Stayton Thoughts

Easter 2009

2009-04-12T13:26:00.000-04:00

Easter 2009

2009-04-12T13:25:00.000-04:00

Easter 2009

2009-04-12T13:24:00.000-04:00

Innovative software removal technique

2009-03-20T11:57:00.000-04:00

Dawn and a .223

2009-01-01T10:51:00.000-05:00

I don't care if Obama IS a Muslim

2008-06-12T09:30:00.001-04:00

Article V of the U.S. Constitution:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Emphasis added.

Apparently the Founding Fathers – as well as all of the states that adopted the U.S. Constitution – weren’t afraid of Muslims.

And, before the end of George Washington’s term, that lack of fear was made certain. The 11^th Article of the "Treaty of Peace and Friendship, entered into with Tripoli on November 4, 1796, and with Algiers on January 3, 1797, contains a clear statement of peaceful intent toward Islam:

As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion, - as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen, - and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."

I don’t care if Obama is Muslim. I want somebody who will be less than 72 years old when taking the oath of office. I want a president who has a brain on his shoulders and can express his thoughts and policies clearly, without a teleprompter. I want somebody who doesn’t think it’s a good idea to have a permanent occupying army in Iraq. I want a president who will actually exercise due diligence before taking our country to war. The current occupier of our nation’s highest office failed miserably -- my metric is over 4,000 lost American patriots.

Top 10 things NOT to ask FBI while taking a tour

2008-01-27T10:38:00.000-05:00

10. Since you did a background check on me, does that mean I'm going
to Guantanamo Bay at the end of the tour for the rest of my life?

9. Where's the room where you torture brown people who don't speak
English?

8. The C.I.A.: Friend or Foe?

7. What's your favorite round for knocking off hippies marching at
a peace protest, .45 cal, 9 mil, or 5.56?

6. In the scene from the movie "Die Hard," where Dwayne
the L.A. cop says "We're gonna need some more FBI guys I guess" -- was
that cool or what?

5. Does Will Smith monitor extraterrestrials from this office?

4. Will I be waterboarded for posting this?

3. That whole 4th Amendment, no searches without a warrant stuff,
does that mean the Founding Fathers were commies, pinkos, liberals or
terrorists?

2. Where in Tampa did J. Edgar Hoover shop for his dresses?

And, ....

1. Does Dick Cheney wear the same dress size as J. Edgar Hoover?

Gasparilla 2008

2008-01-27T10:34:00.001-05:00

Gasparilla 2008

2008-01-27T10:34:00.000-05:00

Gasparilla 2008

2008-01-27T10:33:00.000-05:00

Gasparilla 2008

2008-01-27T10:32:00.001-05:00

Gasparilla 2008

2008-01-27T10:31:00.000-05:00

Me and my host and friend, Frank Fulghum.

Xmas 2007

2007-12-25T16:33:00.000-05:00

My 44th Bday

2007-12-19T19:52:00.000-05:00

Had to use the self-timer, of course.

Cub Scout Camping trip 2007

2007-12-19T19:51:00.000-05:00

I took the boys to a Cub Scout camping trip in December. We had a blast. Here's our campsite, where they just loved being junior pyromaniacs.

Taking a break

2007-12-19T19:50:00.000-05:00

Den 10, Pack 632

2007-12-19T19:48:00.000-05:00

Handmade candles

2007-12-19T19:47:00.000-05:00

Camping Dec 2007

2007-12-19T19:46:00.000-05:00

Xmas Tree

2007-12-01T09:51:00.000-05:00

Two patients

2007-11-23T20:00:00.000-05:00

Jack had surgery to correct a hernia today. It went fine, according to the doctor the procedure was perfectly normal, but the experience was nonetheless quite traumatic. We were at the hospital from 10:30 until around 3:30.

While we were with him in the recovery/post-op room, Angelina called her sister, Sabrina, to report on the surgery. During the phone call, Sabrina tells us that Cooper had fallen and was in the nearest urgent care facility. Took 3 stitches to close up the back of his head, pictured above.

I sure could use a break from further hospital visits for a lengthy spell.

Sign of the Apocalypse Drawing Near

2007-11-21T09:37:00.000-05:00

KU is playing MU Saturday, November 24. What would normally be a routine rivalry football game is now much more important, since KU is ranked number 2 in the nation and MU is number 4. The chance at playing for the national championship is on the line.

