Over Exposed

There is a new entity on Facebook that claims to expose the under-belly of Clatsop County.    This site became active last Friday and was quickly followed by a similar site for Tillamook County on Sunday.

Though the administrators of this page give no hints as to who they are or what their real intentions are for setting up an inflammatory site such as this.  Many of the people commenting ask who is in charge and no answers come forward.  As a person who does not read any local newspapers or listen to local news, I’m not sure how public or quasi-public or factual any of their posts are, but their editorializing and character assessments are slanderous of people who have yet to be tried or convicted. 

One case in point is a woman featured in Tillamook who the list as “Tillamook's most famous criMILFinal”, please note the word criminal is spelled with the letters MILF which is an acronym of “Mother I’d Like to Fuck”.  I hope her defense attorney is paying attention for this bonanza because her case just got a lot easier to dismiss.  There is no way to solicit a retraction since there is no one to track down, hence no one is responsible or accountable for what is published.  It's hard to sue them for slander.

It seems like this page is put together with some assistance of law enforcement on some level.  I haven’t heard any statements of denial from the Sheriff which surprises me.  I’ve always found the Deputies in this county to be real up-standing professionals.  I’ve never seen them display any vengeful streak and I found them to be down-right compassionate and even have great senses of humor.  I’ve seen them treat criminals with respect.

The problem with these pages is that they are being used as a public pillory with no regards to the presumption of innocence.  It is a place for internet bullies to strike at those without regard to a possible innocence or sincere attempt at rehabilitation.  Records can be legally sealed or expunged, but the Internet cannot.  

I am curious who will be left out of their spotlight.  Will the child of a local Judge and a local attorney be spared?   How about the child of a local newspaper publisher?  How about a local newspaper publisher?  I wait for them to publish something about someone with local power, influence or respectability, though respectability is rarely shared with those with power or influence.

This site shows that the administrators and many of those who comment on this site are the true underbelly of our County.  This is the local equivalent of the Jerry Springer Show.  It is a site of mob mentality and retribution.  I wonder what other ideas they have to humiliate those who are presently serving time for their crimes and those who haven’t even been arraigned yet.

It's really odd to see the commenters propose punishment for the criminals from hanging, throat slitting and shooting them in the head.  It seems the audience has violent tendencies as well and are only one psychotic freak-out from being incarcerated themselves.

I really hope that local law enforcement isn't involved with this site.  If they are they will totally lose my support and respect and this will weigh heavily on any future bond measures for a new jail.

If I Am Elected...

I was watching the inauguration the other day and I kept catching myself saying, "If I were elected I'd do away with that..."  I can't stand a lot of the pomp and circumstance, though I see that some of it is necessary to make the people feel vested, or something like that.

First, where the hell did all those cops come from?  There was a wall of cops standing on both sides of the road for miles of the parade route.  We've become a total police state.  This is why our prisons are overcrowded, too many cops with too much time to justify their jobs.

If it were me up there, there'd be no Tabernacle choir, there'd be no poet, there'd be no blessing.  I wouldn't put my hand on a Bible nor would I say "So help me God."  I'd have to be sworn in on a ratty copy of In Water Mellon Sugar.

I would not attend National Prayer Day, except only to announce that I plan to tax the churches.

As for my inauguration speech, I tell the NRA that they are welcome to have shot guns and hunting rifles with clips that hold five or fewer rounds. If they want to shoot anything larger they will need to join a "Well Regulated Militia" like the 2nd amendment states and I'd direct them to the nearest recruiting office.

I would implement a rating system for news programs where they would have to display their rating for objectivity, accuracy and relevance the entire time of their broadcast.

I'd tell Israel that they are now on their own because they are just another theocratic terrorist nation.

The words "In God We Trust" would be removed from our currency.

I would recommend and support the secession of the states of Texas and Arizona; those states are too far gone and need to be on their own.

By executive order Marijuana would be totally legal to grow, possess, transport and use, however all intoxication laws will still apply.

Fuel will no longer be made from food and ethanol will only be sold to people who actually want to burn that crap.

Students will not be able to drop out of school until age 18.  The only option for leaving school at an earlier age will be to meet all the graduation requirements before that age or pass all three sections of the GED test.

I would reward with financial incentives any county that includes a Planned Parenthood clinic as community  health center for women.

I would give tax credits to people who reduced their energy consumption over a previous year.

Finally, douche bags would have to choose only one; either the goatee, the short baggy pants, the sun glasses or the hat; not all four.

Privacy

I think most people are so complacent in regards to their on-line privacy.  I am fully aware of how an on-line presence leaves one open for all sorts of bad things and that is why I chose to use the name, "Guy Whowritesthis" as my pen name for this blog and for my Facebook account.  I am basically anonymous, but with a little effort anyone can figure out who I am as many people have.

I was recently involved in a comment on a gun control issue on a Facebook post and one of the other people who commented demanded I give my real name.  I would never use my real name on Facebook and I question the sanity of anyone who does. I immediately checked out this person's Facebook account and came back with this reply: " I took a quick look at your Facebook page and you not only list your date of birth and where you are from, and when you went to high school and your husband's name and the names of your children. You are leaving yourself open for identity fraud. Do you really want that?"
One could easily mine the information she provided and be well on their way to identity theft which will be a lot harder to mop up after the fact.

