Don't vote for Val Vigil for Thornton City Council 2009

Mr. Val Vigil is running for Thornton City Council, Ward 2, in Thornton, Colorado.

I currently live across the street from Mr. Vigil, and have since January 2008. Thank goodness we're moving. If we were to continue living here, I'd campaign hard for his opponent.

Mr. Vigil was a State Representative at the State Capitol from 1999-2006 (8 years) but lost his bid for re-election. According to: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1686944/posts , he "blames racism for his loss", oh, and "fears about illegal immigration". Hmmm.

As a Thornton Representative in 2005, according to: http://www.nataliementen.com/index.php?dex=15 , he sponsored Senate Bill 05-182, allowing RTD (bus service) to take away property rights (from what I understand).

He is a member of the Thornton Revitalization Task Force (http://www.cityofthornton.net/Neighbor/RevitalizationTaskForce/Documents/TaskForceMinutesApril2.pdf ) - now, this explains a lot. If you read this blog, you know how Thornton has so many stupid rules and regulations (yes, my opinion). Well, I won't get into any details other than to say that maybe parts of Thornton need help, but suburbs don't.

Now, in 2009, his elect-me page (at http://www.voteforval.com/ ) says he believes in "neighbors helping neighbors" but I've never seen this. He criticized us (my little family) for not watering our lawn often enough. He didn't pick up the apples and plums that fell from his trees to the sidewalk and street outside his fence and rotted (yes, he gave us a few apples but we gave him a big bag of fresh home-grown tomatoes). He says he believes in "giving back to your community" but doesn't do anything in this little area of our suburb except keep his lawn meticulously.

According to: http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/527/colorado_chiropractic_pac.asp - he received $500 for his "Committee to Elect Val Vigil" from Colorado Chiropractic PAC "527"

His facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/people/Val-Vigil/1270587535 - check him out there and here: http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Vigil_Valerie_1043443611.aspx .

More on a personal note, living across the street from him, I've noticed that:

• In 2008 and 2009 he did NOT turn off his lights of during the Lights Out, which indicates to ME that he isn't environmentally minded. Lights Out is when people (and businesses) turn out their lights and as many electrical items as possible for an entire hour to help reduce our carbon footprint.
• He has two trash cans but no green recycling cans. The City of Thornton provides these as part of the sewer/water/trash service, and yet I've never seen one of these green cans on his property, or put out for trash/recycling day. Again, environmentally minded?
• I've never seen him use a broom to sweep his driveway. Instead, he uses what looks to be a leaf blower. Huh? Yep, you read right. (Oh, and when I went over at 7:15 a.m. to ask him to wait another 45 minutes or so before running it, he basically told me he didn't have to do any such thing, then turned it back on and ignored me. I have insomnia and other sleep issues, and unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident.

I'm sure he is well loved by his friends and family, but I haven't talked to a neighbor who really respects him. Perhaps I just haven't connected with the right people.

I'm not doing this to hurt him. All of this is either my observation and opinion, or what I've read online (and thus, noted the source). I just feel he is NOT the best candidate to work in government - not even local. I ask you to please NOT vote for Val, and instead, give your vote to Ralph W. Moore.

Sorry, Val.

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Disclaimer: This is only what I've read online, and from my personal experience. To verify any of this, please do your own research, and come to your own conclusions.

Our Town is a Police State

Here I was, yesterday, minding my own business, trying to catch up on correspondence, blogging, and writing when I looked out the window. Our town's code enforcement truck pulls up along side my vehicle, stays there for about 15 minutes, looking at our yard, my car, etc. Finally, she gets out, examines my car from top to bottom, pulls out a pad and writes down my VIN. I send my son out to get the piece of paper she leaves on my car.

Violation Warning: This car has not been moved for 10 days or more. It must be driven every 10 days or stored in an enclosed facility.

Huh?

I drove my car last week to the grocery. Now, I try not to drive my car regularly to save on gas and help the environment, so I'm wondering (1) did they think I didn't drive often because I always park in the same place; and (2) do they think that they can control residents behavior to that extent?

Yep, we're moving. We need a farm in an unincorporated area of Colorado. This town is beyond ridiculous.


p.s. We're 90% sure that our not-so-wonderful neighbor, VAL, reported it. He's a bully, and has been quite intent (and unfortunately successful) in making our lives here at our house, miserable. I'm glad he wasn't re-elected in 2006 - we don't need any more bullies in our government.

Digital TV is a JOKE!

