Prescottstyle

Viewpoint on the Immigration Bill

2010-04-27T08:16:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of different views on this new immigration bill Gov. Brewer signed in last week. The dilemmas that will arise from this are expected to raise the tension levels among our neighbors from the south. That is to be expected, and one would wish we could avoid. The Dynamic driving this is the insatiable yearning by the undocumented workers to provide a cash flow for their families, some here in US, but mostly down in Mexico. What's going on here is that we have been asleep at the switch for some time now and the boiling cauldron of volatile viewpoints on the subject is taking on a life of its own. Actually becoming bigger than the issue itself. The fact that we cannot control the flow of illegals into Arizona stands on its own. We have become complacent to the fact, and are being fed a line of hooey about the potential loss of value to our economic system when the undocumented workers are forced to leave their street corners. Some say that when the illegals leave, there will be a vacuum left and nobody, in our country's workforce will provide the manpower to fill this hole! Wrong! We need to reset the structure of the current workforce and fill the vacuum with US citizens. Its a bitter pill to swallow, but none the less, needs to occur. I, being knowledgeable about the local trades here in Prescott, can safely say the wages the illegals are getting are sufficient enough to garner the attention of the unemployed citizens in town. I can remember back about 10 years ago the illegals were getting about 5-8 American dollars per hour. The housing boom was blossoming and in full swing! General contractors were taking on all they could get, and were using these guys to knock out as much as possible. That's the American way, get the money, get the money, get the money! As time progressed, the illegals wages have jumped up to the range of 10-15$/hr. They have started to take on skilled labor positions that were once held by the locals. Now keeping in mind that we allowed this dynamic to evolve because of the desire to use the cheapest labor out there to build the cracker boxes that were selling for 250$per square foot! When the real estate bubble burst a few years back, the local workforce did not adjust the wages for skilled labor. This is when we first noticed how the illegals were beginning to zoom us, filling positions that were once earmarked for local tradesmen. Now with this new bill on immigration passed we need to step up to the plate and do those jobs that were once deemed only suitable for the "trabajodores. I personally can say that I'm working for less than half of what my old wages were. When this dynamic becomes the model for new business, which is slowly developing, we will see things begin to turn around! At that point we will begin to see some sustainable growth here in Prescott. Let's take back our jobs Prescott, and when the time is right we will start using cheap labor again, like the entry level laborer who legally lives in town. At any rate.. Cooler heads will prevail and the disconnect we are experiencing will soon go by the wayside.

Black Tie 2009

2009-12-26T17:31:00.001-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gonzoboy/
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Casper the friendly Zombie Ghost.

2009-11-15T12:01:00.004-07:00

Could not pass this up! The Tunnel under White Spar 89a/ FR54 has a plethora of tags by traveling artists/ hobos. Yoo-hoo Tombo, have you been here? The Flying Saucer is my favorite with the green beam of light shooting down, aiming for a cow probably.

Zombie Paparazzi Gonzoboy at Coyote Joe's

2009-11-03T11:36:00.003-07:00

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

ZOMbie party

2009-11-02T12:27:00.006-07:00

Catalyst got some more shots of this motley crew Saturday nite.

Zombie Princess

2009-11-02T08:29:00.002-07:00

Zombie Princess, was not a happy Zombie.

Zombie Nurse

2009-11-02T08:27:00.002-07:00

Zombie Nurse,

Post-Op pic.

Doctor Z

2009-11-02T08:20:00.002-07:00

Doctor Z,

Found on Montezuma St.

Octomom Lives!

2009-11-02T01:19:00.001-07:00

Demerse St. Concrete

2009-10-29T09:41:00.007-07:00

They are pouring the last of the curbs and gutters up on the north end of Dermerse now, punching it out in freezing weather. A lot of these guys are from Phoenix and are totally freezing their cajones off with this new cold weather front. Getting it done though and a very good job on the concrete finishing. I met Steve from Spire and let him know what a fine job their doing, no hard feelings because of the delays they had. Guy, who ramrods this whole operation, helped out the cause by off loading 20 tons of rock and earth in my yard for a retainer wall. Just think of the saved diesel fuel and equipment expense for not exporting this to the landfill. I can feel my Carbon Footprint drop in size. This project is going to really spruce up the whole area when its complete, allegedly by Christmas now.

I can see in the future that the City of Prescott will need to put some Traffic Calmers in to bottle neck this new road, as the old Demerse St. had built in speed bumps from the old cracked concrete road. High skoolers regularly fly thru here on lunch breaks. Can't wait to see what happens.

Zombie Walk Update:

The Zombie Walk is gaining momentum with more unique zombies checking in. Doctor and Nurse Zombies, Audrey Hepburn Zombie, High School Prom Queen Zombie, and load of just regular zombies. We are meeting at 5:30, at the Gazebo, when we are all ready we will start down Montezuma St. at Hotel St. Michael's hall of galleries, then Matts then Jersey Lilly's and so on. Not sure if the Palace Restaurant would let us in? We will all end up at Coyote Joes some time later and then disperse.

Prescott Zombie Walk on Halloween

2009-10-12T06:20:00.003-07:00

The Prescott Halloween Zombie Walk

Styled after the Zombie Walks in Seattle, We all meet up at the Gazebo in the Courthouse Square Oct. 31st at 5:30. Put on your most realistic Zombie face and outfit. We suggest everyone have a powdery white face with blackened eyes for continuity.

We promptly will embark on a tour of the drinking establishments of Whiskey Row. Remaining in a zombie like character for the whole duration of the walk is crutial. No pun intended.

The only communication allowed is grunting, moaning, groping and such. When in establishments and ordering food or drink one must only point and moan your order. We will conclude the event when we reach Coyote Joe's with a group photograph. Then disperse yourself accordingly.

If you already have plans to troll the Row on Halloween, you should link up with our group so we can have the most impact possible. We have a core group of 10-12 Zombies to start with and would like to see it grow to 30-40 more.

Bobbing for brains in Seattle. Thanx to the Seattle Zombie Walk Picasa for Ideas!

Demerse St. >Construction Update

2009-09-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

New 32" storm sewer pipes are slated for install on the Demerse St. rebuild. New 10"sanitary sewer pipes have been put in as well as new gas lines.

Delays on Demerse. Who would of thunk it?
Update on progress 9-21-09 City Council will hear a
presentation from Engineering Services Director Mark Nietupski on the status of
the ongoing Demerse Street reconstruction project. Nietupski said the $2.5
million project has encountered a number of problems since its start this past
spring. For instance, Nietupski said the project is currently behind schedule.
While the city had earlier estimated that the reconstruction would be complete
by about early October, Nietupski said the project is now about 50 percent done,
and the contractor has used about three-quarters of the time that the contract
allowed for. Other problems have centered on the amount of underground rock the contractor has encountered, Nietupski said, as well as the number of times crews
have hit utility lines.
I would like to know why these Contractors act so surprised when all this extra excavation came to their recent attention. I know that jobs this size in scope require alot of pre-ground breaking research. These yo-yo bid's are so ridiculously low and their time schedule is way ramped up so they get the job!
Then come the addendums to the original contract that need to be litigated. The net result is delays because of the bad planning. I thought for sure after the lesson Copper Basin handed us, that it couldn't happen on Demerse. But Prescott is what Prescott does. Thats what I call doin' it Prescottstyle!

Original post 8/4/09

Here is my prediction for the timetable of completion: Project will be delayed a touch due to the unpredictable layer of volcanic rock strata that occurs where the new elevation of the pipes are. The old pipes were comfortably laying on top of the strata, but the new pipes need more clearance because of their new depth requirements. That means mucho hammer hoeing will happen. You know what they say.. s#@t rolls downhill if its falls at 1/4" per foot.

I wonder if the City of Prescott has worked up a plan for the delays?

Roastin' my Peppers

2009-09-19T10:49:00.003-07:00

Cory has my annual allotment of Chilepenos roasting away in his rig. I bag them up into individual packs and freeze them for use throughout the year. These ones are all bright red, sweet and hot!

I'mma let you finish

2009-09-18T11:40:00.001-07:00

Malachite Crystal Detail

2009-08-25T13:54:00.001-07:00

The King of all joker posters.

2009-08-19T09:19:00.002-07:00

If you find the current spate of joker posters amusing like myself,

then you will love this one!

Ted Nugent on the Second Amendment.

2009-08-10T09:13:00.001-07:00

I'll Second that Ted!

Demerse St. rebuild reveals some interesting boulders

2009-08-05T19:25:00.004-07:00

The red volcanic rock was fractured and then crystals filled the voids in the rock. All the buttes around the Taylor Hicks area are made of red brown volcanic rock. There is just a couple of feet of clay like soil on top.

Straight Edge Haircuts

2009-08-04T11:08:00.002-07:00

For great cuts and comic relief go see Kay at Straight Edge on south Montezuma. My favorite part is the obligatory back massage at the end!

Kays Bumpersticker Board at Straight Edge

2009-08-04T11:06:00.003-07:00

This wall of comedy awaits you at Kay's. She updates the board quarterly with stuff she picks up in her travels. Grooming over the board occupies most of my time when I'm there. She even has re-elect Bob Bell and Marlin for mayor stickers hanging up.

Prescott Hospice

2009-08-04T09:52:00.001-07:00

The carpenters from Phoenix have the first wall up at the new Prescott Hospice on Ruth.

What not to do at the Canyon!

2009-08-03T14:45:00.001-07:00

He is with her.. and he looks thrilled about it.

GC Mules

2009-08-03T06:52:00.002-07:00

Mules resting at the Bright Angel Lodge. It hit 90 up there this weekend!

Vishnu Temple

2009-08-02T11:43:00.002-07:00

As seen from Grandview Point.

GC YELLOWS

2009-08-02T09:49:00.002-07:00

The Yellow Pines are fragrant like vanilla in the summer!

Bright Angel

2009-08-01T10:43:00.001-07:00

Tritle Agave

2009-07-25T13:55:00.004-07:00

Very strong stands of Agave this year.

Eiger Sanction Hill on Tritle

2009-07-25T13:25:00.001-07:00

The landing from a very steep uphill, there are two more until the top.

