Question of the week!

Where do you think the Bingo money is going? We need your input on this hot story. Please reply at lakeashtontalk@yahoo.com with your answer. Your name will not be posted on the blog but your reply will.

Bingo Paul, Expenses for Lake Ashton charitable? What Charitable bank account is this Bingo money going into? Bingo Paul? Profit on snack Bar and 50/50 going in someone's pocket? Where's the books?

This is the Law Bingo Paul.

Section 849.0931, Florida Statutes (1993), authorizes the conduct of bingo games by charitable, non-profit and veterans' organizations engaged in charitable, civic, community, benevolent, religious or scholastic works and other similar activities, (hereinafter referred to as "charitable organizations") provided the entire proceeds derived from the conduct of the bingo games are donated to such endeavors, less actual business expenses for articles designed for and essential to the operation, conduct, and playing of bingo.

Section 849.0931(2)(a), Florida Statutes (1993), prohibits the net proceeds from bingo games from being used for any purpose other than charitable, non-profit and veterans' organizations engaged in charitable, civic, community, benevolent, religious or scholastic works and other similar activities.

Section 849.0931(2)(b), Florida Statutes (1993), provides that, "It is the express intent of the Legislature that no charitable, non-profit or veterans' organization serve as a sponsor of a bingo game conducted by another, but such organization may only be directly involved in the conduct of such a game as provided in this act."

Section 849.0931, Florida Statutes (1993), contains various other provisions intended to assure that the primary benefactors of the authorized bingo games are actually the charitable, non-profit and veterans' organizations, and not private persons. These include requirements that the operators must be bona fide members of the organization conducting the bingo game, must not be compensated for the operation of the bingo game, and must be residents of the community where the organization is located. The protective statutory provisions also include requirements that the property upon which the bingo games are held must either be owned by the worthy organizations or leased by worthy organizations for not less than one year, provided that the rent is not unreasonable for the location.

This grand jury has considered and recommends the following additional suggestions for effective regulation of bingo operations: (1) all proceeds from the operation of bingo shall be deposited into a bank account bearing the name of the charitable organization conducting the bingo, and which shall be limited to the proceeds and expenses pertaining to the operation of bingo; and (2) all
expenses including prizes shall be paid out of this account. This grand jury also recommends that consideration be given to a requirement that the charitable organizations acknowledge an understanding of their obligations to operate bingo as prescribed by law.

Profit must be reported to the IRS Bingo Paul

The Bingo corp. is divided in two groups, Bingo and snack food sales. 50-50 must also be reported. Would you believe NO BOOKS are being kept of the Bingo earnings, 50/50, and the snack bar. Bingo Paul feels this is all charity and needs not be reported. What is he thinking of. Name the Charity, Paul. Yes, the state and the federal Government is now looking into Bingo Paul charities. Paul is repairing drapes, ballroom entrance doors, Screen Enclosures at the outdoor grill, and also he wants to replaced the carpet in the ballroom at a cost of $25,000. Who is this guy anyway? He should be paying $750 to rent the hall, not $200. Let the CDD determined where the money should go and control Bingo. Lake Ashton West is control by the CDD. It is very likly Paul would have to pay a fine, but the way it is set up maybe the HOA will be fined? This is all a big mess, but I am sure a judge can strignten it out, thanks to Bingo Paul, hope you move to a 5 x 7 room with free board.

Bingo Paul Pontious

BINGO
Paul Pontious suddenly took over the Bingo game after he told Jessie Ayres that a HOA member must be on the BINGO BOARD to overlook the operations of BINGO. This my friends was a total lie from Paul Pontious. No member of the HOA Board needs to be on the BINGO Board. At that time Jessie did not know this. Jessie started the Bingo game with a loan from the management of $7,000. With the money he bought all the equipment needed for Bingo and got it started. In two years he paid back all the money in two payments of $3,500 each. Jessie did all the hard work looking for all the outlets for the Bingo supplies. Paul Pontious was president of the HOA Board at that time he came on board to oversee the operations of Bingo. Slowly he kept asking Jessie how to operate the Bingo machine. Then he wanted to know how to divide the money, how to do this, how to do that etc. Before you know it, he knew everything there was to know. He even had his name on the Bingo bank account with Jessie. What a smooth operator. He even had Jessie come over to set up all the chairs and tables and Paul would come in around 6:30 to see if everything was done. Before you know it Paul was calling all the numbers and had taken over as BINGO president. Jesse was doing all the work and Paul was coming in at the last minute doing nothing, yes nothing, Yes he's like Joe Hunter, nothing. Now Paul is telling everyone even the CDD Board how to spend the Bingo money. He is also spreading bad stories about Jessie, which is all a big lie. Bingo must pay $200 to rent the hall, what a deal. It should be $750 like everybody else. Paul has certainly made a mess of Bingo. Jessie now has his home for sale and it just sold with a loss. He wants out of Lake Ashton. With people like Paul Pontious I don't blame him. He even wants me out of here. He has told a lot of untrue stories about me to Joe Hunter. What HOA member is looking out for Bingo now? No One! Why is everyone smoking outside the main entrance when Paul Pontious sign the covariance that no smoking is allowed there. He tells the CDD board where the money should be spend. What do we have a new community director? Paul, you are in deep trouble.

Joe Hunter "Do Nothing" What is going on?

Joe what are you doing? Look at all the violations at the restaurant, 30 of them, week after week for the past 9 months, and you never notify the residents of Lake Ashton. You don't care if they all get sick. No wonder you don't have lunch there. Don't you oversee the operations of the Grill? You oversee the residents of Lake Ashton and give them hell for things they don't do. What do you do anyhow? Surely you must see something or you just don't care to talk about it? Oh well you don't eat there so what the hell do you care. If I was running the show, you would have been fired long time ago.

