Paul's Observations

The Rules of Congress and the Constitution

2011-08-30T04:50:00.004-04:00

The Constitution states that each house of congress makes its own rules for operation under Article 1: Section 5:

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.

Politicians we have elected through the years have abused this power, in both the House and Senate, and we need to get more constitutionally oriented Senators and Representatives elected into both houses of Congress. When this happens, power needs to be stripped from the leaders of both houses. Why you ask…well why should one person, which only an extremely small percentage of the Voting public can actually vote for or against, wield so much power. These leaders have almost destroyed our Republic on their own as a Republic implies “Representation” and that representation has been missing.

If you have been following any of the sneaky tricks employed by the leaders of the Senate and the House you should be enraged. They determine what bills get into committees for discussion (as well as appointing the committee members reviewing said bills); they control whether a bill gets tabled thereby denying even consideration; they control holding bills they favor until such time as they have the votes to pass them…etc. and Ad Infinitum.. Let me ask you, how many of you have the ability to vote for against the Senate Leader Harry Reid? I can answer that; only residents of Nevada can vote him in or out of the Senate. How many of you had the ability to vote Nancy Pelosi or John Boehner out of the House of Representatives? This is even more disturbing because only one District within a state can vote for a Representative and the Speaker of the House is only two heartbeats away from the presidency!

The Congress, as well as our other two branches of government, was given limited powers because the founders did not want the majority (as in a Democracy) to have the capability to “Rule with an Iron fist”. Their intent was NOT to bestow that power upon the Minority and yet Minorities are now running our country! Minorities such as Left and Right wing extremists; Atheists; Socialists; Unions (not the union members) and even Communists have more power than the majority of Americans and now, this Administration, is attempting to provide Illegal Aliens more power than Legal Residents or even American Citizens! There are many more examples but my fingers would drop off attempting to list them.

This administration has attempted to bypass the constitution in the area of writing and enacting laws. The power to create and establish laws is strictly limited to Congress; however since the implementation of “The Executive Order” process, which was established in 1789, successive Presidents have increasingly abused this power which has NO constitutional provision. Most presidents cite the phrase "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed" that is found in Article II Section 3 of the Constitution as well as the phrase “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America” found in Article II Section 1. How either of these phrases can be interrupted as allowing ‘Executive Orders” is well beyond my obviously low level of elitism to comprehend, but this President is using this, along with the EPA (which is to have NO powers of enforcement) to effectively bypass this restriction. This President is on record as saying that the Constitution is just a document of “Negative” rights and he does not like it, but when he was installed into the presidency, he was forced to declare under oath; "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." The way he has circumvented this obligation alone should have landed him in an Impeachment trial.

Next Rant will cover only the EPA and Cass Sunstein

Breaking my Word

2011-07-26T11:13:00.046-04:00

**** Updates Below ****
A little over three months ago I published my “Final” blog for a while pledging to use the extra time I would gain for book writing again. Sorry to say I feel that I must get something off my chest right now; before it is too late and the Obama Election Money Machine helps the “Lame Stream Media” wash this Progressive, Marxist Big Government loving Liberal “Lilly White” again…Oops? Is that a racist remark? If you think so, you can go to hell and stop wasting your time reading my blog.

I have decided that I would just confine my blog entries to one subject at a time. This Administration is throwing so many items at us all at once that they are bound to get some through just as carpet bombing is almost certain to kill someone; if you drop a tremendous amount of bombs from a humongous number of aircraft over an ever widening location of the Earth. Therefore, I am going to limit this particular rant to the current “Debt Crisis”. Funny thing about this is that our fearless leader, “Emperor” Obama, in his public broadcast of July 22, 2011, blamed everything except for the real reason we have this debt; Government Spending!

Even a lowly peon such as myself, can identify Government departments that not only could be cut but should be cut to help abate Government spending. First department that comes to mind is the United States Department of Education. This Cabinet Level department was signed into law by Jimmy Carter in 1979. Its current annual budget, for 2011, is estimated to be $71 Billion, which is a drop in the bucket compared to our massive $14.5 Trillion debt, but it is a start. Funny thing about this useless Cabinet Post is that today, July 25, 2011, President Obama, in his address to the Radical group La Raza, made a statement expressing his wish to “Invest” more money in Education. Why throw good money after bad?

Next another equally useless Government Agency is the Department of Energy, which has an annual budget of $27 Billion. This organization can be totally eliminated with the exception of a couple of agencies (e.g.: Departments of Nuclear waste disposals) which could be become arms of other departments (e.g.: Department of the Interior and Department of the Navy).

Do we really need the Environmental Protection Agency? Everything this ill advised Department does either could be done in other, existing Agencies or Should only be performed in Congress. The current administration is using this $10.5 Billion agency, which is only supposed to suggest fines, for enforcing Laws in order to circumvent the duties of Congress.

If you look up the 2010 United States Federal Budget, you will find that the Government’s Revenue is more than the Government’s Mandatory Spending, even though Unemployment/Welfare/Other mandatory spending is up over 58%.

