You read articles like this and this, and you'd never know former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell - who was just sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison - was a Democrat.

If you read this AP story, it's mentioned as the very last word on the very last line. The line that's sometimes cut for brevity.

You need look no further than Idaho to see just what politicians will do to hold on to political power. Take a look at the timeline of their term limits law.

In 1994, Idaho voters instituted term limits through a voter referendum. The measure passed with 59% of the vote.

Stunned, lawmakers put the measure on the ballot again in 1998. Despite a brutal campaign of political rhetoric and lies, the Idaho voters reaffirmed the measure with 54% of the vote, in favor of term limits.

Not to be dissuaded, lawmakers sued to overturn the term limits in 1999, on the grounds that term limits unconsitutionally denied voters the right to suffrage. The Legislature won their lawsuit, and term limits were struck down.

The decision was appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court, which ruled that the term limits law was indeed constitutional, and term limits were upheld.

Just days after the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the term limits referendum, the Legislature drafted a bill to override the term limits. Naturally it passed, and term limits were repealed.

Enter the Governor. The Governor sided with the will of the people, and vetoed the legislation. Term limits were upheld.

Within 36 hours, the Legislature overrode the Governor's veto. Term limits were repealed.

Down but not out, the citizens of Idaho have put a referendum on the 2002 ballot to restore term limits AGAIN.

However adding insult to the Idaho voters, the legislature used taxpayer dollars to fund a misinformation campaign, and thanks to confusing wording on the ballot referendum (a "no" vote meant "yes"), term limits were defeated at the ballot box.

Best of Ravenwood's Universe, originally posted 10/19/2002.

I've always had a soft spot for Fastback Mustangs. Perhaps it was the first time I saw Steve McQueen racing through the San Francisco streets in Bullitt. It is that fascination that draws me to the raw power and rarity of the 1969 Boss 429 Mustang. While this is not the 1968 Fastback GT that McQueen drove, the BOSS 429 holds a place of it's own in history, with only 859 units produced in 1969, and 500 units produced in 1970 (including the Cougars and Quarter-Horse). The Boss 429 World Registry notes that the cars featured "the stock NASCAR version 429 engine," and that each car was assembled by hand. In fact, the Boss 429 Mustang's very reason for existing, was to homologate the 429 hemi engine so that it could be used on the NASCAR racing circuit.

click to supersize

click to supersize

The Autochannel notes that the power plant is a large 429 hemi V8 that makes 375HP, and it has a 4-speed manual tranny which gives it a top speed of around 119 mph. The factory Mustang had to be heavily modified just to fit the large 429 engine. Although the appearance is described as 'understated' compared to a Mach 1 or Boss 302, I find the car to be endearing.

In case you are interested, a pony like this will set you back at least $100k. This one is priced at nearly twice that. (and it doesn't even come with an FM radio.)

Photos courtesy of Musclecarcalendar.com.

Best of Ravenwood's Universe, originally posted 05/09/2003.

Democrat's greed is ok.

Take a look at this CNN-AP article demonizing corporations, and praising Democrats. There are logic flaws o' plenty that need to be addressed.

"Democrats have made it clear: We're on the side of the American families, taxpayers, investors and businesses that pay their fair share and play by the rules."

Democrats have made it clear that they are on the side of confiscatory taxes for those that can "afford" it, to buy votes by giving benefits to those that "need" it. Karl Marx would be proud that Democrats want to play by his rules.

"We'll close the loopholes that allow the big corporations to avoid their responsibilities and shelter taxes overseas."

Since when is paying higher taxes a responsibility? Corporations are always portrayed by Democrats as nameless, faceless entities that have an obligation to pay more than anyone else. This idiotic statement is analogous to trying to shame homeowners for itemizing their deductions and reducing their tax burden. Shareholders are people too. Those who own the corporation, ONLY have responsibility to increase profitability and shareholder value. In fact, lower corporate taxes benefit everyone. Customers benefit with lower prices, employees benefit with higher wages, and shareholders benefit with increased profits and shareholder equity.