30 Health Violations at the Lake Ashton Grill

03/04/2009 inspection
Critical: Cooked potentially hazardous food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within 6 hours. Ham in cooler had to be thrown away.

Critical: No conspicuously located thermometer in walkin freezer holding unit.

Critical: No conspicuously located thermometer in 1 door freezer near cookline.

Critical: Observed raw animal food stored over ready-to-eat food. Raw beef over cooked potatoes in walkin cooler.

In-use utensil not stored with handle above the top of potentially hazardous food and the container. In bulk sugar.

Critical: Observed interior of microwave soiled.

Clean glasses, cups, utensils, pots and pans not stored inverted or in a protected manner. Plates on top of dish rack. and Plates on shelf near cookline.

06/16/2009 Inspection
Observed single-service articles handled, displayed, or dispensed in a manner that allows for contamination to go to containers not inverted on top shelf near cookline.

No conspicuously located thermometer in holding unit. 2 door freezer inside back room. Corrected on site.

Observed improper vertical separation of raw animal foods and ready to eat foods. Raw chicken over beef in walkin cooler. Corrected on site.

Observed employee engage in food preparation, handle clean equipment or utensils, or touch unwrapped single-service items, without washing hands, between glove changing.

Critical: Observed unlabeled spray bottle near 3 compartment sink.

Critical: Observed unlabeled spray bottle in bar area and dishwashing area.

Critical: License expired more than 30 days, but not more than 60 days, after expiration date.

Observed leaking pipe at plumbing fixture under hand sink near dish machine.

Waste line missing at soda gun holster in bar area.

09/10/2009 Inspection
Critical: Ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food prepared on site and held more than 24 hours were not properly dated. Cooked rice in cooler.

Critical: Inconspicuously located thermometer in holding unit. 2 door freezer inside back room. Corrected on site.

Critical: Observed improper vertical separation of raw animal foods and ready-to-eat foods. Raw chicken over raw beef in walking cooler. Corrected on site.

Critical: Observed employees engage in food preparation, handle clean equipment or utensils, or touch unwrapped single-service items, without washing hands between glove changing.

Clean glasses, cups utensils, pots and pans not stored inverted or in a protected manner. Plates on top of dish rack. Corrected on site.

Observed leaking pipe at plumbing fixture in bar area.

Waste line missing at soda gun holster in bar area.

Critical: Observed unlabeled spray bottle in dish washing area.

Carbon dioxide/helium tanks not adequately secured. 06/16/2009

Critical. No conspicuously located thermometer in holding unit. inside reachin
cooler near cookline. Corrected On Site.

Carbon dioxide/helium tanks not adequately secured.

10/06/2009 Inspection
Critical. No conspicuously located thermometer in holding unit. inside reaching
cooler near cookline. Corrected On Site.

Critical. Observed buildup of slime in the interior of ice machine. in bar area.

Critical. Hand sink missing in food preparation room or area. near cookline. This violation must be corrected by : 12/6/09.

Observed dusty ceiling tiles and/or air conditioning vent covers. above prep area.

Lake Ashton Grill

Yes, we the residents must pay to have a hand washing sink installed. Also the new filters replaced. And all the cleaning that is necessary to meet the code. Yes we pay the bill. What a racket the developer has with the residents of Lake Ashton and you go there to have lunch or dinner. Yes, there is a fool in every community.

Inspection Violations Information on Lake Ashton Grill

Inspection Type Inspection Date Result Critical Violations Non-Critical Violations
Complaint Full 10/06/2009 Follow-up Inspection Required
Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
More information about inspections.
3 1
Violations:
A summary of the violations found during the inspection are listed below. The department cites violations of Florida's sanitation and safety laws, which are based on the standards of U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Food Code. In general, critical violations are those that, if not corrected, are more likely to contribute directly to food contamination, illness or environmental damage. Although we use the industry-standard term "critical", varying degrees of severity and potential risk to the public require inspectors to assess each situation in determining the appropriate action. In addition, while an establishment may have multiple violations, the inspectors' training and judgment formulate the overall result of the inspection to ensure the public health and safety. While most establishments correct all violations in a timely manner (often during the inspection), the division's procedures are designed to compel compliance with all violations through follow-up visits, administration action or closure when necessary.
Violation Observation
05-09-1 Critical. No conspicuously located thermometer in holding unit. inside reachin cooler near cookline. Corrected On Site.
22-20-1 Critical. Observed buildup of slime in the interior of ice machine. in bar area.
31-08-1 Critical. Hand sink missing in food preparation room or area. near cookline. This violation must be corrected by : 12/6/09.
37-18-1 Observed dusty ceiling tiles and/or air conditioning vent covers. above prep area.

No hand sink near food preparation room or area. This is gross. They are preparing our foods with their dirty hands after picking their nose. 7 years went by and they just find this out. Enjoy your dinner Lake Ashton residents.

The war we can't win

By A.J. Bacevich
Harper's Magazine November 2009

By Andrew J. Bacevich, in the August 15 issue of Commonweal. Bacevich is a professor of international relations at Boston University and the author, most recently, of The Limits of Power. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1992.

History deals rudely with the pretensions of those who presume to determine its course. In an American context, this describes the fate of those falling prey to the Wilsonian Conceit. Yet the damage done by that conceit outlives its perpetrators.

From time to time, in some moment of peril or anxiety, a statesman appears on the scene promising to eliminate tyranny, ensure the triumph of liberty, and achieve permanent peace. For a moment, the statesman achieves the status of prophet, one who in his own person seemingly embodies the essence of the American purpose. Then reality intrudes, exposing the promises as costly fantasies. The prophet’s followers abandon him. Mocked and reviled, he is eventually banished—perhaps to some gated community in Dallas.

