Keeping My Memories Alive

I listen to WKHR-FM 91.5 quite a bit. True to its motto, ‘Keeping your memories alive’, the music played on this station continually takes me back decades - a lot of decades. I can’t get enough of listening to the music making of the big bands- Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James. Listening to Frank Sinatra belt out a song gets the memory bank open for all kinds of recollections. The inimitable music and voices of Louis Armstrong and Louis Prima is still a treat. Jazz? Dave Brubek or George Shearing and their combos together with a touch of Scotch provides for a foot stomping evening. What better music than that from a Rodgers and Gershwin musical comedy to fill me with nostalgia. WKHR has been catering to the Greatest Generation for over forty years

While keeping my memories alive this morning, I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer a station like WKHRwill continue to exist playing music of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. There must be a rapidly shrinking audience for this vintage music. My children are not ‘spring chickens’ but the WHKR programming holds no listening attraction for them. I also wondered when the music of the Gay ‘90s was last played on the air waves. For that matter it appears that music of the Roaring Twenties and radio have parted company. I’m not upset that my radio does not blare out music of the nineties ( nineteenth century nineties that is) or the twenties. I’m sure that when my kind of pop music disappears from the air waves, the Baby Boomers, X Generation and what have you, will not miss it. I return their music appreciation by deploring Rock, Rap and the shouting and screaming which pose as an excuse for music. If that makes me a music snob, so be it.

I realize that as long as I have a shelf to store CD’s or an iPod or MP3 I can preserve any kind of music I like for as long as I like and play it to my heart’s content ( with ear buds if necessary) . Now the iPad, Kindle and Nook are here to further enhance going back to the past with music. But that’s not the point. When music disappears from the radio, a statement is made. The way of life that that music represented becomes history. That way of life becomes a curiosity. That way of life is not relevant any longer. If I’m still around when my pop music is stilled on the air waves, I will play my stored music knowing that time has passed me by.

Before I’m accused of generation warfare , I must take refuge in one field of music that has existed on the air waves for generations and will continue to exist for generations to come. Classical music has stood the test of time. I and my children and grandchildren share the music of Beethoven, Mozart, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Gershwin. The operas of Rossini, Verdi, Mozart, Puccini, Wagner will continue to live on. Classical music provides common ground for people of all ages and cultures. Fortunately in this area we have FM stations such as WKSU and WCLV to keep that music alive and yes to keep our memories alive.

Which reminds me. Clevelanders lament the failure of their sports teams to win a national championship. They should rest easy in knowing that we have an international champion in The Cleveland Orchestra. But I digress.

Sometimes I wonder if keeping memories alive is healthy. My youth also had its bad moments which I would rather forget. Some say that dwelling on yesterday is a disease of the old. No cure is available except death - I prefer not to cure the disease but to nurture it and even now , learn from it.

In the background I can hear Sinatra singing “ I Did It My Way”. So I did, so I did. Time to turn the radio off.

　

　

Prepping for Valentine's Day

The high primal loves the Westminster Dog Show. We have never had a dog although we do have a grandog whom we love very much. So what does all of this have to do with Valentine's Day. Well, as a dutiful husband I suggested to the high primal that we should celebrate Valentine's Day by going out for a nice dinner ( at our age that's as wild as the celebrating gets). To my amazement she reminded that the dog show finals are on Valentine's Day and she didn't want to take a chance on missing any of the show.

 Tomorrow it will be off to Heinen's to pick up a take home Valentine dinner, a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates. This all makes sense for two octogenarians. We watched Puppy Bowl VIII on Super Bowl Sunday. The dog show on Valentine's Day should just about convince our children that we have actually gone to the dogs.

 I'm betting on the wire hair dachshund to win Best of Show. The high primal says that he is no match for me. She also reminded me that on the news this evening there was a story about a husband who wrote a love poem a day for the past 75 years. Holy cow, there is still time to get started.

Roses are blue

Violets are red

Color blind I am

But I do Love you

ONE DOWN AND 26400 TO GO!

 The wire hair dachshund is still looking good. Can't wait for Valentine's Day.

Put a 'rubber' on it - a rant!

Contraception has suddenly become an all consuming issue in Campaign 2012. Only in America! Brought to you by your neighboring Republican Party and the Catholic Church. All I can say is put a ‘rubber’ on it. Whatever happened to the freedoms fostered by the First and Nineteenth Amendments. It seems that there are forces at work who would have us keep women barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen during the day (shoes must be worn when cleaning the churchs' altar) and screw them to death at night with the help of Viagara and Cialis. End of rant!

Platforms are meant to stand on

I had a dream - make that a nightmare. In that nightmare, I was running for President of this great Republic. I found myself using all kinds of political cliches. Here' a sampling:

• I support free enterprise- the enterprising rich get a free pass on taxes
• We need to return to Reaganomics-  'trickle down economics' is good for the  rich - it will make them richer. When they piss on the masses there will only be a trickle because of enlarged prostrates.
• I will bring transparency to government- What you see is what you get.
• I'll get the country moving- Probably to Canada.
• We need to keep America strong- During my first day in office, I will sign an executive order requiring health insurance companies to provide free gym memberships for all Americans. Illegal aliens will get memberships for a small co-pay.
• The American Dream must become a reality for all- I will legalize LSD. All employers must provide free LSD in their insurance plans.
• We are a Christian country- All atheists, agnostics and non - believers will be sent to Guantanamo.
•  We must conserve energy- I will sign an executive order mandating a two hour afternoon siesta for all workers. The unemployed can sleep as long as they like. 
• I will be a 24/7 President- except when I'm running for re-election.

Trickle Down Economics

 The term 'trickel down economics' must be a cliche. It has been overused to the extent that only an economist knows what it means and sometimes I think that even economists do not have a clue. My best guess is that it's good for the very rich - it will make them richer. When they piss on the masses there will only be a trickle because of enlarged prostrates. The end result is that another cliche ' The 'American Dream' will go down the tubes. Some say that trickle down economics does work. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer proving once again that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Obama and the Bishops

Dear Mr. President:

It has come to my attention that you have angered the Catholic Bishops with your regulation requiring that all employers provide for free birth control medication in their health care policies. As a result the Bishops are mounting a campaign to deny you a second term.

It has also come to my attention that you are seeking some sort of compromise which will salvage the Catholic vote. You and I both know that Catholics are damn good customers of birth control pills. I really don't think that too many Catholics who supported you in 2008 will desert you this time around.


Still if you are that concerned about the Catholic vote and you want to get those Bishops off your back, I believe there is a way out without making you look like a flip flopper or worse yet a weakling.

As you may have heard, Romney is bad mouthing you as being against religion. Here's how to kill two birds with one stone ( please do not take that literally).

Let your regulation stand but sneak in a qualification that I'm sure the Bishops will like. Simply qualify the regulation to state that if the employer is the Catholic Church, the health care insurance it provides to employees must provide for free contraception devices for all employees except Catholics. Of course this means that upon employment, persons must declare their religion. That may cause a little flak with the ACLU but it will be past November before anyone can get the Supreme Court involved.

Just think, you will be lauded for the respect you show for religion. Romney will have to dig up some other untruths about you and Catholics can still have their birth control help and free at that. You don't understand the latter? I suspect that most Catholic employees in a church facility will opt for non-practicing Catholic rather than ten mouths too feed.

It's worth a try. If you decide to trash my proposal, I urge you to stand your ground. The more you compromise the more you look like a Conservative. Two Conservatives running for the Presidency in November would be unconstitutional.

Sincerely,

Tony

Supper Bowl Sunday?

I can remember when Super Bowl Sunday was all about football. The newspaper the past few days has told me otherwise. It seems that today is more about food than it it is about clobbering the quarterback. Judging from the recipes that have been printed and the displays at the supermarket, today is the day to gorge ourselves on chili, chips, dip, kielbasi, dogs and for the timid indulging in some salads will do. Super Bowl Sunday has become Supper Bowl Sunday.

Sometime during the day we'll be asked to view some entertainment consisting of some loud mouths gyrating on a stage and hoping that there is a wardrobe malfunction - the publicity would be priceless. Speaking of priceless, the football competition has been displaced by a commercial competition. Some corporation today will be crowned as the sponsor of the cutest or most outrageous commercial - I can hardly wait to turn it off.

