Capt. Spastic's Big Adventure

Independence Brewing First Saturday

2008-10-29T17:57:00.001-05:00

It's the first Saturday of the month, and as usual the great folks Rob and Amy of Independence Brewing Company are hosting their open house and beer tasting.
Starts at 1:00PM.
So come out and taste some of the best beer you can ever pour down your gully.

Directions are on their website, so click the link above, or the picture.

3913 Todd Lane #607, Austin, TX 78744

If you use Google Calendar or iCal you can set a reminder here.

Election 2008 Poll Part 2

2008-10-28T13:11:00.001-05:00

Here it is, as promised:
http://www.livejournal.com/poll/?id=1286756

How Come There Are Fewer Guys Out Front at Home Depot???

2008-10-08T10:09:00.001-05:00

Illegal immigration slows as economy weakens:

Illegal immigration slows as economy weakens

Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer

(10-02) 12:09 PDT WASHINGTON -- Illegal immigration has slowed in the past three years, and the influx of legal permanent immigrant residents in the United States now exceeds the number of new undocumented residents, according to a report released Thursday by a Washington think tank.

There were approximately 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States as of March, down from 12.4 million in March 2007, says the report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

The number of people coming into the country illegally decreased from 800,000 a year from 2000 through 2004 to about 500,000 a year from 2005 through 2008. The number of legal permanent immigrant residents - those granted lawful permission to live in the United States but who are not citizens - who came into the country in 2007 was about 650,000.

That was the first time in a decade that new legal immigrant residents outnumbered new illegal immigrants, the study said. It cautioned that the changes may not be statistically significant because of the possibility of sampling errors.

In the past decade, large numbers of undocumented immigrants arrived at a time when legal immigration remained stable.

"In the last year or two, there has been no growth at all of incoming illegal immigrants," senior demographer Jeffrey Passel, who co-authored the report, said during a telephone conference to discuss his findings. "It was growing rapidly and substantially over 15 years and now has essentially come to a halt.

"There are far fewer undocumented immigrants coming into the country."

The report was not designed to explain why the numbers have decreased, but it suggests that possible reasons include the heightened focus on enforcement of immigration laws and slower U.S. economic growth.

"The drop reflects the weakness of the economy, particularly the sectors that employ undocumented workers like construction," said Harley Shaiken, a professor at UC Berkeley specializing in labor issues, said there are a number of powerful forces reducing the numbers of undocumented immigrants. "People are less likely to risk everything to get here if they can't get a job."

Immigration experts also said stepped up enforcement has created a climate of fear.

"Polls show that many Hispanics are concerned about enforcement and deportation," said D'Vera Cohn, a senior writer at the Pew Research Center who co-authored the report.

But William Frey, a demographer at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, said he believes the economy is the biggest influence on the drop in illegal immigration.

"We don't usually think of illegal immigration as responding to the labor market, but apparently it does," Frey said.

Although the influx of illegal immigrants has slowed, the population of them has still increased by about 40 percent since 2000, when it was 8.4 million, to an estimated 11.9 million in March.

One of the changes in this decade is that the growth of Latinos is coming more from births than immigrants, Passel said.

"The Latino population will continue to grow rapidly regardless of what happens to illegal immigration," he said. "The growth is coming from people already here, and the children they are having."

Mexico continues to be the largest source of unauthorized migration, accounting for an estimated 59 percent of all undocumented immigrants.

The census does not differentiate between legal and illegal residents when it counts immigrants. The researchers estimated their numbers by using the difference between foreigners who can be accounted for and the total number counted by the census.

A report on income, also released Thursday by the center, says the economic slowdown has taken a far greater toll on noncitizen immigrants than on the U.S. population as a whole.

The median income for noncitizen households fell 7.3 percent from 2006 to 2007, while the median income for all households increased 1.3 percent, the report said. The report explains that noncitizen immigrants are most susceptible to economic downturns, in part because many do not have college degrees and are employed in blue-collar jobs.

The largest losses in income were for Hispanics from Mexico and Latin American countries, said Rakesh Kochhar, a research director at the Pew Hispanic Center.

"The economy is taking a far greater toll on noncitizens than households as a whole," Kochhar said, "especially those without high school education or working in construction and or service occupations."