I'm sure we've written about this before, but come on.... have you thought about it? We're being forced by the government to participate in yet another act against our will. IF we want to continue watching "free" television channels and programs, we have to pay to attach a (suspicious) box to each television. Or get cable TV. Or digital/satellite service.

We attached one box to one television. MOST of the time, it doesn't work. No matter how we reposition the rabbit ears or boost the signal, most of these channels don't come in. Or the signal gets dropped during storms.

Did we, the American People, vote on this? I understand the purpose behind the change, but there had to have been a better solution that this! And really, what exactly is in that special box? Tracking programs we're watching? Or is it ONLY signal conversion?

Yeah, right.

Police state, here we come.

Isn't paying on Student Loans ever so much Fun???

No. We don't like sending this check every month, but we do it. And do it. And do it. And the balance never seems to go down.

Direct Loans
U.S.Department of Education
P O Box 530260
Atlanta, GA 30353-0260

Wasn't getting a student loan supposed to make our lives easier? Get an education, put that education to work while paying off the loan? It isn't working that way. We try to pay double the minimum due, and for some reason, the principal balance isn't going down, the minimum due is going up, and the interest due is never at a $0 balance, even when payments are applied.

We can't even get them to help us make the payment online. Waiting periods, and all that.

It just seems to us that whoever is running the above "company" is taking the taxpayer/student for a ride, and no one seems to care. They can get away with it because supposedly they are part of the government.

Anyone else have similar problems?

Work Ethic ?

Rant by Doug....

Tonight I bought food from the neighborhood McDonald's. For the tenth time since we moved here, they got our order wrong. I am beginning to wonder what happened to our work ethic; does it exist anymore? I mean, how hard is it to put the correct food with the correct order? I think that even my 11 year old stepson could do it correctly and he has never held a job before.

When I grew up, you learned to do a job after you learned it, then you did it to the best of your ability. You didn't cut corners that would degrade the quality of the job you did or the quality of the product you gave to your customers. I have the feeling that many people don't care or try to get away with doing the least amount of work possible, which makes me very nervous about our countries future.

I hear stories of schools and teachers where all they teach is just enough to pass the tests to get more funding or to meet the requirements for "No child left behind", the supposed standard that the President started. That standard doesn't seem to mean much now as we have a president who has reports rewritten by people to fit his view of the world, and doesn't seem to be very interested in getting his job done to the best of his ability. Except now when he and his party are in danger of becoming a minority party.

I remember when Lee Iacoca ran Chrysler and his motto of "Quality is Job One"? I agree with his motto and his philosophy on work that is that you do the job to the highest quality that you can... be it washing dishes all the way up to the President of the United States or of a major company.

So now I go back to my original question "Where and what is our work ethic?" Is it to do the least possible just to get by or do we do the best job that we can do and make sure that our standards are as high as we boast that they are?

Doug

10/20: America the Not So Beautiful

I recently read an e-mail forwarded to me about Lee Iacocca's new book. It allegedly has an excerpt where he's ranting how American people should STOP being complacent about the state our country is in. Why aren't we outraged? We should throw out everyone from their posts, and elect new people to start all over.

In our district, there are two men running for a post abandoned by Senator Wayne Allard. Democrat Mark Udall and Republican Bob Schaffer. They have both run a dirty campaign. Both seem to be liars, hypocrits and greedy. I don't want either one. And if we vote for Ralph Nader, it will divide the parties like when Ross Perot was running for President. (Where is Ross, by the way - we need him NOW!). What REAL choice do I have when I'm standing in the voting booth?

Is this the country our forefathers planned for and built? Land of the free? What a laugh. Home of the brave? We have become COWARDS!

What is the United States of American as we leave the Year 2008?

