Well, at least the wealthy...

...can get some kind of justice in this country...

...unlike you and I or Irwin Schiff, Larken Rose and countless others...

Judge Orders IRS to Pay Buffett's Firm
Friday October 28, 1:15 pm ET
By Kevin O'Hanlon, Associated Press Writer Judge Orders IRS to Pay Buffett's Firm More Than $23M for Disallowing Certain Deductions LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- A federal judge on Friday ordered the Internal Revenue Service to pay billionaire Warren Buffett's investment company more than $23 million in taxes and interest for disallowing certain deductions.

More here...

"We still find the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping at the spoil of the multitude. Invention is continually exercised to furnish new pretenses for revenue and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without a tribute."
-- Thomas Paine

Still here...

After the storm, the Verizon Wireless internet connectivity continued to deteriorate. Yesterday it was all but gone. I was able to connect to the local cells but routing through them was another issue. Verizon Wireless for south Florida is switched out of Fort Lauderdale, and they had some of the worst of the storm.

This morning things have improved and we are back on-line.

We are keeping an eye on Beta. Although the forecast has been for it to cross the central American isthmus, it continues to meander north. The UKMET model actually has it tracking up to the Yucatan Peninsula, where Wilma beat the heck out of Cancun before turning toward south Florida.


Peggy Noonan, sees the wheels coming off the trolley...(link found on Grabbe)

"Do people fear the wheels are coming off the trolley? Is this fear widespread? A few weeks ago I was reading Christopher Lawford's lovely, candid and affectionate remembrance of growing up in a particular time and place with a particular family, the Kennedys, circa roughly 1950-2000. It's called "Symptoms of Withdrawal." At the end he quotes his Uncle Teddy. Christopher, Ted Kennedy and a few family members had gathered one night and were having a drink in Mr. Lawford's mother's apartment in Manhattan. Teddy was expansive. If he hadn't gone into politics he would have been an opera singer, he told them, and visited small Italian villages and had pasta every day for lunch. "Singing at la Scala in front of three thousand people throwing flowers at you. Then going out for dinner and having more pasta." Everyone was laughing. Then, writes Mr. Lawford, Teddy "took a long, slow gulp of his vodka and tonic, thought for a moment, and changed tack. 'I'm glad I'm not going to be around when you guys are my age.' I asked him why, and he said, 'Because when you guys are my age, the whole thing is going to fall apart.' "

Mr. Lawford continued, "The statement hung there, suspended in the realm of 'maybe we shouldn't go there.' Nobody wanted to touch it. After a few moments of heavy silence, my uncle moved on."

Lawford thought his uncle might be referring to their family--that it might "fall apart." But reading, one gets the strong impression Teddy Kennedy was not talking about his family but about . . . the whole ball of wax, the impossible nature of everything, the realities so daunting it seems the very system is off the tracks.

And--forgive me--I thought: If even Teddy knows . . ."

More here...


"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship."
-- Alexander Tyler

Warp Power Restored!!!

Commercial power came back on at 11AM. Proceeding with yard clean-up and final packing...

More Hurricane Video...

This is another clip out the back door...

Hurricane Wilma Footage2 ( AVI Format, ~3.5 MB)...

We are still on generator, though power started coming on in surrounding neighborhoods, last night.

Some Video...

Here is some video that I shot out the back door...I uploaded it last night and it has been viewed 394 times so far, but I couldn't get back into to blogger (or anywhere else, for that matter) to post a link to it. If this works, I have another on that I'll upload later today...

Hurricane Wilma Footage1 (AVI format, ~3.5 MB)

Looks like we made it!!

Wilma is battering the east coast of Florida on its way out into the Atlantic. The winds on the backside of this thing were incredible. Much stronger than what we saw from Charley, last year.

No damage to the house. Lots of debris around though. No commercial power. Running on generator right now.

Marco Island took a direct hit. Haven't heard anything out of Everglades City, but they were also in the path. Naples is flooded and the mayor has the place closed down. Fort Myers Beach has some minor damage, but appears to have fared rather well. The airport (just a few miles from here) recorded an 82mph gust. 80 mph winds were also measured over in Cape Coral.

We'll see what images the news people come up with.

Internet access is spotty, so updates may be slow...

Looks like a lot of routers are down...

I squished a frog...

... I think...

I was goin' out to the truck to get some tools and went sprawlin'... damn frogs...

Power out....

It had been going off and on for about an hour...seems to be off permanent now....

ZOWIE WOWIE!!!!

The storm is about 40 miles off shore of Marco Island... The eye is now about the size of Collier County... It's big kiddies.... We are within five miles of the collier county line and I expect the eye to pass within 20 miles of us (Immokolee)...

Can't sleep anymore...the wind is doin' that lion growl thing... I always thought that was wierd in "Twister", but it definately does it...under the worst conditions...

More as it we get it....

Hurricane Blog 'Fore...

...as in a'fore it gets here...

NBC-2 is airing the Subway 500 (though sometimes it is in a little box in the corner while they continue their hurricane coverage) so I guess I will give them a break.

