What's YOUR safety worth?

I read a classified help wanted ad today for a Police Chief.   The starting salary was between $20,000 and $26,000, depending upon qualifications.  If you look at the low end of that pay scale, that's less than $10.00 an hour.  This is someone who is going to be responsible for carrying a gun, putting their life in possible danger every time they go to work, to make sure ourselves and our loved ones are safe, and the laws of the country are obeyed. 

That's rediculous! 

We pay athletes millions of dollars annually, and all they do is entertain us.  Would they save our lives if we were in danger?  We'd like to think so, but that's "not their job!" 

So how do we make up the difference?

 Well, for one thing, professional athletics sell paraphrenalia with the name of the team, a particular team member, and other "stuff" to help pay their salaries.  Cheese head anyone?  And we'd never mistake the average Joe for being the athlete whose name he (or especially she) is wearing on his or her back.    But that won't work for law enforcement. 

Someone wearing a t-shirt or hat that says LAPD or FBI or something like that may actually be mistaken for a law enforcement professional.  And, God forbid, they also have a gun which they may or may not know how to use properly, well...you can see the ramifications here.

The most obvious solution is a tax of some sort to insure generating more money to pay for these people.  But then everybody abhors the thought of another tax, even if it were as innocuous as a 1/8 cent sales tax, which has been proposed in some areas.   You'd never miss that 1/8th cent, even when it multiplies (think 1 cent for every $8.00 spent.)  Nope you'd rather save that money, and risk a lack of professional police help when you need it.   

As for me, I'm willing to pay a couple extra cents, or even dollars,  for the priceless gift of safety...Day 199!

The basketball grinch stole Christmas!

Yup, we were doing fine without it!  So what day do they finally devide to get back to playing?  Of course it had to be Christmas!  Thank heavens the folks we had dinner with, were not interested in basketball, and we all watched the History Channel instead.  Very interesting program on WW II and George S. Patton; quite the intriguing individual.  One of our dinner guests even had some interesting stories to tell about him.

If we had to watch sports on TV, we were going to watch the Chicago Bears/Green Bay Packers game, although we knew how that would turn out.  Oh, we really didn't know, but we assumed, since Green Bay only lost one game all year, and the Bears were starting their third or fourth quarterback!  We saw a few minutes of the beginning of the 4th quarter...enough said there!

But no basketball watching for us...on Day 198!

Merry Christmas? Black Friday follow-up...

Did you know you could have regrets over Black Friday purchases?  That all the time spent because you woke up extra early, or never went to bed; stood in line; fought crowds that may or may not have had someone with pepper spray amongst them, may have all been in vain?

Evidently many people got caught up in the hype, shopped until they dropped, went home, added up what they had spent (or charged) and then looked at the monthly bill pile they ignored as they were too busy honing their bargain-hunting skills.  So what does a person do?  Well, you return the stuff you really didn't want or need, which of course means that some of the merchandise has been rendered unsaleable, as it's been opened, or worn, or somehow used.  This is especially true in electronics. 

Who's at fault?  Both the sellers, for putting the idea out there that you need these electronics, and the people who think the only way to get that good deal, is to stand in line, and fight your way into the store of your choice.  There must be a helluva markup that the sellers can put up with this revenue loss.  The buyers have remorse for having to return those products so they can pay their bills, but no remorse for having made the product unuseable for a another customer.

What's wrong with spending within your means?  I also read about a woman who's "$400 toys for her 4-year old" layaway was generously paid off by an anonymous donor.  While I applaud the random act of kindness, I question the woman who buys $400 worth of gifts for a 4 year old who's probably happier with the boxes the toys came in.

When I was a kid, I got a lot of stuff I didn't want...socks, underwear, etc.  But I was happy to at least have a present to open.  If I didn't get the latest rage toy, gizmo, gadget, it was not the end of the world.   Eventually I got to play with one whether it was older and used, or in the posession of a friend.  And now that I'm older, if I see something I missed in my youth, I can enjoy looking at it, and remembering, and even buying it if I'm so inspired.

Not quite Scrooge, but not quite broke either,  on Day 197! 

Black Friday, as Andy might see it!

Today is the day after Thanksgiving, which retailers have come to affectionately call "Black Friday."  Supposedly the most money a store makes in a year's time, comes right after Thanksgiving, and the sooner they can get into your pocketbook, the better. 

They used to just advertise sales and open their doors at the regular store hours.  Then they decided to push it back a bit, such as 6 a..m.  Then it became earlier, and earlier, and THIS year, some stores opened at 10:00 p.m, Thanksgiving evening.

I suppose next year the stores may be serving Thanksgiving dinner, so you can be there when the store opens.  Then you won't have to worry about shooing your guests out of the house, so you can get ready to shop! 

Of course with all this buying frenzy there has to be a downside as some people want what they want, and no one or anything is going to get in their way.  There was even one incidence where a woman used pepper spray to subdue other shoppers while she grabbed the item she wanted from an electronics display.  And a Merry Christmas to you!  I'm sure she made the maced shoppers less than merry!  I hope they catch her.

I, as I'm sure Andy would have agreed in his own life, do not really need anything that would make me leave home on Thanksgiving after a wonderful meal.    And although I love my family, I would not even go out for their gifts.  If I cannot get them what I want, and can afford, then I shall work out some other conpromise. 

This Christmas, as every other Christmas in the past, I'm not going to max out my credit cards.  I'm not going to take out a loan.  I'm going to stay safe.

And I'm not leaving the dinner table to shop, on Day 196!

Yeah!!! No basketball this fall!!!

Am I excited?  You betcha! 

I used to like basketball, not love, as with football, just like.  I used to go to quite a few games in college, and...I went at the same time, and watched Walt Frazier play, as he went to the same college.  That was the year we won the N.I.T. tournament.  I could have gone to New York and watched, but I went to New Orleans instead, as it was over Spring break!

This all came to a crashing halt when I started taking note of the bad behavior, and exhorbitant salaries of the players.  And the game is just too damn boring to watch!  One team dribbles down the court, and makes a basket; the other team takes over, dribbles down court, makes a basket, and they do it over again.  I guess there is some skill I'm not zeroing in on that includes stealing the ball back before the opposing team can make that basket, but all in all,  it's just back and forth.  Has about the same appeal as tennis, except with basketball the ball is in play more.

With tennis there seems to be a serve, and a hit or miss, and then another serve, and a hit or miss, but never some serious volleys back and forth.  Too many stops and starts for me.

Okay, there's bad behavior in other sports, to be sure, but they're much more fun to watch!  

 Even golf is more interesting, and to many folks, that's a real "yawner" of a sport.  But the skill is obvious although I do not know what they really see when they're lining up a putt, as far as little nuances in the grass cutting. 

Not having to worry that my favorite shows are being preempted by a basketball game, on Day 195!

Justice served? Depends on who you talk to!

Michael Jackson's doctor was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the singer's death. 

Since I was not at the trial, and have not read all the transcripts, I'll just comment on my views from what I read in the paper or on the internet.  I think that's all anyone can do.  The few comments from media lawyers (think Nancy Grace) sounded to me like they were lawyers on the case, for the offense, and not casual observers.

If you liked Michael, you forgave his shortcomings, of which there were a few.  If you didn't like Michael, then the doctor was not at fault.  I think there were many parties at fault here.  The doctor, for sure, the family members who were supported by Michael, and other people who lived or worked around him on a daily basis.   They were lured by the smell of money, that he may or may not have had.  He certainly lived way more lavishly than he really needed to.  But he was, supposedly,  trying to get together a "come-back" tour to pay his bills?  

Was the doctor negligent?  Most certainly!  Was Michael negligent?  Most certainly!  Was his family negligent?  Most certainly!  Was it medical malpractice?  Most certainly!  Was it involuntary manslaughter?  Possibly not, but the doctor's actions immediately following finding Michael unresponsive, were indeed questionable, and careless.  Would Michael have lived?  Who knows.  But if he did, what would we think of him then?  Or would we all pass it off as just another chapter in his life, and ignore the negatives?

Sex, drugs and rock n' roll, once again come together, with an unfortunately ending, on Day 194!

R.I.P. Andy

In a previous blog I wrote that I was sad because Andy was ailing.  I wanted to add that it would seem all too often that some people seem to pass away right after they retire, and it seems a shame they waited so long TO retire, as they never got to enjoy it.  I didn't want to put that burden on Andy, so I omitted it from the post. 

But as luck or fate would have it, Andy was through, formally and physically.  But he definitely lived a good life, and he was often quoted as having no regrets.  He lived as he wanted, lacked for very little, and worked at what he loved best.  We should all be so lucky, but a lot of it is attitude, and he surely had that!

Wondering if he's in the clouds, pecking away on his  trusty Royal, on Day193!  

Patience IS a virtue...remember???

I went to McDonald's this afternoon for a "cheap" lunch.  I only had $2.00, and believe it or not you can eat fairly well for $2.  Or at least I thought, until I looked at the calorie count.  But that's yet another blog.

