Hey,
The holiday spirit is high this year. We were hit with pre-Thanksgiving deals, Black Friday offers, Cyber Monday attractions and all-new giving Tuesday specials. Wow!
According to the Wall Street Journal retail sales over the Thanksgiving weekend weren’t bad, although most stores curbed their orders this year. Actually they don’t know. They’re just guessing…
The Bikernet Weekly News is sponsored in part by companies who also dig Freedom including: Cycle Source Magazine, the MRF, Las Vegas Bikefest, Iron Trader News, ChopperTown and BorntoRide.com, Sturgis Museum.
PURE MOTORCYCLING STARTING AT $99 PER MONTH — ENDS DEC 31, 2017
Now through the end of the year, Royal Enfield dealers are offering a special promotion — $99/month payment for a Bullet, Classic or Continental GT. Riders must have a down payment and acceptable credit to qualify. All Royal Enfield models come with a two-year, unlimited-mile warranty, and each motorcycle undergoes a 100-point inspection at the company’s PDI center in Texas before arriving at dealerships.
QUICK, OPEN THE BIKERNET HOLIDAY BAD JOKE LIBRARY WING–“MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN and PROTECT the AMERICAN TRADITIONS”
The Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be a Nativity Scene on Capitol Hill this Christmas season.
This isn’t for any religious reason. They simply have not been able to find Three Wise Men in the Nation’s Capital.
A search for a Virgin also continues.
There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable.
–Bobby Stark
Funding Infrastructure in Rural America— a Snapshot of Three States–
Whenever the media reports on infrastructure, much of the time the discussion centers on urban cores and highways. Small towns and rural roads are often left out of the discussion but related infrastructure needs can be just as critical. Securing adequate funding for road and bridge maintenance requires the active involvement and cooperation of rural, urban, and state government leaders alike.
Here are snapshot portraits of three rural states and how each is asking questions while searching for solutions to some pressing transportation needs.
West Virginia
Recently in West Virginia, three mayors from Preston County met with their U.S. Representative, David McKinley. As pointed out during the meeting, small towns have difficulty raising enough revenue to do anything over and above the basics. That is why small towns sometimes engage in activities such as raising local sales tax or allowing speed traps to help fund local infrastructure problems and pay for police services.
McKinley told the mayors that grant money on a federal level is available to help small towns. Tunnelton Mayor Brian Harris pointed out though that he could never justify hiring a grant writer when his town of 300 people had difficulties funding a police department.
Infrastructure decisions are difficult for rural towns where choices are primarily based on three questions:
—Where will we find the funding?
—Will we ever be able to afford it?
—Can we let repairs go for another year?
In early October, West Virginia voters passed overwhelmingly a $1.6 billion state bond measure to repair and build roads and bridges. This is the right direction for the relatively rural state but will the state help small towns with few resources write transportation plans, proposals and grants so that they can share in the infrastructure funding?
South Dakota
Governor Dennis Daugaard recently wrote an editorial about the importance of transportation planning. The state currently has 82,000 miles of roadway and in 2015 Daugaard signed a road funding bill that generated $85 million in new annual revenue. He said the need was great and it was much better to raise the gas tax by six cents, and increase the motor vehicle excise tax and license plate fees to maintain good roads rather than repair bad ones.
Since 2015, South Dakota has worked on 6,078 miles of state highway and repaired 172 bridges. An additional $9 million will be available in April 2018 to fix more bridges.
To be eligible to receive funding, counties must have a five-year transportation plan and levy a county wheel tax. Cities and counties must provide a minimum of a 20 percent financial match for any grants. Eligible bridges must serve multiple residences, farms, ranches and be located on fully maintained public roadways.
Missouri
Missouri’s Governor Eric Greitens recently appointed citizens to a 21st Century Transportation System Task Force to help him figure out how to fund urban and rural transportation.
Task force member and ex-state Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson said in a recent meeting that over the past ten years there has been a 50-50 split between urban and rural funding and that the real problem is lack of resources for all regions of the state. Apparently the state has been losing matching federal dollars because the state cannot always come up with the necessary 20 percent matching funds to contribute for a project.
A three-part report is due to the Governor in January and a gas tax hike might well be one of the recommendations. The state’s gas tax has not increased since 1996. In 2016, Missouri spent nearly $1.4 billion on state roads and bridges.
