Il is Ill

Hey boys and girls, Kim Jong is ill.  Make that Kim Jong Il is ill!

Physically that is since we all know the mental part has long been a foregone conclusion.

Next week North Korea will be holding its largest political meeting in over 30 years.  Observers suppose that during that meeting a successor to the current ‘beloved leader’ (his nickname for himself) will be discussed.

In a surprise his son appears to be leading in the polls.  This is probably because there is no tea party candidate running as yet.

And We Should Care Why?

In the paper today I was reading about many items that will appear on my blog shortly.  These items are interesting and of concern to all of us in America.
But also in the paper were some stories that we should all consider and regard as fluff.  These are the ones that speak about bad behavior of so-called celebrities.
I won't delve into all of them but here are the three that stood out as annoying and deserve a permanent home in the WHO GIVES A SHIT hall of fame.
1 - Lindsay Lohan had her probation revoked.  Let's see, she was in jail - she was out of jail - she was taking drugs - she stopped taking drugs - she went to rehab - she was out of rehab - she was placed on probation - she had it revoked!
And we should care why?
2 - Paris Hilton gets plea deal negotiated probation.  Let's see, she has sex with anyone who walks or breathes - she shows off her v-jayjay as often as possible as though she were Britney Spears, her former BFF - She takes drugs - she never takes drugs - she had drugs - they weren't hers - okay they were hers - she was arrested - she was released she made a deal to get probation (I don't want to know what she promised the judge or DA PLEASE) and she now walks among us again.
And we should care why?
3 - Bristol Palin is going on Dancing with the stars.  Let's see she gets on that show because she is - the slut daughter of a family values hypocrite - she got pregnant as an unwed teenager - she split with the father of the child - she got back with the father of the child - her mother is not happy about that but is not smart enough to figure out why - she gets a makeover to look better - she finagles a spot on an inane television show that allows her to show off some moves that probably got her pregnant in the first place.
And we should care why?
We have real problems in this country and while I do not believe we should focus on them every second of every day we should be able to find a better release from the tension than following the bad behavior of these sluts.
If we really wish to see bad behavior and morons in action just turn on C-Span and watch the fat cats of Congress block every possible fix to our economic woes.

Find Yourself on this Chart

The following chart is quick and simple and easy to understand!
That means even tea baggers may be able to find someone to explain it to them.
This chart is from a New York Times editorial page offering that shows in a clear and concise way what the Bush/Cheney tax cut gift to the wealthy cost America!
I don't even have to explain how bad the thing was and is and could continue to be if the puppets in Congress don't allow it to die.
If any of you who read the chart would like to debate any of the facts therein with me please leave your T-Bags at home and take off your silly Statue of Liberty costume and get back to me.
Oh, and while you're at it put your guns away as well. No phony second amendment rights speech will be allowed during our debate.
Ben Stein complained that he worked hard all his life and he feels as though he is being punished by having his taxes targeted for a raise!
Really?
Should I get all my unemployed friends who haven't been able to get a job for two years together to hold a telethon for you?
You, sir are a piece of shit!
How dare you complain?
First of all Benjie you are only one person and I feel very sorry for you that you may be forced to live on a few dollars less so that the entire F'n country has a chance to survive.
But believe it or not the Bush Tax Gift to the undeserving like you that is supposed to end this year has nothing to do with you!  I know it's hard for you to understand so go back and read that part again, us human beings will wait.
What a selfish turd!
And to think CBS allowed you to spew your personal shit on what I once thought was a great show!  NO MORE!
I will now switch to the Chris Matthews show instead.
I worked hard all of my life as well and I paid my taxes every year without fail.  That is most likely more than most of your friends in the Republican party can say!
And when push came to shove I was let go by a spoiled child who was given the company he ran by his daddy.  He quietly threw a tantrum at the prospect of not making millions and millions as he thinned the herd.
I guess I was punished for doing nothing but the right thing all those years as well, right Benjie?
The difference between me, the millions of others like me and you is that we didn't have the powerful friends to keep us afloat so that we could get on TV and cry like the spoiled rat you are!

Rainbows aren't needed for selfish bastards like Ben Stein
But for the rest of us,
this is the pot at the end of our rainbow!
(Click on the image for a better view!)

Where does Ben Stein and his money fit on the chart you low-life bastard??

I Still Have High Hopes for America! ! ! ! Do You?

Just what makes a Tea Bagger feel
All their fears are gonna be real
Everyone knows that they're nuts
And should kiss all our butts
But they've got high hopes
They've got high hopes
And we humans should not relax cause they're all dopes
So every time you see an ad
That you know is bad
Don't just think it's a fad
Oops there goes another Democrat's
Oops there goes another Democrat's
Oops there goes another Democrat's seat!