It wasn't the lunch hour, closer to 2:00, but the drive-thru was full, and there were people standing at the counter.  There was one person at the counter, plus the manager, manning the cash registers and taking orders.  Of course there were the contingent of cooks, and drive-thru personnel. 

It was NOT running smoothly, for whatever reason, but I wasn't in a hurry.  Then the manager left the counter, and had the other person also leave the counter.  They both had small jobs to attend to, concerning the patrons' orders at the counter.  As I was waiting, a woman came up behind me and said "Isn't there any one taking orders??!!!"  I said that they would be back shortly, and perhaps they were a bit short handed. 

They indeed came back, finished the other orders ahead of me, and took my order.  This whole scenario took all of 5 minutes, more or less.  BUT, since this is a "fast food" restaurant, 5 minutes is obviously TOO slow for a lot of people.  And of course there was audible griping. 

Now I gotta say people...LIGHTEN UP!!!  How long do you have to wait in a sit-down restaurant?  Are you in that much of a hurry to wolf down your food?  Are you growing faint with hunger?  Maybe McDonald's is NOT the place for you!  Have patience for those folks who are doing their level best to feed you!

Trying to patient with the impatient, on Day 192!

Seriously, Sirius radio is for me!

I am hooked!  And I'm willing to pay!

This all happened when we rented a van for our vacation and it was equipped with Sirius radio.   Now I don't pay for cable TV, and I don't pay to tweet or text, but I believe I will pay for the glorious benefit of having jazz and not one but three channels, plus so many more channels of "my kind of listening" available to me while I'm on the road.    And, I don't have to search for a signal when we pass from one town to another, or state to state.

As for cable TV, we saw enough while staying in hotels, to know we don't want to waste the money to watch channels that seem to have nothing more than "Reality TV" available. 

As for texting, we saw enough people swerving all over the road, and sometimes in our path, while looking in their laps, so we can only assume they were "texting" even though it's illegal in most states.

As for twitter?  Who cares? I'll catch up watching the news on TV (and not CNN either!)

I know I'm gonna be listening to jazz...now and forever after Day 191!

Andy's ailing...

...and I'm sad. 

 I hope he overcomes whatever's wrong with him.  Guess he went in to the hospital for some relatively simple surgery, and had some other complications.   This could give him some good material on hospital food, hospital gowns, hospital hospitality!

Or how many plants he's got, or flower arrangements, or visitors that won't leave! 

Just hoping for his speedy recovery, and quite a few more laughs after...Day 190!

Are we becoming the most "shallow" nation on earth?

I jsut heard, on good old NPR, that the Kardashian wedding fiasco netted the families involves, over 18 million dollars!!!  That $18,000,000 for those who'd rather see the numbers version!   And for what???!!

Well, they sold the rights to the wedding, the shower, the engagement party, the rehersal dinner, even the honeymoon, to various magazines and other media outlets.   I read all I wanted to know about them, by standing in line at the grocery store perusing People Magazine, and seeing a few headlines on the internet.  Did I PAY for anything that had their names or pictures within?  HELL NO!!!  What a waste of money that would be.  But since all those media outlets DID pay for that "wedding", they must think some people are interested enough to buy the magazine, or subscribe to the cable (?) show to see the "real truth" of what the Kardashian lifestyle is like.

So then, to top it off, I read again, on the internet, that the sisters, and even the mom, may have hinted around that they didn't think the wedding would last.  If they felt so strongly, why did they let their darling daughter/sister get hitched?  Perhaps because they knew they could cash in on a very big payday!  Remember that $18,000,000???  That means SOOOO much more than any "happy ending" 

Still trying to figure out who the Kardashians are anyway, on Day 189!

Who's going to do the work?

The fruit will be rotting on the vine in the South.  That is according to the farmers who used to hire migrant workers, mostly from Mexico or South America, to pick it.   Some states are enacting tougher new immigration laws, and this has affected farmers and workers adversely.  I'm not going to jump in on the states, their laws, or other conflicts.  I'm not that well-read about them.

I will say though that I knew of a local family, who could probably trace their roots to before the civil war, on American soil, non-hispanic, who used to be migrant workers.  The parents have passed away, and the "kids" are now senior citizens, but they would talk about going out to California and working their way up or down the coast, picking fruit, vegetables, etc.   They never talked about how hard it may have been, just that it's the way they found themselves living in California for many years before moving back to the Ozarks, which was their primary home.   So it wasn't just Hispanics who worked as field hands.  

 Nowadays it would seem Hispanics are the only people who are willing to do those jobs.  But with these new laws, those people have disappeared from the fields.  One would think that with all the folks supposedly out of work, they could do the picking, right?  Are they showing up at the "Day-Hire" storefronts (or wherever one looks for such positions) or do they consider themselves too good for such work?

The younger generation, with strong backs, and little education...here's a job for you!  Might not be fancy, but it's legitimate, and might be a stepping stone to something else.  It's also a paycheck!  Oh, you might not be able to keep your iPod plugged in, or text between tomatoes.  Is that a problem? 

What I do worry about is that their soft bodies won't stand up to the task, since it seems everyone spends too much time eating at a fast food chain, and not enough time walking, running, just playing outside.  I worry that if they get hurt, even in the most menial way, they will turn to worker's compensation and/or that ultimate...disability, and never have to do a reasonable day's work again, and we the taxpayers will pay, and pay, and pay.

Am I sounding too cynical?  Do I want to eat?  Would I prefer to eat American-grown food?  Would I prefer to help out my fellow American farmer by buying American?  You bet!   Like the bumper stickers say "If you enjoy eating, thank a farmer." 

If you don't want "foreign nationals" coming in to the country to harvest your food, then you'd better prepare to harvest it yourself!  And I'm not talking to the farmers here, I'm talking to the consumers, of which there are millions more.

Just my opinion, on Day 188!

I can fix the post office!

Okay, I lied.  But I think I have some viable sideas that they might take into consideration, since I am one of their customers, and the customer is always right!  Right?

First of all taking away Saturday delivery is a very bad idea.  Many people can only get to the post office on Saturday since they work Monday through Friday.   Saturday morning is one of those chore or errand days.  I say stop Monday delivery! 

Hear me out.  The P.O. could cut the workers' hours down to 37 a week, Tuesday through Friday, then Saturday until noon.  They would have Mondays off so they would still have a nice two-day weekend as the majority of us enjoy. 

Since most federal holidays fall on Mondays now, they would not get holiday pay as they already have the day off.  Of course they would get some unmoveable holidays off such as the 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and get paid for those days. 

There would be a few exceptions as I'm sure the P.O. has people working overnight, and possibly weekends, but the ones we see every day, probably the majority of workers, would have a simple change in their work habits. 

Don't like it?  Then try the unemployment lines for a few weeks/months, or even years, as so many of us haved had to contend with, in these tough economic times.   Working at the P.O. used to be a job everyone wanted and tried out for.  If the current workers don't like the change, I'm sure there are plenty of people out of work who would be willing to take over.

If anyone's listening, that's my plan on Day 187!

Don't send Rick Perry back to Texas...

...because I like to vacation in Texas, and this man is one nutcase too many for that great state!

Actually I started this thought before the "debates" and it would appear he's digging a fine hole for himself, and unfortunately he'll probably have to crawl out of it to return to Texas.  More's the pity!

Praying (?) for my Texas brethren that they rid themselves of the likes ot Perry, this Day 186!

Spoiled/Not spoiled

Yikes...today I ate a container of yogurt that has been sitting in my refrigerator, unattended, since August!  WAY past the expiration date!  I may die from this, but more likely I won't even get sick.  I wrote in an earlier blog that I thought expiration dates were bogus.  Obviously I practice what I preach.

If the "food" looks bad, smells, bad, then of course I won't eat it.  But that can happen when the product is "fresh" from the store!  I think I'm adult enough to rely on my senses to tell me if something probably should not be eaten.  The yogurt looked good and tasted better!

Still ignoring expiration dates on Day 185!

Wal Mart's at it again!

They're going to "cut costs" by not offering health insurance to part-time employees.  Since they prefer to hire part time employees, of course that's a substantial savings.  And oh, so employee-friendly too, NOT!!!

I worked with many older folks who worked just because Wal Mart DID offer health insurance.  I'm assuming that they won't be cut from the rolls (insurance rolls that is), but it could happen.  I don't know if this is an area you can be "grandfathered" in to.

Then I get an e-mail (blanket e-mail, I'm not on a first-name basis with these people) from the Motley Fools telling me what a good buy W-M stock is, as their profits are so good year in and year out. 

Hating W-M just a bit more today, tomorrow, and every other day including Day 184!

Imagine...

...title of an old John Lennon song.  Lots of people use that word and add something else to suit their purposes.  One of the most common, in this day and age  is "imagine world peace."  I was listening to a disk jockey who brought that up.

 He then said "imagine turn signals!"  Had to agree there!

