The Slaughter Continues

At Northern Illinois University on Thursday afternoon, a tall skinny man dressed all in black stepped out from behind a curtain on the stage of the lecture hall, said nothing, and opened fire with a shotgun . So far the death toll stands at six. The best we get from our politicians is comments such as we got from George W. Bush. President Bush commented on the shooting Friday morning, saying it was “obviously a tragic situation on that campus.” He said he was asking citizens across the country to “offer their blessings — blessings of comfort and blessings of strength” to the families of the victims. Better he had asked for legislation to curb the slaughter of innocent citizens in this country! What will our presidential candidates have to say besides offering condolences.

Valentine's Day Followup

My tiramisu cake was a success! Everyone said it was good. I thought so too.
Breaking news - another Valentine's Day gift for the high primal thinker, an optical wireless mouse to improve her "mouseing".

Happy Valentine's Day, Margaret!

My high primal thinker spouse deserves diamonds on Valentine's Day and at the very least a romantic dinner at Giovanni's. So what did I get her? Dessert! Dessert handmade by someone who who never even warmed a muffin in the oven. After scanning some recipes this one caught my attention - tiramisu cake, enjoy the taste of Italy's creamy treat without FUSSING. I actually baked a cake. Next challenge , was it any good. Stay tuned.

Congressional Hearings On MLB & Steroids

Listening to Roger Clemens answer questions at today's hearing on steroids in baseball I could not help but think that he doth protest too much. Never liked Clemens as a ballplayer - like him less now. It must be nice to be able to afford lobbyists to make your case! He is obviously scared stiff that the Hall of Fame will close its doors to him but he need not worry. I saw a cartoon today that that indicated that MLB will in the near future have a Hall of Fame reserved for steroid users and another for HGH users. I'm sure that Bud Selig will endorse this idea. ( Is someone lying when he licks his lips after answering a question?)

Why The Silence?

Deadly Friday! An angry shooter kills five at a City Council meeting in Kirkwood, Missouri. A 23 years old woman shot and killed two fellow students at a vocational college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Missouri shooter is shot by police, the student turns her gun on herself. Add to these highly publizied shootings the countless other killings by guns which occur hourly. One wonders what our politicians mean by security for Americans. I guess its security from terrorists not security from gun toting deranged, digruntled and just plain stupid Americans. Why the silence in the current presidential campaigns concerning gun control? The answer of course is that the candidates dare not raise the ire of the gun lobby lest they lose a few precious votes. Gun control will never be achieved until the majority of the population decides that security is needed from thugs and lunatics as well as terrorists. One of these days instead of candidates running adds picturing their hunting skills , someone instead will have the courage to tell the National Rifle Association that their lobbying goes too far and threatens the United States not unlike Al Queada. By the way, when will our wimpy Supreme Court rise to the occasion and clarify the Second Amendment?

High Primals And Computers

High primal thinkers pride themselves in being very literate and politically astute. They do however have one flaw . They are computer illiterate. My high primal thinker only recently admitted that typewriters are outmoded. More importantly , in the spirit of AA she came before the family and proclaimed “I am computer illiterate”. Admitting any form of illiteracy is very difficult for a high primal thinker and it takes time to address the problem, a lot of time.
There are the usual excuses. The best one being that I am always at the computer. The implication is that if she had a computer of her own she could become computer literate. Once she was convinced that being a computer owner was not the first step to being computer literate we were able to proceed to less costly excuses such as “I can’t practice on the computer and do the washing and cooking at the same time”. I pointed out that all these tasks were sequential and could be organized. I guess I could have volunteered to do the washing and cooking but then I wouldn’t have time to play with my computer. Where have I heard that before? The problem was finally solved when she learned that she could do all kinds of shopping on the computer. Washing and cooking were put on the back burner and the high primal thinker was ready to “mouse”.

Teaching a high primal thinker the fundamentals of computer usage is a daunting task. One has to listen to how ill suited her hand is to manipulate the mouse. Bifocals of course are a detriment. The mouse pad is too small, if it were larger she could get from one end of the screen to the other much easier. "The icons are too small!" "I click but nothing happens." “I need to practice “mouseing” more but I might be practicing until I am 100.” It was agonizing to see her whole body move with the mouse to the point where she could easily fall off the chair as she moved the pointer from left to right. Moving the pointer to the top of the screen resulted in almost a standing position. To her credit she has diligently devoted 3 hours in the past week to maneuvering around the internet. All was going well until she asked “ How do I get to the front of the internet”. Translation - how do I get back to the home page.