DON'T LET DOWN YOUR GUARDS!
Just because you know that 'simps' such as the idiot Palin or O'Donnell or Bachmann or any of the other morons of the Republican "Party of No freaking way" will let an "N" word person be in control is really a jack ass don't think for a moment they won't be able to muster enough support among the illiterate electorate to remove the Democrats from the majority in Congress.
This is a marathon that ends in November and you cannot drop out of the race!
Make sure your friends and loved ones know that this is survival!
This means that we have a chance to survive for two more years without allowing the corporations and the extremely wealthy greedy bastards who do not give a rat's ass about human beings to take control of our lives!
DON'T ALLOW THE JERKS TO TAKE OVER THE COUNTRY!
FIGHT BACK THE ONLY WAY WE CAN - VOTE DEMOCRATIC!


If we can not defeat those who could not compete against fifth graders then perhaps we don't deserve to run America!
I report - You decide!
Do you wish to have Palin and company rule America?
The Democratic base had high hopes for Obama but he needs more time to clean up the crap Bush and Cheney left.
DON'T ALLOW THEM TO TAKE CONTROL!
VOTE "D."

Random Thoughts & Annoyances

Why do I continually get emails telling me that the reason I am out of work is because of the failed policies of the Republican Party and if I would just donate some money to the Democrats I can change things?  YOU’VE GOT IT ASS BACKWARDS GUYS!  FIRST THE JOB THEN THE DONATIONS.  GOT IT?  UNTIL THEN, SHUT YOUR FACE!
Why do people spend millions of their own dollars to run for an office job that pays $200,000 per year?  Could it be the LOB syndrome?  (Lure of bribes?)

The squeaky wheel gets the oil?

That only works sometimes. In an office it gets the entire can, or possibly gets you canned.  As a child it gets punished.  I guess if you consider getting fired or being punished as getting oiled then it is right.  Personally I would rather get greased but that form of payback is confined to the politicians.

And speaking of politicians, does anyone really believe I am going to change my vote because a recording called my home at a very inopportune moment?  If so I need that person to call me about some land I own off the Florida coast and a bridge that’s in first rate condition in need of a new owner!

Hate crimes deserve a more severe punishment than regular ones.

I believe all who commit crimes against humanity deserve to be punished.  It is rare when you will hear a defendant say that he killed someone because he really liked the guy.  Isn’t it fair to say that if a person kills somebody there had to be an element of hate involved?  But the bottom line if I am the victim of murder then I really don’t give a rat’s ass if the guy hated me, liked me or loved me, I’m dead and I need him punished.

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise.

So what exactly is early in that adage?  Let’s face it, if everyone decided to go to bed at 8pm and get up at 3am in the morning we’d all be groping around in the dark.  The healthy part of that statement will still depend on a whole set of other factors not the least of which is diet and exercise.  The wealthy part will also need outside help since you cannot make money unless someone else is willing to give it to you or you can scam it out of them.  And as for wise – as you get older you realize that the people who make up these adages are sleeping in plush beds while the rest of us are out in the dark looking for ways to serve them.

The early bird catches the worm.

Ditto above.  And by the way, who the hell wants to catch a worm?

Commercials for drugs where the disclaimers take up more than half the air time even though the ‘voice-over’ speaks at the speed of light should be banned.  If the drug causes twice as many bad and dangerous side effects as it purports to cure then who needs it?

Truth be told most of us would rather live with a little depression than take your drug and HAVE THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE!

And what about the drug that helps us sleep but has the interesting side effect of causing us to walk around and drive off somewhere while still sleeping?  If I am going driving I think we can all agree I do it better while awake.

Abe Lincoln was famous for his, “Can’t fool all the people all the time” saying and he was a Republican.  Boy did he get it wrong.  (As did Republican buffoon Bush when trying to repeat that phrase.) Politicians say one thing to one group and then totally contradict themselves when talking to a different group.  But when we catch them at it they spin it around so quickly that you end up doubting they ever said anything at all in the first place!

So from now on if a politician contradicts himself it is the duty of every American citizen to make sure all the people he spoke to know he stands for both sides!

And furthermore if a politician says one thing during a campaign but does the opposite after being elected he must be thrown out immediately and replaced by the person he defeated.

Pollsters get rich by getting us to answer questions and then selling a composite of those answers to others.  From now on I answer no poll unless they offer me a piece of that elusive pie.

You want my answers?

I want your answers!

I want to get paid

YOU WANT TO GET PAID?

I WANT CASH!!

YOU CAN’T HANDLE CASH!!!

Sorry, I was ‘cruising’ but got carried away.

A friend asked why all the rich people also seem to be the rudest uncaring ones.  Isn’t it obvious?  If you care about someone else it is hard to steal their money or ideas and claim them as your own. And it is nothing new. It’s probably been going on since the caveman days.  See the movie, Flash of Genius.  