Tired of trying to "imagine" what the driver in front of me is going to do... on Day 183!

Home sweet home...

...is in Missouri.   But we just returned from a wonderful vacation in Eastern Pennsylvania.  The leaves really hadn't changed much yet, but the weather, the food, the folks we met, the places we went, the things we did, were all above average! 

We'll never move there.  We like it too much!  We really liked Missouri when we used to vacation here, for the fishing, etc.  Then we moved here, and 30 years later, have yet to fish!!!  So we're leaving Pennsylvania as a great place to visit!

Planning on next year's visit already...on Day 182!

Yikes, I lost the remote!!!

Sheesh...I saw it again today...someone trying to "lock" their car from afar!  Of course they had the KEYS in their hands, but rather than actually put the key in the door, and turn it to locked, or press whatever buttons necesssary when exiting the car, they stand there, in front of the car, and keep pressing some button on a fob to hear that familiar "chirp!" 

It reminds me of my husband, who cannot turn the TV off by the BUTTONS on the TV!  No, he has to find the remote!  And will spend several precious minutes searching, while the TV drones on, and (wastes electricity.)

I love the newer "keyless" entries, where you punch a code.   I'm not sure, but when trying to remember numerous pin numbers, and passwords, do I have to start remembering lock combinations too?  And what if I forget, and it's not written down somewhere, and geez, it's pouring down rain, and I'm late for work, and grandma's train is coming in, and the dog needs to be rushed to the vet, and...

That being said, I'm happy with my keys, and ability, to push buttons as necessary, to lock my car door, and turn the TV off, on Day 181! 

A penny for my thoughts!

That's probably all they're worth, anyway!

This morning I heard that Julian Assange, the WIKI-leaks guy, was PO'd because his "autobiography" was being published without his consent.  Now I thought that was strange to begin with, because an "auto" biography means the person wrote it themself, as opposed to someone else doing research and just writing what came to mind.  No, old Julian told his innermost thoughts to a ghost writer (an acceptable alternative), but then decided he did not want it published!

Now under most circumstances this would have been acceptable had he given back the 6-figure advance he received for the book, yes, SIX figures!  But he did not, so the book will go forward.  So enough about Julian already.

I should be so lucky, not that any one wants to write about me, but if I were awarded a 6-figure advance, there would be a decimal point and a couple zeroes after the decimal point.  The "other" four figures would be in front of it, although  I guess I could get a fraction of a cent, for my thoughts, which would mean more numbers after the decimal, and fewer up front.

But as for now, I'm still writing for free on Day 180!

Ban this blog...

...it may contain objectionable material!  Although what's objectionable, and to whom, shall be up for debate.

The Republic, Missouri Public School System wanted to ban two books, Slaughterhouse Five, and one called Twenty Boy Summer (or something like that.)  I don't know the proper name of the second as it's not something I care enough about to try to find, to read.

When I was in high school the book Lady Chatterly's Lover was on the "banned from the library" list.  When I was in college, James Michener's Hawaii was banned from the college-level reading list.  So you know what that does!  We all go out to buy it! 

I finally found a copy of Lady Chatterly's Lover and could not figure out what all the hype was about.  It was boring!  As for Hawaii, I have read all of Michener's books and love them all.  And again, cannot understand what the hype was about!

In this day and age we should be glad we can get kids to read anything other than text messages, with words poorly spelled, and punctuation totally lacking!

Hope no one found anything in this diatribe worth banning, on Day 179!

I pledge allegiance to...

...the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands...

We all know those words, and they DO mean something for the majority of us!  So why-oh-why does some jerk, whose name shall not be mentioned (and NO, not a politician) say that he thinks that children should not be made to recite this in school.  His take is that children should not be forced to "made a pledge", although he says he's a patriot, and does put his hand over his heart, and speak those words at times when it's asked (I guess baseball games, political gatherings, etc?)

Good grief!  What is the difference?  I do believe that it's important for kids to learn such things at an early age so that they may have some respect for the country we live in.  And they'll learn soon enough that it's a free country, and we can almost do as we please, within reasonable limits. 

...one nation, under God, indivisible...

I look at this as I look at religion, although I'm not a very religious person any more.  I think the children should be introduced to religion, as it is all about living a good life, and then, when they are old enough to make up their own minds, they can either choose to stay in the church, or to believe as they wish.   But hopefully, the path to a good life has been instilled.  Laying the groundwork for a informed decision can only help later on.

...with liberty and justice for all, on Day 178!

Bill got it right!

I have always admired Bill Clinton for his quick thinking,  ALTHOUGH I did think his liason with a White House intern was disgusting.  But that's now all history.

Anyway, today (9/18/2011) he was quoted on AOL, as saying that Dick Cheney was trying to foment trouble between the Democrat ranks, by suggesting Hillary Clinton run against Obama in the priimaries.   I was wondering why Cheney would say that myself, but as I'm not as quick on my feet,  I'd bet old Bill was right on the money!

As for Cheney, he gets more transparent every day.  Some day he'll just disappear, and the footnotes in history will be far and few between.  As they are with other VPs.

I haven't had much to write lately, due to time constrictions (my own), but with the political sccene heating up, the possibilities are endless!  I'm obviously NOT a republican fan, and to my eyes, they keep making verbal gaffs on an almost daily basis.  I've been keeping some notes, but just as I think something sounds worthy of a blog, they say something else that has me shaking my head in even more disbelief.

On a positive note, for the Republicans, I do like Michelle Bachman's quick retorts on some subjects she's pressed about, but when left to just verballize her thoughts (think campaign speech) she fails me.

If I want true controversy, I'll watch football this afternoon, and decry why my team lost (if they do) on Day 177!

Oil price double speak...

On the news this morning there was a short quote on how the oil traders are concerned about the price of oil going down due to decreased demand (I guess in the U.S.?)

Just the day before there was a blurb on how oil-per-barrel was quite a bit lower this Labor day weekend; however the price  per gallon at the pump was considerable higher, due to increased demand (where, in China?)

 So who's telling the truth?  And, since the major oil companies are all located in the U.S., shouldn't we be getting something of a break, since we "subsidize" their efforts?

Count me as looking for a much more fuel-efficient vehicle, so I can use even less oil on Day 176!

Technology is getting away from us!

Did you know that you can start a car from afar (think a "state away", for example)?  Of course the car has  to be equipped with a special "chip."   And the new cars probably will have that chip.  So, how fast do you think "car-jackers" are going to become car "hackers?"  Just think, no more broken windows, no more jimmied ignitions, no more shouting "get out of the car" at gun point (since they won't have to wait for the owner to open the car with his/her key.)  This must be nirvana to car thieves.

As fast as we invent something new, different, interesting, there's someone out there trying to defuse the glory, and take advantage of the situation.   Which of course creates jobs for people who are paid to figure out where the defusers will come from.    Which of course causes the defusers to work harder.  Which of course...well, you get the idea.

I think I'll keep driving my technology-challenged cars on Day 175!

If you rolled them all into one...

...you might have a viable Republican candidate. 

I say this because I heard something Ron Paul said, that seemed like a good idea, to me.  May I say that I only very occasionally vote for a Republican.  I'm mostly Democrat, born and raised that way!

I also agreed with something Michelle Bachman said the other day.

Oops, I haven't heard anything I could "value" out of Rick Perry's mouth yet, but hey, he has time.

Romney still has my ear too.  Ever hear of his own state health care plan???!!!

Roll them all into a really, REALLY good candidate, and you might have a VIABLE candidate, but from my side of the fence, not yet!

Just my political musings on Day 174! 

It's all just funny money!

Today Warren Buffet bought a boat-load of Bank of America shares.  Because whatever he buys seems to be golden, and his portfolio is to be admired, many people got on the bandwagon and bought more shares.  That brought the price up, per share.  Therefore by the end of the day, Buffet's shares, should he/could he resell them immediately at the latest asking price, would garner him a profit of about a billion (yes, BILLION) dollars!

If that's not funny money, I don't know what is!

Betting on Buffet, but not with my money on Day 173!

P.S.  Why couldn't he have bought Citicorp?  I DO own some of that, and it could have used a boost!

Dick Cheney...ho hum...

Dick Cheney wrote a book...

Ho hum...

You'll find me reading John Sandford's really good "fiction" on Day 172!

Bad sportsmanship du jour!

There's been yet another incidence at a professional sports venue.  This time it was a shooting after a San Francisco 49ers game.  One of the folks who was shot supposedly had an "offensive to the 49ers" shirt on.  Now isn't that why we buy "funny" t-shirts, to show a bit of humor or to make a point?  But is this reason enough to shhot a person? 

Earlier in the year an EMT was beaten, and is still suffering from brain damage after a Dodgers-Giants baseball game.  What is the matter with people?  Sports is just not that important! 

Both of these incidents, to me, speak of attempted murder!  Nothing less!

We worship overpaid atheletes, who don't know the vast majority of us, from anyone else in the universe.  Why should we attempt to "kill" for them? 

