Voting Consequences - 'Nuff Said

I know the title indicates the above "says it all". But after hearing Bush's State of the Union Address, and seeing the voting results in Florida, I have to say I feel like I am the only person who sees the impending "screw" becoming a daily reality.

Could it be that the majority of our nation's citizens don't really care that our economy is falling apart? Or that we don't NEED our soldiers anywhere but home, protecting us, instead of the rest of the world? Or that we are losing Freedom and Liberty faster than our paychecks (a close second)? Or maybe it's because they are simply in denial.

I'd hate to think there are that many people that stupid, or that ignorant.

Apparently so. Guess I'll stock up on condoms.

Congratulations Baby Boomers!

While other bloggers are criticizing Baby Boomers, I'd like to:

CONGRATULATE TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking .

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because...... WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem .

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no text messaging, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents .

We played with worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.

Show this to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?

PS -The big type is because our eyes are shot at this age.

(Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood email forwarding Daemon...)

Just the Facts Ma'am - Why Bikers Should Vote Ron Paul 2008

As biker, I am concerned with bikers rights, and if you ride, so should you also be. But as an American citizen, bikers rights are just a sub-set of what I believe in; my personal rights and freedoms.

In the video below, Ron Paul speaks of a "message":

Ron Paul is all about personal rights and freedoms. Yes, as with all candidates, Ron has some differing views, no doubt about it. But in comparison to his undying support of the the Constitution, those differences are minor. In the long haul, less government means less infringement on each of our personal rights. Less government means less money stolen from our earnings. Less government means I still only have ONE mother; the woman who gave birth to me.

I want to see less government, less regulation, less, less, less. Don't you? Only through that will everything else follow. Ron Paul has been called "radical". But this country needs sound and even radical changes if we (the people) are to turn things around and take control of our country again.

I'm tired of my tax money funding our legislators to create hundreds of new and restricting laws every day that infringe on my individual rights; from telling me how to raise my children, to legal confiscation of personal property, including the 15-20 (out of 40) hours I work per week to fund a government that cannot control it's spending and continuously invades my personal life.

Ron Paul has consistently voted no to any new taxes. He wants to phase out many unfair taxes that rightfully belong to each of us, such as capitol gains, inheritance, and death tax.

I'm tired of paying out so much of my earnings in taxes that are spent in other countries, when that money could help me pay my medical bills, and other expenses all Americans pay. When that money should go to our own poor, our own homeless, our own starving children. Ron Paul wants to bring all our troops home, end our world domination policies and give those funds back to Americans, where they should be.

Ron Paul wants to bring our soldiers home. All of them. No other candidate has come close to this statement. How long must we fund 130 military bases worldwide to the tune of 3 Trillion buckaroos each year? How long will the world tolerate our "occupation" on their lands before someone worse than Bin Laden comes along and finds a way to Nuke us? Learning the hard way, in this case, is not an option.

Only with Ron Paul do we have a chance at Freedom and Liberty again. Not to mention restoring worldwide respect for our country.

Hilary, OTOH has a long history of sucking us dry:

"In 2003 and 2004 [Hilary] Clinton grew even more generous with the taxpayers' dollars. She sponsored or co-sponsored 211 bills to increase spending and just three bills to reduce it, yielding a total net cost of $378 billion. This made Clinton the second most "expensive" senator during that time."

And Hilary's response? (drum roll):

While other candidates are addressing issues seriously, Hilary is cackling.

Old habits die hard, and I don't expect Hilary to change colors any more than Osama Bin Laden. In her interviews, Hilary never makes any mention of removing our military presence completely from other countries, only juggling them around some, as if that would make a difference in government spending. She has yet to provide any sound method of paying for all the health care she wants to "give" everyone, including non-citizens. In fact, I've never seen her give a straight or intelligent answer to anything. She plays with our livelihood like an eleven year old plays with Barbie dolls.

As a woman of 52, I've waited many years for a qualified woman candidate for President, and quite frankly, Hilary makes me want to shave my head and pass for a man so I don't have to admit to being a woman. The ignorant women of this country see only a "woman candidate". Oh goody, Women's Lib-ers unite. Where's my paper bag, it's time to puke yet again.