Roads and bridges are falling into disrepair. We're compelled, against our wishes, to switch to HDTV which costs us more money for less service and spotty signal. Our identities are stolen and credit ruined, turning the victims into bad guys while we work to repair the damage over the span of years and years. Donations to food banks are drying up while more families MUST get there to feed our families. Corn and other crops grow mutilated genetically but us backyard grocery gardeners have no choice but to buy seeds from them - wind pollination has wiped out purebred corn. The ice shelf is melting at a drastic rate, raising the ocean temperatures, killing precious endangered wildlife and changing our coastlines. Global warming has created intense heat waves, droughts, a plethora of hurricanes and tornadoes and overpowering snowstorms. The school system in the USA is a laugh; our children "graduate" not having a clue as to how to balance a checkbook, fill out a job application, or how our election process really works. We struggle for every penny we make and for each dollar earned, we lose about half. Inflated prices due to rising gas costs. Taxes: oh, don't get me started. We hear about "peak food" and "peak oil". We fight about whether to drill more oil, which will create more havoc on our Earth and not help our economy a bit. We talk about using solar or wind power, and have yet to make it a requirement in local governments. We bail out A.I.G. only to find them tossing our good will and hard-earned cash into high-priced retreats, spas and golf games (FIRE THE TOP 20 people in A.I.G. - NOW!!! - with NO compensation packages). We war on terror but the terrorists have been long gone. We discuss who best can run the USA while we consider the options: black young man/white older man team vs white old man/white young woman. Is there even a third or fourth choice for President/Vice President? Our children are learning from us that though we may rant and rave about the economy and politics and the war in the privacy of our homes, we step outside our safety and clam up. Bees are a dying race, which reduces pollination of our crops. A single pro football player makes enough to pay 20 teacher's annual salaries, yet who gives us more value? Who has stepped forward since 9/11 (2001) or since Katrina to become a true leader of the USA? Why is there not affordable hybrid or solar cars yet? Health care costs are completely unaffordable to middle and lower class, as are health/car/home insurance payments. And so on and so on.

Do honesty, awareness, responsibility, courage and compassion mean nothing any more?

Am I being an extremist? No, because I strongly believe our very survival as a human race is hanging in the balance.

Yes, I am ANGRY.

I am coming up with a plan to do my part. Are you?

Forward ( http://thorntonwilliamsfamily.blogspot.com/2008/10/1020-america-not-so-beautiful.html ) to everyone you know. Tell people to get involved. To do SOMETHING to make a change.

What else can you do?

Write your congressman. Write an editorial for your local paper. Vote for whoever is running against an incumbant in your local election. Pick one day a week to NOT spend money and NOT drive. Get involved in your children's school. Run for an office - ANY office. Volunteer to collect canned goods door to door for your local food bank. Tutor high school seniors for free on how to do basic life skills: banking, job hunting, budgeting, etc. Grow veggies in your front and back yard, and give extras away to food banks. Make your holiday gifts this year instead spending money on toys that break or a sweater the recipient will hate. Become an Johnny Appleseed and plant an apple tree wherever you can get permission. Say "I love you" to your family EVERY DAY. Write A.I.G. and request they fire the top 20 executives in the firm - without compensation of any kind (from their website http://www.aig.com/: Contact AIG by email or phone Call M-F 6am-8pm ET USA: 1-877-638-4244 Worldwide: +1-908-679-3150 ). Learn CPR and First Aid, then stock up on medical supplies in your home and car. Adopt an animal from your local kill-shelter. Turn off the TV and talk to your family, friends and neighbors. Teach your teenager about condoms.

Just DO SOMETHING!!

Vikki http://www.newviewgroupllc.com/

9/24: Bits and Pieces

MOAB:
This Mother of all Bailouts (MOAB - coined by http://www.survivalblog.com/) - I've heard $70 billion and this morning I heard $700 billion - which is right?

Guess it doesn't matter. If it goes through as it, the "little people" (middle and lower class) are going to get screwed again. As written, we will be paying for the bailout and not getting any direct benefit.

Health:
It was a very rough night with the longest episode of heart palpitations yet, so I only got 3 hours of sleep. I warned Weslee first thing this morning about the situation and how I need him to help me be on an even keel, doing his schoolwork and following the basic rules of the house. It helped for about 4 hours. Without giving all the details, let me just say that it's been horrible since about noon. And he will be paying for a new MP3 player and special headset out of his allowance!

Garden:
I haven't watered the back garden yet today, but did the front. Picked a really big boston pickling cucumber and a bush cucumber. The black turtle beans are about white-papery enough to be harvested; maybe the weekend. The sunflower seeds I planted in the front yard to "hide" the aspen tree we had to cut down have gotten about 6 foot tall, and one has opened! Looks like another couple of strawberries and a few raspberries will probably be ready by Thur or Friday. The big yellow globes out front have turned orange so we're thinking they might be pumpkins after all. Probably a different kind from what's in the backyard pumpkin patch.

Miscellaneous:
I just put ingredients into the breadmaker to test a recipe I came up with for "sweet egg-and-oat bread". I set the machine for basic bread (almost 4 hours) so should be ready by dinner time (it started around 1 p.m.). As soon as Weslee finishes one more schoolwork, I'm going up and taking a nap. Very tired.

p.s. Bread recipe needs tweaking; too much liquid. When I have it perfected, I'll post it. Meanwhile, it's 6:06 p.m. and I'm ready to get ready for bed and a night of new TV show episodes.