As if to tempt me to participate in Supper Bowl, the weather today is gorgeous. It's warm enough to do some grilling outside and pretend that I'm tailgating. There's no way I'll succumb to temptation. It will be a cold day in hell before I drag the Weber out of the garage in February to cremate some sausages.

This is probably making me sound like a curmudgeon. If so I've succeeded in getting my message across. Super Bowl Sunday no longer holds the glamour that it did in my younger days. It has something to do with how violent the game of football has become and how obnoxious the practitioners have become. I know, it also has something to do with how old I have become. No matter, on this Supper Bowl Sunday I will have supper or perhaps more properly dinner as usual. Around the time of the game, the high primal will be tuning in to "Downton Abbey". I'm pretty sure I will be joining her. There is nothing like watching a foreign film on Super Bowl Sunday. I hope there are some subtitles. A spot of tea would also be nice.

( Asked the high primal what she thought of this post. Her response, "It's cute". Now what the hell does that mean? It's not humorous for sure. It's not clever for sure. I did not intend for this post to be cute. I hate "cute" - with the exception of Betty Boop. Maybe I should watch that cute football game after all.)

Epilogue:
Ended up watching PUPPY BOWL VIII with the high primal and had a blast. My only disappointment was that a Miniature Schnauzer was not in the line up. Downton Abbey also proved to be a winner.

On Groundhog Day

Wednesday, February2^nd, 6:00 am. I stirred in my bed after a restless night. For some reason or other, all I could think of during the night was that the morning would bring some important news. It could not have anything to do with the Republican presidential primaries. Florida capitulated to the Republican establishment yesterday. It was much too early in the month for any important Cleveland Indians news unless the Dolans decided to have some mercy on the fans and sell the team. I did dream that banks raised their interest rates on savings to double digits. No sooner had they raised the rates the dream turned into a nightmare. The banks failed and the FDIC funds somehow or other ended up in Pakistan. I awoke with a start , glanced at the clock - 6:15 am. I had to get some sleep but now I was tormented with thoughts of what the day had in store for me. I popped a Tylenol Night Time and tried to get a little more sleep. I read somewhere that a good night’s sleep was important and I wasn’t about to try and disprove it.

Suddenly the alarm clock shrieked 7:30 and the sun came crashing through the blinds. I awoke with a start, turned off the f--king clock and rolled over in bed. The blazing sun pleaded with me to get up. Dutifully I finally got out of bed, not realizing that I was getting out on the wrong side. I carefully planted my feet on the floor and slowly raised my weary body. When I managed to get my eyes completely opened, I could not help but stare at the wall. There was no mistaking about what was on the wall. My shadow filled the wall. Oh shit, six more weeks of winter! Back to bed, maybe tomorrow morning will bring better news. I can use the sleep.

The Man Has Flipped

Has Newt Gingrich flipped? The relentless beating that Gingrich has been taking from Romney in Florida has apparently caused the real Newt Gingrich to surface. This is especially true when it comes to religion. The man has been quoted as saying, “I will make religious liberty your right, to go with God with no government interference.” This in response to his church's position that religious freedom has been compromised because of the government's new regulation requiring employers to cover birth control in their health policies. The man is a professional Catholic and professional Catholics toe the line when their Bishop speaks.

Go with God with no government interference. Sounds like something an Ayatollah would say. Whose God shares in this freedom? Are honor killings in the name of God free from government interference? How about polygamy? If my God wills that I satiate my sexual appetite with multiple wives, am I free to do so.

Because the government requires that birth control be covered in employer's health care policies does not mean that a couple can't screw their heads off without a condom or birth control pills. If they intend to populate the world with cute Catholic babies it is still their privelege to do so. The position of the Catholic Church in opposing this regulation and attacking the administration is untenable.

As a converted Catholic, Gingrich has demonstrated that his church's support in his quest for the presidency warrants his publicly kowtowing to every decree it issues. If he had any guts he would bring his confessors to task for allowing pedophiles to sit in that confessional. The man has flipped. That's not surprising since he was a nut to begin with.

Its too bad that he has flipped. Obama would have made mince meat out of him. Obama will probably have to contend with Romney and his inexhaustible war chest. Lets hope that Romney continues to play the role of a stand up comedian thus making a vulnerable ass of himself.

Gun Control Was AWOL!

It has been almost a week since President Barack Obama's State of The Union (SOTU) address. Obama's speech has been reviewed, dissected, praised, vilified and whatever else political writers do. I can't avoid getting my two cents worth in, fully realizing that's about what my musing about the SOTU address would command on the open market.

First of all the evening of the address was remarkable for the ovation paid to one member of the House of Representatives - Gabrielle Giffords. To say that the tribute was deserved does not do enough tribute to this wonderful, brave public servant.

Second of all, I will not comment about the pros and cons of what the President proposed in his address. These are better left to others who are students of the political scene. I will comment about what was left out of the President's SOTU address.

With the ovation to Gifford's still resonating in the House Chambers, there was no mention of gun control. Here was a woman barely able to stand up and barely able to clap because of a gun shot wound to the head a year ago and not one mention of what is to be done about the lack of effective gun control in this country.

The lack of bipartisanship action in Washington has been duly chronicled. On the evening of SOTU, Congress and the President did demonstrate that bipartisanship is not dead. It did so in paying tribute to Gabrielle Giffords. It did so in completely ignoring the flaw on our society which brought down the public service of Gabrielle Giffords. It did so in deciding that the events in Tuscon, Arizona a year ago did not deserve their attention.

The National Rifle Association owns both the Republican and Democrat parties when it comes to giving us effective gun control legislation. It is a crime that our representatives have been bought. Gun Control is AWOL and the blood of victims of sloppy gun laws is on the hands of those who can do something about it but are scared stiff it will cost them votes.

There is not a vocal politician who does not support the Second Amendment. I also support the Second Amendment but my interpretation leaves a lot of room for effective gun control. Mankind and assassins have been joined at the hip for centuries. Gun control will not eliminate assassins but it will make their work more difficult.

Much Ado About Money

I could care less whether a presidential candidate is a zillionaire, a billionaire , a millionaire or none of the above. Too much ado is made of tax return disclosure, consulting fees and lobbying fees. As long as a candidate's income has been honestly earned, it is a non-issue when it comes to earning my vote. As difficult as it may be to ascertain, a candidate's character and intelligence far outweigh his tax rate or whether he is a consultant or lobbyist. Lets face it, more often not, we are going to be choosing among wealthy candidates.. A poor man's chance of running for president is next to nil unless he is beholden to a billionaire or was born in a log cabin.

The Role of Hypocrisy

Paul Krugman’s blog recently had an interesting post  about the role that hypocrisy plays in today’s politics, George Washington Was A Hypocrite . Krugman argues that “ somehow the notion has entered our politics that supporting a cause that isn’t in your personal financial interest makes you a hypocrite”. The post makes for interesting reading and in my case aroused some musing about the role of hypocrisy in our society.

If one accepts that hypocrisy is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform, he can immediately envision the role of hypocrisy in our society. The freedoms that we cherish have long been battered by the hypocritical nature of man.

The hypocrisy of the Crusades, the Inquisition, the persecution of the Puritans, the Holocaust, the horror of 9/11, the questioning of the electability of an individual to the office of President of the United States based on his religion or lack thereof, all make the freedom of worship something to not only be treasured but also to be revered and defended.

If one accepts that the freedom of worship is a freedom to be cherished and defended, he finds himself putting the freedom of worship in conflict with the freedom from fear. To defend, more often than not , implies resorting to violent action, the very thing the freedom from fear seeks to protect us from. In the name of freedom we would retaliate with behavior which generates fear and a destruction of security.

 As if to allay an individual’s fears, the argument is made that the right to bear arms is a deterrent  against violence generated in society or more importantly on the world stage. The ultimate weapon to preserve freedom is WAR.  With God at our side, we  resort to killing one another. Hypocrisy takes us full circle.

Then there is the freedom from want which our hypocrisy has seen fit to apply to a limited few. How else can you explain famines and sub human living conditions in so many parts of the world. Hypocrisy screams out that charity begins at home. The problem is that the needs at home are insatiable and only crumbs are left to satiate the wants of others. Still our hypocritical nature would have us believe that half a loaf is better than none.

