Saturday, November 9, 2013

We Must Fix Stupid

Does anyone remember when our government was “of the people; by the people and for the people?”
Ah the good old days!
Anyone?
Buehler?
Me neither!
We have shrunk not the size of government but rather the number of people the government helps.
And at the same time the people who are elected to govern rail against programs for the masses, which elected them, claiming that to implement any social programs would cause them to stop lowering taxes and actually raise them!
Republicans say they want government out of healthcare but they offer absolutely no alternative other than telling everyone to fend for themselves.
First do harm - Then deny?
Not only is it heartless it is quite hypocritical since they and their families have essentially the best healthcare available paid for by you and me!
A rallying cry from the right, which is invariably wrong is, “Government must not decide my healthcare. They don’t know me and I don’t want someone who doesn't know me making my healthcare decisions!”
Of course that is exactly what we have now with impersonal bean-counting accountants and actuarial nerds in non-windowed rooms deciding how cost effective it would be to allow us to have blood tests that could save our lives.
What if those tests or procedures cost too much?  Will we make back what we pay out with increased premiums? If not then we must deny the claim.
Republicans are for the people but never really state which people that might be.
After years, no decades of giving billionaires, both individuals and corporations tax breaks there is little money left to do half the things America needs to get done.
And of course those non-tax-paying corporations are considered people since the conservative filled Supreme Court handed down one of the worst decisions ever in their ‘Citizens United’ ruling.
No one likes paying higher taxes but it is the price modern societies must pay to to protect their way of life.
We all want:
  • To be able to safely drive on our roads and bridges
  • Have police forces that serve and protect
  • Have watchdog agencies keep an eye on the food industry so the food we eat won’t harm us or worse;
  • Building inspectors ensuring our workplaces are safe and secure;
  • Federal agencies making certain our airlines and railways provide safe travel;
  • An emergency ready agency to aid citizens in times of disaster;
  • And of course our homeland must be kept reasonably safe from real foreign threats of terror.

All these things we as a modern society and arguably the greatest and wealthiest nation in the world hold as entitlements exist and can only be funded by our tax dollars.  And the right wing of our government has made it their second most important job (behind de-funding anything President Obama proposes) to see that those tax dollars come out of the pockets of only the middle class and poor!
Is it Nero or Cruz?
If this absurd path toward oligarchic rule is not altered we as a nation are headed the way of the old Roman Empire.
One wonders which TPOTTY member will take out his fiddle while that happens?
Maybe all of them will join in as the ship of state sinks into fiscal obscurity.
We must remember that the wealthy who have abdicated all responsibility when it comes to helping hundreds of millions of Americans live healthy lives as they head into their so-called golden years can pick up and move anywhere they choose on the globe.
Soon they'll be able to travel even farther. Is that a Lady Gaga concert?
Their money is safe from the IRS and will remain thus as long as the Republicans continue to bamboozle enough voters into thinking they are on their side!
But I ask those of you who keep voting against your own best interest in the hopes of joining the ranks of the idle, evil rich, do you feel lucky, huh, do you punk?
Even Pavlov’s dogs eventually learned!
In the 5 full years since the Democrats won and re-won the White House how many job bills have been passed and sent on to the Senate by the Republican stronghold of the House of Representative?
And just who do those elite and ‘deaf to the cries of the middle class and poor’ House Republicans really represent?
Certainly not me.
And I am certain they do not represent the bulk of the people who continue to vote for them, aka their constituency!
And in those same five years how many times have they voted to overturn a law that was even upheld by THEIR Supreme Court?
FORTY SIX TIMES and counting they have tried to de-fund the Affordable Care Act!  The very same act they proposed before President Obama was in office!  And at the same time they have given no alternative other than the same old tired hypocritical words.
The rhetoric of personal responsibility rings hollow in the ears of anyone with a brain yet they stay the course.
The childish dolts of the TPOTTY even shut down the government and threatened worldwide financial disaster if they didn't get their way costing our economy an estimated $24 Billion!
It is well past time for them to have a permanent ‘time out!’
Up to now they have paid no political price for their anti-American stance.  We as a nation must not allow this to last.
Remember in November and then every November after that and keep shrinking not the size of government but rather the Republican stronghold on it and on our future until they either come back to reality or are gone the way of the Whigs.

We are in a war and unless we defeat the Republican right wing we the people, and I include them, are doomed!