I know! Let's elect Hilary based on her cackling laugh. That's just as good of a reason as any other I can think of. After all, hubby Bill was elected based on his charm and good looks. (Not MY opinion, so don't go there.) Are we supposed to give her "brownie" points because she "stood by" a philandering cheating husband who got caught? All so she could run for President? Sorry Hilary, you lost any respect I might have had for just this reason.

Then we have Mitt Romney, who is, quite frankly, a joke. He can't decide what he is proponent for, or opponent of. He should be renamed "Flip-Flop Romney". (Though I value my summer shoes here in Florida, it will give me cause to chuckle the next time I wear them and accidently step in something nasty.)

Romney supports (for now) illegal wire-tapping and invasive spying on American citizens, including censoring the Internet. His views in nearly every category include discriminatory comments regarding race, gender and/or religion. And he LIES. In his stint as Governor of MA, he closed MA budget gap of $1.2B, not $3B as he claims. In high school, we called that "two-faced".

Can you say "Flip-Flop"?

While Ron Paul is calmly quoting the supreme law, the Constitution, discussing the end to war and the return of our sons and daughters, and lowering our taxes, Mitt Romney is stumbling over his position on issues and beating his chest. And let us not forget that Hilary is busy making her vapid, flowery speeches, that cloak the consequences of her proposed actions, to less than informed young women, who haven't lived long enough to understand the meaning of more taxes imposed on an already over-taxed population, more unnecessary spending in foreign countries, more government spending, more, more more. Which translates into dipping into mine, yours, and every other American's pocket.

Why do I pick on Hilary, a Democrat, AND Mitt Romney, who is a Republican? Because neither, in spite of their party, want to turn the government back over to the people. Neither has any concept of what Freedom and Liberty is. They are both selfish individuals. Hilary wants to be the "First Woman President", just because she's a woman (her only qualification). Mitt Romney just wants to add another notch to his, um, pole - I love me, so you love me, we all love me. [gag]

Ron Paul is a Libertarian running on the Republican ticket. And Ron has all the right agenda. His agenda is my agenda. Because that agenda includes my Liberty, my Freedom.

I am a Libertarian and the following says it all for me:

WHEREAS libertarian Republicans believe in limited government, individual freedom and personal responsibility;
WHEREAS we believe that government has no money nor power not derived from the consent of the people;
WHEREAS we believe that people have the right to keep the fruits of their labor; and
WHEREAS we believe in upholding the US Constitution as the supreme law of the land;

Ron Paul intends to return control of government to the American people, not the other way around. Ron Paul wants states to be vastly more independent, and govern based on what the people of those states want. We are a nation of free individuals, not a nation of uniform servants.

So how does Ron Paul apply to bikers?

If you weren't convinced by the above, Ron's quote below makes it pretty clear how he views bikers rights - just like any other right guaranteed by the Constitution.

Paul said, "wearing a seat belt or a motorcycle helmet "may well be good advice" but should not be mandatory."

In a Ron Paul Presidency, the efforts of bikers to defeat helmet laws would not be saddled with the federal mandate of the NTSB. Or a Federal government intent on absolute control.

And in relation to government controlled health care?

"Once the government gets control of paying the hospital bills, then they want to control our lives," he said.

If the current attempt to force a universal helmet law down our throats isn't enough to concern you, when Hilary hands over our health care to the government, how hard to do think it will be to fight it then? Even our country's no-helmet states.

Ron Paul is for less government, and I believe him. Past history and actions speak volumes.

Carl Fiser, of NewsLI.com said of Ron Paul:

"His voting record is one of the most consistent this writer has ever seen. No flip-flops are to be found [hellooooo, Mitt Romney]. As well, he is a courageous and wise man, and a heck of an economist. Just ask the Wall Streeters. However, he bears to his fellow countrymen (and countrywomen), an empty pot. He can’t claim to have brought you wars or higher taxes, which we now have [Yo, Ho, Hilary]. He never brought you an unbalanced budget, which is a perennial joke. He never voted himself a wage increase and, to this day, gives back part of his salary every year. He has always voted to preserve the Constitution, cut government spending, lower health care costs, end the war on drugs, secure our borders with immigration reform and protect our civil liberties. Sorrowfully, he was outvoted or shot down on all measures. The Constitution has been chiseled down, government spending is through the roof, health care costs are out of control, the war on drugs keeps getting less effective, immigration issues remain unresolved and our civil liberties have been crimped for our own safety. I’ll just throw in that Ron Paul opposes regulation of the Internet; [Flip-Flop, are you listening in on this?], which has been a revolution in the exchange of ideas, this article being a case in point.

