Wednesday, April 29, 2009

My First Citi Game


To sit through a Met game these days takes some GUTS
Santana pitched well but they lost due to PUTZ
With men on the bases or loaded they SUCK
And they just cannot win when their manager's a SCHMUCK!

Citi Field is real nice and quite modern as well

If the team would start hitting then all would be swell
Come October I'd like to be able to Kvell
But we all have to wait - and see if time will tell.



Click on the photo
Then scroll or zoom in
and look for the ball.
It's amazing.


This photo was not taken from our seats but rather from behind left center field. On the cartoon look at the Mets sign at field level under the lights and go back to the rotunda. It's a good telephoto lens!



(I hope the Mets do better than CitiBank!)

Monday, April 27, 2009

Puppy Love?


How much do you love your dog?



Do you have feelings for your ferret?


Do you crave cockatiel?



Can't get enough cat?

Then take your relationship to the next level at Hymie's!

That's right, Hymie's! Now and for a limited time only you can bring your beloved pet to Hymie's Pet Chapel and vow your special love till death do you part!

Friends, for a small fee that amounts to nothing more than chicken feed you and your hen can romp through the gardens of bliss forever, or at least until the next family dinner. Mention this ad and say PETA to get a special discount and a 'pet appropriate' gift.

You say you're into goldfish?
No problem!

Hymie's offers a special service called the "Nuptials Under the Sea" (NUTS.) It's an underwater service that is sure to be admired and remembered by all, except most likely not by the goldfish.

So ladies, don't just take him for a walk down the street, walk him down the aisle at Hymie's!


Okay perhaps the above is a little over the top but I had to write it down based on a letter I read in Newsday penned by a truly frightened woman on Long Island. In it
she simply states (and I do mean simply) that we should wake up and defend our marital institution against the inroads of same sex marriage. Failure to do so, she claims could forever open the door to other types of marriage. Really? Like what, Muskrat Love?


I am not sure whether to laugh or cry at this type of phobia but one must assume she has a point. After all her husband it seems may have married a pig!
(Another of Hymie's specialties.)

Drive in Peace My Child

St. Christopher medal on your dashboard?
That is so last year!


According to SB642 (click to read it) there is a bill going through Florida's congress that mandates the issuance of two license plates; one showing the crown of thorns on the head of Jesus (click and believe) and the other stating, "I Believe" in front of a large cross and stained glass window.

Forget separation of Church and State, how about freedom of religion? When and if these new plates come to pass there will be a flood of requests from all other religious groups most likely including Agnostics. America cannot show favoritism for one religion over another.

Terrorist organizations claiming a religious theme might even ask for Bin Laden plates showing the Twin Towers!

It never ceases to amaze me how stupid some of our legislators really are.
I will pray for them.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Update to the Poll on Obama


First I must say that I was not an Obama supporter. The reasons are not important since I was naturally against the continuation of the ruination of the country by the Republican leaders. I therefore would have voted for Mickey Mouse rather than another Republican. (In fact Mickey Mouse is who we had running this nation for the first 8 years of the century.)

But what I cannot understand is the hate that Conservatives have for this man. I understand that the so-called "Right" wants to regain power and control the flow of money into their pockets but what I cannot get is the way they are going about it. In other words the "Right" is WRONG! But then again they have been wrong for so long that that happens to be their right!

The poll about Obama's first 100 days, which is arbitrary at best and unbelievably stupid at worst has become a battle ground as important as any in history to these a-holes on the right! They are sending e-mails out by the thousands urging people to vote Obama an "F" grade. And just what do they think this would accomplish?

It took Bush and his cronies the better part of 8 years to totally ruin the world's economy, let alone this country. Are these moronic lovers and followers of Rush saying that Mr. Obama should have been able to fix things in just 100 days? Do they really believe in their heart of hearts that Bobby Jindal could run the country? That idiot would have trouble running for the bathroom before dirtying himself.

And how about Newt?

Could this creature on the right (literally) run America???
Give me a break!


This is the best the party can do. They ahve no leadership so they hide behind polls and attempt to stuff ballot boxes just as they did to win the previous two elections before America finally made it clear that they are no longer wanted.

