The Riley Factor #106

The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
August 21, 2011, Issue No. 106
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit-to-print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Riley -- I have checked with most of the businesses in Canajoharie and Fort Plain, all the businesses with which we regularly interact, to see if they are pet friendly and allow dogs inside.  A bit unexpectedly, all are -- True Value Hardware, Ace Hardware, Curtis Lumber, Fisher Auto Parts, Agway, IBA, Tractor Supply.  (Yes, yes, I realize there is a theme here - topic for another day.)  So, we have started bringing Riley into the stores.  He is a big hit.  Somewhat surprisingly, his behavior is exemplary.  He is calm, quiet and barely needs a leash.  He stops and makes friends with everyone he sees.  Several people have asked to have their picture taken with him.  Riley has always behaved perfectly when traveling in the SUVs and the pick-up.  Now, he loves going into the stores.  People are very friendly when we are wandering around with a dog in tow.  The other day in Agway, Riley was calmly licking the shins of the lady standing behind us in line (the first line ever seen by me in Agway, but there was a sale on wheel barrels, which apparently brought folks out of the woodwork).  When Riley and I got to the counter to order some animal feed, Riley put his front paws on the counter and poked his considerable nose over the edge to see what was going on.  The manager and the cashier laughed.

Pennsylvania -- Susan just got back from a couple of days in Big Valley, Pennsylvania.  No, she didn't see Heath, Nick or Audra.  But she did spend two nights in an Amish home.  She drove the big rig six hours to the western part of the state, with Israel Kanagy riding shotgun.  They visited friends and family of the Kanagy's and had some giant feasts for dinner and breakfast.  On the day she left for home, breakfast included sausage casserole and fish, along with the usual dishes of eggs, biscuits and other bakings.  One of Annie's sisters, Sally, remembered having iced coffee with Susan a year ago, and asked if Susan would take her out to try it again.  Of course, Susan needs no prompting to go for coffee.  Flavored no less.  I have visions of Susan's picture hanging in Amish post offices all over the land with a warning - "Beware of this woman who brings English civilization into our community".  Susan slept late one morning (5:30AM) and missed the 4:00AM morning breakfast.  She and Israel returned home with 42 bushels of peaches.  Annie and Jesse climbed aboard for the return ride to New York.
Planting and Plowing -- August 17 marked the completion of the combining for all this year's wheat.  Harvesting of the oats began the same day.  Followed by the obligatory one more break-down of the combine.  First it was one chain, then a second chain, then a belt, and now the primary clean-grain elevator.  Oh well, it gives me something to do when I'm supposed to be relaxing and enjoying retirement.  I remember the days not so long ago, when I didn't even know what a combine was, much less a primary clean-grain elevator.

The Herd of Three -- Summer nights generally see Eli, Michael and Raphael spending the nighttime hours outside wandering the pasture.  The Herd of Three has taken to finding a place somewhat close to the barn and plopping-down for a snooze, becoming the Heap of Three.  One morning, we were up early and saw the threesome all lying on their sides snoring, in the corner of the pasture nearest to the yard and the street.  They were not impressed when Riley ran down to them, not even bothering to lift a single head between the three of them upon his energized arrival.  The horses prance around in the background, sometimes deciding to roll back and forth on their backs for fun.

Horses -- A horse is a horse, of course of course, and no one can talk to a horse of course, that is of course unless the horse is the not so famous Lady.  Only three years old, Lady loves to stand a foot from your face and give you that sideways one-eye stare directly into your eyes while you speak to her as if she can understand English.  Rio the Elder long ago gave-up on trying to make sense of these humans who insist on climbing onto his back and trying to make him walk, run, turn and stop on command.  Give Rio his daily doses of grain and hay, and he will obligingly be the one-trick pony of your dreams.  Most nights, the horses also have been spending nights out in the pasture.

Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- Summer is in full form, which means the woods are almost as dark as night, except between the hours of 10AM and 3PM.  Outside of those hours, bring a flashlight.  Slowly, and not so surely, we are clearing the old logging roads.  So some year, the woods will be much more navigable.

Fowl Weather -- The great blue heron has returned to the lower pond.  It appears that he is fishing for goldfish who venture too close to the shoreline, of which there are many.