As a state senator in Maine, Pingree sponsored a bill creating the Maine prescription law, in which the state is authorized to negotiate lower drug prices with large manufacturers in order to reduce prices for 300,000 residents.

Ask any economist and you'll find out that there is NO FREE LUNCH. Somebody must pay. Customers outside Maine will pay higher prices. Customers inside Maine will pay with less availability of drugs. Employees will pay with lower wages, and shareholders will pay with lower stock prices. Also, all Americans will pay with less research and development of new drugs and drug treatments.

Democrats continue to assault and demonize American corporations, and hamper their ability to compete in the global market. Corporate profits are currently double taxed at a rate approaching 60%. American corporations that generate revenue in foreign countries, using foreign resources, developing foreign products for foreign markets, are double taxed in the US and overseas. When they try to separate these foreign units in an attempt to compete with foreign companies who are taxed at much lower rates, Democrats accuse them of trying to shirk their "responsibility" to pay high taxes. It has become very clear that Democrats are continuing to shift more and more of the American tax burden to a minority of the population. In return, this money is used to buy votes, keep Democrats in power, and keep people dependent on the government.

Best of Ravenwood's Universe, originally posted 08/26/2002.

Did you see or hear about PBS' Frontier House. It was an American spin off of the British "1900 House", which I saw last year and thought had been produced very well. "Frontier House" is a "reality" show where an American family tries to live exactly as 1883 Montana homesteaders did. Although life for last years "1900 House" family in England was very difficult, the concept was ground breaking.

In the American spin-off however, an aura of political correctness came over PBS, and they decided to rewrite history. Gordon Clune, head of the Frontier family, had requested that he be allowed a gun to hunt for meat, but PBS denied him that liberty. Instead, Mr. Clune was severely restricted in the use of his only firearm to the warding off of hostile varmints. In addition, Clune was not allowed to actually use the gun for defense, only to try to scare wild animals away.

"We were supposed to give a predator two warnings," Clune told the LA Times. "'Excuse me, Mr. Coyote, please don't eat my chicken. Excuse me, Mr. Coyote, please don't eat my chicken.' Then, you were supposed to fire a warning shot."

Yeah, just like on the frontier.

Best of Ravenwood's Universe, originally posted 05/29/2002.

Bear Repellent?

Another comment on the PBS gun ban for "Frontier House".

PBS' rules state that "all participants agree to live as closely to the pioneer lifestyle of the 1880s as possible". They also list one of the ingredients of their "Emergency Box" as "Bear Repellent 'Pepper Spray'".

This gives me a novel idea for a 'reality' show that PBS may want to try. Lets lock a PBS producer in a cage with a bear and a can of pepper spray. At the same time, lock me in a cage with another bear and a 30-06 Winchester.

If I have enough rounds left, perhaps I'll put the PBS producer out of his misery before the bear finishes eating him.

Best of Ravenwood's Universe, originally posted 05/30/2002.

I ordered one of these Humidor/Cigar bundles for a buddy of mine. It was only $35 including shipping, and came with 25 hand rolled cigars. I haven't tried any of the cigars, but the humidor is a really nice starter model. It's well constructed of Spanish cedar, and has a great seal. It looks incredible, and has a beautiful cherry finish. I came very close to keeping it for myself.

The cigars are hand-rolled Dominicans that measured 6 inches with a 46 ring gauge. I'm sure they are decent smokers considering the price. It also came with a nice blow torch butane lighter which I did keep for myself (along with 5 of the 25 cigars).

I was so impressed with the humidor that I'm considering ordering another bundle for myself. It's not as large or as nice as my current humidor (pictured below), but it would make a great overflow model. Right now my humidor is a little over stuffed, with over 90 cigars in there. They are stacked three high on one row, and the shelf is a little full. I keep them rotated, and have an excellent humidification system, so I'm not too worried about it.

