Not A Bad Year

It's almost time to say farewell to 2010. After you flush all the bad that happened during the year down the toilet, it wasn't such a bad year. These days I tend to judge the years in terms of survival and the quality of life. The fact that I'm sitting here, pain free and with my wits intact ( yes, I know that's debatable), writing a post and looking forward to a new year , tells me that 2010 was a good year. The fact that the high primal continues to be at my side, tells me that 2010 was a good year.

As with any year there was the good , the bad and the ugly and I'm sure 2011 will have its share of the good, the bad and the ugly ( which by the way was a great spaghetti western). As long as we enjoy the good, fight the bad and ignore the ugly, we'll be  in good shape.

 A toast to 2011!

2010 was a good year, maybe not a very good year, but all in all, a good year. We feel fortunate that we were around to agonize over it and more importantly to savor it. Here's looking at you 2011! Looking forward to seeing a lot of each other.

According To Tony

In an effort to maximize income, Joe The Plumber has been hired by Wall Street firms to plug the leak that results in trickle down economics? If Joe The Plumber is not successful, Han Bricker , of dyke leak fame, will be asked to use his finger to plug the leak. Unfortunately, Hans does not like playing second fiddle and gave the finger to Wall Street. As a last resort , Wall Street will ask The Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of trickle down economics. If its friends on the Court screw up and rule that trickle down is constitutional, Wall Street is prepared to launch a campaign to make " let them eat cake economics" the law of the land. The incoming Speaker , John Boehner - R (Ohio), tearfully announced that a" let them eat cake economics"  bill will be fast tracked in The House that Wall Street bought.

Peace on Earth, good will toward men!




Christmas past - Frank A. Rugare 1892-1971

 

Facebook Update #2

I've been on Facebook for four months now and it's time to decide on my Facebook future or better put, it's time  to sh#t or get off the pot ( thought I'd sneak in some fun with cliches). I guess I'll sh#t! Facebook appears to be serving the purpose I was seeking - keeping in touch with family. I've learned how to tune out most of the cute information and trite comments. I've learned how to restrain my inane comments. I don't feel like a voyeur ( most of the time). The high primal likes having a Facebook page and she has the deciding vote. I probably have the fewest  Facebook "friends" on record - that's the way I want it. Actually I share Paul Krugman's views in his blog post, I Don't Want to Be Your Friend,  but not wanting to make waves, there  will be no more vacillating about my Facebook participation -end of Facebook story.

Twitter is another story. I took Twitter up on it's comment that many people who have a Twitter account neither follow other twitterers or tweet. Tweet, tweet - it hasn't been fun. Tweet.tweet - Twitter for me is history!

Label Me A Pragmatist

On Dec. 13 a No Labels movement was launched at Columbia University by a group of Democrats, Republicans and Independents. The movement is designed to fight hyper-partisanship in American politics. Prominent among the supporters was Mayor Bloomfield. Just what I was looking for - a political movement devoted to sensible and pragmatic ideals without label warfare. Today I’m not so sure. Frank Rich in his Dec. 19 column, The Bipartisanship Racket, questions the success of a No Labels movement. The part of his reasoning which got me questioning the No Label movement was this paragraph:

"The notion that civility and nominal bipartisanship would accomplish any of the heavy lifting required to rebuild America is childish magical thinking, and, worse, a mindless distraction from the real work before the nation. Sure, it would be swell if rhetorical peace broke out in Washington — or on cable news networks — but given that American politics have been rancorous since Boston’s original Tea Party, wishing will not make it so. Bipartisanship is equally extinct — as made all too evident this month by the pathetic fate of the much-hyped Simpson-Bowles deficit commission. Less than a week after the panel released its recommendations, the Democratic president and the Republican Congressional leadership both signed off on a tax-cut package that made a mockery of all its proposals by adding another $858 billion to the deficit. Even the Iraq Study Group — Washington’s last stab at delegating tough choices to a blue-ribbon bipartisan commission — enjoyed a slightly longer shelf life before its recommendations were unceremoniously dumped into the garbage."


As usual , Rich’s writing provides much food for thought. Perhaps the No Labels movement is destined for yet  another label - Idealists. Liberals, Conservatives, Progressives, Independents and now Idealists all fighting for our political minds. I suggest throwing one more in the mix, Pragmatists. This would certainly make for a rancorous group rivaling the original Tea Party.

