Category Archives: news

It is “WE THE PEOPLE” Stupid! Pay Attention GOP!

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I have been holding off on writing a new political piece until the field was down to a manageable number and started to shape into what the end result might be. Well, we are still four months from the conventions and I can’t hold back any longer.

At the beginning of March I did my part for the primaries and voted for who I thought would do the best job for the Republican field and since then, my choice has dropped out. This leaves Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich. I don’t have a problem with who we have running, and I like each for what they have to bring to the table.

There is a problem I have right now with the Republican establishment! I don’t like the establishment telling me who I should vote for! Yes I know this happens every election, the media, the friends of each candidate, my friends and every other armchair politician think they know what is best. Nothing wrong with that. But what I do have a problem with is when they start talking about delegates and super-delegates overriding the will of the people for who they want in office!

Donald Trump, for all the bluster and bullying, has actually done a great job campaigning, and he has said what millions want to hear. Ted Cruz is sticking right in there and staying with the constitution (which I like very much) and John Kasich who is a good man, but is only being a stick in the mud right now because he is part of the establishment who doesn’t like Trump or Cruz and is hoping for a brokered convention.

We as Republicans (actually Conservatives) have withstood the past seven years of disaster because we didn’t get the numbers in the past two elections, whether by a mistake by our candidates or many other reasons. Now we have fellow Republicans who are willing to throw away their votes because they don’t like the candidate that the people want because he may make the establishment toe the line! What we should really be doing is, letting our fellow patriots vote for whoever they feel is best and when the final tally is counted, make that person our candidate. We don’t need to act like the democrats and plan a coronation before the votes are in, nor should we whine about who wins once it is over. We should stand behind our Republican candidate at all cost. We need to win over what would, in all honesty, be the worst outcome that could ever be and that is a Clinton or Sanders presidency.

You see one candidate that wants socialism and one candidate that only wants power (and to be the first woman president). Those are very scary scenarios and we can’t afford to let either of those happen. Clinton wants to control guns and shut down all coal operations, while Sanders wants to over-tax everyone and magically make school, healthcare and anything else he can think of free. That in itself is scary on both accounts!

I am not happy with everything Mr. Trump has said, be he has made some sense. The same goes for Sen. Cruz. But there is a way to make this work to our advantage and as I had written before (Time to Wake up GOP) we need to use everyone’s talents. Put them in positions that will make the right decisions and not damage the party. I am very proud to be a Republican, but I am ashamed of the establishment that want to allow the democrats to win because you won’t back who “WE THE PEOPLE” vote for. I know at this moment, I am only speaking for myself, but I have heard others express the same disappointment. If you refuse to follow the People’s vote, then you will surely destroy the Republican party and for that, there is no excuse! We have too much to lose by playing by the democrat’s rules, we need to stick together or lose it all!

A few things we lose by not sticking together:

  1. The Second Amendment
  2. More money
  3. Jobs
  4. National security

Are you really willing to throw it all away and let a pathological liar or a unicorn riding socialist destroy our country? We have seen in the past seven years how bad it can get when we don’t stick together and do the right thing. It is time to regroup and take them head on and fix our broken country! In my opinion we actually have two choices, Donald Trump or Ted Cruz and I believe either would be 1000 percent better than what we have as president now or anything the democrats try to push!

It is time to get our heads out of the sand and get to work, our country’s survival depends on what you do from now until November!

God Bless America!

Jeff Nichols

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Military Appreciation: The Right Way and the Wrong Way

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Recently, a business owner in a small town with a large population of military personnel, civilians and retirees decided to make an announcement that because he disagreed with what the U.S. Military does in the world, that he would no longer provide a military discount.

Of course, the announcement came after years of providing that discount and while military families were dining there. You know what happened next, social media exploded. Since then, he has made an apology and decided to reinstate the discount for the military.

As a Veteran, personally I could care less one way or the other, but let me explain how this works.

Giving a military discount is a sign of respect by those who appreciate what our young men and women do for our country. They voluntarily join the military so that the rest of the country can live free.