The 4th Annual Sensitive Wayward Men Trailer Trash Party

2009-07-24T08:31:00.010-07:00

The Sensitive Wayward Men of Prescott

Present:

The 4th Annual Trailer Trash Party

Saturday 7pm-12am at the Prescott Rodeo Grounds.

Bring your cleanest dirty shirt and a $10 bill.

Skull Valley haze

2009-07-18T13:10:00.001-07:00

Skull Valley is all hunkered in from LA and or Phx. smog on Saturday. Viewed from West Spruce Mnt. trail.

Mnt. Francis downpour

2009-07-11T13:51:00.002-07:00

View looking west from trail 48.

Forth of July Parade in Prescott.

2009-07-06T14:24:00.012-07:00

Restart on the kids Bootrace!

Girls on Boots!

Poop Putters.

The ultimate luggage off loader!

Children's boot race on Whiskey Row as viewed from the Balcony above Prescott Arts.

The Obligatory Tractor display

I believe these are John McCain's Limos

Tooth Fairy Money

2009-06-28T10:24:00.002-07:00

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Litter or Art?

2009-06-24T11:05:00.008-07:00

Someone finally took a pic of the fence line in New River that I've heard of before. The Story goes that as the Forth of July nears, Flatlanders come up to Prescott to escape the heat and their inhibitions as well. When this phenomena occurs, girls traveling north on I-17 automatically loose their under garments.

For some reason unbeknownst to me, this usually happens between the Lake Pleasant turn off and New River. It might just be the prevailing winds in that area?

If they make it past there, they will usually end up on some elk antlers in Matts Saloon.

What am I missing here?

2009-06-19T17:11:00.012-07:00

ADOT has just cut down the Hugh old Weeping Willow Tree in the Memorial Island Park between Gurley and Sheldon St. on the eastern entrance to town! WTF ADOT?

..Old Prescott Family was in charge of maintaining the park and tree for years, at no charge to ADOT, death in the family sends the maintenance back to ADOT.

This all unravels under our noses while the Downtown Prescott Preservation Committee is out of town at meetings in Phoenix.

More to come..

Get a load of what the Prescott City website has to say. It reports that:

"parts of the park are under construction during the 69/89 interchange
construction"

But what it didn't say is that the landmark Weeping Willow tree in the park was slated to be cut down. Geez.. I can imagine the tree sitters if they had gotten wind of this!

Check out the last pics on the city's site before they get exchanged for an empty lot.

BO tosses MO off Airforce One in California

2009-05-28T14:38:00.011-07:00

Mrs. Entitlement became enraged and threw a pissy fit on board Airforce One in California today. This occurred after she found out from their stewardess that a "Pearl Necklace" does not qualify her for membership in the Mile High Club.

....Slick Willy still has one up on Michelle.

See the LOL version

Vacation Cruise of a Lifetime

2009-05-07T08:04:00.004-07:00

Are you stumped on what cruise liner to take for your next vacation? Book now for the Somali Pirate Vacation Cruise on the MS Captain Hook. Leave your guns at home as these seamen have everything you might need for the trip.

“We guarantee you will experience at least two hijacking
attempts by Muslim pirates or we will refund half your money, including gun
rental charges and any unused ammo (mini-gun charges not included).
We operate at 5 knots within 12 miles of the coast of Somalia . If an
attempted Hijacking does not occur we will turn the boat around and cruise
by at 4 knots. We will repeat this for up to 7 days making three passes a
day along the entire length of Somalia. At night the boat is fully
lit and bottle rockets are shot off at intervals and loud disco music
beamed shore side to attract attention. Cabin space is limited so
respond quickly. Reserve your package now and get 100 rounds of
free tracer ammo in the caliber of your choice.”

Yavapai Chupacabra

2009-03-27T10:06:00.002-07:00

Update 4-13-09 Chupacabra shot in Lynx Lake area!

So a bobcat walks into a bar ...Friday, March 27, 2009 COTTONWOOD (AP) -- Three people in the central Arizona community of Cottonwood were attacked by a bobcat, including two men who were bitten by the animal after it wandered inside a bar. Officers called to the Chapparal Bar on Main Street arrived to find the bobcat in the parking lot, and they shot and killed it.
Tests were ordered to determine if the animal was rabid. Cottonwood police say about an hour before the bar attack the animal attacked and scratched a woman who had gotten out of her car after thinking she had hit it. A short time later, police got a report of a bobcat acting aggressively toward a woman outside a Pizza Hut. About 11 p.m. came the call from the bar that a bobcat was inside attacking people as patrons climbed atop bar stools to get away.

Bobcat!?! Thats the work of a Yavapai Chupacabra!

Read the story from the CVBugle

Bullet Proof Pooch

2009-03-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

The sign on the final approach to Mnt. Tritle. Showing worse for wear!

Llory Mcdonald and the Combo Deluxe Band

2009-03-12T12:53:00.001-07:00

Just a few more pics of Llory Mcdonald and Band from the Black Tie Affair last December. They put in a real good effort and rocked it out well! Thanks goes out to Gonzoboy for the shots.

Camera Center Saga

2009-02-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

I had a dream the other night about using my old Nikon. I’m looking into the camera bag and seeing my old favorite lenses and bodies that had been lovingly used over the years. Old analog stuff just conjures up feelings and ideas that are somewhat different than those conjured today, the digital age. In my dream I was on a balcony downtown taking pictures of the courthouse when horses started to jump from the roof onto the balcony. I start fumbling for my 20mm wide angle to capture the action and width of the scene. I’m only seeing the 28 PC lens, darn!
Oh well, I woke up. Only to be what seemed, seconds later and the first thing that came to mind was the whereabouts of that camera. My old F2 and my wide angle lenses that over the years became quite personalized. Like a old mans toolbox, it takes years to compile all the retainers, spanners, screwdrivers, filters etc. When something like this is lost or stolen it takes years to replace.
I was into architectural photography and scenery back then, so I had many wide field lenses. For 35mm I had a 15, 20, 28PC, 35PC, all Nikon. I got these particular lenses one at a time from various photographers and friends. With all these lenses I needed a filter system to accommodate with out buying duplicate filters. Series 9 are 3” drop in filters that even worked on my view camera, so an investment was made into those and soon I had more $ into Series 9 than some of my cameras!

Ok back to the question at hand, where are those Nikons? Well I know where I left them.

It was back in 2004, and the need to get a digital SLR was growing. It would compliment my very nice Nikon film system. A necessary purchase indeed!
So I go down to our only camera store in town, I believe it was called the Camera Center.
Don was the owner, as I've known him since 1997.
I can’t believe how trusting of me he was with his personal camera one weekend in Camp Verde. I had only spoke with him once before at his shop in Prescott. We were camping in Clear Creek one weekend and my F2 suffered a broken shutter and was useless for the rest of the campout. I climbed the hill behind the campsite to get reception on my cell, yes a cell in 97’, I had a Motorola Brick. I called Don in Prescott and asked if he could loan me a Nikon as a friend coming out Saturday could pick it up on the way out. The answer was yes, but since Don lived in Camp Verde, he would give me his from home as he didn’t have one at the shop.
Great, all I had to do was come into CV and meet him. I think we met at Circle K and he gave me his F2 to use. I was very thankful to him as I always would order my Polaroid and sheet film from the Camera Center.

I can’t afford to keep my old Nikon stuff and buy the new digital stuff. So it goes on consignment at the Camera Center in hopes of raising enough money to get a D70 and some nice wide angle lenses for it. Don was instructed to sell the lot as a unit, not piece by piece. We roughly estimated the value of the system and was deemed enough to buy a D70 and a 12-24mm lens. At this point I detached myself from that old equipment and was ready to take any offers.

On consignment sales one must have patience, something I was running out of in May.
It had been about six weeks and I checked in with Don only to see that where my old Nikon was sitting is now empty space. Wow, I thought the beast had finally sold!

Don said “No, I had to ship it to Phoenix for professional cleaning.” Something I was not ready to hear! Because I’ll get charged for the cleaning that it didn’t really need.
Oh well, I left dejected about the prospects for a sale anytime in the near future.
Another week or two pass and my curiosity has piqued. Downtown I go and I park in back on the dirt lot. I walk up the alley past Cadillacs and turn left in front of Dons store; you remember the big plate glass windows showing all of his equipment and chemicals for darkrooms? Well it was Empty! Holy S*** Empty!?!

On the front door was a note pinned to it from the inside displaying the contact info of the building's owner. Don was behind a couple of months on rent for the Camera Center, and flew the coop with all our gear right before he was to be evicted for non-payment.
I met with the Owner after a call from my cell was answered from a nice lady on the other side of the door. She let me in, and I was dumbfounded! How could you clean a room out like that? Everything was gone, even some fixtures that came with the building turned up missing. A York family member gave me a phone number to call in Phoenix, they might know where my stuff is.
What happened was Don and his wife filled for bankruptcy and at the same time employed a third party to hold the contents of the store until the dust settled. I called them with my serial numbers and receipts to claim my stuff. They did not have my stuff, and I was pointed towards the Federal Bankruptcy Court.
The problem here is that he can go out of business all right, but don’t claim my property and the property of the 15 other peeps that got taken just like me. Pennies were paid on the dollars in that case.
Living in Camp Verde and working in Prescott has its advantages, huh Don?

Back to the Crystal Pit

2009-02-02T16:40:00.002-07:00

A few more shots from our recent finds in Skull Valley. These crystals precipitated on some kind of ore rock. They are 5 sided little button shaped crystals about a centimeter wide surrounded by little 1 millimeter wide, rusty colored opaque crystals.

I found out that the little buttons are Calcite crystals and the little rusty ones are Mimetite. A secondary mineral, Mimetite is a precipitation of Lead. Very closely related to Wulfenite.

A new Courthouse Complex you say..

2009-01-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

This proposed version of the Yavapai County Courthouse by Architect J.R. Minor in 1915 didn't cut the mustard back then, but it might work now! I wonder if its to late to submit this design to the Supes for approval on the Prescott Lakes parcel? Surely it can be done for less than the 50 million that was allotted earlier.