However brief his ascendancy, the discredited prophet leaves behind a legacy. Most obvious are the problems created and left unresolved, commitments made and left unfulfilled, debts accrued and left unpaid. Less obvious, but for that reason more important, are the changes in perception. The prophet recasts our image of reality. Long after his departure, remnants of that image linger and retain their capacity to beguile: consider how the Wilsonian vision of the United States as crusader state called upon to redeem the world in World War I has periodically resurfaced despite Woodrow Wilson’s own manifest failure to make good on that expectation. The prophet declaims and departs. Yet traces of his testimony, however at odds with the facts, remain lodged in our consciousness.

So it is today with Afghanistan, the conflict that George W. Bush began, then ignored, and finally bequeathed to his successor. Barack Obama has embraced that conflict as “the war we must win.” Those who celebrated Bush’s militancy back in the intoxicating days when he was promising to rid the world of evil see Obama’s enthusiasm for pressing on in Afghanistan as a vindication of sorts. They are right to do so.

The misguided and mismanaged global war on terror reduced Bush’s presidency to ruin. The candidate whose run for high office derived its energy from an implicit promise to repudiate all that Bush had wrought now seems intent on salvaging something useful from that failed enterprise—even if that means putting his own presidency at risk. Candidate Obama once derided the notion that the United States is called upon to determine the fate of Iraq. President Obama expresses a willingness to expend untold billions—not to mention who knows how many lives—in order to determine the fate of Afghanistan. Liberals may have interpreted Obama’s campaign pledge to ramp up the U.S. military commitment to Afghanistan as calculated to insulate himself from the charge of being a national-security wimp. Events have exposed that interpretation as incorrect. It turns out—apparently—that the president genuinely views this remote, landlocked, primitive Central Asian country as a vital U.S. national-security interest.

What is it about Afghanistan, possessing next to nothing that the United States requires, that justifies such lavish attention? In Washington, this question goes not only unanswered but unasked. Among Democrats and Republicans alike, with few exceptions, Afghanistan’s importance is simply assumed—much the way fifty years ago otherwise intelligent people simply assumed that the United States had a vital interest in ensuring the -survival of South Vietnam. Today, as then, the assumption does not stand up to even casual scrutiny.

Tune in to the Sunday talk shows or consult the op-ed pages and you might conclude otherwise. Those who profess to be in the know insist that the fight in Afghanistan is essential to keeping America safe. The events of September 11, 2001, ostensibly occurred because we ignored Afghanistan. Preventing the recurrence of those events, therefore, requires that we fix the place. Yet this widely accepted line of reasoning overlooks the primary reason the 9/11 conspiracy succeeded: federal, state, and local agencies responsible for basic security fell down on the job, failing to install even minimally adequate security measures at the nation’s airports. The national-security apparatus wasn’t paying attention. Indeed, consumed with its ABC agenda—“anything but Clinton” were the Bush Administration’s watchwords in those days—it ignored or downplayed all sorts of warning signs, not least of all Osama bin Laden’s declaration of war against the United States. Averting a recurrence of that awful day does not require the semipermanent occupation and pacification of distant countries like Afghanistan. Rather, it requires that the United States erect and maintain robust defenses.

Fixing Afghanistan is not only unnecessary, it’s also likely to prove impossible. Not for nothing has the place acquired the nickname Graveyard of Empires. Americans, insistent that the dominion over which they preside does not meet the definition of empire, evince little interest in how the British, Russians, or others have fared in attempting to impose their will on the Afghans. As General David McKiernan, until recently the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, put it, “There’s always an inclination to relate what we’re doing now with previous nations,” adding, “I think that’s a very unhealthy comparison.” McKiernan was expressing a view common among the ranks of the political and military elite: We’re Americans. We’re different. Therefore, the experience of others does not apply.

Of course, Americans like McKiernan who reject as irrelevant the experience of others might at least be willing to contemplate the experience of the United States itself. Take the case of Iraq, now bizarrely trumpeted in some quarters as a “success” and even more bizarrely seen as offering a template for how to turn Afghanistan around. Much has been made of the United States Army’s rediscovery of (and growing infatuation with) counterinsurgency doctrine, applied in Iraq beginning in early 2007 when President Bush launched his so-called surge and anointed General David Petraeus as the senior U.S. commander in Baghdad. Yet technique is no substitute for strategy. Violence in Iraq may be down, but evidence of the promised political reconciliation that the surge was intended to produce remains elusive. America’s Mesopotamian misadventure continues. Pretending that the surge has redeemed the Iraq war is akin to claiming that when Andy Jackson “caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans” he thereby enabled the United States to emerge victorious from the War of 1812. Such a judgment works well as folklore but ignores an abundance of contrary evidence.

More than six years after it began, Operation Iraqi Freedom has consumed something like a trillion dollars—with the meter still running—and has taken the lives of more than 4,300 American soldiers. Meanwhile, in Baghdad and other major Iraqi cities, car bombs continue to detonate at regular intervals, killing and maiming dozens. Anyone inclined to put Iraq in the nation’s rearview mirror is simply deluded. Not long ago, General Raymond Odierno, Petraeus’s successor and the fifth U.S. commander in Baghdad, expressed the view that the insurgency in Iraq is likely to drag on for another five, ten, or fifteen years. Events may well show that Odierno is an optimist.