The eye-popping reality of the situation is this. No longer can it be said that Ron Paul is running for President. Amazingly enough, his candidacy has been hijacked, and it appears now that the people are running for President. . . through Ron Paul!"

Do YOU want a President who will do what HE/SHE thinks is right? Or do you want a President who will do what we, THE PEOPLE, think is right.

I'm an American citizen, I'm a biker, and I want a President who will work FOR ME, not the other way around.

If you ride, vote Ron Paul.
If you value your right to choose, vote Ron Paul.
If you feel you are the best judge of raising your children, vote Ron Paul.
If you think you'd like to keep more of your paycheck, vote Ron Paul.
If you want our soldiers to come home, vote Ron Paul.

It's that simple. Vote Ron Paul.

Read the issues here.

Sam I am. Still riding free... this year anyway.

Calling All Bikers

All of the above are "approved" helmets, according to any state helmet law. Shouldn't you have the right to wear the helmet of your choice, or better yet, the choice being none at all?

New California ABATE State Director sends out a request for help. I would add to his addressed "To" ALL bikers, whether you belong to a group or not. Every little bit helps.

Download an image of this letter to print here. Please distribute at will.

To all State Motorcycle Rights Organizations and National Rights Groups:

As many of you now know, ABATE of California is closely monitoring an Appellate Court challenge to the validity of the enforcement of the mandatory helmet law here.

Our Board of Directors has voted in the majority to support this case fully. Furthermore, ABATE of California established the ABATE Judicial Fund in order to accept donations to assist in the legal costs of such litigation. ABATE made an initial contribution of $25,000.00 in establishing this fund. Our attorney is Wendy Lascher of Lascher & Lascher, Ventura, California. The administration of the funds is simple. Attorney submits an invoice for work done on the case, and we send payment.

This court case has four plaintiffs, Steve Barron, Steve Bianco, Pat Holmes and me, Don Blanscet.

No ownership of this case is claimed by any one organization or group, but instead belongs to the plaintiffs. Our opinion is the case belongs to every motorcyclist in California. Steve Barron and Pat Holmes are past presidents of their ABATE Locals, and I m the Executive Director of ABATE of California.

ABATE of California is officially asking that the various State Motorcycle Organizations help us win this important court case by donating to the ABATE Judicial Fund.

Furthermore, ABATE of California requests that the Motorcycle Riders Foundation and the American Motorcyclist Association support and encourage the SMRO's around the country to financially assist this court case by donating to the ABATE Judicial Fund.

Additional documentation and history of the litigation in California is available upon request.

Respectfully,

Don Blanscet
State Director, ABATE of California
donb51@earthlink.net

It is imperative that California succeed in this fight. The outcome will seriously affect the other 49 states, whether you live in one with a helmet law or not. Given the sad state of affairs with the Federally appointed NTSB, all American bikers cannot afford to do nothing with respect to California's fight against their helmet law.

If you value your rights as a motorcyclist, whether you wear a helmet or not, please contribute.





And if you need to ask why? Go here and find one reason among many.




Want to know more about California's helmet war? About true "civil disobedience"? About why those helmets above are all legal?

Read and learn:
BOLT of California
Reason: Online Article
Bruce on NTSB Position Paper

Ride long, ride free, let those who ride decide.

A Friend Indeed

I have many acquaintances, and I have no problem meeting people anywhere I go. I find it easy to be around a lot of people when I want company, even those I don't know. I am a people watcher too. I love to watch people interacting with each other. It's an occasional and enjoyable pastime. I am often thought to be quiet or reserved simply because I am "watching and listening". I sometimes like to keep quiet when people are talking in my presence. I learn more about people that way.

I don't make true friends easily - by choice. I am simply too unwilling to place myself in such a vulnerable position. The people I call friends have loved me through the years, no matter what I do, or where I go. They simply love me for who I am. And it is returned in the same fashion. Very few are willing to make such a commitment to friendship.