When I go into a business and they ask me if I am a veteran, and proceed to tell me that they appreciate me by giving me a discount, I am touched. It is not that I need money off, because I went in there preparing to pay full price, it is what comes from someone’s heart, whether it be a chain business or a small business. They their choice to show how they feel, not to make a statement, not to make more money and not for publicity, but because they really do care.

The problem with the business I spoke of above is, that once the owner decided to take away that discount in the manner that he did, he was sure to lose a lot of business. When he reinstated the discount, it wasn’t because he had a change of heart, but knew how much he was losing because of the decision to make that change. The Veterans and Military Members who go to the business also have a choice to make, whether they want to spend money in a place that appreciates them or one that dislikes them.

Can someone change their mind? Yes! But what causes your mind to be changed is what counts. Did you change your mind because deep down in your heart you really care about those who serve the country? Or did you change your mind because you might lose so much money that your business would go under? That is really what this boils down to.

If you really are against what our military does in the world, you have every right to discontinue those discounts, and I hope that changing your mind back isn’t because of loss of revenue, but because you truly are sorry. Sticking to what you believe, regardless of the consequences is what gets you respect.

You see the same thing happen when an apartment complex makes a veteran take down the American Flag, or a community not allowing any display of patriotism.

So, to those businesses who give the discounts because they love their country, and appreciate everything our young men and women do, know that we appreciate your support, it does mean a lot to us.

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God Bless America and our troops!

 

 

 

The Gun Debate: Dumb and Dumber and Dumber Show Their Ignorance!

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So a new year begins and it is politics as usual against guns. The biggest problem with the gun debate is, the democrats almost always come to the table unarmed (pun intended).

California Representative Adam Schiff along with a partner in dumbness has decided to try to pass a bill that will make gun manufacturers liable for how people decide to use their guns. Here is a tweet that states his intentions:

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Now, the problem is, “That’s not how it works, that’s not how any of this works,” to quote the esurance lady.

So how does it work you ask? First, the manufacturer builds a firearm, they then ship to their distributor who then ships it to a dealer. The dealer then sells to a person, who at the time of purchase does go through a background check. Once it leaves the manufacturers warehouse, the only liability on the manufacturer is on craftsmanship and reliability (whether it works right or not for those who are a little slow). So, the only liability on the manufacturer would be if the firearm did not work correctly, or caused injury because of defective parts. The manufacturer is not liable in any way for what an individual does with a legally purchased firearm.

Still having problems understanding, let’s use cars as an example.

Example one: Chevy builds a car then sends it to the dealer. A car buyer comes in, shows license and insurance and pays the money and drives off the lot. The brakes fail and the car careens into a building full of people, who is liable? If you said the manufacturer, give yourself a pat on the back.

Example two:  Chevy builds a car then sends it to the dealer. A car buyer comes in, shows license and insurance and pays the money and drives off the lot. The owner of the car decides to load up cans of gas in the trunk, and runs his car into a building, causing an explosion killing and injuring many. Who is liable now? If you said the manufacturer, please hit your head against the wall. That is the person’s fault.

Same thing goes with guns. If you can’t understand that, then you have an agenda that is not healthy, you are lying to yourself and anyone you try to convince that you are correct. That is what you have in these anti-gun crazies that have no clue what they are talking about.

I will leave you with the ultimate in stupidity from the anti-gunners:

First is a YouTube video from Colorado Representative Diana DeGette

My favorite ad by the Bloomberg fanatics:

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Comment below if you can see the problem with this ad.

Now that you are ARMED with facts, use them for good and stop the ignorance from the left.

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Progress is not always good

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What would you do if the internet went down, Facebook, online games, cell phones or email is no more? Would you be able to function?

We are in a time where the world is living on technology. Every part of our lives is controlled by smart phones, computers, machines and the internet. While I myself am able to communicate worldwide in a matter of seconds, there is a downside to all of the progress we have made in the past 30 to 40 years.

There are several ways that progress and technology has changed our lives for the worse, we have gotten lazy. Machines make jobs easier, more efficient and profitable, by being able to control functions from a computer, or a key board or other remote way, we have forgotten how to work hard. It has caused us to instead getting up, walking down the hall to speak with someone face to face, we call them on the phone, send an email or text them.

