The Real Terrorists

Step aside Bin Laden you have been replaced by a far more insidious criminal. Your brand of bombing and instilling fear into the hearts and minds of Americans is old hat. It just doesn't scare us anymore. The true terrorists have emerged from their hiding places and are finishing the job you started way back when. Ladies and gentlemen I give you the real Evil-Doers namely the CEOs of corporate America and their allies in the financial institutions of the world.
On every level and in so many ways these evil people have robbed us of our once great country and its prosperity. And just like those Arab children who were caught on camera dancing as the Twin Towers fell these greedy criminals dance, dine, and drink in $600 per night exclusive resorts; enjoying obscenely expensive spa treatments once reserved for the super rich while our once great towering economy is crumbling. These current Bin Ladens are laughing to themselves and at hard working citizens who are being thrown into the depths of poverty.
Congress has called these home-grown evil-doers into hearings so that they may slap them on their wrists and demand that they never do those things again, at least not until the new Congress takes over. And of course we can trust Congress to be on our side; after all didn't they just pass a bill allowing these same culprits billions of dollars to help them back on their feet? So who can blame them for celebrating even if it did cost the tax payers almost a half a million dollars for the weekend getaway? The sad part is these men are only the ones we caught! How many more of them used their "Golden Parachutes" to take hundreds of millions of dollars off shore?
So who should we be tracking down for a one way ticket to Guantanamo? It seems that the canyons of Wall Street and the caves of Afghanistan have more in common than first meets the eye.

"No Humor" Addendum

So after I got all the bitterness off my chest and directed it at the most convenient people I started to calm down and realized that I was wrong. But to just go say it was hard so I didn't.
Still out of work and upset about our economy and my soon to be useless life savings I wondered what was next.
Well thank goodness for that blight of the internet and scourge of our brains SPAM.
I just received an e-mail asking if I needed a lift. The new product promised great things but only a snippet of the item appeared in my inbox.
Weary of opening SPAM I made the preview window larger so that I could at least find out who or what company was promising to get me out of my doldrums and back into the land of the living.
"Need a lift? Try the new AirLift product brought to you by Maidenform."
Thanks for the laugh guys, but I'll stick to my T shirt and pass.

No Humor Left at this Time

To say that I'm down would be one of the greatest understatements of all time along with, "Who ordered a little ice?" on the Titanic.
When you get laid off you have to ask yourself what you did wrong or why don't they like you. Deep inside me I realize I did nothing wrong and if they don't like me after all the years I slaved making them money then it's their loss.
But the simple fact remains and that is this - they own the place and you cannot argue with the judgment of the owner. I had a long run that I feel should have been longer but the real culprit in this tragedy is our economy. Perhaps someone can take care of getting it back on track. As for me, I have a trip to the unemployment line hoping for a paycheck!
Reality sets in fairly fast when you are close to sixty years old and you go from panic to resign to anger to resolve. I don't know where I am now but it is not in a good place.
I am trying not to be bitter but if you read many of the posts I entered in the recent past you will know that I lost the battle for a while.
To those of you who read my earlier rants about the company that hired me originally back in 1971 I apologize for my digressions.
In the words of Emily Litella, "Never Mind." Now someone please get me some ice for my Grey Goose and tonic.

I've been Laid Off (Viewing Below)

The above phrase has been repeated more in the past few months and certainly over then entire tenure of our current President than anyone would have believed possible back in 1999. In fact I am willing to bet that more people have lost their jobs while Dubya has been in charge than in any other eight year period this side of the Great Depression.

And depression is a perfect word for what is going on in our minds and our country. The economy is depressed and the stock market has tumbled, taking much of our retirement money with it. Gasoline, while down a bit is at unprecedented levels and the general cost of living is staggering, especially for those out of work.

So am I depressed?

Perhaps.

But am I to be blamed?

In my case I feel as though I am going through a death. I worked in the textile industry for almost 40 years. I did not start out to be ‘rag’ man. My chosen profession in college offered no placement when I graduated.

I was an electrical engineer with a side of and science.

Soon I may be working at a fast food place offering a side of fries!