Vikki www.newviewgroupllc.com

9/22: Economic Situation

The following link was just e-mailed to me from a good friend:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,425672,00.html

Appearing on the Fox News website on Saturday, Sept 20, it was labeled: "RAW DATA: Text of Financial Crisis Legislation".

Please read it. Unbelievable. Vikki www.newviewgroupllc.com

8/06: Survival of the Prepared

Someone recently sent me a link to a story about the government buying up all the canned butter and dehydrated meals/MREs through end of 2009. The same person sent me a link about a stockpile of plastic coffins in Georgia (I think). The thinking is that the government is expecting the bird flu pandemic or something else that will either greatly reduce the population or that the Middle East war will go on much longer than expected.

It got me thinking about our family's preparedness for various situations. Sure we have a little garden growing some great stuff. I dehydrate or can whatever possible (because of rising food costs). I buy dehydrated veggies and fruits we can't grow (which I've been doing for years because it was the only way to get my son to eat certain things). I buy dried soy and rice milk (we have a lactose intolerant person here and dried is cheaper in the long run and longer-lasting). We have dried eggs and soy beans because the prices of those things are getting out of hand.

ABOVE: Our dried eggs (purchased from www.beprepared.com)

ABOVE: Our powdered rice milk (purchased from www.amazon.com)

ABOVE: Our dried soybeans and dried peas (purchased from www.justtomatoes.com).

Weslee also loves their dried blackberries, blueberries and mango.

Doug likes their "tropical treats", including the kiwi, mango and papaya.

I like the strawberries, bananas, pomegranate and... almost everything they have!

I buy toilet paper and shampoo in bulk when I find them on sale. We have rechargeable batteries because it's good for the environment. We bike or walk (ok, infrequently but sometimes!) not in preparation for no fuel but because it's good for us and the Earth.

I don't consider our little family survivalists. We don't have a 2-year stockpile of food, nor an electrified fence or guns to defend our home. We are simply working to take care of our family in a difficult economic time. Yes, we're prepared, or working to be. And yes, we're thinking things out. Does this make us survivalists?

Vikki

p.s. Started to rain here in Thornton around 4:30 and now we're worried about flooding. Still.... needed the rain!!!!

7/31: Temperature, Exxon, Obama, McCain

Today the Denver area reached 97 degrees (it varied from station to station - from 95 to 99). We broke the 18-day streak by today becoming the 19th day in a row of over 90 degrees. Tomorrow we're supposed to be at 101. I'm melting! As did our poor corn beds; we had to give them an extra deep drink today. We did harvest 1 cucumber (our first!), 2 more yellow straightneck squash, 2 roma tomatoes and a handfull of string beans. No pic today - sorry!

Heard today that Exxon reported a 2nd quarter earnings of 11.7 BILLION. Excuse me?!?! Just my own thought here but what the hairy-heck do they think they are doing? They are helping to gouge us plain folk's pocketbooks and they have all this extra money going into theirs? Something about this isn't right. Perhaps WE should gouge Exxon's pocketbooks and BOYCOT their pumps.

About McCain's latest "celebrity" ditch ad about Obama with Britney and Paris and blaming Obama for the rising gas prices ... tsk tsk tsk. Mr. McCain, is this really how you want to run your campaign? Do you really not have much positive to say about your plans and policies and choices that you need to viciously attack your opponent? Do you really believe that one senator has (or had) so much power that he singlehandedly is responsible for the rising gas prices? Did he convince the President how to vote for particular fuel bills? Did he start the war on the other side of the Atlantic that convinced the world we're no longer a force to be reckoned with but a country to be toyed with? Do you really believe that this senator has such a celebrity status that he is equal to the "panty squad" of supposed airheads Britney and Paris? Does he go out and party just for photo ops? Does he dress provocatively?

Oh Mr. McCain... what are you thinking? Who are you listening to? Don't attack. Explain. Tell us... Do you have a plan to bring this country once again to greatness? To get us out of a war that is called "War on Terror" but isn't really? To help people afford their homes and basic everyday costs again? To help us put food on our table without giving up prescriptions? To stop people in government from lying and cheating those of us who put them there? To help our children learn how to be healthy instead of serving them junk food and sodas in the cafeterias while recess and arts programs are abolished? To solve our fuel problems by finding alternatives that are renewable?

Senators Obama and McCain: these are the issues important to me and most of America. What will YOU do for us? Vikki