Boo!

I know I shouldn't but... I did

I'm trying not to go there, I really am... but this is too funny. Then again, two guys spending almost a billion dollars to get a job that pays four hundred thousand dollars a year is pretty damn amusing too.

Alright, alright... one funny one about McCain to keep it fair.

Oh Dear

Ever since I was a child people have been claiming that Chinese restaurants are guilty of slipping us mystery meats such as monkey or dog. I have always laughed off such claims because for one, monkey would cost more than beef or chicken and two, no evidence has ever been produced to support such claims.

Until now...

"Here's something you don't hear every day. An employee at Nagano's admitted to bringing a dead deer that they found on the side of the road to work. Thanks to an anonymous caller who says they saw employees bring a garbage bag with a dead animal inside Pooler p-d were alerted.

Police responded and found this on the floor of the cooler laying right
underneath beef. The restaurant was immediately closed down and the Health Department was called in. The Health Department tells me Nagano's was closed for four hours while the restaurant was cleaned and sanitized.

Some food had to be thrown out because of possible contamination. The
restaurant was reopened and placed on warning. It is still unclear if the
restaurant was planning on serving the deer. We did stop by the restaurant to see if anyone was willing to explain why they had the roadkill but no one there was willing to talk . "

~ WSAV TV

YUCK!

More Haters to Hate

Today it was announced that two neo-nazi skinheads were caught planning to assassinate Barrack Obama and kill another 102 black people. Now I've seen some pretty hateful stuff during this election campaign but this is pure evil. I can't even begin to understand how these people think. I don't want to try to either.

It only goes to remind me that I share this world with some sick animals out there disguised as humans. Seriously, they were going to kill a man because he was black and dared to reach for the highest position in this country. Who made these bastards the judge of who is allowed to run for office? Who gave them the right to decide who I can and who I CAN'T vote for? What have they accomplished that gives them such wisdom and power???? Nothing. But, I doubt they have the capacity to think past their hate.

Living in the deep south, as one might expect, I know a few racist. Not as many as you would think but they are here. They come in all colors and ethnic groups. No one race has the market cornered on stupidity and hate. Yet it somehow surprises me everytime I meet one.

For the record, I don't condone it. The other day, a person, who thought because I was white, spoke openly about voting for McCain. I agreed that I thought McCain would be a more experienced choice. Then, this person informed me that they weren't voting for McCain because of his politics but because Obama was black. I shook my head and asked if that was the only reason? They assured me it was. I told this person that they should vote for Obama. I meant it too. If the only reason Obama will lose this election is because of the color of his skin then I hope he wins.

Politics should be about electing the best people into office to represent us. People that share our vision of the direction this country should go. What in the hell does a person's skin color have to do with that?!!! Nothing of course but the haters will never get that because they are evil twisted and sick. The haters hate this world more than they love themselves and that type of person is dangerous, to all of us.

Exactly what I'm talking about

Columnist Leonard Pitts published a column Friday that just goes to prove my point. Though I will give him credit for admitting he is just plain against the death penalty and why. What infuriates me about his column is the fact that he's willing to throw the WHOLE judicial system away for Troy Davis, a cop killer. He states that government makes mistakes all the time so how can we trust it to be right about Davis' guilt or innocence? Please Mr. Pitts, our judicial system has enough checks and balances built into it to assure that anyone put to death is done so with no reasonable doubt. Please, show me a better system. I'll listen.

"I would not wager the change in my sofa cushions on the ability of government to spell my name without error. Yet day after day, we blithely wager the lives of other people on the ability of government to administer justice without error."

~ Leonard Pitts

Davis has had 19 years to prove he was falsely convicted. Through all the appeals, processes and stays of execution no court has found him anything but guilty. Please stop trying to make victims of the guilty, it's offensive to the real victim's family, and to me.

Ha ha ha and ha

As if we needed more evidence that the press is bias.

Saturday, Joe Biden was being interviewed by a Florida TV station. The reporter seem to be asking some unusual questions. Unusual because they were harder than the puff questions Biden is use to getting. These were more like questions Sarah Palin has to answer at every interview.