Accessing a book store web site proved to be a major disappointment. The high primal thinker thought she would be in a virtual book store complete with aisles and stacks of books. Having to click away with a mouse to browse the site was a bummer. Once again she decided that she needed to practice more “mouseing”. Fortunately I found a web site devoted to mouse aerobics which looks like an ideal way to practice “mouseing". As soon as my high primal thinker finishes the wash and cooking we’re going to give the mouse a whirl.

If I Were A Republican

In the aftermath of the Florida primary, if I were a Republican I would be rejoicing that Giuliani bit the dust but I would be frustrated that the eventual candidate of my party might be McCain or even Romney. Neither of these gentlemen are class acts. McCain would preserve the militaristic legacy of Bush and Romney would preserve the economic legacy of Bush. As a Republican , I would swallow hard, forget about Roe v. Wade, forget about gay marriage, forget about the precepts of evangelism and forget about getting rich at the expense of others. Once I cleansed my mind I would embrace one of the Democratic candidates (preferably Obama). Of course , if I were a Republican I would do none of the above, I would merely realize that I'm critically ill and hope that Dr. Ron Paul had a cure in his bag. A Republican Party in disarray is just what the doctor ordered.

Democrats And Jackasses

I was drawn to a Reuter’s report that proclaimed “ A jackass will play a prominent role when Democrats meet in August to nominate their presidential candidate.” My first reaction was , Holy Monica, Bill hasn’t learned his lesson yet! My fears were allayed when I read further into the news release and realized that the jackass was Mordecai, a real live donkey. I’m sure that Bill’s reaction was that Hillary does not need a jackass to be elected, or does she?

Now Its Really Getting Messy

Just about a year ago I posted some comments relative to the Iraq War under the title " Another Nice Mess" . It seems that Bush and Cheney are still at it. The Iraq War, the Pakistan crisis, the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the credit crunch, the falling dollar, the loss of jobs, $100 per barrel oil, and waning consumer confidence are all feeding on one another to create yet another nice mess. We are either in a recession or about to enter one. Some legacy for the Bush administration! My early years were spent in the Depression era and its beginning to look like my golden years are going to get a bit tarnished.

Paradise Can Be Hell

Florida officials are pressing for a national insurance backup fund that would help cut insurance rates in Florida for hurricanes, tornadoes and other disasters. What is mind boggling is that the people seeking this welfare assistance are staunch Reagan Republicans devoted to cutting taxes for the wealthy and burying the middle class. Ask Floridians why they live on barrier islands and their response is that its like living in Paradise. Perhaps they should consider putting money aside for a rainy day before they go on the dole. Paradise can be hell!

President Bush Outlines Iran Threat

On Sunday January 13, 2008 President George W. Bush speaking in Abu Dhabi said "Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere. So the United States is strengthening our longstanding security commitments with our friends in the Gulf and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late".

There is something familiar about President George W. Bush’s Abu Dhabi remarks. On October 7, 2002 speaking in Cincinnati, President George W. Bush outlined the Iraqi threat and warned about a grave threat to peace , and America‘s determination to lead the world in confronting that threat. “ The threat comes from Iraq. It arises directly from the Iraqi regime’s own actions -- its history of aggression, and its drive toward an arsenal of terror.”

On March 20, 2003 the Iraq War started. Almost five years later the Iraq debacle continues. Is there any reason to believe that President George W. Bush has got it got it right this time?

About Small Talk

Small talk is defined as idle banter typically on innocuous or unimportant subjects. People engage in small talk to open conversations usually out of politeness. The problem with small talk is that it is rarely innocuous. Small talk can be irritating and offensive. Besides when is it polite to interrupt someone’s solitude with an attempt to start a boring conversation. Take the elderly gentleman who plops himself beside you on a shopping mall bench and announces that it’s a beautiful day. How are you supposed to respond? As far as he is concerned it is a beautiful day but you just dropped and damaged your cell phone and your wife maxed out her credit card. The best diplomatic answer you can give him is that the day sucks. End of small talk! Beware of whom you are trying to engage in conversation. An innocuous ( I love the word, it implies absolutely nothing) subject may be someone else’s flash point. So why do we have small talk? To be polite? Perhaps a little big talk would be more appropriate. A little big talk sounds like small talk. And that's what this musing is - small talk!

