Hey, I had two bitches this morning and I was going to pull a Jose, but one escaped me. The most important one is still centered in my feeble brain. All our lives we’ve been faced with reading motorcycle accident reports in newspapers. In the majority of the cases the reporter inquires as to whether the rider was wearing a helmet. It didn’t matter whether there was a head injury involved or not. You know the score. Hell, I remember in my 20s, off the coast of Vietnam, my mom would send me motorcycle accident clippings. Same shit.
My point is that the question should not be helmet oriented but whether the accident was caused by a motorists. In each instance where we run across an accident report, we need to make it clear if a 4-wheeler was the cause of the accident. The last time I heard the stats mentioned, cars were at fault 85 percent of the time. That’s my rant, let’s hit the news:
Photo from Bob T.
The Red Carpet Treatment
At Heathrow, a 300-foot long red carpet is stretched out to Air Force One and President Bush strides to a warm but dignified handshake from Queen Elizabeth II.
They ride in a silver 1934 Bentley limousine to the edge of central London where they board an open 17th century coach hitched to six magnificent white matching horses.
They ride toward Buckingham Palace, each looking sideways and waving to the thousands of cheering Britons lining the streets, all is going well.
But suddenly the right rear horse lets fly with the most horrendous, earth-rending, eye-smarting blast of gastronomic flatulence ever heard in the British Empire. It shakes the coach.
Uncomfortable, but under control, the two dignitaries of state do their best to ignore the whole incident, but then the Queen decides that’s ridiculous. She turns to Mr. Bush and explains, “Mr. President, please accept my regrets. I’m sure you understand that there are some things that even a Queen cannot control.”
George W. Bush, ever the gentleman, replies, “Your Majesty, please don’t give the matter another thought. You know, if you hadn’t said something, I would have thought it was one of the horses.”
–from Nuttboy
NHRA ANNOUNCES NHRA SCREAMIN’ EAGLE NITRO HARLEY-DAVIDSON EXHIBITION TOUR AT THREE NATIONAL EVENTS IN 2003
GLENDORA, Calif. (Dec. 5, 2002) – The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) announced the creation of the NHRA Screamin’ Eagle Nitro Harley-Davidson exhibition tour to be held at three national events in conjunction with the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series tour.
The three NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series events in 2003 that will showcase the NHRA Screamin’ Eagle Nitro Harley-Davidson exhibitions will be the Mac Tools Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals, Bristol, Tenn. Dragway (April 25-27), the NHRA Route 66 Nationals, Route 66 Raceway, Joliet, Ill. (Sept. 25-28), and the O?Reilly Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex, Ennis, Texas (Oct. 9-12).
The three exhibitions will provide unprecedented exposure for the Screamin’ Eagle Nitro Harley class as they compete side-by-side with the biggest names in drag racing and in front of the hundreds of thousands of fans that attend each and every NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national event.
The invitation-only exhibition tour will feature a maximum of 14 Nitro Harley-Davidson teams who will compete to qualify for an eight-bike elimination field. Qualifying will take place on Friday and Saturday during each national event, with eliminations held on Sunday alongside the biggest stars of the sport of drag racing in the Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock ranks.
Each exhibition winner will be awarded a special trophy and participate in a NHRA Screamin’ Eagle Nitro Harley winner?s circle ceremony at the conclusion of each event. Total event purse for the eight-bike field is $11,500 with $4,000 going to the winner and $2,000 for runner-up.
Hillary For President
The Democratic National Committee is currently polling Americans through the Internet to determine the electability of Hillary Clinton for the presidency of the United States in 2004. If you would like to show your support for Hillary and encourage her to run for President of the United States in 2004 please click the link below.
http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~kinho/youare.swf
–from Rogue
How do you know when a woman is about to say something smart? When she starts her sentence with “A man once told me…”
–from Rogue
A Tough Touch On Freedom
There came a toast from a movie some years ago that says it most. The movie centered around the army ceremonial and burial detail at Arlington National Cemetery and two sergeants portrayed by James Earl Jones and James Cann. It was an army film, but the toast applies to all of us who are wearing or have worn the uniform regardless of branch, “To us and those like us”.
The following passage is from a sermon by John Hagee:
I want you to close your eyes and picture in your mind the soldier at Valley Forge, as he holds his musket in his bloody hands.
He stands barefoot in the snow, starved from lack of food, wounded from months of battle and emotionally scarred from the eternity away from his family surrounded by nothing but death and carnage of war. He stands though, with fire in his eyes and victory on his breath. He looks at us now in anger and disgust and tells us this…
I gave you a birthright of freedom born in the Constitution and now your children graduate too illiterate to read it. I fought in the snow barefoot to give you the freedom to vote and you stay at home because it rains. I left my family destitute to give you the freedom of speech and you remain silent on critical issues, because it might be bad for business. I orphaned my children to give you a government to serve you and it has stolen democracy from the people. It’s the soldier not the reporter who gives you the freedom of the press. It’s the soldier not the poet who gives you the freedom of speech. It’s the soldier not the campus organizer who allows you to demonstrate.
It’s the soldier who salutes the flag, serves the flag, whose coffin is draped with the flag that allows the protester to burn the flag!!!
“Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen.”
–Randy J. Reimer, TMCM (SW), USN, RET
On historic Route 66 in Missouri
Ray’s Punkin That Crashed
There’s an indepth story listed on the homepage that I found facinating. I always held the code that I didn’t need to write about motorcycle accidents or publish articles about accidents. I was forced to from time to time, when we lost a brother. This particular article is complete in every aspect, check it out.
It’s another left-turn saga that involved the Road King above. I thank Ray McCausland for sharing it with us. I’m also proud and relieved after reading it that he survived to ride again.
