending forces within the United States for any purpose other than to stem an invasion from another country (in our case that would be Canada and Mexico or maybe Cuba). Mexico tried it once, it failed.

National Guard units are under the command of the governors of their respective states and can therefore be deployed at their discretion. To be deployed by the President of the US they must first be activated and them become part of Military Branch of which they are part (i.e. National Guard is Army, Air National Guard is Air Force, et.al.).

Military forces can be deployed with permission from Congress, with the declaration of Martial Law ( which would be across the entire country), or at the request of local authorities.

In 1957 the mayor of Little Rock Arkansas requested and received assistance from an Active Duty Army unit when the problems with integration became extremely tense and threatened to break out into violence. The mayor could not ask the governor to deploy the Arkansas National Guard because the governor did not support integration. The mayor asked then president Eisenhower to send in the Army to maintain order. The President seeing the situation did send in the Army.

Here's a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine

Active duty Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine personnel were used in the Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts but were delayed because the Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, did not request the aid in a timely manner.

That a unit dedicated to a specific task is set up is not unusual. Please keep in mind that crowd/riot control is not normally part of military training! Having a unit dedicated to that type of task with the right equipment and rotating units in and out to get the right training ensures that IF they are called upon they will be able to accomplish the tasks immediately instead of learning 'crowd control' on the job. That was tried once in Ohio with predictably disastrous results.

If this column was an "opinion" piece, Mr. Stancliff's concern is duly noted, but his glaring inaccuracies make it nothing more than an attempt at inflammatory journalism. Perhaps Mr. Stancliff could write a follow up article explaining what the law is and why the scenarios he envisioned in his first article couldn't come about.

I'm not holding my breath!

I wrote back:

Let's see if I got this right...

You read my column in the Opinion Page and wondered if it was an opinion.

Then you suggest that I'm not allowed to express my opinion because it does not agree with yours.

You sited a couple of incidents where active forces were used. If you noticed, that was mentioned in the column.

The "Posse Comitatos" law has been under assualt by critics for years because it does challenge the Constitution which forbids this kind of arrangement with active troops.

You say my statements are incorrect. Siting a contoversial law is supposed to be your proof that I'm wrong. With your obvious bias in this situation you seem to have overlooked the Consitition.

Finally, I would like to share something with you: this Martial Law column has been the most read article in the entire newspaper for over a month. I have received hundreds of letters from people in all walks of life throughout the country - including lawyers- who agree with this column.

The bottom line is this; I respect your right to not agree with my column.

Gerard wrote back:

Mr. Stancliff,

The link I had did not link to an "opinion" page. If the page I viewed was an "opinion" page it was not clearly marked as such!

I did NOT suggest that you weren't allowed to express an opinion. I just said you should get all the facts

"Posse Comitatus" is very strict in what is and is not allowable regarding the use of the military in the within the U. S.

We actually had to sign a form stating we were volunteering and not part of a military deployment when some of us volunteered to help search for a missing child!

The incidents I cited are historical facts and were entirely within the parameters of the Constitution and the Posse Comitatus Act. The instances were cited to show the point that the President cannot order troops into an area "on a whim".

The Constitution does not prohibit the president from deploying troops within the U.S. Amendment III of the Bill of Rights does prohibit the quartering of military personnel without the consent of the owner and just compensation.

The Posse Comitatus Act limited the president's ability to deploy troops for use in law enforcement . Prior to that act the President could send Federal troops anywhere to enforce the law without congressional authorization! It was only because of the reconstruction after the civil war and the use of Army personnel in the southern states that the president's power was curtailed.

The Union troops were actually an "army of occupation" and could have been left there indefinitely but Congress stepped in and passed the Posse Comitatus Act. The Insurrection Act of 1807 also "limits" presidential power in deploying the military.

There is some question as to whether those acts are Constitutional since Congress does not have the authority to take powers away from the president that are given him by the Constitution. The only legitimate way to reduce (or augment) the powers of the presidency is by Constitutional amendment. There is always, however, the "power of the purse strings"!!

Lastly, not ALL lawyers would agree with you! (Actually if you get a roomful of lawyers to agree on anything other than lunch you have a major accomplishment!)

I did not, nor would I ever, not allow anyone to express their opinion.

BTW I got your second email as I was writing this one and haven't had the time to look at all the links. I did look at the first

"video". That looks like a large scale decontamination/quarantine facility. Considering the chemical/biological warfare expertise of the Chinese military and their penchant to sell to the highest bidder....might be good planning! A large facility well away from populated areas would minimize further contamination/spread of the contaminant. I wouldn't be surprised if we were an attacked within the next few years!!

Consider this: 55 gallons of the right material and you can decimate the entire population of a major city. Bring the material in small containers as part of a larger shipment of some safe material and it gets by U.S.Customs!

You would need a very large facility to process and treat the survivors, if there are any!

BTW Sunny and 40 here! Cooler than normal!

I WROTE BACK...

Hi Gerard,

I just wanted to say thank you for your last email. It appears that the link you used didn't note that this was an Opinion piece. Can you tell me where you got the link?

For some reason I got three emails just this morning on the subject, along with yours. That tells me some web site has picked it up since I first wrote the column on Oct. 5th.

Forgive me for asking, but are you stationed with this new unit we're talking about? If so, I want you to understand that have nothing but respect for all of our armed forces.

I'm a combat Vietnam Veteran (1970) and have been a veteran's advocate for well over twenty years.

I'm a freelance journalist who writes for the Times-Standard (a daily newspaper in Eureka, CA) and the McKinleyville Press, a weekly, in McKinleyville, CA.)

Thanks again for all of your points. It's warm (mid-fifties), cloudy, but should clear today here in Humboldt County.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours,

GERARD WROTE BACK:

Dave,

No apology necessary!

Regarding where I got the link...I honestly don't know! I briefly shut my computer due to a software issue and since I have my computer set up to wipe my internet history I won't be able to track it down.

I am no longer on active duty, I'm retired AF.

Was involved with NBC (that's Nuclear, Biological, Chemical not the TV network!) decon teams. That's why I mentioned my take on that facility.

Get all the sick/contaminated people in one place (and keep them there) so it doesn't spread, concentrate all your medical personnel where you need them, destroy all the contaminated clothing, material and waste by burning.

Was at Travis AFB in Fairfield. Nice country Northern California. I liked the Russian River area and the coast around Santa Cruz. Loved the skiing in the Sierra's. Go play in the snow and get back home and not have to shovel the driveway!! Not like here in Maine!!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Hope you'll be with family and friends.

You may, at your discretion, overindulge in consumption of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy.

You may want to help out the lobstermen in Maine through this difficult financial time by adding lobster to your Thanksgiving meal.

It WAS on the menu at the original Thanksgiving!!

http://www.sunjournal.com/story/292359-3/MaineNews/Mainer_Eat_lobster_on_Thanksgiving/

http://www.history.com/minisites/thanksgiving/viewPage?pageId=873

As Mortgages Went Bad - Executives Cashed Out!

While Irving subprime leader New Century was failing, key executives continually changed their stock trading plans and often sold within days of colleagues' trades, a LA TIMES investigation shows.

It's just further proof of how complicit these executives were in the eventual downfall of the stock market and resulting chaos. Tax payers continue to pay to bail out scoundrels like this.

To read the whole story CLICK HERE.