In my born religion of Judaism we have a period after the initial shock of a death known as the Shiva. The parallels are intriguing. Without delving too deeply at this point into the ritual I will say that Shiva is a good thing developed to get the bereaved back into life in a healthy way after a necessary period of aloneness, mourning, and respect for the deceased.

After the loved one has been interred (that's buried for you heathens) those left behind return home for a period of between three and six days to mourn, reminisce, and receive friends and loved ones wishing to pay their respects. These visitors offer food and assistance in any way they can. Aside from tradition they realize that one day they themselves may very well be on the receiving end of a Shiva call or worse, the reason for that Shiva call.

After the Shiva period is the Shloshim which is Hebrew for thirty. This is the continuation of the Shiva and appropriately lasts until thirty days have passed. During this period the bereaved is allowed out of the house on a journey back into society. It is traditional that there be no great festivities or music or partying during the remaining twenty three days of this second stage of mourning. The more religious don’t even shave (applies to men only.)

My name is Bruce and I was laid off.

(Hi Bruce.)

During the first few minutes after the death or more accurately the murder of my career I was in shock. But in keeping with another tradition of quick burial I immediately informed everyone I knew of the tragedy.

As in a real life death where the funeral home tries to milk as much money out of the bereaved family members before they come to their senses my old company is in the process of trying hard to screw me out of my earned severance and back vacation pay. But while this drama is being played out the Shiva portion of my ordeal continues unabated with friends and family e-mailing; calling; and visiting me.

These friends and family members are wonderful and keep me moving forward despite my underlying desire to either do some well deserved harm to the murderers or merely curl up and sleep, drink, or watch a movie or ten.

Today I had lunch with a good friend. This was the second day in a row that I had lunch with a good friend. They are both concerned and as perplexed as I with the circumstances that necessitated the noon repast but nevertheless joined me to pay for and break bread in the true Shiva spirit.

With a weekend on the immediate horizon I am now faced with the end of the lunches and the reality of stage two. In my case the Shloshim will involve a job search. I will enter it with solemn determination and no glee, but I will shave.

Yizkor or remembrance is a prayer and a way of keeping our lost loved ones in our hearts and minds. While the religious perform this act in a Synagogue I will occasionally remember my days at the old place in a different way and at various times, most likely while on the toilet.

The final stage of the bereavement is the unveiling of a stone at the grave site. This commemorates the one year anniversary of the loss. Life officially returns to normal.

While I will most likely not get stoned on this date in 2009 I do believe I will commemorate it with a drink or two.

And if there is any justice in this world perhaps, just perhaps I will be able to repay the favor and pay a Shiva call to the location of and in honor of my former company.

And let us all say, “Amen.”

Bail ME Out!

A few years ago IBM laid off 5,000 workers and their stock jumped. Using the same convoluted logic the SOBs at the company once again laid off an inordinate amount of loyal workers who had done nothing wrong except believe in the fairness of the corporate world. Once again the IBM stock rose. With each increase in the stock price the CEO and his board members reaped tremendous amounts of money and earned bonuses that would choke a horse.
Chain saw Al Dunlop did similar things to Sunbeam in 1997.
Remember that company?
No?
Sunbeam axed Al in 1998 but it was too late. They couldn't recover and they went bankrupt. You see he got rid of so many so-called low-end workers that when the business turned around Wall St. realized that Sunbeam would not be able to handle new orders and the investors ran.
Where was congress back then?
Where are they now?
The same bunch of morons who gave you the Iraq War are now trying to hash out an agreement on how to save the CEO's of Wall Street. It appears that they think the only way to save us poor idiots who elected these bastards in the first place is to throw more money to the Corporations who caused this current meltdown.
While the logic in incredibly flawed it is way too late to argue. In order for our hard earned IRAs and 401Ks to survive we will have to bail out the scum of the earth. These people made an average of 40 million dollars per year while they took down our financial system and now they are hurting. They cannot afford to fly to Paris for dinner anymore and need us to loan them a few hundred billion dollars for fuel and spending money. If we cannot find a way to appease their obscene hunger for all of our remaining cash they will continue to offer their companies to the highest foreign bidders and we will continue to watch our country go down the toilet.
You see the simple fact of the matter is our country is run by Wall Street and the lobbyists and the 'behind the scenes' wealthy individuals, many of whom wear turbans and other accoutrement of Arab royalty when going to state dinners. So we must face the fact that Messers Bush, Cheney and friends have ruined this once great nation and give Wall Street what they want. (By the way - MS Spell check wanted to change Messers which is a general term of politeness when talking about more than one Mr. to messes. Pretty smart, no?)
So what is the problem? Do it and let the rest of us go on with our lives.
NOT THESE ASSHOLES!
Congress can not even agree on how to give away money anymore. Perhaps they are trying to find a way to keep some for themselves.
These grenadiers of DC who have never had to earn their pay do not see the need to help those of us who are drowning in debt. They pay no Social Security. They do not have health care deductions to worry about. They have pensions most of us would die for. And between the money they have stolen and hidden and will still receive when they give speeches after retiring they are more than set for life.
I say we should lay the lot of them off and Nationalize the failed corporations. Make the CEO's and board members work for minimum wage in the stock rooms unless and until they can buy the companies back. We should give them five years to do so and at the end of that time if they have not satisfied our demands we seize any and all of their property and sell it off for the public good.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not bitter. I have just had it with the rich getting richer and the poor getting, well let's just say it's hard for us to sit down anymore.

