Mr. Scales served his country in World War II as a Pacific based pilot in the U. S. Air Corps. His professional occupation was that of a conservationist. He worked 29 years as District Conservationist in Goochland, Fluvanna and Powhatan Counties for the United States Department of Agriculture. He was one of the first to pass the Virginia State soil scientist exam. After retirement, he established a private consulting firm dealing with the practice of soil and water conservation. He designed many lakes in the state of Virginia.

He served as Sunday School superintendent and was an elder for many years in Byrd Presbyterian Church, Goochland Virginia. He was a delegate to the General Assembly in 1974 for the Presbytery of the James.

Through the years, Joe received many awards and commendations. In 1985 he was chosen to be Grand Marshall in the Goochland Day Parade. He served as President of the Goochland Historical Society, the Goochland Farm Bureau, the Ruritan Club, and the Soil District Supervisors. He also served on the board of zoning appeals of Goochland County for 12 years. In 1974-75 the Monacan Soil and Water Conservation District recognized Joe as largely responsible for its winning first place in the Goodyear Conservation Award and runners up in 1975-76.

The ultimate highlight for Joe was following his move from Goochland to Greenville to be nearer his daughter and medical facilities. This came when the Goochland Historical Society and the Goochland Garden Club honored him and his wife with a reception and presentation of a tray on which was engraved: “Joseph H. and Roselle F. Scales – In grateful appreciation for your devotion to and active involvement in the life of Goochland County, Virginia for more than 50 years.” Then later, the Goochland County Historical Society dedicated their magazine to Joe and his wife.

Born in Cascade, Virginia, March 21, 1922, he was the son of Grace Fitts and Joseph Harry Scales. He attended Virginia Polytecnic Institute prior to World War II. After the war, he completed his studies and graduated from the University of Virginia.

 Grandfather, you will be missed.

Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology (generally tied to a mass movement) that considers individual and other societal interests subordinate to the interests of the state. Fascists seek to forge a type of national unity, usually based on (but not limited to) ethnic, cultural, or racial attributes. Various scholars attribute different characteristics to fascism, but the following elements are usually seen as its integral parts: nationalism, statism, militarism, totalitarianism, anti-communism, corporatism, populism, collectivism, and opposition to economic and political liberalism.

Link

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” – The 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution

As congress continues to have no backbone. We are seeing the erosion of our civil liberties as well as having atrocities committed in our name. We have illegal search and seizure of information through phones and through the internet. Congress is passing bills which allow for “blanket wiretapping.” Such wiretaps could allow for all people with the last name “Smith” to be tapped. How do you find only Smith? You apply a filter that says, read everything that says Smith. However to do this, they read EVERYTHING. Every single thing you send over the internet. And face it people, for most, a vast majority might be porn. Oh, Mr. Smith, I see you like going to kinkycrazyness dot com. Telecommunications over the internet! It is the future they say. Oh, well you see Mr. Smith, we were filtering for certain words on your voice packets and we would like to talk to your private conversation with..

The NSA is reading all of our internet communications and congress keeps saying this is OK! It is a direct violation of our 4th Amendment Rights.

Pick out an article from bigbrother over at slashdot. They all point towards an over reach of power.

Images Pulled From:

http://www.bushflash.com/14.html

http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

http://www.spamdailynews.com/publish/ATT_tech_outs_NSA_spy_room.asp

I am writing you today about an alarming DOJ press release #07-682. This release relates to “Network Neutrality” of the Internet. Please allow me to elaborate how the DOJ views such as, “precluding broadband providers from charging content and application providers directly for faster or more reliable service ‘could shift the entire burden of implementing costly network expansions and improvements onto consumers’” are flawed and misunderstand the very nature of the Internet.