As the supreme court ponders whether or not lethal injection is cruel and inhuman punishment the court should seriously consider asking Justice Scalia to offer himself as a guinea pig for a lethal cocktail so that they may gain some first hand knowledge of the degree of pain suffered.

About New Years Day

Today’s paper is full of articles about making New Year resolutions and with predictions about what the New Year will bring. I have never succumbed to the practice of making resolutions so adhering to them is a burden I have conveniently avoided. I have been guilty however of wondering what a New Year might hold in store for me. Dallying with what might or might not happen was over within twenty-four hours. Wondering is not very productive but musing can have positive results. Musing about New Years Day led me to the conclusion that there is a time in life when every day is actually a “New Years Day”. Waking up in the morning and making the most of each day is resolve enough. Realizing that each day is not only a beginning but possibly an end is sobering and calls for celebrating each day. So Happy New Year today, tomorrow and the day after. Happy New Year all year long!

Buon Natale

Christmas Dinner "To Do" List

Only a high primal thinker is capable of this much organization

Christmas dinner was great! Was it due to the ecetra?

About Charge-A-Plates

Most of us carry credit cards but my high primal thinker carries charge-a-plates as well as credit cards (What's a "high primal thinker"? Check out Living With A High Primal Thinker). This fact may tell you a little about the high primal thinker’s age. (For those of you who are still babes , charge-a-plates were the forerunner of today’s plastic credit cards. They actually were metal plates embossed with a name and account number and the size of a military dog tag . Most department stores issued charge-a-plates.) Charge-a-plates have gone the way of the horse and buggy but for some individuals a plastic credit card is still a charge-a-plate if it has been issued by a department store. Apparently the distinction is that these same individuals believe that besides generating a balance due bill a charge-a-plate has the ability to generate countless catalogs with tempting coupons which arrive in your mailbox whereas a VISA, MasterCard or Discover card merely generates a balance due bill.

Now you and I know that department store credit cards no longer are prestige cards in spite of the preferred customer label sometimes attached to them. A platinum VISA card or a titanium MasterCard are much more distinguishable as a sign of good credit. Wait a minute, platinum and titanium are metals! Could these be charge-a-plates in disguise? A call to my Titanium VISA card customer service revealed that they had never heard of charge-a-plates and assured me that my titanium card was actually a genuine plastic credit cards. What a relief! While I had customer service on the line I asked if there was any advantage to carrying countless number of department store credit cards as well as their Titanium VISA card. Customer service had no answer to my question and proceeded to transfer me to their account resolution department. I was not going to go that route so I hung up.

With identity theft being what it is today I cautioned my high primal thinker that carrying around a multitude of credit cards was inviting identity theft. She agreed but responded it was the lesser of two evils. The worst alternative would be to be placed on a department store “shit” list for having discarded their card. She also reminded me that our savvy daughter who has a degree in business administration carried a number of department store cards as well as VISA and MasterCard. Case closed!

As luck would have it during the course of a conversation my daughter revealed that she had long discarded her department store cards and had received no hate calls from the store’s customer service representative. In fact she only carries two credit cards. She emphatically pointed out the folly of seniors carrying a wallet full of credit cards. That did it - all of the high primal thinker’s arguments for carrying charge-a-plates disappeared. I pounced on the opportunity and made her an offer she could not refuse. I would store her department store card cards in our safe . If she ever wanted them she could try getting into the safe to retrieve them. I do mean try since she did not have the combination.

On our next trip to the mall she carried a purse sans charge-a-plates. Every purchase she made was sheer torture as she fumbled for a charge-a-plate and found only a VISA. Withdrawal pains were plainly visible. It was one of the most inexpensive visits we ever had to the mall. No charge-a-plates, no coupons, meager purchases.