Funding rural infrastructure takes leadership from both elected officials and citizens who can help in the process. Hard choices need to be made so that the country’s infrastructure can continue to function at all levels of society. Unfortunately leadership today too often defaults to levying new taxes without first taking a hard look at spending on projects that aren’t as critical to everyday life as well-maintained roads and bridges.
Use this link to share this NMA E-Newsletter with others:
https://www.motorists.org/alerts/funding-infrastructure-rural-america-snapshot-three-states-nma-e-newsletter-463/
Selling Price -$19,995.00
CONTACT US
Retail Price: $24,995.00
Sale Price: $19,995.00
Location: Anaheim, California
Condition: Pre-Owned
Stock Number: 10475
Year: 2014
Make: Harley-Davidson
Model: FLHTK – Electra Glide® Ultra Limited
Family: Touring
VIN1HDKEL39EB639957
Color: Black/Grey Two Tone
Engine: 103-inch
Mileage: 24,561
Transmission: 6-speed
BAD HOLIDAY COP FILE NOW OPEN– Sheriff: Brevard corrections deputy stole money from inmate, arrested.
A corrections deputy was arrested and charged with fraud Friday after an investigation found that she had stolen money from an inmate, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
Felicia Brown, 29, is suspected of stealing less than $100 from a recently released inmate and spending it on small purchases at several Titusville-area businesses.
The issue came to the attention of BCSO when internal auditors and the inmate reported the discrepancy almost simultaneously, Sheriff Wayne Ivey said.
The inmate was released by another officer, who Ivey said made an “honest oversight” in not returning the money, which Brown then noticed and exploited. He does not believe anybody else was involved.
Brown began working for BCSO in December of 2013 and was assigned to the Brevard County Jail Complex. She was immediately fired by BCSO after her arrest. Ivey said that Brown had no disciplinary issues during her time at the jail.
Although Ivey believes Brown’s case to be an isolated incident and not a procedural issue, he said that BCSO will review policies and procedures at the jail to prevent similar incidents from taking place in the future.
“Anything that she had to do with, obviously our economic crimes team will be looking at,” Ivey said. “Our auditing team will look at the other exchanges but the entire process as well.”
“Anytime you have something like this, you have a due diligence to make sure it hasn’t happened somewhere else and to make sure it can’t happen again,” he added.
According to BCSO, it’s protocol to house officers at jail facilities in other counties. Officers are also exempt from having their mugshots released to the public, according to state statutes.
Brown was charged with fraudulent use of a credit card, scheme to defraud, petit theft, official misconduct, criminal use of personal information and false entries in books of a business. She is now being held at the jail on $30,000 bond.
–by Vazquez
floridatoday.com
–from Rogue
FROM THE DAV– “This is my first home in my entire life, and I thank DAV for it,” Joseph Lightweis.
In honor of Giving Tuesday, our generous friends at MarLand Technologies are matching all gifts today up to $250,000. Please help us take advantage of this matching gift opportunity by making a gift to DAV right now.
Your gift will provide necessary services to injured veterans and their families ? veterans like Joseph.
Often, a complex chain of events leads a veteran into homelessness. However, a single act can be the catalyst in a chain reaction that puts him or her back on track.
Navy veteran Joseph Lightwies was homeless for decades, but connecting with a DAV National Service Officer ? a service DAV can provide only because of supporters like you ? proved to be the spark that changed his life for the better.
Watch how a DAV National Service Officer helped turn Joseph’s life around. Then, give a gift to support all of DAV’s lifesaving services. Plus, you can have double the impact today only because, in honor of Giving Tuesday, every gift will be matched up to $250,000, by our generous friends at MarLand Technologies.
–J. Marc Burgess
DAV National Adjutant/CEO
From the fight against breast cancer to supporting our veterans, Harley-Davidson is proud to partner with organizations working to make a difference.
HEAVY DUTY AUSTRALIAN PROJECT BIKE– Thanks for your help in getting me in touch with Steve from Paughco.
As you know I have had a project build going for some time now, utilizing a Paughco FXR style frame and a Twin Cam motor.
Steve, at Paughco is helping me out regarding these missing bits.
Cheers and thanks again.
–Doc Robinson
Associate/Technical Editor
HEAVY DUTY Magazine
www.heavyduty.com.au
We are also looking forward to Salt Torpedo updates from Paughco in the near future. We need to be on the Salt in August.—Bandit
BIKERNET HOLIDAY BAD JOKE LIBRARY WING IS OPEN–
Subject: Do You Drink Beer?