Hyper-partisanship will probably continue to rule our politics. If so, the fight will be brutal and eat away at the fabric of our Republic. A solution is not in my arsenal of thought but I do know that unless we start doing things differently, we will go the way of the Roman Empire. If the No Label movement morphs into the Pragmatic Movement , we might have a beginning to the solution. Label me a Pragmatist!

Never go mall walking 7 days before Christmas

The weather has played havoc with my daily walking routine. For some inexplicable reason, sidewalks are not cleared after snow falls in my neighborhood. Fortunately my stationary bike has come to my rescue. Actually, the bike provides a more vigorous exercise than walking but after cycling four miles I find that I haven't moved an inch.

When the high primal announced that she had some last minute Christmas shopping to do at the mall, I seized the opportunity to go along with her - not to shop but to walk the mall. Big mistake! Something must be triggering the economy. Parking spaces at the mall were at a premium. Once inside, walking space was at a premium. The mall was wall to wall or rather store to store with shoppers.Obama must be smiling - I know most store executives are smiling.

As for my walking, I did manage to get in about forty minutes of walking without ever entering a store. I'm sure this feat qualifies me as an NFL running back . As for the high primal's shopping - a catastrophe! The check out lines were too long, she didn't see what she wanted, she was too tired and wanted to go home.

I forgot to mention that Santa was busy. I would estimate that there was a twenty minute wait to place the toddler on his lap so that he or she could receive a candy cane. By the way when Santa walked to his throne , I noticed he was using a cane. Probably suffered a leg injury negotiating his way through the crowd.

The moral of this story is that a stationary bike is not such a bad way of exercising a week before Christmas.

Kudos to Amazon.Com

In the midst of the Christmas shopping rush, errors in orders are bound to be made. In my case , a book I ordered using my Amazon.com account did not arrive as promised. I should modify that last statement, according to USPS it was delivered on 12/11/10. If indeed it was delivered. the poor order arrived at someone else's home. Could it be that someone is enjoying my book gratis? That's beside the point. On December 14, I decided to contact Amazon's customer service in an effort to resolve the problem. Much to my amazement there were no if, ands or buts. I received a commitment that if the order did not arrive by December 16, Amazon would be glad to to either give me a refund or ship a replacement. The order did not arrive on December 16 and I elected a refund. On December 17, I received e-mail confirming that my credit card account had been credited for the price of the lost order. No hassle, just plain courtesy. I understand that this is standard practise for Amazon.Com. They certainly have earned my loyalty.

Doesn't know sh#t from shinola

Listening to Eric Cantor recently as he waxed eloquently about the virtues of the Republican agenda, I found myself uttering these words to my shocked TV set , " He doesn't know shit from shinola!". No sooner had I gotten the words out of my mouth I began to wonder how many people today would make any sense from that phrase. If you have never shined your own shoes, comparing sh#t to shinola makes little sense. Even if you shined a pair of shoes, the phrase may be difficult to digest. The following excerpted from The Phrase Finder may help:

Shinola was a brand of shoe polish previously manufactured in the USA. The alliteration and the fact that the two commodities in the phrase could possibly be confused is the derivation. The distinction is well made; only one of them would be good to apply to your shoes and only particularly dim people could be expected to muddle them up. Of course, outside America, most people don't know Shinola from anything at all, as they've never heard of it. Even in America it would probably not be widely remembered but for this phrase.

Translation:

•  When someone doesn't know anything about what they should know something about, they don't know sh#t from shinola.
•  Someone possessing poor judgment or knowledge doesn't know sh#t from shinola.

Of course the honorable Eric Cantor is not alone in the world of sh#t and shinola. Listen carefully to the garbage being spewed by most of our politicians and you would have to conclude that there will be a lot of shoes covered with shit, I mean covered with sh#t, making their way to the halls of Congress. What can we expect come 2011? Does garbage in , garbage out cover the legislative agenda?

Who said the government does too much?

The weather outside is not delightful, in fact it's sh#tty! I haven't ventured outdoors yet, preferring to embrace the comfort of my keyboard. A few minutes ago I received a recorded call which made me feel warm. The call was from the Department of Aging cautioning us old codgers about the near blizzard conditions we can expect the next couple of days. The caller essentially said, don't do anything stupid and remember your age. The caller furthur advised the aged to have a friend check on them and to call 211 if help was needed to cope with the weather. Of course in case of an emergency, 911 was the way to go.