Next Rant will cover the Rules of Congress

**** Updates ****
Forgot to mention that all "CZAR" positions be disbanded and allow to be re-established only if it can pass four criteria:

It has no enforcement powers
It has a life expectancy of six months or less
It does not fall under the auspice of any established Government Agency
Total budget cannot exceed $500,000

If a proposed "CZAR" position doers not meet all four of these criteria, then it either has to be a new proposed government agency or an arm under an existing government agency and must be approved by both houses of Congress.

Another proposed change would be to stop issuing ALL Congressional and Executive Paychecks, along with suspending all perks they enjoy, when the debt ceiling is reached until all expenditures, both Mandatory and Discretionary fall well below the established Debt Ceiling without increasing that Debt Ceiling.

The Department of Homeland Security was ostensibly originated to better share information between agencies and yet has actually made the sharing worse. The department must be re-worked and made to be the overall supervisory group of all agencies it is supposed to cover (e.g. CIA, FBI, Military Intelligence, Coast Guard etc.) Only if everyone has the same boss can that boss control the flow of information.

And one final change to help reduce our debt would be to remove all Departments in the Federal Government that do not either affect the original stated purpose of the Federal Government, which is to protect the United States and the control of inter-state commerce.

Final Editorial (for a while)

2011-04-06T13:47:00.000-04:00

I have just a final comment to post to my Blog about the current conditions in Libya. Since I want to devote more time on writing a book or two and my audience seems to be a very small one (judging by my followers and posted comments), I will suspend my Blog postings for the time being. Hey out there, there is actually no need for a standing ovations, I did use the term “Suspend” not “Quit”, so save your applause. Now for my problems with our country’s “No fly zone” participation…Oops; I meant to say “A Kinetic Military Action” ~ WTF? It’s a WAR dummies! Just like our “WAR on Terrorism” which has been redefined as an “Overseas Contingency”. This administration has no problem waging war…just problems with defining it.

What bothers me the most about the state of the Middle East right now, only proves what Glenn Beck has been saying all along would happen…even Glenn stated that he hoped he was wrong. Well, roll over Edgar Cayce and Nostradamus…there seems to be a better Fortune (or should that be Un-fortune) Teller in town. He had warned about everything that is happening right now and been called Crazy for it…well that must have been “Crazy like a Fox”, because everything he has said is sadly coming true. My only disagreement with Mr. Beck’s theories has been that he believes that we can overcome the rolling tidal wave aimed at our country peacefully…I feel we have already hit the tipping point and I do not believe that our country can peacefully retain our Republic and pray to God that I too am wrong but that I can be prepared when the wave rolls over us.

Now, as to Libya today; I am waiting for President Obama’s 7:00 PM explanation (or at least the definition) for our “quick to Jump” response on the UN’s Libyan resolution for a “No fly zone” but until then I’d like to share a few items I have already discovered…

• The President is for a “World Ruling Organization”

• Our Secretary of State also wants one “World Ruling Organization”

• The “Puppet Master” George Soros wants one “World Ruling Organization”

• The President’s “Spread the wealth” doctrine applies to Countries as well as individuals

• The President seems to be intentionally contributing to the US Financial Situation

• Instead of reducing the debt the President’s proposed 2012 budget plans to add to it by Trillions

• This President’s administration is mimicking Josef Goebbels’s work in 1930’s Germany, to a “T”

• Everyone in this President’s Administration (along with progressive Senators and Congressmen) have no use for the Constitution.

• George Soros said, “America is the biggest roadblock to an Open Society” and of course that would include the US Constitution.

I could continue but the President has concluded his “Why we are in Libya and how we will get out” address to the Nation. He burned up a whole lot of air time to tell us what we already knew which is that we are bombing and strafing in Libya and we were going to get out…someday…somehow. What was never explained is why he wouldn't even make a Statement when the same was taking place in Iran. It is clear, at least to me, that the reason he was so swift to put American lives in danger by participating in the “No Fly zone” activities (which included a whole of “No Drive Zone” enforcement) in Libya was that he did it under the auspices of the UN, which he is attempting to legitimize as a world protection (and governing) agency.

Once the UN is legitimatized as a World Protection Agency, then Hillary Clinton can rationalize signing s UN Small arms treaty which would negate our 2nd amendment. And of course, the whole administration can replace our US Supreme Court with the World Court in Hague. Finally, since Mr. Obama feels he can rule…er…govern through Executive order, having marginalized our Legislative body; he will have totally destroyed the Republic, which was his goal all along for “Transforming” our Government into just another puppet participant of the UN; that is after all of America’s wealth has been “Redistributed” across the globe.

My last comment is a question; why are we involved in Libya when we have no interest in the country? We only get a minuscule amount of oil from this area and no help in the fight against Terrorism. Yemen, on the other hand, is the back door to Suez which is our concern. We did not support regimes in Egypt or Yemen…is it because they are allies in our war against Al Qaeda? Looks like the only beneficiaries in this Middle revolt are the extreme Islamists and of course, George Soros and all others supporting a worldwide governance.