Joe couldn't believe it. He even asked the reporter if she was joking and who wrote the questions for her. She was respectful and let him answer each question and to be honest Joe handled himself well but OMG! I laughed so hard.


About a week before the election and this is the first time Biden has been asked tough questions. Welcome to Sarah Palin's life Joe! The Obama campaign's response to this interview was to cancel an upcoming interview and ban the station from any further interviews. BAH ha ha ha ha!!!! One tough interview, ONE, and they are picking up their ball and going home.


Of course I don't blame them. Why answer tough questions when the rest of the media is talking about serious issues... like say, how much Sarah Palin's clothes cost.

You just have to laugh.

Happy Birthday Jen!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!!!!

I hope it's everything you want it to be and more.

Have fun in Chicago!

I'm so proud of you!!!!

I

Killer Agendas

On August 19, 1989, I was 21 years old. I remember vividly hearing about a police officer that had been shot execution style at the Grey Hound bus station in the town where I live. I can't say I noticed much in the news back then but for some reason this caught my attention. Maybe because I knew the area, it involved a police officer or the way the officer was executed. It scared me because I remember thinking, "if a police officer can be killed like that what can I do to protect myself?"

After fleeing a man turned himself in claiming to be innocent. Nine witnesses claimed they saw Troy Anthony Davis shoot 27 year-old officer Mark McPhail, husband and father, at close range in the head. Some witnesses claimed he was even smiling when he did it. Davis was convicted and given the death penalty.

19 years and many, many denied appeals later, Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed on October 27, 2008. Now I'm not here to argue whether the death penalty is moral or not. That's something people have to decide for themselves. In Georgia the death penalty is legal and used as a tool for justice. Justice the family of Mark McPhail has been denied to this point.

Unfortunately, the closer the execution date gets the more we have to hear about Troy Davis. His family, Amnesty International and even the Reverend Al Sharpeton have blown into town to declare his innocence. They are all claiming that new evidence requires the state to grant Davis a new trial. What's the new evidence? Seven of the original nine eyewitnesses have recanted their testimony. And, they claim no physical evidence was ever found to connect Davis to the scene, although Davis does admit to being there. Even if seven of nine witnesses recanted their testimony that would still leave two who saw Davis shoot Mark McPhail. How many do you need?

If Amnesty International wants to protest the death penalty I have no problem with that. But to hide their agenda by claiming guilty people are innocent is ridiculous. THEY WILL DO AND SAY ALMOST ANYTHING TO GET SOMEONE OFF OF DEATH ROW. That's their agenda. They make victims out of killers to further their ideology. Why can't they just be honest and say, "Yes, he's guilty but we're against killing him." At least then Mark McPhail's family won't have sit back and watch a murderer be turned into a celebrity.

Our local paper has jumped on board as well. They print anything Amnesty International says and have written many stories designed to gain sympathy for how hard Troy Davis's life has been. Very little has been written about the crime or the hardship the victim's family has faced. They also played down the strengths of the prosecutions case. They barely mentioned, if at all, that Davis had been on a shooting spree that very night. He had shot another man in the face hours before killing Mark McPhail. The shell casings matched at both scenes.

When you have to hide the truth to further your agenda, you're being dishonest to your cause. When you try to clear the name of a cold blooded cop killer to promote your agenda, you are just plain fucked up.

***** Update ******

Yesterday, the 11 circuit court granted a stay of execution for Troy Davis. This is his third stay. I thought after the supreme court reviewed the case that it was over. Not so. Another thing that makes me sick about this case, every time the paper prints a story about this murderer they post a picture of Davis and his victim next to each other. How sad for the McPhail family.

http://savannahnow.com/node/601947

Freedom from the press?

I guess Joe the Plumber asked the wrong person the wrong question.

Joe Wurzelbacher just asked Obama a simple question about taxes at a campaign rally. Obama answered him honestly and Joe was respectful. I have no problem with the encounter. I wish we could have seen more encounters like it. I learned something watching it.

Then, during the presidential debate, John McCain used Joe the Plumber as an example to highlight the difference between his tax plan and Obama's. Joe the Plumber wasn't all that important, his situation was.