One of my good friends, Ted, unfortunately went to MU. He and I have exchanged some emails about the origins of the Jayhawk, and since I thought some of the stuff was interesting, I'm editing and posting some of my comments here:

During the Civil War, the Jayhawkers of Kansas were basically the functional equivalent of the Bushwackers of Missouri.
In the 1861 Osceola massacre, led by a guy who was later elected to the U. S. Senate representing Kansas, James Lane, nine men were basically murdered; however, at least the initial invasion of the town came as part of a legitimate warfare after the Battle of Wilson’s Creek and the Battle of Dry Wood Creek.
In Quantrill’s Raid, in 1863 of Lawrence, Kansas, somewhere probably between 185 and 200 men and boys were murdered. Wikipedia describes the attack as a “four-hour session of pillaging, systematic execution of most of the male population, arson, and other mayhem.” That, to my eye, does not sound legitimate, thus justifying the villainous reputation of one William Quantrill.
In retaliation after Quantrill's raid, and in order to eliminate the hiding places of the Quantrill terrorists, General Ewing, the Union general in charge of Kansas City and the surrounding area, issued Order No. 11, which basically ordered the forceful eviction of all rural people around Kansas City and the torching of their farms and homes. Order No. 11 was devastatingly effective at depopulating and destroying several Missouri counties. The biggest reason, I believe, that it is not more widely known is that the Union won and the Missouri Confederates lost. That, plus the fact that the wanton destruction was of property, not people. Cf. William Quantrill.
Churchill wrote that “history is written by the victors.” That concept is quite true, in comparing Quantrill to the Jayhawkers. We won, they lost; deal with it.
Since the victors do get to write history, I humbly suggest that the Tigerettes prepare to go in hiding beginning on Sunday, November 25, 2007.

Veteran's Day Parade

2007-11-11T09:57:00.000-05:00

Beginning of parade from staging area

2007-11-11T09:56:00.000-05:00

Pack 632

2007-11-11T09:55:00.000-05:00

Cooper as Cub Scout

2007-11-11T09:54:00.000-05:00

2007-10-20T15:31:00.000-04:00

Jack O' Lanterns 2007

2007-10-20T15:30:00.000-04:00

2007-06-14T22:42:00.001-04:00

2007-06-14T22:41:00.001-04:00

2007-06-14T22:40:00.001-04:00

2007-06-14T22:39:00.001-04:00

2007-06-14T22:38:00.001-04:00

2007-06-14T22:37:00.001-04:00

2007-06-14T22:36:00.001-04:00

Took the boys golfing today.

2007-03-23T17:32:00.000-04:00

Friday is the last day of their Spring Break, so I took the afternoon off and we played nine holes. (Well, I played 9.) Cooper played 1 and a few shots. Jack played most of the holes, either from the reds or from my drive. I actually had 5 pars, including the last 3.

My buddy Denny took this shot, as we were just signing in.

Middle of the 2nd Fairway

2007-03-23T17:30:00.000-04:00

Jack's take-away on the 7th hole

2007-03-23T17:29:00.000-04:00

If you look close, you can see the ball

2007-03-23T17:27:00.000-04:00

It's right above the tree line, headed for the hole.

Cooper chipping

2007-03-23T17:25:00.000-04:00

Look closely for the pirate

2007-03-22T18:17:00.000-04:00

Taken from my participation in the annual Knights Parade in Ybor City.

From Slate.com, 3-15-7

2007-03-15T06:50:00.000-04:00

The White House and DoJ are now under fire because, in disrespecting the post of U.S. attorney, they appeared to interfere with the independence of that office in a way that's unprecedented. In the previous quarter-century, according to the Congressional Research Service, no more than five and perhaps only two U.S. attorneys, out of 486 appointed by a president and confirmed by the Senate, have been similarly forced out—in the middle of a presidential term for reasons not related to misconduct. "It would be unprecedented for the Department of Justice or the president to ask for the resignations of United States attorneys during an administration, except in rare instances of misconduct or for other significant cause," White said when she testified in February about the Bush firings before much was known about them.

Golf highlight

2007-03-05T15:48:00.000-05:00

I shot an eagle on Saturday at River Hills. Hit a driver, 2-iron hybrid to 21 feet, and actually made the putt, on the 512-yard 17th. Yes, it was quite wind-aided. But it was only my second eagle, ever.

