Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Well said Big Iron. Keep in mind Neuffy is a 20 something Canadian who I don't believe understands our Constitution and what Conservative values actually are. As I understand it, there is no freedom of speech clause in the Canadian constitution. Is this correct?

Neuffy, I have no interest in what your citizens choose to do or not to do, and I would suggest you reciprocate by not getting worked up about what Americans choose to do and how we choose to live. This hits very close to the topic of this thread . . . California would be well advised to mind it's own failing state and stay out of Arizona's affairs and those of the other states. Perhaps it comes down to a Freudian thing about CA . . . gee, if AZ forces all the illegals out they will cross into CA and complete the task of certain groups' goals of recreating Mexifornia.

You see, The USA is a union of sovereign states and the power of the constitution is weighted to the states, not to popular collective will or the Federal government. If I am to be considered any sort of leader, I assume the mandate to do what I can to preserve the intent of our founders to preserve Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness as well as individual responsibility.

My name is Koa and I am the owner operator of Boriken Warrior Studios ( www.borikenwarrior.com ).

This thread has gone viral which is how I became aware of it and I intend to pass it along to as many people as I can.

I was on the Mpix forum just a few days ago and one of the things I said was that I did'nt get why many large businesses in the United States get together and go against what is going on. If they did, this would all stop in a heartbeat.

I am proud to see that one company is standing up for what is right. Considering that Paul C. Buff caters to photographers, I can see a huge jump in sales once this really gets out.

Thank you for being a true patriot and being one of the first to shove back.

I know that from here on out, whenever I need something for my business, I will be purchasing from Paul C. Buff.

God Bless and all the best.

Sincerely,

-Koa Feliciano
www.borikenwarrior.com
borikenwarrior@aol.com
www.facebook.com/borikenwarrior
www.myspace.com/borikenwarrior

Koa, Thank you so very much for your insights. I'm going to stick my neck out here and get a bit personal - hope that's OK with you. I am intrigued by names and national origins of people, and my instinct - perhaps totally wrong, is that your heritage or family ties may include some mix of American Indian and Hispanic. If I'm right, a special hurray for you!

Myself . . . my high school years were largely spent in Alta Loma and Cucamonga CA. In Alto Loma I lived literally in a shack in a lemon grove on a dirt road at the end of Monte Vista Street, which was known as "Shack Alley" and was 100% occupied by Mexican America families with very low incomes. These, along with a group of "Okies" formed my circle of friends. I picked lemons and operated "smudge pots" (only Californians know what a smudge pot is) while in high school, and had the best and most diverse group of friends anyone could ever hope for.

My divorced Mom endured what today would be considered severe poverty yet never had to stoop to handouts. I paid her rent starting with my first high school job a age 14, for a 7 foot square square bedroom that I shared with my older brother. Never went to a restaurant and my Mom sewed my school shirts from feed sacks. When I started high school, lime green shirts became all the rage among the more privileged kids and I wanted one so bad I could taste it. There certainly was no money for me to buy one, but Rit Dye cost $.15 and I had one of may dad's old white cotton button down collar shirts. The combination yielded one Lime Green shirt and I was a happy camper. Ironic that I would later share my recording studio with Frank Zappa (in Cucamonga) for we both knew so well the meaning of the term Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention.

Know what? I had a great life and upbringing and nobody every told me I was disadvantaged nor did the thought ever cross my mind. Hell, none of my friends ever thought that either.

That was between 1948 and 1953. I was 13 and 4'10" when I started High School and had just turned 17 when I graduated. I almost immediately joined the US Marine Corps, got out as a Sergeant at 21. Got a great education in electronics there. Also learned how to shoot enemies but never had to. Tried Jr College for one semester before I said, Hell with this, I'm opening a recording studio . . . never mind the fact I had no money and didn't know what a recording studio looked like.

If anyone is interested in what came out of that studio besides Wipe Out, Pipeline, Green Eyed Lady and Incense and Peppermints, I am happy to report that a huge body of many of the works produced there are just know coming out on about 25 CDs via a partnership I have formed with Greg Russo - a Zappa Historian. Some of the initial offerings can be sampled at http://www.cdbaby.com/Search/cGF1bCBidWZm/0 Please note the Latin overtones to much of my Hollywood Persuaders. Tijuana Surf was the Number One record in Mexico for 20 weeks in 1964 (all me) and I Wan't to Hold Your Hand (the Beatles) was #2. My "Drums A Go Go" (not on this collection) was Dick Clark's American Bandstand theme song for a year or two and remains a huge selling record in Europe today. My version is also on the soundtrack of Natural Born Killers. Raquel Welch and I shared our TV debuts on a show called Shivaree in 1964. I always joke "I made it and she didn't . . . ha ha. Persistence can pay off regardless of your status, race or social status.

Back to the core of this diatribe . . . this is not about race or politics or rich VS poor. It's about what America was founded to be, and was for 200+ years, and about the need for intelligent people to take it back and to get rid of the corrupt people who have infiltrated our government and want to destroy it. For those too young to know what the real America stands for, for God's sake read some history and study the constitution, or Ben Franklin and George Washington are going to rise from their graves, paddle your spoiled butts bloody. and ship you back to whatever miserable country you snuck in from.

Thank you again Koa - you're a trooper.

Koa,

After I wrote the above I checked out your facebook page. Aha, my instincts were correct. My wife Deborah is part Cherokee, part Dutch and part Irish. She (especially) and I are huge supporters of Native Americans and often visit Sante Fe, visit the reservations and buy and cherish the beautiful sliver and turquoise they make by hand. We usually leave the reservation with a huge knot in our stomachs regarding how horribly they are treated by our government.