Visitors -- No visitors this week - all quiet on the western front.

Blog -- The Riley Factor's own official blog site is located at http://the-riley-factor.blogspot.com/.  It contains all issues to date.  (If you actually spend the time and do this, you may need more help with your life than we are able offer....  But we digress.)

Quotes of the Month --

     Gun ownership is at an all-time high, violent crime near a 30-year low.  The anti-gun groups, they don't deal in common sense.  They deal in emotionalism and lies. -- Sarah Palin

     There are competing visions about our Country's future.  One consists of more government and less freedom, and one consists of less government and more freedom.  Right now, the prevailing vision in Washington, D.C., is that of government, more and more government. -- Senator John Thune, SD

     The people are entitled to a government that stays within the confines of the Constitution, and you know it. -- Judge Andrew Napolitano

     When the government launches a program to help, watch out. -- Steve Forbes

     The scariest words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.' -- Ronald Reagan

Facts of the Month --

     By weight, one-quarter of the all the biomass on planet Earth, one-quarter of all living things, are ants.
Commentary of the Month -- Editorial

          Government Administrators Increasingly Control Life in America

Solving the Country's current financial woes can be accomplished by one single straightforward action.  Following is a list of the federal departments and agencies that are completely useless and wasteful, and should be dissolved, with all underlying employees fired.

  U.S. Department of Education - completely superfluous, duplicates state & local oversight
  U.S. Department of Energy - 17,000 employees who do nothing but set rules and monitor them
  U.S. Department of Agriculture - more employees than there are farmers in America
  Environmental Protection Agency - completely run amok, promoting insane regulations
  Federal Housing Authority - one of 15 federal agencies regulating housing; a huge waste
  Federal National Mortgage Association - ibid
  Department of Housing and Urban Development - ibid
  National Labor Relations Board - 2,000 employees focused on putting money in union hands
  U.S. Department of Commerce - 47,000 employees driving global marketplace competitiveness
  U.S. Department of Transportation - 60,000 employees oversee federal highway, air, railroad, maritime and other transportation administration functions (and every state also has a DOT)

Although there are more, these are the biggest offenders, and biggest wasters of our time and our tax dollars.  (If you have a very strong stomach, click on the following link to see dozens and dozens of duplicative, wasteful departments and agencies: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread730827/pg1).  These organizations are bloated, overstuffed bureaucracies filled with employees who do nothing to improve the U.S. and exist essentially to further their own existence, adding no value to life in America.  The employees are those worst of government regulators - those administrators who exist and function without any direct day-to-day oversight by elected officials, and who create new regulations and who interpret rules and regulations without any checks or balances, leaving citizens with virtually no recourse when encountering their so-called areas of regulation.  These departments and agencies result in much higher taxes for you.  They should all be unceremoniously dissolved and done away with.

    -- Editor, The Riley Factor
                   
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The Riley Factor #105

The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
August 17, 2011, Issue No. 105
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Riley -- The Golden One turns two years old on September 3.  He was born in South Dakota and joined us in December 2009 via CJ and a south shore pet store.  He is a great dog to have in the family - hard to believe he has been with us nearly two years already.  Normally calm, in control and not bothered by anything or anyone, we did find recently that fireworks drive him crazy - almost uncontrollable, running in circles, staring at the sky and cowering under any nearby chair or table.

Hitchhiker -- The other day while on the way to Cobleskill for supplies, Susan picked-up a lone hitchhiker (Yes, hitchhikers do still exist.  Apparently.)  This man was probably 75-80 years old and weighed all of 100 pounds.  He stood, arm and thumb extended, dressed in full military uniform, and was on his way to the food pantry in Schenectady, a trip he makes three times per week.  He lives in a mobile home on the outskirts of Sharon Springs and owns no car.  Twice a week, he also ventures to the food pantry in Albany.  All his trips are made via hitchhiking.  A collector of military artifacts, he served for two years in the NY National Guard many years back.  A very gentle old soul is he.

Planting and Plowing -- In early August, we combined four of our five acres of hard red winter wheat and soft white semolina wheat, before the combine decided enough was enough and broke the rear feeder beater.  (Don't ask - I couldn't begin to understand.  Or explain.  But I will repair it.)  Also broke a drive chain, which I will also repair.  Then, on to combining the rest of the wheat and all the oats.