I just pulled Jack's tooth

2007-02-24T13:08:00.000-05:00

Knights Parade

2007-02-24T08:57:00.000-05:00

A client and good friend invited me to march with his Santa Margarita Krewe in the Knight Parade. What a hoot. Had to buy a case of beads and rent a pirate costume. Here I am in my best Cap'n Morgan pose, at my office, before I headed to the parade.

Boys at Gasparilla

2007-02-24T08:54:00.000-05:00

I took the boys to Tampa's Gasparilla Parade a few weeks ago. They were pretty wiped out by the time we decided to leave. They actually had a lot more fun than this photo shows.

Packing Heat, a/k/a Christmas in Kansas

2007-02-24T08:50:00.000-05:00

I took my boys back to Kansas the weekend before Christmas, for the Stayton family celebration. As a joke, one morning we came up with the idea of all of us packing guns while we waited for family to arrive from Wichita. I don't think you can see all of the guns in this picture, but everyone in it has something. Even Parker, the baby, has a little pocket .22 derringer clipped to his overalls.

They didn't think it was as funny as I did.

Grandkids

2007-02-24T08:48:00.000-05:00

Mom & Dad with their collection of grandkids.

Tree Climbing

2007-02-24T08:46:00.000-05:00

From my parents' backyard. Note the water tower.

Kids at my 43rd Birthday

2007-02-24T08:44:00.000-05:00

Taken at my house.

What's-her-name's Upgrade & Daniella

2007-02-24T08:42:00.000-05:00

Taken at Cooper's Xmas production, from the elementary school cafeteria.

Cooper's Tee Ball Team Party

2006-11-26T16:11:00.000-05:00

Cooper had his end-of-the-season party a couple of weekends ago. Kids love trophies.

Cooper's blue tongue

2006-11-26T16:09:00.000-05:00

Veteran's Day Parade

2006-11-12T09:06:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, November 11, Jack's Cub Scout pack marched in a Veteran's Day parade in Ruskin. Cooper and I watched from the sidelines. The pictures I'm posting are in reverse order -- here's Cooper with a surrounding throng of cheerleaders towards the end of the parade.

Veteran's Day Parade

2006-11-12T09:05:00.000-05:00

Near the end of the parade.

Veteran's Day Parade

2006-11-12T09:04:00.000-05:00

Veteran's Day Parade

2006-11-12T09:02:00.000-05:00

What's a parade without beads?

Veteran's Day Parade

2006-11-12T09:01:00.000-05:00

Jack waving to the camera.

Veteran's Day Parade

2006-11-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

An Open Letter from Kevin Tillman

2006-10-24T20:57:00.000-04:00

As I understand it, Kevin Tillman and his famous athlete brother Pat Tillman enlisted soon after 9/11. As Army Rangers, they were sent to Afghanistan were Pat was shot by his fellow soldiers in a tragic, awful accidental incident of friendly fire. The Sports Illustrated article on the whole affair was compelling, and I recommend it highly.

Here's what Kevin Tillman has recently wrote:

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military.

Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

You should read the entire piece. I didn't copy the entire thing.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/200601019_after_pats_birthday/

Brown, the Bush Brothers, and Foley

2006-10-04T15:19:00.000-04:00

This is just too funny.

Golf trip last weekend.

2006-09-24T17:39:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, September 15-17, I met up with my buddies in KC for the annual golf trip. We played Jefferson City Country Club on Friday, Old Kinderhook in Camdenton on Saturday, and because of rain, played Brookridge Country Club in Overland Park on Sunday.

I played Old Kinderhook twice on Saturday, but didn't score very well either round. On Sunday, when I was paired with Mark against Gregg and Steve, I played about as good as I can. The match came down to the 18th, where I made par to nail down the win for Mark and me. Here I am hitting a drive on the 10th hole, which borders 103rd Street.

Mark on the First Hole

2006-09-24T17:37:00.000-04:00

Greg on the First Hole

2006-09-24T17:32:00.000-04:00

Me on the Par 3

2006-09-24T17:30:00.000-04:00

Steve on a Par 3

2006-09-24T17:28:00.000-04:00

My teammate and opponents

2006-09-24T17:23:00.000-04:00

Mark, Gregg and Steve.

The Gang

2006-09-22T07:57:00.000-04:00

Here's the gang who made the trip, minus our local host who couldn't make it back to KC for the final round.

Just so you know ...