Deborah knows what growing up underprivileged means every bit as much as I, having grown up in non-affluent southern Alabama as part of a rather large family with strong ties to the gospel and southern rock music scene. We have both endured multiple failed marriages and were married in 1998, and expect to stay that way until we are dead and gone. My father and his brother Conrad Buff II immigrated to the US early last century from Switzerland and my mother is half German though born in Missouri.

If you know anything about the characteristics of different heritages, you might imagine the dedication it takes for a Cherokee/Irish born in the deep south to remain harmonious with a Swiss/German dude born in Hollywood! But we manage quite nicely, held together strongly by shared spirituality, dedication to the Golden Rule and a love of music - especially Blues, Soul, Southern Rock and modern Native American, and a real knowledge about what love is and isn't.

Do you know of Brulee - a modern Native American music group from South Dakota? They are awesome. The leader was adopted and did not know he was born on the reservation or even Native America until rather recently. He often says he always knew something was missing in his life. When he found out what that was, he started Brulee. As Glenn Beck sometimes says "America, we're a melting pot . . . let's melt".

If these posts bother anyone here . . . on a technical forum, remember, it's my forum and I'll cry out if I want to :roll:

Thank you for your kind words.

Stop by my website and you will see exactly what I am about.

I was born into the military. I therefore knew nothing about racism until I was an adult. As a military brat, my friends on base ranged the entire spectrum; korean, black, Indian, Caucasian, Italian, Hispanic, Hawaiian, Irish, Filipino, Japanese and the list goes on. Religion did not matter either. We did not live in an isolated area like normal folks. The departure and influx of diverse cultures was constant and to us completely normal.

We played, went to school and grew up and dated with race having zero basis with our relationships to one another. That's what it was like growing up a military brat.

Now that I have had some time to read this entire thread, I am noticing you are slightly backing off your threat. Please don't. You and other businesses really do need to take a stand against what is happening.

As for many of the folks from California posting, I must say that they are proving your point. They are thinking about themselves and not of the higher good. How am I going to get this item and will my warranty be honored etc. That's exactly the problem. Me, me, me. How about us, us, us.

Instead of complaining about this, they should be with you and basically say, "Hey, you lnow what, this totally sucks but we will support you". But no. And it seems you are buckling. Please don't.

There are many more of us than there are them. We just have not said much in the past several years and instead have let others do the talking for us. And what do they get for it? Ridiculed, even by some of the posters on this thread (and Ann Coulter was being SARCASTIC when she said some of the things she's accused of saying).

Please, get together with other businesses. Things like the IRS Form 1099 tax which was slid into the Health Bill can be stopped dead by you and other large corporations. Money talks and BS walks. It's time the businesses of America stand up and stop taking the BS that is deviding this country.

In closing, please don't listen to the CNN (Clueless News Network) crowd. You know what you have to do. Do it. Let FOX get hold of it and trust me, you will be helping our country while increasing your companies visibility and profits.

All the best.

-Koa-

Adddendum: I noticed I was writing while you were posting. On another note, I posted the link to this thread on the Mpix forum.

I wondered on here through the Mpix forum and Koa's link. I find it fantastic that a business such as yours is supporting the rights of Arizona. I also find it ridiculous that CA would involve themselves with the business of another states. When they have enough trouble running their own.

I have been a customer for several years and will gladly continue with Paul C. Buff and company for my lighting needs.

Paul,
I knew I purchased from the right company. Not only do you make rock solid equipment, but you also support America the way she needs to be supported. Someone posted this on ModelMayhem and I just had to join to give you a big HELL YEAH from Texas! Maybe we can do something even better and vote California out of America!

Good for you, Paul! I am a happy Alien Bees owner (I own 4 B400's).

I can't believe that Arizona is the first state with balls enough to simply enforce the federal immigration laws that are already in place!

I live in southern California and I can't believe that anyone in this country could be against enforcing laws to prevent ILLEGAL immigration. I have no problem at all with immigrants who come into this country through the proper channels.

Just reverse the roles and see what would happen if an American citizen were to enter Mexico illegally -- or China, or Columbia, or Afghanistan, or Pakistan, or North Korea, or Russia, or ... pretty much any other country on the planet. In short, you would find yourself deported immediately if you're lucky or in prison if you're not so lucky.

Paul,
I believe you when you say "This is not directed to any race or to legal immigrants or to customers who believe in uniting the US instead of dividing it."

This new law however seems to do just this. It won't be someone who looks like Steve Nash or illegal Canadians who get harassed by this but brown skinned people surely will. There is an existing law on Arizona's books that can solve the immigration problem.

All companies there have to prove that their employees are legal. Only 6% of the companies are doing this and the State is not interested in enforcing it. Apparently getting workers for cheap labor is too beneficial to business, so Arizona doesn't really want to solve the problem.

The new law is unfortunately not the best way solve illegal immigration, but it gets the most attention.

Phil Ramuno

p.s. Great products!

Paul. As a new customer that purchased a few grand of products from you just about 2 weeks ago, I must say that I am very disappointed. I agree our immigration system is broken. I agree that illegals should be prosecuted and deported. I do not agree with opening the doors to the use of racial profiling.

The way I see this, is you openly supporting laws that exercise the use of racial profiling.

I am not satisfied. This has now become a moral issue for me, and I am questioning whether I can really use products from a company that is ok with racial profiling.

Saying, "I have Latino friends" is just adding insult to injury.

It is your company, and you decide how to run the show. I am just shocked and dumbfounded by this but above all saddened.

I know my opinion may not matter, but I felt I should atleast express my thoughts (whether you disagree or not).