I believe the next poll should be a simple one:

Does anyone believe that the Republican Party should continue? Should they be replaced by the Whigs? Or the Green Party? Or how about just forgetting about them all together? They want us to vote Obama an "F"? I'll give them an "F"!

The Czechs Duke it Out

David Duke was arrested by the Czech Police earlier this week.

So what you might say. People are arrested every day for a diversity of reasons that boggle the mind.

In America a few years ago police detained and strip searched a 13 year old girl on suspicion that she was hiding the dangerous drug Ibuprofen which is more commonly known as Tylenol. (The case is about to be heard by our Supreme Court.)

Teenagers are being labeled sex offenders and finding their names on the National Registry of sex offenders for the horrendous crime of "Sexting." For those of you with no access to media of any kind that is the practice of taking a picture of yourself in a provocative pose and sending it to your boyfriend or girlfriend over your cell phone's multimedia application. In many cases the photos were of girls in bras!
What nerve!
Now if they were wearing a bikini which is often more revealing than a bra and panty combo that would have been okay, unless of course they were hiding Tylenol in one of the pieces.


But in the case of Mr. Duke he was in Prague at the invitation of the Neo Nazi party to speak and tout his book. The book in question is the Czech translation of his 1998 memoir, "My Awakening." Right off the bat the invitation from these low brows should have raised a few eyebrows.

Now before you say that is just wrong to arrest someone for writing or promoting a book let's examine the book and Mr. Duke a bit more closely.

Louisiana's own David Duke is an admitted, card carrying if you like, member of the KKK. And the idiot's book is about his belief that the Holocaust never happened and it is only propaganda by Jews.


In America we allow this type of worm to live and prosper as long as he does not give speeches that attempt to incite riots. Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing especially for the brain dead such as Mr. Duke and friends.

But thankfully the Czech Republic is not as tolerant of such stupidity and no longer wishes to allow hateful things to go without reprimand. In the case of this particular idiot the reprimand is being attached to remand as he is being shown the inside of jail cell. His total denial of the horrible event that killed over 6,000,000 people for no reason other than hate and fear is being treated as a hate crime. I believe that among the people to buy the book will be such wonderful people as Mel Gibson and his dad, along with the current loose canon of Iran, Mahmoud Achmadinejad (Don't you just love that name?)

Anyway in the civilized country of Czechoslovakia a hate crime is punishable by up to three years in prison. So the Czech Police put up their dukes by putting up our Duke
in the Big House.

I believe the punishment is way too severe and they should lower the jail time to just one day per victim of the Holocaust. But they should make the terms consecutive. That would be a mere 6,000,000 days or 16,400 years. And so he doesn't incite any riots put him in solitary!

Think of all the books the jackass could write during that sentence.

Friday, April 24, 2009

The ABCs and DFs of Obama

This is in response to an impromptu and unscientific poll asking Americans to vote on a grade for President Obama for his performance so far. The poll appeared on an MSNBC site and the results are shown on a Newsvine.com site. You may vote by linking here:
Vote A through F for Obama

The basic answer to what I found is - Wow such hate!

In a real poll there would probably be a broader spectrum of votes over the entire 5 letters but this one shows a propensity for the right and their "F"s fighting the Left and their "A"s. So who is correct? Both and neither.

This is America and by the end of the reign of terror (Bush/Cheney in 2008) the polls showed an approval rating of historic lows. But there were still more than 30% who thought they did a good job! Were they wrong? Who cares? Their opinions are theirs and they are allowed to be heard.

But the hate that is spewing from the Republican side of the aisle is way over the top. As we approach a silly milestone known as the first 100 days are we to decide whether or not this cuurent President will have achieved his goals by the end of his term? More importantly is he headed in the direction he said he would go when he campaigned and eventually won the election?

That answer is yes! So since he did win by a large majority then it stands to reason that those same people would feel he is doing a good job. And once again since he had a majority then the poll should show a higher pass than fail ratio.
It does not.
Therefore one of two things is happening;
1 - The "Right" is stuffing the ballot box as though it were Chicago and Daly was running again or;
2 - The more intelligent among us realize that it takes time to undo all the bad things that have happened over the last 8 years. And by the way none of those bad things can really be pinned on Mr. Obama.