This behavior is also trickling down to the little league/mighty mites leagues.  The parents are starting to get wage war on the coaches, etc.  Maybe these goons who sought to hurt members of the opposing team's fans, learned this in the sandlots of their youth, from their parents!

Watching the games on TV only...Day 171!

So what, so what, so what???!!!!!

Kim Kardashian got married.

Her wedding may have cost in the millions.

She has an engagement ring equal to or greater than the GPD of a few small countries.

So what, so what, so what???

I did not read all the details.  This is just what flew in my face from headlines on the internet and newspaper! 

I did read or hear somewhere that her mother, Mrs. Bruce Jenner, was going to take back her "previous" married name, because it has become an "enterprise" in itself!  Huh? 

With all the trouble in all parts of the world, I can appreciate reading something a bit "light" but I'd rather see cute pictures of puppies than read about celebrities who have no know talents except their name happened to be linked with a particular event (and in this case it was the heinous OJ trial.)  Remember?  Probably the people fawning over the Kardashians don't even remember Robert Kardashian, or what he did in the name of "justice!"

Gonna go look at an e-mail with cute puppies in it that I received from a friend...on Day 170!

Can't a guy (even the president) get a break?

Sheesh...the president is going on vacation.  So what?   The "media" seems to berate him for this little trip to Martha's Vineyard.  Do we really think he's not going to have regular updates on what's going on around the country?

Do we think that he's turning off all cell phones and telling his "people" not to talk to him for the next week?  That he'll get his "news" from the local newspaper or the internet?

When congress goes home for their recesses, do we really think they're out talking to their "constituents?  Don't we really look upon those occasions as being mini-vacations?  Plus the "real" vacations they take while they're in Washington?  Yet we accept that as part of their position.

Everyone needs some time off to just be somewhat idle.  Spend time with family.  Even the president is entitled to that.  His job is 24/7/365 and vacations are no exception.  So he may be away, but he's not totally out of touch! 

And how many of us would postpone a vacation if our "job" needed us more?  Very, very, very few!!!  We feel we are entitled, and deserve our time off.  And the majority of us do have the good fortune to not answer calls from work, or spend time planning our next moves while the family frolics.

I'm going in October, so don't bother me, please...Day 169!

The EPA be damned!

Rick Perry didn't exactly say that, but he implied it today, when he said he did not believe in global warming, and that it was more-or-less a "ploy" of scientists to get funding for their research projects.  Un huh!  Yep!  That's the ticket!  But then here's a person who carries a lazer-sighted pistol when he jogs so he can kill snakes.  Mind you, any human being who is healthy enough to jog, can easily outrun a snake.  I mean, a person can outwalk a snake!

Oh, and of course big business says that as long as we have such "stringent(?)" environmental laws, they are hamstrung from creating more jobs.  Sure they are.  And then when they screw up the environment, there'll be plenty of jobs available to clean up their messes.

Think Katrina, and New Orleans.  If we hadn't built in the floodplains, and filled in the marshes, the town would not have gone underwater.   Think the Everglades!  And how the lack of them has caused some terrific hurricane damage to the coast of Florida.  So what are we doing now?  Trying to "restore" the Everglades...ah...jobs created, twice, if you count when we screwed it up in the first placed.

But how do you really "fix" a problem when the land has changed, the animals have vanished, the plants don't grow there anymore.  Are the "promises" of more jobs more important than saving the earth so it's habitable?   Notice I said "promises" of jobs; no guarantee there really would be jobs!

Getting back to Rick Perry,  Molly Ivens... you had your work cut out for you when you cussed and discussed the Texas ledg...and we miss you.   This story is about way more than Texas, but Perry started the ball rolling with his inane remarks.

Can't write as well as you did, but I'm trying, this Day 168!

Addendum to K2 (and I don't mean kindergarden!)

My last rant was about drugs. 

Since then I was talking to a friend who was in HR (human resources) and she mentioned it was her experience, and others in her field also, that fewer people were able to pass drug tests.  She told of one job opening that had over 500 applicants and yet only 10 could pass the drug test.

The United States and its people have fallen off a cliff in a big way.  If that's an accurate description of the state of employment, no wonder unemployment stays so high.  There are jobs out there, but no one to fill them, and it's not totally because they're not qualified; they're stoned!

You don't want drunk drivers, why would you want drunk workers?    Don't take me to task on semantics here...a drug is a drug is a drug!

I'm drug free and just got a new job, on Day 167!

K2, a disgusting little product...

For those of you who have not heard of this, K2 is a supposed "bath salt" that people are smoking, I believe, to get high!  It's illegal to sell in Missouri.   I passed by a store today (a topless bar, I believe) that said they sold K2 substitutes there.  Is that disgusting, or what?

Why must people get high?  Why must people think they're not having fun if they're not hallucinating?  Why must people "numb" themselves against the world, and its ups and downs?  Why must people go out of their way to find and manufacture such stuff, and try to get around the harmful effects by calling it "bath salt?"  And who thinks to "smoke" this stuff anyway?  Was it ever meant to be a bath salt?  Did anyone ever even try it as a bath salt?  And now that its not available, we've already found a substitute? 

Shaking my head and staying sane, and away, from ALL this junk...Day 166!

They'll cancel each other out!

Wow, did anyone NOT hear about Rick Perry possibly getting into the presidential race?  I think because "God told him to???!!"  Not really, I made that up about God.  But, in today's paper, there was a headline on the second page of him saying to the Evangelicals "...I'm one of you..."  So???

I do believe Rick and Michelle will cancel each other out.  They're too far right.  Take those kind of religious comments, with Michelle Bachman's rants, and it's a slam-dunk that Mitt Romney will be the next Republican candidate.   And if he were to not get the nod, it's a slam-dunk that Obama gets re-elected.

You can talk religion all you want to, but you can't make people "believers" if their hearts are not in it.  If you were to look at the lifestyles of what appear to be the majority of Americans these days, religion is a far distant thought while they're going through their daily routines.   This would appear to be especially true of the younger generation, and that folks is our future!

If there is a God and he answered all our prayers, there would be no war, no famine, no poverty, no murder.  Everything would be peaceful, calm, prosperous, idyllic.  Wwe need to try to get along, and respect and help one another.  That's what Jesus wanted us to strive for, when he preached over 2000 years ago, but not all of us took it to heart, and we're falling further and further away as time goes on.  Jesus is dead, and so are too many of his ideas.  Perry can try to resurrect him, in the form of God, but it's a dead issue, in more ways than one.

Just telling it like I see it, on Day 165!

Remember when...

...we all used to eat dinner together at dinnertime, with the TV off?

I bring this up because I'm tired of negative energy.  This particular issue was raised when a dietician was asked why we have such child obesity, and one of the reasons was that the family does not eat together any more.  But I'm not here to discuss obesity.  I could use a few pounds myself.

I remember watching TV at about 5:00 in the evening, in time to see The Mickey Mouse Club, with Annette Funicello, and a few others who's names I have forgotten, and leave with dreams of going to Disneyland.   I probably remember Annette because my next-door neighbor was Italian, and reminded me of her.  Of course the program ran an hour, and we ate promptly at 5:30, no ifs, ands, or buts!  So the TV went off!  Occasionally, and just occasionally dinner would be a few minutes late, and I could see just a wee bit more of the show, but never all the way through.

My mother was also a stickler for a proper dinner, which meant meat, potatoes and a vegetable.  She was a really, really good cook, which I never appreciated because she had a way of making things I really didn't like,  One of her specialities was Chop Suey.  I went to a very good Chinese restaurant in downtown Chicago and tried their Chop Suey, thinking that I'd finally find out what it was supposed to taste like!   It tasted just like my mothers!

Dinnertime, at the time, seemed to be a chore.  But today, with everything being fast, fast, fast, I miss those dinners.  My husband and I have dinner here. only occasionally, since he works nights and I work days.  He prefers to go out for dinner over the weekend, but I have to say that I really enjoy putting together an occasional dinner, on the weekends, where we sit down at the table.  A bit reminiscent of the good old days.

However, I am still waiting to go to Disneyland ...Day 164!

Well, good for Budweiser!

They're redesigning their packaging, thinking it will lure more people to buy their products.  Their sales are good, but down, as the economy is also down.  So they redesign their packaging?  Isn't that expensive, considering the retooling, etc?   They wouldn't be the first group that changed their looks and lost even more public appeal.   Someone did mention that the cans were more reminiscent of Coke cans...freudian?  Perhaps not!  But why not just lower your prices?

Speaking of that, yesterday Molson-Coors was quoted as saying they raised their prices as they were "losing money", and they still are losing market share.  In this economy you raise prices???  Oh sorry, those high-priced CEOs need their perks, so we must make more money.  Guess they're hurting too in this economy.  I think "losing money" simply means that they are not making as much profit as they anticipated.  They're not really "losing money" the way the majority of us define it!