Those are shot glasses on the right. If you take a paper towel loaded down with PG (propylene-glycol) and distilled water, it will keep your relative humidity pegged at 70%. The PG doesn't evaporate, but should be changed every year. I use an eye dropper to keep the shot glasses full of distilled water, and it's by far the most effective humidification system I've ever used. (Not recommended for earth quake prone areas where they might tip over.) Those plastic sponges (see black thing on the lid) are worthless, and hard to tell when to fill. If you over fill them, they tend to drip onto your cigars. (nice).

Best of Ravenwood's Universe, originally posted 06/15/2003.

Long Ashes II

Since I have already mentioned my personally developed method for humidor humidification, I figured I'd offer up some of my expertise on the initial 'priming' of humidors. A collection of fine cigars can cost quite a pretty penny. With handmade cigars costing anywhere from $2 to $20 for the average stick, a full humidor can literally hold several hundred dollars worth of tobacco goodness. It is therefore very important that you take the time to care for your inventory properly.

When you first buy a humidor, and every year or so as part of routine maintenance, you need to prime it so that it will properly hold the humidity. Out of the 5 humidors that I've purchased or owned, only one has ever included instructions on how to properly prime it.

The tools you'll need are your humidor, of course, a supply of distilled water, and a clean sponge. Tap water and regular bottled water have impurities that will clog the pores of the wood in your humidor and leave hard water build up and stains. Distilled water, which is pure H20 only costs about $0.59 a gallon, and is the only water you should ever use. Similarly, your sponge should be absolutely clean. Try to use a new sponge, or have a few sponges that are solely dedicated to humidor maintenance. You don't want your cigars soaking up odors from last night's meat loaf, so leave your kitchen sponge on the back of the sink where it belongs.

Take your humidor, and make sure that it is empty. Pour about a half a cup of distilled water into the humidor, until it puddles up in the bottom about a quarter to half an inch. Use your sponge to completely soak the wooden inside of the box, including the lid. The Spanish cedar* will absorb the distilled water, and swell slightly. Also coat any removable trays or inserts that came with the humidor. Don't leave the removable pieces in the humidor, lest they swell up and become jammed, or warp. Once you have a good even coat over all the wooden areas, pour the water out. Set the humidor upside down, or on one side so that it can drip dry. You don't want standing water in the humidor, so wipe out the excess with the sponge if necessary.

Let the humidor sit open for a half hour to an hour, or however long it takes to dry or evaporate. Once the inside of the humidor is dry, take your damp sponge and coat the inside of the humidor again. You should add water to your sponge if necessary, but you don't need to pour water into the humidor again, like you did the first time. Once the wood is coated, let the humidor sit open again, until it is pretty much dry to the touch. If you had any internal shelves or dividers, give them the same treatment.

Next, take your sponge and make sure it is damp, but not dripping wet. Put the sponge on a plate, and set the plate in the humidor. You may use a plastic bag, or something else waterproof, but it is very IMPORTANT that you do not let the wet sponge touch the wood. BEWARE that if the humidor is still wet, or that if you let the wet sponge directly touch the wood, you could end up with some mold or mildew on the inside. If you have any internal shelves or dividers, wait for them to dry, and put them back into the humidor so that they don't touch the sponge. They may still be swollen, so don't force them. Close the humidor lid, and let it sit overnight, or for about 12 hours. The water vapor should soak into the pores of the wood and condition it overnight.

Remove the sponge and plate, and inspect the humidor. Fill your humidification device with distilled water or solution [a mix of Propylene Glycol (PG) and distilled water], and put it into the humidor. Also put a hygrometer in there, and add your cigars. Most humidors come with an analog hygrometer, which is sometimes not very accurate. You may want to invest in a digital hygrometer. Keep an eye on the humidity. If it spikes too much, leave the lid open for a few minutes to let some of it out. If you are using PG solution in your humidification device, it should start to regulate the inside humidity to about 70% which is where you want it.

Best of Ravenwood's Universe, originally posted 06/24/2003.

* Humidors should always be constructed of Spanish Cedar. That particular type of wood contains no sap or harmful odors that will pollute the taste of your cigars.