The bottom line is that we have to let him have his turn at bat and we should be rooting for him to succeed. We should also let the Limbaughs of the world keep talking because frankly I like them making fools of themselves. That's what America is all about!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Beauty Queen vs. Humanity


Well thank goodness we finally have the definitive answer on this whole same sex marriage thing. With Miss California Carrie Prejean’s ''OMG answer we can all go back to the less important business at hand; that of fixing the economy.


Truth be told why would anyone, ANYONE care what an obscure beauty queen thinks in this day and age? It’s just not that important.


"Like, oh my God, if I were to, I don't know, say like another girl, uh um, you know I wouldn't want to like think of marriage, you know? I mean isn't that just like the grossest thing ever? I mean, really.


All I can say is Mr. & Mrs. P must be so proud of their bigoted small minded (assuming there) little girl with the tolerance of tree slug and the way she turned out. Thank God her teats are big because her brain sure isn't!

Carrie in all her splendor
And in her country and family
With bigotry and stupidity
for all!

Teachers Teach Different Subject

William Floyd teachers have taught us all a good lesson.


According to Newsday these caring people have decided not to accept their scheduled pay raises because doing so would have necessitated the laying off of at least nine others next year.


I salute their hard decision to turn down the extra money in these hard economic times and I am certain their students will benefit from their largess.


I wish more businesses would learn from these caring people and save the jobs of those at risk. Layoffs may be a band aid for the perpetrating company but in the long run they hurt the entire economy and increase the need for future layoffs elsewhere. They are part of this vicious cycle that we find ourselves in and it is wonderful to see this courageous group attempting to head it off.


As the President keeps saying, “We are all in this together.”



(PS - THIS WOULD HAVE APPEARED IN NEWSDAY BUT THEY HAVE A POLICY THAT THEY DON'T PRINT TWO LETTERS FROM THE SAME WRITER WITHIN A 90 DAY PERIOD. - BUMMER.)

Monday, April 20, 2009

From Desert to Dessert - A Mah Nishtanah Update

I believe it is a fair to say that most people know about the ten plagues that afflicted Egypt during the time of Moses. I mean it is not exactly "Breaking News." And just as many people should also know that the ensuing events are at the core of the yearly Passover celebration.

You probably also know that a mainstay of the Passover dinner, the Seder is the asking of the four questions usually by the youngest at the table. The most famous of these questions is undoubtedly, "Why is this night different from all other nights?"

Well that particular question finally has a new answer after all these years and it happens to be a visual one.


(Click on the photo for a clearer view.)

I wonder if Sasha read the questions in Hebrew.

I trust all my Jewish friends had a Zisen Pesach and to all Zi gezunt!!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Did You Hear The One About The...

Comedians are very bright people. Unfortunately not every one who thinks they are bright are funny and vice versa.

I am not just saying that because I happen to be a funny guy but facts are facts.

Comedians need their intelligence to be funny. When they lose the "smarts" they also lose
the laughs.

If you think back to some of the celebrities that made you or your parents laugh
by acting dumb you will realize how intelligent they had to be.

Here is a partial list of such people:

Goldie Hawn
(Laugh In's tattooed Go-Go Girl.)



Gracie Allen
(Say goodnight, Gracie.)



Lucille Ball
(Waaaaah)




Judy Holiday
(See her on imdb.com)



Lou Costello
(Hey Abbottttt!)




And other comedians who make us laugh at themselves and us are around today such as Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock.

But then th
ere are the few who although they are funny and see the world in a different way than the rest of us. These few can no longer sit back and make fun of things without getting angry enough to try and change things.

Think of Kal Penn who's character on the hit show "House" just committed su
icide so that he, Mr. Penn could commit himself to the new job of associate director in the White House’s Office of Public Liaison & Intergovernmental Affairs.
There are many such concerned citizens and we should wish them well because their success is ours.

Anothe
r such committed individual just won an election that took place over 5 months ago. Al Franken (D) was confirmed as the winner of the Minnesota Senatorial race AGAIN this week after a panel of three impartial judges ruled that the second recount of votes affirmed the original result in his race against Norm Coleman (R).

You may remember the now Honorable Al Franken from his years as a writer and some-time star of Saturday Night Live. Obviously the man has a brain which he uses. I wish I could say the same of his opponent, Mr. Norm Coleman w
ho is still trying to drag out the election in the hopes that he can keep the duly elected Senator from fulfilling his duties in Minnesota and DC.