Left Wing Progressive Gaffes

2011-02-17T10:21:00.024-05:00

For that group of Bush, Palin & Tea Party Bashers who have claimed, at one time or another, that all these people are just idiot rednecks who don't have the the mental capacity of a rotten tomato [Al gore take note: tomato is not spelled with an"E" at the end ~I stand corrected on this mistake; it was Dan Quayle who misspelled tomato; so this was a Right Wing Gaffe] , I offer my tribute, not paraphrased or embellished by my own interpretations but as a Teabagger just smart enough to watch and listen to them awing us with their higher level of education and superior intellect as spoken, unaltered, in their own words. I will present these pearls of wisdom in categories and the first category is Barack Obama:.

Of course at the top of the list must be president Barack Obama when he was running for the office he now holds:

...Or how about this "Failure to Geogrophate" example:

How about this Obama Gem in Montana ~ Losing 700 jobs a month...That would be Great!

Then there's what happens when the Teleprompter is broke or can't be used...

...And could someone please tell me how Colonoscopies prevent Prostrate cancer?

Oh, and this one explains our President's grasp on Mathematics:

How would the press have reacted if Bush had made this Boo-Boo?

How about The President & his Press Secretary Disagreeing about $ 100 Million dollars:

Then, what year did America begin? Don't believe Obama on this one...

I'll end this blog with this Obama Gaffe...from a Christian? No wonder people are confused about his faith. Even he doesn't seem to know. By the way, there are many, many more Obama-isms as well as some pretty stupid comments from others in this president's administration and if I get enough comments requesting more I will put out another blog on this subject...

Problems Confronting The US Today

2011-01-20T13:13:00.000-05:00

No one should be fooled by the “Bi-Partisan” rhetoric spewing from Obama’s lips. What kind of idiots does the Progressive far left think we are? Do they think we have already forgotten all the broken promises this man made during his campaign? Do they think that we can’t remember how eloquently he said exactly what we wanted to hear but his actions belied those statements? Why would anyone believe that things will be different now? Oh, and thank our Lucky Stars that he just signed an executive order banning all illogical; irreverent legislation. And to what kind of legislation do we think he will apply this executive order? How about that which his brain trust deems to be irrelevant? My guess would be the new “Repeal Obamacare” bill once it has passed the house and looks like it may pass the Senate (which I, unlike other political pundits, believe may have a chance because of the looming 2012 elections). If the president gives the nod to Democratic senators to vote for this legislation to preserve their seats, his “Czars” will use the executive order to inhibit this (as well as any other) legislation contrary to his own agenda. This way he doesn’t risk his veto being overridden, which would really be a slap in his face as well as a roadblock to implementing his Socialist government.

Then we have the issue of the debt ceiling. Personally, I think the GOP should tell the Obama Administration that they will raise the debt ceiling just enough to take us through the next fiscal quarter IF the President will abolish the Department of Education and 15 “Czar” postings along with their entire infrastructure. The other caveat is that none of the people or structures involved can be shifted or posted to any other organizations and none of the money saved can be used for any purpose other than reduction of the debt. Why I mentioned the Czars should not require any explanation, on the other hand I probably do need to explain my proposed abolishment of the Department of Education. You may think this is an old cabinet level department, but no, it was established by Jimmy Carter in 1979 and did not begin operations until May 16, 1980. The department’s 2011 budget was $71 billion which is only a drop in the debt bucket but it’s not exactly chump change either and the truly sad fact is that the level of American Education has diminished ever since this office started operating, so what good is it? And the reason I said 15 Czar Positions is because at the end of the next fiscal quarter I feel we should abolish another 15 positions at the end of that quarter. And that will still leave about 6 of these posts in place. At that time we need to look at legislation to either abolish this practice or place a limit on these kinds of appointments.

Now I hear that the Republicans are proposing to cut government pay by 10%. While I believe that this is a good start I also believe the main problem with government today is rooted in money. Too many “Career” politicians exist in the US today and they make way too much money. Why? Well during all the years I spent growing up, all I heard was how businesses were buying away our best politicians because government doesn’t pay enough. In my estimation, this was just to raise wages and benefits to the ludicrous levels they sit at today. No, I do not support a 10% wage reduction but rather I want to set all Federal government wages to the current Social Security maximum wage level. This may not be much but since they do not have travel expenditures or any regular business expenses, they should be able to subsist on this amount and then maybe only those wanting to serve the country will run for office. Oh, and I also propose that all Federal workers be rolled into the Social Security system, along with their pension monies and also pay into Medicare/Medicaid and get the same Health Insurance that the rest of us are stuck with.

One activity that needs to be curtailed immediately is the practice of Lobbying. The irony of Lobbying is that when you look up the definition on Wikipedia, one of the “See Also” subjects is “Bribery” and that is what I feel and have stated before, is all that Lobbying is…Bribery. ALL lobbying should be treated like the crime of bribery…It should considered a Felony, no matter on which side of the Lobbying equation the crime occurs. One change that needs to be in place, along with the removal of lobbying, is limits to the amount of money spent on elections per candidate. I do not believe that anyone should be able to “buy” an election.