This is a conversation between a husband and his wife. Please note that she asks five or six questions which he answered quite simply; but, then she is speechless after answering only one question.
Woman: Do you drink beer?
Man: Yes.
Woman: How many beers a day?
Man: Usually about three.
Woman: How much do you pay per beer?
Man: $5.00 which includes a tip (this is where it gets scary!).
Woman: And how long have you been drinking?
Man: About 20 years, I suppose.
Woman: So a beer costs $5 and you have three beers a day which puts your spending each month at $450. In one year, it would be approximately $5400 correct?
Man: Correct.
Woman: If in 1 year you spend $5400, not accounting for inflation, the past 20 years puts your spending at $108,000 correct?
Man: Correct..
Woman: Do you know that if you didn’t drink so much beer, that money could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after accounting for compound interest for the past 20 years, you could have now bought an airplane?
Man: Do you drink beer?
Woman: No.
Man: Where is your airplane?
–from Bobby Stark
NEWS FROM THE CHOPPERTOWN TEAM– It’s that time of year again and we’re happy to announce our most insane sale of the year! 30% off sitewide this week only – DVDs, downloads, shirts, everything.
Please pass the word on these promotions so we can keep supporting our filmmakers to make more films for us all to enjoy. Thanks guys!
Stay independent.
Zack and Scott and the Choppertown gang
~Happy Holidays from Choppertown~
Click here to see our BEST SELLERS
Click here to see our NEWEST TITLES
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HANG ON FOR THIS FROM D.C.– Lawmakers embraced a bipartisan bill that would modernize procedures for handling sexual harassment allegations on Capitol Hill, but they were divided Sunday over whether congressmen facing allegations should resign or face some other immediate consequence.
“We are strengthened by due process. Was it one accusation or two? John Conyers Jr. is an icon in our country,” Pelosi told NBC’s Chuck Todd, when asked whether the longest-serving member of the House should resign.
But members of Congress have said that the “due process” system is outdated and biased toward insulating the lawmaker from suffering penalties for misbehavior. “The whole system needs to have a comprehensive shift,” Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Speier and Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) are the lead sponsors of legislation slated for a vote this week that would streamline the process, amid growing accusations and revelations about members of Congress that are similar to those involving powerful men from Hollywood, the media and Silicon Valley.
The legislation would require mandatory training on harassment and discrimination for all lawmakers, staff and interns who work in Congress. “There needs to be one standard for members,” Comstock said on “This Week,” noting that Conyers benefited from making a payment that was never revealed until a BuzzFeed report last week. “No more secret payments.”
Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, has denied any wrongdoing and said his payout was meant to resolve the issue and did not constitute an admission of culpability.
His payout came from the regular allowance for lawmakers for staff salaries and other administrative costs. As The Washington Post reported this month, a separate account overseen by the Office of Compliance has paid out more than $15 million in settlements of sexual harassment and other cases of discrimination.
“We have to have the same kind of standards,” she said.
Speier, however, said the House Ethics Committee should add staff to handle the Conyers case “very swiftly” to determine the severity of the allegations. “If they’re accurate, I do believe that Congressman Conyers should step down,” she said.
But Pelosi would not say whether she would ask Conyers to at least temporarily step aside from his leadership position, something she has asked other lawmakers embroiled in ethics scandals to do while the investigations are ongoing.
“I’m not sharing that with you right now,” she said on “Meet the Press.”
–MSN News
–from Rogue
Supreme Commander Editor
Bikernet Baggers
LOTS OF FRESH FINDS!
get ’em while they’re hot
I’ve always been traveling the country and adding to my inventory of nothing normal. This year has been no exception, and I’ve got fresh treasures up live on the site now to shop.
Headed west this winter so reach out if you have gold that is yet to be found, or think we should stop by on our journey and pick what’s good in your hood! Always nice to pop in on friendly faces too!
Be sure to follow along on Facebook and Instagram for all the fun.
Wishing you a warm holiday season!
@DavidWassermanAntiques
Discover all my freshest finds first by following along on social media!? #FreshFind
KEEP THE BIKERNET BAD JOKE LIBRARY OPEN ALL THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS– Hunter was 4 years old and was staying with his grandfather for a few days. He’d been playing outside with the other kids, when he came into the house and asked,’Grandpa, what’s that called when two people sleep in the same bedroom and one is on top of the other?’
