Priceless

I have no words...

Email to the RocK County highway department

I am a motorcycle rider, bicycle rider, and owner of several classic cars.

Recently, County D and Q near my home were chip-sealed. This involves spraying an asphalt coating on the road and then dumping fine gravel on the asphalt. An attempt is reportedly made to compact the gravel with some sort of roller.

The result of this treatment is a road covered in, essentially, ball bearings, until traffic blows them to the shoulder, where they present a tempting place for bicyclists to wipe out. On the road proper, especially at intersections, the loose gravel is a real hazard to motorcyclists. Personally, I wiped out at Town Line Road and Creek last year on loose gravel in the intersection, after stopping for the sign there. Luckily I was not injured, nor was my bike damaged, but I came close to being run over by an approaching motorist who couldn't see me lying on the road before crossing the railroad tracks just north of the intersection.

That gravel was caused by trucks and cars making tight turns onto the shoulder, and was cleaned up by the Clinton road crews after I called in the hazard a few times. In the case of this "chip sealing", I see no benefit to the public, as most the gravel is thrown off to the shoulder almost immediately, and the remainder is just a hazard to drivers and bikers who need to make turns across the loose stuff.

According to the state DOT web site, chip sealing is supposed to be followed by sweeping after a few days. It's been a couple of weeks now, and the gravel is still there, presenting risks to all who use the roads. In addition, the center lines and no-passing zone markings have been obliterated.

When can we expect a clean-up crew and paint crews out to remedy these issues?

Regards,

Chuck Kuecker

The only benefit I can see to "chip sealing" is profits to the people selling asphalt and gravel, and the employees running the machinery.

Sheer idiocy

You can't get much dumber than this:

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Facility to Be Powered by the Largest Federal Wind Farm

The Energy Department today broke ground on the nation’s largest federally-owned wind project at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas. Once completed, this five-turbine 11.5 megawatt project will power more than 60 percent of the plant with wind energy and reduce CO₂ emissions by over 35,000 metric tons per year—equivalent to taking 7,200 cars off the road. The Pantex Plant is the primary site for the assembly, disassembly, and maintenance of the United States’ nuclear weapons stockpile.

Under the Obama Administration, federal agencies have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 15 percent—equivalent to permanently taking 1.5 million cars off the road. To build on this accomplishment, the Administration has established a new goal: the federal government will consume 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020—more than double the current goal of 7.5 percent.

The picture at the link says it all - the turbines are from Siemens of Germany, and no American jobs were created in their production.

Europe needs all the help it can get, after all - they are suffering under a socialist/greenie dictatorship...

 

WTF of the day

This is disturbing.

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=38d3a1d5cc5a2de1c00cdc5b4836dde5&tab=core&tabmode=list&=

The U. S. Army Contracting Command - New Jersey, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, in support of the U.S. Army Research Development Engineering Command Armament Research Development and Engineering Center (RDECOM-ARDEC) and Several Program Offices, intends to issue a solicitation to all Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) holders to procure the following:

1. 592,825 (approx) AK Rifle Magazines: 7.62x39mm Caliber, New Production, Steel, 30 Round Capacity

OK. WHY does the Army want over half a million new production AK-47 magazines?

I can understand why they don't just get them from Eastern Europe - that would save money and avoid enriching some Congresscritter's relative or big campaign contributor who happens to own a factory here - besides, it would make sense to get AK mags from plants originally tooled to make them. Can't have common sense getting in the way of a little pork, after all.

Originally brought to my attention by this

Possible Emergency Alert For FEMA Region III: DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV

Below is a pretty big list of past events and current ones which are pretty much listed in order, and these events point to something big happening in FEMA Region Three which has DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV. Many different things are happening but they seem to be geared towards a monthly disaster that will collapse society and leave a shortage of food and possibly water. Read them below and remember this speculation on current purchases and political movement:

Waste of our taxes

Immoral, too. We paid for that brass, not to have it shredded.

Military installations sidestep questions on brass destruction

“I'm responding to a tip that Ft. McCoy brass from expended small arms ammunition is being shredded instead of sold on the civilian market,” this columnist wrote in the base contact form. “I’m told that as of the beginning of this month, no brass may be sold without being rendered unusable.

“Is this true?” the query continued “Is or was brass being destroyed? If so, who ordered it, over what time period, under what authority, and will you make a copy of such orders public? Did an order to destroy brass once exist and has it been rescinded? When and by whom? Does everything that is being destroyed meet the criteria of being ‘unserviceable or unsafe for further use’? What is the policy for destruction of brass that could be sold on the civilian market? Are all destruction activities consistent with appropriations and public law requirements?

“I'm following up on this because I've written in the past about the military destroying brass that, per appropriations requirements, should be designated for civilian market resale,” the inquiry explained. “As such, I'd like to establish the truth about this and make sure all of the points brought to my attention are addressed as specifically as possible.

“To that end, any for-the record response you could give to address these questions will be helpful and appreciated, as would any further information you could share about this,” the inquiry concluded.

“In reference to your Fort McCoy web site inquiry, please see view the article that was recently published in the Fort McCoy newspaper, The Real McCoy,” the Public Affairs Officer wrote back. That article confirms they are using a deformer “to demilitarize about 9,000 pounds of brass each day … including 5.56-mm, 7.62-mm, 9-mm and .50-caliber, and that “the ammo is transported up a conveyor belt and then struck by hammers in a rotary grinder that cause deformation of the casing.”

 

BATFE Milwaukee fail

Your taxes at work. For the last year or so, the BATFE in Milwaukee operated a store in the Riverwest area selling designer clothes, shoes, jewelry and drug paraphernalia. It was supposed to also act as a drug and gun fence, to catch criminals.

Free Republic has details.

The score so far:


30 indictments for low level gun charges. Supposedly, new guns bought at retailers were sold to the sting because they were paying such high prices.

$35,000.00 merchandise lost to theft.

A looming legal battle with the building owner, who charges $15,000 in unpaid utility bills and damage to the premises.

When the store closed, sensitive ATF documents were left behind - including agent's personal data.

To top it off, at least one ATF select-fire weapon was lost, and is now at large in Milwaukee.

These are the people supposedly protecting us from illegal guns, tobacco, and alcohol. Oh, yeah, also explosives. Stuff you could buy off any hardware store shelf prior to 1968, except for the smokes and booze.

I've got an idea - we've got budget troubles in the US. Let's disband the BATFE and save a few hundred million every year of "stings" like this.

Probably save a few billion...and the federal employees let go would hardly make a dent in the 9.8 million Americans who lost jobs since Jugears took office in 2009...

Washington destroying our property

Fort Drum brass destruction threatens reloading supply and more

A report received yesterday by Gun Rights Examiner indicates at least one military installation is still destroying expended ammunition brass, despite a furor raised in the gun community a few years back that resulted in two senators intervening to stop the practice and allow for its resale for reloading. The Dec. 2012 Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan for Fort Drum, N.Y., marked “Revision 1,” describes its policy for brass and expended munitions as part of its installation recycling program, which includes rendering expended ammunition brass unsuitable for anything but scrap.

We paid for that brass, and the only reason to destroy it is to prevent us from reusing it.

What are they afraid of?