My hope and belief is that by removing Lobbying and drastically slashing Federal Pay and Benefits while placing them into the same pools for retirement and medical care will remove a lot of the “Career” politicians infesting our Political System. Of course a side benefit will be the fixes of both the Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid systems. After all, do you think legislators would want the systems that cover them to be broken? Even though they should never be allowed to earn Pensions for serving our country, they would be credited with all payments they make into the system. Another probable fix for our system are term limits but that is a fix left for another blog.

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story

2011-01-17T07:29:00.000-05:00

Memories of Mom
Before I begin this post, in honor of my late mother Helen, I need to wish my wife Sylvia Ann Garber (nee Bank) a very happy 63rd Birthday...today, January 17th. I know she will be thrilled that I remembered her birthday but she will also probably kill me for remembering that it is number 63 and more than that...for telling all of you how old she is now! Oh well, I'll be seeing you soon Mom.

The first little anecdote occurred when my parents had been married for about two years. My Grandmother Araxy (Mom's mother whom we called Grandma Roxy) had asked how much money Mom & Dad had in their savings account. Mom told her that they had $5,000. Later, when Mom and Dad were alone, Dad puzzlingly said, "But Helen, we have less than $1,000. Why would you tell your mother that we had $5,000?" to which Mom replied, "Because that's how much we should have in the bank by now".

An example of Mom's wit was demonstrated when she drove me home from the oral surgeon's after I had a molar cut out. My mouth was stuffed with gauze and I could not talk even though she seemed to enjoy asking me questions that she knew I couldn't answer. When we got home, Dad asked how things went and Mom cheerfully responded, "Oh Bill, it was wonderful. Paul didn't say one word the whole way home. Now I know how to keep him quiet...a trip to the dentist's!"

The next little blurb occurred when I was in High School. Mom wanted to replace a burned out bulb in the ceiling light of our dining room and started to use one of the wooden chairs at our table to stand on. I informed her that was a bad idea and that I would get the ladder but she insisted that since she "didn't weigh anywhere near as much as you do, there would be no problem." Of course, as soon as she stood on the wooden seat it split the chair in two and even though I caught her, she instinctively put her hand down to break her fall...and she did break something...her wrist. I informed her of this fact but she protested, "I've never broken a bone in my life and besides, it hurts too much to be broken. I've always heard that sprains hurt more than breaks". Somehow, I talked her into letting me take her to the emergency room and I was right...her wrist was broken and since my mother was blessed with a great sense of humor, she let me rib her about "Being Right" for years to come.

Finally, as an example of how her sense of humor never quavered even as she lay dying and knew it, comes these little gems. Just before becoming bedridden, Mom said she saw herself naked in the mirror and said she was so skinny and that "I knew I was a starving Armenian but I never realized that I was a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp too!" And then only days before her passing, my wife Sylvia was helping Mom dress and seeing her emaciated state uttered out of pity , "Oh Poor Helen..." to which Mom sternly replied, "Listen you, I'm not poor!"

My only regret is that I never persuaded her that her favorite singer, Anthony Newly, was a wonderful actor and song writer but also a piss-poor singer...And for proof I offer this little gem:

Goodbye Mom

2010-12-09T21:54:00.100-05:00

In place of a MAAS or Blog posting, I am posting the following portrait of my mother that cites her last words spoken to me...and as soon as possible, I will make a picture of the poem I wrote to honor her memory that was read so eloquently at her funeral by the Reverend Joseph Lee.:

...And here's Mom's poem; how I wish it were better and longer but nothing could do her justice anyway. Oh, and I might add that the translation for the Armenian Name "Areknas" is "Light of the Moon".

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story

2010-11-15T09:14:00.000-05:00

Bits & Pieces
No time this week for a good, well stretched out story, so you will have to settle for a last minute, short and (hopefully) sweet snippets of comedic narrations that will (again; hopefully) tickle your collective funny bone. I’d dearly love to add a little more padding to this opening paragraph but to be honest I’m not a good enough writer to drag this sh*t out any longer so without further adieu, and mainly since I have run out of clever, witty ways to embellish this short storey into an epic novel, the next writing junctures is my first short morsel of hilarity.

