Hit read more to see Video
Tally Vietnam Vets of America-Patriot Guard throw their 1st run
And a good one it was too. Not because the top hand won $1000.00 either. But because a large number of folk took on the predicted bad weather and suited up a showed up. Numerous groups participated, none that I will name for fear of leaving one out. Besides, it ain't about those of us that were able to help or just attend and have fun. It was about insuring that we could stand for and assist LOCAL VETERANS.And did ya know? You can do that and have a damn good time too!!!
The run started at CCHD, went to the Bottoms, Corner Bar, Salty Dog, Applebee's and ended up at K&K fish camp by Lake Iamonia where food was waiting and Kickin music wasn't far behind. Of course their were door prizes, raffle and 50/50. But most importantly were the people. Those that sponsored the event, those that organized it and those that showed up to participate. You all know who you are, so to all of you we send a thanks that can't be expressed in words. We also guarantee that we gonna do it again next year. Bigger and Better. So mark your Caleners now. Next year this time you got a MISSION!
Despite the fact that he probably won't want me to I will mention one name, Mike Donohoe. Without whom this gig would not have happened. Yeah we all know that it's a team effort. We also all know that it is usually one person that does the lions share of the work. So pat yourself on the back dude. Ya done good.
Click here for some pics and if ya got any send them on in. Double click to enlarge.Add to Technorati Favorites
The truth does not often come in two minute sound bytes.
Although this post maybe revealing to the enemy, my hope would be that it would send an even stronger message to bikers.
18 posts containing the the words HB137, affectionately named the wheelie bill until people realized they could get a $1000.00 fine for a vertical tag, received approx. 620 hits
One post entitled "Iron Pigs Leather Vest for sale" received more than half that amount at 379 hits
"Motorcycle Gangs named used to con elderly man" got more than half also, at 326
This is on a site that makes no claim to being a 1%'er site but instead strives to alert Bikers to threats to their Freedoms?
Some have argued that many of our posts are to long and we would get more “hit's” if we shortened them. We would respond that we do not do this for hits. We do this for Freedom. If you have not yet lost enough Freedoms to care. Be patient. You will.
So the lesson is: People like Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Florida President/Lobbyist of ABATE of Florida can pretty much do and say whatever they wish while most bikers are slobbering dollar draft beer drool over Hooters girls and fantasizing over "Sons of Anarchy."
And the "Freedom Loving Biker" stereotype is a myth.
Hey, ya'll ride free, hear now?Add to Technorati Favorites
18 posts containing the the words HB137, affectionately named the wheelie bill until people realized they could get a $1000.00 fine for a vertical tag, received approx. 620 hits
One post entitled "Iron Pigs Leather Vest for sale" received more than half that amount at 379 hits
"Motorcycle Gangs named used to con elderly man" got more than half also, at 326
This is on a site that makes no claim to being a 1%'er site but instead strives to alert Bikers to threats to their Freedoms?
Some have argued that many of our posts are to long and we would get more “hit's” if we shortened them. We would respond that we do not do this for hits. We do this for Freedom. If you have not yet lost enough Freedoms to care. Be patient. You will.
So the lesson is: People like Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Florida President/Lobbyist of ABATE of Florida can pretty much do and say whatever they wish while most bikers are slobbering dollar draft beer drool over Hooters girls and fantasizing over "Sons of Anarchy."
And the "Freedom Loving Biker" stereotype is a myth.
Hey, ya'll ride free, hear now?Add to Technorati Favorites
Motorcycle Helmets, Wheelies, control through propaganda, Blackwater USA, the line in the sand
Often times what gets lost in the arguments about wearing helmets vs. not wearing helmets is what the argument is actually about. This applies to those on both sides of the issue, like so many other issues that plague us in this day and time the desire to win an argument based on "personal agenda" becomes more important than the real science and real facts behind the argument. More importantly, with divisive issues, science and fact are not necessarily the criteria by which issues of rights and freedoms are, or should, be decided.