Given the embarrassing yet indisputable fact that this was an utterly needless war—no Iraqi weapons of mass destruction found, no ties between Saddam Hussein and the jihadists established, no democratic transformation of the Islamic world set in motion, no road to peace in Jerusalem discovered in downtown Baghdad—to describe Iraq as a success, and as a model for application elsewhere, is nothing short of obscene. The great unacknowledged lesson of Iraq is the one that Norman Mailer identified decades ago: “Fighting a war to fix something works about as good as going to a whorehouse to get rid of a clap.”

For those who, despite all this, still hanker to have a go at nation building, why start with Afghanistan? Why not first fix, say, Mexico? In terms of its importance to the United States, our southern neighbor—a major supplier of oil and drugs among other commodities deemed vital to the American way of life—outranks Afghanistan by several orders of magnitude.

If one believes that moral considerations rather than self-interest should inform foreign policy, Mexico still qualifies for priority attention. Consider the theft of California. Or consider more recently how the American appetite for illicit drugs and our lax gun laws have corroded Mexican institutions and produced an epidemic of violence afflicting ordinary Mexicans. Yet any politician calling for the commitment of 60,000 U.S. troops to Mexico to secure those interests or acquit those moral obligations would be laughed out of Washington—and rightly so. Any pundit proposing that the United States assume responsibility for eliminating the corruption endemic in Mexican politics while establishing in Mexico City effective mechanisms of governance would have his license to pontificate revoked. Anyone suggesting that the United States possesses the wisdom and the wherewithal to solve the problem of Mexican drug trafficking, to endow Mexico with competent security forces, and to reform the Mexican school system (while protecting the rights of Mexican women) would be dismissed as a lunatic. Meanwhile, those who promote such programs for Afghanistan, ignoring questions of cost and ignoring as well the corruption and ineffectiveness that pervade our own institutions, are treated like sages.

The contrast between Washington’s preoccupation with Afghanistan and its relative indifference to Mexico testifies to the distortion of U.S. national-security priorities adopted by George W. Bush in his post-9/11 prophetic mode—distortions now being endorsed by Bush’s successor. It also testifies to a vast failure of imagination to which our governing classes have succumbed. This failure of imagination makes it impossible for those who possess either authority or influence in Washington to consider the possibility (a) that the solution to America’s problems is to be found not out there—where “there” in this case is Central Asia—but here at home; (b) that the people out there, rather than requiring our ministrations, may well be capable of managing their own affairs, relying on their own methods; and (c) that to disregard (a) and (b) is to open the door to great mischief and in all likelihood to perpetrate no small amount of evil. Needless to say, when mischief or evil does occur—when a stray American bomb kills a few dozen Afghan civilians, for instance—the costs of this failure of imagination are not borne by the people who inhabit the leafy neighborhoods of northwest Washington, who lunch at the Palm or the Metropolitan Club and school their kids at Sidwell Friends.

So the answer to the question of the hour—What should the United States do about Afghanistan?—comes down to this: A sense of realism and a sense of proportion should oblige us to take a minimalist approach. As with Uruguay or Fiji or Estonia or other countries where U.S. interests are limited, the United States should undertake to secure those interests at the lowest cost possible.

What might this mean in practice? General Petraeus, now in charge of U.S. Central Command, recently commented that “the mission is to ensure that Afghanistan does not again become a sanctuary for Al Qaeda and other transnational extremists,” in effect “to deny them safe havens in which they can plan and train for such attacks.” The mission statement is a sound one. The current approach to accomplishing the mission is not sound and, indeed, qualifies as counterproductive. Note that denying Al Qaeda safe havens in Pakistan hasn’t required U.S. forces to occupy the frontier regions of that country. Similarly, denying transnational extremists safe havens in Afghanistan shouldn’t require military occupation by the United States and its allies.

It would be much better to let local authorities do the heavy lifting. Provided appropriate incentives, the tribal chiefs who actually run Afghanistan are best positioned to prevent terrorist networks from establishing a large-scale presence. As a backup, intensive surveillance complemented with precision punitive strikes (assuming we can manage to kill the right people) will suffice to disrupt Al Qaeda’s plans. Certainly, that approach offers a cheaper and more efficient alternative to the establishment of a large-scale and long-term U.S. ground presence—which, as the U.S. campaigns in both Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated, has the unintended effect of handing jihadists a recruiting tool that they are quick to exploit.

In the aftermath of 9/11, all the talk—much of it emanating from neoconservative quarters—was about achieving a “decisive victory” over terror. The reality is that we can’t eliminate every last armed militant harboring a grudge against the West. Nor do we need to. As long as we maintain adequate defenses, Al Qaeda operatives, in their caves, pose no more than a modest threat. And unless the Taliban can establish enclaves in places like New Jersey or Miami, the danger they pose to the United States falls several notches below the threat posed by Cuba, which is no threat at all.

As for the putatively existential challenge posed by Islamic radicalism, that project will prove ultimately to be a self-defeating one. What violent Islamists have on offer—a rejection of modernity that aims to restore the caliphate and unify the ummah—doesn’t sell. In this regard, Iran—its nuclear aspirations the subject of much hand-wringing—offers considerable cause for hope. Much like the Castro revolution that once elicited so much angst in Washington, the Islamic revolution launched in 1979 has failed resoundingly. Observers once feared that the revolution inspired and led by the Ayatollah Khomeini would sweep across the Persian Gulf. In fact, it has accomplished precious little. Within Iran itself, the Islamic republic no longer represents the hopes and aspirations of the Iranian people, as the tens of thousands of protesters who recently filled the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities made evident. Here we see foretold the fate awaiting the revolutionary cause that Osama bin Laden purports to promote.