Back in the days where the latest, greatest technological advancement in communications consisted of answering machines and pagers or beepers or (well, I won’t provide you with the term I was most fond of employing to describe the piece of sh*t my company had ordered me to carry, so for the sake of the young and innocent, I will defer to the euphemism:) emergency communications device. As almost everyone in the western hemisphere and India knew at the time, to contact a person assigned to such a device, you had to first know the particular phone number assigned to the pager; second dial it and third, once the tone or “beep” was heard (thus endowing the evil devices with the nomenclature “Beepers”) you were to enter the telephone number you wished the respondent to call, usually but not always your own. Well, my lovely bride, Sylvia, had an aversion with machines in those days and she found communicating with mechanical equipment especially repugnant. Many people we knew used to call me, almost in tears from laughing, and ask why Sylvia hated machines so much, but they would caution me never to let her know they had called because they loved to listen to the messages she left while verbalizing with their answering machines. So it came as no surprise to anyone in my family when Sylvia said she wanted to call Paul and ask him to stop to pick up something at the store on the way home but knew he would get into trouble if she called his work number. I was busy working at home, which I did a lot in those days, and told her to call his pager number, since he was allowed to call out, but not to receive incoming calls. Everyone in the house over the age of 18 months old broke out in guffaws when they saw my wife pull the phone from her ear and then, holding it like a microphone simply stated… “Paul call home” and hung up.

The really funny part of this short story is that Sylvia did not understand what everyone had found so amusing but did not have time to question us as she answered our ringing phone and told Paul that we needed milk and asked home to stop and pick some up on his way home. Later, out of keen sense of hearing her beautiful ears provided her with, I asked Paul, “How did you ever figure out to call home?” His answer was, “Only a wrong number or Mom would call me on the pager and not leave a phone number, so I took a chance and called home”. Not wanting to appear to be verbose, I will end this mini-saga at this point as I am out of time and hope to use the material I could add in another, future MAAS.

Next week's 11-22-2010 (#168) title: TBD

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story

2010-11-08T06:51:00.000-05:00

The Fun Train to Reno – Part II

I believe that last week I left you as we were de-boarding the train and watching the paramedics treating the “The Flying Wallenda’s” for various cuts, bruises and bumps. Now that we were at the train depot, we had to fetch our luggage, which was in the compartment below our traveling seats…that the Lord, and find transportation to our chosen hotel. There were cabs to share so that the cost would not be prohibitive but being the cheap SOB that I am, I chose the cheapest hotel in the package, and there were no other Signetics’ employees to travel with us. However, we did find another cheap couple and eventually got to our assigned hotel. Now one reason I chose the cheaper hotel was because I knew my wife and only when she would stop gambling (and that was when she ran out money) would she venture into our room; wake me up to “check on me”. At that time, I would give her some nickel rolls (or a few dollars to buy whatever she wanted which would usually be nickels) and off she would a gambling again go. In fact she would gamble as long as the money lasted or until she collapsed…she reasoned there was always time to sleep on the way home.

We started in play quarter machines (since I found about $2.00 credit in one that somebody forgot or just didn’t know about…and boy was I glad I did. I could not lose,; nothing big ($30.00 was the biggest single payout) but it was a constant payout. That slot machine provided me with my one-armed bandit gambling philosophy lasting until today. Find a two coin maximum machine (other than the quarter poker machines which take five) that is close to an area which a lot of non-gambling people can either see, hear or walk by (as potential outside customers) because those machines are set to pay out more often so customers will be drawn into trying their luck. When that “Ding…Ding…Ding” sounds with a flashing light followed by a sire, I know it gets my curiosity up and the old “What the Hell take a chance” juices flowing. I did tell my wife that I didn’t think she would like the weather outside because I had observed the snow on the ground. I reminded her that we were more than 4,000 feet higher than in California so would be cold outside, but still she persisted. Even though I was happy as a pig in sh*t gambling were I was, I deferred to Sylvia’s demands to travel to another gambling facility to try to lose our money. Reluctantly I gathered my bucket of quarters and exchanged it for dollars (about $230.00; not bad for an initial $2.00 Free bet) and proceeded to the casino exit doors. We got about 100 feet from the doors when some customers staggered inside and a blast of Arctic Air followed in with them. That was enough for my honey (who did not bring her winter coat as I suggested) so we attempted to return to the slot machines that had treated us so well. Unfortunately, an old lady had been watching us and had happily staked a claim on both our machines and gleefully kept pumping both arms until the wee hours of the night. Needless to say we lost most of the money I had won on futile attempts to resurrect our luck, so I left my wife at the nickel bank of slots and retired to our room. She interrupted my sleep about three times and by morning, we had lost most of the money we had to gamble with.

The weather at least was bearable in the light of day, so we did manage to visit a couple of other casinos, but I was wondering what we would do for the next day and a half. I didn’t want to use any more of our money and then I saw the booth promoting $50 per couple in casino chips just to take a bus ride to the state line and sit through a time-share skiing vacation promotion at a California Ski resort. Well, neither of us had snow skied before, although having been raised on water skis I was willing to risk life and limb, but Sylvia was not. Anyway, we did not want to sign our life away for $9,000, which we actually could not afford to turn down but we did. It was funny to be driven back down to the casino by an Alabaman Chain Gang escapee instead of the dapper clean shaven drivers flirting with the skimpily clad champagne pouring tour guide who drove us up. Anyway we did get our chips (one $25 chip each that were only good at that casino and could only pay even money) so we bet on the even/odd numbers on the roulette wheel. We hit both picks and cashed our chips in and then proceeded to take a different time-share skiing vacation promotion for $50 and this time, when it was over, we tried the red/black and hot one of our bets, so we ended up killing a day; getting free drinks and pocketing $75.00. I was ready for bed but Sylvia was ready to gamble so I limited her to the Nickel slots and she only lost $10.00 during the night. We had a great breakfast; bought some beer and booze for the ride home and had enough money to gamble until it was time to go (had to hold back enough to cover the $10.00 cab fee back to the train station).