Horses -- CJ's friend Brittany was successful in calming-down Lady enough to accept the fly spray designed to rid horses of those mid-summer flying pests.  Prior to Brittany's calming influence, Lady ran from Susan and me whenever she saw us with spray bottle in hand.  Rio and the steer don't mind the spray and look forward to their daily fly relief.

Herd of Three -- Eli, our 1,500 pound two-year-old Holstein, has developed the new habit of standing in the water troughs during the day.  While it may cool-off his feet, the other animals no longer drink from the vessels once Eli has completed his daily foot baths.  It may be tough to solve this riddle, although the arrival of cooler temperatures may do the trick.  Probably needless to say, there is no way to move a 1,500-pound steer unless he wants to move.  Of course, at times, we do play a game, that around here we like to call Slap the Bull.

Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- In the woods, the old logging roads still lurk, waiting for me to get up and clear them for use by those who prefer not having to lug-along a chain saw when riding the trails.  CJ plans to spend a week here in September, and we may get some chain-sawing done then.

Fowl Weather -- The 23 chicken chicks, all hatched on or about July 1, and the 9 turkey chicks, hatched on July 12, are all growing like mad.  Day-by-day, they venture further outside of their little coops, never straying too far from one another or too far from the mother hens.

Visitors --  August 12 was a big day on the ranch, with my aunt Eva Paige House visiting with her husband Dick House and daughter Su-Ann Paige.  Eva was originally married to Wayne, my mother Barbara's youngest brother, who died 20 or so years ago.  Eva and Dick traveled all the way from their place in North Carolina, and were near the end of a month-long motor-home journey around the northeast, which included visiting Dick's cottage in Maine and also Eva attending her Agawam High School 60th class reunion.  Coincidentally, Eva was a classmate of Ames Slate, Susan's father, and Eva actually grew-up in Agawam, less than a mile from where I enjoyed my misspent youth, at 16 Alfred Court.  My cousin Sue now lives in Schenectady, less than an hour from Fort Plain, and is a fellow Harley Davidson rider.  Sue promised to return to the compound some day on her bike.  We had a great time, spending most of the day riding around the fields, trails and woods, and recollecting days gone by.  We also fed the fish in the lower pond and spent quite some in and around the barn with the horses, steer, turkey chicks and chicken chicks.  Eva and Sue held the turkey chicks, who loved the attention.  As usual, around the house, The Riley was in the middle of everything and everyone, tail madly wagging and nose madly poking.

CJ arrived around midnight on the 12th, with girlfriend and other friends, Jen Nieves, James Godino, Andy Brooks and Brittany Josselin.  They were here for their second annual Warrior Weekend, which included running a nearby 5K cross-country road race over a course that included a dozen obstacles - things such as fire pits, water pools, ladder climbs, obstacle walls, cargo nets and the like.  Race day was preceded by a day of speeding around the trails on the ATVs, firing paintball and a late night bonfire.  We did another bonfire Sunday night, after the great race.

Stevie and friend Crystal Raymond also dropped-in on their way back from a long weekend in Chicago.  The NY Compound was a busy place that included Stevie and Crystal sleeping in the living room on Saturday night, as all the guest rooms at the inn were full.

Blog -- The Riley Factor's own official blog site is located at http://the-riley-factor.blogspot.com/.  It contains all issues to date.  (If you actually spend the time and do this, you may need more help with your life than we are able offer....  But we digress.)

Quotes of the Month --

     Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. -- Winston Churchill

     The government does not create jobs.  The private sector creates jobs, and prosperity. -- Monica Crowley

     President Obama demonizes the rich, then he parties with them. -- Stuart Varney

     You could take all the money away from all the rich people and give it to the poor people, and in 10 years the rich people would have it all back again.  There is a reason the rich people have it in the first place. -- Jonas Max Ferris


Facts of the Month -- The impact of illegal aliens in the U.S.

  1.  $11 to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments.

  2.  $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and who cannot speak a word of English.

  3.  $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for Education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies. 