One can question if in an idealistic society where freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear reign untethered , should be the Utopia we are seeking. Would it be too stagnate? Is some hypocrisy necessary to spice it up? I submit that without the freedom of hypocrisy the other freedoms would wither away. Without a challenge to the norm we become overly complacent.

If the latter is incomprehensible, I must resort to the freedom which I have saved until last, the freedom of speech and expression. The freedom of speech gives me the right to express an opinion, view , belief or fantasy as the case may be. As long as I do not seek acceptance of my views there is no hypocrisy involved. If some prior views are in contradiction with those expressed here, hypocrisy is involved. As long as we think, there are plenty of opportunities for hypocrisy. Putting those thoughts to print is not hypocritical.

(Playing the role of philosopher is much more difficult than I anticipated but a lot more fun than I anticipated and I'm not being hypocritical.)
　

Newt Inching Towards Another Marriage

Newt Gingrich won the heart of South Carolina. Will Florida give him an open primary? Florida has not been heard from but it is widely accepted that its heart belongs to Romney. Still, all is fair in love and war and Newt has a habit of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. They say that Florida is more typical of the rest of the country than South Carolina and whomever she goes to bed with will be the Republican candidate best suited to screw the country . Newt will continue to crucify the media, bad mouth Obama and demean Romney in between book signings. He may not  win the heart of Florida but he will  carry on a torrid campaign which will present Clandestine, I mean Callista, a real challenge to keep her coiffure from unraveling. More power to Newt, he is just what Obama needs to get fired up.

On January 20th

YES YOU CAN!

On January 20th, 2009, Barack H. Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America.

 On January 20th,2009, the Republican Party began Campaign 2012 with the express purpose of making Barack H. Obama a one term President.

On January 20th, 2009, the executive branch of government was taken hostage by Campaign 2012.

 On January 20th, 2009, the legislative branch of the United States government went AWOL.

 On January 20th, 2009, the judicial branch of the United States government  resolved to find a way to give "wealthy persons" (aka Corporations) the right to use  unlimited funds to buy elections.

On this day, January 20, 2012, we find ourselves 291 days from the end of Campaign 2012 and 366 days from the inauguration of the President of the United States.

On January 20, 2013, Barack H. Obama will again be sworn in as President of the United States.

Ed Note: The bold print is fact. The italics are strictly musings.

We Become What We Think

This morning like most mornings idle thoughts crawl through my mind. The problem with idle thoughts is that they rarely lead anywhere since turning a thought into  constructive action is laborious. Wasn't it Buddha who said, "What we think, we become". That in itself is scary but it does lead me to conclude that idle thoughts can only lead to idleness. Which brings to mind another saying of Buddha : To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.

Obviously my idle thoughts have betrayed my ego. Where once I was diligent, I must now conclude that I'm foolish. I may be foolish but I'm not a fool. A fool would not have learned anything from his idle thoughts. This morning I learned a little or as Buddha said, "Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful". For that I am thankful.

There is one more idle thought that I can't resist sharing. Was Buddha the original tweeter?

 How foolish can one get? Stay tuned.

About Assassination

A nuclear scientist is assassinated in Iran. Another nation is suspected of the dirty work. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, that assassination has been resorted to in international disputes.

 The Iranian leaders may be bastards but is murdering Iranian citizens like so many pigeons at a shooting gallery the way to punish them? Does any nation have the right to use assassination as a tool to right a wrong or to get their way in a dispute?



Assassination has been with us since Cain offed Abel. It is a tool of religious zealots, drug dealers, political hacks, racketeers, the mentally deranged and for that matter anyone who feels their honor has been besmirched . No matter whose hands wields the instrument of death it is done so in the belief that the end justifies the means.

Society frowns upon the taking of a life and has laws which make the offense of taking a life punishable by incarceration and even death. Justice unfortunately is not always evenly applied but at the very least assassination and its first cousin, murder is frowned upon, discouraged and condemned.

Not so when the perpetrator is the covert agent of a sovereign nation. Assassinating the citizen of another sovereign nation in order to right a perceived wrong appears to be tolerated by society. It only becomes of concern when the event takes on political consequences too great to be ignored. If the answer of the offended party is to unleash its instruments of war thenthe price of society’s initial indifference is thousands and thousands of lives lost.

Assassination is a dangerous game. Those who play the game may think the end justifies the means but in the long run the end may very well be their end and that of those allied with them.

 The moral of this story is, watch your ass if your partner is an advocate of assassination.

Pity The Republicans

If  I were a Republican trying to make up my mind about the best candidate to oppose Barack Obama, I would find myself between a rock and a hard place. All the candidates suck. I would be damned if I did and damned if I didn't in attempting to make a choice. I'm not a Republican but I would like to share this sage advice with the Grand Old Party.  The GOP should rally behind Barack Obama. Why? Better the Devil you know than the Devil you don't. Of course this will never happen. Republicans will elect to stew in their own juices which smell to high Heaven . They certainly are in a pickle.

Front Row Seat

The other night as I sat in my living room enjoying a glass of wine and watching TV, I couldn't help but muse about the miraculous ability of modern day communications to transport world events into our homes in a vivid and almost real time basis . Here I was in afront row seat watching footage of Syrian citizens being viciously abused by other Syrian citizens dressed in military apparel ( I hesitate to call the latter soldiers). Coming to grips with witnessing horror while relaxing in a comfortable living room provides much food for thought.

 As I sipped my wine, I had a pang of guilt. Fellow humans being brutalized while I casually watched -it was incongrous. For a minute I likened myself to a spectator in the Coliseum watching gladiators mangle each other. I don't mean to imply that witnessing news clips of protests, beatings and wars should be avoided. On the contrary, we should watch and absorb the full meaning of what is going on with the intent of  taking some kind of action to deal with man's inhumanity to man. I'm afraid, however, that there is more of a chance of becoming so used to having a war or revolution in our living rooms, that we liken the chronicling of the events to a Hollywood blockbuster - when the "movie" is over its time to go back to life as usual.

 Fortunately there are those who use their front row seats as an opportunity to get involved in the politics of our country to make sure some Syrian is not watching men in military apparel maiming American citizens. To those I raise my glass in thanks.

Try to behave yourself 2012

So it's 2012. All I can read in the papers and on the Internet are poetic words about what a new year brings to us. I welcome the new year like I welcome all years. I've been around long enough, however, to dismiss all those glowing words about the promises of a new year. 2012 is what we will make of it and that will hardly be any different than what we made of the past new years. We will clumsily battle our way through the year making all the mistakes we have learned to make. The one lesson that we may have  learned is to roll with the punches. The punches will certainly be there but there is hope that they will glance off our bodies as we muddle through the year. We will frustratingly challenge 2012 it to live up to its promises and at the same time look forward  to  2013 and all its hopes for wonderful things to happen.

XMAS Packed Away- Welcome 2012

Call me Grinch, call me Scrooge but once we are past December 25 I have to put Xmas in a box. I would like to emphasize that it is Xmas I put in a box, not Christmas. I will do my best to milk the Christmas spirit for all that it is worth in spite of what is going on in this country of ours and the world.

Considering the mayhem and atrocities being inflicted on fellow human beings, I have to wonder if this is God's plan for population control. The population of the world seems to be growing exponentially but imagine what the growth would be if we stopped killing each other.

I see that the NRA has snared another presidential wannabe, put him in a hunter's outfit complete with the NRA logo and a weapon. Reports are that Santorum bagged a few birds. No word on the sexual orientation of the birds. I'm sure Rick Santorum was hoping to bag a few gay quails.  At least he did not shoot a fellow hunter in the ass ala Cheney.

Back to Xmas. It has been packed away for another year. Wish there was some way to pack away the mandatory New Years celebration. Actually I don't wish that. As the years pile on, I'm grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the coming of yet another year. So HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone. Be happy all through 2012 and don't be in a hurry to welcome 2013. As the song goes " and the years dwindle down to a precious few".