Nice guys don’t always finish last, sometimes they don’t even finish!

And speaking of finishing I end this random inane diatribe with a clean thought:

A hot bath followed by a rinse in the shower cleans your body properly.

They say that hot water cleans better, why?  Heat expands anything it touches. If you sit in a hot bath the heat opens up the pores on your skin.  If you then ‘suds up’ in the hot bath you are soaking in the dirty water you just created.  Some of the dirt will find refuge in the deep recesses of your newly open pores.  When you stand up to rinse your body cools off a bit thus closing the pores and trapping the dirt.  The subsequent showering only removes the skin’s surface scum.  You smell clean but carry deeper dirt.

So if you take a bath you have to follow it up with a very hot shower to be fully clean.

OMG - Or Not!

If you are a religious person then I say good for you!
But if you are not a religious person then I say good for you!
Huh?  How can you say "but" when both statements are sort of similar?
Easily - Who am I to tell you what religion to follow or even if you should follow one at all?  As long as you are happy in your decision that works for me.
But the converse must be true as well.
Nobody should judge me by the religion or lack there of I pursue.
If the entire world could say and do that there would be far more peace on earth than any religious leader ever dreamed possible!
And that brings me to the United States Congress and specifically God's Own Party aka the GOP.
It has long been known that many of these so-called "family values" leaders are hypocritically practicing other than what they preach.  But that is their business and should remain such AS LONG AS THEY DON'T USE RELIGION TO LEAD.
You see the United States of America was founded on a few principles not the least of which is the separation of Church and State.  This was done for a reason and that reason has not diminished in importance in the two hundred years since our birth.  If anything it has become even more valid in light of the many struggles in progress around the world.
So if a candidate or sitting leader wishes to be religious that's great.  But if that same person starts to rule or try to turn bills into laws based solely on their ethereal views we must demand they get their heads out of the clouds or their asses out of Congress!
An un-doctored video (something Mr. Breitbart wouldn't understand) has surfaced showing many of these hypocrites using their own words to declare themselves unfit for U S Congress.  These people should be investigated and thanked for their loyal surface and shown the door.
I am not against prayer although with so many pressing issues concerning the citizens of this country I believe it takes away precious time from governing.
If these people were truly religious I would ask them how they can turn their backs on the poor and middle class of America who are struggling to make ends meet?
How can they justify their blockage of all aid to the unemployed?
How can they propose giving trillions of our tax dollars to the few people in the country who don't need any more money?
And finally how can they sit in their churches praying to their God knowing that the God they created would never do any of those things?