It isn't often I meet someone who sparks my interest in such a way. I can count on one hand the true friends I have, and know I will have, until I die. To me, a true and loyal friend is far more valuable than hundreds of acquaintances.

We often meet new people by what seems to be an accident. But God often places us in a situation where someone has a chance to come into your life who seems to belong there. There's an unspoken knowledge that you'd agree on most any subject. And you find yourself telling that person stories of your life that you'd long forgotten.

I no longer ask why, or question when this happens. God knows, and He will reveal His purpose eventually. To me, it's like walking the beaches of the world for years. One day you stop to pick up a bright object and find a precious jewel. Why did you find it here, and why now? All that really matters is you found it.

This happened to me recently, and when attempting to explain who he was/is to me, at the core, he sent me the profoundly inspiring verse printed below. I had never read this before, a poem written by Rudyard Kipling to his son Jack.

If you understand what it says, you'll smile as I did, at knowing someone who also can see the value of Kipling's words.

This verse is written from a father to his son, but it applies to all relationships and all walks of life. It speaks of one's individual integrity and my favorite saying, "harm no one". In our individual life's endeavors, we often fail at this advice. But it is the attempt that makes God smile upon us.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Author: Rudyard Kipling

Here's to good and true friends.

Ride long, ride free.

Because I Said So

When I was a young adult, and not yet a mother, I wasn't interested in children much. I would notice other people and their children and how they attended to them. Some parents allowed their children to run wild, and some kept some semblance of control. Most of it was just observation, with no presumption. After all, I had never had children. Who was I to give advice on parenting? And even if I had children, those children weren't mine.

After I married and became pregnant with my first child, I still didn't have those "motherly" feelings, other than being happy to be having a child. I had my doubts like most parents do. Would I be a good mother? Would my child grow up strong and stable? Other than the practical side of things, like feeding, diapers, etc., there really isn't any book than can tell you how to be YOUR child's mother. You just know, and you learn.

I had always heard that labor and delivery of a baby was painful. And women told me I'd never remember afterward just how bad it was. Well, it was bad, and they lied.

And I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

You see, being a parent is such a gift from God that whatever you had to endure to get to that point, is just plain OK. The sight of that beautiful baby girl, that we had made together, was a miracle in itself. All those feelings I didn't have before her birth came rushing in like a tidal wave and drowned me with love for this little wonder.

For weeks I refused to allow anyone but myself and my husband to hold her, much to the surprise of my in-laws. I didn't care. She was mine. Well-wishers tried to tell me how to take care of her, but I ignored them. I was, after all, my baby's mother, and I WAS the best judge of what was best for her. And you know what? I was an awesome mother.

As she grew, I realized that, to my daughter, I WAS the best (and only) mother she could ever have. I could do no wrong in her eyes. I chose the best schools and the best care for her. I stood up for her when she was wronged. I protected her from danger.

I used all those phrases my parents used on me. "Mom knows best", "because I said so", "because I'm the Mom and you're not". But what that really means is, we know what's best for them. We have the age and wisdom, and the all consuming, unconditional love for our own children.

I know I speak for every parent out there when I say, I know what's best for my children. I warned them about the dangers that can befall children. I gave them permission (or not) to do the new and exciting things children want to do. I know their every ailment, what makes them happy, sad, upset, bored, and angry. I taught them right from wrong long before they went to school, and that concept is continued even there. We teach our children to listen to their teachers.

So why am I writing this blog on being a mother? Because our government is overstepping its bounds and trying to tell me what I can and can't do as the mother of my children. I don't know about you, but I didn't allow my neighbor to tell me how to parent my children, so why would I allow the government to do so? And what gives them the right?

SB 828 is such a bill. In it the law states that a child under the age 12 cannot ride on a motorcycle as a passenger.

Read SB 828 Details here.

WTF??? What next? More laws to tell me what school they can go to? What religion they can worship? How dare this Senator have the audacity to tell me he (the government) knows what's best for MY children.

And this from a government who refuses to recognize the dangers of using cell phones while driving, and the negligent drivers who threaten the lives of many every day, and who are given a traffic ticket for taking a life?