The Republican brain trust (I use the term loosely) has evoked the stolen 2000
Presidential election as a blueprint for their right to appeal the election results. They stated last week that, "It was okay when the Democrats went after President Bush in 2000 and tried to overturn the results but now they won't let Mr. Coleman do the same." Perhaps that's because it is not the same!

The facts as usual are being distorted by the wrong side of every aisle these d
ays. What the party of NO is failing to point out is that Mr. Gore, who had a fantastic reason to appeal the obviously flawed and corrupt results in Florida actually did win the election. But he decided that it was more important for the country to move forward and as a result he conceded the election thus giving Karl Rove one of his many orgasms of the past 10 years.

If the 'wrongs' on the Right wish to actually follow Mr. Gore's lead then they must put down the sword and stop being a laughing stock.

You see unfortunately not all comedic situations or comedians are intelligent or funny.

Friday, April 17, 2009

To Seat the Two Seated

There is a new debate concerning the size of overweight passengers on airplanes. United Airlines is stating that they will start charging people for two seats if they cannot sit completely in one seat with the armrest down. Their reasoning is that the person next to the larger than normal passenger is being placed in an unfair and uncomfortable situation.

They are almost right but their message and response to the problem is incomplete and misguided. It also causes them no pain and ends up actually gaining them a bit more profit.

Many years ago my son sat next to an overweight woman who could not lower the arm rest. As a result she was overflowing into his seat for most of the long flight. It was the most uncomfortable ride he had ever been subjected to. As an aside to this the woman's husband who was a Stan Laurel to her Oliver Hardy sat in first class and regularly brought her food from his cabin. If the airline was so concerned back then they could have suggested that the odd couple switch seats but alas that was not the case.

I am in favor of rights for all but that includes the 'not-so-overweight' populace as well.

The singling out of overweight people is a tough issue. In order to get it right perhaps the airlines could utilize a movable arm rest with comfortable bench-type seating that would allow for one 'larger' passenger to sit next to another, more slender one. The armrest could even be removed thus turning a 3 seat row into a 2 seat one which would then accommodate 2 larger than average individuals.

The stigma caused by the need to move the armrest a few inches would be far less than that of having to buy an extra seat to accommodate a larger girth and could assuage all involved.

Obviously the armrest would have to have the ability to be locked once it was moved. The new equipment might cost the airlines some cash but I am certain they could accomplish the feat by using some of the money they would save not having to fight ACLU led lawsuits.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Freedom for the Majority Only

Freedom is a wonderful thing. And with our freedom comes the ability to govern ourselves under a time honored system of laws. But isn’t it funny how our laws are there to protect the guilty more than the innocent?


When arrested for a crime the alleged perpetrator has so many rights that it is not prudent typing them all in here however the victim is left out in the cold. In fact many trials are conducted by a prosecutor and a defendant with the victim not even involved! The case goes before the court as “The people against so and so.” And in many cases, such as suspected rape the victim is ‘cross-examined’ to such an extent as to make her or him seem the guilty party!


We have gun laws protecting the rights of the individual to own a fire arm because the Second Amendment to the Constitution is often misread as giving the individual that right. And the gun lobby is famous for their totally inane argument that guns don’t kill people; people kill people. Of course without a gun the people would have to point their fingers and shout "bang" real loud to cause any harm.


We have laws about freedom of religion and that is a nice one until one religion gets too full of itself and in its strength attempts to change other laws.


Laws are the most important part of any civilization. They set us apart from the animal world.


Our laws are generally just and uphold the majority rule with an eye toward fairness for all. But what if we just used the majority rule and outlawed any minority for the heck of it and because we can? We might herd all the minorities into interment camps. We've seen how well that works! We might also outlaw all religions other than the most prevalent one. But that might not be such a good idea for most of us in America since the most popular religion of the world is not one of our favorites at the moment.


Luckily we are not that stupid.

Or are we?


We are imposing our views, and by ‘our’ I must leave myself out on this one, on same sex marriage. The nation as a whole is against it and the Church (just about all churches) will fight it to the death.