Funny thing about the whole trip was the number of people who fell for the same Dan Cone “close the door” trick and the number of “show time” I had to yell. We never did take another “Fun Train Trip” because we discovered the bus turnaround trips that were faster and more fun because we did much better gambling that way…A side note here is that due to personal constraints, I may not be able to post any more MAAS stories for a while. If that is the case, I will post a notice to that affect…From the Main MAAS Managing Moron.

Next week's 11-15-2010 (#167) title: TBD

Could governors be the most important elections in 2010?

2010-11-01T14:02:00.000-04:00

As we head into the 2010 mid-term elections, the question to answer is: “Could state Governor Elections actually be more important than Senators or Representatives?” My answer would be…Yes…and my reasoning is this… Details concerning voter fraud have been emerging which underscore the lengths to which the Obama Administration will go to ensure their victory in the upcoming elections. However, to me it is obvious that Obama is really interested his 2012 re-election chances, which currently seem to be slim and none. If you have been paying attention, you will notice that he has put more time and effort into backing Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls than any other political campaigns. Why do you think this is? My guess is based upon these facts:

Governors select the Electoral College electors
There is no penalty for not voting for your state’s winner
Electors have in the past not voted for their state’s selection

Now I must impart the fact that never has an Electoral College member cast an unconventional vote which has altered the outcome of a presidential election. What troubles me is the record number of “Firsts” this administration has accumulated and I would not doubt that the Progressives in charge would not hesitate to ensure that their “democratic” electors will cast their ballots only for Barack Obama no matter what the individual state election has mandated and therefore another “First” will be added to the legacy of the Barack Obama Regime.

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story

2010-11-01T08:17:00.000-04:00

The Fun Train to Reno

I know I have written about this excursion before but it never made it into a book of mine and since I lost my hard drive full of MAAS stories, those who remember this saga will just have to suffer through it again. While working at Signetics (a lot my stories seem to originate at that time don’t they?) our director, Dan Cone, suggested that we should get a group together (for better rates) and purchase the Fun Train to Reno weekend package. He had his secretary set everything up and we got about 19 couples together which, based upon the choice of hotel, set our price at $139 each. The kicker was that this trip took place a few months after the infamous event that spawned initiation of the FAAS. The train departed from Oakland and we were again barraged with a host of convoluted travel arrangements, the most intricate being provided by Frank “Wrong Way” [last name omitted; but his ancestor was… Jonathon Corrigan Nagle], who insisted, again, that we would never be able to drive to Oakland in a respectful amount of time. His suggestion was to drive to Fremont and catch the Light Rail (it did not run all the way into San Jose at that time) to Oakland. This leg of the journey was 17 miles out of about 43 of the entire trip’s total miles. However, there was one small irritating detail associated with this schema and that concerned parking. There were parking lots, within walking distance, at the Oakland railway station expressly for extended parking unlike the Light Rail parking lot in Fremont that had to be cleared out by 3 AM every night. Frank lived in Fremont and indicated we could just go to his house and park (for free) and our boss Percy [can’t remember his name but I do have a story about him to tell later in a story that I will call “The Bionic Mom”] would then drive us in his van conversion (he was not going to Reno) and drop us off at the Light Rail Station. An itinerary which didn’t sound too bad until Frank added the small detail about living 11.5 miles away. We had driven to Frank’s apartment before and it took us twice as long to go the 11.5 miles as it did the first 17 since the first leg of the trip was on the freeway, so we declined. I felt I made the correct decision when I learned that no one had taken advantage of Frank’s offer.

Well, needless to say that after listening to all the disgusting details of everyone’s horror stories of traveling to the Oakland Railroad station, Sylvia and I decided to leave two hours earlier than our original plan had indicated. Bad mistake, again, because we had three hours to kill sitting and waiting on hard wooden benches in the dirtiest train station I have ever had the displeasure to visit. Anyway, I did get some degree of satisfaction and enjoyment from the fact that Frank [still unidentified] never made the train on time…he ended up having Percy drive him (at a price) to the next train stop. I must take time here to explain why the train was called the “Fun Train”. It had a dining car, bar car and a dance car plus the seats in all the cars were configured to twist and turn so that two or four people could sit facing each other and the Conductor had lap tables to use to play checkers or chess or cards or almost any game, many of which he also provided. There were also permanent tables (for poker, etc.) available in each car as well. Now the people who made the trip before told us that we should bring our own food and drink because we were allowed and it was extremely costly to purchase anything on the train; so we brought an ice chest packed with sandwiches and beer. The Signetics gang filled up a car but it soon became more than half empty as all the women and the younger, single guys who did not want to play poker, all went to the dancing car. I went with Sylvia but could I soon could not stand the hot, crowded condition and told her I was going back, but she stayed. All during the trip, she came back every so often to check on me, eat and drink a beer, until we were about two hours from Reno, but I’ll get to that later. The trip took about 12 hours because the train’s top speed was 70 mph but it could only reach that amazing pace about one hour total of the trip…when the rails were actually level or on a down slope.