2006-09-01T07:20:00.000-04:00

From TNR, "Katherine Harris, Still Crazy," by Jonathan Chait:

The full extent of Harris's influence has faded from the public memory because of two subsequent events. The first is the Bush v. Gore decision, which made the Supreme Court, not Harris, seem to be the final arbiter of the election. Left forgotten by the Bush v. Gore controversy was the fact that several of Harris's interventions on behalf of Bush had been deemed illegal by the Florida courts, and they were never subsequently vindicated. These included her insisting that recounted ballots not accepted by the November 14, 2000, deadline were invalid and her maintaining that she lacked the discretion to accept manual recounts. In both cases, the Florida Supreme Court ruled against her unanimously.

What aided Harris even more was a 2001 recount of the Florida ballots by the National Opinion Research Center, conducted for a media consortium, which seemed to suggest that Bush would have won even without her or the Supreme Court. The media recount came out just weeks after the September 11 attacks, and the participating newspapers appeared to bend over backward to avoid tainting President Bush's legitimacy. Some press accounts asserted that a statewide recount--which Al Gore had futilely pleaded with Bush to accept and which the Florida Supreme Court ultimately ordered--"would have favored Bush," as The Washington Post put it.

This conclusion, however pleasing to the national psyche, was totally false. (See "Count Down," November 26, 2001.) It rested on the assumption that only ballots that had registered no vote at all--those pesky hanging chads--would have been counted. In reality, several counties were examining ballots that had been initially disqualified for registering two votes. There turned out to be a large net gain for Gore in such ballots, which typically included a vote for Gore as well as a write-in vote for Gore. The voting machines initially disqualified these votes, but a hand examination counted them because the intent of the voter was clear. And, if those votes had been included, Gore would have carried Florida.

Stayton geneaology

2006-08-29T22:56:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I received an e-mail from a man with the last name of "Stayton." Just so I can find his information, I'm editing and posting his e-mail here.

I am ______ Stayton, Sr. I live in Louisville, Kentucky.

I saw your name on the internet and thought I would write. Have you done any work on your Stayton genealogy?

I went last year to Staytonville, Delaware. The Staytons were there in 1665. They moved down to Snow Hill, Maryland; hence to Accomac County, Virginia then in the late 1700's they moved to Marion County, Kentucky.

Sincerely,
____ Stayton

Not that the information is so inherently fascinating to anyone but my relatives -- but I still thought his information was pretty cool.

Notice the juxtaposition to the preceding post

2006-08-29T12:20:00.000-04:00

Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate

March 18, 2003

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

Consistent with section 3(b) of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243), and based on information available to me, including that in the enclosed document, I determine that:

(1) reliance by the United States on further diplomatic and other peaceful means alone will neither (A) adequately protect the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq nor (B) likely lead to enforcement of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq; and

(2) acting pursuant to the Constitution and Public Law 107-243 is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. [Emphasis added by me]

Sincerely,

GEORGE W. BUSH

It's about time.

2006-08-27T06:50:00.000-04:00

Q: What did Iraq have to do with that?
A: What did Iraq have to do with what?
Q: The attack on the World Trade Center?
A: Nothing.

Dubya, Press Conference, August 21, 2006.

Florida Senate Election

2006-08-14T13:52:00.000-04:00

Although a registered Democrat, I support Sandy Murman against Ronda Storms this coming primary for the State Senate, 10th District.

I don't know Sandy, but I have encountered Ronda Storms as a Hillsborough County Commissioner on a couple of issues: the location of the Bloomingdale Library and Truck Routes along Lithia-Pinecrest.

In the case of the Bloomingdale Library, she promised the new library would be built near the Bloomingdale Association and delivered - despite the fact that the her preferred location for the new library was only two miles as the crow flies from the existing Brandon Library. I'll not bore you with the details about how the make-up of the Library Board (political appointees) was changed overnight to vote the way Ronda wanted them to vote, or how the agenda for the final meeting was set up so that the study was not presented until the end so residents would not have a chance to rebut some of the errors. But I vividly remember, before one of the County Commission meetings, when Ms. Storms took me to hallway and personally dressed me down for some of the questions that my purported client had made to the Commission's staff, discreetly by phone, trying to investigate whether Ms. Storms might have had a personal financial stake in the location of the to-be-built library. She really lit into me, yet I had no way to respond in kind, since I was trying to garner Commission votes for my side's preferred location. Her underhanded handling of the issue and the personal invective directed at me left me with a very negative impression of Hillsborough County politics and her character in particular.