But individual states are finally succumbing to the idea that it is wrong to deny the rights of this minority based on religious views because if we do start to govern solely by majority rule we are doomed. That is just not a path we can afford to go down.


We must add another freedom to our constitution if not by official amendment then at least as an unwritten understanding. And that freedom is the freedom to love and to marry that person with whom we wish to love, honor and cherish for all time till death do we part.


Amen.

Tax and Love

The ongoing debate about gay marriage has passionate voices on both sides.


An open debate is a good thing. The problem with this debate however is that the leadership in government is listening to one side more than the other and the side that is getting their opinion heard should not even be a part of the discussion in the first place.


I am speaking about the church, and by that I mean all religious institutions not just the Catholic Church although they are the most vocal.


In America we were founded on many principles including the separation of church and state. We live by this separation to the drastic extent that churches pay no taxes. And since they produce no product that can be taxed they are for all intents and purposes outsiders.

On this day, April 15th when there are protests about taxes going on around the country it should be evident that the taxpayer wants a stronger say in the use of his or her money. Taxpayers want to make sure that their voices are heard. (We are actually paying less taxes than we did under Bush and far less than they do in many European countries.) However if you don’t pay taxes in America then you should not be heard nor should you have a say in our government!


Naturally the Gay and Lesbian community are in favor of same sex marriage. The union of two people for the sake of peace and harmony should not harm anyone nor cause anyone to fear for their lives. It should be viewed as a statement of commitment between two taxpaying and law abiding citizens of this country. The church may not like this but until they pay their fair share of taxes they should do their grumbling in the sanctity of their tax free environment and leave the decisions to those of us living in the real world.


As for the argument often stated that gay marriage defiles the sanctity of marriage and threatens civilization I would point to the great civilizations of the past that flourished for centuries and upon which our modern world is based. These societies did not condemn love but in fact encouraged it as a motivator. They urged their citizens to do the right thing and protect their loved ones making no distinction between the sexes. They did not question the cause of the love or the legality of it but rather rejoiced in its wonder. And if you need to argue that same sex marriage threatens the sanctity of yours then I submit your marriage was not a strong union to begin with.


And if you are against love then isn’t it true that you espouse hate? Is that what the church wants? Because whether or not they want it hate is what they are creating. The so-called religious right attacks same sex marriage as unholy. I say that the intrusion of your beliefs into other people’s affairs is even more so. If you are religious and believe what the people of the Gay and Lesbian community are doing is wrong then let God decide their fate. Remember your religious teachings - "Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord." Do not take his work into your own hands for that would be BLASPHEMY.


Of Books and Covers

By now you have probably heard of and seen the video of Susan Boyle but just in case here is the link to the Susan Boyle video.

This is from the show "Britain Has Got Talent." It is the original show that spawned this country's knock off known as "American Idol." And while I despise the American version and probably would also hate the British one if I had it on all the time occasionally the show can produce an amazing hidden talent.

This not so young lady should have her photograph in the dictionary over the phrase, "Never judge a book by it's cover." You will know what I mean the mom
ent you start watching. But make sure your sound is on and be prepared for the beginning of a musical Horatio Alger story.

In our society there is no doubt that Ms. Boyle will be offered make-overs and the chance to become "beautiful" but beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and I want you to behold this so click and enjoy!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Funny You Don't Look Talibanish

The US troops in Afghanistan proved they have retained their sense of humor, one of them sent this.


YOU MAY BE A TALIBAN IF:


1. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to beer.


2. You own a $3,000 machine gun and $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can't afford shoes.


3. You have more wives than teeth.


4. You wipe your butt with your bare hand, but consider bacon "unclean."


5. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.


6. You can't think of anyone you haven't declared Jihad against.


7. You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry explosives in your clothing.


8. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.


9. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least one.


10. You've always had a crush on your neighbor's goat



(I SURE HOPE THIS OFFENDS SOME OF THEM!)

Friday, April 10, 2009

Same Old Mets

Well, baseball is back.
And so unfortunately are the Mets' old ways.

Now I am a Mets fan so I am allowed to criticize them. Some may say that when you do so you are a fair weather friend but tell me when was the last time we had fair weather at Shea?