Unbelievably, (not really) the press and media went after Joe the Plumber like he was a threat to national security. Just like they did with Sarah Palin. It's sad that I've learned more in three days about Joe the Plumber than I've learned in 20 months about Barack Obama.

This situation should scare people. Why did the press rush to dig up every bit of dirt they could on this guy and drag his name through the mud? Why did the press feel it was their job to tear down and expose this citizen, to protect Obama, simply for asking a question? Is that where we're headed? Making people scared to ask a question of a candidate out of fear that they will be publicly humiliated. It sounds like something you would expect to hear from a place like North Korea or Iran, not America.

I've been blathering for some time about how dishonest the press has been during this election. I'm irritated because I don't think the press and the media should decide who we elect, still don't, but this truly scares me. I mean if a hard working plumber like Joe can cause such a harsh and angry reaction from the press, by asking simple questions, what would happen if say... they found out about my blog?

Shhhhhh... I'll be quiet before they hear me.

Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100 .

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:


The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.


The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
'Since you are all such good customers, he said, I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes, so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.
But what about the other six men - the paying customers?
How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'


They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33.
But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings)
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before.
And the first four continued to drink for free.

But once outside the restaurant the men began to compare their savings. I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man.
He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!' 'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!' That's true!!' shouted the seventh man.
'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!' 'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore.

In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

~ Anonymous

Gravity

As I sat in the gym the other day, waiting for my gym partners, I couldn't help noticing how much things have changed.

I noticed the gym was cleaner and brighter than any I had lifted in over the last 20 years but the music was being blasted the same as ever, even though most couldn't hear it because they had on earphones. The gym was full of mostly young men with a few of us older guys scattered around the place. I think that's how it's always been. There were many new machines but the most popular were still the old favorites. The benches looked about the same, as did the weights and bars.

I started remembering when I was just getting started. I weighed all of 125 lbs. I was weak. I looked to the older guys for tips and pointers to help me on my way. I knew if I stuck with it I could get to their level. Ten years and a lot of work later I had put on 50 pounds. As I succeeded at setting goals and surpassing them, I fed off the accomplishments and that kept me coming back. After my first bench press competition I realized it wasn't where my journey had led me but rather it was the journey itself that I enjoyed.

I scanned the gym to see which guy might be making the same journey I enjoy so much. I never found him. What I found were a bunch of young guys who were ten years ahead of where they should be. Guys that had taken less than a year to put on 50 pounds of pure muscle. Obviously training techniques and diet information have improved since I started but that wouldn't be enough to speed up the process by ten years. Last time I checked gravity worked the same now as it did then. The body's ability to recover probably hasn't evolved much in 20 years either.

The sad part is I don't think they get the gravity of the situation. They know they're cheating but I'm not sure they understand what their cheating themselves out of. Things like the experience, the accomplishment, the journey. They've cheated themselves out of the whole damn point. I sat and watched as they made big lifts look easy and I knew they would never realize exactly what it should take to get to that level and the feeling you get when you finally do. Yeah, they still hoot and holler after each lift like it's them and not the steroids or human growth hormone but they know, and then again they don't know, and I doubt they ever will.

It made me wonder if they plan on approaching life the same way. It may be easy to defy gravity in the gym but they better have a better plan for more important challenges in life because life's gravity can knock you on your ass and it doesn't care how big you are. That's something that will never change.

Why even lock the doors?

When I read this I thought it was funny, in a sad kind of way. I'm not picking on the British. We see this type of thinking in the US as well. It always seems to amaze me that there are people who think like this. File it under "Seriously, WTF?!!

Gardener Ordered to Remove Barbed Wire Fence on
Grounds It Could 'Wound Thieves'

A British gardener’s local council has ordered him to remove a 3-foot
high barbed wire fence around his property in case thieves hurt themselves on it, the Daily Mail reported Thursday. Bill Malcolm, 61, installed the wire at his Worcester property after burglars robbed his tool shed and vegetable plots three times in four months, stealing more than $500 worth of hardware. But Malcolm’s local council told him the wire was a health and safety hazard and warned him they would remove it by force if he did not do it himself, the Mail reported.