Saturday, October 5, 2013

UNDERSTANDING DSP

Big business has always had many tactics to increase profits.  But little by little they have found a cool way to get blood from a stone and squeeze every last bit of moisture out of a dry sponge.  They don’t want you to notice until it’s too late.  I call this tactic Divide, Separate and Profit!
DSP is a simple thing really and I am surprised it took so long for the greedy bastards to completely espouse its use!  But now that they have it it is de rigueur in the business arena.
Here’s how it works:
Say you are in the home owners’ insurance business and you have maximized your client base.
You may get a few more suckers here and there but frankly the only way to keep making more profit is to expand that which you cover or insure. (I am leaving out the obvious way of merely denying al claims since that is business as usual.)
  •        Step one, have some clever attorney or accountant hide in a room and comb over policies you write, including the tiny almost invisible small print.
  •        Come up with some notable omissions.
  •        Turn them into codicils to be sold as if new coverage.

This was done when suddenly every insurance company started to offer the homeowner flood insurance. Since then the flood of new ways to squeeze consumers hit the market.
It was always included before just not actually written as such.
For example other types of DSP already in existence are “Renters insurance” and coverage for “Off Premises Theft (OPT.)”
OPT makes me laugh because simple analyses will show what a fraud this one is!
Say you live on Long Island and your friend lives in Brooklyn and the two of you vacation TOGETHER in Ohio or anywhere other than New York.
Sadly while you both are out visiting the Rock and Roll HOF a burglar breaks into your hotel room and steals all your stuff.  Geico (personal experience) will not cover the possessions of the Brooklyn-ite but will do so for the Long Islander.
The reasoning behind this dichotomy is that Brooklyn has more crime than does Long Island. BUT NEITHER OF YOU WERE EVEN IN NEW YORK WHEN THE EVENT TOOK PLACE! THAT’S WHY IT’S CALLED OFF-PREMISES!!!
However throwing logic out as an argument to corporations or even people and especially those in the T-Potty is a waste of time.
Airlines started using DSP a few years ago.  We all encounter this bit of covert trickery when we check our luggage!
Some airlines now charge more for seats on the aisle; next to a window or near a bulkhead.
Pennies to Pee? S/B E-Z Pass
One brazen bunch of bastards even tried to tax toilet visits by charging you money to pee.
What could possibly be next, “Oh you wish to sit during the flight???”
Luggage may be a bit heavier than it should be and for that I can see a small surcharge.  So what about the man travelling without luggage who weighs in at 400 pounds?
Just Get Me There Alive!
Remember when the ads used to say “Getting there is half the fun?”  Now all we want is to have a tiny bit of comfort and arrive alive and close to on-time!
I fear the time when every single industry has this ala carte mentality for that which used to be bundled.
“What do you mean the shirt doesn't come with buttons?”
“Sir, you only rented a car and you did sign the agreement.  If you note in the small print the steering wheel is extra!”
“Of course you voted for me but now that I am here I must keep my job.  That means kowtowing to wealthy people only. Unless, wait, is that a wad of bribe money in your pocket or are just happy to see me?”
The country has been hi-jacked by big business and being held hostage by its puppets in Congress.  They have been working toward this moment for years and the current important DSP involves removing healthcare insurance FROM YOU!
Your move America.

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER
REMEMBER EVERY NOVEMBER!

Monday, September 30, 2013

Must We Reap what the So and Sos Sow?