Black Tie Affair

2008-12-23T10:14:00.001-07:00

Lets Get This Party Started

The Annual Black Tie Affair, brought to us by the "Sensitive Wayward Men" rolled in with the first snowstorm of the year. For those of you who aren't familiar with this Hip Mens Club, they put on several events throughout the year for our amusement. Like the White Trailer Trash Party that is held at a local recycling plant. This years BTA was held at the Rock building on the Old Rodeo grounds. Always top of the line everything, starting with the Limo ride and continuing with some great entertainment and food. A notable difference in the Hors D'Oeuvres this year. I believe that comes from the fact that they have Chef Matt Anderson as a member, Matt is from the Murphy's/Gurley St. Grill conglomerate. There are other Brothers at the Grill too. You have the fine southern gentleman Wayne, and now Aaron is a conscript in this widely touted club.

Hub, A recent transplant from Phoenix, has joined the ranks, and what this tells me is SWM has little or no Prescott residency requirements for membership. Come on Donovan what is up with that? I'm not bitter, in as much as I would regale the opportunity to become an exalted member, but I would humbly reject the offer on this premise alone.. spoken wisely by Prescottstyle's photographer Gonzoboy. It goes like this.. "I would not want to belong to any group or club that would have me as a member." And that applies to all Flatlanders as well.

I see the need to involve some deep pockets in the club, but not at the expense of tipping the balance of local membership. Remembering that the younger members have a unwritten rule about bringing in the Hotties that the old farts drewl over!

Tantrix
An Effort by Leslie Buttita and Hub Lee, A new Gallery on Cortez St. will feature art work on the erotic side of life, tantrical if you will. It will probably be open in January.

Scroll down for more pics of the SWM Event..

Lil' Sherri is shocked by the large Undies!

Senator Richard and Wife

Brother Wayne and Flyboy Carl

Llory McDonald
catching her breath between sets.

Deer Hunt Baca Float Poster

2008-12-14T15:56:00.001-07:00

This Poster was made in the 60's by Charlie Fornara for the Posse's Annual Deer Hunt up on the Baca Float. Ten Dollar permits! That Winchester has got to be a collectors piece now. Charlie is still a member of the Posse to this day.

New Deer breed spotted in Golan Heights, Israel. All special hunt permits sold out in one day!

Homestead Application for Virgil W. Earp 04 01 1900

2008-12-14T13:11:00.001-07:00

Homestead Application for Virgil W. Earp 04 01 1900,

I have to find out where this section is. My first guess without researching it, is somewhere up on Iron Springs.

From http://www.archives.gov/research/american-west/.

Skull Valley Crystal

2008-12-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

Historic Skull Valley Railroad Stop

One of the last "Chamber of Commerce weather" weekends has past in Skull Valley. We spent it hiking an obscure ravine in the Prescott National Forest outside of town. By happenstance we arrived at a gully like wash that has soft sand walls that are sloughing off crystals of all sizes and colors.

A section of a 2" long Scepter

A 1.75" dia. Hexagonal Di-Pyramidal Quartz Crystal
Scepter Base

I wish that was gold embedded in there

Even the Shards have some cool facets!

A fairly clear example of a Hexagonal Di Pyramidal Quartz Scepter

A very good link for local mineral info.. mindat.org

New Prescott Webcam

2008-11-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

http://whiskeyrow.bulleri.net/ A new webcam on the Bashford Building. Pretty good quality with full screen capability, although with the sun sitting low on the horizon these days it creates a unnecessary foggyness or lens flare with the protective plexiglass dome. It would be nice if we could control the cam like the one in Flagstaff, hint, hint.

Grab your ankles Mister!

2008-11-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

A comment from patdollard.com that is a must read..

Friends,
Will you please take the time to read this, and if you think it worthwhile, pass it along to your email list, and ask them to read it? Even if they voted, with all good intentions, for Mr. Obama?
I am a student of history. Professionally. I have written 15 books in six languages, and have studied it all my life. I think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is just a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes these exist, but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus.
Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about ten - fifteen years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.
We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people we know they can never pay back? Why?
We learn just days ago that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has “loaned” two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom or why or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the 700B we all argued about so strenuously just this past September. Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of “we the people,” who loaned our powers to our elected leaders. Apparently not.
We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why?
We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?
We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (now violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it wants marriage to remain between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?). We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?
Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, social security is nearly bankrupt, as is medicare and our entire government, our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and know precisely what I am talking about)–the list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth. It is potentially 1929 x ten. And we are at war with an enemy we cannot name for fear of offending people of the same religion, who cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.
And now we have elected a man no one knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla, Alaska. All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary (Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh of course. The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palin’s pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe is more imporant.)
Mr. Obama’s winning platform can be boiled down to one word: change.
Why?
I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now.
This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.
And that is only the beginning.
And I thought I would never be able to experience what the ordinary, moral German felt in the mid-1930s. In those times, the savior was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they did know was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory and promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his “brown shirts” would bully them into submission. And then, he was duly elected to office, a full-throttled economic crisis at hand [the Great Depression]. Slowly but surely he seized the controls of government power, department by department, person by person, bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The kids joined a Youth Movement in his name, where they were taught what to think. How did he get the people on his side? He did it promising jobs to the jobless, money to the moneyless, and goodies for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe, and across the world.
He did it with a compliant media–did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and . . . change. And the people surely got what they voted for.
(Look it up if you think I am exaggerating.)
Read your history books. Many people objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and made fun of. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930s while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though.
Don’t forget that Germany was the most educated, cultured country in Europe. It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And in less than six years–a shorter time span than just two terms of the U. S. presidency–it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors. All with the best of intentions, of course. The road to Hell is paved with them.
As a practical thinker, one not overly prone to emotional decisions, I have a choice: I can either believe what the objective pieces of evidence tell me (even if they make me cringe with disgust); I can believe what history is shouting to me from across the chasm of seven decades; or I can hope I am wrong by closing my eyes, having another latte, and ignoring what is transpiring around me.
Some people scoff at me, others laugh, or think I am foolish, naive, or both. Perhaps I am. But I have never been afraid to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what I believe–and why I believe it.
I pray I am wrong. I do not think I am.
Best regards
tps

http://patdollard.com/2008/11/i-am-a-student-of-history/

John McCain and Hank Williams Jr. on the Square

2008-11-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

New Construction Guidelines 2008

2008-10-02T15:14:00.001-07:00

Additional info about the disparity between the north route versus the southeastern route: Different Islamic sects that are found around the world face different ways to Mecca. For people in Arizona, the north route of about 30' +/- 1.5' makes the most sense. The southeast route dosen't take the curvature of the earth into account, and you would have to travel through solid earth to get there. To find out what your azmuth is try this.

Crown King Open 2008

2008-10-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

Crown King Open 2008: One Hole on a two mile long crooked road for a fairway. One club is all you need, I chose a nine iron. Some folks had old wood drivers, one had a hockey stick, but players mostly had nines. Here's one of our teamates stuck in a sand trap and only having a wood driver. You can see the frustration on his face!

A Freshly graded fairway at the Tee off.

Horay! She kept it between the ditches!

Hurry up and wait was the theme of the day

The team in front of us had a very interesting cart, they are trying to dig it out of the ditch here.

Team Prescott patiently waiting for the Tee time

The Crown King Open Mascot.

Another reason to wear helmets.

Pardon me, but I must say!

2008-10-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

A serious word for a change. All across the country and world we are seeing and feeling the effects, from several angles, what this stalling economy is doing. I just heard some numbers and they made reference to the year 1991. Right now that’s the year we are being compared with. This helps people who remember that crunch in 1991, so they can have a starting point for their personal barometer on this slump.

Here’s the difference between 1991 and our current slump. People back then didn't have the internet for the blow by blow on the status of the economy or the elections. Newspapers and TV, thats all there was! With the overwhelming power of the w.w.web. we can now respond to any nuance of any subject that creeps up with the utmost speed.

Back then it was smoke and mirrors, backroom handshake deals and such. The dirty deals were done before the public could react to it. Now the astute public can allegedly catch the shady deals and react in time.

Here’s the question. Will the w.w.web actually contribute to the revival of the economy and get us a good prez or will it just be another purveyor of more drama and bad news?

I really hope our new technologies will help deliver us from this mess. Because if it doesn’t, that means all of our collective knowledge that is held on the web is about as useful as the old “Idiot Box” in the living room.

Hook em' Horns BO

2008-09-10T07:19:00.001-07:00

As the old saying goes, 'You Hook the Horns, you have to ride the Bull' or pig in this case.

Go Badgers

2008-08-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

Go to the Library and Read!

Prescottstyle Chipset 3.0

2008-08-20T14:22:00.000-07:00

Sandstone courtesy of Sid at Batteries Batteries on MillerValley rd.

Hack this Vladimir

2008-08-11T15:51:00.000-07:00

Russia has been hacking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website in Georgia as the invasion continues. They brought down the website to quash information transmittal. Nice, but now there is another problem for the Ruskies.
Now the bastards have to go toe to toe with Google to bring down the blog they set up for the population over there.
Just remember this Vlady boy.. You mess with Google, you yourself will get bombed, Google Bombed!

Update 8-15: Signs of things to come..

Russia Seizes Arsenal Of US Weapons In Georgia - Military
MOSCOW (AFP)--Russian forces have seized a "large arsenal" of U.S.-made weapons in the western Georgian city of Senaki including hundreds of assault rifles, a military spokesman said Friday.
"In Senaki, we seized a large arsenal of weapons including 664 U.S.-made M-16 rifles" and a number of M-40 sniper rifles, General Anatoly Nogovitsyn told a news conference in Moscow. "There were 1,728 weapons total." nasdaq.com

Uhh.. who would have thunk this would ever occur? Perhaps the leaders of Georgia? When Pigs fly.

Kendall Camp Goldenrod

2008-07-21T10:13:00.001-07:00

Goldenrod3, originally uploaded by prescottstyle.

Sunset at Diamondbacks game

2008-06-15T07:16:00.001-07:00

Sunset at Diamondbacks game, D- Backs over the Royals 1-0

Photographic proof of life on Mars

2008-06-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

Backhoe scrape marks.