The reports by the Pew Hispanic Center, a research organization that studies the impact of Latinos on the nation, are based primarily on census data.

So that's the latest report showing that immigration is into the U.S. from Mexico is slowing, due to the crippling economy. Interesting don't you think?

Hmm... let's see, let's look back to the 2004 election when immigration was such a huge issue, and there was all this saber rattling "get tough on furrigners" attitude was going on, and every politician and his brother that was running for office was "out-raged", wanted to "build walls" and enact legislation to "send them all back".

Meanwhile, there were a few people walking around stating simple facts:
1. There are already laws on the books that target the cause, and not the victims.
2. Problem: These laws target the real problem. Middle to Upper Middle class white voting men that hire these people and pay them illegally and go unpunished. Therefore, making an attractive offer to anyone (esp. in an extremely economically repressed position to risk traversing the dessert or being smuggled in the back of a truck, oh and possibly DYING through all of this), to try to come here to earn a living.
3. Solution: Punish the actual cause and source of the problem. The contractors that are paying these guys illegally are going unprosecuted and creating the problem. If they were held liable for their actions, they would likely stop hiring illegal labor when they are either in jail or in a courtroom unable to earn money themselves.
4. Why This Will Never Happen: See the second sentence in item 2.

It's always ok to send anyone to prison other than the well-off/rich white guy.

So here we are, on the heels of this report, and what do we have happening?

As there are fewer jobs and less pay in this country, fewer illegal aliens are coming here.

Gee, doesn't that kind of prove the "If You Take Away the Incentive, They Won't Come" ideology?

Why... I think it does!

If there's no reason for them to come here... THEY WON'T! Or damn sure not as many.

As has been stated before, if you want to address the illegal immigration problem, address it at the source. The reason WHY they are coming here. As long as it is as easy as it is for a contractor to pay day labor, and there's no paper trail, they are going to keep doing it.

If they really wanted to solve the immigration problem, THAT is what they would do. The reason they don't do that? They don't really want to solve it.

Consider this:

Legislation has been attempted in three border states now, making it a felony (1 year minimum in most states) to BE an illegal alien. You're an illegal alien, you get caught in this country, you go to prison. State with 3 strikes and you get caught 3 times, you're going away for life.

We now live in a corporate prison complex society (for profit prisons run by corporations), where inmates are "encouraged" to work. Work at tasks and jobs contracted by the prison for vendors. For which, the prison gets paid, the inmates do not.

So now, in addition to all the legal citizens you're putting in corporate indentured servitude in this country for making personal life choices by making such choices felonies, you know are also getting a jump in inmate numbers from the illegal Mexicans that was already getting paid less than min. wage in most cases, and is now working completely for free, because he's a prisoner, and a felon. Which would also mean, he would NEVER be eligible for American citizenship. Two birds, one stone.

And it's all good, because at least, a rich white man doesn't go to jail. By and large for the most part, just the people with color on their skin.

The same reason, oh so very sadly, that some people will flatly refuse to vote for Barack Obama. 2008, and we STILL have to deal with this kind of ignorance.

Really says a lot about the state of our country and us as a people. Doesn't it?

When Years From Know and People Wonder How Ridiculous 21st Century Americans Can Be...

2008-10-02T11:12:00.001-05:00

We can point to this...

I have recently become absolutely ADDICTED to the show The Big Bang Theory, which is produced by Chuck Lorre. A man who in my mind, is an unmitigated genius! At the end of all of the shows he produces there is what's called a little vanity card. A sign-off if you will, that is different each episode, and they are always entertaining. They're kind of like an easter egg. At the end of Monday night episode, in place of the usual card, this was there:

CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #217

CENSORED

Tonight's vanity card is about censorship. It was censored.
As always, you know where to look.

Now, because Chuck Lorre is what the true definition of a maverick is, (not a political one), you can indeed go to the "place to look" (TV Censor code for "Website"), and see what was so unfit for American viewer eyes.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, the dirty, rotten, stinking, vile, putridly, disgusting, filthy and dare I say vile again? VILE verbiage contained on that card: (Please, more sensitive viewers are urged to look away or scroll past very quickly).

CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #217 (CENSORED)

words that confuse the CBS censor

fecund, penal, taint, titmouse, cockamamie, cockatoo, cocksure, coccyx, ballcock, cockeye, prick, prickly, kumquat, titter, cunning linguist, prick, insertion, gobble, guzzle, swallow, manhole, rimshot, ramrod, come, fallacious, lugubrious, rectify, Uranus, angina, paradiddle, spotted dick, dictum, frock, cunctation, engorge, turgid, stiff, bush, uvula, crapulence, masticate, Dick Butkus, gherkin and, of course, the always bewildering lickety-split.

As you can see, context is everything.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are in the presence of greatness.

But seriously... I mean... REALLY??? Sadly though, it can indeed be true, depending on the censor, context and situation.

But crapulence? Aw man, I SOOOO love that!

I think I might rename my blog for the first time to:

The Crapulence Factor.

Bill O'Reilly, eat your heart out!

Looks like ol Bill's having some trouble passing one of those sidewalk brats off the streets of Manhattan there.
GEEEEEEEERUNT!!

Somebody get that man some Ex-Lax so for once, the shit can come out of the RIGHT place, instead of it's normal broadcast exit point.

Seriously though, very good show. HIGH geek factor, check it out if you haven't.

Independence Brewing 4th Annual Anniversary Party October 4th 2008

2008-10-02T11:08:00.001-05:00

That's right, it's a 4 on 4 Birthday party this year!

This baby is out of the walker, and ready to hit her stride!

It's been 4 years since the great folks Rob and Amy of Independence Brewing Company started their dream, and provided the answer to many of ours. Good, quality, crafted beer!
As has become tradition, they want to say thank you to every one who has enjoyed some pints or picked up some 6-packs of Independence beers and hope you can join them for this special celebration.

Wow, only a year since the last great anniversary party. A blink of the eye, and another one has gone by! Now, it's Number 4!

Saturday October 4th, 2008, from 5:00PM to 9:00 PM.

With live music, and the choicest Independence beers on tap. Celebrating the Fourth anniversary South Austin style!

Directions are on their website, so click the link above, or the picture.



	3913 Todd Lane #607 Austin, TX 78744 Phone: 512-707-0099

If you use Google Calendar or iCal you can set a reminder here.

Damn You JJ Abrams!!!

2008-09-25T03:02:00.001-05:00

Ok, so don't know if any the rest of you have watched this yet, but after having just finished watching the 2nd episode of Fringe, have to say, I think they've got me.

It's an interesting cast. Not exactly 100% sure how I feel about all of them yet. Then again, it is only 2 episodes in, so perhaps some are still flushing out their characters. Both episodes were very well written, and massive kudos to the director of photography. One thing I am interested in though, is the character of the Dr. is by far my favorite, and according to IMBD, he's only in 4 episodes.

This show definitely has a X-Files feel to it. Quirky, weird stuff. Quirky, weird characters. Pseudo Science mixed with tinges of real science... and of course... CONSPIRACIES!!! This show might just be the shot in the arm that FOX and broadcast TV in general, so desperately needs. If you haven't see it yet, you really should check it out. I would highly suggest watching the 2 previous episodes. This is one of those shows, much like Lost, that it really helps to get the entire story line, and not try and pick it up on in. FYI, starting this season, IMDB, now has partnered with hulu.com to bring episodes of many newly aired shows right after they make their broadcast airing. You can go here for Fringe.

Chris Carter should take some notes... Since he's obviously forgotten how to write good para-normal science fiction. Maybe next X-File movies, Carter can just consult, and let Abrams take over. I get a very strong sense that he could make a MUCH better X-Files these days than Chris Carter can.

Bathroom @ Shell Station in Brenham

2008-09-24T10:57:00.001-05:00

On the way to Houston, occasionally, one has to stop and answer nature's call. At this little store in Brenham,

I found this jewel:

Had it been anyone else other than Eddie Money, I might have been skeptical.