The diversity of religious views in this country and the constitutional protections provided these differing beliefs, despite the many instances in which these beliefs can not be "proven," is an example of our forefathers commitment to individual freedom. All to often however, the wisdom of our forefathers is ignored by groups of individuals who would not be happy until they have gained control over another group of individuals.
Control and those who would identify themselves as those being best suited to "control," we think , must be the primary motivator behind the failure to resolve "most" issues. We determine this, not by the real science and facts used to determine the legitimacy of an argument, but by the manipulation of facts and science by which to "control" those who might hold an opposing view or ideology. Or pursue a minority lifestyle uncomfortable to the "politically correct" or "religiously correct".
All to often, it would appear, we find it necessary to control persons actions despite the fact that there is little, if any, scientific fact substantiating the need to control their actions. Florida recently banned "Gay" marriages based primarily on the fact that most people find such action "distasteful". Many do so on religious grounds by people who can not prove or substantiate their own religion much less document through science or fact any rational moral argument to substantiate their contention that "God" said it is wrong. Our suspicion is that many decisions made to "control" the actions of individuals based on what "God" thinks are more apt to be based on what man thinks "God" thinks. And when men start thinking they can "read the mind" of "God", I get scared. To many people have been killed over such delusional thinking.
Our forefathers understood that Freedom is not free and comes with a cost. So it would seem that in "most" arguments the first question should be, "at what "cost" should we give up a freedom?" This opposed to "we must win control at any cost."
That my friends is the whole "helmet" issue in a nutshell. It is has to do with the issue of informed freedom and the right to choose on one hand vs. the right to control on the other. The actual "Helmet" serves only as a representation that could be applied to many different areas of life.
The dangerous part of arguments is when those with the money and the power and the "letters behind their names" manipulate information in order to formulate a view among the public more favorable to their goal. That my Friends is called "Propaganda":
It becomes especially alarming when political appointments are not made by virtue of expertise or knowledge in a particular field, but by political "ideology" or favor (see Congress probes allegations of politicized hiring.). Doing so results in a government that abdicates, absent the ideological arguments engaged in that resulted in our freedom in the first place, the constitution. It also contributes to and exacerbates the inefficiencies/inadequacies of Government (see, Bush Administration Still Bungling the Katrina Rebuilding Effort).
Even more Alarming is when the government finds it necessary to develop private armies to carry out illegal agendas that it has not yet persuaded the American public to support or violates the constitution. See: http://www.hstoday.us/content/view/3943/92/
http://www.bigbendbikersforfreedom.com/2007/11/black-nights-black-coffee-and.html
http://www.bigbendbikersforfreedom.com/2007/12/our-government-selling-out-our.htmlhttp://www.bigbendbikersforfreedom.com/2007/12/more-on-blackwater-be-afraid-be-very.html
Last December we warned you Putin is pissed
yes iraq is all about oil and is why we will hit iran
AMERICA-Land of the Free???
on the rights front
AMERICA-Land of the Free???
At this point in time in history when many of the governments best efforts to "fix" America's problems have more and more Katrina like results (see "Criticism of government response to Hurricane Katrina") as evidenced by the current financial crises ( see Main Street turns against Wall Street) it would appear it is all mainstream media can do to keep up with the most calamitous of abuses. While at the same time the constitutional threats to our liberties such as red light camera's, seizures of private properties and cruel and unusual punishments ( I personally find it somewhat unusual that the fine for doing a wheelie on a motorcycle without harming someone can result in a $1000.00 fine while violating a motorcycles rights of way, killing said motorcyclist, results in a much smaller fine, if any?) are pretty much ignored by local media in favor of expending resources on covering the the latest "Friday Night Downtown Get Down" (China Controls the People by Keeping Them Ignorant).
It becomes increasingly incumbent upon "We the people" to take responsibility for holding the government accountable "before" they engage in implementing laws they feel might be good for us. Past experience indicates that it is the "governments best thinking" that has led us to an America that is almost unrecognizable, with disatrous results.