But now we start over at Citi-Field - named after a failed bank. The stadium is beautiful and except for a few fans and sports writers who would rather suck up to the team in the Bronx everyone agrees that it is a great place to view a game.

But fans will only keep coming as long as they see a game on the field and not a sad repeat of lost years gone by. So in the hopes that a poem will get the team mad I hereby submit my latest Mets Lament.



As of this moment we've just lost game four
Of course there are still one fifty eight more
Not much has changed so here's a sure bet
If the hitters don't hit the wins we won't get

The reason persists, in fact It's tradition
They just suck with runners in scoring position
They're 7 for 40 that's one-seventy-five
So come September they will not survive

Teams know the simple strategy for winning
Just walk the the first 3 you face every inning
Throw balls in the dirt; put runners on bases
Watch the next batters fall flat on their faces

They got new relievers; paid them so much
But forget about saves without hits in the clutch
Continue their old ways and it'll be clear
The fans will be shouting, "Wait 'til next year."

Stimulate or Cutback

Due to the sad state of the State’s economy we have to make cutbacks. To stop cutbacks we may need higher taxes which nobody really wants and many cannot afford. So service cuts are inevitable.


While many state workers are paid more than they should be or in some cases more than they are worth they are covered by contracts and political deals that will never be reneged upon. And even if we were able to cut their salaries down to less obscene levels they would only make a small dent in the large debt.


Given the options the only real choice is service cuts.


But every time a service is suggested for the ‘cutting block’ it is championed by its own vocal group of supporters. And while each argument taken on its own is rational and compelling what they are telling is a simple truth. Everyone wants cutbacks as long as they don’t affect us.


There is another way out of the mess our leaders allowed the greedy few to create and that is print more money. The problem is that we mortgage our future in doing so and must be prepared for the pain. But the State cannot print the money. They can only request some of the newly minted scrip from DC.


When the President and his team push for more stimulus which is another way to say print more cash the critics point to the increasing debt and fret about the implications. Unfortunately when told that their solutions are not viable their only response is basically the childish, “Oh yeah?”


The first thing we should do is make cutbacks in the stimulus bills. But the cutbacks should be on the amount of additions tacked onto the bill. We must make sure these are necessary to the Nation’s well being.


Our own McCarthy wants $96,175 to be paid to rappers so that they can appeal to the minorities and non-English speaking poor and help them in these sad times. With New York talking about such seemingly drastic measures as closing down Jones Beach we have to stop and think. So many people are out of work and unable to afford fifty cents for an iced tea so maybe now is not the right time to be hiring “Ice T” or “Fitty Cent” to explain things. And where the heck did she come up with that exact number in the first place?


But she is not the only one and it is unfair to single her out. There is plenty of the other "white meat" to go around. Perhaps some of these pet projects are worthy of future thought but they should be shelved for now.


Our leaders used fear to get their way for many years. How many of our children have died because of the threat of WMDs or the smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud? These lies hid a sinister agenda. History may finally reveal the true reasons for the Bush Cheney Rove coven of hate but let that go for now as well.


We need cooler heads put together with other cooler heads from both sides of the aisle. We don’t need posturing and name calling and finger pointing. That way only leads to fingers used in a different way and dead ends. Fear should not be the motivator, fairness should.


Many businesses cut workers salaries back and laid off many others. The governments must do the same. Now is not the time for them to be getting or giving raises as in the case of one of our towns on Long Island or many in DC. If cutbacks must be made then do so but be sure you make some sacrifices as well. The hard choices must be felt by all since we are all supposedly in this together.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

We're Saved!

There is new money coming!

It's on the horizon!

Our troubles are almost over!

The President has finally figured out how to balance the budget and kick start the economy.

And the solution was right there in front of his eyes all along.

Did you ask how?
Well this week President Obama selected Robert M. Groves to direct the Census Bureau.


Still don't get it?

Well, I give it two or three days before Mr. Groves realizes the error of his ways as well as those he made on some of his old tax returns. (No doubt they were caused by that pesky Turbo-Thingy program.)


Then as soon as we get Mr. Groves' thousands in the coffers the President will nominate another guy. And to paraphrase Senator Everett Dirksen, "Thousands here; thousands there; Pretty soon you're talking about real money!"