Throughout history people have understood that we reap that which we sow so is it any wonder that there is more anger in the air, more frustration than ever before?
Little by little this anger can be seen as a creeping weed invading the once plentiful garden of our country.
We see it in the words used in twitter to describe anyone not totally in agreement with our opinion. I have fallen into the trap myself and use so called bad words speaking about the right wing and conservatives of our Nation.
But to be fair and to use a childish refrain, they started it!
Now I realize that is no excuse to join them in the muck and mire of name calling but at some point the frustration of seeing the country and all the good people who deserve better getting less and less
becomes a strain on the walls of civility's dam.
We elect men and women to office that we feel have integrity to do what's the best for America, be it
the entire country or our State or even local county.
But instead of public service the job these people have decided is utmost on their agenda is raking in more money and getting reelected.
When I hear every Republican and especially members of their neo radical right wing aka the Tea Party refer to members of the party on the left side of the aisle as "My Democrat opponent" he or she is doing so from a script that says you must always demean them.
In case you don't know the use of the phrase or word Democrat in place of the correct term, Democratic is a childish attempt to use a word that rhymes with rat.
It is from the same right wing brain that tried to and is still trying to kill the affordable care act when they dubbed it Obamacare. They felt tying it to the one person they so despised that it makes them lose sight of not only the big picture but any picture was a good strategy!
Now we have a new insidious self-serving creature to deal with. A freshman Senator in Congress who fashions himself a new sort of savior for the country. He is using a mixture of McCarthy and (I hesitate to use the name so I will only hint at it) a former evil dictator of Germany to get his way.
And I say his way because that is exactly what it is, HIS WAY!
And those two words are the first part of what has become the Tea Party's mantra, Our Way or the highway!
Sadly their way is the LOW way as it could in fact bring down government. It most certainly will bring the government to a standstill and hurt a majority of people who do not seem to understand or remember the ramifications of what happens when good people don't stop bad people from doing bad things.
One thought looms large when thinking of this group of nay-sayers on the far right and that is, if you really hate government and want to shrink it to the size of a pea so you can flush it down the toilet one would think a job in government might not be your wisest choice!
But once again it is important to realize these people don't care about anyone but themselves so ruining government IS their end game. And in some delusional way they feel once that is accomplished the country will beat a path to their door for guidance on what to do next!
However I do not think anyone is completely evil in every respect, nor do i think anyone is completely without fault, except for me of course. Therefore I know that the junior Senator from Texas and many of his colleagues probably have some good points here and there.
When will we learn from history???
This type of evil maniacal  bastard CANNOT
be allowed to take over America again!!!
But I also know that they are going about it the wrong way.
As anyone with children will tell you temper tantrums rarely work out well for anyone involved but especially not for the one throwing the tantrum! After a while the sane rational thinking parents will push back. In this case we already see the less radical members of the Republican Party basically telling Cruz to shut up and let them do their jobs, such as it were.
As for America in this era of nearly total Tea Party takeover of the terrible Republican Party if things do not change what will be sown will only delight the GRIM reaper.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

AND THEY KNOW IT!

One of the phrases that always bothered me when opposites of the political stage debated was, “And as you know…”
It says to the audience that what is about to be said by the speaker is a well known fact and his opponent is quite aware of it!
It is an annoying tactic that works because the public is basically uneducated, at least in whatever the basis for the debate is, and the speaker knows it!
I have a friend who loves to provoke by always saying the opposite of what I am putting forth.  Sometimes he deliberately takes a silly stance that goes off on a tangent from what we were discussing thus deflecting the conversation completely.
He does it for fun and while it irks me I know it does neither of us any harm.
And this brings me to the current year in politics or rather last decade or so and certainly since President Obama was elected the first time.
Other than personal monetary gain from their wealthy owners harm is the only thing on the minds of the Republican Party.
They have been saying and doing such a multitude of outrageous things that it is almost impossible to recall all of them let alone write them down in this post.
And even if I could write every one of them down I doubt anyone in today’s sound bite twitter mentality would have the patience to read it or even understand it before nodding off.
The world does not need another War and Peace novel, although this would be non-fiction, and they know it!
So let’s get down to some of the most glaring bits of right wing bull cocky that they know are downright lies.

BIRTHERISM: Obama is not an American and his Presidency should be nullified.
President Obama was not only born of an American woman the birth took place in Hawaii.  Counter to popular belief among the members of the vastly under-educated T-Party Hawaii is and, at the time of the blessed event, was an American State. AND THEY KNOW IT!

GLOBAL WARMING IS A HOAX: Many Republicans in Congress have gone so far as to say that claims of global warming is the greatest hoax ever played on citizens of this country.
One must assume the Congressman, one James Inhofe (R-OK) is forgetting his own party making believe they are governing!
This one will affect every living organism, human or otherwise which possibly excludes some politicians on the right.
The scientific community has shown over and over again that the major cause of our current rise in worldwide temperatures is increased CO2 in the atmosphere and that is the result of man-made machinery and the burning of fossil fuels.  And yet almost to a man (woman) in the Republican Party they deny it.  But do they believe their own denials?  Global warming IS real! AND THEY KNOW IT!

SHARIA LAW MUST NOT BE ALLOWED IN AMERICA!
Seriously?  Are they truly worried we will adopt it here?
Religion is for personal comfort and not to be used in Government.  The so-called Party of Family Values values neither family nor really any religion! The right wing members with several wives, not all at the same time perhaps and a multitude of mistresses would rather pander to the deluded public who believe in the talking snake rather than admit there is no such thing and never has been.  AND THEY KNOW IT!

PRESIDENT OBAMA CAUSED THE DEFICIT TO RISE. Under his leadership we now owe more than ever before and we are headed for a fiscal cliff.
Uh, no, and in fact the deficit has gone down under his guidance.  And the Democratic Party has tried to do even more but has been blocked at every turn. (I apologize to all the RWNJs out there for using the word ‘fact.’ They seem to consider it a four letter word.)  Under Bush and most Republican Presidents the deficit has gone up while under most Democratic Presidents it goes down!  AND THEY KNOW IT!