The first images captured by the Phoenix on Mars clearly shows marks made by a backhoe. Proof positive that there is a John Deere store up there.

More Mars pics

Lookout Mountain

2008-06-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

Henry on Petroglyph

2008-05-12T19:33:00.001-07:00

Henry on Petroglyph at a location off the main hiking trail at Granite Mnt. I believe these are the closest petroglyphs to town I've ever seen. The Indians chose these black boulders that have concentric layers for their easel. Unfortunately some looting of the glyphs has occurred by chipping off flakes of the loose rock. Also a "contemporary artist" has attempted to augment this collection with his own rock art that pales in comparison.

List of Accidents

2008-05-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

From the NAU Library Archive of old Flagstaff Newspapers

J. W. Perkins severely cuts his arm at Az. Lumber Co.'s mill Ja/7 3/1
overturning wagon of wood almost costs the driver his life Ja/7 3/2
J. Hennings dies from the load of wood that fell on him Ja/14 3/2
David Joy, herder, is found frozen to death 25 miles north of Winslow Ja/21 3/1
Hugh Anderson, Flagstaff, receives a severe injury from a kick by a horse Ja/21 3/1
Connors, Williams, has hand smashed while loading a derrick Ja/21 3/2
Morris Walsh takes man to Albuquerque to have his frozen hands amputated Ja/21 3/2
Ortiz has both legs broken by an overturning of derrick at Ash Fork Ja/28 3/1
John Sterling is brought to Flagstaff from Hell Canon with both feet frozen Ja/28 3/1
Miss Fulton, Flagstaff, sustains severe injuries when thrown from her horse Fe/18 3/1
T. B. Allison is killed by a falling derrick at the Az. Stone Co. Fe/18 3/2
C. S. Smith's son breaks leg in school house scuffle Fe/25 3/1
Chas. Reed has three fingers of left hand cut off by circular saw at Az. Lumber Co. Fe/25 3/2
boy, age ten, falls from westbound A & P near Coolidge; seriously hurt Ap/28 2/3
Fred Westcott has first joint of second finger mangled at Flagstaff Lumber Co.; amputation necessary Ap/28 3/1
"Shorty" George Houghton has toes amputated after freezing them in drunken wanderings Ap/28 3/2
Geo. W. Hance is seriously injured by a steer in Verde My/5 3/1
William Everitt, Tempe, dies from being thrown from a bucking horse My/12 3/1
Doanne Merrill, Prescott telegraph operator, is injured in fall from a wagon My/12 3/1
correction of accident occurring to George W. Hance; dies My/12 3/3
Master Freeley F-ye breaks his arm on the Arizona Mineral Belt track in Flagstaff My/19 3/1
L. H. Wilson, P & AC agent, is thrown from his horse in Prescott My/19 3/2
Geo. W. Hance did not die and is on the way to recovering My/19 3/3
Miss Halford, Doyle's wood camp, breaks leg while jumping from a horse My/19 3/3
George Hance recovers My/26 1/5
Gus. Becker, Springer, falls from wagon and just manages to twist his head from under the wheel My/26 1/5
Mrs. Wm. Carroll, Flagstaff, is injured when dragged by a frisky colt Je/2 3/6
George Thomas, Flagstaff, is dragged by a horse he was roping Je/9 3/4
Henry Ashurst breaks his arm in two places Je/16 3/2
premature explosion at Highland canal, Phoenix, kills two Mexican laborers Je/23 3/1
Geo. Thomas does well after being dragged by a horse Je/23 3/1
evil feared to have befallen Groves, Boston, and Flagstaff companion who went to Navajo country to prospect Je/30 3/3
Dan Maloney, Kingman, bruises foot when the Halsey building falls on it Je/30 3/3
Howard Jordan, Flagstaff, is severely bruised about the head and face when controlling a frightened team Je/30 3/3
George W. Hance has fully recovered Jy/21 2/3
Sol Trescott's, miner, foot is struck by lightning near Tucson; foot injured Ag/4 2/3
Master Robbie Black, Flagstaff, breaks arm in two places when his horse falls Ag/4 3/2
Master George Turnbrough is injured when a shed falls on him near Prentice Mill Ag/4 3/2
Master (?) Bert Davison may lose finger after having it cut off by an ax head Se/1 2/3
William Collins recovers from rattlesnake bite; attributes recovery to whiskey Se/1 2/4
Col. Thorp's four-year-old, Flagstaff, is hit in the eye by a broken glass tumbler thrown by another small child Se/1 3/5
Mrs. F. Whipley dies from exposure and lack of water at Texas Hill Se/8 3/4
Monico Villa, Clifton, is run over and killed by a wrecking train Se/29 2/2
Roach, Chief of Police of Tucson, is seriously wounded by being thrown from a horse Oc/6 2/4
A. W. Callen (Old Grizzly) is laid up with a broken foot from a mine slide Oc/6 2/4
Master Frank Beal, Flagstaff, breaks both bones of his left arm in a fall from a barrel No/10 3/1
W. H. Groves, Flagstaff, trips on the street and receives cuts about the head No/10 3/1
Miss Effie Yancey, Flagstaff, broke her arm Thursday No/17 3/2
Drownings
Herbert Taylor of Clear Creek Canyon is believed drowned in Little Colorado Mr/3 3/2
Herbert Taylor may not have drowned but may have taken 3,000 sheep Mr/17 3/2
Rafael Andorado is believed drowned in the Salt River Mr/24 1/4
Michael Murphy found on an island near Phoenix, drowned during flood Mr/24 1/4
Pvt. Philip H. McKiernon drowns while attempting to cross the Gila River near Fort Thomas Ap/14 1/4
Master Robbie Hart drowns at Mud Springs in Tonto Basin Ap/21 3/1
Master Robbie Campbell drowns at Florence despite mother's attempt at rescue Ap/28 1/3
young bootblack, Edward Rowen, drowns in the Colorado River near Yuma Se/1 2/4
August Carrington, Supterintendent of Highland Canal, drowns in Salt River near Tempe Se/22 3/3
Firearms
Wee Young is fatally shot at Fairview Station; official verdict is accidental discharge of a revolver Ap/14 3/5
Deputies McLane and Fitzgerald shoot an innocent lad, Patricio Romero, at Soran's ranch in the Dragoons Je/9 1/4
Romallo Tofallo, Holbrook, accidentally shoots himself breaking his right arm Jy/21 3/2
Charles Cook, Charleston, is killed in discharge of shotgun Se/29 2/2
teamster shoots at coyote and explodes some giant powder he was sniffing De/8 3/1

Save the Petrified Forest

2008-04-08T13:56:00.001-07:00

Yup, We had all kinds of demonstrators at Saturday's McCain rally at the Courthouse. Ranging from War protestors (of course), Obama people (of course) to your slightly out of time Ron Paul supporters, to the advocates for the saving the Petrified Forest. Funny thing about the Petrified Forest, It's a National Monument already with plenty of protection. But an astute observation by J.Fornara, btw his uncle sold the Budweiser franchise to the Hensleys, puts it all in perspective.. What’s to save, they are already rocks!?!

While on the subject of rocks, some of the folks attending the rally appeared to have their heads full of them. As our group of four were snaking our way up through the crowd some very bitter Flatlander couple verbally jumped us about our rights to stand in a place adjacent to him or his wife seated in a lawn chair. Fingers were pointed, heated words were spoken. I thought for a moment that the ol'timer would actually croak in front of us! You can sure tell he's never been to a rock concert before. Oh well cooler heads prevailed, and we opted for a different vantage point that was safer. I can't believe how stinking emotional people get about their politics!

New message from Bin Ladin in LoL speak

2008-03-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

That crafty Osama, when he chooses to share with the outside world his views or when he needs to embed a message for his sleeper cells abroad, he uses a highly encrypted method of communication. By mixing text with images (sorta like some login verifications do) he fools the spiders and the bots that are out there searching the web for him. By employing this method, he can assure himself that his secure message will be read by his fellow jihadist when they login on icanhascheezburger.com.

Note: With all due respect going to our hardworking troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, this screenshot is merely pointing out to what level of web savy the modern jihadist employs; and what level I will stoop, to illustrate such. If it weren't for our wonderful web 2.0 ease of publishing, a majority of the jihadist (and myself) would have no soap box to stand on! lol.

Spruce Mnt. Ridge

2008-03-10T15:20:00.001-07:00

While bushwhacking through a forest of blowdowns on S. Spruce Ridge Saturday, We find that the old line shack has been hit. A large Ponderosa creamed the east side of the building. It stood untouched for eons it seems. It was probably built by a prospector, judging by the proximity of several mines.

Mnt.Tritle > for sale

2008-02-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

The familiar north face of Mnt. Tritle seems to always sport some snow. With Thumb Butte being first, Mnt. Tritle (elev.7767) is the second most recognizable horizon in Prescott.
Due south of town, Tritle is in the middle of the northern most mountain range in the Bradshaws. With Mount Union flanking the east side and Maverick Mountain on the west. Mnt. Tritle has enjoyed alot of anonymity over the years because of the lack of access (little signage and or road maintenance) and also what I perceive as an attempt by the Forest Service to keep this area closed off to the masses.
Back in the sixties the road to Mnt. Tritle was passable all the way from the Senator Highway to the Little Copper Creek area south of Ponderosa Park. Now the road on top is impassable because of rock slides near the summit. Thanks to the limited access, Turkeys, Bears, Mountain Lions and Deer have roamed this mountain range virtually unscathed. There are old growth Fir trees and Junipers still standing for the same reason.
Mnt. Tritle has had its share of mining over the centuries. There's the successful Kendall Mine site at the head of trail 65. Then you have the Davis Dunkirk mine on top, with a smattering of other claims along the way. There's also a handful of private homesites on some of the patented claims in the foothills.

Well it was bound to happen. Mnt. Tritle is for sale, and they are trying to attract a buyer interested in creating a commercial venue for the mountaintop.