Friday, April 3, 2009

It Takes All Species

It's nice to know that we can still pick up a paper and read an article that makes us feel good about ourselves on an individual basis. Naturally that feeling may involve a feeling of superiority over the people in the article. I hope that all of my friends would feel this way after reading the following story I found in Newsday today.

The story in the "At Home" section of the paper begins with: "A western Pennsylvania mother has been charged with giving her 13-year-old daughter drugs and alcohol so that the woman's boyfriend could impregnate the girl without her knowing..."

In all fairness the woman claims that she wanted more children and was no longer able to do so and she figured her daughter had some time on her hands...
Furthermore the union was going to be made okay by her insistence that the two get married after conception thus negating any possible rape charge.

A spokesman from West Virginia has voiced his support for the action calling it, "Courtship."

Aren't you all feeling just a bit superior now?

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Special Olympics Controversy Update

One thing most of us believe in is that we don't like to pick on those who for some reason cannot defend themselves. I say most of us because there are still some scum of the Earth individuals out there who enjoy the term 'bully.'

However sometimes we do pick on those less fortunate individuals or groups without meaning to hurt them or even realizing that we are doing so. Such was the case for so many years when we used words we heard our parents use that were actually derogatory. One such word was brought to light recently when the President compared his bowling skills as those worthy of the Special Olympics. It was an obvious catch phrase denoting handicapped people.

As a result of the increased exposure of such words and the incumbent pain they cause the American Association of Mental Retardation changed its name to the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. While the new name is a mouthful at least it removes the offending word so often shortened and used in a mean way.

They clearly want the word, "Retard" to be dropped from our lexicon. I totally agree that the word is unfair and demeaning. It should be used only to describe those who are worthy of being called retards in the true hateful way. Those who can defend themselves; those who are worthy of the term retarded; Those who helped retard the world by their actions. In other words George Bush; Karl Rove and Dick Cheney.

It's Gotten Out of Hand

The post immediately below this one, "Trickle Down Taxes" is a re-write of a letter I sent in to Newsday a couple of days ago. In it I complain that the new Albany budget is a poorly disguised tax increase on individuals such as you and me. When it did not receive a reply from the paper I felt that they either did not think it worthy of print or perhaps someone else had written it first and had won a place in the editorials.
Bingo!
Wednesday's editorial by Newsday itself was on the same topic and even used my complaint almost as offered.
Naturally I was not the only one to come up with the thoughts therein and also naturally I cannot expect to have everything I write be printed so I am not terribly upset. But I am happy to see the statement made.

Every tax proposed by our current idiot in Albany is an increase of our taxes!

Our government, local as well is out of control and I see no way out this side of rebellion.

Every day another scheme to bilk the middle class is unveiled.

For example - Suozzi hiring retired police officers who are already receiving obscene pensions to act as his personal chauffers when there are plenty of people out of work who cannot make ends meet as it is. They do not have pensions and would jump a the chance for a real job. I won't even mention the fact that those officers are receiving their pensions and also being paid by out taxes to do the driving. Oops, I guess I did mention it.
(I don't want to list all the wrongdoing because there is not enough room on the internet for that but read your papers. Google Islip's public works commissioner, Lapham for another one who was caught and had to resign. Sonny and Cher anyone? - "And the beat goes on.")

Every day another politician admits to or his found to have committed wrong doing.

Kansas Governor Sebelius is the latest holier than thou hypocrite to pay over $7,000 in back taxes. This criminal is now paying her fair share (and even that is debatable) because President Obama chose her to head the Dept. of Health and Human Services. She is thus added to the growing list of outed scofflaws currently being paid enormous amounts of tax payer dollars to govern our country.

Washington is now synonymous with that biblical town admonished about throwing stones. None of them appears to be without sin.
They also bring to mind Casey Stengel's feelings about the New York Mets way back in the 60's when he lamented, "Doesn't anyone here know how to play this game?"
Unfortunately it appears that everyone in our government knows how to play the game. The problem is the game is fixed an we are the Washington Generals to their Harlem Globetrotters!

At this point I have no idea when or even if all the problems can be fixed. It should be obvious to anyone interested in the truth that the cards are stacked and we are not the dealers. The only thing that I can say with certainty is that until arthritis completely claims my hands I will continue to rant and hope someone is reading.