A minor example by some peoples standards, yet a major problem if you are one who is affected by the law is Florida's HB137. Even the Florida Representative, Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who introduced the law and got it passed has now recognized that a $1000.00 fine for a vertical tag might be excessive. Especially when there are alternatives that do not involve creating "bad law" (See the representatives comments below the post here). Those are the consequences "We The People" must suffer when we blindly allow people with little expertise in areas of concern to us, make laws impacting on our daily lives, and if you do not care about freedom, then our pocketbooks. Those are the consequences of our own ignorance and complaceny with ignorance.
So for those who do not understand why, even those of us who wear helmets on most occasions, adamently fight for the "the freedom of choice". It is because it is the LINE IN THE SAND THAT WE HAVE DRAWN TO SAY ENOUGH! Enough of governmental interference in my private life. Enough of Government propaganda and agenda's seeking to justify the need to interfere in my life. Enough of the lies of partisan politics that leave us in a state of distrust of all politics. Enough of government by emotion and fear! Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera is a Republican. Why are Republicans involving themselves in perpetuating the nanny state agenda blamed on the democrats. ENOUGH OF THE HYPOCRISY !
So it is with the above thoughts in mind that we ask you to read the following by Bruce Arnold and other pieces on his site where he has systematically destroyed lies and the credibility of many of the government reports and statistics so often regurgitated by the press with out investigation. And yes his pieces can be longer than mine. And yes, I suspect he don't give a flip either!
From Bruce Arnold at
LdrLongDistanceRider.com To "Doctor G":
American bikers' rights advocates like Rudy Avizius, Mike Greenwald (Gold Iron) and Lynn
Wesley have been after me for some time to look into what the World Health
Organization's "WHO Helmet Initiative" is all about. In so doing, I came across
your Headlines Newsletter's Fall 2008 Editorial entitled "How to be a Genius"...
http://www.whohelmets.org/headlines/index.htm
...the crux of which was:
"Data from Pennsylvania and Louisiana underline the conclusion that helmets do
make a difference. Pennsylvania repealed its mandatory law in 2001, making
helmets compulsory only for those under the age 21 years old or for
inexperienced operators. Although there were more motorcycles in use,
controlling for the increased motorcycle registrations showed an increase in
head injury deaths and hospitalizations for head injuries that was greater than
that for non-head injury hospitalizations. In Louisiana, the mandatory law was
repealed and then passed again. Fatal and serious injury crashes increased and
then declined proportional to other crashes as the law was repealed and then
passed again."
Well, "Doctor G", it didn't take much genius to show that both the Pennsylvania
and Louisiana "studies" you cite did not qualify as scientific research, and
were in fact spun statistics. I guess you missed all the rebuttals in the
motorcycle safety literature, including these two from me:
OPEN LETTER TO KRISTEN MERTZ & HAROLD WEISS [PA]:
AP Floods Media with Flawed Statistics from Pittsburgh Professors
http://tinyurl.com/5pt3ou
Concerned Responsible Motorcyclists to Confused Emergency Doctors [LA]:
Your Crash Survival Focus Obscures Crash Prevention Potentials
http://tinyurl.com/69lgs3
But in all fairness to you, it didn't take much genius to see how that might
happen. After all, according to your impressive-sounding bio...
http://www.emorycenterforinjurycontrol.org/faculty.php
...you're a very busy man...
"Philip L. Graitcer, MPH, DMD is an adjunct professor for Emory University
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Hubert Department of
Global Health. Dr. Graitcer has an international reputation for his research and
publications in the area of bicycle and motorcycle helmets. Graitcer is the
creator and facilitator of the World Health Organization's Helmet Initiative,
and he has written and edited Headlines, WHO's official publication on helmets
since 1993. Prior to joining Emory, Graitcer spent 18 years at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention as a medical epidemiologist, the last 8 years as
a member of CDC's injury prevention program. Graitcer is also an independent
radio producer, creating and writing features on health, science, and culture
for public radio programs in Atlanta as well as for NPR, Marketplace and the
BBC."