Now, while Mr. Money had long made his exit from this fine establishment and I could not get his side of the story, considering what a HUGE ass-bag he is however, actually seems quite fitting. (and I know this because I had the EXTREME displeasure of having met and worked a show he was part of before). I haven't met what I would consider a LOT of celebrities, but I've met more than a couple, and probably more than the average person, even living here in Austin, including the President Daddy, Bush Sr. Out of all the people I met, or even remotely worked with in any manner, Eddie Money was the absolute, across the board, biggest asshole of them all. And really does not have the reason to be that much of one either. No one really does, but he does not have the "star power" (even then) to be that big of a creep. Conversely Faye Dunaway, a much bigger actress, and even has a reputation for being "difficult" on the set at times, was to the crew, one of the nicest people I've ever met. Of course Willie, being THE nicest. Then again, Eddie Money WAS a cop before he became a singer.

Repressed homosexuality and (ex-)cops... is there anything more cliche?

Wow... Ike, Since When Was There a Tina Tx???

2008-09-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

So a friend of one of my cousins from the Orange area has been keeping a collection of images from Ike related stuff, and it's really a very good collection. There's one, a stark contrast of Galveston before and after:

THAT is pretty damn scary when you really think about and take in exactly what you are looking at.

The entire collection is here.

There's a lot of pictures there, and it takes awhile to load, but they are really something. I mean, WOW!

This one:

Just amazed me! Building made with steel girders and cinder blocks. The steel survived, and didn't budge, but got the blocks knocked out of it. WOW!

This picture reminded me of Louisiana:

I thought this was truly one of the most poignant pictures of the group:

This one too, was just startling:

As wild as it is, supposedly, this is NOT a staged pic.

The irony in this one was too much to pass up:

Bad day at the beach... willing to bet there's more than a few people that will argue that sentiment.

Test Posting

2008-09-23T01:12:00.002-05:00

This is a test posting from CellSpin.

Today's Word of the Day: Fuck Stick. Or How to Get Investigated By The Treasury Dept.

2008-04-29T22:59:00.001-05:00

As many of you know, my main and primary online blog of irritaion is Capt. Spastic's Jell-O-Rama Explosion and Super Secret All Purpose Sauce, and I don't typically post stuff from that blog in other areas, but what happened to today was so surreal, so absurd and so Bush administration paranoia, I had to share it with everyone.

Some of you may remember this post.

Many of you know that for a long time now, I have been decrying that we have too many cops. Along with the evidence I've not only presented, but provided, regarding the stupidity of traffic stops with 4 carloads full of officers. This most recent little event really does drive this home.

So, I leave work to go to a Dr. appt. I get a TXT from a guy I work with, telling me that there are 2 Treasury Agents at work looking for me. I TXT him back, with WTF? AYSM? Etc. So he sends me the phone number.

I call this guy, an Agent Feldman. Very nice guy, and clearly someone that themselves "got it". So Agent Feldman gets on the phone:

"Yes Mr. Corbitt... Do you have a Livejournal?"
Me: "Yes, I do."
"Did you post something recently about the I.R.S.?"
"Well, I posted something in regards to the I.R.S.... back on April 1st. Why?"
"Something about shutting down the email servers?"
"No, what I posted about was the Tax rebate, and made a joke that if you emailed the I.R.S. before midnight tonight, you would get double the rebate. Again... ON APRIL 1ST."
"Yeah, I figured it was something related to that. But, someone complained, and filed that complaint with the I.R.S., so we HAVE to follow up on things like this"
"Well, like I said, it WAS on April 1st, it was joke, (as anyone that has looked at a calendar... say... EVER... SHOULD be able to surmise). So.... am I in some kind of trouble over this or something?"
"No, like I was saying, we were just following up. We have to"

Yeah, you HAVE to come to my place of employment, and cause a complete spectacle that would have mortified most people, (note I do say "most people", because I'm not one of them. For me, this is just cannon fodder. Fuel for the fire so to speak. And if you DON'T think I won't get mileage out of this, well, you just haven't been paying attention.) and make a HUGE deal over something that is really of no consequence whatsoever. Like you could NOT have fucking called me? I mean, shit. You show up at my place of work, after backtracking me from Lj, so you OBVIOUSLY know how to get hold of me. I mean WTF??? Why do you come to my place of work, to do something like this BEFORE you have made so much as an attempt to talk to me about this OUTSIDE of work? Am I wrong here people?

$50 right now, says I'll get audited too! Watch.