Of course I could be wrong about all of the above, but there's another "problem" with selling more beer...called drinking responsibly!  A potential DWI, thousands of dollars in lawyer and other fees, plus jail time and the potential of really hurting other human beings, may have also cut into their profits.   As for those beer drinkers to which this is a wake-up call...I say "Good for you!"  Beer is not a necessity in your daily diet!

As for me, I'm gonna get myself an iced tea, on Day 163!

I'll watch out for motorcycles when...

...they start driving more responsibly.  And, I will admit, there are plenty that do! 

But today, as we were approaching a light, obviously in our favor, as other cars were going through it, a motorcycle turned in front of us from the cross traffic.  If we were travelling a bit faster, he or she would have been toast!  And everyone would be saying "Oh, the poor motorcycle driver that no one ever sees."  We saw them loud and clear!

I agree that motorcycles have a hard time expecially when car drivers forget the rules of the road, do not signal when changing lanes, or making turns, etc. And of course there is that infernal blind spot that we all seem to have somewhere in our line of sight.    But one motorcycle rider acting irresponsibly affects the motorcycle community as a whole.

Still watching out for the other guy...Day 162!

Playing the "blame game" and how responsible is the media?

Okay, the "debt ceiling" has been raised, and the "crisis" averted, and everyone's breathing a sigh of relief that the government didn't default on what it could default on.  So what?

After all the ballyhooing about the Democrats getting bashed for "spending" and "wanting to raise taxes", etc, etc, let's review a couple facts that the Republicans seem to have conveniently forgotten.

 First, when Ronald Reagan was president, he enacted some hellacious taxes.  He was a Republican!  And they won't soon let you forget him either!  He's always being deified!  If there was room on Rushmore, he'd be there...

Second, when George Bush took office, after Clinton, there was a budget surplus, which disappeared under Bush.  George is a Republican also!  So Obama gets in, and things were already in the toilet, and the Democratic party is responsible for the mess?  So says the media!

(Speaking of George, aren't you glad he did not get to tie Social Security in with the stock market???!!!)

Seems we have selective memory, when it serves us best!  For what I consider to be real insight, and not media hype trying to "tell" the American people what their brand of "truth" is, turn in to a venue like "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart.    He seems to have both sides covered.

Just trying to understand where the blame lies, on Day 162!

Everything is retro...even behaviors...

Lordy, lordy, the news on the Internet has been keeping me in stitches today.  Probably a good thing, because with the outside temps ranging in the 100s (it was supposed to be 107 today) there's not much else to do except stay in the air conditioning!  So the latest "scandal" was that the new "behavior" among 21-28 year olds (or somewhere in there) was NOT to live together, but to keep separate apartments, with occasional sleep-overs.

Again...HUH???

Thirty-five years ago, when I got married, I wanted to just move in with my husband, not get married, jsut see how well we'd cohabitate.  He would have none of it!  My mother was apoplectic when I even mentioned it to her.   So we got married, and obviously it has worked, but not without some hellacious fights, and one short separation. 

As they say "we've "come a long way baby" in those 35 years.  For better or for worse?  I don't know.  But to think of living "apart" as a "new phenomenon?"  Who writes these stories anyway?  Oh wait, I forgot, probably tech-savy 20 somethings, who have heard of marriage, but it must be for "old folks!"

So here I sit in my co-habitated house on Day 161!

I thought I had heard it all...till this...

...Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) expressed a fairly extreme concern on the House Floor Monday night about the expanded preventative health coverage: offering free birth control to women could eventually kill off the entire human species... (Huffpost AOL News 8/2/2011)

Free birth control might mean the end of the human race???   Surely he's joking!!!  Has he watched Maury Povich or Steve Wilkos lately?  There are plenty of sweet young girls, who's very last thought is birth control!  Even if it were free!!!

If there is an "end of the human race" it will be because Mother Nature decided to take back her planet!   With all the pollution, from a myriad of sources, we'll kill ourselves off without the use of birth control.   Oh, but then I've been led to understand that the Republicans do not believe in environmental controls against pollution, or global warming, or evolution.

I'm trying hard to like some Republicans as I'm not thrilled with the way the Democrats are handling themselves, but when ideas like this spew forth...what's a person to do???    I know, if I don't like it, I could move to another country, but I feel it's my duty to stay here to try to knock some sense into the populace, especially the younger, slightly less involved or informed populace.

Here for the long haul...on Day 160!

Do you know your neighbors?

When you live in the country your neighbors are not as close, geographically, as they would be in the city.  So out here, in the boonies, we don't even know all of their names.  We usually just recognize their vehicles and wave as we pass by.

The "neighborhood" is changing as the farms are being cut up into 3-5 acre tracts for housing developments.  That was, until the real estate crash of 2008/9.  Much of a relief to many of us who did not appreciate the farmland being "mowed over."  Anyway, one of the plots nearby was developed and the house stood vacant for over a year.  Besides the price being what we considered to be way too high, the market had crashed.  Finally, after at least a year, someone moved in.

I guess we decided someone moved in because the "For Sale" sign was gone.  But it was probably weeks, possibly even months, before we actually saw a person or vehicle by the house.  Since then, we've seen people there (within the space of 2 years) probably 10 times.  We almost never see a vehicle outside.  Guess their garage is empty...an anomaly in this age of 3-car garages, and no room for the cars in the garages.  When we do see a vehicle, it never moves from the place it's parked, for a few days.  Lately there's been a different colored vehicle in the driveway.  Or at least the three days it was there.

Let me say that the reason we're more  "in-tune" with this house is that we go past there at least twice a day, if not more often, so the chance of  "seeing the neighbors" is enhanced.

Of course this leads to fantasizing.  We've decided that the FBI or CIA owns this house and it's either a safe house, or the folks living there are in the witness protection program!  Makes it much more interesting from that perspective!  I could see that happening, except I would think that the house would be set back more, in some woods, rather than on an exposed, virtually treeless,  3-acre lot.   As long as they don't let their dogs chase my livestock, I don't care who they are, or why they're there!

So I'll just keep fantasizing...Day 159!

They'rrrrrre baccccccckkkk!!!!!!!!!!

I was driving down the road the other day, when I spied an unusual looking convertible sports car in my rear view mirror.  I knew it was an older model, but didn't recognize the front end, or the model.  Thought it may have been an old Alpha Romeo, as I know there's one in the area. 

When the car passed me, I looked at the tail end, and abruptly realized it was an old Sunbeam!  The very car that Andy has.   I have not seen one of those since the early 70s, I'm almost sure.  Living in a rural part of America, one doesn't see very many "odd" vehicles at all, mostly pick-up trucks, of all ages, and sizes.

I have seen more and more older foreign sports cars on the road around here.  Part of that could be due to all the people who have moved here from other parts of the US, and brought their toys with them.  But I'm also wondering if these old cars, and I'm talking  Triumph TRs, MGs, that older Alpha previously mentioned, and now the Sunbeam, etc. have finally overcome the mechanical problems they were famous for!

Who hasn't heard the acronym of F.I.A.T. (fix it again, Tony.)

I love seeing these old cars.  I've had the opportunity to purchase one in the past, but the mechanical problems were usually the reason the car was for sale.  If the current owner couldn't keep it running, what made me think I could?  So I passed on all of them.

Looking forward to seeing the past, without the mechanical problems,  on Day 158!

Overpayment and athletics, but in a different sense...

There was a most interesting article in the paper (Springfield,MO News-Leader 07/27)  from a national columnist Donald Kaul.  I may not agree with everything he says, but he seems to be more well-read and/or informed than me, so I feel comfortable quoting from his article.

He was admonishing the government for spending so much money trying to prove that professional athletes are using banned (from sports) drugs, and lying about it.    As he put it "...lying to congress...was a crime..."? 

We're spending millions of dollars trying to get to the bottom of all these allegations against various professional athletes.  "Six million dollars..." on Barry Bonds alone!  And it wasn't proven "...that he actually lied...just that he was evasive."    Shouldn't that be the job of the governing bodies associated with the sport?  Why don't they spend their millions on litigation?

At a time when we're having a "budget crisis," we need to look into areas that are truly frivolous, and these law suits appear to be just that.   Besides, I think we already know that steroid use, etc, etc has been in play, and that too many athletes are using them.  So, they're consenting adults, and if they want to screw up their bodies, that's their business.  If they're cheating the public, then let their governing bodies take care of that.

I do suppose we're trying to keep them from setting examples to our children, that these drugs are okay, but shouldn't that be the responsibility of the parents, guardians, coaches and other adults?  NOT the US government?  Don't most people want "less government" in their lives?  Or is that only when it comes to taxes, and not when it comes to making us be more responsible human beings?

We all need a reality check today and after... Day 157!

Job killing taxes?????

What does that mean, anyway?  The push to remove tax breaks, aka tax loopholes, has some people apoplectic.  Can't be done, shouldn't be done, will elminate jobs! 