Back in January 2002 a man from Texas purchased several contiguous claims that surround and include the summit of Mnt. Tritle. According to Yavapai County GIS, a sum of $50,000 was paid for the claims. A total of six claims comprising of 102 acres were sold.
(see claims outlined in red below)

From what I can see, the owner has recently contracted a Realtor here in Prescott. A marketing blitz has been employed using the Internet to multiplex this listing. A simple search using keywords bring up several websites that link to the offering.

From what I can tell, the Real Estate world is turned upside down right now. By flooding the market with too many over priced listings, Realtors have created a mess. I don't blame the property owners for wanting to profit from their speculations, they just assume their property should be listed as all the others out there.

But what's not happening here is the Brokers who close the deals for the Realtors, are not informing them to hold off on listing any new properties.

The right thing to do now is to hold onto your properties and let the dust settle. There are way too many listings out there. Sell from the current inventory of listings first. The numbers and the comps are way out of line, unreal!

But with the market flooded with so many Realtors that think listing properties is their only way to make a buck, we will have to rely on a "Correction" to level the playing field.

Did I mention what the asking price is for the Mnt.Tritle claims.. 5 million dollars!
Exactly 100 times the sale price in 2002
What a steal for one of Arizona's "Sky Islands."

MLS Update July 2008: Asking price is raised to 25 Million clams!

Saguaro Shaq

2008-02-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

Shaq has a new look for the Suns, Saguaro Rows.

Shaqtus, Shaqti, Shaquilla Monster, Shaqatillo.. What will it be?

His new nickname has to sound indigenous and carry well, Imagine Al McCoy shouting it after saying Shazam!

"'Doc" Hal Hickman and the "Tales of the Old West"

2008-02-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

"Doc" Hal Hickman has some good old stories from the Frontier days in Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Names like Estebanico, Sailor Jack and Iron Dog come to life in Doc's descriptions.
Hear how Prescott lost its place as the territorial capitol of Arizona because of what happened to a glass eye!

Listen to the Prescott Fire Podcast

Spoofin' with Wilson and Krug

2008-01-24T18:04:00.001-07:00

Prescott's Mayor Jack Wilson's patented web techniques:

..While much of the mayoral campaign was cordial, it took a turn in August, when Rowle Simmons discovered that Wilson had appropriated several Simmons-related website names, such as electrowle.com and electrowle.net, and was directing Internet users who accidentally keyed in those names to Wilson's own electjack.com site.It seemed that when Simmons chose his own website name, reelectrowle.com, he had not bought the other obvious names.While Simmons termed Wilson's move "unethical," the challenger, a retired information technology executive, said it was a common practice, and he maintained that Simmons' campaign should have anticipated such an action by buying all obvious website names. Daily Courier

It seems this unethical behavior is running rampant in the local government circles. Flagstaff is no different.

If you were looking to find out more about Flagstaff mayoral candidates Joe Donaldson or David Schlosser online, you might find yourself at Rick Krug’s Web site instead.
Both donaldsonformayor.com and schlosserformayor.com had been re-directing people to rickkrug.com, Krug’s official campaign Web site.
Krug initially on Wednesday said he wasn’t aware of any connection to the Web addresses. But he conceded later that night an “overzealous” employee registered the Web addresses without his knowledge.
Schlosser said he wasn’t surprised by the tactic.
“I consider it the highest compliment that one of my challengers acknowledge which candidate is the leading choice for mayor of Flagstaff. I am only disappointed this kerfuffle is distracting people from talking about real issues,” he said.
Krug shut down both sites down Wednesday night. flagstafftoday.com

Waiting on Lowes..

2008-01-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

Dollars waiting on Donuts.

I hear that a third party will contemplate the future repair on the Lowes Wall.

Perhaps all that is needed is to consult with an expert on the subject. DIY.

Additional pics Flickr

One Huge Mountain Lion

2008-01-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

Urban Legend update: Catamount orgin

Marshall and Barbara Rader said that on a dark night in early December, they were driving north on Highway 64 about halfway between Williams and Valle when a huge cougar leapt in front of their Ford F350 truck.Marshall - who hunts lions and displays mounted game animals at his Double Eagle Trading Co. in Valle - knew right off it was unusually large."His head was at the right front headlight, and his tail was in the other lane," Marshall said.He had no chance to brake. The truck ran over the lion.The couple pulled over and found the lion under a tree, alive but unable to get up. It still was able to put off a serious growl, but it clearly was beyond rehabilitation.When they called 9-1-1 for help, the dispatcher said they couldn't put the animal down. They had to wait for a Department of Public Safety officer to arrive. DPS officer Jason Ellico just happened to be a local Boy Scout leader who taught youngsters about hunting and processing game, so the Raders agreed to let him skin the lion as a demonstration for the boys. It is Ellico who is posing with the lion in the photos.

(Reprint from the Prescott Daily Courier 1-22-08)

While on the subject of Cougars, this one tripped a motion sensor camera right before a midnight snack.

Grapevine Springs

2008-01-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

Old Virginia Farm

2007-12-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

Whiskey Row's Traveling Artist 'Lou Sleeves'

2007-11-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

Here's to one of Whiskey Row's unsung heroes.
Brian Lemke the Traveling Caricature Artist.
a.k.a Lou Sleeves

Religiously traveling the Row's circuit, he finds no inner peace until he successfully contains someone to draw. Pens and pad in hand, feverishly seeking out his next subject, he leaves no rock unturned. You've probably have seen him, his head bobbing above the crowd, scanning for the next sitting. I remember his goal last summer was to draw 1000 people, and he met his mark handily within the time frame he set for himself. You can see another one of his drawings at Read it Here.
So Lou, keep up the good work. We, and I speak for the hundreds of people you've drawn, can't wait until your Coffee Table Book comes out. Cheers!

Cowboy Fatwa Ordered

2007-10-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

A Fatwa has been issued for the head(s) of the person or persons responsible for the destruction of this original Cowboy art piece. The Order of Fatwa was handed down by the powers that be that reside in the Palace Executive Suites. This original hand drawn image dates back to the 1970's and is located in a secret hallway in the Historic Palace Building. Back in the old Days there was a Art Gallery downstairs in the restaurant area. The artists who hung their wares there were encouraged to leave their mark on the old plaster walls within. Thus, this drawing was left by a unknown artist (unknown; because during the many remodels the Palace has endured, painters have sloppily covered over the artist signature.)

I speculate that it happened back in August when a redneck, cowboy band was playing upstairs at the Jersey Lilly Saloon. The crowd that followed them up here was more rowdy and oxygen deprived than any other flatland troupe I've seen.

To inflict such venomous hate upon an old lath & plaster wall one would have to really wail' upon it with great force. The 1" thick plaster is more than 100 years old and is very "time hardened." They gouged it down all the way to the lath sticks!

Now come on, why didn't they just scrape off the surface if this image displeased them that much? Instead they beat a hole into the wall of a historical building? Looking closely at it reveals that a tool was used in the defacing process. A hammer perhaps, but the heel of a boot was more likely used by the vandal as a spur of the moment tool.

Any tips to the whereabouts of the perpetrators of this attack will be held confidential.

Architectural Study at Daybreak

2007-09-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

An Illustration made for Stroh Rogers Architects Inc. in Prescott.

Images seldom seen >Navajo Mountain

2007-09-04T09:04:00.001-07:00

Our brother in crime Larry, up in Page, Arizona has sent some mystical pictures he took on the sacred Navajo Mountain in Utah. With special permits they were allowed on the mountain to do some maintenance work on the communication towers. Way to go Lar-Dog!

Tropical looking I must say!

Welcome to Pre-Scottsdale

2007-08-27T07:31:00.000-07:00

The trappings of the Flatlanders are slowly materializing up here. You can rest assured knowing that the
"Urban Creep" will dig its ugly claws into what I affectionately call Prescott.

The Mural is done!

2007-08-22T05:39:00.000-07:00

The Gigantic mural by the Parking structure is complete. It is huge, 75' long!

R and Maggie posing above with their labor of love have put an end to their
multi year endeavor Sunday.
An incredible amount of detail was applied by the artists.

A very deep breath was exhaled at what appears to be the
Pièce de résistance

Maggie Dewar and R.Walls with Mosaic Artist Mary Schulte.
Great work everybody and thanks for the Eye Candy!
Be there for the Dedication Ceremony Sept.15th at 6pm.
See more of the Project here.

The Australian Shepard Feral Pack Story

2007-07-31T20:50:00.001-07:00

Back around 2003 in the Thumb Butte area we started to explore the vast trail system on our dirt bikes. First it started out by just taking some immediate turn offs by Thumb Butte. Those trails led us to other junctions that reached out further. Next thing we knew, we were on the summit of Mt. Francis, Williams Peak and Porter Mt. These mountaintops are the backbone of the Sierra Prietas (Pretty Mountains). Following north on this ridge trail you will find yourself behind Highland Pines, on your way to West Spruce Mountain. West Spruce is the final summit of the Prietas.

Our area of interest was mostly on the southern flank of the Prietas, like Copper Basin, Little Copper and the Hassayampa River. I was personally very knowledgeable of this area because of the numerous mountain bike trips and hiking that preceded the motorcycle era. At one time prospecting was the impetuous behind the endless exploration, and then it turned more towards just hiking and photography.

The Hassayampa River is the main artery that bisects this part of the county. That’s were all the water is! The river parallels the White Spar Rd. (89a) for a spell until it spills out into the Wilhoit area. A mineral laden area, the Hassayampa has been mined for centuries. Thus all the patented mining claims that eventually turned into private property. There are some awesome spreads down there. A lot of old time Arizona families still hold onto these. Once a person crosses the ‘Spars’ and proceeds south past the Hassayampa River you will be ascending the Bradshaws. Place names like Maverick Mountain, Tritle Peak and The Jersey Lilly Mine will pop up.

Well one day we were at the Climax Mine on the Hassayampa, the river was running good from all the monsoon runoff. It was getting late and we needed to get back to the Copper Basin side. So the route we chose was FR 53 which starts at the Spars (there’s a huge tunnel that goes under the Spars there that allows you to stay off the hiway) and travels north up a long canyon about 4 miles long to the junction of Copper Basin Rd.

