7/30/12

Dilemmas Galore

I'm caught on the horns of a dilemma! I should be joining in the outcry over gay marriage statements made by the Chick-fil-A Restaurant  President and COO. The politically correct thing to do is to boycott Chick-fil-A but that's where the dilemma horns start jabbing my rear. You see, I've always felt that a Chick-fil-A sandwich is pretty shitty. Obviously such a conclusion reveals that I have partaken in this delicacy. I have - only because the High Primal loves them and many years ago I vowed to go through this marriage for better or for worse. Whether the occasional indulgence in a Chick-fil-A sandwich contributed to my heart by-pass is another matter. The point is , I can't join in the boycott of Chick-fil-A - it would be hypocritical. I'd be making no sacrifice and quite possibly, I would put a strain on my marriage. Wouldn't it suffice to say that I hate Chick-fil-A. I wouldn't feel deprived if I never ate one of their sandwiches again. I think their CEO is an asshole. I will do my best to wean the High Primal from Chick-fil-A sandwiches. Enough said!

 As an aside I read where some former Boy Scouts are returning their Eagle Badges to the Boy Scouts of America in protest over their ban on gays. Another dilemma! I should be packing up my Eagle Badge and return it to whence it came from. Damn it all - as I recall I worked pretty hard for it.  What good did it do John Kerry to return his Silver Star. Cost him the presidency, that's what. I might still make a run for the presidency, so I'll let my heirs worry about disposing of my Eagle Badge.

7/28/12

Gay bashing,WASPS & Headlines

This news is a bit old , but it really raised my hackles when I read about it. That's not unusual since most of the news these days raises my hackles. What in hell am I getting at? The damn Boy Scouts have reaffirmed their stand on gays. No gays allowed! I suspect that any Scout turning in a gay Scout or leader will qualify for a "Gay Basher" merit badge. At least this news has cleared up something I've wondered about since the days I was a Scout. Now I know what the "on my honor I will do my best to keep myself ...... morally straight" in the Boy Scout Oath really meant. Sneaky SOB's, they  should be made aware that gay bashing can be dangerous for your health. It was reported today that the Chick-fil-A spokesman has died . Did it have anything to do with the furor caused by his boss' biblical opposition to gay marriage? I wonder.

Then we have one of Romney's aides letting something out of the bag about his boss. The aide said that  President Obama doesn't understand " the Anglo-Saxon heritage shared by Britain and the United States",  The implication was that his boss does. So be it - another reason to support Obama. It's high time that Anglo-Saxons, aka WASPS, begin to understand that there is more to our heritage than the people who settled our original thirteen states. A look at the people populating the streets of London reveal that Britain and the united States have diversity to celebrate. I doubt that a man like Romney is capable of understanding this phenomenon.

What's worthy of a front page headline? The Olympics - no. A massacre in Syria - no. The sale of a sport's franchise - yes, yes yes! Ohio's largest newspaper carried this front page headline this morning:


Oh my God, the Cleveland Browns football team is going to be sold. Great! that will keep all the bad news from around the world off the front page for a few days. Don't worry about the rust belt. As long as sports survive , it will squeak along.

There goes the neigborhood - Apple officials said to consider a stake in Twitter!

Last and least, I survived the Olympic Games opening ceremonies - I didn't watch!

7/22/12

Feet of clay

At the onset let me be clear ( borrowed that from Obama), I could care less that the powers to be at State College, PA have decided to remove Joe Paterno's statue from the vicinity of Beaver Stadium ( the SPCA however, needs to find another statue at State College for dogs to piss on). That being the case I will comment on this earth shaking decision anyway. Before I do I must make this point- anytime lions play in a beaver's stadium you know that there is touble ahead.

Apparently Coach Paterno was a good football coach but had some embarrassing character flaws. Let's face it, as human beings we all have character flaws. To discover a weakness or flaw in a greatly admired or respected person can however, be traumatic. This is especially true when some organization, school or government agency has seen fit to honor that person with a statue only to find that the person had feet of clay. They are then faced with the monumental decision of what to do with the monument. In the case of Joe Paterno, I guess the scrap heap wins. In the case of Abraham Lincoln ( yes, Lincoln had character flaws), the monument lives on.