In short, time is on our side, not on the side of those who proclaim their intention of turning back the clock to the fifteenth century. The ethos of consumption and individual autonomy, privileging the here and now over the eternal, will conquer the Muslim world as surely as it is conquering East Asia and as surely as it has already conquered what was once known as Christendom. It’s the wreckage left in the wake of that conquest that demands our attention. If the United States today has a saving mission, it is to save itself. Speaking in the midst of another unnecessary war back in 1967, Martin Luther King got it exactly right: “Come home, America.” The prophet of that era urged his countrymen to take on “the triple evils of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism.”

Dr. King’s list of evils may need a bit of tweaking—in our own day, the sins requiring expiation number more than three. Yet in his insistence that we first heal ourselves, King remains today the prophet we ignore at our peril. That Barack Obama should fail to realize this qualifies as not only ironic but inexplicable.

.Refuse new coins!

Greetings to everyone. Looks like the Govt. is attempting to pull something else over on us. The other $1 coins have failed miserably….this “really” will be a big hit! The fact that this coin was even minted is a very sad statement about our current government and society. Just my opinion……and I do believe in freedom of speech and this is “MY”speech………………

REFUSE NEW COINS……………
This simple action will make a strong statement.
Please help do this.. Refuse to accept these when they are handed to you.

I received one from the Post Office as change and I asked for a dollar bill instead.

The lady just smiled and said 'way to go' , so she had read this e -mail.

U.S.Government to Release New Dollar Coins

cid:3.1318333896@web65508.mail.ac4.yahoo.com

You guessed it
'IN GOD WE TRUST' IS GONE!!!
If ever there was a reason to boycott something, THIS IS IT!!!!

DO NOT ACCEPT THE NEW DOLLAR COINS AS CHANGE

Together we can force them out of circulation..

Please send to all on your mailing list!!!

Gun History

After reading the following historical facts, read the part about Switzerland twice.

A LITTLE GUN HISTORY

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control... From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

------------------------------

In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

------------------------------

Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

------------------------------

China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated

------------------------------

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

-------------------- ----------

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated

------------------------------

Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

-----------------------------

Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: = Approximately 55 million..

------------------------------

It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own Government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results are now in:

List of 7 items:

Australia-wide, homicides are up 3..2 percent.

Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent.

Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44%)!

In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns!

While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.

There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the ELDERLY. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort, and expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience and the other historical facts above prove it.

You won't see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians

disseminating this information.

Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens

Take note my fellow Americans, before it's too late!

The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.

With guns, we are 'citizens.' Without them, we are 'subjects'.

During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED!

If you value your freedom, please spread this anti-gun control message to all of your friends.

The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.

SWITZERLAND ISSUES EVERY HOUSEHOLD A GUN!

SWITZERLAND'S GOVERNMENT TRAINS EVERY ADULT THEY ISSUE A RIFLE.

SWITZERLAND HAS THE LOWEST GUN RELATED CRIME RATE OF ANY CIVILIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!

IT'S A NO BRAINER!

DON'T LET OUR GOVERNMENT WASTE MILLIONS OF OUR TAX DOLLARS IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE ALL LAW ABIDING CITIZENS AN EASY TARGET.

I'm a firm believer of the 2nd Amendment!

If you are too, please forward.

Just think how powerful our government is getting!

They think these other countries just didn't do it right.

Learn from history.

A powerful story. Golf

For those of you who are non-golfers, David Feherty is an irreverent TV golf
analyst. An Irishman and former touring professional, he has a whimsical
and often sarcastic view of the world and of professional golf. This
article is particularly good. I don't know where we get these kids he
speaks about, but bless them, and thank God they are on our side.
(Courtesy of Hugh Quinn)

Soldiering On
The Troops First Foundation gives America 's injured vets a chance to reclaim
their dignity

By David Feherty
Contributing Writer, GOLF Magazine
Published: August 26, 2009

The final round of Tiger's AT&T National at Congressional Country Club in
July was particularly satisfying for me to witness because I followed the
host toward his one shot victory over Hunter Mahan, who had earlier posted
an incredible 62. Hunter has supported my Troops First Foundation events
since the beginning, and like Tiger, his dad served in the military.

Earlier that week, Hunter, Rod Pampling, Jason Gore, Pat Perez, Kelly
Tilghman and Tom Watson played with thirty or so seriously injured
servicemen and women (most of them amputees) in my 2nd Annual Improvised
Explosive Day of Golf at the Chevy Chase Club.

This year I had another amazing group of warriors, from Rob Brown - a
below-the-knee amputee who may represent the US in both the regular Olympics
in kayak and Para-Olympics in track and field - to 22-year-old PFC Brendan
Marrocco of the 25th Infantry, who on Easter Sunday in Tikrit was robbed of
all four limbs plus his left eye.

It takes a while to figure out how to react to the severely injured members
of our armed forces, but after almost three years of being around them, I
think I have it figured out. This year's IED of Golf was the first time I'd
met Brendan, with whom it is impossible to shake hands, play footsie, chest
bump or, for that matter, pull his finger. A stump-to-knuckles thing had to
suffice, and after that I embarked on what is now my normal procedure for
getting to know a new member of my F-troop, who was being driven around in a
cart by his brother Mike. It went something like this:

Me: "You know, you're not as tall as I thought you'd be."

Brendan: "I used to be taller."

"Yes, I can imagine. So, what would you like to do today?"

"I'd like to kick your ass."

"Well, that seems unlikely. Obviously you can't walk, but you look like
you'd bounce pretty well. Are you going to be okay in that cart without a
seat belt?

"Yeah, I can hold on with my butt cheeks."

"Excellent! Well, clench on, brother - I'll see you out there."

(Later that morning)........

Me: "Hey, Stumpy, how's it going?"

Brendan: "I like this - is there any chance I can go watch Tiger with you
this week?"

"I'll get you inside the ropes if I have to wear you like a f-----g hat."

"Man, that's cold."

