PhxDragon's Blog

I see so many blog entries that are quoting or linking to questionable sites.  If you are a true intellectual American, you would do the research and look at more than one website to gather the information to form an opinion.

MSNBC is not a RELIABLE source.  That particular branch of a network was created in response to Fox News Channel, and is directed to be the opposing factor in anything that is said by FNC.  They can't even agree with others in their own network (as in evidence by the bickering and fighting ON SCREEN during the DNC), much less be relied upon to bring any part of truth in broadcasting.

By equal terms, some of the FNC stories need to be researched as well, as there will always be things left out to be able to make headlines.

During my tenure in news reporting, I was told ONCE at the beginning of my service there, to make sure I had all the angles covered.  I had a relatively easy beat, courts and police in 25 counties in three states.  When I could not verify any morsel of information on a story, it was either not included, or the story was not broadcast at MY choice.

I would not air half-truths or heresay.  I apparently had more scruples than some of the "National Cable Networks" have today. 

Remember:  Informed is educated.  The more information you have, the more intelligent the conversation and enjoyable the blog is to be read.  I have read many blogs here, and have been educated by many writers.  We do have a group of well read and informed bloggers here.  Unfortunately, we have another group of inciters and conspiracy theorists who put their smut on the blog and then delete any reply that doesn't include their point of view.

Yes, I have deleted entries, but only when they personally attacked another blogger.  I did not delete any blog due to their stance on any topic.  Hopefully, everyone else can do the same.

Now.  I am through venting.  Let's elect a female Vice-President now.

Lawyers in the U.S. are wondering how to deal with a weighty problem.

A woman is accused of killing her two-year-old nephew but prosecutors in Texas do not yet know how to get her to jail and court — because she weighs nearly half a ton.

Mayra Lizbeth Rosales, from La Jola, Texas, is bedridden and weighs nearly 1,000 lbs.

But she cannot get through her front door to be taken to jail and, later, court.

A grand jury has already agreed she should face charges of murder and injury in connection with the death of Eliseo Gonzalez Jr.

He died while in her care in March and the 27-year-old is accused of killing her nephew with two blows to the head.

She explained away the injuries by saying she had slipped, landing with her right hand on Eliseo's head while trying to pick him off the floor, and that he fell off a chair.

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All that reminded me of a joke.  Two guys were trying to tunnel their way out of prison.  They were swallowing all the dirt so there wouldn't be any evidence.......

Got too fat for the tunnel.

I see a growing belief in the myth that camera monitoring on the valley freeways reduces accidents.  This is just that....a MYTH.

The cameras on our freeway system are in place to assist in the reduction of high speed drivers and other dangerous activities.  This will reduce those activities.

If you want cameras to reduce accidents, you would have to place a camera in EVERY vehicle on the freeway!  This way, with the addition of a "kill switch" when authorities detect dangerous driving (i.e. speeding, weaving through traffic, tailgating, etc.) they could push a button, the vehicle(s) involved could then be disabled for a determinate period of time, an officer dispatched or citation be issued to the address on the registration.  Don't hold your breath for this to happen.  It is just a bit of sarcasm.

Watching the traffic around you on our freeways just to avoid a collision is daunting enough.  Seeing a vehicle weaving in a lane, then seeing the driver making a phone call from a cell phone or texting a message on that phone is just as dangerous as some speeding idiot driving 85 on I-10 through the Deck Park Tunnel!

Let the cameras do the job they were designed for and don't place unattainable goals on those pieces of equipment.  Checking the mirrors for vehicles and other turn signals (that switch on the left side of the steering column) before you change lanes (one lane at a time, please) can help tremendously in reducing accidents, both minor and fatal.

As in evidence from the Supreme Court this week, the right to bear arms has been upheld!

I see D.C. and Chicago Mayors whining to no end.  The way both cities have enacted and enforced gasoline and tobacco control laws and taxes, I am surprised both aren't jumping at the chance to enact more of the same.  A few years ago, a study was done in the tobacco situation.  They determined cigarettes would be around a dollar a pack if you took all the taxes off them.  Gasoline is nearly the same.

If the same type of taxes were enacted, the money rolling in from "legal" handguns would enhance their coffers to the point they could hire, train and equip more police officers! 

I legally carry my sidearm, and the only two ways you would know is to ask me, or ask my wife.  There are stipulations as to where even I can carry the weapon, but in those locations, there are plenty of armed security I can  relax to some extent.

Daley of Chicago has been the most vocal in the time since the court's decision was announced.  During the time of his father, that city built some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world (i.e. Cabrini Green, Robert Taylor Homes, etc.), and didn't have the forethought to adequately protect those most vulnerable of citizens.  Most of those "funded housing" developments are gone now.  Mainly due to the deaths, crimes and atrocities imposed on the residents BY the residents.

