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 moment 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!

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!)

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.

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!"

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?

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.