Then it was the Truck Route issue. Short story:
July 2001: Commissioner Storms requests the County Engineer to investigate the engineering need for weight limit signs on Lithia-Pinecrest Road.
June 2002: The Director of the Public Works Department indicated that the County Staff removed the weight limit signs after being asked by Commissioner Storm's office to investigate.
August 2001: The County removes the Weight Limit signs.
Sometime in 2002: Cargill - the primary benefactor of the weight limit signs being removed -- holds a fund raiser for Commissioner Storms.
2003: We finally were able to get Weight Limits restored to Lithia-Pinecrest Road.

Ms. Storms has also spent a huge part of her public life trying to eliminate about 10 seconds of nudity on a public channel once a week (I never could find the show -- believe me, I tried) and vociferously opposing strip clubs. She should have been focused on county infrastructure issues instead of worrying about what others do. This county needs infrastructure planning as much any I've ever been exposed to, yet it has never seemed to be a priority of hers.

Ms. Storms is the worst sort of politician: an hysterical firebrand with religious overtones, inventing non-issues to rail against while ignoring what needs to be done. Surely Hillsborough County can do better.

Update time

2006-08-14T10:10:00.000-04:00

It's once again time to recommence blogging. In July, I took the boys to Kansas to see my family. We had a great time. The annual Sumner County Wheat Festival was going on. I've posted a handful of pictures from the weekend.

The boys loved target shooting

2006-08-14T10:08:00.000-04:00

The driver of this antique tractor is obviously thrilled to be part of the parade

2006-08-14T10:04:00.000-04:00

We love our tractors

2006-08-14T10:02:00.000-04:00

Horse entry

2006-08-14T09:55:00.000-04:00

Donkey cart

2006-08-14T09:53:00.000-04:00

What words could I add to this parade entry?

Part of the parade

2006-08-14T09:51:00.000-04:00

Here's an entry from the demolition derby that was later held as part of the Festival.

Parade Pictures

2006-08-14T09:42:00.000-04:00

Here's a parade entry of "Derailment Service" equipment. Apparently that company is quite proud of its ability to restore train service. Who knew that trains derailed that frequently?

Cooper on the high board at the Wellington Pool

2006-08-14T09:41:00.000-04:00

Cooper taking a shot

2006-08-14T09:38:00.000-04:00

Got one

2006-08-14T09:36:00.000-04:00

Men out hunting prairie dogs

2006-08-14T09:34:00.000-04:00

Dad & Cooper

2006-08-14T09:31:00.000-04:00

Wheat field

2006-08-14T09:29:00.000-04:00

2006-07-16T23:13:00.000-04:00

2006-07-16T23:08:00.000-04:00

Cousins Pat and Jake at the Carnival

2006-07-16T23:04:00.000-04:00

2006-07-16T22:48:00.000-04:00

Fishing with Uncle Dave on Lake El Dorado

2006-07-16T22:45:00.000-04:00

Satan and the Old Man

2006-07-05T13:40:00.001-04:00

Just minutes before the church services started the towns people were sitting in their pews and talking. Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church. Everyone started screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from evil incarnate.

Soon everyone had exited the church except for one elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew without moving, seemingly oblivious to the fact that God's ultimate enemy was in his presence. So Satan walked up to the old man and said, "Don't you know who I am?

The man replied, "Yep, sure do."

"Aren't you afraid of me?" Satan asked.

"Nope, sure ain't" said the man. "Don't you realize I can kill you with a word?" asked Satan.

"Don't doubt it for a minute," returned the old man, in an even tone.

"Did you know that I could cause you profound, horrifying, physical agony forever?"

"Yep," was the calm reply.

"And you're still not afraid?" asked Satan.

"Nope." More than a little perturbed, Satan asked, "Well, why aren't you afraid of me?"

The man calmly replied, "Been married to your sister for 45 years."

Memorial Day weekend

2006-05-31T10:06:00.000-04:00

I took the boys camping over the Memorial Day weekend. The bugs were pretty bad, so we only stayed one night, but still had a great time. Here are a few of the pictures.

2006-05-31T10:05:00.000-04:00

2006-05-31T10:03:00.000-04:00

2006-05-31T10:02:00.000-04:00

2006-05-31T10:00:00.000-04:00

More Memorial Day camping

2006-05-31T09:59:00.000-04:00

Camping over Memorial Day Weekend

2006-05-31T09:50:00.000-04:00