Wilma has increased forward speed and is still a strong catagory 2 storm. I am seeing higher cloud tops forming around the center and what looks to be defining wall clouds forming. This could indicate some strengthing may be occurring. The water temps where she is crossing are around 84 degrees with some 86 temps nearer shore. The timeline is for tropical storm force winds to be here around midnight and increasing until landfall. Tropical storm force winds are expected to reach up all the way to the I4 corridor (Orlando and such).

Hurricane force winds are expected within 70 miles of the eye (we are within 40 miles of the expected arrival area).

Obviously, if it is dark I won't be able to get much footage, but as soon as I have light, I will be getting video of whatever is going on around here and get it posted. Hopefully my internet connection will stay up. I have been contacted by a ham in Orlando who is willing to make regular contact with me. If I can't get anything out any other way, I will pass info onto him. He posts at The Claire Files Forum, so updates will also be available there.

TTFN

UPDATE:

FEMA retards (from Washinton, no less) are on the TV right now threatening all kinds of hate and discontent if evacuation rules are not followed. Hey buddy, come to my house with your attitude and you will have an attitude adjustment applied, ...with prejudice...

Hurricane Blog Treee...

Well, the JBT's have decided to put some psycological pressure on the masses... Roadblocks, curfews, bridge closings....are in effect...well in advance of the storm. If you want to go to a shelter, you must have ID and get searched and then remain there until they say otherwise...

The storm left the Yucatan Peninsula yesterday, but hasn't accelerated much yet. The forcast arrival for this area is sometime tomorrow morning. Hurricane force winds extend 50-75 miles from the eye, so we will probably see them if it hits the coast (it's only 100 miles to Key West from here, as the crow flies...). When Charlie (a smaller storm) came ashore at Punta Gorda (about 30 miles from here) we saw ~60mph winds, which took down signs, trees and power poles just blocks from us. The power was out here for five days.

More as it happens...We'll be making a fuel/food run today...(not necessary, just goodies)

I'll be shooting video, as I did during Charlie...blog buddy (really the king of bloggers) Doug Kenline has agreed to host the videos for me...Thanks Dougie!!! I'll post links to them here and doug will probably have links as well....

The End of the Bush Administration???

From the Free Market News Network... (the two articles on Constitutional Night Fright)


"...Prosecutor Fitzgerald had actually made his indictments available to the administration but that “U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales had resigned rather than serve them, as follows, “[He] was shocked while examining 22 indictments from Federal Grand Juries apparently including Bush himself. Gonzales swiftly disqualified himself refusing Bush's order to on the spot firing of Patrick Fitzgerald. … Bush ordered FBI to make fake Capitol "terrorist" scare to force evacuation. Democrats, however, refused to leave. Member of Joint Chiefs of Staff says he wants to go to arrest Commander-in-Chief Bush for treason. But Bush loyalists in top Military brass threaten to arrest brave senior General who is supported by an Admiral. Some in military, nevertheless, ordering monopoly press to quickly "tell the truth now" or suffer dire consequences. ...”

and...

“For all practical purposes, governing the nation has stopped at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as aides deal with an increasingly despondent President, mounting scandals and defecting dissidents from the Ship of State. … White House insiders say George W. Bush's mood swings have increased to the point where meetings with the President must be cancelled, schedules shifted and plans changed to keep a bitter, distracted leader from the public eye. ‘He's like a zombie some days, walking around in a trance,’ says one aide who, for obvious reasons, asks not to be identified. ‘Other times he launches into angry outbursts, cussing out anybody who gets near him.’”


"That no free government, or the blessing of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles."
-- George Mason, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776

Hurricane Blog Too...

That's right kiddies...HEEEE'sss BBACCKKK!!!

Ok the news as we know it right now...

The storm still has not hit the Yucatan... It is sitting on top of Cozumel, where it has been for about the last four hours or so...
Cancun has been experiencing unrelenting hurricane force winds for eight hours or more... along with a lot of rain. The storm's last tracks may be indicating a turn north...along the coast of the Yucatan penisula... If that is the case it may not go ashore at all. We can only wait and see. If it is moving north, albeit slowly, it may be signalling the expected turn to the northeast. Once it makes that turn it should accelerate, with the help of upper level winds, and those same winds will hinder any intensification. That being said it could still hit here as a Cat-1 to Cat-3. I don't expect it to be any stronger than that.

The National Hurricane Center has moved the center of probability north to around Naples, for initial shore impact. One good thing about the NHC forecast line, the storm almost never sticks to this line, so the safest place to be is on the line or outside of the cone of probabilty. That is if you believe a direct hit has any meaning. I don't. Not anymore.

Here is a little test. Go and tell someone who has been side swiped by a hurricane or tornado (my childhood), or someone who took a direct hit from a Cat 1 storm or and F1 tornado, that it could have been worse. Then report back here how your jaw feels. I get so tired of people saying " OH, it was only a Cat 1, ...No problem!!" or "Looks like you'll get off easy, it is only Cat 1!" All those in that catagory can go stuff themselves. Can you prepare for it,..Yes!!! Does it help? Sometimes yes,...sometimes it makes no difference whatsoever. Every situation is different, every storm is different.