  4.  $3 Million dollars a day is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.  30% percent of all federal prison Inmates are illegal aliens. 

  5.   $90 Billion dollars a year is spent on Illegal aliens for welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.

 

   6. Nearly one million sex crimes have been committed by illegal immigrants in the U. S.
    
Commentary of the Month --

     Obama Administration Rejects IBM offer to Reduce Health Care Costs

Samuel J. Palmisano, the Chairman of the Board and CEO for IBM, said in
a recent Wall Street Journal interview that he offered to provide the
Obama Administration with a program that would curb healthcare
claims fraud and abuse by almost one trillion dollars but the Obama
White House turned the offer down.

"We could have improved the quality and reduced the cost of the
healthcare system by $900 billion...I said we would do it for free to
prove that it works. They turned us down."

Speaking with FOX News' Stuart Varney, Mort Zuckerman, Editor-in-Chief
of US News & World Report, said,

"It's a little bit puzzling because I think there is a huge amount of
both fraud and inefficiency that American business is a lot more
comfortable with and more effective in trying to reduce. And this is
certainly true because the IBM people have studied this very carefully
And when Palmisano went to the White House and made that proposal, it
was based upon a lot of work and it was not accepted. And it's really
puzzling...These are very, very responsible people and don't have a
political ax to grind.

In Mr. Obama's shunning of a private sector program that would have
saved our country almost $1 trillion in healthcare expenditures,
presented to him    as he declared a "crisis in healthcare," he proves
two things beyond any doubt: that he is anti-Capitalist and anti-private
sector in nature and that he can no longer be trusted to tell the truth
in both his political declarations or espoused goals.

The Riley Factor #104

The Riley Factor
Fort Plain, NY
August 4, 2011, Issue No. 104
(All the Rock Creek Farm news that's fit to print, along with unfit to print rumors, prognostications & bloviations.)

Riley -- The hot days of July are a bit rough on The Riley, with his long golden coat.  Swims are more frequent, but the pond water is so warm, swims are becoming more like baths.  As the goldfish in the lower pond grow in size, Riley has taken to the occasional fishing trip ... so far, the big one has still only gotten away.

Planting and Plowing -- We spent two of July's hottest days rebuilding the small hay wagon.  Lloyd Vanalstine lent his shaded and fan-equipped garage for the construction, and painting was done in the back yard under the pine tree.  The two new larger hay wagons went back to Elam Miller for painting, as they were picked-up early (just after being built, but before painting) for use during the late June haying.  Next up - combining the wheat.

Horses -- Rio and Lady are still much fun to be around.  They love attention and are fond of placing their considerably-sized noggins on our own heads or shoulders, especially on Susan's (she's just the right height).

Herd of Three -- Eli, Michael and Raphael stood out in the pouring rain on July 29, the first real rain, except for a couple of hour-long showers, that we have had since June 29, a full month.  On the hottest of days, they spend days in the barn or under the overhang and nights outside in the pasture.

Mowings, Musings and the Woods -- On Stevie's last visit, she wandered off to Pet Smart or Pet World or Pet Something and bought 40 two-inch goldfish, and added them into the upper pond.  A day later, the newbies were seen happily swimming.  The 48 large goldfish that we put in the lower pond in April 2010 have multiplied like bunnies, now numbering a couple of thousand at least.  When we feed them late each day, they surface and roil like a (tiny) shark feeding frenzy.  More and more of the little black ones are turning their natural orange color.

Fowl Weather -- The 9 turkey chicks are growing, about tripled in size since their hatching on July 12.  The 23 chicken chicks (all hatched around July 1) are running around like 23 miniature penguins ever seeking their escape, like Hogan's Heroes (Susan is Hogan, I play both the parts of Colonel Clink and Sergeant Schultz).  The mother who hatched one chick strolled into the back yard one afternoon with the little one in tow.  The 3 chicks who were naturally hatched by mother hens sitting on their eggs spend 100% of their days staring at their respective mothers and following them within a foot of the hens wherever they roam.  All 32 chicks love it when Susan picks-up and hugs them, often falling asleep in her hands.