GOP Wives Advertise Values

The story trailer on Wolf Blitzer’s ’Situation Room’ was unmistakable - GOP Wives Advertise Values. What has Campaign 2012 come to? Have the Republican candidates put their wives out on the street? If so, how in the world will advertising their values help their bedmates? If Clarissa Gingrich had any values she would not have Gingrich as a moniker. And about that Perry woman - she is really scary. Anyone who can claim that Rick Perry is God’s favorite son sure has her values screwed up. I have to give Rick Santorum’s wife credit for not advertising herself. I’m sure its not because the Santorums do not have values. They have all kinds of values - just ask Rick and he will list them ad infinitum. It might be that one of his values is to keep his wife off the street advertising their values. A wife’s place is in the kitchen. I have never seen Ron Paul’s wife. Does he have a wife? He may have given up on her when she gave birth to Rand. Huntsman’s wife? I suspect that she’s a closet Democrat and out of respect for Jon would prefer to remain in the closet. That leaves Mrs. Romney. Yes, lets leave Mrs. Romney. She couldn’t sell a value if she was giving it away.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Michelle Bachman’s wife. Bachman’s wife? Yeah, some ass told me that was her fantasy but she’s afraid the public would not buy it as a value. 

Blitizer's take on the subject? Sorry, I missed the whole report.

Ed Note: on 12/28 on the SituationRoom I saw Blitzer interviewing  Anne Romney. My comment  in the above post was not fair to her. She is quite good at selling her husband's values, as misguided as they may be.

We Interrupt The Holiday Season

We interrupt the Holiday Season or more properly the Christmas Season with all sorts of breaking news which could make that gentleman with the white beard unhitch his reindeer, fire his elves and hunker down in the North Pole for at least another twelve months.

 There is enough breaking news clogging the networks to spawn at least a dozen posts per day. I'm not that ambitious a blogger so I'll confine myself to one post with enough tidbits to insure a few sleepless nights.

 For starters  I could join the chorus and declare that the world is well rid of Kim Jong-il. I might even second that Senate warrior, John McCain and condemn Kim to a warm corner of Hell. The problem is I know little about Kim except for what I read in the papers and hear on TV and lately the media has been a bit unreliable in how it puts together stories. I'm told he was a bad person. I have to wonder how a bad person survived so long but then I might conclude that bad persons have a knack for survival. It takes armed intervention to get them out of power. Think Saddam Hussein. While thinking about Saddam, try not to think about the bad person or persons positioning themselves to pursue their ambitions in the new Iraq. Will the ruler of North Korea start a nuclear war? Will the new ruler of Iraq cave to Iran? Will Iraq, Iran and bad man Assad's Syria declare war on Israel to get rid of weapons of mass destruction? Will the United States retaliate by bombing the shit out of the whole Mideast? Where in hell are we going to get our oil? Russia? This is terrible and that SOB Kim Jong II started it all.

If the threat of a nuclear holocaust wasn't bad enough we have breaking news out of Washington that Boehner and his band of thieves are about to steal - check that - are about to shut down the government because a bunch of hoodlums in Indian head dress insist that helping American citizens is not the American way. Why they call themselves The Tea Party is a mystery to me. I'm not a fancier of tea but I always thought a tea party was a gentile affair. Boehner says that he is merely looking after my interests. He's a nosy sort. He would be interested to know that the threat of Medicare reducing doctor payments by 27% has already caused two doctors to tell me to go see a veterinarian. Do vets prescribe sleeping pills?

The worst news of the day was that the probability is high that we will not have a White Christmas. That's real bad news if you are in the snow plowing business. If the latest weather reports hold out we are bound to be hit with a mini recession by New Years Day. Landscapers will be laying off all the illegal aliens they hired to man their cute little trucks with the snow plow in front. Ford will have to shut down its F-150 truck production. If only Bing Crosby was around to sing "Let It Snow" - that would save the day.

All this bad news is very depressing. Unless I stop writing about breaking news I know that I will have a blue Christmas. So to hell with you Kim Jong-il, the hell with the Mideast and the hell with the cheap politicians in Washington. Most of all, let it snow. let it snow - only a couple of inches should do it. The best breaking news will be that all had a Merry Christmas in spite of all the assholes in the world trying to make our days on earth miserable.

The United States a theocracy?

I read in the CNN Politics blog that when asked about the role of religion in American Society, Mitt Romney responded, "I know there are some people who would like to make this nation a secular nation, who want to take God out of everything that exists in this country. They try to say it‘s unconstitutional." To prove his point Romney pointed to the Declaration of Independence, saying the document "points out that it's God who gave us those rights in the first place."

I have a problem with Mr. Romney’s response. He said that “some people would like to make this nation a secular nation”. I don’t know what nation Romney lives in but it is not the nation I live in. The United States of America is now and always has been a secular nation. There are some people that would like to transform this nation into a theocracy.

He also confused the Declaration of Independence with the Constitution. He seems to confuse a lot of things these days. I imagine it is very difficult to keep track of facts when you are a candidate for office.

The Declaration of Independence does state , “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” I would submit that the Declaration of Independence in using the word ‘their Creator’ left a lot of room for the definition of Creator. Nowhere in the Declaration does it say or imply that by declaring independence from a tyrannical king the thirteen colonies would now substitute allegiance to God.

It seems to me that Mitt Romney  is ready to sell his soul if it will get him the votes to tuck the G.O.P. presidential nomination in his trophy case.

'Tis The Season



Merry Christmas! If you want to take it as a religious greeting, that's your choice.  If you want to take it as an expression of a joyous season, bless you.  If you prefer Happy Holidays it is your privilege to shout to one and all Happy Holidays but please do not deny me the privilege to wish one and all a Merry Christmas. I would at the same time remind you that Happy Holidays leaves a lot to question. I know that that it is a generic form of expressing a greeting for Christmas or Hanukkah. Does it also include President's Day, The Fourth of July, Labor Day? Happy Holidays is too generic. Pardon the expression but let's call a spade  a spade. If December 25 is a cause for celebration, the greeting of choice should be Merry Christmas . You are free not to be merry this time of year if the word Christmas offends you but do not be offended if I am merry. If you wish me a Happy Hanukkah, I will do my best to be happy during the festival of lights. In the meantime I'm going to try like hell to have a Merry Christmas. Please join me in being merry. I could care less whether you are a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, an Agnostic or an Atheist or non of the above, 'Tis the season.

An open letter to MLB

Dear MLB:

Congratulations on the conclusion of your Winter Meetings. The news coming out of your meetings was notable in that all of your team owners and general managers came out of the meetings apparently sober, well rested and ready to go to Spring Training. Hold on, there was a more newsworthy item. My God, you finally implemented a dress code.

A dress code! Finally you came to grips with the variety of uniforms adorning our boys of summer, long pants, knee high pants, unbuttoned shirts. More importantly MLB addressed the embarrassment caused by out of shape managers squeezing into a baseball uniform which hardly covers their pot belly. Not so MLB, you chickened out. After rereading the press releases, I discovered that the dress code only concerned the media.

Holy cow! Skirts, dresses or shorts cut more than three or four inches above the knee will be deemed to be in violation of the dress code. Does that mean that Bob Costa will have to get a whole new wardrobe? Visible undergarments are prohibited. Why was this necessary. I don’t recall ever seeing a reporter’s undergarment except in the men’s room. How about your code which bans ripped jeans, visible sheer clothing, one-shouldered and strapless shirts or exposed bare midriffs. That smells a bit like you are going after a specific branch of the media - females. Shame on you. The whole code is a cop out. The media doesn’t dress any worse than the fans in the stands. Everyone knows that fashionable dress at sporting events is a no-no.

Lets address the bare midriffs part of the code. It is much too general. There is nothing wrong with a bare midriff except on an obese person. Which brings me to what prompted this letter in the first place.

Why the hell do you allow baseball managers to wear a player type uniform. As far as I know baseball is the only sport where the manager or coach wears a uniform. Those guys are never going to get in the game! I’d much rather see a blond reporter with a bare midriff interviewing a player than an obese manager with his tummy hanging over his uniform belt walking out to the mound to get his pitcher. Think back to Connie Mack. He did a pretty good job of managing in civilian clothes. Tommy La Sorda did a good job but he looked sloppy in doing it.


Is it true that some of your players have insulted female reporters sporting short shorts and as a result law suits have been threatened? Is this dress code all about you covering your ass or the asses of your ballplayers? By the way, they should always cover their ass in the presence of a lady except in their bedroom.

MLB, your dress code stinks. Stop picking on females.