VOTER FRAUD IS RAMPANT AND NEEDS TO BE STOPPED!
We cannot allow outsiders from other States to vote in our elections. Their radical ideas will harm our way of life!
In every State where Republicans hold the majority such as North Carolina voting restrictions are being placed on any group of voters shown to lean toward Democratic candidates.
Photo IDs such as gun licenses are okay but student IDs are not.  If a college student wishes to vote in NC the parents must pay a fee.  This is called a poll tax. It's absurd, unnecessary and basically against the Constitution of  the United States of America.  But the kicker is that statistics show the number of possible yet unconfirmed fraudulent attempts to vote is 0.0002 percentAND THEY KNOW IT!

WHERE ARE THE JOBS Mr. PRESIDENT?
Unemployment, which rose so drastically while the war mongering pair of Cheney & Bush sat on the throne, has consistently gone down while President Obama has been in the White House.  And these numbers have continued their downward trend to the utter dismay of the Republicans.  The blatant opposition by the Republicans and their hypocritical leader Boehner to any jobs bill proposal is awe inspiring in it's evil intent.  AND THEY KNOW IT!

TAXES ARE KILLING BUSINESS IN AMERICA!
It's time for the takers to start contributing to the country's economy!
This absurd notion while blocking any attempt to raise the minimum wage on those who really need the money is perhaps one of the most insidious of their odious demands.  The real takers of America are the members of Congress who take a paycheck and do absolutely nothing but stir the fires of hate and promote fear while accepting bribes from the very business leaders they claim are going broke! AND THEY KNOW IT!

OBAMA KEEPS TWEAKING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT or ACA SHOWING IT IS WEAK AND NO GOOD!
This is one is actually easy, at least on the premise they put forth.  Tweaking it before full implementation is not only NOT a sign of weakness but the American way!  Every bill ever talked about or enacted into law has been tweaked including our Constitution which as I recall has a whole bunch of, what are they called again? Oh yeah, AMENDMENTS!! AND THEY KNOW IT!

Could it be they have nothing else and once again have to resort to lies?
In a word, and as always, YES!
But while calling them liars may not be nice do you think they know they are lying?
OF COURSE!
If not then they would be truly stupid and their dumb utterances would necessitate their ouster from office.  Their out and out intended lies are well thought out and are able to fool uneducated voters into electing them over and over again!
If every member of the Republican Party and right wingers were told that if caught in a political lie they’d face the death penalty we might never hear another word out of their mouths and conservative talk radio would finally be off the air for good!
And that is the main problem with politics today.
Politicians, especially on the radical right side of every aisle in the country pander and say things that are so ridiculous as to elicit dumbfounded looks from anyone with half a brain.
But so far they have faced no political consequence.

AND THAT THEY SURELY KNOW!