His Grandpa was a little taken aback, but he decided to tell him the truth. ‘Well, Hunter, it’s called sexual intercourse’
‘Oh,’ Little Hunter said, ‘OK,’ and went back outside to play with the other kids. A few minutes later he came back in and said angrily, ‘Grandpa, it isn’t called sexual intercourse. It’s called Bunk Beds. And Jimmy’s mom wants to talk to you.’
I want to see what these sleazy politicians in Congress come up with to keep people from thinking or talking about sex! Another gun control law! This is my weapon this is my gun, this for shooting this is for fun! And I thought Congress people were awful for trying to grab my weapon!! Holy shit!!
I nearly became a Doctor…
When I was young in the 1960’s, I decided I wanted to a be doctor, so I took the entrance exam to go to Medical School. One of the questions asked was to rearrange the letters PNEIS into the name of an important human body part, which is most useful when erect.
Those who answered ‘spine’ are doctors today.
The rest of us are sending jokes via email.
–from Rogue and Sidehack Jerry
VA didn’t report 90% of its problematic health providers– The Department of Veterans Affairs failed to report 90% of potentially dangerous medical providers in recent years to a national database designed to prevent them from crossing state lines and endangering patients elsewhere, according to the Government Accountability Office.
The watchdog’s conclusions in the report to be released Monday confirm findings of a recent USA TODAY investigation that found the VA has concealed medical mistakes and misconduct by health care workers for years. In response to a story published in October, the VA vowed to overhaul its policies for reporting clinicians to authorities.
The findings are based on a sampling of five VA hospitals, where only nine health care workers warranted reporting since 2014. If those findings hold true across all of the VA’s roughly 150 hospitals, potentially hundreds of medical providers weren’t reported.
In one case examined by the GAO, a VA hospital director failed to report a clinician who went on to work at a privatesector hospital, which revoked the worker’s privileges two years later.
In response to the GAO report, VA officials reiterated their pledge of an overhaul, concurred with its findings and said they planned to increase oversight of reporting by regional officials. Reporting decisions have been left mainly to hospital directors.
USA TODAY found oversight was so lax, the VA had no idea how many medical workers had been reported or whether they had been reported at all.
Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, asked the GAO to investigate, and he will chair a hearing on the findings Wednesday.
Under VA policies, hospitals are supposed to report to the national database doctors and dentists who leave while under investigation for medical mistakes or when their clinical credentials are curtailed or revoked because of poor care. They are supposed to report medical providers to state licensing authorities if they “raise reasonable concern for the safety of patients.”
“At one facility, we found that officials failed to report six providers to the (national database) because the officials were unaware that they had been delegated responsibility for … reporting,” the GAO said.
A total of 148 providers required clinical reviews after concerns were raised about their care from October 2013 to March 2017. In nearly half those cases, the hospitals could not provide documentation that the reviews occurred.
“We found that all five (hospitals) lacked at least some documentation of the reviews they told us they conducted, and in some cases, the required reviews were not conducted at all,” investigators concluded.
The GAO recommended the VA ensure reviews are documented, conducted more quickly and overseen by regional officials, who can ensure problem medical workers are reported. The VA said it would have those fixes in place within a year.
–Donovan Slack
USA TODAY
–from Rogue
Every word out of the bird’s mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity.
John tried and tried to change the bird’s attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to ‘clean up’ the bird’s vocabulary.
Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even more rude. John, in desperation, threw up his hand, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed.
Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute.
Fearing that he’d hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer.. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John’s outstretched arms and said “I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I’m sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior.”
John was stunned at the change in the bird’s attitude.
As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird spoke-up, very softly,
“May I ask what the turkey did?”
‘SURRENDER YOUR FIREARMS’ – GOV’T NOW CONFISCATING GUNS FROM MEDICAL CANNABIS USERS
Residents in Honolulu, Hawaii, were recently informed that if they use cannabis for medicinal purposes, they will be given 30 days to “voluntarily surrender” their firearms and ammunition before the Honolulu Police Department begins confiscation.
The letter from Chief Ballard starts off by claiming that its purpose is to inform the residents of a revised statute. “You are disqualified from firearms ownership, possession or controlling firearms. Your medical marijuana use disqualifies you from ownership of firearms and ammunition,” Ballard wrote.
The letter references H.R.S. 134-7.3, which dictates “Seizure of Firearms Upon Disqualification.” Ballard claimed that residents have until Dec. 13 to “voluntary surrender” their firearms, in order to be in compliance with the law.
