Going "out of town"

Well, I'm a bit excited at this point.

My Love and I are headed for a Mayan vacation.

We usually spend time in Nicaragua. We have a home there, as well as a business, so it makes no sense to spend a lot of money for a tropical vacation when we can "just go to the Hacienda". However, it is time to see something new. A few years ago we visited the pyramids in Egypt, took a cruise on the Nile River, and had an adventure. For the last few years it has actually been work, or business related travel, to Central America.

We are both ready for a new adventure. So, the Mayan pyramids are calling. Plus! There is a Hurricane on the way. Gustav 08. I haven’t been in a good storm since Rita 05, and she was a bit of a disappointment. Anyway, if we are lucky, we will get into Cancun just ahead of Gustav. If we wind up spending a couple of days in strong rain and wind, well, that will be fine. We may not have any electricity. OK, what a great opportunity to talk to each other, rediscover each other all over again. Couples need to do that every once in a while. Also, shared crises are a wonderful way to bring people together.

It’s not really the vacation mecca of Cancun that we are interested in, it is the ancient Mayan culture and the ruins they left that are attracting us. We will have a car and we will be able to go where we want, when we want. I wonder what a litre of gasoline is costing these days? The Peso is about 10 to 1.

I am watching the weather closely. I don’t want to go to the airport and find my flight has been canceled. What a bummer that would be.

more later....

Issues with regulation

This is a great article.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=73452

The Internet

Some folks will say that the Internet is full of garbage.
Yes it is. There is a lot of crap available on the internet.
However, there is a lot of truth available as well.
You can go to a Library and check out the books, or you can go to the Internet and find the books there. The point is that you can find the information, or DIS-information wherever you go.; Cyberspace...or Libraryspace.
I have spent MANY, (I could say Thousands) of hours in the Library. The PHYSICAL Library as well as the CYBER Library.
Humph....
When I was a kid, several decades ago, "The Library" was one of my favorite places in the world. I could escape. It was an actual portal to the rest of the world. I could go anywhere...past or future....when I was in the realm of books.
It is no wonder that when a new regime takes over, they take out the intellectuals. No thinkers allowed.
The current regime in the US is making this happen a bit more slowly. Generation, by generation. Kids nowadays do not learn the truth of history, they learn the history the current regime wants them to learn.
Is the actual history of the Declaration of Independence, The Revolutionary War, The Constitution of the USA, taught? NO! It is some kind of revisionist history, where the founding fathers are portrayed as atheists or at the best agnostics. In actuality, they had deeply rooted Christian ideals, and left nothing to doubt as to their beliefs.
Do not allow revisionists to wrench the truth from the annals of history.
Those who do not learn from the lessons of history, are bound to repeat them.

To paraphrase:
As the story goes, one of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, walked out of "Freedom Hall" on that illustrious day in 1776, and was asked:
"Mr Franklin, what kind of government have you given us?"
He replied,
"A Republic, Madam...If you can keep it!"

Unfortunately we have digressed from a "Republic" to, in most peoples minds, A"Democracy".
A democracy can only exist as long as "the people" do not realize that they can vote for themselves the treasury and it's contents. It will only last as long as folks don't realize that in a "democracy" the majority rules. And the rules change with the wind! Whatever the current thought is, is the current majority.
A Republic puts certain folks in the drivers seat, so to speak. I elect you to speak for me... You elect "so and so", to speak for us, the "so and so's' elect X to speak for all of us. i.e. a president.
Did we have a popular election to place George Washington in the position of President? NO! The Congress installed him as President. The Congress. My God.....do you realize that the people that are being put into office have no alligence to YOU, the voter? Do they care about YOU. NO! They only care about themselves and those who bought them into office.
A good example is Gordon Smith (R?) OR. This fellow . . . . well, he is supposed to be a Republican, that is, Conservative (up to a point) however, he has cast his lot with the socialists and is no longer a representative of the folks who put him in office.
If you look at the State of Oregon, about 90% is conservative by area, but the Portland-Metro area, and including Eugene and Ashland, turn the state into a liberal heap. 10 % of the square miles of the state, and it is a BIG state, determine what happens. This state is going down the tubes. It used to be that Trees were the major industry. OOPS. An owl destroyed THAT industry. Actually, it wasn't the owl, it was the people that used that owl. The supposed "spotted owl" is in actuality, not a separate species as was put forth by those who were bent on destroying the logging industry in the PNW.
Yes, that is my accusation. It is only part of the (Huh...I sound like some Conspiracy Theorist) absolute attempt to destroy the US and all it stands for.
Ruin local industry nationwide, send manufacturing overseas where it is less expensive thus lowering the cost of operations. IT IS THE GOVERNMENT WHO HAS ALLOWED, NO, ENCOURAGED THIS through taxes as well as NAFTA, CAFTA........Jeeez.....just look this stuff up. It's right here on the Internet.
I will post internet sites that will help to put this info into perspective.