My children are grown. They know how to make sound judgements on their own lives. I taught them as much as I could, and the rest is probably just dumb luck. To this day, they still call me and ask for advice. I am, after all, their mother.

So I challenge all parents, whether you ride a motorcycle or not, are you going to allow the government to pass laws that tell you how to raise your children?

Write to Senator Bennett and tell him you don't want the government telling you, a United States FREE citizen, what you can and can't allow your own children to do. Protest this law that removes your constitutional right to raise your children as you see fit.

I did. My constitutional rights are valuable to me. The more the government regulates, the fewer rights you and I have. If things continue the way they are, soon we will have no rights at all.

And if you won't do it for yourself? Do it for your children's rights.

Send your letters to:

Senator mike Bennett
bennett.mike.web@flsenate.gov

Senator Dave Aronberg
aronberg.dave.web@flsenate.gov

Senator Burt Saunders
saunders.burt.web@flsenate.gov

The Best Leaders Lead By Example

Video by Casto Sanchez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sOWYVSkrk8

California ABATE's new Director, Don Blanscet knows all about 'civil disobedience'. It's one of the best ways to combat unconstitutional laws that rob us of our freedom.

The "King of Resistance", Henry David Thoreau wrote of "Civil Disobedience", in his essay of the same name, first published in 1849. This essay inspired other greats since Thoreau's time; Mohandas Ghandi, who said of Thoreau, "he taught nothing he was not prepared to practice in himself", and Martin Luther King Jr. who said, "As a result of his writings and personal witness, we are the heirs of a legacy of creative protest."

Paraphrasing the motto of a mid-19th century periodical, and the aphoristic views of Thomas Jefferson, "The best government is that which governs least", Thoreau left a legacy that endures today.

Richard "Quig" Quigley is another legend comparable to those mentioned above, God rest his soul (1943 - 2007). He epitomized Thoreau's teachings of civil disobedience in order to preserve the freedoms of the American Biker, and left behind hundreds of disciples who carry on his legacy. Quig was a leader among leaders.

The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and will to carry on. Author: Walter J. Lippmann

I don't know Don personally, but I see three things in this video that makes him a potentially great leader.

1) The obvious, lead by example, is related in his story to the others around him about his 'CHP encounter'. Don has no problem with doing what is necessary to achieve the end result. (Quig? Are ya smiling?)

2) Charisma is apparent; Don conveys the spirit of the story and makes others feel a part of it.

3) Inspiration speaks loudly in this exchange among friends and comrades. Don inspires ME to wear my baseball cap, with the DOT label, and dare to be free. Imagine what Don could inspire other like-minds to do.

In going forward, my wish for you, Don:

May you have the hindsight to know where you've been
the foresight to know where you're going
and the insight to know when you're going too far.

Ride long, ride free, Brother.

The Forest For The Trees

Wisdom comes with age, I always say, but then wisdom also comes with learning and life is just one big learning experience. Why is it the young who have not lived long are the ones who proclaim to "know everything"? Is it because they haven't lived long enough to understand that they don't?

Some of us prefer to learn the hard way, taking our bumps in the road with glee. Rather like riding your dirt bike through moguls, whooping and grinning through every foot of airspace we can get. We take our knocks when we get them because we've determined the trade-off is worth it. In these situations, we have the control, and the risk is carefully thought out (usually).

Far more boring, but with fewer knocks, some prefer to take the extra, and sometimes tedious, time researching for all the angles before making a decision. I do this sometimes, especially when I recognize that a subject cannot be inherently understood or learned without it. Those who don't are merely spouting groundless opinion.

In my opinion.

And still some sit in their armchairs waiting for others to "do something" about their problems for them. They cannot see the forrest for the trees. Apathy will be their downfall.

Often an opinion or belief comes from witnessing a horrific event and blinds us to other facts. We keep those blinders on so we don't have to feel guilty for believing otherwise, even when the facts sit right in front of our glazed over eyes.