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

The title of this post is an oft used comeback against someone who says something you think is outrageous or at least insincere.
But many do put their money where their mouths are or at least where they silently want everyone else’s mouths to be.
I am speaking of the silent majority of political backers also known as lobbyists.
These days the more money some people have the more they want and they’ll do anything to get it.  And if it means hurting or harming a majority of others to reach their goal so be it!
The bottom line IS their bottom line and money is the way they keep score.
Today my newspaper showed three candidates running for county supervisor but a quick glance merely showed their photos and the amount of money they have collected in donations.  The subliminal message was clearly we do not need to vote because the man with the most will most likely win!  And sadly the trend of putting the worst man or woman for the job in place will most likely continue.
Of course power enters into the equation as well but without money you may find yourself powerless.
Grass roots movements are definitely not a thing of the past but certainly not as powerful as they used to be and that is by design.  And the designers are those in power and those with enough money to keep them there.
President Obama won his first election by obtaining an incredible amount of money with which he was able to get his message across.  He did this with a grass roots organization that collected enough small donations to make the total impressive even by today's standards.
You can be the smartest person in the world and have the best ideas for the most people alive but without money or backers with cash your message remains in your dreams.
The Republican Party is nothing if they are not deviously smart and they see how to keep or get power in America.
Most of the candidates on the proverbial right side of the aisle probably do not believe half the things they say or promote, at least one can hope, but they know their constituents do so they say them.
But the real problem in America today lies in the wallets of the wealthiest greedy power hungry few who spend millions like most of us spend quarters.
These quiet behind the scenes types are insidious.  They know how to dangle their bait in front of unscrupulous politicians afraid of losing a seat in Congress and thus having to actually work for a living!
Their money allows the words they wish to say to come out of their puppets mouths.
If every American of the so-called 98% group donated one dollar to the same cause it would amount to around $300,000,000!  That is approximately half the amount Sheldon Adelson threw away backing the Mittster in the 2012 Presidential campaign And he is promising to double it going forward!
Now admittedly he has only one vote and the 98%ers have around 200 million votes assuming everyone went to the polls next time so he could easily be outvoted but… (I left out those under the voting age.)
Let’s face it, there are too many among us in the country that have little knowledge of what is going on in government and many more who just don’t care.  Then there are the ones who actually believe the crap spewed by the puppets of Adelson and friends.  And his friends while not that many have wealth nearly beyond belief!
Take the Koch brother, Please!
The basically useless Koch boys inherited daddy’s business and starting from the humble amount of billions have been able to make even more billions in their effort to pollute the world. Their causes are generally bad ones for the future of mother Earth but they know they’ll be long gone before our children and grandchildren have to wear gas masks and protective clothing and move to higher ground merely to survive so they continue their quest for more money at all cost!
And they too donate and donate wildly.
One such donation was recently uncovered as David tried to block a PBS documentary entitled Citizen Koch.  An obvious reference to one of the greatest films of all time, Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane which was about a ruthless wealthy man hell bent on having his views become those of the world.  The movie was a loosely veiled shout out against Citizen Hearst and clearly not a love note.
And with the money flowing the Republican Party has turned to voter suppression as an additional way to secure a long future in power for their wealthy backers.
In other words the more their money helps their mouths speak the less they listen to yours!
Be afraid - Be VERY afraid!
So how can we stop the creeping creepy creeps who flaunt their wealth and get their way by silently pulling strings in the public sector?
Well for one when we hear a politician say something odd or espouse a cause that may not be right for the majority of Americans we can look to see from whose mouth the words are actually emanating.  Follow the money back to its source.
Then ask yourself if you would want that puppet master to run your City or State or you America.
The answer will most likely be a resounding no!

Then use your hand next November and every November from now on to put your vote where your head is!

Saturday, August 3, 2013

They Deserve Respect & Laughs

And now a brief interlude from the every day drama of politics.
What better way to forget about the insanity of DC and the unbelievably evil way the Repub Party is treating the office of the President of the United States than taking a trip into the past.  The nearly carefree past of "Dirty Dancin" and weekends at the shore?
Or better yet, a weekend in the Catskills!!
Trust the BBC to air this wonderful collection of laughs!
And while the jokes may be old, strike that - While the jokes ARE old the not so old people telling them are as young as they feel.
And do they feel old?
Oy, don't ask!
Turn on the sound and enjoy Old Jews Telling Jokes!

(IF IT STARTS IN THE MIDDLE PAUSE IT AND MOVE IT BACK TO THE BEGINNING! WELL WORTH IT!)

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Whose Cold Dead Hands?