This hurts us in many ways. First, we get used to this and sit at a desk all day (I am as guilty as anyone) and get no exercise. We wonder how we get out of shape. We miss out on the face-to-face interaction and being personable with others.

It also costs jobs. For example, if every time you sent an email you instead took the time to hand write a letter, put it in an envelope, buy a stamp, and go to the post office and mail it, the problems with the post office would not be as bad. As a matter of fact, I believe that if people would take the time and write a real letter and send it out once a week, the U.S. Postal Service would do much better.

We hear all this talk about child obesity rates, but a lot of kids these days sit in front of a computer screen, or on their smart phones and play games instead of  going out to ride bikes, play in the dirt and do things kids do. When I was a kid, during the daylight hours I was no where to be found, well, within shouting distance most times. But I was out running around with my friends, whether digging something up, finding critters, fishing or whatever. Now kids don’t leave the house.

All of this technology makes us very impatient too. When we can send an email across the world and get a reply within seconds, it causes the expectation of how long it should take to get an answer. We then demand that everyone reply back to us immediately and if they don’t, something must be wrong!

Dating has taken a whole new turn as well. Not only does progress make it easy to speak with good looking people (so we think) we no longer take the time to get to know someone in person. But that is not really the worst part. With the websites like Ashley Madison and other sites making cheating on your husbands or wives, or boy friends and girl friends easy and anonymous, the morality of the country is going straight to hell! Yes I know, people cheated on their spouses a long time before the internet came along, but not as much as it is happening now.

Of course you never know who you are talking to, as illustrated in The Internet Conversation!

Because of progress, you and your family is less safe, hackers steal identities easier, newspapers post ridiculous maps to show who owns guns, protests online run rampant and people are constantly attacking others anonymously with no fear of repercussion!

Because of progress, we have less attention paid to infrastructure, roads, bridges, skilled labor. People think the next best way to become rich fast (remember the patience) is to become a computer guru. Building games, websites, morally imperfect sites are all ways that some have made billions, yet they all take away from real life. We push our kids to go to college and learn all about these new technologies and forget about the basics that are needed.

People are so addicted to technology that you would be hard pressed to find a teenager working in a grocery store who can manually count out change. Unless we start remembering the basics, the progress is going to tear us down.

Imagine this, if all the sudden the technology failed (computers and internet goes down) for a year, what would you do? Could you survive? Is your life saved on a chip?

 

The GOP and The 2016 Election

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Note: Please participate in the poll at the bottom of this page.

One debate down and several more to go.

I was excited for the presidential season to start. It is almost like the playoffs heading toward the November 2016 election (Superbowl) to me. But now that the first debate is in the bag, here is what I have to say.

I see a lot of people complaining about Fox News and in particular Megyn Kelly’s exchange with Donald Trump. This is completely mislabeled and in no way constructive for the GOP. Did Megyn asked Trump some tough questions? Yes! Were they more pointed than questions to other candidates? Maybe!  But here is the thing. If you expected the moderators to throw softballs out to the “front runner” or any of the candidates, then you came to the wrong debate. We need a president that is not going to complain about tough questions, and deflect. We have that in office now! If a candidate can’t shrug it off, they do not deserve to be in the office.

In my opinion, Fox News did Trump a favor by brining up those issues in the first debate and it was up to Trump to put them to bed right then and there, without being petty about it. If he had just answered the question and moved on, this would not be a story and when he went in front of the liberal moderators, they would not have any ammo to use against him. Now, after his complete meltdown and counter-attack, this issue will be in the forefront of every debate he participates in. He has brought it on himself. He could have learned from it and it would have helped him, and as you can see, it has not.

Do not misunderstand me, I do like his way of not being politically correct. I do like he says what he is feeling and he is paying his own way. But being tough and talking tough only works when you are actually tough and can take a shot and not let it bother you. Our current president and Trump are similar in the respect that they can’t take criticism and move on. It cancels out the non-political correctness that we all love.

Who benefits from this? The democrats do! You see many on the left cheering on Trump for attacking Megyn and Fox News because they know that if they can make it an issue, then they win. Mr. Trump needs to take note of this and if he truly cares about keeping democrats out of the office, he should step back, take a breath and learn how to debate like a statesman and not like a four year old.

