Snorting of "Bath Salts" Becomes Popular and Deadly

I've seen and heard of people doing crazy stuff to try and get high - Smoking Banana Peels, Sniffing Paint or gasoline. But I have never heard of snorting "Bath Salts". Apparently this is a substance that has been around for some time in the UK. It's really not a bath salt, that's just the way it is marketed to get around the law. There are numerous sites on the Internet that you can purchase the stuff.

The drug causes a high similar to meth, but serious side effects have been reported. Extreme paranoia, Shortness of breath, increased heart rate all have been reported by users. Some say they feel these effects days after taking the drug. extreme paranoia has lead to numerous suicides - One in St Joseph, Mo where a young man shot himself a few days after taking the drug.

The scariest thing about these "Bath Salts", is that we don't even really know what is in them. And the formulas seem to different from dose to dose and brand to brand. Some have speculated it has a derivative of the drug MDPV in it. MDPV is specifically illegal in the UK and other European countries, but there is some debate about whether or not it is legal in the US. Though not specifically illegal, it could fall under several states laws that ban derivatives of dangerous drugs.

This just goes to show that people will look for ways to get high, no matter how dangerous, or how little they know about what they are putting in their body. It's sad really, why they can't be happy just having a beer or smoking a joint (or both at the same time) like the rest of us is beyond me. Maybe the world is better place if these people do off themselves and can't reproduce.

Brian Aitken's 7 Year Prison Sentence Commuted by Governor Chris Christie!

For those of us who believe in the 2nd Amendment and victim's rights to own, possess, and carry firearms, it is a relief to know that justice has finally been done. Earlier this week Brian Aitken, the New Jersey man convicted of a bogus felony gun charge and sentenced to 7 years in prison earlier this year, had his sentence overturned by Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey after serving only 4 months.

Aitken was in the process of moving from Colorado to New Jersey. He knew he needed to move his firearms, and also knew that New Jersey was what I like to call an uneducated, left-wing liberal state that places fear of gun ownership and fear of the 2nd Amendment higher than victim’s rights to protect themselves. He called New Jersey to ask how to properly store and transport his firearms from his then home state to his new home state, New Jersey, and followed the instructions to the letter.

In a moment of sadness, he said under his breath to a relative that life isn’t worth living, and then he proceeded to move. That relative alerted authorities in New Jersey, they picked him up when he got to his new place, found the properly stored hand guns unloaded with trigger locks and ammunition separated from the firearm, and then proceeded to arrest him…after he had done exactly what they told him to do as it related to transporting his firearms.

Nothing about his conviction made sense. He did everything right. He refused to take a plea bargain. He knew the jury would side with him and there was little doubt he would be convicted…after all he had done everything right…right?

New evidence shows that Brian Aitken’s conviction was nothing more than a witch hunt by an activist judge who wanted to make an example of a gun owner and ruin his life. A juror sent an email to Aitken a few days ago explaining to him that the judge kept bullying the jury for the conviction instead of letting the legal process work. Did you catch that? A judge influenced a jury. The judge was pushing them for a conviction when there is a good chance had he left them alone they would have found the defendant not guilty and Brian Aitken would have never had to spend 4 months in jail which according to him "There's not even words for it. It's terrible."

Good news though...that judge will never sit on a bench in New Jersey for the rest of his life as Christie has chosen not to reappoint him (for something unrelated).

I have been a fan of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie since the day he put a teacher in her place at a town hall meeting and will make an incredible president of the United States when he decides to run. If you wonder why education is screwed up in America, watch this exchange between an educator and Governor Christie for one little slice. You will be a fan too...it is simply perfection.

Deer Feeding in Winter - What to Feed Deer

Tips on Feeding Deer in the Winter
by Kansas City News

As the bitter cold winter months approach here in good old Kansas City, some of us start thinking about giving our furry friends who live outside a helping hand. Most will at least put out some bird food to be enjoyed by both birds and squirrels alike, and if you're like us and have your own "pet" deer roaming about in your yard, you might like some ideas on how to feed them as well. First and foremost, be aware that deer feeding is not recommended by wildlife authorities.  Experts claim that feeding deer on your property creates an unnatural environment for them and could also contribute to the spreading of Chronic Wasting Disease, which has been found to be fatal for deer in both Missouri and Kansas.

Our neighborhood is very secluded and the deer in our area are pretty much tame deer who are very used to all of us and they have made our backyards their home.  They don't just wander through, like most deer that you will see on your property - so since they are our "pet" deer, we feel that it's ok to feed them :)

Attention:  Deer cannot digest whole kernel or "deer corn".  Even though it is called "deer corn" it is NOT good for the deer, or at least the deer cannot digest it and gain any nutritional value from it.  They probably don't get as much of a kick out of having corn in their poo as much as we humans do.  However, that's exactly what whole kernel deer corn does, it passes straight through with no benefit to the deer.  In order to properly provide nutrients for the deer you must use CRACKED corn.  Here is a nice recipe for deer food:

The mixture that we use is a very simple mix of Cracked Corn and Apple Flavored Deer Protein Pellets.  The Cracked Corn we purchase at Waldo Grain and Feed on Wornall Road and the Apple Flavored Deer Protein Pellets we order online - or if you like to go to stores for idiots you can visit your local redneck BassPro store and buy it there - be sure and put on your camouflage hat with a fishing hook so that you'll fit in.  We made a homemade feeder by attaching a plastic oil catcher on to the top of a saw horse, but you could use any type of elevated bowl or container.  It's usually best to get it up off the ground, but low enough so that the baby deer can still reach it.  Our deer pretty much eat the entire bowl within about 2 days time, and if you're lucky enough to get a traveling group of  male deer to come through, they will eat a full bowl in about 5 minutes.