"Hey, get used to it, kid - you're an F-trooper now."

These exchanges usually horrify first-time witnesses, but after a few
moments, everyone gets it. Brendan has lost his limbs, not his mind, but
more important for a man who has been trained to be one of the best soldiers
on the planet, he has lost his dignity.

By his reactions to my seemingly callous assaults on what is left of him,
Brendan regains a little of that dignity each time. Brendan, like the rest
of my men and women, is more courageous, more inspiring, more complete, and
funnier than any able-bodied person I know. His intelligence and his sense
of humor are the only weapons he has left to defend himself, and he will use
them in a manner that leaves those of us who are lucky enough to have him
and others like him defending our freedom utterly awestruck and humbled.

Tiger had a one-shot lead after the 17th hole, and as he stood waiting for
Anthony Kim to putt out, I put my hand on his shoulder and told him that
Brendan, who had followed him all day in a cart inside the ropes, was now in
his wheelchair where Tiger would turn the corner to go to the 18th tee.
Tiger smiled at me and nodded.

Before heading to the last tee, Tiger hunkered down and knuckle-stumped one
of his heroes, PFC Brendan Marrocco. Brendan, who before that day had been
ashamed and frightened to go out in public, was wheeled by his father, Alex,
and his brother Mike down the center of the 18th fairway to an overwhelming,
roaring, standing ovation.. He lifted what is left of one of his arms in a
salute, and this announcer wept like Gary McCord at a Barry Manilow concert
as Tiger looked on in the background, smiling..

It's hard to know which boy the old Green Beret Earl Woods would have been
prouder of at that moment, but I do know this: Because of Tiger Woods,
Hunter Mahan and the Troops First Foundation, PFC Brendan Marrocco is no
longer ashamed to go out in public. And by this winter, he will be hunting
birds with us and pulling his own damn trigger, or I'll make the little
swine drop and give me twenty. Only a fool would bet against him being able
to do both. Like they say, there's strong, and then there's Army Strong.

They tell you what to do.

Article Courtesy of NewsChief.com

By Dr. DONALD L. AREY
Posted on March 17, 2009

They can dictate the color of your home. They can tell you the length and height of your fence, when you must repair your roof, and, worst of all, they can levy a fine and place a lien on your property and foreclose on it for nonpayment, or even delayed payment of an assessment, however small. Extreme cases have occurred whereby a home was sold for nonpayment of an assessment as small as $100.

"They" are called homeowners associations (HOAs) and they threaten homeowners everywhere.

There are approximately 250,000 HOAs in the United States and they control the lives of about 50 million people. Approximately 50 percent of all new home construction in the U.S. in major metropolitan areas falls within the purview of a homeowners association.

Homeowners associations sprang up in the 1970s in California and have proliferated ever since. Supporters of HOAs argue that they help maintain order and property values and serve the best interests of owners in general. Supporters are convinced that association rules prevent chaos such as motorhomes left in the driveway, oddly painted units, dilapidated pickups left on blocks and poorly maintained landscaping. For some owners, a disadvantage of living under an association is the requirement of mandatory membership with the accompanying financial burdens of dues and assessments.

Living in an association-controlled property subjects homeowners to total control of the decisions of boards of directors, who have the responsibility of collecting the fees. Because there is a contractual obligation between the owners and the association, the board has the power to place a lien on the owner's property and then follow this with foreclosure proceedings if an assessment is unpaid, or even late. To cover a small assessment, the owner's home can be taken away from them.

Do you think this could never happen to you? Read on!

Emotionally entrenched boards may indulge themselves in heavy-handed and erratic enforcement of governing documents and even make up their own rules as they go on, thus violating homeowners' rights. Association boards can take the position of wielding a big stick and conducting themselves unfairly and sometimes outrageously. If HOAs dislike an individual, they are in a position to punish without recourse.

Associations are, in effect, "mini-governments" with few checks and balances. Dissenting homeowners find that complaining is often futile. Militant boards with unreasonable ideas can make for unpleasant and costly results for those who challenge them. Boards have the option of imposing fines and other sanctions against owners, without resorting to the legal system. Those who feel that their rights have been violated, or who want to challenge the board, have no recourse other than to resort to the courts, which is costly.

Perhaps there is nowhere else in our governing system where so much power is given to "rank amateurs," with little or no checks and balances. If these "rank amateurs" are decent and honorable people, sensitive to the needs of ALL members, then there probably will be no problem. Fortunately, most associations function in this manner. If yours does, consider yourself fortunate. A militant and heavy-handed approach to governing can be very traumatic and painful to those who disagree.

There is great potential for abuse in the system and state legislatures are struggling with this problem. Cases of abuse are many in Florida and the Florida Legislature is well aware of the problem. Under pressure from constituents, at least one, possibly two legislators are pushing for the removal of HOAs' ability to place liens.

Florida law creating and regulating HOAs was passed in the 1990s and, unfortunately, does provide that a lien may be secured against a member of a HOA for nonpayment or delayed payment of an assessment. It can be safely assumed that the intent of the law was to trap scofflaws and chronic nonpayers (deadbeats). It is doubtful that legislators were targeting HOA members who merely question certain expenditures or budgetary items or request clarification. That is precisely what happened to me in 2006. Read on.

The HOA in our Winter Haven-area neighborhood, the Estate area of Orchid Springs, was formed in 1987 to oversee matters of common interest, principally the resurfacing of the roadway. I served five years as president and the organization functioned for many years in a benign fashion. Tranquility was ever present and no problems of significance were encountered.