Half way through the debate things settled down, I believe Trump had seen the other candidates and how they reacted to questions and challenges and he started doing better, that is until the next day when the democrats and other news networks began talking about it and he went into terminator mode!

As it stands, I do not and will not support Mr. Trump. I don’t think he has the right demeanor to be in the highest office in the world!

Now for the good news from the debates. Carly Fiorina, Marco Rubio, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, and John Kasich. I believe in all of the debate they did the best. They told their stories to us, they introduced us to who they were. They made some very powerful statements and was to the point. Runner up was Chris Christie, who when challenged, (I feared he was going to be a Trump Jr.) He raised his voice a little, but handled it in a way that I could see him as president.

Do not misunderstand me, it is early in the season and we all know what we are up against, a ultra-liberal Clinton (who I do not think is going to make it to the end due to her “personal shortcomings), a socialist Sanders and those other two people. We won’t even get to know them until October (maybe) when they do their first debate. Makes me wonder if Clinton will dodge that one too! We have to defeat them, but to do that, we have to make the right choice for us.

One way to learn more about where you stand and who agrees with you on the issues is to go to  I Side With website that allows you to answer questions and matches you up with the candidates that answers closest to you. You will learn who agrees with you on the 2nd Amendment, who agrees with you on the Health Care Law or on a strong defense.

No matter how this election turns out, my hope is that every American goes to that site and learns more about themselves and the candidates and makes an informed decision, not a decision on what you can get for free, or because you want the candidate to be the first. There is nothing worse than going to the polls ignorant.

I am interested in your thoughts and who out of the current candidates you feel should be president, so do the poll below.

Time to wake up GOP!

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Dear GOP:          flag5 (2)

I am writing in hopes that I can pass along some concerns that are troubling to me as an American first and a Republican second.

I have been a registered Republican since two days after my 18th birthday in 1982 and been living as a Republican my whole life. My main concern is how we are Republicans are being viewed in America. For some reason, we are considered the bad party because we want to rein in our government. We want a balanced budget, we want to protect our borders and we want every American to enjoy their rights unmolested! But somewhere along the line, democrats (liberals to be exact) have been able to present us as racist, backward, war-mongers who do not care. Now I for one, do not believe for a second that anyone I know, anyone I endorse is anything but a genuine honest American that wants everyone to live the American Dream. But I am getting tired of having to hold back because of fear of the political correct police that attack our every word!

Now I am not one to be easily offended, nor am I one to back down from a challenge, but there is a problem in our country, in the Republican Party when we allow the democrats to be offended at everything we hold dear. Our morals, our religion, our Constitutional Rights. We have to sit back and take the abuse that the way of life our country has enjoyed for the past 236 years is being attacked by the democrats, but heaven forbid we don’t agree with the democrats or something they do offends us. Oh No! Can’t have that!

A democratic senate sits on budgets and bills, while being threatened by a president causing a federal shutdown and we allow them to blame us for the shutdown and I can’t for the life of me understand why. Yes, it is a fact that they have the majority of the press, the unethical press, but we have the truth on our side. We have the facts of everything they do to divide the country, yet we don’t present it in a way that those Americans who need to hear it the most can understand it.

We get beat over the head with attacks that call us bigots because we believe a person’s religious rights are more important than a liberal’s right to make businesses into scapegoats because those business owners will not go against their religious beliefs.

We get beat over the head because we believe that there are too many welfare frauds that make a living off of hard working American’s tax dollars. We don’t believe people are entitled unless they put into the system themselves.

The democrats can say and do as they please, but if someone speaks against them we are labeled bigots, homophobes, racist and more. Yet we sit and take it.

We believe that every American should be able to work and take home as much money as they can without the IRS taking more and more to pay for those who think they are entitled. Now I am not heartless, and neither are any of our Republican friends, but the illusion that the democrats have cast in front of us reflects that. This is not only wrong, but unjust and can’t be allowed.

We believe that unborn babies have the right to life and that without protection, 57 million babies were aborted since 1973, but we are told it is none of our business. We need to show the world the truth, as brutal, ugly and sickening it is, everyone needs to see it. Even though the left does all they can to keep those images from being shown for fear more people will learn the truth and stand up to them.