Ok I guess I should hammer my favorite local TV network, NBC-2.

On the noon broadcast they made an attempt to "define" mandatory evacuation. [NBC-2 rant mode on]

It was....laughable. Really these people need to devote a segment, say three mintues or so, about how all this mandatory stuff is crap.

The current definition is (according to NBC-2): "mandatory evacuation means that you will be on your own and at risk if anything bad happens..." Really??? You gotta be kinding me!!! Forget that the courts have already ruled that no one has the right to expect help from police, fire, 911 or anybody else, so many times that they could fill a phonebook with the rulings! Forget that my property rights make your "mandatory" evacuation unenforceable. They fianlly did admit that it also means that "if" you abandon your property (like on the barrier islands or Fort Myers Beach) you will not be allowed back until the "authorities" give the ok.

Ok, NBC-2 is part of the problem, I know that. I can't expect them to stop being a lap dog just because peoples lives and property are at stake. I guess I am just a cold, hard, callouse bastard.

Oh, and could you guys stop playing with all the 'cool' features you have on your new doppler software and just show me where the damn weather is? Christ!!! The clutter from all the doo-dads is screwing up being able to see where it is rainin' and where it ain't!!

Ok, [/nbc-2 rant mode off]

Anyway, they have an evacuation in progress of collier county communities that are south and west of US41. Fort Myers beach is also 'suggested' to evacuate...

Ok.. that's all I have for now...more as it comes avaiable...

Hurricane Blog....

Blah, Blah, Blah....

But first...

My Fred Flintstone imitation....

WIILLLLLLMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Cool, huh?


The genuflecting by the media is incredible. Countering that, the governor is taking this very seriously. I especially like how he is trying to limit FEMA's involvement, at least until he figures out how much money he wants. Hehehe....

The media has been, of course, giving 98% coverage to the storm. It pretty much proves there is nothing much going on in the world and runs kinda counter to their alternating "DON'T PANIC" and "PANIC has been ADVISED" stands. Funnier than hell on the TV ( I'm watching NBC-2 outta Fort Myers).

Ok, the facts...

The storm is still down south of Cuba, pretty much headed for the Yucatan Channel. I know, I know, they are saying it is going to hit the Yucatan and depower. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. I can only report what I see on the various satellite feeds, pressure maps and consult with my crystal ball ( I also channel Eleanor Roosevelt, but she doesn't seem to be interested in this storm;keeps mumbling about Hilliary getting laid more than her or something...Hey it's kinda muffled...). In the last hour it has moved mainly north and it ain't to the Yucatan yet. Now, this storm has some wobble so it may wobble on over there and have some issues with land. It could also be starting the expected turn a little early and shoot right out the Straits of Florida with a little hello to Cuba. We will probably get some rain and some wind. If it comes ashore near here, there will be flooding, water damage and wind damage, as well as large power outages.

F-A-C-T...Fast...Accurate...Consise...True...

...That is the way news should be reported...but you ain't gonna get that outta any major news agency in the USA today...

The big point is these people don't know where this this storm is going to go, but can't say that without spinning it "for the moment", as it were. What makes good news? Confusion!!! Well at least to the nimrods sitting in the production booth at NBC-2. And I'm not just picking on NBC-2, they are just my favorite target because I want them to improve the most....Hehehe....

Seriously, I have been thinking about starting a blog just to analyze spin and disinformation on that particular station, on a daily basis. I was going to call it NBC-2 Sucks!!!. If anybody wants to run with it, this idea is not claimed as "intellectual property" and can be claimed without peril (at least from me).

Oh, one more thing, if you are in south Florida and plan on staying put, make sure you have sufficient food, water, guns and ammunition to stay and defend your property. King George is just itching for a reason to declare martial law, start fixing prices and start a civil war. Lets make sure we can take care of any random crime issues at the local level...

You guys are cool...

HAH!!!

"The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite."
-- Thomas Jefferson

That was weird...

This afternoon, my template went away. The message said something about it being expired (dead?). When I went to the edit page, though, it was all there. Blogger just wouldn't publish it. So I selected a new template. Then I found that all my quotations and my blogroll were gone. Bummer... but I guess I can rebuild them.


Wonder what that was...


"It is indeed probable that more harm and misery have been caused by men determined to use coercion to stamp out a moral evil than by men intent on doing evil."
-- Friedrich A. Hayek

I Aim to Misbehave...

Malcolm Reynolds tells us very clearly why this is important in the newly released movie, "Serenity".

There is a pretty good discussion, and reviews of the movie, going on over at "The Claire Files" forum. Look for the WARNING: SPOILERS... thread.

All in all, I like the movie, but it isn't as good as the series. Hopefully, interest in the movie will regenerate a desire to continue the series (though I really don't want another movie if they can't keep it closer to the feel of the "Firefly" series).

I will miss the Shepard and Wash if a new series is developed, but maybe we can see them again in flashback sequences, like in "Out of Gas".

Still, I enjoyed the movie, will probably go see it in the theater again and will definately buy the DVD when it comes out.


"That's what governments are for...to get in a man's way..." - Captain Reynolds of the Firefly class transport, "Serenity"