“The council said they were unhappy about the precautions I had
made but my response was to tell them that only someone climbing over on to my allotment could possibly hurt themselves,” Malcolm told the Mail. “They shouldn't be trespassing in the first place but the council apologized and said they didn't want to be sued by a wounded thief.” The council said that a fence on the property must be a post or rail fence, not barbed wire.
“With regard to the barbed wire, when this is identified on site, we are obliged to request its removal or remove it on health and safety grounds to the general public as this is a liability issue,” a council spokeswoman told the Mail.

Happy Thanksgiving

Canada

Go Lindsay go!!!

I want to give a little shout-out to friend and fellow blogger Lindsay. She left a link to a couple of songs she wrote and sang. I knew they would probably be good but DAMN!!! are they good. I had no idea. If you get a chance take a listen. You'll be blown away like I was.

Lindsay the songs are great. Just don't forget us when you become rich and famous. Keep up the good work, I look forward to the day when I can say I knew you when... :)

http://www.reverbnation.com/psyche26?current_active_tab=widgets

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

to my wife

To me, fair friend, you never can be old,

For as you were when first your eye I eye'd,

Such seems your beauty still.

-William Shakespeare

What are these economist thinking?

They keep pouring our tax dollars into the credit market so that banks will be able to loan more money. Holly shit!!!!! How in the hell will giving loans to people who can't pay off their current loans help anything??? That's like giving a crack addict more crack to cure him. Sure the withdrawal systems will disappear... until he needs his next hit.

OMG! Financial markets WAKE UP! Go to the heart of the problem. Do things that may actually help. Mandate a ceiling on the interest credit card companies can charge. The short term federal rate is at 1.5% so there should be plenty of profit at 8%. That way people have an fair chance of reducing their debt and can afford to live at the same time. Also, credit card companies will be a little more picky about who they give credit to. At the 24% they charge some people now they can afford to take a shotgun approach. Throw credit at everyone and if most pay they clear some major profit.

Next, realize the housing market is screwed! Government can't fix it. A lot of people will not pay for a house when they owe $700,000.00 and they can buy the same house across the street for $400,00.00. You can't make them. Renegotiate their loans? Most loans are already at a low rate. Extending a loan to lower the payment will not help people who need to sell and will only reinforce the feeling that people are stuck in their house forever with no hope.

The only reason this didn't happen sooner is because people kept taking equity out of their house to pay off mounting bills. When the housing bubble burst that trick went away. All the government can do now is make sure the financial institutions work with people in an ethical and compassionate way and let people work their way out of thier problem.

I think our generation is going to finally figure out the difference between want and need.

I told you so

When I was growing up my sister, the only girl and the youngest in our family, was by far the favorite of our house. No actions were taken to hide it and no excuses were ever given for it. When I was older my mother would tell me to wait until I had children. She surmised that only then would I understand the difference between a daughter and a son. She assured me I would be the same way.

Oddly enough I have three children that are the exact distance in age as I was with my siblings. They are also in the same gender order, boy, boy, girl. I'll have to say my mom was right, girls are different. It's harder for me to discipline my little girl. Obviously I take a softer approach with her than I do with the boys. And, she knows how to tug on my heart strings when she wants something, or more importantly, when she doesn't want to do something. How the hell do they learn that at age three?!

So do I owe mom an apology? Or at least an admission that she was right? Hell no! They may be different but they all have equal value. Will one of them emerge to share more of my interests? Probably, but my job isn't to be their buddy. My job as a parent is to be interested in the person they are, encourage them to find their strengths and help them sure up their weaknesses. I have to be interested in them, not the other way around.

Treating children differently and favoring one over the others is not the same thing. I don't think my mom ever understood that. She thought moms raise girls and dads raise sons. My dad was a workaholic and wasn't around much while I was growing up. As a result my sister reaped the rewards of her close relationship with my mom, as my brother and me watched from the sideline. As a child I didn't understand the dynamics of the situation. All I saw was the inconsistencies in the way we were being raised. Children may not know why something isn't right but they almost always know when something is wrong.