What I would really like to know... is who the ignorant assed Fuck Stick with even a slither of a sense of humor, OR common sense, was that turned this in. I mean come on... the date ALONE should have been a dead give away!

Reposted from http://captspastic.livejournal.com

Independence Brewing First Saturday

2008-04-02T23:01:00.003-05:00

Independence Brewing First Saturday

2008-04-02T23:01:00.001-05:00

My GrandCentral Phone Number

2007-11-06T21:57:00.001-06:00

Recommended Music: Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Asleep at the Wheel, more

2006-12-21T07:02:00.000-06:00

Some Great Weekend Suggestions

Holiday music that's not annoying

2006-12-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

[Some great suggestions]

Test

2006-10-28T19:58:00.000-05:00

This is a post from Semagic, cross platform from Livejournal Haven't had enough of my lunacy? Visit my main blog: http://captspastic.livejournal.com

And this is a test edit after post.

Test

2006-10-28T19:57:00.000-05:00

This is a post from Semagic, cross platform from Livejournal

Nice picture huh?

2005-05-04T03:57:00.000-05:00

Ok,,, So what would he do?

Feel free to use and distribute.

NakedAprons.com

2004-08-10T10:55:00.000-05:00

NakedAprons.com

You've got to love a country that can inspire such greatness.

WMD 404: Weapons of Mass Destruction | CafePress

2004-08-04T10:35:00.000-05:00

WMD 404: Weapons of Mass Destruction | CafePress

Who doesn't want a pair of weapons of mass destruction boxers?

NPR: Cronkite: Gulf of Tonkin's Phantom Attack

2004-08-02T22:31:00.000-05:00

NPR: Cronkite: Gulf of Tonkin's Phantom Attack

I was listening to NPR this afternoon, as I do almost every afternoon, and I was listening to the great and premier newscaster Walter Cronkite reminesce and revisit The Gulf of Tonkin Event. The primary catalyst that launched the Veitnam Action., changing the American role from one of a police action, into a military contingent. He was fallowing the time-line referenced in audio tape reocrdings between Lyhdon Baines Johnson (the biggest example in history of a Democrat in Republican's clothing) and Robert McNamara. Uncle Walters commentary was engaging and enlightening as usual, the audio recordings however, stood on their own merit, or lack of rather, and showed just the degree that politicians will got to in order to achieve a political agenda. It's makes me mad and sad at the sametime when I think of how many lives were lost. Young men, many of whom did not at all agree with the objectives of this military action, that gave their lives over a military action, that was a sham. (Sound familiar folks?)

So here we are, 40 plus years later, and we once again have a president that has used one event as a catalyst for another military action. Using the emtional swell that comes after such an event to pass "emergency" legislation that basically allows him any power he wants, and in some cases, more power than should be imaginable.

When are we as a people going to realize that reactionary politcs ALWAYS comes back to bite us in the ass? It did in 1964, and it's happening again now. I don't want o see one more American soldier loose his life on a war based on an imaginary threat. Not at the cost of my son, my daughter or your son or your daughter. Not now, not ever again.

We need to start this process in November. You all know what to do. Don't let another Lyndon Baines Johnson win this election, and murder more of our American soldiers.

Here's the link to NPR for those interested enough to listen: NPR Cronkite Gulf of Tonkin's Phantom Attack It's very enlightening. Any of you that are really interested in what's going on in our country should listen to this. It's a scary, scary parallel.

The DNC

2004-07-29T22:44:00.000-05:00

"Where the fuck are the god-damn balloons?!"

Loved it! Absolutely loved it!

Yahoo! News - Sign of the Times: Knife-Resistant Garb for Kids

2004-07-24T15:54:00.000-05:00

Does that come in a Kevlar Size 4?

Yahoo! News - Sign of the Times: Knife-Resistant Garb for Kids

Michael Moore.com : Mike's Message : Mike's Latest News

2004-07-23T22:23:00.000-05:00

My, My... what a difference a little thing like ownership can make. :)

Michael Moore.com : Mike's Message : Mike's Latest News: "Linda Ronstadt and Michael Moore to sing 'America the Beautiful' at the Aladdin???"

Uhh...

2004-07-09T18:34:00.000-05:00

Ok, so now I have a Blog here as well. Guess we'll see what happens.