The Internet was built for easy, redundant distribution of information from one computer to another. Taken another way, “content and application providers” are actually every user on the Internet, not just Google or Amazon. Each user has the ability to use their computer to provide “content” or host an “application”. This is inherently the great power of the Internet. No longer is the ability to provide information to anyone in the world restricted to the very powerful or wealthy. Each person’s PC, no matter who they are or where their connection is, is able to communicate with anyone else’s PC with the understanding that the information will reach the other as soon as possible. The DOJ mentions “differentiating service levels” as if these service levels do not exist, but they are present with connection speed pricing. I can currently sign up for AT&T’s broadband Internet service at two different levels 1.5Mbps for $19.99 and 3.0Mbps for $29.99. Comcast also offers different levels of service, one cost $19.99 for 4.0Mbps and $49.99 for 6.0Mbps. This pricing method is simple and fair for all. If I wanted even more speed, I can contact business providers.

Please protect the open and extremely valuable resource that our great country has created. Large corporations understand that if they are given permission to shape Internet traffic as they please, they stand to make extremely large amounts of money. However, this traffic shaping would be at the cost of the very freedom that the Internet has created. No longer would one person be allowed to share their digital creation with everyone else freely. For example, AT&T has a service called which streams live concerts to users on the Internet. If AT&T, controlling one of the largest networks within the Internet, were given permission to shape content and application traffic, they could immediately degrade the transmission speed of any competitor that offered similar content. Eliminating competition with the throw of a switch would be very convenient for large corporations that maintain vast parts of the Internet.

All users of the Internet already pay for their connection. Please do not allow the DOJ or anyone else to persuade you otherwise. The freedom of information and communication at maximum speed is imperative for the USA to remain competitive in this new high speed world. I invite you to visit the website http://www.speedmatters.org (which I am not affiliated with at all) for more reasons why the DOJ’s opinion is wrong and anticompetitive in itself.

Today on Slashdot I was browsing through the comments relating to, “Security Threat In the New Wiretapping Law“. The article gives the inference that because governments are sloppily implementing secret monitoring of internet and phone traffic, people are going to be able to exploit these monitoring systems and wage denial of service (DoS) attacks against the very system that was implemented to “protect” the people.

Besides the sheer irony of a system being put in place to protect but then is used to cause chaos, there are some real implications of privacy invasion. Privacy is one of the very basic needs of each person that is not discussed in polite company very often. Many would welcome the monitoring in order to guarantee safety, however this methodology is severely flawed. By welcoming extra intrusion into your life, such as allowing lawmakers to go unchecked with warrantless wiretapping, you are inviting another human to make judgment on your actions without them seeing anything but data. Just think, if your friend was addicted to an illegal substance and you felt that you wanted to understand more about the substance what better place to find information than the internet? Your query goes shooting over the tubes, perhaps through AT&T systems, where a NSA sniffer (that is tech speak for NSA program that records every single thing that goes over that connection, including web address, who you are, what you typed in) records the information for future data mining. This information is interesting to the government, perhaps it is red flagged as potentially dangerous, because one of the sites you hit also contained information about bomb making. Narcotics and bomb making could potentially put you in a sticky situation later on. What if searching put you on a “watch list”? What if your future employers used a system of background checks that flagged you as bad due to this watch list? All because you were concerned for a friend. This may sound extreme however it already happens with airline do-not-fly lists. You cannot find out how you got on the list; you cannot find out if you are on the list. Oh but you’ll find out as soon as they come after you.

Enough of my paranoid rambling. This is a serious thought. People do stupid things, everyone does, however if we are not able to have a second chance, a time for forgiveness, a time when your past actions are disregarded for your present actions, then everyone is guilty of doing something wrong immediately. What if the government fined you for every time you went over the speed limit? What if the government fined you for every time you listened to some music that was illegally acquired? This may be acceptable to some but consider that instead of a fine, they incarcerate you without notification of your family. Without the ability to call a lawyer. Sounds more like Saddam Hussein’s Iraq than America, however our government is already doing this in Guantanamo Bay. We are slowly edging towards an unforgiving society where no one is allowed a mistake. My fellow people, if you have never made a mistake in your life than this is perfectly suited for you. However, I would indulge that you are not any more perfect than I am and sometimes your actions are only understood by yourself.

America is a place where the rules apply to everyone. This makes things fair. When the government starts casting nets for information, they will catch the information they are seeking. Will it be in proper context? Probably not. Further, does this net apply to everyone? Again, probably not. So the real question that remains, is who is really breaking the law? I leave you all with this post from rtb61:

If they have nothing to hide, why is it secret wire tapping and secret warrants.