But what you're mostly busy with is NOT motorcycle safety, is it, "Doctor G"? I
mean come on, after you stop spinning blues on your morning radio gig at WFRG...
http://goodmorningblues.com/
...then teach a few classes, and maybe pull a few teeth...
http://www.finddentists.org/dentist-philip-graitcer.html
...just how much time could you possibly have left to research the REAL causes
of motorcycle injuries and deaths--like right-of-way violations by distracted
drivers--and the BEST ways to mitigate their incidence and impact?
Long ago, BOLT's Richard Quigley declared you have neither the credentials nor
the right to be broadcasting motorcycle safety policy from your dental chair:
http://usff.com/hldl/hoax/InjuryControl.html
And I say QUIG WAS RIGHT.
Speaking strictly for myself and no other individuals or organizations,
Bruce Arnold
Bruce@LdrLongDistanceRider.com
Author and Publisher, LdrLongDistanceRider.com
Co-Moderator, Bruce-n-Ray's Biker Forum
Mile Eater Gold Member, Iron Butt Association (IBA)
Member, Bikers of Lesser Tolerance (BOLT of Florida)
Sustaining Member, Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF)
2007 Chairman's Circle, American Motorcyclist Association (AMA)Add to Technorati Favorites
The diversity of religious views in this country and the constitutional protections provided these differing beliefs, despite the many instances in which these beliefs can not be "proven," is an example of our forefathers commitment to individual freedom. All to often however, the wisdom of our forefathers is ignored by groups of individuals who would not be happy until they have gained control over another group of individuals.
Control and those who would identify themselves as those being best suited to "control," we think , must be the primary motivator behind the failure to resolve "most" issues. We determine this, not by the real science and facts used to determine the legitimacy of an argument, but by the manipulation of facts and science by which to "control" those who might hold an opposing view or ideology. Or pursue a minority lifestyle uncomfortable to the "politically correct" or "religiously correct".
All to often, it would appear, we find it necessary to control persons actions despite the fact that there is little, if any, scientific fact substantiating the need to control their actions. Florida recently banned "Gay" marriages based primarily on the fact that most people find such action "distasteful". Many do so on religious grounds by people who can not prove or substantiate their own religion much less document through science or fact any rational moral argument to substantiate their contention that "God" said it is wrong. Our suspicion is that many decisions made to "control" the actions of individuals based on what "God" thinks are more apt to be based on what man thinks "God" thinks. And when men start thinking they can "read the mind" of "God", I get scared. To many people have been killed over such delusional thinking.
Our forefathers understood that Freedom is not free and comes with a cost. So it would seem that in "most" arguments the first question should be, "at what "cost" should we give up a freedom?" This opposed to "we must win control at any cost."
That my friends is the whole "helmet" issue in a nutshell. It is has to do with the issue of informed freedom and the right to choose on one hand vs. the right to control on the other. The actual "Helmet" serves only as a representation that could be applied to many different areas of life.
The dangerous part of arguments is when those with the money and the power and the "letters behind their names" manipulate information in order to formulate a view among the public more favorable to their goal. That my Friends is called "Propaganda":
In English, "propaganda" was originally a neutral term used to describe the dissemination of information in favor of any given cause. During the 20th century, however, the term acquired a thoroughly negative meaning in western countries, representing the intentional dissemination of often false, but certainly "compelling" claims to support or justify political actions or ideologies. This redefinition arose because both the Soviet Union and Germany's government under Hitler admitted explicitly to using propaganda favoring, respectively, communism and Nazism, in all forms of public expression. As these ideologies were antipathetic to liberal western societies, the negative feelings toward them came to be projected into the word "propaganda" itself.When propaganda is used to shape public policy the outcome is generally not good. Think of the last lemon you bought from a used car salesman who extolled the virtues of something that was not true. For more on "Propaganda" and its use, check out this site.