I can fully understand why some bikers want to wear a helmet. I wear one. Do I think a helmet will prevent my death? No. I've said so before. It may prevent my head or face from being smeared all over the road, should some event cause me to go asphalt surfing. When my time comes, I'd like my daughters to be able to say good-bye to something other than hamburger meat. But if I didn't care about what my daughters would see? Well, I can also understand why some Bikers don't wear a helmet. Either way, when that Ford Explorer pulls out into your path, it is likely not going to make a difference.

When I was 18 years old, I saw a guy on a motorcycle T-bone a car late one night while I was pumping gas. He flew over the hood and landed on his head and left half his skull and brain on the road before he stopped sliding. A brick retaining wall stopped him, effectively breaking his neck.

I was first on the scene, and as I bent down to check for a pulse, I saw that he was still breathing, for his breath caused bubbles in the blood leaking from his mouth, and just a moment later, he was gone. I remember thinking that this was probably a good thing, for he would have been brain-dead after such an injury. The woman got out of her car, babbling about "not seeing him coming". I stayed with her until the Police came. He was not wearing a helmet. She was not charged.

What I didn't understand back then was that a helmet would not have saved him. Nor would a helmet have stopped the driver of the car from pulling out before looking to see if he was coming. Yep, I saw that too, but it didn't really register until many years later.

There I was, standing at a gas station filling my tank, and watching the intersection (there was nothing else to watch at 3:00 AM). I saw this woman screech to a halt at the stop sign, rolling through it as Californians do, then stand on the gas pedal to cross this busy street running through our medium sized town.

The man on the bike was not speeding, but he never had a chance. He struck the car (an El Camino I think) at the left front wheel, at about 45 mph. Besides me, they were the only two moving objects out at that time of night. Since he was not traveling on the wrong side of the road, it was clear he was within just feet of the car when it pulled out. I know, I saw it, yet she was not charged. With anything.

Now some of you may instantly say, "Well he might have survived if he'd had a helmet on." And you may be right, there might be a snowball's-chance-in-hell of that. Not. The fact that his neck was broken from hitting another solid object after being bulleted through the air (at probably 45 mph) makes me believe otherwise. For sure, only God knows the answer to that one. But his missing helmet is not the debate here. And if I were you, I would not make such a rash and ignorant statement.

One thing that is certain, unarguably, is that he would have lived another day had the driver of that vehicle stopped long enough to LOOK and see him coming. I saw him, from further away than she was, with the glaring overhead florescent lights, and other obstacles in my way. I heard him too. She never looked. As long as I live, I will never forget the senseless and gruesome sight of that man lying in the road.

We all expect other drivers to obey traffic laws, just as we all expect to live another day when we get on our scooters and ride. What is also glaringly apparent, every time I ride, is that these expectations are akin to expecting you'll win the lottery on Saturday when the winnings are the highest. And actually, the probability that you'll be killed or injured by another driver, through no fault of your own, is much more likely than winning any game of chance.

My mother always admonished me to see the bright side of things. The glass is half full, not half empty. Be positive. Expect the best and you'll get the best. So I try to use this philosophy in my life as much as possible. But when I ride my bike, I ride with just the opposite attitude. I ride like every vehicle is secretly scheming in hundreds of ways to make me crash. How could I not? After all the people I see on cell phones, weaving in and out of traffic. And the people who run stops signs in an effort to beat that truck coming so they won't have to drive behind it. Or the ones who ignore the solid white line that means, "stay in your lane". So they bump another car, have a fender-bender, so what? Bumping into me on my bike is almost certain death, and certainly catastrophic injury.

Recently the wife of a man I know rolled her car. She was changing a music CD and drifted to the shoulder and lost control. She could have just as easily drifted across the center line and hit head-on whoever was coming in the opposite direction. There have been countless motorcycle deaths for exactly this reason.

Am I more afraid of hitting my head, should I fall off my bike when navigating my driveway? Hell no! I'm afraid of all of the above, the majority of automobile drivers. Do they care? Some do, but most don't. After all, using a cell phone is more important to some than assuring the safety of others around them on the road, and there's no punishment beyond a traffic violation for killing someone on a motorcycle.

With all the knowledge I have of crashes and the things I see drivers do every day, whether it's in my auto or on my bike, I have to have a "half empty" attitude if I still want to enjoy my motorcycle. And live. Even then, it's still that "game of chance".