Lesson to be learned - erecting a statue to a sports hero is foolish. It's an erection bound to turn into erectile dysfunction. Putting it another way, the odds are pretty good that the statue will have feet of clay and will come crumbling down (far better to avoid statues of all sorts- - the maintenance is too high- too attractive to pigeons).

(Note to MLB: get rid of all statues surrounding stadiums. It's too dangerous. Most have feet of clay.)

7/21/12

The right to bear arms

After every gun tragedy like the Colorado theater massacre, the hand wringing starts, the flags come down to half mast, the editorials speak out about our gun culture, the politicians get on their soap box to express sympathy for the victims and assure us that as Americans we have the strength to survive yet another senseless killing. This will all pass in a few days and except for the victims of the crime, life will once again be normal. There will be some efforts to revive the gun control debate, but they will be feeble and inevitably delayed for another day. You see, there is no need for a debate. The American people have had numerous opportunities to insist on effective gun control and wimped out each time. Even the assassination of a president could not lure the public away from its fascination with guns. The American people do however exercise their right to annually commemorate each bloody event with speeches and editorials while  reserving the right to bear arms. Tragically, they also reserve the right to use guns. As the NRA, the organization that has the government of the United States in its pocket, has let it be known, they will spend whatever it takes to defeat any official who dares limit the use of guns. The fact that they can make this boast only proves that they have the support of the  majority of the American people. Americans are satisfied with the proliferation of weapons in our society and their use by demented and misguided citizens. To their credit, they at least draw the line at guns in the hands of terrorists - those people with funny sounding names. Someone with a name like James Holmes may not be a terrorist--only the creator of terror.

7/16/12

Finch Diner Destroyed






Tony’s Finch Diner is gone! Unknown intruders invaded Tony’s patio, raised holy hell with some of the furniture and ripped down the finch feeder. Coming on the heels of past threats from the f***king  homeowners association, the demolition does not appear to be due to natural causes. There have been no reports of an earthquake in the area and we are in the middle of a drought. There has, however, been a report of a masked critter roaming the common ground by Tony’s patio.

Tony suspects that some corporate raiders were hired to put an end to Tony’s Finch Diner. As previously reported in this blog, for the past several months hardly a finch has been seen at the feeder. He speculated that the corporate raiders outsourced the finches to China. Not satisfied with ruining the diner business, the raiders collaborated with the f***king  homeowners association, hired some raccoons and put the diner out of business once and for all.
 

When asked if he had any plans for a new diner, Tony could only mumble something about the f***king  homeowners association , Bain Capital and Romney.

Romney does resemble a raccoon. Hm mm!

For information leading to the apprehension of the critters of interest, Tony has promised to make a generous contribution to the Obama campaign.

7/20/12-BREAKING NEWS:
The critter of interest that put Tony out of the finch diner business is out of the neighborhood. He was last seen strapped atop some wealthy politician's car headed for Canada. Tony has promised to write that check for Obama. He was going to attach a note asking that he get the balls to do something about gun control but decided that Obama had enough on his plate. Maybe next January.





7/13/12

Bring Back The Toga

It appears that Ralph Lauren has done the impossible. He's awakened our sleepy Congress. Everyone is lining up to condemn the USA uniform for the 2012 Olympics-- not for the fashion statement the uniform makes, but because it is made in China.

Sen. Harry Reid was especially hurt and in no uncertain terms expressed his displeasure. I'd be willing to bet that he wears underwear made in China.

I don't like the uniforms either. They are too military looking. I suppose   Lauren was trying to make a statement as to who we are. I have a simple solution for this Olympic uniform bit. Bring back the toga! After all, the Olympics were started by toga-wearing athletes. You say that some did not bother with the toga. Not a bad idea. Just think how NBC' s television ratings would soar.

( published as  a letter to the editor ,"Go vintage Olympic style", in The Plain Dealer, 7/17/12)

7/12/12

Dirty Ball

The best thing that could happen to big time college football would be the house cleaning in response to the Penn State Jerry Sandusky scandal. Now , an independent investigation has disclosed that “the most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized.”  All for the sake of preserving a  money making football program. Hopefully other football factories will reconsider just how sacred a powerful football program is.