After coming through the tunnel, Gilbert, Aaron and I paused on our cycles to get a drink and cool off before we shoot up FR 53 to Copper Basin. We just sat on the bikes rather than getting off them as this was just a quick break. This area here is a popular spot for people coming up from Phoenix to stop in the pines before hitting Prescott. A lot of locals also find this area convenient for target practice as well.

What I’m fixin’ to impart here is in no way embellished upon. Quite contrary to the old saying in these parts, I forgot were this old adage came from but its true. They say “Once a man drinks the water from the Hassayampa he is no longer able to tell the truth.”

Good thing, because I was only splashed with the wet stuff that day by a speeding dirt bike.

I was just sitting on my XR with the boys, sipping a cool drink when I noticed a few dogs about 40 or so yards away. That’s odd I first thought, there’s no one parked here and they looked like domesticated dogs. What’s up with this? Did someone ditch their pets out here? Wow, I thought that’s a pretty mean thing to do! By the time I could think into this I saw a few more, like about 6-8 dogs, all Australian Shepards. I pointed out to Gilbert and Aaron, "look at this!"

And that’s when all hell broke loose! We saw 10, no 20, $%@! There where at least 40 or 50 Aussies, and they all where running towards us. We all looked at teach other in amazement at this sight. I remember this very clearly, they were all coming over a small rise were I first spotted them. All of them had very similar markings and were about the same size. They all had the crazy eyes, you know how the Aussies have one white eye and the other dark.

This was just not right! More and more dogs kept coming over the hill. They started to group around us and began to yipe and jump up on all of us. This scene was going south quickly! While we were mesmerized by the vast number of dogs on our case, I had the clarity to signal the boys to light up their bikes. I distinctly remember trying to estimate how many dogs there actually were.

Our plight was obvious, we were going to get overrun by this feral pack. They were jumping, nipping and barking at us as we blasted off. I’ll never forget the view looking back at this huge pack, all running after our bikes speeding away! The Forest Road 53 was at least 12 foot wide there and was brimming side to side with a mad pack of dogs chasing us! That pack was at least 30 –40 feet long, filled with barking Australian Shepards. They all ate our dust for a quarter mile or so until we separated ourselves enough from the pack to safely stop and reflect.

Gilbert, Aaron and I looked at each other in utter amazement. “What in the hell was that all about?” I shouted. Actually I’m glad I had witnesses to this, no one would ever believe me! Besides that I was real glad I wasn’t alone or on foot. That could have been all she wrote! What in the bejeebers is a huge feral pack of dogs doing running loose in the National Forest like that? It was all our agreed upon consensus that there could have been at least a hundred dogs in that pack.

We all just laughed, and started riding again in case those mutts were still on our trail. Reaching the saddle where 53 meets Copper Basin Rd. we turned right and went up and over to the Thumb Butte Loop Rd. From there we went to my house that’s just east of Thumb Butte Park. I didn’t take long for me to get on the horn to the Bradshaw Ranger Station with this amazing tale. I believe I prefaced the complaint with these words.. “ No Officer, I hadn’t been drinking.” But I went on to tell this story to the Ranger that was on duty that Sunday. He acted surprised, predictably, as such stories are rare or non-existent.

I asked him to get back to me on this, as he said he would send a Ranger out to that area on Monday to verify this feral pack. Good luck finding them because there were no other complaints about this pack on record. Nary a word was replied, only Gilbert, Aaron and I can verify this one.

Which leads to our speculation on how a pack this size came to be. A pack that size could be lethal to humans as well as domestic animals and the game animals that roam the Sierra Prietas. Not to belabor this story, but I have a pretty good idea where those mutts came from.

It has to do with an Angora Goat farm that existed on the ‘Little Copper’ back in the 1980’s. But that in itself is a whole nother story. In the meantime you can read up on the background of the Little Copper here.

I’m still wary of hiking the southern flank of the Prietas!

Carbomb >> US Style

2007-07-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

Lieberman's Bomb Iran Bill

Did you hear about the War on Iran Authorization bill the Senate is going to vote on perhaps as early as today? No, that's not how it's getting billed. But that's what the 'Kyl-Lieberman' amendment is. In fact, the supporters of going to war against Iran are using exactly same strategy with this amendment that they did to lay the ground work for the Iraq War.

First Monsoon Storm of the Season

2007-07-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

Big Downpour up in Mountain Club with hail and mucho rain.

Doldrums in the High Rolling Real Estate World

2007-06-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

Real estate in Prescott, as in “dirt” has always been desirable but It’s been unattainable lately. We are running out of land. Prescott is almost built-out. You can see the earmarks of this all over town. From gouging out a steep mountainside for a small residential footprint to multi-storied commercial buildings downtown. Ah, and the constant drone of the "hammer-hoe" breaking apart bolder piles that once graced the landscape.

This land shortage is geometrically proportionate to the amount of new realtors that are clogging the streets with their rolling billboards. We’ve all seen them, PT Cruisers, Escalades etc.decked out in a mural of downtown or of one of our scenic views, and plastered with the myriad of ways to contact this ever self-important salesman. I just love it when they collect their first commission and put it down on a new Escalade. This to them is an indication they are on the road to success.

The humble newbie realtor buys a Wagoneer or a nice Sedan. The Realtor who chose to make real estate their career and destination buys something that the “22 inch Dubs” will look good on. Just hoping they close something soon to cover the payment due next month.

Prescott has been in the news lately. I’m not going to mention what publications have been stroking us, but if you need to know, ask a realtor. This info is vital to their existence; so upon your query, a river of infomercial quality nomenclature will soon fill the room like the overflow drainage at the Sundog Solid Waste Plant that flows into the Watson Woods.

Realtors have actually seen success in their field of work in the recent years. In the past, it has been a constant uphill struggle to attain a level of work that can keep food on the plate and money in the bank. Now with the insurgence of new money and flatlanders the real estate market has become attractive to about any capitalist looking for a new venue for investment. Since the Stock Market fluctuates so much, real estate has become the investment of choice. Now with the ratio of realtors vs. properties tipped strongly to the side of realtors, we begin to see a new “Dynamic” forming.

Have you ever heard the old wives tale about how the top 10% of the realtors gets 90% of the sales?

It’s true! And they get the desirable ones, not the sales of the ‘breeding boxes’ and the ‘shanties’ that the balance of the licensed realtors squabble over in the quad cities. Mind you, these properties are pumped up enough $, to even capture the interest of some upstart investors! The lower echelon realtors need to turn a coin also, they’re human too. And they sure do keep their self-respect, judging by what their pompous websites have to say about their accomplishments. How come they always stand back to back in their pics?

Ever seen the employment opportunity signs posted around, let’s say McDonalds or Wendy’s?
They use a language that smacks of familiarity. Whenever I browse real estate websites this language pops-up. It’s so obvious, it must have some connection. And that connection is..ding, ding, ding, “Team Members.” Fast food restaurants hire team members for their cook line and counter help. Was a real estate career the logical progression for the disenfranchised hamburger flippers?

Every real estate company in Prescott has fallen victim to this phenomenon, without even realizing it. It's hilarious and like a antelope, it's two pronged:

#1. The Glamorous lifestyle of the top10% of realtors, seems aspiring to the constant march of the newbie upstart realtors. They want part of that pie and they will do anything to attain this goal. They want that flashy company website and the status that accompanies it. The thing is, the current market can't support them and they are marching right into the hands of these high flutin' realtors. While the principles of the company are providing the lip service to the clientele, and getting that house or property into escrow and collecting the commissions; the little minions are churning around in the office pushing paper, running documents and holding a floor position. They are the ones who are allegedly providing the service these real estate company advertisements are squawking about.
#2. Just because one real estate company realized a huge upturn in revenues, the smaller ones brainstorm to figure out why it’s not happening for them. Low and behold they ascertain it must be the “Marketing Strategy.” Real estate marketing generally isn’t real high on the totem pole of advertising intelligence. There isn’t much of a budget allowed for creative and quality advertising in this field. The small companies pick a realtor or friend who owns a digital camera and may have had worked on their high school newspaper, and makes them the Marketing Director. Then this no-brainer has a moment of clarity,
"Lets copy our competition!"

Thus the phenomena of team members continues to spawn.

"We are literally teeming with team members everywhere you turn."

I personally can relate a radio advertisement heard in Prescott lately that is a complete carbon copy of an ad that runs for Russell Shaw at John Hall and Associates in Phoenix. His angle is called 'The no hassle listing" I saw this ad on TV in Phoenix 10 years ago!

All the Prescott realtor did was insert his name and company in place of the original. You may have heard this ad were the realtor is asking you for your business. He states that he “Is not bragging, I'm applying for a job” He then goes on to say "You can fire me anytime, if your not satisfied."

Hogwash! How pretentious can you be? Just like a tube of toothpaste, you'll be thrown away when your clients are done! Can’t you guys think of something new? This is real estate advertising at its lowest, and nobody’s paying attention. This doesn't reflect well on the 'herd' of potential clients that the realtors are culling through. Its an insult as a matter of fact!

I don’t want to come off too hard on real estate people; a lot of them are my friends and clients. But I must say that new lows for the industry are being realized now. I do have a few favorite companies though, that actually produce some great stuff, but have fallen victim to the Team!

When’s Realty 2.0 going to happen?

The Palace Basement Revisited- The Shakedown

2007-06-06T19:22:00.001-07:00

To my best recollection, this event I'm going to impart occurred in the summer of 1999. Let me preface this with saying that any story about the Palace is always surrounded by mystery and mystique. A slight amount of embellishment is always accepted when it comes to the Palace. Seeing how the building was the home away from home for many cowboys, ranchers, businessmen, gunmen, scofflaws, miners, lawmen, judges, and ladies of the night among others, through out the mid 1800's to the present day.

Back in the old days the Palace was the hub of the operations for Prescott and the surrounding countryside. Having a Casino and Bar in the basement, as well as the jail and Judges chambers, The Judges could hold the prisoners in the jail down there while they played roulette and mingled with the ladies. The old metal jail bars are still in place down there. There was also a secret tunnel that connected the basement with the Yavapai County Courthouse across the current day Montezuma St. The purpose of the tunnel was to give the local constables free and unfettered access to the Palace during the day when court was not in session, you see It would not look proper for the Judges to be viewed walking back and forth from the court to the bar up on the street level.