Could this be real?

I came across this on another website. I regularly read the news from around the world. When a news site in the UK is talking about this, well.....just read it for yourself.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2603182/South-Ossetia-conflict-Concerned-US-citizen-gets-her-Georgias-confused.html

Lambs to the slaughter

Does anyone out there know what their credit is costing them?
Debt is dumb. Debt is ruining the US.
Only a few decades ago, no-one really had a lot of debt. Maybe their house.
Anyone know the etymology of the word "mortgage" "Mort": to die, "gage": a pledge. The basic idea? A mortgage is a debt you will not pay before you die. The 30 year loan is based on an amount of time that in the beginning most men would not live to pay off.
We are now a nation of debt. Your credit score is more important than your bank balance, or your driving record for that matter. Our Government is probably the worst example of all. If I kept my books the way the Gov't does, I'd probably be in jail
Credit cards, Bank charges; one source I found says 150 billion dollars in credit
charges. This is an evil, whacked out way for banks to take your money.
Why would anyone borrow money they can't afford to borrow or pay back. Perhaps they don't intent to pay it back. I had a buddy once who kept his calender on a seven year cycle. He could declare bankruptcy every seven years! Just nuts.
The borrower is the slave to the lender. I had to leave an industry which preyed on borrowers. I could no longer live that way or make money that way. Why is the foreclosure rate rising so quickly? ARMs, sub-prime loans. Loaning money to folks who couldn't afford a loan let alone a house. Period. Greed. On both ends. Not to mention pressure on regulatory bodies from bleeding heart groups on behalf of poor folks who couldn't have a house of their own.
There are two states of mind. The Rich state of mind asks: How much? The Poor asks : How much down, how much a month? Enjoy your money, but don't spent what you don't have.

A few ideas about money:
Don't borrow. Don't cosign. Give or give not, but don't loan. Usury is evil.
BROKE is a temporary state, POOR is a state of mind.
Is the lottery just a tax on the poor? Not too sure about that.
Lease the car? NO! What a ripoff
Buy a used car

I was listening to a fellow named Dave Ramsey. http://www.daveramsey.com/
I decided to pass a few things along.

Rules and regulations

We need a permit, license, or permission for just about everything. Are these LAWS? NO! Mostly they are regulations and administrative rules, put in place by NON-ELECTED bureaucrats. When will folks see that REGULATION is limiting liberty and destroying the United States?
I will explain what I mean later. Right now, My Love needs some attention.

First words

Allow me to introduce myself. I am Camar and I live Oregon. I am opinionated. Do I have anything of value to say? That is up to you, the reader, to decide.
Above all, I will make sure my sentence structure, spelling and tense are all correct. It makes me crazy when folks pontificate, but can't spell.
Ahh, my beloved wife Jenny just got home. She was with friends for a bit of a birthday party for one of them. Evidently the party was a success. They went to a play at the Oregon Shakespearean Festival, had a nice dinner in the park, exchanged gifts, and generally had a good time. I'm pleased. I'm pleased because I love to see her smile.
I am conservative. Socially, fiscally, spiritually....I suppose you could say I am just a conservative guy. I was a Boy Scout (then I discovered what Girls were all about) until my focus changed. I joined the Army right out of High School. Active service, Reserve, National Guard. From then till now.
I am not an uneducated person, in the classical sense. I have two degrees, as well as some street smarts. I read, I study, I look at things, and I think.
Most folks won't care what I have to say. I hope a few will read what I write. I will not try to confuse anyone, nor will I lie or relate unfounded gossip. As I come across it, I will vet it, then spread it.
OK, that's enough for now.
Via con Dios