When I posed that question to a friend of mine, he answered that if we get rid of tax breaks for people who buy corporate jets, cabin cruisers, and the like for personal use, and take off the maintenance as a business expense, those people will stop buying those high ticket items.  And that in turn will eliminate jobs for those people building such stuff.

I asked my husband what he thought of that argument, and he replied, that it wasn't only the US citizenry who were buying those goods, but also plenty of wealthy people abroad!  Probably true enough, so there will always be a market.

I also wondered how we could justify those arguments when we just stopped the NASA space program, and that left 9,000 people out of a job!  And companies like Cisco and Abbott are laying off hundreds, perhaps thousands, and they have nothing to do with pricey executive toys.

But let's take the real estate tax break away?  I'd bet that the wealthy would then have their houses listed as "executive retreats" and again, another tax break.  

But there's more, so read on...after Day 156!

Here we go again...

...and no, this is not about Congressman Wu who just stepped down due to a sex scandal.  If I were to write about those, I'd already have my 365 Days of Andy Rooney filled up.  I'll bet every time another politician falls, there are so many more in the wings, shivering and wondering when their turn will come!  And they know it will!

No, this is about racism!  And, for once, we're not talking about Obama.  We're talking about a black girl in Little Rock, Arkansas, of all places, who got the best grades of her class and was named valedictorian of her class.  Press releases went out and everything and then...  The powers that be decided to have a "co-valedictorian" who of course got good grades, etc, but not on the same par as the black girl.  The other student is white! 

The article did mention that the school was predominately white (54%, not much of a majority, if you ask me) but still, she won the honor fair and square, from what I read.   If the school decided that the two were so close in honors, they should have announced a co-valedictorian before they even announced anything about the graduation ceremonies.  To let the press release out, and then change their minds, smacks of some disgruntled parent, whose child may or may not be important to the school (i.e. football star?) to question the Board of Directors, or whoever oversees this sort of award.  Of course this is purely speculation on my part.

Saddened yet again about our seeming regression into covert racism, on Day 155!

R.I.P. Amy Winehouse

I hate hearing about any deaths of people I know or like, and its even more sad when it's a young, talented person.   I was not an Amy Winehouse fan, but my husband was really enamored with her.  And he's not one of her "young" followers either.  So I guess I'm really sad for him.

Indeed she seemed to have a very troubled life.  She was beset by demons of drugs, alcohol, and life itself.  Too much fame, too quickly, no really good support system in place.  As with other famous people who are addicts, I do not understand how their entourage appears to look the other way.  I guess if they don't they lose their meal ticket?  But why not just help them for the humane reasons that it's a human being you're dealing with, and they should know better? 

Or how about some parental intervention; although she was out of the house and on her own.  There should have been some way to keep her institutionalized, even against her own will, to help her get her "head together."  If she had hurt someone, she would have been in jail, and perhaps getting treatment, but the only one she hurt was herself, so there was no "outside interference."

I feel the same way about Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and even Elvis.  I didn't like Elvis, but his team should have kept him alive and well! Whoops, I forgot Michael jackson...another prime example of letting someone get his own way, to his extreme detriment!  He had young children, and still his handlers did him no good!  Unfortunately in this instance I think his (adult) family was duplicitous also.

Maybe these famous people should give their lawyers power of attorney so the attorney can keep them sane and alive, if necessary?  I supose that could be abused too, but if the celebrity were clean and sober, they could make that decision, as they should be more aware of their surroundings.

It's too late for Amy, but maybe we can strive to save someone else on or after this Day 154!

Headlines you only see on the internet

"They" say the newspaper industry is dying.  Gosh, I hope not!  I read the paper every single day.  I also read the internet news, but not with the same intensity as the newspaper, as I find that the majority of internet postings are just fluff, or stuff I'd really rather not know about!

I don't care about Paris Hilton or the Kardashians.

I do not care how much Candy Spelling sold her mega-monstrosity-mansion for.

I'm tired of reading about the bad behavior of over-paid atheletes.

Oh, I do care that Texas seems to be going backwards in the quest for higher quality education, by revisiting creationism vs. evolution.  

I also care that Michelle Bachman is being portrayed as a potential catastrophe because she has migraine headaches.  I am not a Bachman fan by any means, but so what if she gets migraines!  We all get migraines, some more than others.  I feel sorry for her, but I know they can be kept at bay by medication.  Would we be even more concerned if she admitted to being menopausal also?   

Okay, Ms Bachman's "condition" will probably be in the daily paper (as it is on the TV news) but the other items I mentioned...probably not.  And if I didn't read them there, I don't think I would have missed much.  As for Texas, that's more humorous, to me, than newsworthy. 

Overall, the majority of information on the internet is not that interesting, and it's not local either.  I could go to the local news channels' websites and see what's going on, but I think I spend too much time on the computer anyway, and I can get more accomplished at home with the TV news on in the background.  Leisurely reading the newspaper with my morning coffee is also a routine I would miss.  I don't care to take my laptop to McDonald's with the potential to spill coffee on it.

I plan on having newsprint on my fingertips today and many more days after Day 153!

Politcally correct?

I am so tired of hearing that a decision is or is not being made, by the president, and/or other members of congress, because it may put their reelection in jeopardy.  I thought when they were elected, it was because they wanted to "do the right thing by the people" and let the chips fall where they may. 

I thought Obama would be a one-term president for two reasons.  First, and most noticeable, is that he's bi-racial, or as some people think...black, period!  End of story.  My second theory is/was that he cannot turn the economy around in four short years.  It would take a minimum of eight.  It took more than that to screw it up in the first place!  Therefore, the next president (the one who gets in the "second four years" after the economy tanked), will get all the credit for turning it around, because it's already beginning, or at least appears to be.  I'm no economist, so I have no firm predictions on that outcome.

But still my biggest beef, is that politicians do and say what they have to so they get elected, and then they say and do what they have to if they want to get reelected.  How about doing what you think is right???  Not politically correct???  Do you think the American public can't see through the crap we're being fed by the opposing parties?   Can't you hire better "spin doctors" to show you did do the right thing?  Or how about just saying "I did what I thought was right, and if I'm not reelected, my conscience is clear?!!"

Recently there was a "retired" local politician who was making a negative statement about something going on locally, and he admitted "I can now say these things because I'm out of office."  Huh?  So when you were elected, you did not say those things because it would shed you in a bad light?  To whom?  Aren't you elected to tell the truth, and to right the wrongs?

Politcally correct or not, I do know who I'm voting for already, on Day 152!

Separation of church and state?

Recently, I was told by a usually reliable source, that a local mega-church wanted to know a person's income when they joined the church.  I thought he meant W-2 forms, and I thought why would a church need to see that?  And of course, that's none of their business anyway!  The government...yes, taxes are taxes, but the church?  No!

He then amended the statement to mean they wanted to see your proof of income such as a pay stub.  Again, this is a strange way to conduct "the Lord's work" if you ask me.  When I asked why he thought that mattered, he said he assumed that they wanted to know how much you could/would/should tithe!   I'm also told the going rate is 10%.  Personally, it sounded like if you're not wealthy enough to really give, then you don't need our religion. 

I cannot imagine a person making, for example, $12,000 a year (before taxes we'll assume) to give $1200.  If you're making only $12,000, you're probably below the federal poverty line (actually it's around $10,000 for a family of one, and $14,000 for a family of 2), and to give it away to a church which has everything but valet parking...not such a grand idea, in my humble estimation.

If you're making that little money, there is help available in federal aid to you, but I'm not sure I condone taking from the government, so you have more to give to the church, as that is in effect, what would be happening. 

This is one of the many reasons I'm becoming much less of a "believer" on Day 151!

Cool and yet SOOOOO uncool!

Driving down the road, with the top down on my convertible; how cool is that?

Okay, I was pulling out of a parking lot onto a road that had the third, or middle, lane for turning, etc.  I put on my turn signal to alert people of the direction I was heading.  A considerate motorist let me pull in, to the middle lane, and I had my turn signal on to show which lane I wanted to merge into next.  Got the picture?

So I get into the driving lane, again due to a considerate motorist letting me in, and...forget to turn off my turn signal!!!  I must have driven what seemed, in retrospect, a mile before I turned it off.  You know when you're in a convertible, and the radio is on, and everything seems hunky dory, you don't hear the signal bleeping!

So my "coolness" factor just got halved, if not completely obliterated, by the fact that I was driving with my turn signal on!  An "old person's" habit!  NOT something someone does in a nice convertible!

My "top" is staying up for now, coolness aside.  At least they can't see me, on Day 150!

There are winners and there are losers...

By now everyone and their uncle will have made a comment on the Casey Anthony trial, where the accused was not convicted of a heinous crime, the murder of her daughter.  Although all the media hype points to the fact that she must have known something, there was simply not enough evidence to convict her, probably because the body was found so late in the game, albeit months after the original crime.

People are drawing a lot of similarities between her non-conviction and the OJ Simpson debacle.  Again, there was a lack of evidence, somewhat exacerbated by Chris Darden trying to get OJ to put on a shunken, bloodied glove found at his house, and Johnny Cochran screaming "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."  Remember all that?  If not, you should try to find the transcripts or the videos!

