Latest Blog Entries by arsenault185 at VideoSift.com

My Brand New Daughter, (And The Reason I've been away)

arsenault185 (http://arsenault185.videosift.com) — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:57:45 -0700

(21 comments - 278 views)
You may (probably not) have noticed my absence around here for the past 1.5-2 months. Well all through march I was doing field exercise and what not, then all of April, I went back to the States for the birth of my daughter. So without further ado, if any of you care to see her, or just like cute babies, here she is. Kayla Renee Arsenault, 8lbs 15oz.

- arsenault185

Harley Davidson: To buy, or not to buy? I need your input, fellow sifters.

arsenault185 (http://arsenault185.videosift.com) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 02:53:12 -0800

(10 comments - 893 views)
Well, I was traveling the peninsula again, to a different, much larger installation which has an exchange sponsored car sales that sells cars and bikes to service members at supposed "discount prices". I Have been wanting to get a bike for a couple years now, so I thought I would check it out. They have yet to run my credit, so here what I have for an offer so far:

2008 883 Sportster - 6,521.00
5/YR Unlimited mileage Extended service plan w/ Tire and wheel coverage - 1,214.00
(I looked at what it covers, and its basically every part of the bike from fenders to gaskets)
Freight and processing charges total - 569.00

Is this any good of a deal? What do you guys think? This is my first bike as well, so I don't have a whole lot of experience buying these things.

- arsenault185

Its amazing the thing the American government gets away with.

arsenault185 (http://arsenault185.videosift.com) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 06:52:20 -0800

(4 comments - 198 views)
Well, I sat down and watched "Freedom to Fascism" last night, and I couldn't believe it. Every American needs to watch that documentary. I'm not going to go into a huge spiel here. If you want to know more, you can watch it for yourself. Federal Income Taxis illegal? You bet. It is absolutely dumbfounding that our government gets away with what it does. To think that every citizen in the nation is paying income tax when it it completely illegal and against the Constitution. You need to watch this documentary, then write your congressmen and suggest it to them as well. After watching the movie, My friend and I got to talking about social security as well. So far we have not been able to track down anything saying that we have to pay it either. Actually, by definition, it to is illegal. Anything you pay into social security does not come back to you. It actually goes into the general fund, thus making it a tax. And any direct tax on your wages, is illegal. So if anyone can find me something saying other wise, I'm going to call SSA to get a refund.

[Edit] Heres what the US Constitution has to say about direct taxes.
The 9th Amendment on Income tax - "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." Technically an Income tax is a tax on business. You do not make an income. You make wages.
Well watch the movie for a more intelligent explanation. I'm telling you, you wont believe it.

- arsenault185

Korean De-militarized Zone (brief) Photo Tour

arsenault185 (http://arsenault185.videosift.com) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:56:45 -0800

(4 comments - 458 views)
Here are some pictures from my trip to the Korean Dmz, followed by a brief explenation. Enjoy!

This Building was Erected on the southern side of the DMZ as a place for family separated by war. Sadly it has never been used for its intended purpose.

You can see the North Korean guard tower posed in the distance. I include this image because it was a reminder that though South Korea is thriving, the war technically never ended. There are sill armed conflicts along the borders.

This is what the guards of the DMZ refer to as "propaganda village" No one actually lives in this small village. It was built by the North Korean government as a sign that they are civilized and modern. The tower you see is a flag pole they erected in response to the flag pole on the south side. South Korea erected a modest flag pole, so obviously they built one bigger.

Pictured here are some of the building at which the meetings take place. (the blue buildings) In the foreground, the Soldiers are facing North at a fighting stance taken from Tae Kwon Do (a Korean martial art). The large grey building in the background is on North Korean soil.

Taken from inside one of the blue buildings, pictured here is a North Korean soldier. The concrete strip to his right is the actual border of North and South. North Korean citizens in the past try to break for it and run into South Korea. It is then the responsibility of UN troops to protect them should other North Korean soldiers attempt to "retrieve" their citizens.

And finally, a South Korean Soldier, standing behind the very table at which the meetings take place. The aviator specs are worn to intimidate the North Korean soldiers. These soldiers also have boots in which the heels of them are filled with ball bearings. This is done to honor a tactic used in the Korean war to trick their enemy into believing there were more soldiers then there actually were. Sorry I couldn’t get a picture of what that sounded like.

There some good information at globalsecurity.org If you want to know more. Its actually quite interesting.

- arsenault185

Never had a reason to blog untill now...

arsenault185 (http://arsenault185.videosift.com) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:19:57 -0800

(6 comments - 528 views)
Yesterday I heard/felt the coolest thing ever! Ok so as you all may or may not know, I'm stationed in South Korea. Well I had a conference to attend at another instalation, a 3 hour bus ride away. Now rumble strips are a normal thing in the united states. Everyone hates them. They are loud, rough, and annoying. Well Yesterday we happend to go across a set that played the national anthom of South Korea. Yeah thats right. MUSICAL RUMBLE STRIPS. They were soft and light, and so long as you stayed at a consistant speed, each strip was a different "note" damn cool. I reccomend you all come over to see/hear/feel it for yourself!

- arsenault185