“If you currently own or have firearms, you have 30 days upon the receipt of this letter to voluntarily surrender your firearms, permit and ammunition to the Honolulu Police Department or otherwise transfer ownership.”
The letter claimed that “a medical doctor’s clearance letter is required for any future firearms applications or returns of firearms from HPD evidence.”
This order serves as another reminder of the clash between state law and federal law. While medical cannabis is legal in Hawaii and the state’s first dispensary opened in August, it is still illegal under federal law. In fact, according to the United States government, the cannabis plant is one of the most dangerous drugs in existence, and has no medicinal value whatsoever—despite a wealth of evidence that proves otherwise.
“Any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her State has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by Federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition.”
As The Free Thought Project has documented, not only has pure cannabis never been found to make its user more violent, but research continues to prove its medicinal benefits. These studies include evidence that cannabis can stop HIV from becoming AIDS, that the majority of cannabis users give up prescription opiate medications, and that cannabis has a “significant” effect on killing cancer cells.
There is also a level of hypocrisy when taking into account the fact that many of the prescription drugs individuals are prescribed for illnesses and symptoms that could have been healed naturally with cannabis, contain dangerous and life-threatening side effects.
Rogue
Motorcycle Hall Of Fame Member 2005
was consumed in the last 5 minutes or if it was consumed in the last 5 days. I’m unsure if Honolulu is also taking guns from those who are taking non-psychoactive cannabis products.
MONKEY AND MUSINGS ON THIS MORTAL COIL — Sometimes we just need a change of scenery. Sure we slip away a week or two here and there to sit on a beach or tear up the country side but eventually we need something different, a change of pace. Life comes at us a hundred miles an hour and most of us are caught off guard just how fast it goes. It was just a couple years ago when we were walking our kids to their first days of school and now their kids are blowing us off so they can watch YouTube on their iPads. We were going to conquer the world, set it on fire but somewhere along the way time slipped away cutting grass and arguing with neighbors about blowing their grass clippings onto our property. Free time is spent at the local dive bar hanging with friends, pounding the pavement throughout town riding every street and boulevard. The weekends are spent rolling on the surrounding miles. It is in the familiarity that we get lost, clear our minds, clear our souls.
Lately though the miles seem hollow, the beers flat and the burgers just don’t have the tang they use to. You have a few bucks saved up. Work can follow you. Your soul hungers for a new adventure, a new home, new highways, new faces, just something to shake you up to remind you that you are still alive, still kicking. We are blessed that we live is such a diverse and vast country. Whether we long for the hustle and bustle of a major city, twisting roads of the Smoky Mountains, the open flat prairies, soft sandy beaches, or surly road cliffs and Rocky Mountains we have it all just outside the door. Maybe you eye beyond the shore to distant lands, different voices, different cultures to swell the soul. A new adventure, a new chapter for when we finally use up the last of this mortal flesh. New roads wait.
NEW WEBSITE FOR LICHTER–
The ALL NEW Michael Lichter Photography website dedicated to custom motorcycles and the biker culture is now live. After more than 20 years online, this is our first total website re-design. There are hundreds of bike features and loads of events including lots of new content from the past few years. New features include a search function, a “lightbox” to store images you like, and plenty of ways to share photos. 6”x9” and 8”x12” framable prints are available for purchase through the site as well as my limited edition prints. New (and old) content is being added every week, so keep checking back! www.lichterphoto.com
Thanks,
Studio Assistant
Michael Lichter Photography, LLC
3300 14th Street
Boulder, CO 80304 USA
Studio phone 303 449-3906
Email shannon@lichterphoto.com
Website www.lichterphoto.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/lichterphoto
Instagram – @michaellichterphotography
WHAT’S NEXT?— Who knows. I read a recent report about humans being the primary driver of climate change, but now they don’t say how. First, we need to review what really causes climate change, then what it is about humans that make us the primary cause?
Think about it. It could be cattle ranches, cutting down forests, over population, human farts, coal, and they have now put fossil fuels way down on the list. What’s it mean. I’m not against the notions. I’m against overt restrictions where they don’t belong. I’m for a balanced approach with Freedom at the forefront.
Yep, and we’re up for a good party. We need to be happy and free. Someone said we could all ditch our cars and live in tents again, but then you couldn’t light a fire or barbecue to cook food. Oh, what the fuck. Let’s ride.
Ride Free Forever,
–Bandit
