E-cycle

Are you like me? Do you have old, broken electronics laying around the house. You can't just throw them away because they contain chemicals that are dangerous. You want to dispose of them properly. But how? Best Buy, that's how. They now have a tech recycling program. And it's free for most items. Cell phones, cameras, video game consoles, most computer parts and even batteries. They don't, however, take large appliances such as refrigerators, items that use freon, computer hard drives or televisions/monitors larger than 32". But they do have a haul away program for such items that does cost a fee. I have an old cell phone and a crap load of batteries I have to get rid of tomorrow. And by "crap load" I mean a CRAP LOAD. Three Ziploc baggies full of them.

Steal From The Rich, Give To The Government

Were I rich, I would be taking myself and my money out of this country because the government is intent on coming after the successful.

Wise Sage Of The Day

But beyond that, "the full power of centralized government"--this was the very thing the Founding Fathers sought to minimize. They knew that governments don't control things. A government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they know when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. They also knew, those Founding Fathers, that outside of its legitimate functions, government does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector of the economy.
Ronald Reagan

Wednesday Hero

Spc. Ross A. McGinnis
19 years old from Knox, Pennsylvania
1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division
December 4, 2006


His mission was to patrol the streets of Adhamiyah in northeast Baghdad and find a place to put a 250-kilowatt generator that would provide electricity for more than 100 homes. But it's a mission he wasn't able to accomplish.

Shortly after Pfc. McGinnis's convoy left the compound, and less than a mile from FOB Apache, an insurgent standing on a nearby rooftop threw a grenade into the sixth, and last, Humvee. "Grenade!" yelled McGinnis, who was manning the vehicle's M2 .50-caliber machine gun. He tried to deflect the grenade but it fell into the Humvee and lodged between the radios.

"McGinnis turned and looked down and realized no one in the truck knew where the grenade was," said Capt. Michael Baka, his company commander. "He knew everyone had their doors combat-locked and they wouldn't be able to get out."

Instead of jumping out of the truck to save his own life, like he had been trained to do, McGinnis threw his back against the radio mount, smothering the explosive with his body. The grenade exploded just as Pfc. McGinnis covered it. The blast filled the vehicle with black smoke and debris and blew the driver's door and right passenger's door wide open and blew the machine gun off its mount. The explosion hit McGinnis on his sides and his lower back, under his vest. He was killed instantly.

The other four soldiers in the Humvee suffered relatively minor injuries.

On the morning of December 4, 2006, before his convoy had left, Cpt. Baka has signed a waver promoting Pfc. McGinnis to Specialist and he was posthumously promoted to E-4.

For his heroic actions on that day, McGinnis was awarded the Silver Star and was nominated for a Medal of Honor which he received on June 2, 2008.

All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Wise Sage Of The Day

That government is best which governs least

Not 100% sure who said it. I'm getting both Thomas Payne and Jefferson, but I think it was Payne.

Adventures In The ER

If you'll remember back to June of last year I talked about going to the ER for a kidney stone. I had to make another trip last night. On Wednesday I noticed that my right leg was a little sore. Thought it was just a sore muscle. Then Thursday it was a little more sore, it felt a little stiff and was turning red. Then on Friday it was bad. I could barely walk, my leg was bright red, it was very stiff and there was a lot of pain. Woke up yesterday and it was a little better. So I decided to wait until Monday to see what it was doing whether or not to have it checked out. Then I was told by someone that it could be a blood clot, so I decided to go ahead and head to the ER just to make sure. Long story short, it wasn't a blood clot but rather Cellulitis. Which is just an infection. So nothing to worry about. But I did have one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life while there. Not sure if anyone has ever been tested for a blood clot in the leg but what they have to do is take an ultrasound of the leg. And they start right up in your groin. Now, I'm very ticklish. Very. And she has this thing right up in there. I'm wondering why I even have my underwear on she was so far north. Every time she presses down I'm clenching every muscle I have and trying not to laugh while laying there with this strange woman digging in my groin. No pain, but I never want that again. 3 1/2 hours all this took with the last 45 minutes just waiting around for them to give me my prescription for antibiotics and discharge me. I think I still have some of that gel from that ultrasound on me.

Taxing Miles

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he wants to consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn. I swear, we're looking at a future where farting is taxed by the government. Doesn't England have something like this? I know they have some sort of tax they have to pay that's something like this. I can't think of what it's called.