Facebook is basically data collection service in which people volunteer the most intimate portions of their lives.  The funny thing is that a lot of gun owners who refuse to register their guns are giving freely giving all sorts of info on themselves to the Internet where just about anyone can see it.

I had another instance recently where a Facebook friend posted the date when he would be going on vacation.  I saw him after that post and asked if he had lost his mind.  He is a pretty well known person and I'm sure there are people that read his posts who could easily take advantage of his absence.  He told me that few people know where he lives, but I'm sure it a public record that is find-able in less than a few minutes on the Internet.

People, you need to start paying attention.  Are you setting yourself up for exposure that could ruin your life?  I know Facebook is fun and your intentions for setting up your account was so you could connect with people you know or have known in the past but in reality you are volunteering all your information for free.  Remember on Facebook you think you are getting a great free product, but in reality you are the product.

It's The Small Victories

Back in the 70s I had no fear of mechanical endeavors.  I had a Jeep that needed constant repair and  I was confident to open the hood and crawl in and mingle with the problems.  As time went on cars got more complicated and one needed uni-task tools and an array of diagnostic equipment.  Often one has to remove half of the under the hood content just to replace a plug.  I  had to remove all sorts of stuff just to replace the head lamp on my former Dodge pick-up.  I was shocked to see what one needs to remove just to replace a lamp in the floor shifter of a Subaru.  I fixed it and that will save me paying for an hour of labor.

I recently got a car that is not meant to be worked on by humans.  There is a plastic covering over the entire engine.  The only thing that is visible and accessible is the dip stick for the oil and the oil filler cap.  I discovered that the windshield spritzers were inoperable.  I had to remove a panel on the bottom side of the hood just to discover that the hose had become disconnected.  I was actually able to fix it.

The car doors constantly locked and the alarm went off every time I opened the door and there I found the rubber gasket on the key was stuck depressing the button for the lock mode.I was able to free it with a sharp tool that lifted the rubber gasket.  Another problem solved.

I love finding solutions to the small annoying problems especially since I am no longer equipped to handle the larger problems. It just makes my day, but fortunately these successes haven't spurred me into taking on any larger projects.  Perhaps my next car will come from a simpler time before the auto industry went craze with conveniences most people can't seem to live without.

Record Keeping

It is always a good idea to keep good records and I've attempted this over the years with my bees.  I have seen beekeepers have bar codes on their hives and they keep really good records of each visit to the bee year.  The only record I keep is how much honey was produced each year.  I don't keep track of how many colonies I kept each year so my stats are somewhat flawed, but it does give me my bottom line of production.  I don't keep track of the income and out-lay because I'm sure I'd get depressed over only making a few cents per hour for my efforts.

This year was a particularly poor year for honey.  Most years I get around 250 pounds; this year the yield was a mere 60 pounds.

2012 was the first year I kept track of the daily egg harvest.  During the year my hens laid 2273 eggs of which 67 were broken and had to be thrown away.  This comes down to nearly 190 eggs per month or a little over 6 eggs per day.

I'm doing a little better than breaking even on the eggs I sell, or at least I will after a few more years considering how much money I spent building the coop.  The honey price will need to go up this year.  I've been charging the same price for about 13 years now, so it is time to boost the bee economy.

Guns

I run a \Facebook page for an agricultural organization of which I am a member.  People in agriculture are often the most conservative delusional paranoid people I have ever dealt with. During the election they posted a bunch of racist anti Obama stuff, but now their team lost they are focusing on guns and the 2nd Amendment and I don't believe they truly grasp what they are implying.


Their main thing they state is that we are allowed by the constitution to defend our country against a tyrannical government.  The 2nd amendment actually only states: Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

So lets say for a minute that their interpretation is correct.  What they fail to realize is that in their opinion we already have a tyrannical government and they aren't doing anything about it other than complaining on Facebook about it.  So why don't these pussies with all the guns rise up and end the tyranny?  Maybe in the back of their mind they realize that the government has more man-power and weaponry that they can possibly imagine as proven to their brothers in arms; Tim McVeigh, David Koresh, and the Weaver family at Ruby Ridge.

Their delusional diatribe states that to fix the gun problem there needs to be more guns, which makes as much sense as infecting everyone with AIDS to solve the AIDS problem, or require everyone to drive drunk to stop drunk driving.

The government logistically can not round up all the guns, but if they wanted to solve the gun problem they can make it illegal to manufacture or import any weapons in the United States.  This will stem the flow and eventually all the guns that can be stolen and used in a crime will be confiscated.

Then to protect the peoples right as explained in the 2nd amendment the only fire arms that should legally be manufactured and purchased in this country will have the exact form and function of any fire arm that was produced in 1791 when the constitution was adopted.  That should be more than enough for hunting and for the occasional murder, but not fast enough to reload to shoot up a school, a church or a shopping mall.

Death Pool 2013

This is the 7th Annual Astoria Rust Death Pool.  Last years predictions were correct only twice out of thirteen contestants; Dick Clark and Etta James.  With no further adieu here the list for 2013:

Margaret Thatcher
Petula Clark
Stephen Hawkings
Hugo Chavez
Nancy Reagan
Michael Douglas
Judy Collins
Don Imus
George H.W. Bush
Nelson Mandela
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Daniel Day Lewis
Yoko Ono
Ross Perot
Ariel Sharon