Utilizing strong, legal and definitive identification of purchasers of handguns, waiting periods and other stipulations, the right to bear arms was, is and will be a great and defining addition to the Constitution of the United States.

Well, here we go again.  For a few weeks, the trend had dropped off, but starting two weeks ago, the number of vehicles in the HOV lane that had more than one person in it (or an alternative fuel plate) dropped considerably!

In the last 5 weekdays, I have counted the following totals:

Single occupant in car:       52

Multiple occupants in car:  20

Alternative fuel plates:         6

These are the numbers of vehicles that passed me while driving North on I-17 between 0545 and 0645!  I don't even look in the Southbound lanes, and I only count the cars that pass me while I am doing approximately the speed limit.  These numbers include cars that pass the vehicle in the #1 lane and get back in the regular lane, the cars that fly (literally) in excess of 10 mph over the limit, and the normal slugs that think if they aren't turning off at this exit, they need to be in the farthest lane from the exit.

Don't even get me started on the ones that dive from the HOV lane to the exit ramp in under 5 car lengths!

DPS, Phoenix PD, MCSO and any other LEO should be especially watchful.  I know the Southbound lanes are full of violators and accidents resulting from those violations, but maybe you guys can split the shift and half roll North and the rest roll South!

After the NHL Draft, we see a few changes in the Coyotes for 08-09.

We picked up Jokinen for two defensemen (Ballard and Boynton).  While that will increase our salary liability by about $5 million, it is a step in the right direction.

Picking Mikkel Boedker as our first pick is a great step as well.

As we can clearly see, the front office is trying to plan for a white out this season!

Just when you thought Government couldn't intrude more....

A few years ago there was a splinter group of citizens calling for the secession of Arizona from the Union.  This is right up their alley:

I read today where the U.S. 9th Circuit Court will hear a case involving Arizona's Illegal Immigrant Employment Law.  Apparently some think a Federal Government should do things a State Government should have a say in.

148 years ago, a group of states decided State's Rights took priority over the Federal Government.  A four year war ensued pitting brother against brother on U.S. soil.

This is exactly the same thing.  Does a state have a right to govern itself without having a federal government jumping in and saying they have rule of authority over it?  What if the federal government said no one could hire any undocumented alien?  Would a state try and overrule the federal government?  Should they?  Does a state have the right to enact and enforce it's own laws?

If we, as a state, cannot enact and enforce our own laws, why does each state have it's own government?  Why doesn't the U.S. Congress enact all state's laws as federal laws and abolish all forms of state government?  They can't do much worse in the finance department. 

If Arizona does remove itself from the U.S. Government, we could print our own money and it would be worth just as much as the paper it is printed on.  At least an Arizona dollar would be worth more than a U.S. dollar.

I have been reading headlines from newspapers and television web sites across the country saying Obama has "sealed" the nomination.

Guess what?  With the way the Democrats set up their delegates, NO ONE has sealed a thing! 

The "superdelegate" fiasco has things so mired up there will be no defined winner until the convention.  These "superdelegates" don't have to hold their vote to their voting constituency.  Their district could have overwhelmingly voted for one candidate, and this S.D. can vote for the other candidate! 

Only chaos can reign in a situation like this.  Uniting the party is unlikely unless one of the candidates steps on their own foot so badly no one will vote for them!  Why have primaries if your vote won't count in the final tally before the convention?  Hoping a S.D. will see things the same way you do?  Look at the S.D. list and tell me if any of them fit your demographics.  Governors, millionaires, high party officials, etc.  None of the "superdelegates" are normal people with real jobs and families to protect.

Go back to the standard!  Make our votes count for who we vote for!

Will DNC stand for Does Not Count?

The proper way to handle the delegates from Michigan and Florida is to allocate the entire number of delegates the way the elections came out.

Now, I know some Obama-ites will cry, "But Obama wasn't on the Michigan ballots!"  Guess what.  That was HIS choice.  His reason?  He wanted to concentrate on New Hampshire and other states?  Wrong!  If that were true, why didn't he take his name off the Florida ballot as well?  He can't even keep his own story straight.

Clinton won both states legally (even by DNC standards) by not campaigning as she was directed.  Should that minimize her votes?  No.  Had Obama won both states, would we still be having this discussion?  If Obama had won, the DNC would have said weeks ago they were wrong, and allocated those delegates the way the voting public spoke.