 Wouldn't it be great if college presidents at the 'big schools'  actually told football coaches to toe the line or pack their bags. Wouldn't it be great if  alunmi football booster associations actually got the boot.  Wouldn't it be great if all college football athletes set getting a degree as their goal rather than a professional football contract. Wouldn't it be great if academia ruled rather than the sports department.  Of course this is all fantasy on my part. 'taint gonna happen. Money talks behind ivy covered walls just as it does throughout our society. Tears and greenbacks will be shed for the innocent people that get hurt but Saturday football will still rule. I wonder when and where the next 'Jerry Sandusky Scandal' will surface.

7/9/12

America's Luxuries

On my daily walks  I don't carry a smart phone  ( a bowed head while walking is too dangerous), I don't carry an IPod ( can't carry what you don't have), I don't carry (I hate guns) - I just observe and think. As I have mentioned in a previous post, walking can be dangerous to your mental health.

 The latest challenge to my sanity came about when I started thinking about how in America we agonize about  "luxuries" like health care for all, aid to the poor  and care of the elderly. These " luxuries" are expensive as is the case with all luxuries. There are those who say we can do without these "luxuries". Even worse there are those who say government is a luxury.  I'm tempted to say that "those" are a luxury, but it is not a luxury I can afford.

Questioning whether or not we can afford these "luxuries" is an indication that the American Dream has become a nightmare as far as social services are concerned. It has become a nightmare because too many choose to define the American Dream as the attainment of materialistic goals (aka get rich). In doing so we betray what this country set out to become.

A while back, musing about immigration and diversity (It's Who We Are), I was drawn to the poem by Emma Lazarus:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses, yearning to breath free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest tossed,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

These are powerful words. We invite the tired, poor huddled masses to be part of America. We advertise a way of life that is superior to what other parts of the world have to offer. We fail to mention that the golden door will not be fully opened for the havenots until there is no longer a need to satisfy the insatiable appetites of those who have. We fail to mention that filling our war chests takes priority over filling everyone's belly.

In the meantime,  the tired and the poor must be satisfied to be the rhetoric of political campaigns. The Statue of Liberty still lifts a dimmed lamp by a rusty gate. One wonders what she did to be ignored.



7/3/12

Finches On Strike

No way to run a diner

As Campaign 2012 heats up, I’m surprised that no one has picked up on the dearth of finches this summer. The finch population is noticeably reduced. As a result, finch feeders are in trouble. According to Obama the private sector is doing fine but who’s worrying about the bird sector. The bird sector, as far as finches are concerned, has gone to the birds. Romney has not chirped about this in his commercials. I suspect that he has outsourced our finch population to China.

Tony’s Finch Diner is on the verge of bankruptcy once again. The diner’s business plan took a hit over a year ago when he had to move the diner from a prime location. Tony’s Finch Diner was ordered shutdown by the F------s Homeowners Association. As reported in this blog, “Unknown asses have succeeded in getting the f***ing F------s Homeowners Association to order Tony to get his Finch Diner the hell off of common property. The asses are suspected to be Tea Party activists who don‘t have the cagliones to do anything important in local politics. Not wanting to make waves, Tony has agreed to move his diner to safe ground.”

The “safe ground” worked fine until this Spring. In 2012 finches have been scarcer than a hens teeth. I really don’t think that politics has anything to do with the catastrophic drop in business. I say this because my limited knowledge of finch chatter picked up what I’m sure was a chirp that the finches are pissed with the f***ing F------s Homeowners Association and won’t have anything to do with finch feeders in the area. This observation has been confirmed by The High Primal who emphatically stated that the f**king birds are on strike. Tony’s Finch Diner has fed a few scabs lately but that hardly makes the effort of maintaining the feeder worth it.

Tony’s Finch Diner Board of Directors is scheduled to meet later this month to consider what action should be taken. The rumor is that the diner will remain open at least until the November election. The betting is that if Romney wins, the diner will end up in the trash barrel along with the rest of the country.