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Schwarzenegger Pushes Speed Cameras In California Budget– California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, desperately seeking new sources of revenue to cover a $19.9 billion budget shortfall, yesterday declared a state of fiscal emergency. As part of his proposed solution, Schwarzenegger called for the deployment of a massive statewide speed camera program to generate at least $397.5 million in net profit to state and local government.
Under the proposal, existing red light cameras at intersections would be converted into “speed on green” cameras that issue citations to motorists who try to speed up at an intersection to make the light. Those who slow down and fail to make the light will be mailed a red light camera ticket.
“Various federal rules are tying our hands and preventing us from reducing costs in some state programs,” Schwarzenegger explained at a news conference yesterday. “I want to remind the federal judges and the politicians California is not Washington. We do not have the luxury of printing money or running trillion-dollar deficits.”Although it is not printing money, the existing network of over a thousand municipal automated ticketing machines are expected to print over two million citations each year. The corresponding revenue that would be split 85 percent for the state — an estimated $337.9 million in the first year — and 15 percent to municipalities — $59.6 million. These figures do not include the millions that the well-connected private companies that operate the photo ticketing programs will collect.
California law currently prohibits the use of speed cameras, but in 2008 Caltrans laid the groundwork for the governor’s program by researching technical aspects of deploying speed cameras on the state highway system. This is not the state’s first experience with photo radar. Beginning in 1988, Pasadena began issuing speed camera citations to be followed over the course of a decade by the cities of Campbell, and National City.
Updates from TheNewspaper.com
–Marc J. Beaulieu, CPCU, ARM
BossMan
Bikernet Insurance Center LLC
“Where Bikers Go To Get Insurance”.
Email: ClientService@Bikernet-Insurance.com for fastest service.
Three Reported Missing After Animal Rights Activists Take “War on Leather” to Motorcycle Gang Rally– Johnstown, PA (GlossyNews) ? Local and state police scoured the hills outside rural Johnstown, Pennsylvania, after reports of three animal rights activists going missing after attempting to protest the wearing of leather at a large motorcycle gang rally this weekend. Two others, previously reported missing, were discovered by fast food workers ?duct taped inside several fast food restaurant dumpsters,? according to police officials.
?Something just went wrong,? said a still visibly shaken organizer of the protest. ?Something just went horribly, horribly, wrong.?
The organizer said a group of concerned animal rights activist groups, ?growing tired of throwing fake blood and shouting profanities at older women wearing leather or fur coats,? decided to protest the annual motorcycle club event ?in a hope to show them our outrage at their wanton use of leather in their clothing and motor bike seats.? ?In fact,? said the organizer, ?motorcycle gangs are one of the biggest abusers of wearing leather, and we decided it was high time that we let them know that we disagree with them using it?ergo, they should stop.?
According to witnesses, protesters arrived at the event in a vintage 1960?s era Volkswagen van and began to pelt the gang members with balloons filled with red colored water, simulating blood, and shouting ?you?re murderers? to passers by. This, evidently, is when the brouhaha began.
?They peed on me!!!? charged one activist. ?They grabbed me, said I looked like I was French, started calling me ?La Trene?, and duct taped me to a tree so they could pee on me all day!?
?I?I was trying to show my outrage at a man with a heavy leather jacket, and he?he didn?t even care. I called him a murderer, and all he said was, ?You can?t prove that.? Next thing I know he forced me to ride on the back of his motorcycle all day, and would not let me off, because his girl friend was out of town and I was almost a woman.?
Still others claimed they were forced to eat hamburgers and hot dogs under duress. Those who resisted were allegedly held down while several bikers ?farted on their heads.?
Police officials declined comments on any leads or arrests due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, however, organizers for the motorcycle club rally expressed ?surprise? at the allegations.
?That?s preposterous,? said one high-ranking member of the biker organizing committee. ?We were having a party, and these people showed up and were very rude to us. They threw things at us, called us names, and tried to ruin the entire event. So, what did we do? We invited them to the party! What could be more friendly than that? You know, just because we are all members of motorcycle clubs does not mean we do not care about inclusiveness. Personally, I think it shows a lack of character for them to be saying such nasty things about us after we bent over backwards to make them feel welcome.?
When confronted with the allegations of force-feeding the activists meat, using them as ad hoc latrines, leaving them incapacitated in fast food restaurant dumpsters, and ?farting on their heads,? the organizer declined to comment in detail. ?That?s just our secret handshake,? assured the organize
–from GlossyNews.com
Pieces of My Heart: A Free-Spirited Gypsy’s Journey– Thru her heart and soul?and hell. – A True Story.
Normandy, TN ? (Release Date 12/19/09? Jump on the back with motorcycle mama Katy Ishee, as she wildly steers us on a blistering ride of unwed motherhood, familial alienation, bikers, drugs, and insane asylums–you won’t know whether to fall on your knees and pray to the Almighty or get stone drunk and listen to Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead.
When 17-year-old Katy is forced to surrender her son to strangers, her life becomes a web of secrets, lies and rebellion.
Learn the hidden, yet true secrets of how unwed mothers are treated by the System, and what actually goes on in government-approved mental wards. A vivid picture of horror is painted as she describes her ten electro-convulsive shock treatments.
Her rebellion grows as she travels from Haight-Ashbury during the Summer of Love, through the brotherhood of motorcycling and four abusive marriages, even spending some time in sick-slick Hollywood ? across the country, back-and-forth, stubbornly refusing to give up on her dream.