What's the point of all this. Damn it , I appreciated the call and trite as it may sound it made me feel that even outside my family there was someone who cared. What frosts me, no pun intended, is that I'm sure the Department of Aging is on the list of agencies we can do without or cut down to size. I hope that the powers to be will tread carefully when it comes to pruning government. A robo call in the midst of blizzard conditions is a good example of not wasting  taxpayer money

Jiminy Christmas, it's almost Christmas !

My idle musing led me to investigate cliches associated with Christmas. Much to my amazement I only came up with one - Jiminy Christmas. A search using Xmas and Santa produced zero results. Upon reflection there is nothing trite about Christmas, thus the dearth of Christmas cliches. But what about Jiminy Christmas?

Jiminy Christmas is used to express surprise and is associated with the Walt Disney character Jiminy Cricket. As far as I can determine , both Jiminy's are expressions of surprise. I was astonished to learn they are used by the devout as a substitute for "Jesus Christ!" when exclaiming surprise. Jiminy Cricket and Jesus Christ. JC and JC. Jesus Christ, it's remarkable - sinning is avoided and the soul is saved!

Jiminy Christmas, look at the calendar! It's almost Christmas -time to wish one and all a Merry Christmas and to all a good day!

(A more thorough treatise about Jiminy Christmas can be found in the Jiminy Christmas post on  Patrick Guanciale's blog.) 





 




Spring Forward One Month or How To Avoid Christmas Shopping

Every year about this time I become grouchier than usual. The high primal has confirmed this in no uncertain terms. The cause of my malady is Christmas shopping. I don't have a problem with Christmas - family gatherings and sumptuous meals are the perfect prescription for bringing a smile to a grouches face. Waiting until Christmas to get rid of my shopping induced bad personality trait gets to be more difficult each year. This year I resolved to do something about it. The solution was remarkably simple. One trip around the house flipping a page on the calendar and a session on the computer's Control Panel and suddenly it was January 10, 2011. No shopping deadlines, no crowded stores - the Christmas hassle was a thing of the past. Just as with Daylight Savings Time , I will have to find a way to even things up. No problem, on February 1, 2011 I'll simply flip back the calendar back  to January, 2011.

 I have the eerie felling that this fooling around with the calendar will never be embraced by the  Chamber of Commerce and the religious community. The blow that really caused me to trash my idea however, was when the high primal pooh-poohed it with, "even Rupert Murdoch can't do that".  I'm not so sure that's true - FOX News does a fine job of distorting everything else. I learned long ago not to argue with the high primal so it will be much easier to endure the shopping, leave the calendar alone and put a big smile on my face.

Have A Chinese Merry Christmas

The Chinese have a lot to be merry about as the holiday season gets into full swing and they shower us with "Made In China" toys, housewares, clothing and Christmas decorations. The latter is especially important. Without Chinese prelit trees, LED light strings , wreaths and yes, manger scenes it would indeed be a drab Christmas.

 In appreciation for drowning us in cheap manufactured goods , let us join in saying Merry Christmas in Chinese? (For the uninformed , Merry Christmas in Chinese is Sheng Dan Kuai Le (Traditional: 聖誕快樂; Simplified: 圣诞快乐).)

 I'm sure the Chinese will not be offended if our unemployed Americans do not join in the greeting. As long as the Treasury keeps paying the interest on our massive debt , the Chinese could care less. Bah! Humbug!

Put A Cork In It

 I've concluded that I have been suffering from political diarrhea.  In the future I'm going to put a cork in it. If that does not work, maybe putting a sock in it or better yet zipping it will do the trick. Ranting and raving on my part lends little or nothing to what I perceive as messy politics. Let those who are true students of politics handle the serious blogging . I may indulge myself with some humorous satire dealing with politics now and then but as far as the serious business of politics is concerned I'll limit myself to pointing out informative links . Having said that, I sincerely hope that Obama and his team get it right soon. They don't need me to point out their mistakes and they obviously don't need me for solutions - they are on their own. Blogging is fun and I'm going to try to keep it that way. Does this make me a blogging sissie? No, just a blogging realist.

Is Our President AWOL?

Frank Rich’s  All the President’s Captors (New York Times, Dec.4)  article is a must read for anyone who voted for Obama in 2008. It’s beginning to look like President Obama is AWOL on the issues which gained  the presidency for candidate Obama. As Rich puts it:

The cliché criticisms of Obama are (from the left) that he is a naïve centrist, not the audacious liberal that Democrats thought they were getting, and (from the right) that he is a socialist out to impose government on every corner of American life. But the real problem is that he’s so indistinct no one across the entire political spectrum knows who he is. A chief executive who repeatedly presents himself as a conciliator, forever searching for the “good side” of all adversaries and convening summits, in the end comes across as weightless, if not AWOL. A Rorschach test may make for a fine presidential candidate — when everyone projects their hopes on the guy. But it doesn’t work in the Oval Office: These days everyone is projecting their fears on Obama instead.