OJ's evidence was compelling, but incomplete, and it was as fresh as the prosecution could muster.  Casey Anthony's evidence was just plain old, stale, and too far decomposed/removed, to prove anything except the remains belonged to her daughter.  If anything, the prosecutioin proved only that she was a rather unfit mother.

OJ is behind bars now, for a different crime.  Casey Anthony will be behind bars for a short time, for lying to police, but she'll have to live with the guilt forever.  OJ, I believe, thought himself to be
"doing the right thing" in his mind, and so I doubt he ever felt any regret, if he did indeed do the crime. 

This was obviously not a slam-dunk case, and it will be parsed for years, trying to figure out how or what went wrong.  The jurors reached the correct verdict.  They too have to live with their decision.  But for Caley's sake, I hope the real truth comes out, so we as the public, can put aside our anger at this tragedy.  We were rather pacified when OJ finally went to jail, albeit not for the original crime, but jail is jail.  We have not seen the last of Casey Anthony.

I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop...on Day 149!

It's July 4th -Independence Day! How do you feel about that?

I read, on a favored forum of mine, that one of the forum member's neighbors hung the American flag upside down because he does not like this country.  The person hanging the flag upside down is not from this country originally.  The forum member, and his neighbor, both Iraqi war veterans, were going to set him straight, preferably non-violently. 

I have only this to say.  The people who founded this country, left the country they were from, to start a new and better life.  My own grandparents, while not connected to anyone from the Mayflower, also came here to start a new and better life.  I live here now, because I don't think I could find a more favorable place.  I'd love to visit other countries, but permanent residency there does not interest me.

Bottom line is: if you don't like it, leave!  Go back to where you came from, or go someplace else.  But leave us alone!  Sure, we're not the most well-run country...ask any Democrat or Republican...but we're better than most alternatives!  We allow everyone to have a say in what we do.  But we do NOT disrespect our country as a whole! We might not like everyone who comes to our shores, but once you're  here, we will defend you as though you belong.  But if you don't like that, then get out!

As for me, I'm staying put on Day 148!

Musical Memories

While listening to my favorite NPR station, I heard the opening notes from Jaws, the movie.  Does any one who's ever seen Jaws, not immediately remember that film, and the rest of the stanza?

There are other snippets of music that also elicit the same response.  How about 2001 Space Odyssey?  Or the music during the shower scene from Psycho? 

Considering how old these movies are now, it would appear that we have  not been getting our fair share of outstanding musical scores in the past few years.  Of course I don't go to the movies as often either because the reviews just don't move me enough to want to go.  Okay, I did go to see Avatar, and loved it, but remember the music?  Not so much.

There may be memorable music out there, perhaps in Harry Potter, for the younger generation, but will it stand the test of time...

Still quaking when I hear those opening beats from Jaws, on Day 147!

A word by any other name?

Andy started me thinking about this last night, when he mentioned the funny papers.  But the gist of his story was not about the funnies, and my story isn't either.

I'm just intrigued by the various names we give things, and how these names are interpreted differently through the country.  For example, the "funnies" or "comics."  We assume these to be the cartoon pages in the newspaper.  When I was growing up, we always called them the "jokes."   

When I grew up in Chicago we called soda pop just "pop."  In the South, and other areas, it's referred to as soda.  So now, when in doubt, I just ask for soda pop, and surely someone knows what I'm talking about.

I went to a bait shop the other week to get some crayfish.  the clerk said they didn't have any.  I had been in there a week earlier, and the clerk at that time (different person) said they had not received their shipment yet.  So I asked the clerk, on this day, if the shipment just had not arrived.  He told me they had crawdads, but no crayfish.  (He was a young kid, probably not more than 20.)  I explained to him they were the very same animal!  He had never known that.

Wonder if I'll have to reinterpret something else on Day 146!

Life, death, in-between

An acquaintance of mine tried to commit suicide the other day.  By hanging himself.  He may have brain damage, we don't know any more than that, yet.

He was on medication for depression.  So what could he have been depressed about?  He has a beautiful wife, great kids, nice house, good, solid job.  Was he misdiagnosed and put on a drug that can cause one to contemplate suicide?  There are anti-deprfessants out there that can, indeed, have that effect.  So how good a drug is that?  To push you over the edge?

I don't know more details; probably I'd rather not know more details.  I'd prefer to hide my head in the sand, and pretend it never happened.  The sadness over this event is overhelming. 

I hope tomorrow's a better day for him and his family.   It's a day closer to his recovery and rehabilitation; for me it's just day 145!

Education used to be important!

Yessirree Bob, we went from an old nation under rule of the king, to a new nation free to choose whatever paths we wanted to go on.  We headed West, built homes, businesses, schools.  We even educated our women, unlike some foreign countries who still consider women second-class.

We got bigger, brighter, and then it would appear, we thought we knew it all!  But the internet, and computer masterminds in general changed all that.  We started to learn even more, but since we can only assimilate so much, and technology costs money, we started to decrease some basics in our lives.

We cut Driver's Ed.  Costs too much money.  So who's going to teach those little darling 16-year-olds how to drive safely?  Obviously no one, the way people run red lights, tailgate, don't understand the important of directional signals, and in general behave poorly behind the wheel.

Higher education is so costly, that many students either do not continue on, or they are left with crushing debt when they graduate.  For the most part, the really well-paying jobs require a higher education.  Perhaps we'll either export those jobs, or import people from overseas, with educations and no debt, to fill those positions.

The real reason behind this rant is that I was recently informed that "cursive writing" will no longer be taught in school.  Great!  So many students now cannot even read, and so why bother to teach them to write?  What's next, spelling?  Oh, that's already been addressed by the infernal "texting" that assumes what word you want to use in a sentence.  And if a verb is spelled correctly, but is used wrongly, who's to know?  Who's to care?  "Spell check" doesn't!

People  in other countries are dying to get an education, any education.  We're giving up on educating and education, as we have "more important" tasks at hand.  Updating our Facebook account, for example.

As for me, after I finish "proofreading" this blog, I'll think I'll go and read a book, before I write more on my other blog, on Day 144!

I'm in good company...

...after just listening to a piece on TV about the baby boomers not being able to find jobs, and in fact their jobless numbers are rising.  Plus, when you take in to account the number of college graduates (yours truly included) there's a lot of disparity in the job market!  Lotsa talent, no positions!

But the stock market is up.  Perhaps we should all become day traders? 

So there are no jobs because no one is spending money.  Of course we can't spend money, because  we don't have money.  And, the cost of gas has gone up far faster than any raise I ever got at a job.  In fact, my last two employers had salary caps on the hourly employees!  No salary caps for the CEOs though...they get fat bonuses if they keep costs in line.

So take away job opportunities for Boomers, take away their medicare, deplete their social security, and what do you have...not a pretty picture, Day 143!

I'm a jealous person.

Or maybe just envious?    Webster's says jealous is defined as: very watchful in guarding or keeping; resentfully suspicious of rivals; envious.  Envy is defined as: having hatred or ill will; a feeling of discontent due to someone else's possessions, etc.  Hmmm, think I'll just use the term jealous, as hatred seems way too mean! 

I'm jealous of people who are thinner than me.
I'm jealous of people who are heavier than me and are not bothered by it.
I'm jealous of poor people, because they often seem happier than I think they should be.
I'm jealous of rich people, because I think they can buy happiness, even though we know better.
I'm jealous of black people because they experience things I will probably never know, i.e. prejudice.
I'm jealous of foreigners because they are usually bi-lingual; their language and mine.
I'm jealous of people who have the same car as me, only a different color. 
I'm jealous of people who have newer cars.
I'm jealous of people who have the same, but older cars.
I'm jealous of people who can throw together an outfit and look great at all times.
I'm jealous of people who don't care what they're wearing; they're just happy to be clothed.
I'm jealous of young people because I'm not.
I'm jealous of older people because they have more wisdom than me.
I'm jealous of people who never forget a name

And the list could go on forever.  I could find something about anyone or anything to be jealous about.  But life's too short to lose sleep over these petty jealousies.  Some of the above-mentioned items, I can rectify.  Some I'll never know.  Some I do not want to know, but at the end of the day, I'm still feeling pretty good about myself. 

 I wouldn't mind if  people were a little jealous of me, on Day 142!

NOT AGAIN!!! But yes, AGAIN!!!

Sheesh, if I only wrote about important men behaving badly, I could probably write MORE than a blog a day!!!  Perhaps the repetition would open some male eyes!  Then again, perhaps not!  They appear to be VERY slow learners!

The latest, as of this writing, at almost 5 p.m. CST, is that New York congressman, Anthony Weiner, ADMITTED to sending strange (bare-chested man, among others) photos to various people on his Twitter account, and I believe Facebook.    There were also allegations of phone sex, etc, etc.  AND this paragon of the community is MARRIED!!!  For how long, we can only guess...