What I am still astonished to hear is when other bikers tell me, with conviction mind you, that helmets are the answer to reducing motorcycle deaths. Are they blind? Right-of-way violators account for 3/4 of motorcycle deaths every year. The other 1/4 are mostly alcohol related, and I have no sympathy for those who choose to drink and ride, and end up killing themselves. Sadness for their loved one's loss, yes, but it's no secret that alcohol impairs your riding and driving ability. You make a conscious decision to ride when you know your ability may be impaired. But I don't know anyone who makes a conscious decision to slam into some vehicle that shouldn't be in the way.

Yes, I was one of those, who for years held the opinion that a helmet would save my life in the event of an accident on my bike. So believed because of the accident I witnessed all those years ago. Then one day I had an accident on my horse and broke my back. I flew through the air after being ejected from the saddle while going over a 4 foot jump, and hit the sandy arena floor. I estimate that I reached about a 10 foot height, and was traveling about 10 miles per hour. I was wearing a helmet which had not a scratch on it. I was lucky that day. Two of my vertebra were broken, but I had no spinal cord damage.

What ran through my mind, however, was imagining if I had been on a motorcycle, traveling much faster, and hitting something much less forgiving than sand. Would I be paralyzed? Would I even be alive? Wasn't that helmet supposed to save me from injury? What a naive thought!

And yet, this is what our government and the media wants us to believe. Even when they know an automobile is a much bigger, heavier object controlled by a human being who ignores traffic laws? Surely they know and acknowledge that a motorcycle never wins in a contest with a 4000 lb vehicle?

Yet our government is shoving helmets down our proverbial throats as a solution to motorcycle deaths? Who are they trying to fool? Apparently they think you and I will buy it. I don't, but how long will YOU be fooled? Do you think that a mother somewhere is fooled by this, after having her son killed by a right-of-way violator and our government does not lift a finger to change our laws? Sadly, she and others had to learn this the hard way.

Apparently our own government is also fooled by this fallacy, for they are so focused on making sure our heads survive a crash that they refuse to acknowledge the CAUSE of why we might lose our heads in the first place. They can't see the forrest either.

Like any other Mother, I worried through the years of watching my children grow up, and came up with intelligent ways to prevent them from bodily harm. We teach them not to play in the street - we don't dress them in helmets. We teach them about animals and the danger of being bitten - we don't make them wear Kevlar gloves and turn them loose with the neighborhood stray. We analyze the cause and take steps for prevention. We don't buy bigger bandaids.

In 99% of the reported motorcycle deaths that occur in this country, the media harps on whether or not the rider was wearing a helmet. Even if the biker was run down by a motorist through no fault of the biker. In most cases, the driver of the auto is not charged or fined. And when they are, it's a traffic violation. For killing someone! One state charges a fine of $50 for killing someone because of a traffic violation. A very few states have jail time attached but it's rare for a judge to sentence it, since they have the option not to. It would seem all it takes is to produce a few crocodile tears and say, "I didn't see them". So, it had to be someone's fault, why not the biker? In spite of the driver violating his right-of-way, it's the biker's fault for not wearing a helmet? Am I missing something here?

Ask yourself how you would feel if your child was run down in the street by someone who violated a traffic law, and the media immediately states, "well, the child wasn't wearing a helmet", and law enforcement lets the driver go because they said, "I didn't see him". I can already hear you saying, "well, that's different!". But is it? If I'm riding my motorcycle down the road, and a driver pulls out in front of me, violating my right-of-way, distracted by something, such as a cell phone, and kills me, helmet or not. Should they not be punished for killing me? How is this my fault? Someone is allowed to pull a 4000 lb vehicle into my path, illegally, because I'm not wearing a helmet? Apparently so.

I've got news for you, this happens every day! There are web sites that spotlight accident victims of this type. Their injuries cover every bone in the body, not just heads. How can a helmet save your life when your injuries don't involve the head? Most of them die. Some that live have no quality of life, and NO head injuries. Some that wear a helmet die of head injuries anyway.

Our government claims to want to save more lives by forcing motorcyclists to wear helmets. Is it only a few of us who recognize the futility of this belief? Forcing this law won't change a thing, except spend more of our tax dollars on court cases for those who refuse to wear them. And they will win those court cases too. The government does not certify helmets, nor does it provide a list of qualified helmets, and the qualifying description of such helmets cannot be understood by the common man, making the entire law constitutionally vague.