After all his campaign rhetoric, it now appears that Obama once again will cow tow to the G.O.P. . This time around he will cave in on his promise to end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. The middle class will be the major source of revenue for the government - the wealthy will get essentially a free ride. They paid for it in the midterm elections! With this shameful retreat , his legacy may very well be highlighted by a financial meltdown rivaling that of Bush’s 2008 meltdown. From Rich’s article:

We’re now at the brink of a new economic disaster that will eventually yank a chicken out of every pot. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calculates that the extended Bush-era tax cuts will contribute by far the largest share to the next decade’s deficits — ahead of the recession’s drain on tax revenues, Iraq and Afghanistan war spending, TARP and Obama’s stimulus. The new Congress’s plan to block any governmental intervention on behalf of 15 million-plus jobless Americans guarantees that the unemployment rate, back up to 9.8 percent as of Friday, will remain intractable too.

These words scare the s#!t out of me. I know what it’s like to see a chicken yanked out of the pot and it’s not the kind of future I want for my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Obama's State of The Union message may very well be the defining moment in his presidency. He'll either renew hope for an end to our wars and a revival of the economy or he will go down as just another ward healer. According To Marge, " Obama is beginning to find out that the skills he acquired as a community organizer in Chicago's South Side neighborhoods are not enough to make him an effective President of The United States".  

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia ( but not in my living room)

You know you are getting old when you fall asleep while watching It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. My granddaughters raved so much about this TV show that I decided to see what all the fuss was about. Three times I tuned the show in and three times I fell asleep before the first commercial. It's inexplicable. The time, ten o'clock, should not be a problem. I've watched many, many episodes of Law And Order in that same time period and never fell asleep - well only a very few times. Could it be that It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is not my cup of tea which is another way of saying that the show is not aimed at old codgers. If so , why don't the commercials for the show have a disclaimer - Not recommended For Anyone Over 80. I did find out that you can watch clips of the show on the Internet. Maybe some sunny afternoon, I can watch them on my computer. If I fall asleep I'll have to settle for some some Law And Order episodes.

All About Mates

In the midst of a Korean crisis, the Wikileaks,  a Mideast crisis and serious problems with the economy, it seems appropriate  to indulge in a little levity - especially since I'm out of the loop when it comes to solving these problems. Here it goes -
______________________________________________________________

Q - What's a soul mate?
A - Anyone celebrating a Golden anniversary

Q - What's a stalemate?
A - Anyone with prostate problems.

Q - What's a shipmate?
A - Anyone you mate with on a cruise.

Q - What's a classmate?
A - A classy spouse.

Q - What's a checkmate?
A - The other half of a joint checking account.

Q - What's a first mate?
A - An ex-wife.

Q - What's a teammate?
A - The opposite of a mateteam.

Q - What's a running mate?
A - A domestic abuse victim.

Q - What's a cell mate?
A - What you find in a unisex prison.

And now for the jackpot- what is a mate?
A - A matching sock.

Give the man his money!
Boo! Give 'im the hook!

Give 'em hell, Barry - not the other cheek

Breaking news - Obama cow tows to the G.O.P  Our tough  leader who took an elbow to the lip requiring 12 stitches, used that same lip to apologize to G.O.P. leaders for not reaching out to them in the past. Shocking! I knew that the Democrats lost the midterm elections but I didn't appreciate that one of their prizes was control of the White House. Is Obama ready to sell his soul to the devils? My post about civility referred to the need for Obama to adopt a little bit of the Truman touch. Doesn't look like it's going to happen. More and more , it looks like the fire is out in Obama's belly. I can understand why, but I don't like it.

A house divided .....

Lincoln, when accepting the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from Illinois in June of 1858, delivered a famous speech, noted for the phrase "a house divided against itself cannot stand". He went on to say, "I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free." In a few short years a bloody civil war was fought to preserve the union.

Early this morning while thinking about the current tinder box in Korea, I found myself musing about Lincoln's words and divided nations. I realize that comparing North and South Korea to the Union and the Confederacy is probably considered a stretch in most quarters but Korea is as much a divided nation as the United States of America was in 1861. So I ask myself , how long can Korea exist divided?