If they have nothing to hide, why isn’t every communication between lobbyists and politicians recorded and publicly declared.

If they have nothing to hide, why is not the activity of every law enforcement officer recorded whilst they are on duty, rather than a taser to torture why not a video camera to record.

If they have nothing to hide, why secret no fly lists.

Let’s all of us give up our secrets and privacy at the same time or maybe lets start with the people who are in such a hurry to take our privacy whilst keeping their own dirty secrets, which will be the most interesting, our little white lies, or the massive whoppers of the corrupt corporate executives, the typical lying politician, the abusive power freak law enforcement officer, and of course the biggest liars of all lobbyists.

Del. Harvey Morgan, R-Gloucester, warned that Hogan’s measure could help an already prospering Dominion to get even richer at the expense of its 2 million Virginia customers. He also suggested “re-regulation” is being rammed through the legislature in too much of a rush.

From Bill to end electricity deregulation clears Senate – DailyProgress

I wrote the State Corporation Commission to make sure what was happening is true and this was the response:

As the legislation now stands, it would end retail electric choice for residential and most business customers. That would include the 1,335 retail customers in Virginia currently receiving their electricity supply service from a competitive supplier providing renewable energy options. The proposed legislation includes incentives for utilities like Dominion Virginia Power to use renewable sources of energy through voluntary renewable portfolio standards.

Andy Farmer
Education Resources Manager
State Corporation Commission

You can see the two bills here:
Senate 1416
House 3515

to continue to try and to manage more and more responsibilities at work and at home. this includes the art thing. balance is key and something i’m trying to achieve without it overwhelming/frustrating me. what can i say? i can be lazy.

to be a better counselor at the group home that i work for.

to not worry so much and to enjoy things more.

and finally, to create more live paintings this year than i ever have prior. so, with that in mind, Friday night was a nice little kick off to the year at Frankfest. check out my blog for specifics if you’re interested…here’s the painting in the meantime, lovelies.

1. Tape more music. I saw a lot and could have taped more… well not much more but still.
2. Challenge my mind. I want to read more and expand my horizons some. This can include sports, friends and just acquiring new skills.
3. Be a better person. This involves being patient and understanding for everyone. I want to respect my sisters and brothers the best I can and hope for the same.
4. Keep on being me and being free.

5.23423424234234. Yes it is decimal because we know it probably won’t happen but I want to do a blog post every week. Perhaps some poetry too.

I owe you all a lot of pictures and sketchy videos. They will be delivered.

Peace out you all and have a great year.

Joe’s Predictions:

2007 will suck more than 2006. I am sorry but I think it will happen. We’ll have a good run with the democrats controlling congress and the senate, however ‘ole Dub-ya will veto the crap out of stuff. He doesn’t seem to be on the side of the people. We will see a growth of people wanting the general good for the earth, however corruption will play a key part in the downfall of some great parts. Open source will spur the private sector to invest greatly into the future.

2008 will bring the end of the darker times. The Middle East will be a disaster however, in that wake people will gain a common appreciation for each other.

2009 has gains in the technological field including unfathomable processing capacity along with the advent of a more flexible programming language that makes software easier and less prone to bugs. This will be supported by an open source movement.

2010 will bring the end to storage problems for personal data.

2011 all information will finally be free.

2012. We’ll see what happens at the end of the Mayan calendar. The human capacity to acknowledge and consume information will become infinitely more accessible, giving rise to unlimited knowledge.

People will recognize that we are connected in many more ways that what appears. Thoughts and ideas will be more easily shared.

i post this to FREAK THE EFF OUT! i’m honored that EO would even think to have me back. i was lucky enough to paint for them for three nights this past Fall, 10/06-10/08/06 and was able to sell two out of the three paintings i created. the music was amazing, the musicians top notch and the experience one to remember. i’m certainly pleased to say the least that they think enough of my work to want to have me back. :) God is good.

here are the three that came about from the run this Fall…

Recher Theatre, 10/06/06 Towson, MD

The State Theater, 10/07/06 Falls Church, VA

House of Blues, 10/08/06 Atlantic City, NJ
word!! this is definitely the biggest event i’ve ever painted and i’m so thankful for the opportunity…hope to see you all at the Lakes!!