After about three hours of playing cards, those California wimps had enough and most sacked out so they could be fresh and alert when we reached Reno. It was then that I discovered Dan Cone had a Marquis de Sade lineage. You see all the doors leading in and out of each car were open, but even when closed there was a huge sign about waist high that read: “Press Here To Open”. Having made the trip previously, Dan knew most of the passengers traveling through our car were heading to the bar car and if they possessed the ability to read before four or five such trips, they seemed to lose it soon afterward. He told me to sit down and watched and he proceeded to close the door, I couldn’t believe how many people would bump into the closed door and then either muscle the thing open (if they were strong enough they could) or ask for help. One girl in particular must have made over a dozen trips (it was a wonder she could still stand) and forced the doors open every time…except for her last time though. That time Dan stood up and uttered, “Permit me” as he touched the spot indicated by the sigh to open the door and the doors split open with a “whoosh”. This bimbo glared at Dan and said, “You let me open these [censored] doors the hard way you [censored…remember I have grandchildren that read] jerk. It really was funny to watch these budding morons come through again and again and never see read the sign. Some at least had the smarts to ask the conductor to “Fix the doors” and he would lock them open, but as soon as he left, Dan would unlock those demon doors and I would announce “Showtime”. Surprisingly, this nasty deed kept us amused until we were about two hours from Reno when a sh*t-load of people passed through our car and our women also returned. I asked why everyone came back so soon and Sylvia said that the conductor announced they were shutting the dance & bar cars down because they had run out of liquor. He added that this had never happened before; not in all the time the “Fun Train” had been in service. I still had beer left in my cooler and Dan had wine left in his so we became two of the most popular guys in the car, besides one of Dan’s managers, Vic McPherson [the guy who recruited me] who still had a full bottle of Jack Daniels in his possession. When we de-boarded the train in Reno, we noticed the paramedics had been called to the station and they were administering first aide to a couple of guys from a group that I had dubbed “The Flying Wallenda’s” because every time this group of six guys, clad in identical attire, passed by someone would shout for them to “build the pyramid” and they would do so by climbing on each other’s backs. I asked the fellow that looked the healthiest of the five men being treated what happened and he just shrugged and answered, “I guess we fell one time too many”. When I asked where the missing guy was he answered, “At the hospital; two cracked vertebra.” The sad thing was none of the injured felt any pain as long as the booze was flowing, but once it ran out I guess screams could be heard. We were lucky to have been about eight cars away.
I’ll finish my story next week because that way I can stretch one story into two and I don’t have time right now to think up more of this crazy, but basically true crap.

Next week's 11-08-2010 (#166) title: The Reno Fun Train Part II

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story

2010-10-25T06:50:00.001-04:00

Al “Boris” Morris
As I mentioned in my previous MAAS’s, I need to take time to pay homage to a truly great, late comic genius…Al Morris. I met Al my first day working at Signetics [a wholly subsidiary of NV Philips which has since been re-named to Philips Signetics division] in California. You see Al was in charge of communications and on my first day, that meant that he had to install my telephone service. Of course the telephones required their own training session as well as handbooks…ah those were the days. You see back then, Al was a one-man division and I really think he liked it that way. This week will be a short MAAS as I will confine this story to how Al received the “Boris” nickname. Back in those days, 1984, Sylvia and I both liked to party and Signetics was, if nothing else, the most partying company I had ever worked for [and to this day, it retains the partying king title]. Before I became a manager and held my “Staff Meetings” at the Moria Inn on Friday afternoons, we had Friday gatherings always centered around happy hours at rotating bars in the area. The only qualifications were that the joint had to have a dance floor; free food; cheap drinks and could not be the same watering hole we had visited the previous Friday.

Our first occasion to attend one of these functions [Sylvia would always go with me] was in the Double Tree lounge located at the hotel of the same name in San Jose. I was sitting with Al waiting for a slow song to play because I knew no matter what was playing; Sylvia would never leave the dance floor. She had a habit, in those days, of wearing out dancing partners and the guys I worked with were no exception. After about six straight fast songs, the idiot who was playing the music played another blistering, allegro composition and Al asked why I didn’t go out on the floor and dance with my wife. I replied because I was too fond of living and she was a woman who only knew one phrase when it came to dancing and sex…”Do ‘gain daddy?” He laughed and asked if I would sanction his gyrating with my spouse. I shrugged and told him to be my guest but don’t come crying to me when she wears you out. If they play a slow one [I made a mental notation to myself at this point, “Self…never attend a Happy Hour at the Double Tree again”] I will have to cut in on you. He eagerly agreed and quickly bounced out to the dance floor and offered to cut a rug with Dancezilla, much to the relief of all the other potential partners who were sheepishly attempting to escape the gaze of this Dancing Queen.