In Hauppauge Long Island recently there was a rally to protest New York’s new and tighter gun control law.
That law is Governor Cuomo's so-called Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement so named so that the acronym can be SAFE!
Take your pick from this pack
of packing pickled peckers
The attendees of the rally were members of different groups all with one common objective, to preserve the second amendment and protest any infringement on their rights to own fire arms.
The group argued that government officials in DC and particularly New York should stop violating their second amendment right to own weapons. They should instead be addressing the issue of overall gun violence in America.
They also claimed that the only reason the massacre of so many innocent 6 and 7 year old children in that Connecticut school remained a hot topic in the media was because it was a rarity!
This last statement was made by the president of the "Shooters Committee on Political Education" based in the upstate town of Colden.  (His groups does not have a cool sounding acronym so in many ways he loses!)
These groups only want their rights protected and all the amendments of our Constitution upheld.
We all want laws to protect us and applaud the fact that our Constitution is a living breathing entity that has rightfully been amended through the years as changes in society dictate.
In fact the very first amendment written to that centuries old document allows for just the type of demonstration the gun advocates held.
Freedom of speech in our country is a fundamental right but I would put forth that so is life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
However without digressing too much I would like to address the two main points made by the Long Island gun owners during their rally.
First point is I believe most of us have evolved past the point where we can actually do more than one thing at a time. In other words there is no reason to stop seeking tighter gun controls and institute better background checks on prospective gun owners while at the same time addressing the underlying cause of gun violence in America.  We could probably also chew gum at the same time.
I believe the poor economy and high unemployment numbers teamed up with the ever widening gap between the profits taken by owners of businesses and the wages they pay the workers who enable them to make their money has caused severe frustration.  And frustration leads to some people feeling the need to strike out and strike back at anyone and everything in their way.
Frustration or the feeling that you are no longer in control of your situation is the same as backing a tiger into a corner.  How long will the beast stay in place before lashing out?
As for the latest school massacre it was most certainly not a rarity in America.  Anyone who says or feels that it was has either a very short memory or a card showing them to be faithful NRA member.
And the weapons used to commit the awful crime were obtained legally by the mother of the mentally ill perpetrator.
Perhaps a background check might have turned up the fact that she was incapable of securing her unnecessary arsenal away from her soon to be homicidal offspring!
Tighter regulations could have allowed the now deceased woman to still buy her weapons but also mandated a course or two in safe and secure storage.
Of course we’ll never know what kind of safety procedure she followed since she was her son’s first victim.
Guns may not kill people but they sure as shooting help.  Imagine someone walking into a store without one, aiming his finger at the clerk and shouting “Bang!”  He may not come out with stolen goods but he will also not have a rap sheet.
It's funny that the rallying cry of the National Rifle Ass has become, "From My Cold Dead Hands!"  Funny because they are always the ones still standing and the cold dead hands are those of their victims!
The bottom line here is an old one.  No one, not the U S Government nor especially President Obama, is coming to take away your guns although in many cases the country would be a far safer place if it would.  And anyone who believes they need a gun to stop the government from intruding or trespassing on their property should seek immediate help!
First of all no amount of hand guns or personal weapons could stop the United States armed forces from getting to you if it so desired.
Secondly there is no reason why the United States armed forces should want to waste their time coming after you!  Or is there?
We are a nation of diverse cultures and even more diverse beliefs and needs.  There are a tremendous number of personal pressing issues we deal with every day but not everyone’s list has these issues in the same order.
Personally I go along with our nation’s founding fathers when it comes to my wishes.

I strive for life, continued health for me and my family along with liberty and a successful, fruitful pursuit of happiness.  And I believe we can seek that future without the need of guns.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Obscene the Enemy & He is Us!

There are many clever phrases we use to describe how we act in or to various situations.  One might claim ‘you cannot see the forest for the trees’ or you ‘Should not stick your pen in the company inkwell.’
We are all familiar with at least some of these and perhaps drop one or two in our daily lives.
Words can and are used to provoke a desired response.
For example a preacher rouses a crowd or a politician his base with words about sin or how the other guy sucks (five-letter word!)  These egoists look to gain power or wealth with their oratory and hold it with words of fear.
But one thing has not changed much in America and that is our use of and reaction to curse words!
Many people are terribly offended by so-called four letter words and lump all they dislike into a group known as profanity or obscenity.
But why should four letters strung together offend so terribly?  After all they are just words and didn’t we all grow up knowing that ‘Stick and stones may break my bones but words can never harm me?’
Recently I descended into an angry state after listening to certain politicians from a certain party rail against our current President and anything he puts forward or suggests for America.
The absurd uncalled for hate spewing from the mouths of these lesser beings, these undeserving elected officials caused me to snap.  I sent out a tweet that described the speaker as a nasty stinking four-letter word.
I was almost immediately greeted by a prim and proper prissy individual who replied his or her intent to ‘block me’ if I continued to use such obscene language.
Aside from the fact that it would mean one less person at my funeral I was not too upset over losing a ‘follower’ who frankly I did not even know I had.
But it did bring me to an interesting thought.
In our current ‘gang that couldn’t shoot straight’ world we seem to constantly focus on the wrong side or part of an issue.  That is assuming it’s an issue to begin with!
So I decided to find out what exactly the definition of obscenity is?
According to the old standard, at least for me in my youth, the Merriam Webster Dictionary defines obscenity as:
Anyone notice a pattern?
All of the synonyms describing obscenity are mainly words describing a sex act generally considered as taboo by those with mentalities stuck in the Dark or Middle Ages.
Some of the words are silly by today’s standard and probably DO come from that time.
I mean how many of you use the word ‘bawdiness’ anymore?
But examine these words under the microscope of the ‘sticks and stones’ adage and think of another even more apropos saying, ‘Actions speak louder than words’ and you realize how absurd the whole thing is!
So to those of you who feel that a four-letter word is the most terrible obscene thing the world can endure I offer the following list for your edification of what obscenity truly is?
  • Children going hungry in the richest country in the world
  • People forced to work two or three jobs at minimum wage with little or no benefits just to survive
  • War
  • Blatant racism
  • Denying healthcare to anyone not wealthy enough to have their own personal trainer
  • Greedy billionaires caring only about getting more money any way they can and at the expense of anyone standing in their way!
  • Congressmen or women allowing lobbies to dictate or buy their votes
  • Gunmen massacring children (I was going to say innocent children but really that is redundant!)
  • Large corporations spoiling our environment with pollution or oil spills then taking out ads telling us how wonderful they are.
  • Bankers and Wall Street CEOs causing economic disaster; being bailed out with no strings attached then starting the cycle of bad behavior over again
  • Government officials taking bribes to do the bidding of special interest groups
  • Large corporations altering our food for personal gain despite the consequences
  • Any religious fatwa
  • Not helping victims of natural disasters unless you can gain political capital
  • Calling yourselves “the party of family values” then not valuing any family except your own.
  • Partisan behavior that carelessly blocks all human progress
  • Sending our children off to war then ignoring them when they return damaged
  • Saying we have separation of Church and State then governing per the Bible
  • Disenfranchising voters because they might not vote the way you want them to
  • Prejudice against anyone not you!
  • Demanding every pregnancy is brought to full term regardless of its origin or the health of the mother then not caring about the baby or child after birth.
  • Terrorism
  • Discrimination of any kind
  • Hypocrisy everywhere but especially in government
  • Wealth gaps that increase seemingly forever with ongoing tax breaks
  • Ending any social program aimed at helping the most needy of our nation
  • Bold faced lies that purposely hurt others for personal gain