Fishman signing the back of my painting @ The State Theater, Falls Church, VA

The State Theater 10/07/06

www.10klf.com

www.everyoneorchestra.com

Scientology hurts people a lot. It hasn’t stood the test of time, which makes it more of a cult than anything else. I researched Scientology for my college journalism graduate studies project and here’s what I found.

As it’s core tenet, Scientology teaches that all the bad things in the world come from negative life experiences. For example, if you were bitten by a dog as a child, without realizing it you might develop an irrational fear of dogs (preventing negative life experiences is why they insist their babies be born in complete silence). Using special auditing techniques and e-meter technology, both of which Scientology claims L Ron Hubbard created, they believe they are able to remove these bad thoughts from your body.

This premise of Scientology, when explained as being part of science, seems reasonable enough to get people started in the cult.

In actuality though, both auditing and the e-meter existed before L Ron Hubbard created them. Auditing was an early type of psychoanalysis experimented with in the early part of the last century. It was soon discarded when the experts of the time came to the conclusion it had no real lasting therapeutic value. The e-meter is based on the same technology as a primitive lie detector.

At first they introduce you to courseware and studies using seemingly innocuous subjects such as tapes on how to have a happy marriage, and how to control you’re eating habits. Where things get really weird is when they teach you to hate psychology and require you to pay money, lots of it, for the courses and auditing sessions. These materials and sessions are required to progress up the Scientology ladder.

As you progress up the ladder, the church begins to reveal more information about itself to you. They contend it can’t be revealed to you all up front, because the information is so powerful, that if you were to hear about it with an unprepared mind it would kill you (it’s that powerful). What they begin to reveal is that all the negative energy trapped inside you are actually thetans, and that thetans are wandering immortal souls carrying past life experiences.

If at some point you cannot continue to pay for the courseware and the auditing sessions, you will be offered a thousand year contract to serve the church for free, in lieu of the fees. You see, the church begins to teach their followers that by following the courseware they will eventually become immortal, and a thousand years is pittance in comparison to forever.

Working for the church is something that can turn quite unpleasant. It’s like an army structure without the organization. Superiors abuse and degrade their workers. They make them do the worst jobs, and can have them locked away using a special confinement technique.

Eventually the courses teach you that once you reach the state of “clear” all thetans will be purged from you body. After “clear” you progress to an OT (operating thetan). As an OT you will begin to develop supernatural powers (John Travolta is a high level OT).

It’s in the OT levels that the church begins to tell you the true story of the universe. They teach you that the thetans were actually hundreds and hundreds of billions of interplanetary space beings placed on Earth by the evil galactic ruler Xenu. They were killed by Xenu when he placed their bodies around volcanoes (somewhere around Hawaii) and bombarded them with H-Bombs. Their souls attempted to escape after death, but Xenu anticipated this and had machines ready to capture them. The souls were taken to giant 3D cinemas and brainwashed into believing all kinds of bad things, like the story of God and the devil. Finally, Xenu released thetans into the atmosphere, where they began to clump together and make their way into our human ancestor’s brains.

To protect all of this information, the church uses its vast sums of money to litigate into oblivion those that speak out against the church. They have an entire dictionary of terms and plays to use against people. For example, if you were in the church and knew someone critical of it they would label you a PTS, or potential trouble source. The outside person would be called a suppressive person. As a PTS you are required to get rid of the suppressive person. This leads to the Scientology policy of disconnection.

Another trick Scientology uses is spying, threatening, and record keeping. See, the contents of your auditing sessions are kept by the church. They have all your deep dark secrets, and if you ever leave and are perceived as a danger in any way, they won’t hesitate to threaten you with this information. Watch the scary video of scientology doing it’s spying.

Scientology is dangerous cult. They have ruined lives and killed people. If your are interested in learning more the many true life stories of people hurt by the cult, search the Internet. Just don’t join their cult.