North and South Vietnam could not co-exist. Vietnam is one nation today - again after a  bloody war. East Germany and West Germany could not co-exist. Germany is one nation today after a cold war which had its share of bloodshed.

The Korean War was fought to a stalemate. Bloody though it was, it failed to settle the fate of a divided Korea. War is again rearing its head. How long will it be before blood is shed again. A Korea cannot exist half communist and half democracy.

My musing led me to wonder why we waged a bloody war in Iraq even though we mistakenly surmised that somewhere in Iraq's terrain, weapons of mass destruction existed but today, although we are sure weapons of mass destruction exist in North Korea, we are showing remarkable restraint. Is it because North Korea has a powerful friend while Iraq only had enemies?

I have the feeling that North Korea and South Korea will be one nation sometime in the future. How much blood will be shed to achieve this union is beyond my speculation. Neither will I speculate as to the type of government it will have. One thing I feel sure about,  a house divided cannot stand!

Only the insane shop on Black Friday - never mind on Christmas Eve

Inmates shopping on Black Friday

If you can read the Slate article, The Ultimate Black Friday Survival Guide, and not swear off of Black Friday shopping , I suggest that you consult a shrink. Just these quotes from the  article were enough to confirm why I have a shopping phobia , especially about shopping on the day after Thanksgiving or God forbid, Christmas Eve.

"Wal-Mart is like Dante's Inferno," says Jordan Weddington, a 19-year-old college student who's been shopping on Black Friday since he could walk. Everyone I consulted echoed this sentiment: Rookies think of Wal-Mart as the ne plus ultra of Black Friday, the epicenter of the American low-price shopping experience. But the smartest B.F.ers know to limit their exposure—they either avoid Wal-Mart entirely or, if they see some unavoidable deal, devise a scheme to get in and out as quickly as possible.

But veterans say there's a culture of desperation at Wal-Mart that you don't see at other stores. People go crazy when the doors open, and once they get inside the store, it's a scene from Lord of the Flies.

While it's unlikely that you'll get injured, savvy Black Friday shoppers say there's a good chance you'll be scared for your safety. The deals you'll get—if you manage to outwit the crowds—won't be worth it.

Actually my shopping phobia started about fifty years ago, when on Christmas Eve my high primal spouse dispatched me to a store called Shoppers Fair (the forerunner to today's Wal-Mart type big box stores)  to pick up a gift she had bought for our first born son. The gift was a covered wagon pulled by a horse. Unfortunately the wagon was one you could ride in and the horsepower was in the form of pedals. Fortunately she had paid to have the contraption assembled. Unfortunately I had to get the damn thing out of an overcrowded store. Everyone was in the $Xmas$ spirit looking for bargains. Their motto was not Merry Christmas but "get the hell out of my way". What really got my blood pressure up as I made my way out of the store with the contraption balanced over my head, was the jerk who shouted out, " why don't you ride it". I got the covered wagon home, put it under the tree and was assured by my high primal thinker that the kid would love it. Christmas morning, the kid rushes to the covered wagon , takes one look, pats the horse, turns away and starts playing with Godzilla the monster. The covered wagon and horse was a total flop and I blamed it all on the trauma it must have endured getting out of a store filled with crazy shoppers.

Its unfair of me to blame Black Friday or Christmas Eve shopping for my shopping phobia, but until something better comes along , they will do.

Walk and Talk (and Thanksgiving)

It's 6:45 AM, the Sun is not yet awake, the birds are still napping, my small world is so quite I can hear Fall's fallen leaves crunching beneath my feet as I take my morning passagiata. Suddenly from behind I hear someone chattering. Startled at first, I recovered and realized a faster paced walker was over taking me or was it two walkers considering the chattering going on. The walker overtakes me and I realize she is talking on her cell phone. Holy shit, 6:45 in the morning and she's gabbing on her cell phone. It must be an emergency or more likely she's checking with her lover to make sure he gets his ass out of bed before her husband gets home from the third shift. Hopefully, this being the day before Thanksgiving, she was calling a family member or good friend overseas to offer holiday wishes.

 What I like about Thanksgiving is that it is a day devoted to be thankful for the blessings which have been showered upon us. I'm thankful for a loving family, especially the high primal thinker, and by the way, I'm thankful that I can still get out for a walk and think with some reasonable clarity.

Whatever, the serenity of my walk was broken. Other than Thanksgiving, all my disturbed mind could think of was that any phone that functioned during morning exercises before the sun was up could not possibly be a smart phone.