Yes, a few people will survive a crash with head intact, and live out their lives in poverty and no quality of life. The percentage is VERY small. The rest will die anyway. While traffic violators continue on their merry way, picking us off one at a time.

Why is it that I can see with real clarity that the major cause of motorcycle deaths involves other vehicles, and our government can't? As with our own children, shouldn't we address the cause (other drivers), and not the effect (bodily injury)? Especially when the effect, when combined with another vehicle, is not minimized with any real success, no matter what you wear? How many of you really believe that your leather boots, chaps, jacket and helmet will prevent your death should you smack into an SUV at 45 mph and up?

You may have heard some of the "uprising" coming from bikers about the proposed federal mandatory helmet law. Have you merely scoffed at all this and made some snide comment like, "it's just a helmet, get over it!"? If this is so, then wouldn't you question why I am so passionate about getting this information out to you? After all, I wear a helmet. It won't make a bit of difference to me if they make it mandatory country-wide or not. My life will go on until some driver ends it because they can't remember what right-of-way means, or don't care to.

This issue is two-fold. 1) It's another "right to choose" that the government seems to eager to take away. Each time they succeed, they become bolder and take more rights away. And 2) the real cause of motorcycle deaths is not even being adressed: Traffic violators.

Sorry, the #1 cause is not alcohol, though it does cause many motorcycle deaths each year. It's also something I personally can prevent. I can choose not to drink and ride.

If you ride a motorcycle, you owe it to yourself to learn all you can on this issue. It's not just about our right to choose what we wear on our heads, it's about our right to live. And about our right to protection from those we elected to serve us. If you don't educate yourself on the issues, how can you arrive at an intelligent viewpoint about this issue that affects all bikers, whether you wear a helmet or not?

And if you don't care about any of this, don't care to learn the truth? Don't go wailing to anyone about the unjust death of someone you know or love at the hands of another driver. You're really no better than the person who sits in their armchair waiting for someone else to fix their problems, and then whines when they don't like things the way they are.

I'll be the first to say I'm a Patriot. I also donate my time and money to charity. I strongly believe it's part of what I should spend my life doing. I'm also an avid motorcyclist, and through that love I contribute to both Patriotism and charities. So I make part of my life about Bikers Rights also, MY personal rights. So don't go spouting off about how you are a "Biker" if you can't get out of your armchair long enough to stand up for the right to be one.

I've heard all the excuses; my job won't allow me to fight, I don't "do" politics, it doesn't concern me, I already wear a helmet, I don't have time, i just want to have fun riding. Well, lemme see, I know Bikers who fight in secret to protect their jobs, many who take a few minutes now and then to send out emails to legislators (certainly not as many as you send to friends), some who, like me, wear a helmet but want the same thing as anyone - to live and ride, and dammit, if you ride, it DOES concern you.

There are laws taking effect NOW that are a precursor to limiting how many and who can even ride. Georgia has made it impossible to register a custom bike. Insurance companies would like to not insure us at all. You see, it costs them way too much money when one of their auto-insured runs us over. With each right the government takes away, the closer we get to not having even the smallest ability to just "ride and have fun".

To our government, a dead biker is just a statistic of how many do or don't wear helmets. My life is worth more than that to me.


You've gotten this far in this long blog. Don't give a damn? Stop reading now, as I'm sure the image below won't inspire you to give a damn either.







I read recently that "if you don't take an interest in politics, sooner or later, politics will take an interest in you". How true.







(Click the image above if it isn't animated)

On the off-chance you think the driver should go to jail for what he did (rear-ending a motorcycle stopped at a RED light), read and learn:

http://www.ldrlongdistancerider.com/BruceOnBikersRights0801.pdf

http://www.ldrlongdistancerider.com/BruceOnBikersRights0711-2.pdf

http://www.motorcyclists-against-dumb-drivers.com/

http://pub42.bravenet.com/forum/3562429698

http://www.bacsuv.com/

http://www.usff.com/BOLT/articles/0198pan.html

http://www.usff.com/BOLT/articles/0398pan.html