Heather's Blogpile

Saw this on CrookedTimber.org
- from somewhere else in blogland:

Twenty-twenty-twenty-four hours to go
I wanna be cremated
Nothin to do nowhere to go ho
I wanna be cremated ...

Johnny Ramone, 55, a guitarist and founding member of the Ramones, the seminal New York rock-and-roll band that practically defined the punk movement of the 1970s, died Sept. 15 of prostate cancer at his home in Los Angeles.

Posted by Heather at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The madness is letting the ban on assault weapons lapse.

I have relatives that own guns - no problem. They are sensible about them, keep them under lock and key, have taken gun safety courses. We've discussed guns and I have no problem with folks owning or keeping guns. But Assault Weapons are not in the same category.

How can a President expect ANYONE to take him seriously when he claims to support law Enforcement then he lets a law end that banned automatic weapons like the AK-47, AR-15, MAC-10,Uzi, Tec-9. What does this say to the average cop when the lawmakers allow bad guys can go out and buy this kind of military technology? C'mon, does ANYONE think a sportsman is going hunting with an assault weapon - that kind of gun would shred game. Why does a private citizen buy a gun like this?

Other than the "kick" of owning a gun that can pulverize anything you might aim it at (cinderblocks, trees, cars, etc...), the only answer I come up with is as protection against others who might have similar weapons - to prevent finding yourself at the wrong end of a self-defense gap! What can you do when you find a burglar in your home with a gun - why, you simply HAVE to empty your tommy-gun into the blighter, just to teach him a right-proper lesson!

See http://www2.stopthenra.com/

Thanks to Eat Your Vegetables for inspiration!

Posted by Heather at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Protest slogans seen at Deluth News tribune website (among other places)

"Draft the Bush daughters."
"Evict Bush from public housing."
"Fellow Christians, We Are Called to "Love Our Enemies" - Jesus Wasn't Kidding
"Halliburton thanks you for supporting the war."
"How Many Hijackers Came From Iraq?"
"If We're Spreading Democracy to Iraq, Let's Start With Florida"
"Remember when presidents were smart and bombs were dumb?"
"Sacrifice SUVs, not children."
"Stop mad cowboy disease."
"The Pro-Life President Can't Wait to Start Killing."
"Vote Bush off the island."
"W stands for Wrong."
"War begins with Dubya."
"War is not an energy policy."

Posted by Heather at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Point by point rebuttal on Zell Miller's rabid speech at the RNC - is this guy sane - or was it a carefully crafted attempt to garner sympathy for a bi-polar moment?

Also read Jimmy Carter's letter in response to the "speech" ... courtesy of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, by way of Grant

And to put it all in perspective, here is Zell Miller's speech FOR John Kerry, back in 2000

Posted by Heather at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Heather at 6:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Click to enlarge
Update on my 1970 Triumph 500 Project

I had some time to work on the bike today, And the plan was to try and cure a hard-to-start problem. Although I had gotten the motorcycle to run last fall, starting it wasn't easy.

The ritual went like this: Turn the gas on, reach down and jiggle the tickler until gas squirted out the overflow hole. With the switch off, ease the engine over with the kick start level until you feel its on the peak of compression. Turn the switch on and hop up, throwing your whole body onto your right leg for the kick. When it fires, feather the throttle and keep it rrunning as long a possible, until it stalls. Repeat as necessary. Once the engine warms up, it generally runs ok, but the effort of starting it 6-8 times just to get it warmed up was exhausting, and on a hot summer day, guaranteed you'd be quite damp.

So, I took the float bowl off the single Amal Carb, and on a hunch, popped the top cover off, and set the needle one notch leaner. I cleaned all the old gasket off the base, made sure all the air passages were clear, and reassembled the carb.

I cleaned my hands of the excess Permatex Form-a-gasket, then rolled the bike out of the back porch and into the back yard.

So. I started the old ritual - open the gas; tickle the carb till the fuel dribbles out; with the key off, rotate the engine 'til its just begins the compression stroke; turn on the key; then kick like you mean it. And it started and ran, and ran, and ran ... ! A little fine tuning of the idle and mixture screw and I was done.

Amazingly - I have reached near-legendary status - ... Starts on the first kick ...

Of course, I could still use a good cleaning, would be nice to have the tank professionally painted, and a few other things are in order (get it inspected or get antique plates). But its pretty near being able to start and ride whenever I want to ride - and that IS the real goal when you have such an old bike!

Posted by Heather at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

from a Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Press Release posted on Yahoo - Weds Sept 1, 5:44 pm ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The Human Rights Campaign today condemned Home Depot, Sprint, Ecolab and Waste Management -- all Fortune 500 companies -- for offering their employees pet insurance but not domestic partner health insurance.

"Paying for a parrot's but not a person's hospital stay is absurd," said HRC President Cheryl Jacques. "This is no joke. Employees deserve better from these companies."

The HRC Foundation's WorkNet project uncovered the fact that these four companies all offer pet insurance but no domestic partner health insurance, despite having non-discrimination policies covering sexual orientation -- and one covering gender identity. Home Depot is based in Atlanta; Sprint is based in Overland Park, Kan.; Waste Management is based in Houston, Texas; and Ecolab is in St. Paul, Minn.

Two of the three companies will receive failing grades when HRC WorkNet releases its annual Corporate Equality Index later this month. The index measures how equitably companies treat their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors. Home Depot will receive a score of 57 percent; Waste Management, 43 percent; and Sprint, 71 percent. Ecolab will not be scored because the company has never replied to the HRC questionnaire.

"Smart, forward-looking companies understand that treating their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees equitably is good for business," said HRC Education Director Kim I. Mills, who oversees WorkNet. "We hope that these four companies will see the irony of their pets-over-people policy and strive for the highest scores on our index by offering domestic partner health insurance."

At least one Home Depot executive appeared to agree. Home Depot's vice president of diversity and inclusion, Gloria Johnson-Goins, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the company's policy "looked funny to me, too" when she arrived at the company 13 months ago.

"It's time for these companies to change ways and commit to their employees' families, not just their family dogs," added Jacques.

The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political organization with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that LGBT Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

Posted by Heather at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)