It becomes especially alarming when political appointments are not made by virtue of expertise or knowledge in a particular field, but by political "ideology" or favor (see Congress probes allegations of politicized hiring.). Doing so results in a government that abdicates, absent the ideological arguments engaged in that resulted in our freedom in the first place, the constitution. It also contributes to and exacerbates the inefficiencies/inadequacies of Government (see, Bush Administration Still Bungling the Katrina Rebuilding Effort).
Even more Alarming is when the government finds it necessary to develop private armies to carry out illegal agendas that it has not yet persuaded the American public to support or violates the constitution. See: http://www.hstoday.us/content/view/3943/92/
For more on Blackwater USAThe “private armies” stigma raised questions on the domestic homeland security front when Blackwater deployed equipment and heavily armed security contractors to the Hurricane Katrina disaster area, including an SA-330J Puma helicopter. A press release on Blackwater USA's website confirmed that its contractors were on the ground in New Orleans, being used to secure petrochemical facilities and provide security services for the federal government. Private citizens were also reported to have hired Blackwater’s so-called “private soldiers” to provide bodyguard services and protect expensive homes and real estate in New Orleans despite repeated mandatory evacuation orders of all civilians by local, state and federal authorities. Accordingly, we should not be surprised if the “private armies” debate emerges as a homeland security issue in the upcoming US presidential election.
http://www.bigbendbikersforfreedom.com/2007/11/black-nights-black-coffee-and.html
http://www.bigbendbikersforfreedom.com/2007/12/our-government-selling-out-our.htmlhttp://www.bigbendbikersforfreedom.com/2007/12/more-on-blackwater-be-afraid-be-very.html
Last December we warned you Putin is pissed
yes iraq is all about oil and is why we will hit iran
AMERICA-Land of the Free???
on the rights front
AMERICA-Land of the Free???
At this point in time in history when many of the governments best efforts to "fix" America's problems have more and more Katrina like results (see "Criticism of government response to Hurricane Katrina") as evidenced by the current financial crises ( see Main Street turns against Wall Street) it would appear it is all mainstream media can do to keep up with the most calamitous of abuses. While at the same time the constitutional threats to our liberties such as red light camera's, seizures of private properties and cruel and unusual punishments ( I personally find it somewhat unusual that the fine for doing a wheelie on a motorcycle without harming someone can result in a $1000.00 fine while violating a motorcycles rights of way, killing said motorcyclist, results in a much smaller fine, if any?) are pretty much ignored by local media in favor of expending resources on covering the the latest "Friday Night Downtown Get Down" (China Controls the People by Keeping Them Ignorant).
It becomes increasingly incumbent upon "We the people" to take responsibility for holding the government accountable "before" they engage in implementing laws they feel might be good for us. Past experience indicates that it is the "governments best thinking" that has led us to an America that is almost unrecognizable, with disatrous results.
A minor example by some peoples standards, yet a major problem if you are one who is affected by the law is Florida's HB137. Even the Florida Representative, Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who introduced the law and got it passed has now recognized that a $1000.00 fine for a vertical tag might be excessive. Especially when there are alternatives that do not involve creating "bad law" (See the representatives comments below the post here). Those are the consequences "We The People" must suffer when we blindly allow people with little expertise in areas of concern to us, make laws impacting on our daily lives, and if you do not care about freedom, then our pocketbooks. Those are the consequences of our own ignorance and complaceny with ignorance.
So for those who do not understand why, even those of us who wear helmets on most occasions, adamently fight for the "the freedom of choice". It is because it is the LINE IN THE SAND THAT WE HAVE DRAWN TO SAY ENOUGH! Enough of governmental interference in my private life. Enough of Government propaganda and agenda's seeking to justify the need to interfere in my life. Enough of the lies of partisan politics that leave us in a state of distrust of all politics. Enough of government by emotion and fear! Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera is a Republican. Why are Republicans involving themselves in perpetuating the nanny state agenda blamed on the democrats. ENOUGH OF THE HYPOCRISY !
So it is with the above thoughts in mind that we ask you to read the following by Bruce Arnold and other pieces on his site where he has systematically destroyed lies and the credibility of many of the government reports and statistics so often regurgitated by the press with out investigation. And yes his pieces can be longer than mine. And yes, I suspect he don't give a flip either!