We now have the majority in the Senate and the House and we should be taking the lead, whether it be better public relations, better speakers and for sure, better plans and bring America back to the greatness we once had before those who have been in charge has damaged us so badly.

At this time, we should be showing the country how to lead, how to make a difference and how to not back down from the unscrupulous democrats. I see how bad they are every day when I discuss issues and see how uninformed they are. We need to stand up and stop this global warming scam that will bilk trillions from us, when they have not had one prediction come true since they began trying to scare us in the 1970s. No, I am not saying we should not keep the world clean, but this scam is killing our jobs, and our bank accounts.

We are continually fighting to keep our 2nd Amendment Rights from being infringed. While I don’t think in our lifetime that we will ever lose that right, but everyday democrats are conspiring to infringe upon them. We need to be the strongest we can be to protect the rights that our military has fought more than 236 years for. Instead of placing blame on the person, they blame guns and it is time for us to stand up and set the record straight and show them the common sense proof!

It is time for us to take a unified stand against illegal aliens. Make the democrats understand that we are not against legal immigration, but we must protect our border. The president and his democrats look at them as votes and it goes against everything our country stands for and it is not fair to those who want to come here legally.

When it comes to education, we are letting the democrats and the president decide that everyone needs to be great, everyone needs to be a scientists or an engineer. Why am I concerned about this? Because not everyone needs to be great, not everyone wants to be great. No one should be pushed into going to college if they don’t want to. No one should be pushed into a career they don’t want. What we do need, is to bring back more trade schools. More people who learn to build roads, build houses, wire houses and fix the things needs to be repaired! While college is great for those who want to go, too many are being pushed into going and dropping out with a huge debt, or finishing with an even bigger debt and no job to use what they have been taught. There is much we can do to help those people. But making them bankrupt is not one of them!

We need to quit worrying what the world thinks of us. We have spent practically our entire existence helping any country that needed help with either our military, our people, our money and most of the time all three. What do we get in return, we get a loud mouth from the UK who gets a visa, works in the U.S.A. badmouthing our laws and constitution, loses his job and moves back the UK to badmouth us at a distance. Takes real guts to do that. The bottom line is, he is nobody, never was and never will be and we need to quit worrying about what people like that, think of us. We did win Independence from them as I remember!

What I do see that is good, is that we have candidates that are willing to take on the IRS and taxes, if in fact they do what they promise. Work together to come up with a plan and just do it!

Right now our field of Republicans running for president is huge. We have young, old and we have diversity. We should be looking great and in my eyes we do. However, it seems like we are in quicksand. While it is ok to have different points of view on some things, when it comes to the 2nd Amendment, immigration, religious liberty, fiscal restraints, education, jobs and our defense we need to be of one voice. I don’t care if someone is a Libertarian, Tea Party, Conservative or RINO, we need to have one voice on these issues or we lose!

One thing that I strongly suggest, is that when we finally have a Republican candidate, no matter who it is, that they take on some of the ideas that those who ran against them were strong in. Such as the flat tax, or an immigration plan. It doesn’t make anyone any less strong by taking ideas that others have had and use them. Out of 14 candidates (just guessing) only one will be the Republican candidate and one person will be the Vice-Presidential candidate. The remaining 13 should form a think tank to help the candidate through the presidential election and beyond. We need a little bit of each of them in our candidate, one person in particular is very good with money and business, and would make a great Secretary of the Treasury or advisor. A few candidates would make great advisors on defense, a couple on immigration and so on. What I am saying is, our candidate should be a man or woman who is all the candidates wrapped into one. Yes he should have his own ideas, but smart enough to ask for advice from the whole field and beyond.

I have been thinking about this for a very long time, and I am the kind of man, the kind of American that doesn’t like to see those who represent him to just give in. This is what we have been doing. Even though we have won a few battles against the president and the democrats, the challenge is to break through their charade they have us cloaked in and prove to the people, all the people, all of America that we are right and we can get our country not only back on track, but leading the world again.