I would put some words in italics rather than caps, as caps is considered shouting, but how else can we get these fools to listen???   Your behavior is abhorrant and you WILL get found out!!!

 I'm shouted out on Day 141!

2 birds, 1 stone

Wal Mart has been in the news recently because (boo hoo) their U.S. stores are not making as much "profit" as they were intended to.  Of course they want to blame the new CEO, Mike Duke, for not taking better care, or taking charge, after Lee Scott left.  Probably won't make Mike Duke miserable, if he's released with a few million in his pocket as "severance pay."  But afterall, that's probably what his contract called for.  We should all get contracts from our potential employers, that if we don't work out, we get oodles of money to make our fall from grace easier.  More of a "green slip" than a pink slip!  Oh there's already a term for it...golden parachute. 

But I digress...

There's another problem afoot, too.  Unemployment appears to have stagnated at 9% and may even be rising...again.   So here I am to solve both problems.  Even though I harbor no love for Wal Mart any more, I have plenty of friends who work there. 

Wal Mart should start buying American again!!!  Just like Sam wanted!!!  If the goods aren't available, then we'd need more manufacturing.  If we had more manufacturing, there would be more jobs.  More jobs would mean more money in the economy, and probably more money for Wal Mart, and their anticipated customers.  And the quality of their goods should go up, or at least the perception of quality, and people would give them a new and less-jaundiced look!  !  It's a decided WIN-WIN!!

But there are even further reaching implications!  The people in China are starting to get the idea that they can demand higher wages.  Sooner or later, it will be just as cheap to manufacture at home.  But by that time we'll have absolutely NO workers who know how to do anything except draw unemployment or welfare.  If we start now, we would even save on the amount of money we're spending on energy to get those goods shipping all over the world.   Geez, another new concept...saving on fuel consumption!  

Two birds/one stone, or maybe 3 if you count the energy savings, and I do NOT want anything from Wal Mart now or after Day 140!

Ellen Barkin is living with a 26 year old...

...and if you must know, she's 57.  And I say "so what??!!!"

If this were reversed, and the man were 30 years older (or more in some high-profile duos) no one would even consider it headline news.  They'd probably be wanting to pat the old codger on the back.  The men, that is.  Women, make that mature women, probably don't want the old man.   And if they are closer in age (say 5 years or so) they've probably already aware of his shortcomings and want nothing to do with him, a big bankroll nonwithstanding.. 

Sexism still seems to reign supreme in the headlines, in the 21st Century, in 2011, and probably long after Day 139!

Technology works...sometimes...

I'm writing this as I'm extremely frustrated with my computer and with my blog-master, or whatever they are called.  I'm not computer-literate, save for turning the computer on and off.  Whenever I get a message that I might be doing something wrong, I'm never sure how to respond.  I have a couple other blogs that I write, and one of them has not been letting me post.  It says I've posted, but when I try to actually read the post, on the blog, and not the version to-be-edited, I get thrown onto a page that has nothing to do with my blog, or my life, for that matter.  

I do not believe every kid in school knows how to fix these problems either.  They may know how to have one gadget talk to another, and use every eletronic device available to mankind, but actually fixing them is not in their bailiwick.  The actual nerds are far and few between.  But if you can turn on the button, everyone thinks you understand the lingo.  Of course there are no humans to talk to, just endless e-mails/help sessions/FAQs to wade through to see if there is an appropriate answer to your woes.    That's probably part of the problem...I can't express myself properly, so they can't identify my problem properly?  Now that sounds like a real Catch 22!

This has been one frustrating week for me...and it's continuing long after Day 138!

Genderless baby...I don't think so!

Good grief!  A couple were "outed" on the internet, for not wanting people to know the gender of their newest child (although their parents and of course the other sibs do know.)  People are up in arms.  How can they do that?  It's not healthy.  It's sick.  It's...inhumane? 

Personally I think it's an interesting choice!

When the gender of a child is evident (usually by the color of the clothing at the earliest stages) I do believe people react differently.    They start talking about what they'll be when they grow.  They want to buy what they consider appropriate toys/gifts!  No boy child should be without a train set; no girl child should be without a doll.  Boys wear blue; girls wear pink.  End of discussion.

Isn't this a bit of bias on the part of all of us?  We assume certain things right out of the womb.  We dictate what the child should do, right out of the womb.  We don't want them to be independent; we want them to succumb to what we all consider to be "normal" for their sex.  We even want them to think certain ways.  Boys/men protect and serve.  Girls/women nurture, and cook.  Boys go out into the world.  Girls stay home.

We're overcoming some of that mentality, as per the Equal Rights Amendment, but why not start it at birth, rather than  when we enter the job market?

I commend these parents, and after a while, everyone will know the sex of their child anyway, so who cares!  You raise yours your way, I'll raise mine my way!  If they end up to be kind, loving individuals, what more could any one ask for...at the end of Day 137?

How to get a job in this market!

To grab a few lines from the Huffpost, "don't be old", "don't be unemployed", "don't pin your hopes on college", "don't expect higher wages."  Gee, isn't that inspiring!

The first two are really, really annoying!  It's easier said that done to "get younger."  As one person told me, take the date of graduation from college, off your resume, as they can count backwards and "age" you.  Okay, did that.  Many of  the Employment Applications you fill out ask for your birth date, so they can still get you.

Don't be unemployed?  Sure...I planned on leaving involuntarily from my last position (not!)  I had planned on leaving only if I found another, better position!  My previous employer heard that and assumed I was going to quit.  Not hardly, as that was when the economy was really starting to spiral downward! 

Don't pin your hopes on higher education?  Never did!  I only had a few positions that would correlate with my degree, and the pay was miserable.  I was pleased with myself for finishing college, as that in itself was an accomplishment, but finding work in my field...never happen.  Now, there are a few jobs in that field, but I'm "too old" and my education is too out-of-date to matter! 

Higher wages?  Heck, any wages would be appreciated.  I must say I have found entry-level positions, albeit part-time, which pay as much or even more than I was making, but they're all part-time!  I do have the dreaded social security option to supplement my income, but the longer you wait, the more you get.  I should have opted for it right away, as the increase in the amount I'll draw is peanuts compared to what I'm losing by not drawing any,  and relying on unemployment and my part-time hours.

If blogging paid money, I'd be better off, but even then writer's bloc might keep me from making it happen.   More negatives than positives on Day 136!

Tornadoes vs. Grizzly Bears

Which would you rather encounter?
I had this particular discussion on Saturday, the day before the devastating tornado that hit Joplin, MO.  I was talking with an acquaintance who mentioned that she had good friends who live in Montana, in grizzly bear country.  I said I could not live where there were grizzlys, as I'd be too afraid, if I ever came across one, bear spray or not!  She said her friends actually said they would rather live with grizzlies than tornadoes!  Prophetic words to be sure!

This talk took place on Saturday, when we were all waiting (albeit nonchantly, and for sure skeptically) for the "Rapture" to begin.   I was also thinking that we had been lucky so far this spring as we had some severe weather, but no tornadoes.  The weekend had been fairly nice, the approaching storms seemed to blow over, and Saturday and Sunday were sunny, although windy.  Then Sunday afternoon, the weather took a turn for the worst!

As of this writing, there are 98 dead. in the Joplin area alone, as there were other deadly tornadoes in the Midwest on Sunday.  Makes you wonder about the odds: tornado vs. grizzly.  Tornadoes can take many more lives at a single time.  You can help yourselves, somewhat, against the ravages of a tornado.  Same applies with grizzly protection, but you have to live where they live to encounter one.

It's supposed to storm again this evening, and later this week, and since I don't have enough time to move to grizzly country, I'll just have to take my chances here, on Day 135!

Will they never learn?

Yet still ANOTHER famous person bites the marital dust when he acknowledges that he fathered a child out of wedlock, while he was married to another.  And to add insult to injury, his paramour and his wife gave birth within months  (weeks?) of each other.  You must know I'm talking about Arnold Schwarzeneggar.  Too big to fail?  He picked the right paramour though, as no one really knew for at least 10 years, and he made some successful political runs during that time.

Putting it in animalistic terms, the dominant males of lesser species  always try to impregnate the majority of females in their herds/clans.  It would seem that the human males of our society, who presume themselves to be superior individuals, also want to impregnate the females they come in contact with, whom they think are desirable.   So those human males, in all their presumed dominance, still lower themselves to animalistic values!  

Oh yeah, there's the now-defrocked president of the International Monetary Fund, who tried to rape a hotel maid while he was in New York.  Guess he thought he was too important not to spread his sperm around. 

In Arnold's case however, what's the matter with him?  Why didn't he have "safe sex?"  Did he ever think about what types of problems he might be bringing home to his wife, Maria Shriver?   This is one case of male dominance, where the woman will come out smelling like a rose, and the dominant male may become more of a pariah than he is now...

And that's how I'm hoping it will play out on Day 134!