Sincerely,

A disgruntled fan

Bring Back The Smoke Filled Rooms

Gingrich Surges Ahead In Iowa! Why the hell should this mean anything to me? I have exactly zilch in common with the good citizens of Iowa. Unfortunately the Iowa primary will be a factor in the Republican  presidential nomination. I could say the same about New Hampshire - I hardly speak their languge but they insist on speaking for me. I yearn for the days of the smoke filled rooms. They were far more democratic than the sham of caucuses and primaries. The nomination is all about politics and politicians should pick their nominee. Sorry Tea Party but I can't wait for the party to be over.

The Best Man

In the movie "The Best Man" (1964), two contenders for a presidential nomination seek the support of a dying ex-president and in the process knock themselves out of the race. A dark horse emerges as the nominee.

Fast forward to 2011. Two contenders for the Republican presidential nomination emerge as front runners. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are trying to get as many endorsements as they can. Even Donald Trump's endorsement is a prize. How low can the Republican Party sink. Donald Trump is a modern day P.T. Barnum, a snake oil salesman. He has a reputation which would make Herman Cain look like a saint. In a sane political scene no candidate would touch him with a ten foot poll.

If I were a Republican , I'd be rooting for a dark horse in the race. His name is Jon Huntsman. This quote alone endeared Huntsman to me. In reference to courting the favor of Donald Trump he said, "I'm not going to kiss his ring or any other part of his anatomy".

The three ring circus a.k.a. the Republican presidential nomination race has showcased a bunch of clowns with one exception, Jon Huntsman. He's by far the most presidential - take that, Mitt and Newt. He comes the closest to gaining my endorsement and he does not have to kiss my ass. In all fairness, I must also give Ron Paul a gold star for telling Trump what he can do with his endorsement.

Watch your asses Romney and Gingrich. You too Obama.

Keep Your Pants On Revisited

The high primal weighed in on my last post in which I questioned why women politicians are rarely if ever caught in sex scandals. According to Marge, once males get into a position of power, they feel that they should have power over everything, including women. A woman, however, has a difficult time gaining power and will be careful not to do anything which might cost her that power.

Keep Your Pants On

The cliche` politicians would like to avoid like the plague is 'caught with his pants down'. The exploits of Herman Cain have been making headlines lately. Gary Hart played hanky panky on his fishing boat and got caught. John Edwards bit the dust last year. And then there is Bill Clinton who was literally caught with his pants down. Just an hour or so ago I was shocked to learn that Bill Richardson is under investigation for possibly violating campaign finance laws. It seems that he used money donated to him to hush up some bimbo claiming sexual harassment.. Bill Richardson sexually harassing someone? I refuse to believe it. Then again, I guess that politics stresses individuals out and sex is good therapy.

 That being said, why haven't we heard more about the sexual exploits of our female politicians. Is it because the woman are smart enough to know that you can't get screwed if you don't take your pants down?  There have been rumors about Palin but so far they are strictly rumors. It's not fair that the men are grabbing all the headlines.

 A word to the wise, don't sh#t where you work.

ed note: My apologies to Newt for ignoring his sexual exploits. On the other hand, no apology is necessary. It is my policy to ignore Mr. Grinch.

In Defense of Herman Cain

To label Herman Cain as an unsuitable presidential candidate because of alleged sexual harassment and a 13 year affair is not fair ( does a 13 year affair qualify as a bigamy? Not if it's casual.)

 I don't buy into holding our wannabe presidents to the highest of moral standards. Of course, once one of them achieves the office they are free to compromise their high morals by involving us in unjust wars, ruining the economy of the country and setting us up to be screwed by powerful lobbyists and corporations. Even an occasional blow job now and then is not grounds for impeachment.

Herman Cain may very well go down the drain but it should be because of his lack of expertise on policy matters not because of his lack of expertise on sexual matters. Long before sex reared its ugly head in Cain's campaign, I had decided that he was not someone worthy being POTUS. The man is nothing but a high powered Madison Ave type. He never came to grips with the fact that slogans are not a substitute for knowledge on policy issues. My slogan for his candidacy is "nein-nein-nein". As for his sexual prowess - if that's what turns you on, have fun man, but don't forget, hell hath no fury as a scorned woman.

Breaking News .......

The high primal critiqued my last post. According to Marge, it was comparable to scratching yourself where there is no itch. OUCH!!!

In Search of a Post

According to my morning paper, today is Cyber Monday. Gee, another shopping holiday. My inbox is full of all sorts of deals that I can get with the click of a mouse. For some reason I'm not impressed. It seems that in order to get the deal I have to have a user name, a password and oh yes, a credit card number. That last requirement is a deal breaker. I've got news for all these retail terrorists. No matter how hard they try, I'm not going for their "spend until you drop" holidays. Bah, humbug or whatever the expression is!

(My blogging mind has been a blank lately, but that may be normal for my mind. Irregardless, I decided to milk commercial XMAS for all that I can. All the other news - child molesters, NBA basketball, Arab unrest, Bill Clinton praises for GOP candidates, the unstable economy, War,War, and more War is beyond my comprehension which means I can't write about something I do not comprehend or even want to comprehend. Stay tuned or tune me out, the worse is yet to come. I'm going to take an aspirin, go back to bed and dream of better times. I'm sure I'll feel better in a couple of hours - all ready to resume some senseless blogging. Ho, ho ho! Have I got a deal for you.)

Black Friday on Thanksgiving Day?

Lugged in 3.5 lbs of newspaper this morning so that I could get .5lbs of news. Guess I should be thankful that I still have a newspaper to pick up. More importantly, I should be thankful that I can walk outdoors to pick it up.

 Black Friday can wait and wait and wait! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Chipping Away At Secular Government

 A report published by CNN Politico states that 'religious lobbying in Washington, D.C., has risen to the heavens, climbing almost fivefold in the last 40 years, a new study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life shows.'

Politico went on to say, "There were fewer than 40 organizations involved in religious lobbying and advocacy in 1970 – today, there are more than 200 groups, according to Pew. In just the Washington area alone, these groups employ at least 1,000 people, and spend around $390 million a year in an effort to influence public policy."

'An effort to influence public policy', could these be code words for an effort to blur the lines  separating church and state. Is an effort to influence public policy by religious groups another way to chip away at our secular government.

A five fold increase in religious lobbying in the last 40 years could only have come about because of a high return on investment. I wonder if it ties in with an increasingly divided country. I wonder if it has anything to do with a stalemated Congress. I wonder if we are drifting towards the beginnings of a theocracy. A theocracy? Unthinkable! Not when we proclaim " one nation, undivided under God". Not when we swear to tell the truth , the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God. Not when our currency shouts out  "In God We Trust". Not when we pause in the seventh inning of a ballgame to to bellow out, "God bless America".

I believe in the Freedom of Religion and respect the rights of individuals or groups to worship the God or Gods of their choice. I don't want to see these individuals lobbying or threatening my representatives in pursuit of religious goals. I abhor the progress  the National Rifle Association has had in almost becoming the fourth branch of government as it strives to put a gun in every home. I would dread to see a fifth branch of government spring up from religious lobbying.

In the midst of Campaign 2008, my high primal thinker spouse said, "Theocracy eventually destroys democracy; we should remember this in this country as Campaign 2008 proceeds." The same but more emphatically can be said for Campaign 2012.

 KEEP RELIGION IN PLACES of WORSHIP, NOT IN CONGRESS.

Lord Gingrich Has A Plan For The Poor

CNN's Poltical Ticker reported that in a speech last Friday at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Newt Gingrich said that laws preventing child labor are 'truly stupid'. He was quoted as saying, "It is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods, entrapping children in child laws which are truly stupid," Saying to people you shouldn't go to work before you're 14, 16. You're totally poor, you're in a school that's failing with a teacher that's failing."

It seems that Gingrich would have poor children doing the work of janitors in schools. Putting the little ones to work would allow them to learn good work ethics and pave the way for success later in life.

In my opinion, a ten year old poor student spending time scrubbing floors in a school while a ten year old rich student spends his time working on school assignments would be at a distinct disadvantage in the race to success. Charles Dickens, if he were alive, would have material for  a book using Newt's vision for poor students. I guess that book has already been written.