Every one of the Republican candidates, every member of the Republican congress needs to work hand in hand to achieve a victory and take back our country. I am truly scared to death of how our country will end up if Hillary Clinton, any democrat, socialist or progressive wins in 2016. I didn’t serve my country for 19 years and continue to work for our country for another 10 years to see it fall into the hands of those who would rather bow down to the world while our country crumbles away.

I would love for this to be read to all in the GOP. With that being said, I am not sure if this will be read, or even if it will make it to someone who gives a damn, I can only hope that it does and some take it to heart. I am only one voice, one vote, but I do know there are many that feel the same as I do. Stand up, Be Strong and Take Back our Country!

Data Piracy: Are Auto-Run Videos on the Internet Stealing Your Data?

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Have you ever wondered about the auto-run for videos on FaceBook and just about every other website you ever visit? Even though you can turn off the function, but it takes a bit of digging to find the place to shut it off. It should be illegal for sites on the internet to have the auto-run function to begin with. It is not about capitalism, free trade or anything like that, it is about stealing from your data services, whether you are on you IPhone, IPad, or any mobile device. Once you pass over the video, it begins to play and of course that adds to the data that you use. You should have the choice as to whether to watch a video or an ad if you want to, not because companies make you!

Now some of us have unlimited data, but the auto-run also bogs down your internet connection. Not only is it used for everyday videos we watch, it is also on ads on the side. You go to a site and begin to read down a page and it loads slowly, then you begin to hear the ad play and you know you didn’t click on it. To me, that is data piracy! So, what can you do about it. With Dish Network internet, they have limits on how much data you can use, AT&T also has a limit (although with AT&T I was able to get unlimited years ago and I won’t change my plan) but as a friend told me the other day, his wife got her bill and showed an unusual amount of data used and he could not figure out how that happened, until I explained it to him. Now he is trying to look into the “data piracy” to see if that was the culprit, which I believe it is!

What I believe is, that there is a deal between the internet companies and data service providers to allow this to take place. Like AT&T, once you go over your limit, they automatically give you more data and then charge you an extra $10 on your next bill, and if you go over that amount, they do the same thing. So, is it a partnership between the two, or just coincidence? I don’t know, but I would imagine if there was an investigation that there would be some servers wiped clean again.

The companies will tell you there is a way to shut it off, but magically it always comes back on and you have to find the shut off again! That is not capitalism, that is not controlling what people sell, that is pure theft!

I am planning on doing something about this, but of course you know how things like this go, they say “We will look into it” and then nothing happens. Well, I don’t plan on being one of those people who says “what’s the use” and not do anything.

Answer the poll and then comment on this article and tell us your story on how your data is being stolen!

Protecting the Osprey: “OFF”-Sprey Raptor Deterrent Videos and Social Media

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By Jeff Nichols

Here is where you can find all of the individual places to get more information and watch videos explaining how to install the “OFF”-Sprey Raptor Deterrent and watch how it prevents a pair of Ospreys to build their nest on top of a utility pole. Make sure to watch both videos on this page.

Watch the “OFF”-Sprey Raptor Deterrent in Action

 

When a utility companies discovers a new nest, the linemen remove the nest, but as soon as they leave, the Ospreys return almost immediately and begin rebuilding. On many occasions the nests are only discovered after a nest catches on fire and causes a power outage and possibly injures or kills the birds. The quickest and safest method to prevent this is that when you notice an Osprey starting to build the nest is to remove the nest and immediately install the “OFF”-Sprey Raptor Deterrent. Ospreys are very claustrophobic when it comes to building nests and what the “OFF”-Sprey does is minimizes the space that the Osprey need to build the nest. After many attempts to build the nest and failing, the Ospreys will move on to an artificial platform or more ideally a natural nesting site.

For less than $200, the “OFF”-Sprey Raptor Deterrent can save thousands of dollars in power loss, damage to utility poles and other structures. From the time you open the box, it takes less than 15 minutes to construct and install the “OFF”-Sprey, saving not only money, but time.

 

Below you can find more information about the “OFF”-Sprey Raptor Deterrent by visiting FaceBook, Twitter and www.offsprey.com.

