Paying the Neighbors' Mortgages

Well, it appears that I will be helping to pay the neighbor's mortgage after all. Just check out this fabulous plan.

I came across this quote from Keith Hennessey's blog about this plan and I couldn't agree more.

Buying a house is a big deal. So is getting a mortgage. As with any investment, when you buy a house and a mortgage you assume both upside and downside risk. You are responsible for both sides of that bet, not someone else.

Does a fucking contract not mean anything anymore? You signed on the dotted line...it is YOUR responsibility to understand what you are signing and what you are getting yourself into. It's a YOU problem. Don't take other people's tax dollars to bail you out! (Although, if the Feds just wanted to return that person's tax dollars to help them out, I'm cool with that.)

Since President Obama is being so generous with our tax money, how about he do something for me? How about giving me back money for all the stock losses I've had over the last 10 years. Or better yet, pay me the money I should have had today had I purchased 1000 shares of Apple stock (AAPL) when it was $2 per share in the 90's? That would be roughly $229,000....which just about covers my mortgage.

I'll be expecting my check in the mail. Thank you very much!

Health Care Law Signals US Empire Decline?

I couldn't have said it better myself:

The passage of the health care law shows that the US empire is declining because it illustrates the fact that people expect the state to take care of them, David Murrin, the co-founder of Emergent Asset Management hedge fund manager, told CNBC.

Read the entire article here.

Beaming with Pride - Socialism has Arrived

Check out these shit eating grins.

I respect the offices that these two men hold...but I do not respect the men. One is an absolute fool. Can you guess which one?

Two quotes from Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States (1801–1809), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and—for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States—one of the most influential Founding Fathers.

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.


The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

Thomas Jefferson is rolling in his grave for what we have allowed this country to become. We let fools and hacks run this country into the ground.

First the Feds bail out the banks as the financial system crumbles (under the not so watchful eyes of President George Bush and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan), then the Feds take over GM and Chrysler, and now national healthcare. Sigh...so when do I get the privilege of paying my neighbors' mortgages?

At this point, I should just stop working and let the government take care of me. Why work hard and try to better my life when the Federal/State/City government will just rob me (er, I mean tax me) to take care of others?

The Judicial Assembly Line

Sorry for being missing in action for the past few weeks. My wife and I have been preparing for arraignment for the traffic ticket that we received. Today was arraignment day and we woke up bright and early (can someone say 4am?) to drive out to Barstow (from Los Angeles).

We get to Barstow in plenty of time and parked in the parking lot of the Superior Court of Barstow on West Mountain View. There were already a few cars parked and I see some people waiting in line as the court was not yet open. My wife and I stay in the car as it was cold outside (around 50 degrees). As we waited we watched the parking lot fill up. I can't say that all these people were there for traffic court, but even if it was only half going to traffic court, it shows that the city/state has been busy enforcing traffic laws!

After about 30 minutes of waiting, the court doors open up and we line up to enter. We go through the metal detectors and were instructed to sign in. After signing in, we are assigned a courtroom and told to wait. We waited for another 30 minutes when we are called into the courtroom by the bailiff.

The bailiff proceeds to tell us (my paraphrasing):

You will all be called up to appear before the judge. During this time, the judge will state the charge against you and you will be required to enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty. The judge will NOT hear any stories/explanations. If you have anything to say as your defense, save it for trial by pleading not guilty. Traffic school is available to you, but not if you were charged with driving over 100MPH or if you have a commercial drivers license. The judge moves quickly so when you hear your name, please stand up and line up in this area.

If your penalty is a fine, you will be required to make payment. If you need a payment plan, that is available for an additional fee. After you have entered your plea and either get your penalty or agree to your assigned trial date, please step outside the courtroom and wait for your paperwork.

At this point, we were screwed. Our plan was to plead "no contest" and ask the judge for leniency as this was my wife's first citation (ever) in 10+ years of driving. We huddled up and started to discuss what we wanted to do. As we discussed it, people were being called and lined up to appear before the judge. Would it surprise you (just based on what the bailiff had told everyone) that the judge would be an absolute hard ass?

Well, neither did we, as we proceeded to hear the judge deliver the first set of penalties - a $1000 fine for one defendant going over 100MPH, a $861 fine for another person going over 100MPH, $225 fine for going 26MPH above the speed limit. You get the picture. Since the judge was not giving anyone a break, we decided to plead not guilty and take our chances at trial...a slim chance is better than no chance at all. However, we did attempt one thing - when called up, my wife asked if traffic school would be an option. Any guesses as to the judge's answer? Yup, she replied "NO".

Anyways, we now have a trial date for early April and will be making the early morning trip back to Barstow. We'll definitely have a lawyer with us for trial, so if anyone has any recommendations (or any words of advice), please let us know.

It took the judge about 45 minutes to clear the courtroom (with about 50 people appearing). I figure that the average fine was about $300-$350. In less than an hour, the city/state just raked in about $15,000. A good way to increase revenue if you ask me. Now if only the authorities would also enforce the ban on talking on your cell phone while driving! I see a minimum of 10 of these infractions a day...how much revenue would that bring into the city/state coffers?

With all this said, here's my public service announcement for the day:

Watch your speed folks. The city/county/state is broke and they want your money! Saving those few minutes on your drive isn't worth it...and can be dangerous as well.

PS - Too bad these weren't our judges at traffic court!

The Stealth by Nighthawk Custom

I thought I was done with getting goodies for the T3, but I was wrong.

I stumbled upon a seller on Calguns.net who was selling a commander-size Nighthawk Custom holster called "The Stealth". After contacting him and taking a few days to think about it, I decided to purchase it. Luckily the seller hadn't sold it yet and I made the purchase. The holster arrived today.

As you can see, it's a perfect fit for the T3. The leather is extremely nice and it looks like it will last for quite a while. In case you're wondering, I'm not planning on concealed carry anytime soon as I don't have a CCW permit. However, should the day ever come that ordinary citizens in the County of Los Angeles can obtain CCW permits to conceal carry, I'll be ready.