The voters of those two states should have each and every vote count!  They even let a territory that is not a state (read Puerto Rico) vote with full voting power, yet they will deny a bonafide state that same courtesy?  Yes, courtesy.  They don't seem to think two states legitimate voters should choose their own leader without a chain of islands having a say without being adopted as a state.  Seems like the Dems have their own agenda, and they don't want common sense and legalities to interfere with it.

According to a report from the Pew Center on the States, more than 1 in 100 American adults are in jail or prison.

Now, in my line of work, that would mean steady business, but in the overall scheme of things, this is NOT a good thing.  We are ahead of the Chinese in prisoners!

The United States has 750 inmates per 100,000 people.  By comparison, South Africa has 341, Iran has 222 and China has 119 inmates per 100,000 people.  These figures are from the World Prison Brief.

It seems the "ME" generation has finally done it.  Put themselves ahead of everyone and everything else, and placed themselves in prisons and jails at a rate that even the Russians can't keep up (628 per 100,000). 

Want to stop the money wasted? $49 billion (with a B) was spent on corrections nationwide last year, averaging 6.8% of each state's budget.

Let's teach our children to respect others and their belongings, and stop thinking about themselves only!  WE need to stem this flow and now.

The majority of the prisoners we receive are new inmates, not re-offenders. 

For the record:

2,319,258 people will not vote for the Presidential election.  That is the number of inmates in the U.S. on 1 January. 

Now that the "Stupid Bowl" is over, maybe the sportscasters can begin to focus on a team that has an actual shot at making the playoffs.....The Coyotes.

The Desert Dogs have been winning, and are in the chase for a playoff spot!  Their first since the '01-'02 season! 

Yes, there are nearly 30 games left to the season, but with the talent and youth currently on the team, they have a legitimate shot at making it.

Imagine.....The first "White Out" at Glendale (Jobing.com) Arena!

Come out and support the Coyotes!  Fill the arena! 

I have seen numerous additions to threads that are not on topic.  I have deleted them when they "invade" my thread/topic.  I don't like editing what others are saying, unless they are obscene or inflamatory to certain demographics.

I have been a member here since 21 May 2007, and have edited a total of "maybe" 3 times.  Of those, 2 were entries that were of a topic (read conspiracy theorist) that was not anywhere near the original topic.

Just mentioning the "new" topic will only get them to add another.  Just delete them.  The originator of the thread can do that (thanks Fox).

Thursday night.  Glendale Arena.  End of the hockey game.  Driving out of the parking lot to Bethany Home to the 101 North.

At the turn from, I think, 83rd to Bethany, there is ONE lane that turns right.  The rest of the lanes are straight South lanes.  Sure enough, 4 cars turning left with the light, another car headed south decides instead of waiting for the 4 cars, they get in the lane to proceed South and then flashed (not turned on) their signal and turned right, nearly hitting the car who was second in line (I was 4th).

The driver of the offending vehicle then sped up in the turning lane and got ahead of the SUV who turned legally, and slammed on the brakes!  I was in the right lane, and proceeded at the speed limit West to the 101.  Guess what?  Yep.  They sped up and tried to cut me off as I got in the right turn lane.  They slowed down at the last instant and tried yet again to turn from the wrong lane. 

Yet another instance I got the plate number.  They then got behind me, flashed their lights and honked the horn, but didn't make it on the 101 with the flow of traffic until a car or two behind me.  I never saw them again.   Shame.

Drivers on Phoenix area roadways have changed.  Instead of just speeding and cutting other drivers off, they have taken up the hobby of "Threading the needle."

Threading the needle is the act of moving to another lane (with or without a turn signal) by nearly clipping the rear bumper of the vehicle in front of them and nearly clipping the front bumper of the vehicle in the other lane they are sliding in front of.

Just today, on the 101 between Cave Creek and 51st Avenue's exits, I counted 4 incidents of needle threading. 

People!  We all have to be somewhere at particular times!  Leave earlier so you don't have to wedge, cut off, or "push" cars along the freeway.

If you leave earlier, you won't have to push the limits of your vehicle, your abilities behind the wheel or the limits of law enforcement's ticket writing abilities (which are nearing a peak).

Steady will get you there faster than jumping in front of one, then slamming on the brakes for the next.

One more thing....when you flash your lights at the vehicle ahead?  If you are riding their bumper that closely, they can't see your headlights anyway.

I just received confirmation of the border fencing initiative.  It says it passed the Senate in October.

The scheduled completion date is 2011.  2011?!?!  I know we can build a fence quicker than that!  I've seen entire Olympic stadiums and villages go up quicker!

Maybe if we put the fence in as part of the next Olympic bid we could get it finished quicker?