What Lord Gingrich did not address is that child labor laws were designed to stop the abuse of poor children by rich capitalists. They became necessary because child labor was preventing many from achieving the 'American Dream'. I remember my early school days when a large percentage of children never got past the eighth grade. Parents sent them to work.Sometimes children need to be protected from parents as well as rich capitalists.

My father worked in a textile mill at the age of fifteen. He learned enough about child labor to make sure that his children got a good education. I suppose Lord Gingrich would argue that in reality, my father working as a child laborer became successful in later life as evidenced by his children going to college.

By the way what happens to those janitors who lose their job because a ten year old is doing a half ass job as a custodian for a lot less money?

What next from this crop of wannabe presidents? Grrrrrr!!!!

Toys I Remember

Watching tree leaves accumulate on the lawn during a blustery fall morning reminded me of fall leaves making their way into a salt sack and finding another life as a football in my youth. The Depression years were very innovative when it came to toys. A few examples:

- Salt sack packed with dried leaves - a.k.a. football

- Coffee can dented from being kicked -  a.k.a. soccer ball

- Electric tape wrapped around a ball - a.k.a. recycled baseball

- Orange crate on a 2x4 with skate wheels on either end - a.k.a. scooter 

 - Bushel basket sans bottom, attached to a telephone pole - a.k.a. basketball court

-  Marbles - still around  but much more expensive

 - Pocket knife & tree stump - games of skill like mumbledy-peg, “baseball”

 - Broom stick - a.k.a. baseball bat

- Clothes pin, inner tube cut into bands, scrap lumber - a.k.a. rubber band gun 

- Clothes line - a.k.a. jump rope

Hold everything! I think I wrote about most of these toys before. Sure enough, there it is in the archives - “Games I remember”, 8/25/2010. Oops - most of what’s in this post was covered over a year ago. Well, at leastl give me credit for using a different title.  At the rate I’m going, I may find myself “accidentally” recycling a few other posts. I'll bet that some of those Campaign 2008 posts will come in handy as Campaign 2012 revs up. Everyone is promising  to turn the country into Utopia, just like they did four years ago.

Actually I shouldn't be so defensive about this post. It does prove that history repeats itself and more importantly it proves that even though the hair is whiter and the teeth  sparser, the memory cells are in good shape.  Now what was it I was trying to prove with all these words. A few more keystrokes and it will come to me.  QWERTY? That's not it. Maybe it will come to me next time I sit down to write a post. Right now I need to find some salt sacks to get rid of those leaves on my lawn. What in hell will I do with all those footballs? Maybe I could create a blog to market them.

Enhanced Bull

I sometimes inflict torture upon myself as I did Saturday night. In a depressed mood, I decided to watch the CBS - News Journal Republican debate.

The only thing that stuck with me after the debate was over was the discussion on torture. Only Paul and Huntsman were quite clear that interrogation techniques such as " water boarding " ARE TORTURE. The others appeared to be more comfortable with something called "enhanced interrogation techniques", suggesting that the latter are not torture.

Torture is defined as the act of inflicting excruciating pain. Enhance means to intensify something or raise it to a higher degree. It appears that if an individual is subjected to interrogation where techniques are used to get him to reveal information or confess to a crime, he is being tortured only if he suffers excruciating pain. If he toughs it out and spits in the face of his torturers - sorry, interrogators, then he is only experiencing enhanced interrogation. The catch is that enhanced interrogation can be enhanced to a point where it inflicts excruciating pain. At that point the poor SOB is being tortured.

The point of all this is not to inflict pain on the reader. If it is confusing so are the attempts to justify torture as an acceptable form of interrogation . Our presidential hopefuls should call a spade for a spade. Water boarding is torture, period. A President that excuses forms of torture by calling them "enhanced interrogation" is nothing but a Philadelphia lawyer and is bound to inflict excruciating pain on the country.

I'm not sure that I will watch another Republican presidential debate. The crap coming from their mouths is intensifying to the point that listening to their bull is pure torture.

Nostradamus Visits My Blog

I had a dream! In that dream Nostradamus made these predictions:

•  Sometime in the near future college football will retreat to being a game played by students in good academic standing as an extracurricular affair. The NFL will have to look elsewhere to stock its teams.
• Herman Cain's wife will file for divorce claiming gross sexual negligence.
• Governor Perry does not remember why, but he recommends the  elimination of the State of Texas.
• Romney will drop out of the  race for the Republican presidential nomination.
• Romney will oppose Obama for the Democrat presidential nomination.
• Obama will decide to run as an Independent.
• The super committee will turn in its final report on reducing the deficit highlighted by a recommendation that tosses the ball to Congress to do its job.
• Congress will fumble the ball and Obama will declare a state of emergency, cancelling all elections until the deficit is manageable.
• The last I recall of my dream was that The United Kingdom had come to the rescue of its former colony and sent Prince William here to reign as Regent. Prince William's son will be born here, making him an American citizen. In 35 years, Prince George will run for President and become the first English president. President George's first executive order will be to declare an American monarchy with English as the official language.

College Football Problems Trump Academics

Football is by far America's most popular sport. Whether it be high school teams, college teams or NFL teams, fans live and die by the successes or failures of their team. The coaches are as revered as a deity. Newspapers somehow find the newsprint to maintain a sports section not subject to shrinking news. Football stories find their way to the front page while "Rome burns". What does this get us? Football scandal!

 In every college football scandal there is a coach who became larger than the institution. When that happens, bad things are bound to happen.

Tatoogate at Ohio State University earns Coach Tressel a pass into early retirement. The University of Southern California using "professionals" posing as college athletes earns Coach Carroll a lucrative trip to a NFL head coach position. And now Penn State raises the bar on scandals by being caught in a sex scandal which has earned their legendary head coach , Joe Paterno, the retirement he never sought.

The sooner college sports programs become a part of the academic experience, and only that, the better. Sports scholarships should have academic qualifications attached to them. Athletes should be enrolled in meaningful academic programs. If the NFL needs a source of players, let them  organize a farm system Ala MLB.

Help Wanted - Must Have Engineering Degree

“In Japan, 20% of all degrees are in engineering. In the United States that figure is 6%.” - a startling Tweet by Fareed Zakaria. These figures are further evidence of the decline of the United States. Our education system is failing us. Our education system is not providing the incentives for students to excel in something besides running apps on an iPhone. As Fareed Zakaria has pointed out “education is the engine of mobility”. Our engine is sputtering. If we do not fix it soon we will only be able to coast downhill. Without engineers and scientists, we cannot sustain a vigorous economy.

I do not mean to imply that excelling in math and science should be our only goals. Hell, a nation of illiterates would be more of a catastrophe than a nation of luddites. Still, as the expression goes, without  innovations we will be sucking hind tit. If we suck hind tit, we as a nation will be undernourished.

How does the system get fixed? I think my granddaughter hit the nail on the head when she said, “Why is it that so few American students graduate high school without even a basic knowledge of calculus as compared to the rest of the developed world? Is it because we are less intelligent when compared to the rest of the world? Or is it because we have decided that educating our children to be competitive in an international world is too hard?”

Most people want the best for their children. Unfortunately, too many feel that making life easier for them is the key. Why not try making life challenging for them. Perhaps a few will decide to be an engineer.

Pass The Benadryl

An itch is a bitch when there’s a glitch in the cure cooked up by a witch  with some crap from a ditch.

An itch will get worse with a pitch by the rich that their taxes should be zilch.

An itch for a fight  may get you a stitch.

An itch without Benadryl is like a wagon without a hitch.

And then there are blog posts which are grounds for a lynch!

Get Rid of the Canadians - Geese That Is!



Walking along the trail by the golf course this morning, I was amazed at the number of Canadian Geese that have flown into Ohio to play golf at the Aberdeen Country Club. I'm sure that the club operators are more frustrated than amazed as they zip around the course trying to collect their green fees.

It seems to me that the problem of Canadian Geese illegally crossing our northern border has been largely ignored by our politicians. Too much time is spent on devising methods to keep out illegals from Mexico rather than illegals from Canada. At least the Mexicans are willing to do all those jobs we hate while the all that the Canadians (Geese) do is shit all over our golf courses.

 Actually the solution to keeping out the Canadian Geese is simple and  anyone of the Republican candidates is welcome to use it in the next debate. My preference is Perry but Cain will do if if the sexual harassment he's accused of wasn't a goose.