Special Events Debate Roars On
By JOHN BOZZO (john.bozzo@news-jrnl.com) Staff Writer Daytona News Journal
DAYTONA BEACH — Biketoberfest’s roar has faded, but debate over managing and downsizing special events continues to rage.
The Volusia Council of Governments has started talks that might lead to a standard set of special event rules for Volusia County and its 16 cities and towns.
“The events create an impact on all the cities and their services,” said Darlene Yordon, a Daytona Beach city commissioner.
Daytona Beach adopted rules to fight event excesses such as motorcycle noise, nudity and public drinking of alcohol.
City officials also clamped down on merchants to limit outdoor festival sales and entertainment to only four days for Bike- toberfest.
Special events bring a $1.3 billion annual boost to the local economy. But local governments have little direct link to the windfall because sales tax money is distributed by the state based on population, not sales at the events. While rules limiting the length of events might help Camp, those same rules hurt the businesses that profit the most from the event.
Thomas Blawn, owner of the Jackson Hole Saloon north of Ormond Beach, said this was his best Biketoberfest. He opposes countywide event limits and said longer celebrations in other cities help. “The city (of Daytona Beach) should encourage neighboring communities to remain open so that less tourists are attracted to downtown,” he said.
Jose’s Soap Box
To my new number one fan Dutch from NY.. Thanks for the positive comments, liking my writing so much makes the 52 weeks a year, every year, worthwhile, and I know is very hard to please everyone. But still we manage.
Let’s just say it’s Harley history my way. Funny how comformity is the base for mediocrity and inventive retardation, that’s why there’s always change, also we all have the freedom to do as we please, even you have the freedom not to read what I write, wonderful ain’t it ?
I’ve been thinking about it a bit, It’s awesome that people can manage to ride 20 to 30 thousand miles, I’ve tried but 1,500 times around the island does not sound like fun. And I need to work, pay bills, and write all the stuff that you love so much. I hope we meet, more so if I am riding my outdated 55 mph Panhead… I’ll make sure to shift to second gear just to keep up. I wish you and yours the best Holidays ever !
–Jose
Bikernet Investigates Nation’s Capital
The next time you visit the nation’s capital, your every move may be watched and recorded. The DC Police Department, without public knowledge or city council approval, has set up a centralized video surveillance network. The system can bring together video feeds from police cameras on streets and buildings, in neighborhoods, within the city’s subway system and even at public schools. With the flip of a switch, officers can zoom in on people a half-mile away.
The implicit justification for the video surveillance system is security. But it is far from clear how the proliferation of video cameras through public spaces in D.C. would have any real impact on crime. In Oakland, CA, officials considered video surveillance for three years and rejected it. Police Chief Joseph Samuels, Jr., stated that his department had hoped to be “among the pioneers in the field of taped video camera surveillance” but ultimately found that “there is no conclusive way to establish that the presence of video surveillance resulted in the prevention or reduction of crime.”
Instead, tourists, opposition politicians, racial and ethnic minorities, peaceful dissidents and other people could have their every move catalogued and tracked. This system of cameras could be used to monitor peaceful protests and the activities of innocent people throughout the city. This information could then be misused to blackmail, intimidate or bully people who are exercising their freedom of speech, freedom of peaceful assembly, or just going about their daily lives.
Click here to find out more about this issue and protest this new system. http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?ID=11419&c=130
Matt Howes, National Internet Organizer, ACLU
–from Rogue
Photo from Bob T.
Senor Cinco Pelotas
Once upon a time there was a dude named Senor Cinco Pelotas. One day upon returning from a long wet ride through the deserts of Arizona he sat down in his favorite chair, turned on the TV, and said to Mz. Wu, “Quick, bring me a Jack before it starts.”
She looked a little puzzled, but brought him a Jack on the rocks. When he finished it, he said, “Quick, bring me another Jack, it’s gonna start.”
This time she looked a little pissed, but again granted his request. When it was gone he said, “Quick, another Jack before it starts.”
“That’s it!” She blows her top! “You waltz in here, flop down, don’t even give me a slap on the ass and then expect me to run around like your slave. Don’t you realize that I cook and clean and wash and iron all day long?”
Senor Cinco sighed: “It’s started.”
FTW,
–Stroker
A Cantina Digital Discovery
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannon fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. But how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon.
There was only one problem — how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding/rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a “Monkey” with 16 round indentations. But if this plate was made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make “Brass Monkeys.”
Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannon balls would come right off the monkey.
Thus, it was quite literally, “Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!” (And all this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn’t you?)
–from Nuttboy
New Oil
Please check out the Dynacycle II oil. Featured in several motorcycle mags, HotBike, American Iron, Cycle World, CCMN, etc. Watch for product test’s in up-coming issues and our booth at Bike Week.http://ironcyclesinc.crosswinds.net/
Photo from Bob T.
New Motorcycle
Yep, we know this is a sportbike, but an American one. “Fischer Motor Company is pleased to announce the development of the first American Superbikes”. Check it out.
True Story
After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped.
Not wanting to admit his! incompetence, the driver went to a nearby; bus-stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies.
The deception wasn’t discovered for 3 days.
Photo from Bob T.
No Time To Lose–This is how the desert should have looked last weekend, instead of raining. The report should be up any minute now. Do me a favor and don’t get stressed over the holidays. It’s supposed to be a time of giving and sharing, warmth and caring. Don’t sweat the small shit, kick back and spend some time with those you love.
If only someone will hold me to the above. Oh, and since it’s fuckin’ cold, have more sex. I like that notion. If the season gets to you, and you’re unable to ride, plug a heater in the garage, take your bottle of Jack out and worship your highbars. Have a helluva week.
–Bandit