Visitors --   Brother Greg and 11-year old daughter Kelly flew-in from sunny south Florida for a July 25-29 first-time visit to the NY Compound.  Stevie joined-in for the family fest.  We traveled to Niagara Falls for a day of sightseeing, and also to Amherst MA another day to wander around UMass and visit with my aunt Phyllis and my cousin Tom, who is a manager at the University of Massachusetts Library.  We also worked-in a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and visits with Annie Kanagy and Lloyd Vanalstine.  A great time was had by all.  Greg's wife Christine was busy spending the week in Toronto on business.

In early August, Stevie returned and kidnapped Susan for the long-spoken-of mother-daughter voyage to ... Niagara Falls, Susan's first time ever visit to the Falls.  Armed with passports, they ventured to the Canadian side, did some Falls hiking, and dined on Canadian cuisine.  A good time was had by both, eh?

Blog -- The Riley Factor's own official blog site is located at http://the-riley-factor.blogspot.com/.  It contains all issues to date.  (If you actually spend the time and do this, you may need more help with your life than we are able offer....  But we digress.)

Quotes of the Month --

     California has made as many mistakes as Yogi Berra reciting Shakespeare. -- Gordon Gekko, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

     You're only as good as your last at-bat. -- Tom Comer (no doubt sourced elsewhere)
    
     You want to walk off the stage while they are still clapping for an encore. -- Jerry Seinfeld

     The definition of 'insanity' is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. -- Albert Einstein
    
     Never spend all of your income.  Always put away a large chunk for use in the future. -- Stuart Varney, FOX Business Channel

     Poor people are not poor because rich people are rich. -- Star Parker, Center for Urban Renewal Education

     Don't trouble trouble, until trouble troubles you. -- Ward Cleaver, to June, when discussing whether to have a talk with The Beaver

Facts of the Month --
  States with 10 highest tax burdens paid by residents (income tax, sales tax, property tax):
   10.  PA      5.  RI
     9.  ME     4.  WI
     8.  VT      3.  CT
     7.  MN     2.  NY
     6.  CA      1.  NJ (highest in the U.S., also 3rd worst business environment in U.S.)
     (Editor's note: it's hard to believe that MA is not in the top 10 highest taxed states)

  States with lowest resident tax burdens:      10.  NM      5.  WY
     9.  LA       4.  TN
     8.  SC      3.  SD
     7.  NH      2.  NV
     6.  TX       1.  AK (Alaska residents actually receive a check from the state for their share of oil company taxes, rather than paying income or sales taxes)

     $50 dollars saved per week (or $2,600 saved per year), earning 5% per year, grows to $325,000 in 40 years.
Commentary of the Month --

                    on the monstrosity of government controlling citizens

     If it were just economic, we would survive, but it is not. We have now in place the apparatus to take our relatively benign Fascist State to the next stage of its inevitable evolution, a far more intrusive police state. There are no rules now, except that which the state will ultimately impose. The Empire is destroyed but does not yet know it and there will very likely be war as our outposts around the world are probed during the chaos. -- Tim Straus, Eastons Point Capital

                    and, on government's increasing financial regulation ....

     The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) is now the law of the land. This Rube Goldberg monstrosity offers 2,319 pages for lawyers to explain; 243 rulemakings for regulators to conjure up, and investment managers and bankers to worry about and lawyers to interpret; and 67 studies to ensure that no professor or graduate student goes hungry. This opportunity (to fix Wall Street) was squandered and used instead to publicly vilify and to punish Wall Street firms by creating a bill stuffed with virtually every item on the Democrat Party’s financial markets regulation wish list. Dodd-Frank also promotes a wide variety of public policy objectives that have nothing to do with the cause of the crisis or the failure of AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.  Dodd-Frank is almost twice as long as the NASA operating manual for the space shuttle (which is 1,176 pages long). How can a law 2,319 pages long possibly make any sense? What were these people thinking? -- Ron Resnick, Counsel Works

In Memoriam ...

     Arthur Joseph Fuchs, August 4, 1920 - December 1, 2001
     Barbara Arlene Paige Fuchs, April 26, 1922 - July 23, 1978

          " ... He noted that first came the date of birth
          And spoke the following date with tears,
          But he said what mattered most of all
          Was the dash between those years.... "
                                                from The Dash, Linda Ellis

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