A sulking high primal thinker in withdrawal is a site to behold. I finally relented and returned her charge-a-plates to her. It was in the nick of time . Our Christmas shopping was not done but armed with charge-a-plates and coupons it was off to the mall. All went well until my high primal thinker presented a coupon along with her charge-a-plate when making a purchase. She discovered that along with her plate she should have brought along a lawyer to decipher the fine print in the coupons. The coupons were not honored but the purchases were made and the Christmas shopping was finally completed.

The high primal thinker is very smug about getting her plates back. In fact she has them in a new credit card holder purchased with a charge-a-plate and a 15% off coupon. I lost the battle and knew how Napoleon felt as he retreated from Moscow. Unlike Napoleon, I still plan on winning the war.

The Senate today overwhelmingly approved legislation which will keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. It is a step forward. Now we need to find a way to keep guns out of the hands of the crazies who officially are not mentally ill!

Punishment For Baseball's Steroid Sinners

There seems to be some controversy as to whether the active players named in the Mitchell baseball steroid report should be punished or not. Punishment is in order but not a suspension for "x" number of games. A suitable punishment might be to force baseball's sinners to wear a uniform with a scarlet S on their jersey. This should especially go over big in Boston.

Customer Service Can Be A Pain In The Ass

Customer Service these days is an adventure , especially on the phone. Many horror stories on the subject have been written so it is not my intent to add another. I might add that I have had some pleasant experiences dealing with “representatives”. Still more frequently than is good for one’s blood pressure bad experiences do develop and overshadow the pleasant experiences. It has become obvious to me that the horror story has its beginnings one minute into a call when you suddenly realize that the person you are talking to is bored by their job and could care less about your problem. Is it possible that “Customer Service Representative” is one of those jobs that American citizens would prefer not to do? Illegal aliens have come to the rescue in labor intensive jobs such as picking fruit, plucking chickens and landscaping but I’m afraid they are not a viable alternative for manning the customer service phone calls, although Spanish would be more welcome than the garbled English practiced by many customer representatives. So how do we eliminate the problem of dealing with an unknowledgeable, rude customer service representative? Eliminate the problem which necessitated the phone call in the first place! Most inquiries deal with health insurance coverage and product quality problems. Obviously all that has to be done is to simplify health insurance coverage and make product quality the hallmark of product marketing. Healthcare insurance problems? Universal health care, that’s the answer, the rules are the same for everyone and not subject to dispute! The product quality issue calls for a more complex solution. Why not complicate the tax code even more and establish a Product Quality Tax Credit Ala the Earned Income Credit. Of course this should be available only to those having less than fifty thousand dollars in taxable income. I’m sure IRS statisticians could work out a formula basing the amount of credit on projected costs of defective products purchased by people in various tax brackets. To keep this credit under control a new Federal agency would have to be created which would establish quality scores similar to credit scores and apply these to retailers. Retailers with unacceptable scores would be monetarily penalized much in the same manner that credit card companies raise interest rates for cardholders with low credit scores. Retailers with low quality scores faced with profits being eaten away by poor product quality penalties would surely drop vendors responsible for selling junk! The vendors in turn would find sweat shops willing to further punish workers making junk or in a moment of weakness they might resort to domestic manufacturers. It seems like a lot of trouble to fix a problem caused by an unknowledgeable, rude representative and I’m sure in the final analysis it would only create a need for call centers to handle tax credit and product quality score questions and problems. Doing so creates more sorely needed jobs but it would only serve to continue the problem it was supposed to solve in the first place - the pain in the ass caused by some customer service phone calls. Would a better solution be to attract knowledgeable and courteous customer service representatives by paying them more?

Another Gun Tragedy

The Omaha, Nebraska shooting was the latest in a series of mass killings that have plagued the United States. Once again we will turn a deaf ear towards effective gun control. The White House said it was a "terrible tragedy." That’s about as far as Bush will take the issue. Not surprisingly little is heard about gun control in the presidential debates. No one wants to alienate the “sportsmen” voting bloc a.k.a. the NRA (The next time a candidate slips in a comment about how he likes to hunt I'm going to throw up). We cringe at the violence in Iraq but accept the everyday gun violence on our streets. Will one of the presidential candidates please come forward and propose a program for effective gun control or do we need more massive tragedies before a voice is heard. The Supreme Court is taking up the issue but considering the make-up of the Court I wouldn't hold my breath for anything positive other than some rhetoric about the right to bear arms.