Right off the bat I must reveal that I initially offered the solution to Obama but he respectfully reminded me that he was much too busy to deal with a bird like me to say nothing about birds from Canada.

To get rid of the Canadian Geese problem all we have to do is to establish a no fly zone over The Great Lakes. Before we do this we must not forget to get UN approval because inevitably NATO must be asked to conduct some bombing missions over golf courses. The Federal government need not get directly involved beyond a nice speech at the UN.

The down side of this plan is that after ninety days there will be more hazards than desirable on our golf courses to say nothing of the tremendous cleanup of geese carcasses. To make matters worse the golf course operators will still be out of green fees.

All is not lost. The geese will be gone . The golf course operators can request assistance from China which China will be glad to give in exchange for a monopoly on providing golf carts.

The more I think about my solution, the more I feel I should find another form of exercise. As I've mentioned before , walking can be dangerous for your mental health.

God is a free agent

Game 6 of the 2011 World Series has already been designated as one of the most exciting in the annals of World Series games. Baseball sportswriters have something to write about all winter long. I'm going to write a little about Game 6 and this years World Series. I know that Texas was only one strike away from winning Game 6 and the Series. So why didn't they? Josh Hamilton did his part with a home run. Of course he has been quick to say that on his way to the plate God talked to him (I wonder if God had a batting hemet on). God interrupted his busy schedule to tell Hamilton that he was going to hit a home run.  Hamilton was careful to say that God did not tell him that Texas would win the game. As I watched Hamilton  approach the plate I thought he was talking to himself, trying to get himself psyched up. I didn't realize that he and God were having a conversation. If I had I would have checked to see if either of them had a Twitter account so that I could join the conversation. Hamilton got his home run to put Texas ahead but Texas lost the game in the 10th. What went wrong?

Ron Washington , the Rangers' Manager had the answer.  Washington has been quoted as saying, “The Lord just didn’t want this game to end in six". I would hate to think that the Lord didn't know that there are nine innings in a game and neither him nor the Baseball Commissioner had any authority to end the game in six. I'm sure that Washington was misquoted and meant that the Lord did not want the Series to end in six.

I bring this all up to make my own point as to why the Texas Rangers did not get their World Champions rings.  Mistakenly, key personnel like Washington and Hamilton thought that the Lord and/or God were on their roster. Wrong! God told me in no uncertain terms that he is a free agent too busy looking for ways to save the World from itself.

Enough about baseball until Spring Training. By then God should have made a shambles out of the Superbowl.

To have or to have not, that is the question.

Lately the term class warfare has  surfaced in political discussions. Republicans especially get up on their hind legs and spout out a negative spin on the term. They would have us believe that class warfare is like the plague and should be avoided at all costs. They angrily proclaim that class warfare is a tool of the liberals.  The solution according to the righteous right  is the capitulation of the middle class. The chosen few they say, will trickle down enough favors to insure the survival of some semblance of a  middle class. The middle class they say should work their butts off to insure that the chosen few have the resources  to part with those favors.

I submit that the class warfare that we witness in a democracy is nothing more than classes being at odds with each other. It has been thus for ages. For one class to quietly submit to the wishes of another is not called for in our society. For one class to call for a redress of their grievances is a right granted by the founders of our Republic. Class warfare is only to be feared when one class uses any overwhelming power that it has gathered , to beat another class into submission.

I further submit that we will always have classes. We will unfortunately always have the "haves" and the "have nots". It is the responsibility of government to attempt to blur the lines between classes. It is the responsibility of government to give the "have nots" a realistic chance of becoming "haves". Failing to do so, only gives root to violence.

Let us have our class warfare until injustices are eliminated. Let us have our "Occupy Wall Street", "Occupy Cleveland" until government responds to the needs of society. To do less would only give credence to what some believe - only the chosen few are fit to govern.  The middle class has a right to be heard even at the risk of their actions being labeled as class warfare.

The Morning After

Yesterday I published a blog post highly critical of Time Warner. God only knows how many times I was tempted to use the delete button on the post. A little voice within me kept saying that my rage had gotten the best of me. Another voice kept reminding me that I had a valid gripe and publishing the post was one way to maintain some self respect. A third voice interrupted and said I should thank God for giving me an idea for this post. If God did that for me I'm in lots of trouble.

God only knows? Voices speaking to me? You would think I was running for President. I don't want to mention names but Rick Perry and his spouse have a private line to God or so they would have us believe . Hold it, that voice is tormenting me again. I didn't want to mention names but I did. Now that other voice is coming in loud and clear. It's reminding me that the Perry's special relationship with God has already been dealt with in the media.

Exactly what are these voices that choose to use my mind as a forum for debate? Beats the hell out of me. I know it's not God or the Devil. They are much too busy communicating with people who have a larger ego than mine or a more creative imagination. If it's not the aforementioned  perhaps it is what we refer to as a conscience.

 ( I thought I'd use aforementioned just to lend some class to the post. I'm not quite sure what it refers to either, but it sounds good. Besides the Devil made me do it.)

I suspect that all of these voices are something called conscience.  I can understand the  confusion of the Perry's when it comes to getting messages from God. The fools have a conscience that is telling them to get the hell out of the presidential race. They in turn rationalize that it is only God testing their faith and God is really telling them that the country needs them. That's why they came up with the flat tax. The joke is on them. It was the Devil's doing and they will soon be retiring to that ranch of theirs which uses the "N" word in its name.

 Heck, God anticipated the problem of individuals claiming to communicate with God and decided to give us all a conscience. The problem faced by most of us (especially the Perrys) is that we don't listen to our conscience.

At this point a disclaimer is in order. I know next to nothing about the inner workings of communicating with God. I do know something about my conscience. I do feel better about yesterday's post. This post has taken my mind off of it which does not say much about my mind. My conscience tells me to call Time Warner as soon as possible and cancel some of my current services before I'm forced to have my Social Security check direct deposited to my Time Warner account.


There you have it , my morning after blues. I have solved nothing and probably confused a lot of things but my conscience is clear and the delete button on my keyboard is off limits.

When I'm President

I wasn't feeling well last night so I decided to watch the Republican debate from Las Vegas. What's the connection? None - when one is not feeling well , all kinds of weird choices are made.

Two hours later I felt much worse. What was originally a toothache developed into a pain in the ass. Watching these presidential hopefuls debate was like watching a bar room drunken discussion except these guys, and lady, were sober.

It also became obvious to me that these "debaters" were a bit confused. They evidently think that the President of the United States has dictatorial powers. Repeatedly I heard words like, " When I'm President I will repeal Obamacare", " When I'm President I will simplify the tax code with my 9-9-9 plan", "When I'm President I will build a wall to keep out all illegals". They might as well have said, "When I'm President I will dissolve Congress, dismiss the Supreme Court, get myself a fancy uniform with lots of medals and rule the United States of America". Why can't they settle for, "If elected President I will work with Congress to implement my programs". I know the answer to that - it's all about politics and appealing to voters. How naive can I be!

Before going any further this disclaimer must be made. Running for Dictator of the United States is not confined to Republicans. Remember "Yes We Can"? It sounded awful good but Congress had other plans - "Not tonight, I've got a headache!" Barack Obama found out that ideas are nice but implementing them is another thing. His motto more accurately should have been, " Yes We Will Try" but that would never have passed Madison Avenue muster.

One more thing about running for President of The United States. Since when is having business CEO experience a plus. CEO's have essentially dictatorial powers. Makes one wonder, do these clowns think we are fools who do not recognize the limitations of Presidential powers?

Baseball At Its Worst

Champagne Celebration

I look forward to the baseball playoffs and World Series. The games are exciting and unpredictable. The managing goes beyond expectations. All is first class until inevitably a league division champion emerges , followed a pennant winner, followed by a World Champion. Each of these championships demand the mandatory champagne showers in the locker room. The problem with baseball champions is that all of a sudden they become juvenile bush leaguers. How so? What else can you call the celebrations in the locker room with the required dousing of players with cheap - I hope - champagne. What kind of a message does this send to our youth? A better question is why does the Commissioners Office allow such sophomoric exhibitions with alcohol? One of these days some millionaire's eyes will be seriously injured. Maybe that's why swimming goggles as alcohol-related celebratory protective eyewear are prevalent at modern day celebrations. In the meantime , I'll ignore the celebrating part of the game but I will drink a toast to the champion. I promise not to spill a drop.