The Palace was rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1900. Now the foundations are made of huge granite blocks. Metal gusseted posts and beams spanned the width of the building, while true sized rough timber that was cut from the local mountains made up the floor joists.

Upstairs the exterior walls were completely built of yellow firebrick that was mined out of a pit up by Paulden. The front elevation has large granite columns with ornate capitals that were mined and manufactured locally. This building was made to last, finally.

Well enough about the background to basement, here's were we pick up the story I'm attempting to tell. It's a true story nonetheless. Embellishments will be held to a minimum!

The Palace Building has had a vast array of owners over the years. From Shell Dunbar in the 50's through Mike and Marsha Williams in the 80's.

All this time passing, rarely did any owner do any substantial improvements to this soon to crumble architectural icon of Prescott. In fact many parts of the interior had turned up missing, and were repatriated later during the restoration. For instance the twin brass bar hoops that were once on the bar at "The Palace Hotel" (Jersey Lilly Saloon) and the old fashioned leaded glass room divider that now separates the bar from the dinning room at the Palace Restaurant are back were they belong. I personally reinstalled both items.

The old Palace Bar on the first floor was leased to a group of investors from San Diego in 1994. These speculators rebuilt the bar into a full-blown tourist restaurant. Out of this group, Dave Michelson was the lone survivor. His partners in crime hastily fled back to California after a few rough years in business. Dave still runs the Palace Restaurant today. I sure miss the old days when it was just an old western bar, with its funky old, twisted wood plank floor. The bar ran the full length of the building back then. Does anybody remember "Hooley's Rockin Bar" in the back? He had all the locals butts painted and hung on the walls!. How about the two old mountain lions that graced the top of the main bar up front, some of you might recollect.

Anyways, Theodore Smith who purchased The Palace Building proper, picked it up in a forced foreclosure court sale in the early 90's.You see The William's had fallen into arrears on their payments. This venture to pry the Palace away from Mike and Marsha was spearheaded by local businessman B.Falk. Teds Family still owns the building to this very day.

Ted was a Veterinarian from Peoria, Arizona. A longtime Arizona resident with a hankering for prospecting. His classic handlebar moustache was always waxed well and omnipresent. He owned a small mine (not gold) up in Idaho or Montana, I forgot where, that's not important now. But what's important is that the proceeds from the sale of that mine bought the Palace Building. He was a very generous man, a family man and was well loved by everybody around him. He is surely missed around these parts.

Well Ted decided to do a little house cleaning on this old relic. It had fallen into disrepair in a bad way. It literally was a giant 5000 sq.ft. Pigeon coup upstairs. The lath ceiling and walls were caving in and peeling away. The wooden floors were not safe for walking. The old panel doors and sash windows were not operable anymore. The glorious Balcony we now see in in the Jersey Lilly Saloon was basically a roosting ground for pigeons because of the inactivity. So he enlisted a local architect, Doug Stroh back in 1998 for the master plan of attack for the renovation. Sharlot Hall Museum was consulted for the architectural continuity.

As anybody knows, when you start a project of this scope, one must start at the ground level. In this case it was the basement. The archaic foundation was giving away visibly, and the old 2 story wooden deck on the backside of the building was failing. So here it goes, the old deck was disassembled down to the Palace Restaurant level.
The old wooden plank deck was leaking like a sieve into the basement and was the cause for the recurring floods down there.

In July 1999, in full monsoon season, we were disassembling the old deck; leaving the basement wide open to the elements. I was at home up by Thumb Butte peacefully sleeping around 2 am, and was awakened by a huge thunder clapper. I knew I had get down to the Palace to turn on the sump pump. When I got there it was deep, with probably 5-6" of standing water in the basement I had to pump out. It would take hours for this task.

Taking care not to electrocute myself, and that’s hard to do when your standing in a giant pool of water, I placed the portable sump pump in the lowest point in the basement. That’s back in the mid point of the basement next to the old hole in the floor where the water table of Granite Creek can be seen. When the creek rises the water in this hole rises equally. Then I ran the 3” hose all the way out the back door, up the stairs and to the alley.

The old Whiskey Row alley used to run like a river when the monsoons struck. Due to the many unengineered doorway heights, if you didn’t sandbag them, you can expect a flooded basement. The water coming out of the pump hose just blended into the alley like a small stream runs into the Colorado River.

My job was done for the moment; all I had to do was hang around for an hour or two so I can switch off the pump when the basement clears out. Remember this was happening at about 2 am in the morning, closing time for the Bars on Whiskey Row. I was completely drenched and cold, so I grabbed a chair and placed it in the doorway to the basement. It’s recessed back a touch from the building so it provided some cover from the wind and rain. I got comfortable enough to doze off for a while.

I wish I could say I was back home warm and dry, and safe. But I was abruptly awakened again. Not by another thunder clapper but by the barrel of a large handgun poking me in the forehead. I have never seen an image like that before in my entire life. A silhouetted cowboy stands in front of me, visibly shaking and telling me to freeze! So without saying, I literally remained frozen in my chair. He was shaking bad, real bad! My first thought was that this person might just shoot me accidentally. He keeps one eye on me while he turns just slightly to yell at his friend in the alley. As he turned, a glint of light from the only bare bulb down there grazed across his face. I know this man.

He yells “call the police, I’ll hold him.” I say “Danny,” no response comes from him. I repeat "Danny," this time a little more clear, if that really matters. He would not acknowledge me; he just kept that barrel directed at my head. I think to myself this is ludicrous; I’m on my own jobsite getting drawn down by a drunken cowboy. My optimistic side is telling me to sit still and he will eventually recognize me. His friend moves out of sight, I’m thinking, “oh good the police will be here soon.”

That single dim light bulb that slightly illuminated his face is the problem here. I’m sitting in a darkened hallway with a ball cap on, and obviously I’m just a warm body that’s not recognizable.

Danny just spoke to me the previous day, he came up to me and had questions about the construction I was doing at the Palace. In fact we spoke on several occasions, because his bar is right next to the Palace, Matts Saloon. I’m back to bewilderment, that gun is still pointing at me and still shaking. “Danny” I said “it’s me “Paul, I work here.” I begin to think about disarming this trembling cowboy the next time he he looks around for his friend, but common sense prevailed and I kept my hands by my side.

The past fifteen minutes seemed like a lifetime.Whilst on the subject of lifetimes; I might add that this shake down shaved at least 5 years off mine.

Danny finally gets it! The gun lowers! I felt that ‘ton of bricks’ being removed from my chest. “I am so sorry, I thought you were a burglar” Danny says.

Now I’m just recovering from this whole thing at this point, but my heart starts pounding harder. His apologizes flow like the beer he poured at Matts, luke warm. His friend from the alley comes down the stairs to join him. No call to the police was made. Once I gain my composure we begin to talk. He provides the lip service that one would expect from somebody who did wrong. I said, “No harm no foul buddy, just a mistake anybody could have made.” God I glad I’m Alive!

Well, he did make an attempt to mend this little mess. He said I can have free beer for life at his bar. Wow, I’m just ecstatic, but I normally don’t find myself in Matts Saloon and I thought it would be prudent to take a wide berth around this Dude.

So here’s the funny part, to give you the inside look at this loose nut. A few weeks pass and I’m still doing the Palace Deck renovation. Low and behold, here comes Danny Griego walking up the alley. He has the unmitigated gall to come up to me and ask me in a very uppity tone “How come you never came into my bar for your free beer?”

My response was a very blank expression.

I heard he split from Prescott to Nashville after the summers rush. He’s doing pretty well there from what I can tell. He’s singing about ‘Wal-Mart Girls’ now, there’s even a music video on TV. I think he could come up with better stuff than that.

How about a song about a Drunken Cowboy with eyes as red as a ‘minks ass’ who draws down on a poor contractor after closing Matts Saloon at 2am in the morn.

Ted Nugents view on Gun Control

2007-04-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

Nugent: Gun-free zones are recipe for disaster

WACO, Texas (CNN) -- Zero tolerance, huh? Gun-free zones, huh? Try this on for size: Columbine gun-free zone, New York City pizza shop gun-free zone, Luby's Cafeteria gun-free zone, Amish school in Pennsylvania gun-free zone and now Virginia Tech gun-free zone.

Anybody see what the evil Brady Campaign and other anti-gun cults have created? I personally have zero tolerance for evil and denial. And America had best wake up real fast that the brain-dead celebration of unarmed helplessness will get you killed every time, and I've about had enough of it.

Nearly a decade ago, a Springfield, Oregon, high schooler, a hunter familiar with firearms, was able to bring an unfolding rampage to an abrupt end when he identified a gunman attempting to reload his .22-caliber rifle, made the tactical decision to make a move and tackled the shooter.

A few years back, an assistant principal at Pearl High School in Mississippi, which was a gun-free zone, retrieved his legally owned Colt .45 from his car and stopped a Columbine wannabe from continuing his massacre at another school after he had killed two and wounded more at Pearl.

At an eighth-grade school dance in Pennsylvania, a boy fatally shot a teacher and wounded two students before the owner of the dance hall brought the killing to a halt with his own gun.

More recently, just a few miles up the road from Virginia Tech, two law school students ran to fetch their legally owned firearm to stop a madman from slaughtering anybody and everybody he pleased. These brave, average, armed citizens neutralized him pronto.

My hero, Dr. Suzanne Gratia Hupp, was not allowed by Texas law to carry her handgun into Luby's Cafeteria that fateful day in 1991, when due to bureaucrat-forced unarmed helplessness she could do nothing to stop satanic George Hennard from killing 23 people and wounding more than 20 others before he shot himself. Hupp was unarmed for no other reason than denial-ridden "feel good" politics.

She has since led the charge for concealed weapon upgrade in Texas, where we can now stop evil. Yet, there are still the mindless puppets of the Brady Campaign and other anti-gun organizations insisting on continuing the gun-free zone insanity by which innocents are forced into unarmed helplessness. Shame on them. Shame on America. Shame on the anti-gunners all.