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To Order call Power Supply Company LLC at (423)624-7330

off-sprey@hotmail.com

“OFF” – Sprey Raptor Deterrent Hits the Press!

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The success of the “OFF” – Sprey Raptor Deterrent is highlighted in this article that was written and reproduced with permission by The Tennessee Valley Public Power Association (TVPPA). Click on the image below to view the article.

 

video_play Click the image to view a short video on how the “OFF” – Sprey Raptor Deterrent works.

www.offsprey.com

th Click here to visit us on FaceBook.

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Ospreys and Utility Poles Don’t Mix. “OFF” – Sprey Raptor Deterrent Protects Both!

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By Jeff Nichols

Each year Ospreys build their nests often on top of utility poles, buildings, homes and other places that could cause damage to the structures and injure or kill the birds. Since these birds of prey mate for life and build their nests in the same place, or as close as they can to the same place year after year, the cost of loss of power, fires and the bird’s life itself grows. Many times utility workers will find a nest atop a pole, remove it (if it doesn’t contain eggs or fledglings) only to see the osprey return to rebuild immediately after the workers leave. Their natural instincts result in Ospreys being very tenacious and not easily deterred from their attempts.

Osprey Nest

Osprey nest built on top of a utility pole. Notice the twigs hanging down close to the wires. Photo by Mike Nichols

By encouraging the birds to build their nests in alternate areas, therefore voiding these hazards and helping to prevent the osprey from being injured or killed. This often includes loss of power and ultimately increasing costs to residents and utility companies if damage occurs because of the nesting birds. 

Mike Nichols. Superintendent of a utility company and 35 years of working in the electrical industry, has come up with an idea to deter the osprey from building on structures that could cause problems.

“As a superintendent of electric for a utility company I experienced the problems that the nesting Ospreys brought with them,” Nichols said. “Our efforts of trying to deal with the problem by purchasing items to deter the building of the nests had little to no success. The cost of the damages and of these failed devices each year continued to rise so I set out to attempt to design something to help with the problem.”

Nichols’ new product “OFF” – Sprey, Raptor Deterrent keep the ospreys from being able to sit directly on top of the poles and build their nests. Generally the Osprey will drop the material for the nest while hovering above the site and then land to place the material for the formation of the nest.

“In my workshop at home, I came up with the design that is now the “OFF” Sprey Raptor Deterrent and my utility has had great results from its use,” he continued. “The device can be used virtually on all types of construction standards and can be easily and quickly installed. It is made of dielectric materials and poses no potential harm to the Osprey or the environment.”

With the use of this device it eliminates the need for unnecessary human contact allowing the failed efforts of the Osprey to be the discouragement as-well-as the encouragement needed for them to find a alternate location for their nests while removing any hazards. Generally, there are natural sites available that the birds can utilize as alternates and oftentimes utility companies will provide manmade structures for the birds to build their nests.

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The “OFF” – Sprey Raptor Deterrent restricts the area an Osprey has to build the nest and the flexible tubing makes an unsteady perch. Photo by Mike Nichols

The device keep the Raptors from having a unobstructed opportunity to drop the debris and usually will be deflected away from the target site. The idea that ospreys do not like tight, confined areas along with the flexible tubing makes it nearly impossible for the birds to get near the arms of the poles and construct their nests. It also prevents the birds from getting too close to live electrical wires while landing or taking off where they could be killed or injured as you can see on this video of an Osprey trying to build a nest.

 

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(Click to play on YouTube)

 

The possibility of fire from the sticks and debris built around or in close proximity to the energized conductors is also eliminated with their absence.

Originally designed for the tops of electrical poles and structures it can be easily modified for other applications and situations. For less than $200 and no modifications to your structure, your worries of damage to utility poles, homes and the birds will be over.

Ospreys can be found anywhere there are bodies of water, along the coasts and around lakes from Canada all the way to Australia. They are also known as “Fish Eagles” because their diet mainly consists of fish.

 For more information or to place an order for The “OFF” – Sprey Raptor Deterrent, contact Power Supply Company LLC  (423)624-7330 www.offsprey.com

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Visit the “OFF”- Sprey Raptor Deterrent Web Site,  FaceBook page, Twitter or on YouTube.

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