Teaching Revisited

 Picked up the above image from my son's Facebook page. A picture is worth a thousand words. Wish I had it when I wrote the following months ago.

The noblest profession of them all and perhaps the most maligned is teaching! As we celebrate the landing of the first man on he moon, kudos go to the engineers, scientists and astronauts who made it possible. Let us not forget that somewhere in the background of every engineer, scientist and astronaut there was a teacher who planted the seeds which later matured into a harvest of entrepreneurship and scientific accomplishments.

Somewhere in the background of a Pulitzer prize winner was a teacher who introduced the writer to the magic of good literature.

Somewhere in the background of Academy Award winners was a teacher who ignited the spark propelling them to venture before an audience.

Let us not forget the impact of the ultimate teachers --- Aristotle, Jesus Christ, Mohamed and Buddha. Their teachings have formed the foundation of our civilization.

Teachers give of themselves to others so that others can have a chance of enjoying productive lives. I am proud to have a daughter, son, sister, niece, sister-in law and grand nephews who made teaching an important part of their lives.

The next time someone gripes about teacher's pay and how easy they have it, they might do well to reflect on what life would be like without having someone to teach us to read, write and think.

Of course there are bad teachers. I'm tempted to say that behind every bad doctor, engineer, writer , lawyer was a bad teacher. That would not be fair. Suffice to say that being bad at what one does is not restricted to teachers.

If everyone was good at what they did , we would not need anyone to lead the way. I don't have any statistics to support this, but I daresay there are many more good teachers than bad teachers. How else would I be typing this on a gadget called a computer?

Much Too Scary!

The high primal and I sometimes engage in a debate over what's worth watching on TV. There was no debate tonight. In fact by a unanimous vote we decided not to watch the New Hampshire presidential debate. The deciding factor was that the people debating were much too scary for an elderly couple. It's not even Halloween yet and these clowns are up to the old Conservative tricks. We'll read all about it tomorrow morning. Hope Obama watches - he might pick up some ammo to use in the debates next year .

Speaking of Obama, he and his team must be doing something right lately. Their performance on job creation is not so hot but how about the job they are doing on going after the baddies. First bin Laden bit the dust, then al Awlaki and now they may have Ahmadinejad  where they want him. The a-hole thinks he's a mafioso and  ordered a hit on the Saudi Ambassador to the United States. Hasn't been proven in a court of law ( the al Awlaki hit indicated this is a superflous step), but it sure looks good right now. This whole thing about assassinations is very,very scary. Almost as scary as the Republican presidential candidates. Watch your ass Obama!

What did we decide to watch on TV? The ALCS game number 3 of course. Watching Detroit and Texas play is exciting and scary at the same time. The pre-game show had a segment which really makes you want to root for the Tigers. With tears in his eyes, Jim Leyland paid tribute to the Detroit fans  especially the unemployed ones (there is no truth to the rumor that Rick Perry offered to move those fans to Texas which has all kinds of minimum pay jobs available for them).

How about Leyland's comment about the postponed  Sunday game 2 - Around here if someone buys an umbrella they close the schools.

In spite of Leyland's tears , the Tigers are off to bad start. It's only the fourth inning but Texas has the lead. There would be nothing scarier than Texas winning the World Series. Well, Rick Perry becoming President would really scare the shit out of me.

HOLD THE PRESSES!!! Curiosity got the best me  - tried to find the debate on TV but it is AWOL. Whoever said that the Republican debate was being televised tonight? Me? I was wrong again. That's been happening a lot lately - really scary!

 Tigers have taken the lead. That's not scary.

Columbus Gets No Respect These Days

Christoforo Colombo

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue! In honor of this historic trip, we choose to observe Columbus Day today. This is a bit traumatic for me, since in my youth we always observed Columbus Day on October 12th. It used to be an important holiday complete with a parade followed by a speech at monument erected in his honor. For some reason or other the Christopher Columbus monument was in East Utica. It may have had something to with East Utica being heavily populated by Italian Americans. Columbus got a lot of respect in those days. After all  he was credited with discovering America. Now it seems some Viking preceded him and Columbus was an also ran. Columbus still gets some respect as a navigator and so far a pseudo holiday is still named after him. About the only business shut down today is the U. S. mail. That's not surprising, rumor has it that the USPS will be celebrating a lot of mail holidays. All is not lost as far as celebrating Columbus Day is concerned. The high primal has a celebration all planned. We're off to Macy's for the Columbus Day sale! Thanks Chris, for nothing.

( Worth a read - Whatever Happened To Columbus Day?)

Spanish ballots and a 64-cent poll tax: Ay, caramba!

Papeletas Bilingues

He recibido voto per correo de hoy. Translation -  I received my absentee ballot in the mail today.

Bowing to the wisdom of the Justice Department, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections promised to have bilingual ballots for this fall's general election at 71 precincts with large Latino populations. I was surprised to learn that I live in a precinct with a large Latino population. Maybe it's because everyone around me speaks English -- at least some version of it.

The damn ballot is confusing and expensive enough. When it comes to filling in the oval, do you do it in English or Spanish? How do I know that the Spanish version of the ballot is an accurate translation of the English version? For that matter, is the English version an accurate translation of the Spanish? Does it matter? Estoy muy cofundido. I like to read every word before I vote. I've already spent an hour trying to comprehend the Spanish. I'm sure my Latino fellow voters would recommend that I learn to speak and write Spanish.

Then there is the cost of mailing an absentee ballot -- 64 cents in postage is required. Smells like a poll tax. I wonder what the Justice Department has to say about that. Let's see, I could drive to my designated polling place -- a four-mile round trip at 30 miles per gallon. Assuming $3.40 per gallon gas , I could drive to vote for 45 cents, a savings of 19 cents. That's more than I'll earn on my savings account next month.

But what if the lines are long? Could my bladder take the stress? Better to pay the poll tax and use the absentee ballot.

Before completing my ballot, I'm going to look for the place where you can make comments. I would like to propose that we give up the territory of Puerto Rico, thus eliminating the problem of its citizens not understanding our English ballots. Failing that, I would suggest that Latinos learn to speak and write English. My father did, and he voted!

Ohio Votes to Hold Primary Yesterday!

Breaking news! According to an unreliable source, the Republican presidential primaries are in chaos after Ohio announced it would hold its presidential primary yesterday! There is a rush to collect yesterday's ballots tomorrow from the landfill in order to determine who won Ohio's primary. Rumor has it that Republican absentee voters did not mail their ballots but stayed home in droves in the mistaken belief that an absentee voter is just that - absent. If yesterday's ballots are not retrieved tomorrow it will only prove that the primary was too late and will not have any effect on the outcome of Campaign 2012 which is rapidly becoming yesterday's news. Hopefully Sarah Palin will announce her candidacy in the far future so that chaos will turn into a Republican Winter of Discontent. When asked to comment, all that Obama could say was, "Yes, we will".

The killing of al-Awlaki

The killing of Anwar al-Awlaki on Friday in Yemen by American drones is being questioned as to its constitutionality. An American was killed without the benefit of a trial.

Al-Awlaki was an American by reason of birth on American soil. Is an American committed to Jihad really an American? One could make the argument that such a person is an American traitor and because of his responsibility in the taking of American lives and his admitted guilt thereof he convicted himself without the formality of a trial. I’m sure it is not quite that simple and the argument over the constitutionality of last Friday’s action will go on ad infinitum.

Before anyone is tempted to raise his voice in anger or shed any tears over the killing of an Anwar al-Awlaki , let them consider the loss of American lives in Afghanistan and Iraq, the loss of American  lives on 9/11, the loss of lives at Fort Hood.  Muslim extremists are dedicated to Jihad and the taking of American lives. They have loyalty only to  a bloody version of their religion. They have no loyalty to a nation. If an American life is taken by our counter terrorism efforts as in the case of  al-Awlaki, let's remember that it was the life of a practising Jihadist not a practising American.

Perhaps it would help if Washington formally clarifies what is meant by the War on Terror and to what extent we are prepared to go in order to protect our national security. Both the President and Congress need to formally approve such a declaration. Any war worth fighting warrants a Declaration of War.