Most of the deer that you will see around your property will be female deer.  The females are much more outgoing and don't seem to mind being around humans.  Male deer are very exciting to watch, but are much more rare and they are extremely cautious and afraid of humans.  The male deer, like the female deer, travel in small groups of 3 - 8.  The female deer will tend to be casual about dining, hang around for a while, return more than once to feed, etc.  The male deer will most likely come through in a group, get to eating, and then get to moving on.  Sometimes the male deer will engage in a head butting contest to see who gets to eat first - this is great entertainment.  Males also use this same head butting technique to shove along the younger male deer in the pack when it's time to move on.  Note:  If your deer feeding area is in a closed area (fence, corner, etc.) DO NOT attempt to approach the male deer - the large ones can and will kick your ass.  Male deer, when cornered will raise up on their hind legs and beat the crap out of you.  Female deer actually use the same fighting technique but are much less likely to attack humans.

Missouri Attorney General Releases List of 15 Worst Charities

Missouri State Attorney General Chris Koster has compiled a list of the worst charities that solicit funds in the State. The criteria for the ranking was percentage of funds spent on charitable causes. Under guidelines set up by the Better Business Bureau, Non-profits should use a minimum of 65% of their revenue for charitable causes. The organizations on this list do not even come close. Non-Profits on this list have large expenses for fundraising, many of which use professional telemarketing companies that can take as much as 60% of the revenue right off the top. In this holiday season of giving, these are organizations to stay away from -Here are the worst of the worst.

1. United States Navy Veterans Association - Washington, DC
This charity is probably the worst ever - basically a fraud. According to the Attorney General's office, no more than 1% or the organization's revenue went to charitable causes. Director and CFO "Bobby Thompson" - whose true identity is not even known, is currently on the lam. A nationwide arrest warrant has been issued by the State of Ohio. Several states have also banned the organization from any fundraising in their States. Their website is also currently unavailable.

2. Law Enforcement Education Program - Troy, MI
This organization's mission statement says that their goal is to create and support educational programs for the betterment of the general public and the law enforcement community. But, according to Koster's report, they use just over 2% of their revenue for charitable programs.

3. Cancer Survivor's Fund - Missouri City, TX
Sounds like a great organization, providing scholarships and prosthetics to young adults who have survived cancer. However, their administrative costs were 96.8% of revenue for fiscal year 09-10.

4. Wishing Well Foundation - Metarie, LA
This Organization claims to give terminally ill children a wish, much like the legitimate MAKE-A-WISH Foundation - in reality, they only spend 4.4% of income on on charitable causes.

5. Firefighters Charitable Foundation - Farmingdale, NY
When you look at the list of worst charities, you see sick kids, veterans, and Fire and Police. Everyone wants to help these types of people out, but you really have to do your research. Firefighters Charitable Foundation is another one of these organizations that raises money with telemarketers making you think you are helping firefighters and their families. Less than 5% of their revenue goes to a charitable cause.

For the rest of the worst from the Attorney General's site, click here. I personally would not give money to any organization that called me without being contacted first, but at the very least, do your research before giving. A simple search at the Better Business Bureau website can be a good place to start.

Favre Retires - Brett Favre to Retire

Without actually saying the words, Brett Favre retired today, Monday December 20th, 2010 from the NFL.  Corey Wootton delivers final blow to Favre.
by Kansas City News

Hey, our news site called Matt Cassel playing last Sunday first, might as well go for another:

Brett Favre has thrown his last Touchdown pass in the NFL...or interception, or any kind of pass.  Favre's last TD was a short left pass to Percy Harvin  who ran the rock in for a 23 yard score.  Just a few plays later, a crushing hit by Corey Wootton sent Favre to the rock hard surface of the frozen tundra that is The University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium.  It was widely known that several players from the Chicago Bears in particular were concerned about the safety of the frozen field at The University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium, a few players twittered (oh, I HATE that word) their concerns to whatever pathetic losers were actually following someone's frickin' TWITTER account - oh, I guess that's everyone in the media as even Chris Berman was hip to the tweet.  Shoot me now.

Brett Favre retires after several attempts at retirement.  The first time Brett tried to retire The Green Bay Packers offered to pay him 20 million dollars to sit his ass down and retire.  Brett took this as an insult and rebutted by signing on to play for Packer rival the Minnesota Vikings.  The first season went extremely well, with Brett making one of the most spectacular touchdown pass and catch plays in NFL history - but alas, all good things must come to an end and today Brett Favre retires from football for good.  Brett's career stats broke all of the records including consecutive games started (297), and of course interceptions (336).Brett's post game interview tells it all.

Kansas City News is first in KC to land the video footage:
 
With comments like "you know, my last pass was as exciting as my first pass", we have to assume that Brett Favre is retired.

According to Brett's wife Deanna, he is a lawn nazi and will no doubt take to "greening up the place" back in Ole Miss.  I like to picture him walking off into the sunset like Forest Gump - "Lieutenant Dan says that we got invested in some FRUIT company, and that we don't have to worry about money no more", and of course the classic "mama says that a person only needs so much money to be happy and the rest is just for showin' off".  I will always remember Brett Favre as the 3rd stringer from Atlanta with a gruff old coach Glanville making bets with his friends that Favre could throw a football all the way into the third tier of the stadium.  Brett was often too hung over to participate in the Falcon's practices and was pretty much the coach's whipping boy.  Favre stopped drinking along with his brother, who also gave up drinking at the same time and the rest is history - all the way to his best receiver target in history, Andre Rison and their legendary hook up to win the Superbowl in 1996.

Brett was a thrill to watch on the field as you NEVER knew what he was going to do next, and he will always be a part of the NFL and what it takes to make your mark in that environment.