From Bruce Arnold at
LdrLongDistanceRider.com To "Doctor G":
American bikers' rights advocates like Rudy Avizius, Mike Greenwald (Gold Iron) and Lynn
Wesley have been after me for some time to look into what the World Health
Organization's "WHO Helmet Initiative" is all about. In so doing, I came across
your Headlines Newsletter's Fall 2008 Editorial entitled "How to be a Genius"...
http://www.whohelmets.org/headlines/index.htm
...the crux of which was:
"Data from Pennsylvania and Louisiana underline the conclusion that helmets do
make a difference. Pennsylvania repealed its mandatory law in 2001, making
helmets compulsory only for those under the age 21 years old or for
inexperienced operators. Although there were more motorcycles in use,
controlling for the increased motorcycle registrations showed an increase in
head injury deaths and hospitalizations for head injuries that was greater than
that for non-head injury hospitalizations. In Louisiana, the mandatory law was
repealed and then passed again. Fatal and serious injury crashes increased and
then declined proportional to other crashes as the law was repealed and then
passed again."
Well, "Doctor G", it didn't take much genius to show that both the Pennsylvania
and Louisiana "studies" you cite did not qualify as scientific research, and
were in fact spun statistics. I guess you missed all the rebuttals in the
motorcycle safety literature, including these two from me:
OPEN LETTER TO KRISTEN MERTZ & HAROLD WEISS [PA]:
AP Floods Media with Flawed Statistics from Pittsburgh Professors
http://tinyurl.com/5pt3ou
Concerned Responsible Motorcyclists to Confused Emergency Doctors [LA]:
Your Crash Survival Focus Obscures Crash Prevention Potentials
http://tinyurl.com/69lgs3
But in all fairness to you, it didn't take much genius to see how that might
happen. After all, according to your impressive-sounding bio...
http://www.emorycenterforinjurycontrol.org/faculty.php
...you're a very busy man...
"Philip L. Graitcer, MPH, DMD is an adjunct professor for Emory University
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Hubert Department of
Global Health. Dr. Graitcer has an international reputation for his research and
publications in the area of bicycle and motorcycle helmets. Graitcer is the
creator and facilitator of the World Health Organization's Helmet Initiative,
and he has written and edited Headlines, WHO's official publication on helmets
since 1993. Prior to joining Emory, Graitcer spent 18 years at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention as a medical epidemiologist, the last 8 years as
a member of CDC's injury prevention program. Graitcer is also an independent
radio producer, creating and writing features on health, science, and culture
for public radio programs in Atlanta as well as for NPR, Marketplace and the
BBC."
But what you're mostly busy with is NOT motorcycle safety, is it, "Doctor G"? I
mean come on, after you stop spinning blues on your morning radio gig at WFRG...
http://goodmorningblues.com/
...then teach a few classes, and maybe pull a few teeth...
http://www.finddentists.org/dentist-philip-graitcer.html
...just how much time could you possibly have left to research the REAL causes
of motorcycle injuries and deaths--like right-of-way violations by distracted
drivers--and the BEST ways to mitigate their incidence and impact?
Long ago, BOLT's Richard Quigley declared you have neither the credentials nor
the right to be broadcasting motorcycle safety policy from your dental chair:
http://usff.com/hldl/hoax/InjuryControl.html
And I say QUIG WAS RIGHT.
Speaking strictly for myself and no other individuals or organizations,
Bruce Arnold
Bruce@LdrLongDistanceRider.com
Author and Publisher, LdrLongDistanceRider.com
Co-Moderator, Bruce-n-Ray's Biker Forum
Mile Eater Gold Member, Iron Butt Association (IBA)
Member, Bikers of Lesser Tolerance (BOLT of Florida)
Sustaining Member, Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF)
2007 Chairman's Circle, American Motorcyclist Association (AMA)Add to Technorati Favorites
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