It was not possible to imagine the problems that lay ahead beginning in 2006 when a new and very different board was seated. Under this new board, spending dramatically increased, and not always wisely. Any challenges were met with cold indifference; the board had already made up its mind. In the 2006 budget, certain line items were unclear to my wife and me and we requested clarification, and we clearly indicated that we would promptly pay our annual assessment upon clarification. Florida law clearly states that this must be provided.

The board chose to ignore this contractual obligation and chose instead to place a lien on our lovely home of 30 years and our adjacent lot. This home has been paid for - for many years - and to make matters worse, the board retained the services of a Lakeland attorney who demanded that we pay, within 10 days, the $900 assessment plus his legal fees of $1,800, for a total of $2,700. If not paid within 10 days, then he would commence foreclosure, which is tantamount to taking the home away from us and literally selling it on the courthouse steps in Bartow. Unfortunately, Florida law allows for this terrible action, by a board that is obsessed with power and control.

Devastated and faced with loss of our home, we had no choice but to pay up - and quickly.

Yes, this actually happened in East Polk County and it illustrates just what can result when a board develops an "attitude" and asserts control over members in a homeowners association.

Though California has had the worst problems with HOAs, Florida is not far behind. An ad hoc committee was appointed in the Florida House last year to address the large number of complaints of HOA abuse. Limited legislation was passed, but the ability to place liens is still on the books. I have volunteered to appear before the Legislature to share my experiences of HOA abuse, at the hands of a militant board that chose to inflict pain rather than act in good faith by providing requested information.

I have been told that there are so many cases of abuse in Florida that my story would be only one of many. Apparently, boards running amok in Florida are not rare. Knowing what I know now, I would NEVER locate in a neighborhood where a HOA exists.

I would advise anyone to seriously consider the pros and cons of locating in a development where membership in the HOA is mandatory. Unfortunately, it is too late in life for my wife and me to consider relocation, though it is at times tempting. As in card games, you sometimes draw a bad hand.

Donald L. Arey Jr., M.D., of Winter Haven is a general and vascular surgeon.

ANOTHER EMBEZZLER BEING PROSECUTED?

An Opinion By Jan Bergemann
President, Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Published October 26, 2009

It looks like another board member got caught with the hands in the cookie jar.

According to files from the Clerk of Courts Broward County 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida, the office of State Attorney Michael J. Satz is prosecuting Eveline Wright, who was for many years the treasurer and registered agent of THE PRESERVE AT CHAPEL TRAIL HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

Eveline Wright was arrested on January 29, 2009 for FELONY ORGANIZED FRAUD and GRAND THEFT OF THE 2ND DEGREE (See: CRIMINAL COMPLAINT).

An investigation of the finances of the association by Detective Thomas Moran of the Pembroke Pines PD showed that association funds were used by Eveline Wright to pay personal bills and/or she misappropriated association funds for her personal use. According to sources, the total damage is estimated at $100,000.

Jury trial is set for December 7, 2009, in front of the Honorable M. Rodriguez-Powell.

This case shows again that fraud and embezzlement are rampant in our community associations. Representative Julio Robaina proposed in spring (H 1397) to create a condo police force, paid for by the condo trust fund! Florida's association members need that more than ever! I could never understand the outcry of dismay over this proposal from attorneys and board members.

WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO HIDE?

Night Watchman

How The Gummint Works

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a
desert. Congress said, "Someone may steal from it at night." So they created a
night watchman position and hired a person for the job.

Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So
they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write
the instructions, and one person to do time studies.

Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks
correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people.
One to do the studies and one to write the reports.

Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?" So they created
the following positions, a time keeper, and a payroll officer, then hired two
people.

Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?" So they
created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative
Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, "We have had this command in operation for one Year and we
are $18,000 over budget, we must cutback overall cost."
So they laid off the night watchman.

NOW slowly let it sink in. Quietly, we go like sheep to slaughter.

Does anybody remember the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT
OF ENERGY....During the Carter Administration?

Anybody?

Anything?

No?

Didn't think so!

Bottom line. We've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an
agency ... the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember!

Ready?? It was very simple ... and, at the time, everybody thought it very
appropriate.

The Department of Energy was instituted on 08-04-1977. TO LESSEN OUR
DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.
That was 32 years ago........


Hey, pretty efficient, huh???

AND, NOW, ITS 2009 -- 32 YEARS LATER -- AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS "NECESSARY"
DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR. THEY HAVE 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND
APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES; AND, LOOK AT THE JOB THEY HAVE DONE!
THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY, "WHAT WAS I THINKING?"

Ah, yes -- good ole bureaucracy.

And we are turning the banking system, the insurance industry, the auto
industry, and now HEALTH CARE over to the same government????

Assistant director, Administrative Assistant

In 2007 we had a Assistant Director Janie Wilcox and Administrative Assistant Anna Johnson and a Community Director Joe Hunter. Now we have only "Do Nothing" Joe Hunter. He sure knows how to take charge.

dining room grill

Again another person is no longer in charge of the dining room. Lynn Doby has been replaced by Frannie Ambrose. Joe Hunter sure knows how to say good by.

Economic Stimulus payment.

Sometime this year, we taxpayers may receive another Economic Stimulus payment.

This is a very exciting program. I will explain it using the Q and A format:

Q. What is an Economic Stimulus payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q. Where will the government get this money?.
A. From taxpayers.

Q.. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. Only a smidgen.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.

Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:

* If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money will go to China .
* If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to the Arabs.
* If you purchase a computer, it will go to India .
* If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico , Honduras and Guatemala .
* If you buy a car, it will go to Japan .
* If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan .
* If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore.

Instead, keep the money in America by:

1. spending it at yard sales, or
2. going to ball games, or
3. spending it on prostitutes, or
4. beer or
5. tattoos.

These are the only American businesses still operating in the US .