A Great Blog of Note - A Must Read

Whether or not you think I am funny is purely subjective. And whether or not you even know what subjective means is subjective. But the objective of this note is to get you to link over to an incredibly funny blog currently being written by a young up and coming writer by the name of Rich Resch. Giants Football.

As you may guess from the title of the blog it is about football but that is merely the Mac Guffin. Okay, this is getting too involved so link here to find out what the heck a MacGuffin is. You may have also guessed that he is my son. But being my son has nothing to do with my praise, okay maybe a little. And the acorn and the tree simile is not completely accurate. This is a case of TWO trees.

However the bottom line and the real reason to read the blog is that he knows his sports and is genuinely hilarious!

And make sure to read the comments other people have written in response to his pieces.

Rich is only a contributor for now so you will have to scroll to find his work but try to do it now so that you may say you knew him when. Trust me, would I lie?

Politics as Usual - The JMac & BO Story

It’s politics as usual from two typical politicians who both claim to be anything but.
First there is McCain who after being vilified by that piece of crap aka Karl Rove and his awful puppet W awkwardly hugged Bush a few years ago at a political rally. Now he is grappling with the reality of having to quietly ask W not to campaign for him.

Then we come to Mr. Small Change. BO claimed to be above all the infighting and back-stabbing that has become American politics and yet he has done everything he has to to get where he is including the proverbial flip-flop on almost every issue. He joined a church to get elected in Chicago and then quit it when the country heard what the leader of the church was actually spewing from his racist pulpit. Expedience always trumps beliefs in DC.

But now as we approach an anniversary of note in our country that is symbolized by the phrase “Ground Zero” the two candidates are united in a pandering event. For seven years they ignored the World Trade Center site, at least it appeared as such since they never visited the area. But suddenly they are running for the highest office in the land and lo and behold they have both been bitten by the “be there” bug.
On September 11th they will both put down their respective campaign hats and hang their heads solemnly as they view the footprint of the former Trade Center. Where were they last year, or the year before? In fact where were they for the past six years? They’re not campaigning? Do us all a favor and stay the hell away from New York this week. We have enough problems.

As BO ill-advisedly put it, “You can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig.” And you can say you are a candidate of change or a maverick but…

Baseball Quickie

Baseball finally joined the ranks of the modern world today as it finally started using instant replay in an albeit very limited way to determine whether or not a home run is indeed a home run or merely a foul ball.
And in a fitting and incredibly ironic way the team that has benefitted unbelievably by not having replays in the past was involved in it's first ever decision. That's right the Bronx Bastards AKA Yankees to those of you who for some reason still insist on rooting for them watched the umpires confirm that a ball hit by the current third baseman for the team was a home run.
You may recall the other home / not home runs in the past that all involved this same team and how all the rulings went in their favor and all those rulings were proven wrong by the then unused replay cameras.
One can only hope the pendulum will eventually swing the other way.
Irony lives in the Bronx