There are many more examples of true obscenity and each one of them is far more destructive to society than any four-letter word could possibly be.
And that’s the effing truth!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

THIS JUST IN!

Breaking News on the Sports Front:

In a surprise move today the New York Mets announced they will be unloading their star pitcher Matt Harvey to the Yankees in exchange for 5 draft choices, a player to be named later and $17.50 to cover their subway fare.
While full details are not yet available this reporter has learned that the player to be named later is in fact just that as he is not yet born!
However the team is confident he will grow into a fine player and become an integral part of the organization as the Yankees insist he will be from good stock.
The surrogate mom will be impregnated later this year in a private ceremony attended only by close family members and a group from Shake Shack.
Fred Wilpon, NY Met owner and long time friend of Bernie Madoff had been hoping to acquire the rights to Lou Gherig until someone pointed out the former Yankee great had passed away several years ago.
This utterance caused Hal Steinbrenner to storm out of the room muttering that some people should "keep their God damn #*@$& mouths shut!"
Met ownership used the break in talks to sign a different first baseman to a 5 year deal.
Jeff Wilpon was not completely convinced his father had made the right move but he admitted he felt inclined to defer to the experience of age.
"My dad assures me Marvelous Marv Throneberry will be a great asset to the team."
Although they had wanted the former Met to take over for slugging star Ike Davis at 1st base Mr. Throneberry insisted that he was a touch old for that and the team would be far better served if he used as adviser and coach for the youngsters on the team.
Said Fred Wilpon, "With his guidance we are certain the New York Mets can return to the glory days of 1962 and '63."
For those of you too young to remember Marv Throneberry let me set the record straight on a bit of unfair publicity.
As the story goes Marv was so bad that after striking out he got angry, threw his bat down, and missed the ground.
The story is an insult and as false as it is ridiculous. He never threw his bat!
It was his helmet!
After learning who their crosstown rivals had signed the Yankee contingent returned with huge grins and renewed expectations of finishing a great trade.
"I think we can now get this steal, I mean deal, deal done," said young Mr. Steinbrenner fighting back tears of laughter.
A few minutes later the proud Wilpon family emerged from the locked room holding up a signed agreement between the two organizations.
"Some of you have asked why we made this deal.  Well all I can say is we have seen what our team does with so-called stars like (Jose) Reyes, (R A) Dickey and (Nolan) Ryan in the past and we do not wish to keep making the same mistake over and over expecting great things.  That's the definition of stupid you know!  So today we have made a giant step toward fielding a team of 'no names' who will want desperately to succeed as though they were exceptional.
This should make the team far more interesting while endearing ourselves to our loyal fan base.  These fans need to feel good about themselves and what better way to help them do that than fielding a team that they are actually better than?"
Asked about the future of his current star 3rd baseman Mr. Wilpon added, "We signed David (Wright) to a long term contract and until we can find a team willing to take him off our hands we're stuck with him.  Next question?"
Silence ensued and there were no next questions as reporters were stunned by the response and the meeting ended.