I'm going to go to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute that I met at a yard
sale, and drink beer!
Yay! Woo Hoo!! Just call me a patriot.

Lake ashton living

Now you have to sign up to received information about what is going on here at Lake Ashton or to see what is for sale. What is this place coming to? Sign up for what and why? You must pay a large sum to advertise your item. What a cheap idea. But there are a lot of people that love it. Go for it.

NEWS WANTED send to lakeashtontalk@yahoo.com

Condo board tries new tactic to collect delinquent fees

Article Courtesy of The Miami Herald
By MONICA HATCHER
Published October 23, 2009

Condo owners behind on maintenance fees, beware: Condo boards are becoming more aggressive in collecting delinquent fees. One board even wants to try an untested strategy -- forcing renters into empty units to pay off deadbeat accounts.

The board at the Jade Residences at Brickell Bay, a luxury condo of 341 units, is asking a Miami-Dade judge for permission to rent vacant units belonging to owners who aren't facing foreclosure but are behind on fees, which pay for the basic needs of the building such as water, power, insurance or even a new roof.

As the collection crises for condo boards deepens, the forced-rental program is the latest example of associations becoming pushier -- and more creative -- in their attempts to wring revenue from delinquent homeowners and idle units.

There's no guarantee a judge will buy the notion of forced rentals, though. On its face it seems to step on owners' property rights.

"It would be breaking and entering,'' said Ben Solomon, an attorney who helps condo associations in collection efforts and thinks forced rentals are a bad idea. ``It would be short-sighted to try to get a little extra income and be sued by a debtor for illegally entering, renting out or otherwise using their unit.'

That view doesn't deter Guillermo Mancebo, a lawyer with Siegfried, Rivera, Lerner, De La Torre & Sobel in Coral Gables, who represents Jade. He said owners who don't pay their fees put everyone's property at risk because gaping budget holes lead to disruptions of critical services.

Jade, he said, is running a $100,000 deficit every month because about 50 units are vacant and behind on fees. In the second quarter, the average selling price for a condo at Jade was nearly $604,000. Monthly association fees at such luxury buildings often exceed $1,000.

`CRISIS'

"A lot of the judges now are understanding the crisis condo associations are facing in the collection of maintenance fees,'' said Mancebo.

Current renters in Jade already turn over rent payments to the association when their landlords fall behind, dictated by a lease addendum landlords must sign before renting their condos.

But Mancebo says Jade and other condos need help with units that are lying fallow.

In Jade's petition, Mancebo is asking the court to appoint a blanket receiver to manage the forced rental program. He's also asking the court to include units not yet in foreclosure by the association.

FAIRLY NEW REMEDY

That's a new and controversial twist on blanket receivership, which is itself a relatively new collection remedy being used by condo associations. Under a blanket receivership, a court appoints an independent custodian to collect rents from all units whose owners are behind.

But the law says the units under a blanket receivership must be subject to foreclosure by the condo association, according to Solomon, whose firm, Association Law Group,is credited with first devising the blanket receivership principle.

In a court order last week, however, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Gisela Cardonne Ely allowed a blanket receiver for Residences at the Falls condo to collect rents on units not in foreclosure by the association.

Mancebo said the order was a major development because it would save the Residences at the Falls tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees to file foreclosures against delinquent units. It could similarly save other cash-poor associations.

QUESTIONS

Solomon said the development was "terrible'' because the orders clearly are contrary to the law and put associations at risk of being sued. But there are questions about whether the association or the receiver might be liable.

"I can't blame a lawyer for trying to get the best rights for the association, but if they are not rights afforded by the law, the court order can be reversed,'' Solomon said. He added judges were granting the blanket orders giving relief to condo associations based on what they think is correct rather than what the law allows.

Chris Gallo, a resident at the troubled Buckley Towers condo in North Miami Beach, was undecided on the question of forced rentals but said one thing was for sure: ``When you sign onto a condo, you promise to pay the fees, and when you don't, you're putting the association in a place where they can't get the revenue to run the place properly.''

A couple attending an art exhibition.

A couple attending an art exhibition...


A couple attending an art exhibition at the National Gallery were
staring at a portrait that had them completely confused.

The painting depicted three very black and totally naked men sitting on
a park bench. Two of the figures had black weenies, but the one in the
middle had a pink weenie.

The curator of the gallery realized that they were having trouble
interpreting the painting and offered his assessment. He went on for
nearly half an hour explaining how it depicted the sexual emasculation
of African-Americans in a predominately white, patriarchal society.

"Infact," he pointed out, "some serious critics believe that the pink
weenie also reflects the cultural and sociological oppression
experienced by gay men in contemporary society."

After the curator left, a young man in a Kentucky T-shirt approached the
couple and said, "Would you like to know what the painting is really
about?"

"Now why would you claim to be more of an expert than the curator of the
gallery?" asked the couple..

"Because I'm the guy who painted it," he replied. "In fact, there are no
African-Americans depicted at all. They're just three Kentucky coal
miners, and the guy in the middle went home for lunch."

ugliest suit

Sorry 'bout sending this: just write it off to my sick sense of humor . . this struck me as very funny first thing this morning.

Finally got a job:
First day at work, when the store manager returned from lunch, he noticed my hand was bandaged, but before he could ask about the bandage, I blurted out that I had some great news for him.
"Guess what?, I sold that terrible, ugly suit you said would never sell."
"Do you mean that repulsive pink and blue double-breasted thing?" the manager asked.
"That's the one!"
That's great!" the manager cried, "I thought we'd never get rid of that monstrosity! That had to be the ugliest suit we've ever had! But tell me... why is your hand bandaged?"
"Oh, this? After I sold the guy that suit, his guide dog bit me."