Now when I'm telling my mom some cute or special thing about my little girl, my mom gives me that look. The look that says, "see, I told you so." I don't say anything because you can't change the past and I'm not about to downplay how amazing having a little girl actually is. It makes me sad though, to realize my mom never understood how wonderful raising boys can be too. I see she understands it more now, as I see her grandsons steal her heart over and over again, though I doubt she'll ever make the connection. It makes me happy to see her experience it but sometimes I can't help feeling the emotions of the little boy from my past, that wants to tug on my mom's shirt to get her attention, and say, "see, I told you so."

My Songs #10

Music has a unique ability of reaching our emotions in a special way. A song can trigger feelings, some we may not even be aware we have. Some songs can even place our emotions in perspective when we are incapable of doing it for ourselves.

Over the next few months I plan to post ten songs on my blog. These are songs that have a special meaning to me. Songs that have helped me define how I feel, how I see myself or how I see the my world over the past few years. I realize I'm the only person who will understand exactly what each song means to me but I wanted to list them to remember.

The reason I picked each song, more than likely, has nothing to do with the artist's original intent but more for the way I've been able to connect the song with my emotions, feelings and life. Mostly through metaphors or analogies.

Send In The Clowns
Sung by Bing Crosby

Isn't it rich?
Are we a pair?
Me here at last on the ground,
You in mid-air.

Send in the clowns.

Isn't it bliss?

Don't you approve?

One who keeps tearing around,

One who can't move.

Where are the clowns?

Send in the clowns.

Just when I'd stopped opening doors,

Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours,

Making my entrance again with my usual flair,

Sure of my lines,

No one is there.

Don't you love farce?

My fault I fear.

I thought that you'd want what I want.

Sorry, my dear.

But where are the clowns?

Quick, send in the clowns.

Don't bother, they're here.

Isn't it rich?

Isn't it queer,

Losing my timing this late In my career?

And where are the clowns?

There ought to be clowns.

Well, maybe next year.

Snake Oil

Fools rush in

Where wise men never go

I've been watching the financial gears of this country grind to a halt and I can't help but laugh.

The Democrats, who have been screaming the President is an idiot for eight years, turned to him for guidance and direction to solve the financial crisis. Not only did they follow his lead, they lobbied for his plan to their party members who weren't buying it. If you call someone a fool and then follow their lead what does that make you?

The financial institutions, who are partly to blame, have their hand out for public money to help so they can survive. These are the same businesses that have been sticking it to us for years with ridiculous rates and fees. These same businesses, with their 'we're too big to care about an individual customer' attitude now wants mom and pop to care about them. I say put them on hold, make them do the finger digit dance as they listen to the awful music. Let them wonder for awhile if a real person is going to answer the phone and help. Press #1 if you are hearing me.

Wall Street, who has no morals or concerns about John Q Public, now screams that if we don't bail them out we are only hurting ourselves. I'm sorry but I won't be shedding any tears for these guys either. They are the masters of buying companies and selling off their assets to squeeze out every dime for profit, yet I haven't heard many of these companies selling off assets or divisions to raise capital. It's an all or nothing proposition they're trying to force. My children do the same thing, only they hold their breath hoping to get what they want. The only thing is, it doesn't work for the kids.

So here's the deal. We are going to give them around 800,000,000,000.00 dollars, eight hundred billion dollars, because they are slowly turning off the credit tap. Either we give them the money or they won't finance our houses, cars and stuff. It's blackmail plain and simple and we're going to do it. Shame on us.

Wouldn't it have made more sense to set up a fund of eight hundred billion that they could borrow from if they were desperate enough? If they volunteered to partake of this fund they would be subject to very strict government oversight (to the level of unbearable) until they paid back the money with interest. If they defaulted on the loan then assets would be seized and sold. The heavy regulation would have guaranteed only companies that needed help would have taken it and would have motivated them to pay back the money as fast as possible. It would also limit the role of government in the financial market. Of course nobody asked me so we're going to go with the 'blackmail 800,000,000,000.00 dollar thing' and hold our noses... and close our eyes.