Friday, May 17, 2013

BWC is Now The Law of the Land!

While Congress and our so-called leaders debate who caused what or who spied on whom or who can we blame for whatever we don't agree with corporations are continuing to rape American consumer any way they see fit!  And while this goes on the charade that is the Republican Majority in the House of Congress will once again try to repeal the health care bill aimed at helping the average citizen!
A perfect example came today in my cell phone bill from AT&T which included a slight increase, as always!
I decided to have an on-line chat with an AT&T agent about this latest slap at a long time moron, I mean customer.
What appears below is that chat.  Please read it and see if it rings true with your experience dealing with impersonal corporations these days.


Thank you for your patience!
Your AT&T Representative will be with you shortly.
Welcome! You are now chatting with 'I removed the name lest the person be fired for possible honesty' 

BRUCE M RESCH: Hi AT&T Person
AT&T Person: Hi Bruce, I can help you with the charges on your account.
BRUCE M RESCH: My bill has been $197.82 for ages and while it's way too high for the actual service provided at least it was a constant.  Now the bill is over $200 and it looks as though the rise was merely a BWC increase.  Is that true?
AT&T Person: I can have that check for you. Let me review your bill.
BRUCE M RESCH: ok
AT&T Person: Please give me 2-3 minutes to run through your bill.
BRUCE M RESCH: sure
AT&T Person: Thank you for waiting.  Upon reviewing your account, I found out that your monthly bill is always $197.99.
AT&T Person: The reason why your bill went up to $200.70 is because of the additional fee that was being charged to each of your line.
BRUCE M RESCH: An additional fee for what may I ask?
AT&T Person: If you will take a look on your bill, each line has a corresponding surcharges and other fees.
BRUCE M RESCH: yes I see that
AT&T Person: The additional fee that was added on each line was the Administrative fee which costs $0.61.
BRUCE M RESCH: So I was right, It's a BWC
AT&T Person: What is BWC?
BRUCE M RESCH: BWC stands for "Because We Can!" It's a fee charged by all large impersonal anti-human corporations to make even more money for doing nothing and causing those of us who must go along with their greed to suffer. In other words, bullshit!
AT&T Person: I understand you. But the the Administrative fee covers a small portion of certain expenses AT&T incurs, including but not limited to: Charges AT&T or its agents pay to interconnect with other carriers to deliver calls from AT&T customer to their customers Costs and charges associated with cell site rents and maintenance
BRUCE M RESCH: Did you actually type that with a straight face? Forget it - I cannot beat you guys. But when I decide to leave because your inane unfair extra fees are too much you will NEVER get me back no matter what you do.
BRUCE M RESCH: It's truly a crock of shit! The small increase of which you speak in AT&T costs could easily be covered by the unbelievably high rate you charge for nothing! I am speaking of texts etc. which cost you zero! In fact you had to invent a way to keep track of texts just so you could charge for them! But as I said I can not win & I realize it is not you personally who is at fault so I'm done here - Have a nice life.
AT&T Person: I understand where you're coming from. That's the initial reaction of most of our customers when they learned about this fee.
BRUCE M RESCH: I wonder why!
BRUCE M RESCH: Most Americans have not gotten a raise in years but AT&T & others like you continue to raise fees and make more profits and hand over our hard earned money to a bunch of useless shits at the top of the corporation who think only of how to make even more money on the backs of the customer. As I said - This is not personal but THEY are criminals!
AT&T Person: I understand you. We all work hard to earn money and who does like to have their money wasted? No one. I understand how you feel.
BRUCE M RESCH: 
enjoy the weekend - I'm out of here - Have to think about this situation further. Thanks

Note the line about having to pay increased costs due to connecting with other carriers.  Of course those carriers are using that same bull shit line to collect their own BWCs.
The collusion is on all sides of the equation and the only ones being hurt are the customers!

If anyone cares to add all the bills they pay and track the changes in each of them since we handed control of the country over to the large corporations who now own Congress I believe they will notice the same trend toward new BWCs.
Can we stem the tide of corporate greed?
Can we get Congress on the side of the people who actually vote them into office?
Can we make it through a month without House Republicans attempting to repeal the ACA aka Obamacare?
Sadly I feel the answer is a definitive NO WAY!
But still I rant and still I complain and at least in a small way I am a thorn in the side of corporate hypocrisy.
Never turn your back on these criminals and do not let them get away with what they do without at least complaining.  Who knows, maybe one day the meek really will inherit the Earth.
And by the way, when we do I'm going to hit all the bastards of the former corporate world with so many BWCs they heads'll fall off!