Sophie Had a Similar Choice

Here's a simple question, "Would you like to live or die?"
For nearly every one of us I think the answer would also be simple.
But now suppose the question added the following codicil, "And if you live your entire family dies."
Suddenly it's pretty harsh and the answer most likely switches, again for most of us.
Nothing in life is ever as cut and dried as we would like.
And that is the main problem with polls these days.
When you are asked to fill out a questionnaire or answer a few 'simple' questions over the phone you generally have only two or three choices namely, Yes; No; or Not sure.
Believe it or not the most popular answer should be the last choice since there is always a catch.
Pollsters are not simple people.  They know exactly what they are doing when they pose a question a certain way.  How the question is asked tends to elicit favorable answers for their clients to use.
For example, "Would you vote for Mr. A knowing that he stole candy from a baby?"
Mr. A never did such a thing and the pollster knows that.  So does his opponent, the unscrupulous Mr. B but the question will undoubtedly return the negative response and put the thought in the voters' minds as to the integrity of Mr. A!  Mr. B has spent his money well.
And how about the classic question for married men, "When did you stop beating your wife?"
Another easy tactic a pollster might use to form a favorable outcome for his paying client is to keep track of who answers how.  In other words databases easily lump like minded people together so if a poll being run by say a Fox News affiliate wants to show that America is turning against Obama they will be sure to call and cull results from their hardest core right wingers.  Then they will point to the results from this skewed poll and in turn get others who might be 'on the fence' about what's good and bad in America to join their side.
So polls can become self fulfilling fantasies.
And right now the big guns are coming out because we are nearing an election. (Doesn't it seem like we are always nearing an election? Blame that on the right or left leaning media.)
Some polls are showing that almost half of all (?) Americans want to allow the top 2% wealthiest people in the country to continue getting the Bush tax gift.
But again the answer is deceptive as it is being phrased to put forth the agenda of the minority!  "Almost half oppose..." MEANS MORE THAN HALF ARE IN FAVOR!!!
But still they claim that even the minority which is made up of poor and middle class people actually voted in favor of allowing the deficit to soar into the stratosphere thus creating an untenable future for our children and a country where only wealthy people can afford to buy anything and the poor or indigent workers toil 40 to 60 hour work weeks so as to afford a loaf of bread.
REALLY?
Of course the pollsters didn't pose the question that way.
More likely they asked something like this: "Considering the fact that the wealthy business owners are the only ones who can hire workers and thus get the country moving and out of this Obama caused recession are you willing to allow the fair and balanced tax cuts to continue for all red blooded Americans in this the greatest country in the world?"
An argument made by the shills of the wealthy that does not hold water is that they will spend more money and hire more workers if they get a tax break.  Are these phonies saying that the wealthy people would rather close their businesses and not try to make profits if their taxes rise a bit?
GIVE ME A BREAK!
Another way of looking at things is: If you owned a store what customer would you rather have, a multi-millionaire who came in once and bought something for ten thousand dollars or ten thousand customers who each bought a one dollar item?
If you are smart, and I guess that leaves out many of those who recently voted in that stupid poll noted above you would not choose the one guy.  A successful business caters to the good of the many over the needs of the few, or the one (sorry for that Mr. Spock.)
The bookkeeping (one of few words in our language with 3 sets of double letters back to back to back, but I digress) might be hard at first but the chances of increasing your sales with that quantity of customers is far greater than hoping the rich guy comes back. (Odds are he won't)
No matter how you slice it America is in for a fight and the closer we get to the November elections this year and every year for some time to come the mis-information machines will continue to spew their lies.
Esquire Magazine uncovered what it considered a blatant lie in an article but wanted to give the author a chance to confirm his facts.  The author could not so he went into hiding, along with his bullshit.
As a free and great country we must continue to allow all sides to speak freely.  But we must also listen and understand what is being said.  And having done that decide for ourselves what is in our best interest and what is not.  Do not let pollsters steer your thoughts merely by posing a question.  And if you don't like the allowable answers DON'T ANSWER!
Remember, they're getting paid,  you are not!
As for the Bush tax gift for the wealthy that is already set to expire at the end of this year as per Bush and his cronies the real question all of us must ask ourselves is, can we afford to continue the Conservative Republican path of economics which has created the largest gap between CEOs and their employees the world has ever seen?
Given the choice between watching the top wealthiest 2% of America keep more and more of their easy earned low taxed money while the middle class' hard earned money disappears into dust or asking that 2% group to pay their fair share in this United States of America as they had been doing before the Bush tax mistake gift when the economy was doing quite well thank you I believe most of us, in fact almost 98% of us would choose the latter.
What do you think? Yes, No, or Not sure?

V - O - T - E

A single droplet of water will most likely go unnoticed by all.  But when millions of droplets fall at the same time and in the same place you could easily have a dangerous flood on your hands.
I just did something that in and of itself seems quite fruitless and as insignificant as a droplet of water, I voted.
I did so for three reasons;
One: It's an honor to be able to vote;
Two: It's the duty of every citizen to be involved in elections to decide who will be in our government;

Scan This New York!

Three: New York just instituted a new method of voting that involves paper ballots and scanning machines to count them.
I expected to have a little trouble since it is something new but found the experience to be pleasant and quick and hopefully accurate.  I now believe it will work fine come the regular election in November.
The voting place, a local school with regular classes still in session was basically empty with workers outnumbering voters, well 30 to 2 (my wife voted with me.)
I guess that is understandable since today's voting was only a primary election but still I wish there had been a larger turn out.
Given the passion that has been seen on television and cable shows and the partisan funded rallies across the nation it was a shock to walk in, vote, and walk out within two minutes. (It would have been quicker but I stopped to talk with the workers for a minute or so.)
In my district I only had choices in 3 elections.
That's because I am a registered humane individual who still believes we are all entitled to a fair shake and must all pull together for the greatness of this country by making sure that our poor and needy are taken care of and the few greedy wealthy corporations and business owners do not drown out the 'little' voices and our leaders do not lose sight of why they were elected and what their role in government truly is.  In other words a proud registered Democrat.
I cannot say who voted for whom but I can tell you that after being open for 9 hours my district had recorded only 36 votes!  28 proud Democrats voted while only 8 sadly misguided Republicans filled in their ballots.
I don't know what the final numbers will be in my area but with such a low tally and only 6 hours left I can assure you there will not be a flood of votes to count.
One can only hope that more people will actually take the time to shout with their ballots what their individual voices only seem to whisper:
We need a responsive working government.
We need all leaders to actually lead.
We need debates to be fair and truth based so that the electorate can make an informed decision.
We need to return to a time when the super rich did not control the government and the masses only thought they were being represented.
Wait, that last one is no longer possible.
We need to be more involved in our government so that we can start the road back to the time when 'We The People' all actually had an equal say in government and that government of, by and for us really cared about us.
And we can only do that by voting.
Each vote, like a droplet of water is a small thing but together we can roar like the ocean.