Katy?s is that spirit that refuses to compromise either with her herself or the world around her. It is that spirit that refuses to be quiet for the sake of expediency but rather screams to be heard. It is that indomitable spirit that never gives up and in the end is proven to be the best of what it is that makes us human.
This is Katy Ishee. This is Pieces of My Heart. This is a new, fresh voice that needs to be heard.
You can order your autographed copy from Katy at http://www.katyishee.com before it hits the stores and Amazon. Reviews, excerpt and what fans are saying is also posted.
NEW SEMESTER OPENS AT BIKERNET UNIVERSITY–It’s the onus of the English department to make it a good one. onus OH-nuhs, noun:
1. A burden; an obligation; a disagreeable necessity.
2. a: A stigma. b: Blame.
3. The burden of proof.
And who knew what financial pressures he was under or how desperate was his need to shed the onus of his past?
— Richard Lingeman, “The Last Party”, New York Times, April 27, 1997
The onus of leadership fell on him.
— Scott Ritter, Endgame
The critical point, however, was that the Times story freed other publications from the onus of being the first to print the gossip, and everyone felt freer to leap in.
— Gail Collins, Scorpion Tongues
Nor has the onus of official displeasure fallen heavily enough upon the offenders.
— Edmund Candler, “Mahatma Ghandi”, The Atlantic, July 1922
Mr. King is one of those writers who tries to fend off the onus of a cliche by admitting or underlining it.
— Richard R. Lingeman, “Something Nasty in the Tub”, New York Times, March 1, 1977
Onus is adopted from Latin onus, “load, burden.” The derivative Latin adjective onerosus yields English onerous, “burdensome, oppressive.” The derivative Latin verb onerare has the compound form exonerare, “to free from (ex-) an onus or burden,” which yields English exonerate, “to relieve, in a moral sense, as of a charge, obligation, or load of blame resting on one.”
SUNDAY FREEDOM QUOTE–“You will never know how much it cost us to preserve your freedom.
I hope that you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it.”
— John Adams
FIRST SHOW OF THE EASYRIDERS SEASON HITS POMONA WITH A BANG– The Easyriders Show in Pomona was excellent Saturday, January 9, 2010 . Looked like great turnout too. Vendors appeared to be busy doing their trade, show bikes were just awesome and the band, National Dust, kicked ass with good ol’ fashion southern rock.
The draft beer at $9.00 a glass was above my paygrade, so I avoided my normal consumption pattern.
There were quite a few of the industries big hitters at the show. I had the opportunity to chat with Kevin Alsop of Big Bear Choppers, Paul Yaffe of Bagger Nation, Doug Dober of WindVest, and Bob Behan of Dennis Kirk. Lisa Ballard of DB Custom Leather was busy selling behind the table and pushing the Cycle Source Magazine with enthusiasm. I must say, I was impressed with the team from Road Dog Customs. Both ol’ man Leo and Sonny Boy were working the crowd hard around their booth and it looked like a lot of action around there.
All in all, I got good pics of slick machines and met the pros at Easyriders Events who put this show together. Looks like John Green and his Event Coordinator, Sandy Williams, really rock. Easyriders Show Pomona was well worth the 100 mile ride from San Diego.
Ride Free. Ride Insured.
Your Trusted Agent,
Marc J. Beaulieu, CPCU, ARM
BossMan@Bikernet-Insurance.com
For Fastest Service:
Email:
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SPIDER LADY RETURNS TO BIKERNET– Here are some of both art and her, tho the fotos here do not do her work justice. She’s never had a website, but I’ve convinced her she needs to have one, so she’s in the process and I hope she has it done in time for the article to come out in Thunder Press’s Feb. issue. Her husband goes by “Bozo” and Easyriders used to carry examples of her work regularly.
She’s done LOTS of bike work and has never had a profile published anywhere, she says. She’s been around the bike world ofr over 30 years, and I remember her stuff from way back. It just seems time to at least tell others, if not honor her.
–River Rat
INTERESTING DAYS–Here’s what’s gracing my plate for next week. We’ll bring you the complete story around the Jeff Decker Sculpture, recaptured from a H-D Dealer in Bankruptcy. I’m installing a set of Avon Bags on my Son’s Dyna, and we’re working on a Performance Upgrade with S&S and Bassini. I’m making a belt buckle for a buddy in Australia, and fixing Dr. Hamster’s ’34 VL. You may see a set of Indian handlebars rebuilt by Mike Tomas and KIWI Indian. We have an Okalhoma ride report from Charles Riddle and I need to post another Scotty Tale. I’m expecting a restored Knuckle feature from Matt Walksler, their next raffle bike for the Wheels of Time Museum. I always send a contribution in hopes of winning one of these bikes.
Big priority is to get the 5-Ball Bonneville department launched and start to work on reports. We also have a feature on Illusion Cycles, a new Bikernet Sponsor. It covers all the services the Illusion shop provides. Plus I need to work with Kendon on a custom trailer, so we can start to haul bikes to shows. We’re thinking about getting a Ford Econoline Van to pull a trailer. I like the notion of supporting FORD. I’m still working on Chapter 57 of the Cantina Soap, and another story about an old outlaw.
Hang on for next week.
Ride Forever,
–Bandit