No one was foolish enough to debate Ryder truck regulations or ammonia nitrate restrictions or a "cult of agriculture fertilizer" following the unabashed evil of Timothy McVeigh's heinous crime against America on that fateful day in Oklahoma City. No one faulted kitchen utensils or other hardware of choice after Jeffrey Dahmer was caught drugging, mutilating, raping, murdering and cannibalizing his victims. Nobody wanted "steak knife control" as they autopsied the dead nurses in Chicago, Illinois, as Richard Speck went on trial for mass murder.

Evil is as evil does, and laws disarming guaranteed victims make evil people very, very happy. Shame on us.

Already spineless gun control advocates are squawking like chickens with their tiny-brained heads chopped off, making political hay over this most recent, devastating Virginia Tech massacre, when in fact it is their own forced gun-free zone policy that enabled the unchallenged methodical murder of 32 people.

Thirty-two people dead on a U.S. college campus pursuing their American Dream, mowed-down over an extended period of time by a lone, non-American gunman in possession of a firearm on campus in defiance of a zero-tolerance gun ban. Feel better yet? Didn't think so.

Who doesn't get this? Who has the audacity to demand unarmed helplessness? Who likes dead good guys?

I'll tell you who. People who tramp on the Second Amendment, that's who. People who refuse to accept the self-evident truth that free people have the God-given right to keep and bear arms, to defend themselves and their loved ones. People who are so desperate in their drive to control others, so mindless in their denial that they pretend access to gas causes arson, Ryder trucks and fertilizer cause terrorism, water causes drowning, forks and spoons cause obesity, dialing 911 will somehow save your life, and that their greedy clamoring to "feel good" is more important than admitting that armed citizens are much better equipped to stop evil than unarmed, helpless ones.

Pray for the families of victims everywhere, America. Study the methodology of evil. It has a profile, a system, a preferred environment where victims cannot fight back. Embrace the facts, demand upgrade and be certain that your children's school has a better plan than Virginia Tech or Columbine. Eliminate the insanity of gun-free zones, which will never, ever be gun-free zones. They will only be good guy gun-free zones, and that is a recipe for disaster written in blood on the altar of denial. I, for one, refuse to genuflect there.

reprinted from CNN on 4.20.07

Phishing on Whiskey Row

2007-04-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

Update 4-10-08: The current owners of the domain www.jerseylillysaloon.com have ceased and desisted with the bogus splash page and redirect to the Hooligans Irish Pub website. Thank you! Its been more than a year coming. continue..

As you all know Whiskey Row has had a reputation for promoting lawlessness, debauchery, drinking, carousing and so on for over 150 years, It brings out the best in everybody. So here we go, the other day when I was searching for some links to the The Jersey Lilly Saloon on Google, I came across this link on top of the pile.

I thought I had the link to the saloon, I click on it and I'm redirected to another url , but this url "http://www.jerseylillysaloon.com/JLillyinfo.html" does not link to the /JLillyinfo.html directory. It links to a different nightclub that is hijacking the jerseylillysaloon.com bandwidth!

I'm thinking.. "OMFG!... The Jersey Lilly Saloon" has been Google Bombed. No? Perhaps they were hacked? Probably not. One has to step back and look at the big picture in order to put this in perspective.

Ok, http://www.hooligansirishpub.com/
is a website for Hooligans Irish Pub, this is the bar thats right next door to the Jersey Lilly. It's been well known around Prescotts nightclub scene for a longtime that theres a fair amount of scuttlebutt between these two establishments. What? No way. Why? I've heard it all, but what strikes me odd is how petty this all seems to be. And what's even more funny is what depths a local business owner will dive to because of a little misunderstanding. For you flatlanders out there this misunderstanding is over an elevator, yes a stinking elevator.

You see, the Jersey has an elevator to the second floor for its guests. Its in the Historic Palace Building, the only elevator on the Row. Now the new proprietors of Hooligans desired an elevator of their own. I'm sure they considered their options about installing an elevator to their diggs, but it would have to have been built right on the dance floor of Matts Saloon downstairs. That's not going to happen, so they did the next best thing. Approach the proprietors of the Jersey Lilly about "sharing" theirs. You know, knockout a part of their common wall and put an elevator lobby in for both bars to use. Right? Seems simple? After all, were all in it for the same thing right? Great Idea, but there are flaws with this train of thought.

You cannot penetrate old crumbly red brick buildings, They're barely standing on their own, they are not structural anymore!
The two building owners (who are separate from the bar owners) would have to go to great expense to appease the desires of its renters. Definitely not going to happen.
Hooligans idea for the elevator was a pipedream at best, period!

So needless to say Hooligans came away slightly disenchanted. This was a few years ago. There have been some minor skirmishes since. Now it seems the hatchet was never buried.. only sunk in deeper!

Hooligans don't get me wrong, but it appears you are misrepresenting yourself by attracting new web readers who are actually searching for The Jersey Lilly Saloon. This is not a new scam at all, "phishing" is rampant on the internet these days. Generally speaking phishing involves tricking a unobservant web surfer into going to your website using fake urls and identical webpages to the primary url. Most phishers goal is to trick you into divulging sensitive personal info with the intent of cleaning out your bank account! It appears your goal is to just pull some honest folk who are searching for the Jersey Lilly to your website. Shame on you.

The Jersey Lilly Saloon would never, never put a link to your establishment on their website as you did. In fact by creating that fictious webpage and publishing it on the web, You have shown your contempt for your fellow business owners on Whiskey Row and the world wide web. What if any body could purchase a url with their main competitors name in it and proceed to bastardize it.
You know anybody could, but you surely did!
You know what they say.. "..Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

Arizonas Favorite Renegade >> Uncle Bo

2007-02-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

Now that the statute of limitations is up...
The Jersey Lilly Saloon
"a proper drinking establishment for gentleman and ladies"
PROUDLY PRESENTS
UNCLE BO
"...the Will Rogers of the 90's" Arizona Republic
"...the Mark Twain of the 21st century" Patricia Myers
"Wait'll I get my hands on that s.o.b.!" Disgruntled ex-wife
"This will be a limited engagement." Parole Officer

Hear All His Biggest Hits!!

"GOOD OL' SHERIFF JOE"
"FREEDOM SOLDIER"
"YOU CAN'T SMOKE IN PRESCOTT ANYMORE"
"GRAMPA FELL OFF HOVER DAM"
"I'M SO MISERABLE WITHOUT YOU, IT'S ALMOST AS IF YOU WERE HERE"
" IF YOU EVER CHEAT ON ME YOU S.O.B. I'M GONNA KILL YOU"
and other tear jerkers

TUESDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS 7:00 pm

Bring Cash!!
Seating is limited/ Reservations requested Call 928-541-7854
Half the lies we tell you aren't true!
Satisfaction guaranteed or half your money back!

Re-minted Nickel

2007-01-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

Talk about someone with way to much time on their hands, it was found yesterday in the Antique Phone Booth coin return slot at The Jersey Lilly Saloon. Is there some sinister plot to sway the opinion of the community
by salting Prescott's phone booths with these little protest signs?

Bull Pen Tragedy

2006-10-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

The roof on the old rock house has collapsed. Many remember the old house as having a 5-6" red dirt roof complete with a century plant and prickley pear cactus. It has provided shelter for hikers and animals over a long period of time. But the vigas and latias supporting the heavy roof have apparently failed.

Bull Pen has been our stomping ground for over 30 years. I can remember back to when we would go there at night to watch the bats fly in circles inside the roughly 12'x20' single room. We would place a latern inside to illuminate the dozens of local bats that flew in from the rim across the creek. It has two doorways in front, built with true size 2x12 door bucks. Many names of past visitors/boondockers line the smooth cement walls inside.

Now this area of Clear Creek is in the hands of the National Forest, adjacent to a wilderness. It's my guess that it will fall into more disrepair. How difficult would it be to rebuild this relic? All the red tape from the Forest service might discourage us, but with that aside the actual reframing of the roof can be done in a long weekend with a few hands. Fetching the dirt up on the roof and getting cactus to grow again would be the most difficult part.

Wildcat Cycles

2006-07-08T15:46:00.000-07:00

Mike from Wildcat Cycles was showing us his latest seat on his Roadstar. This one is a sweet little diamond tucked unit. He's always coming up with new wild designs for his Roadstar clientele.

Another popular design is the Flameout seat. While we ducked inside the Gurley St.Grill , Nash found the temptation to be too much, he couldn't help but grab the Air Monster intake with his little sticky, candy coated hands. Actually.. no contact was made Mike. Wew, what a faux pas!

Joy at the Raven Cafe

2006-05-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

With the opening of the Raven Cafe on Cortez St., A varying range of new local talent has been emerging. Lately you can find great players like Joy seen left, poised on one of the leather sofas in the lounge. Not many can operate a Bass quite like her. With her drop dead beauty and skilz...Wow! We, and I speak for the whole congreration, look forward to seeing her again.
"You build it and they will come" must have been the credo of Ty's during the extensive reconstruction of the old store front and interior. A relaxed, yet charged atmosphere prevails about the digs, creating a great venue for endeavors such as art, mixed media, music and such.
Oh, by the way, who let this guy in?

A Cowboy's Daydream

2006-05-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

This is what every red blooded cowboy longs for at daybreak. Coffee and biscuits, yea...you know what I mean.

Raven on Cortez St.

2006-04-10T00:59:00.000-07:00

This is the massive draft beer collection at the Raven with the owner Ty down on the end. Among other amenities such as the recording studio and radio station, the juniper bar will jump right out at you. A real natural ambient light comes out in the afternoon.

Mount Union's Deck

2006-02-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

The Highest Deck in Yavapai County. The best place to view the Forth of July's fireworks.
You can see the show from Phoenix to Flagstaff.

Christmas Parade in Downtown Prescott

2005-12-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

Coach stop at the Jersey Lilly

2005-12-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

Sir Dino lends a helping hand to a Fair Maiden.

Hello Jersey

2005-12-04T18:17:00.000-07:00

The Regulators

2005-12-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

Stellar day at the South Rim

2005-11-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

It was warm and it was crisp out there, and it wasn't windy either. No extra charge other than the $20 entry fee.