After a couple of long dances I could see the sweat flowing freely from AL’s furrowed brow as he shot a pleading glance towards me. I laughingly replied “no way Jose” by merely shaking my head. After the next frenzied dance had begun, a shapely, buxom beauty sat down at my table and asked if I would care for a drink. Thinking it must be California’s version of Sadie Hawkins day, I didn’t pay much attention to her and [due to the loud strains of the next piece of music] I just pointed to my nearly full bottle of beer and shook my head no. Turning my attention back to the dance floor believing the issue had been resolved, I felt something lightly caress my arm and turned to see her mouth almost touching me utter “Hi I’m Amber, would you like to F**k?” as she leaned over the table spilling her ample, non-confined breasts all over its slick, shiny surface. Thinking fast I conjured up my best Russian accent and said, “Sadly I not can because Natasha, spouse to me…” and at this juncture I paused, pointed to my wedding ring and then continued “operative number two is upon floor dance now with Boris, operative number one. If even she suspect talking with me, your life I would be afraid for.” This Bimbo was not too discerning as after she recoiled back from my warning and removed her clutching claws, she stared at the dance floor and asked, “Which one is Boris?” Thank my lucky stars the next record was a slow song as I hopped up and muttered “You excuse please, I must now go to dance”, and as the shepherd was known for saying, “I got the flock out of there”.

Al was already returning to the table when he spotted the wench and as I began dancing with my wife I answered his quizzical, head-cocked non-verbal question with, “Her name is Amber; Sylvia is Natasha and you are Boris. And if she should ask my name tell her I’m Ican Snatchyourtitisoff. We are all Soviet operatives so speak accordingly in accent.” Al broke out in a big, shit-eating grin, sauntered over to the table and whispered something into her ear. She leaned back shaking her head “no” and then, leaning forward again, whispered something into his ear. I thought he was going to dump our table over; glasses, ashtrays, bottles and all when he flew to his feet. The two locked arms and as they were exiting the bar he looked back at me and winked. The rest of the night went uneventful for an hour or so when Al returned in a huff, plopped down and admonishingly stated, “You set me up with a hooker!” I replied that I was pretty sure she was, didn’t he see it? Ignoring my question he continued, “She wanted to charge me $50.00 after I paid for the damn room too!” Laughing, I asked if he paid the $50.00 and he answered, “Boris could do nothing else!” We both laughed and then he added, “My only complaint is now I can’t afford lunch for the next week!” Slipping into character I told him, “Is not for you to worry my friend, Natasha make extra big pot borscht for you for to eat with us …” Naturally, my next FAAS was about this incident and Al “Boris” Morris and the name stuck.

Next week's 11-01-2010 (#164) title: TBD

The answer is not term limits

2010-10-19T13:36:00.147-04:00

The problem with our government today is the money involved; Congressional salaries, pensions, perks, health care etc. are all benefits that are greedily desired. Money is also amassed and dispensed in massive amounts in attempts to win elections and once “Pot of Gold” offices are secured, no amount of money, time or effort expended in retaining them is considered too great…And there lies the problem. Not only is corruption practically mandated, due to the accumulated power and potential wealth involved, but political coalitions are cobbled together without consideration of the harm these alliances might do to our country. Although term limits would keep greedy people from establishing congressional dynasties, the corrupting influences of power and monetary gains eventually perverts even the most chaste, idealistic candidate into a grasping, morally bankrupt monster. It has been suggested that junior members of the House and Senate spend most of their time raising campaign funds for their parties…that is their primary duty and if they do not perform, they do not receive monetary backing from their party when it’s their re-election time. How many times have you heard “He/she does not have enough funds to seriously contend for a congressional seat”? This is not the qualification standards our founding fathers had in mind…degree of wealth.

Another strand of this unscrupulous web of political depravity is lobbying firms. These organizations offer money; the promise of future employment and/or special privileges for legislation configured to suit their client’s best interests. Frequently, in order to pay off these “considerations” [besides composing “special interest” bills from scratch], politicians will insert “earmarks” [also known as “pork”] into popular, practically sure to pass, bills which have no logical connection to the proposed legislation, but merely serve as the Quid pro quo remittance to the lobbyists who “bribed” the politicos. Notice I used the term bribed…I know of no other term that can describe the activities defined by lobbying. Senator Obama promised he would put an end to earmarks but when his first major piece of legislation, the Stimulus Package or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or the Jobs Bill or whatever the name it is going by now, was passed it contained a whopping 9000 earmarks!

The next piece to this progressively expanding puzzle is the “Campaign Reform” legislation that had been composed in an effort to bestow an aura of legitimacy to current day election financial gathering [no, not “gathering”…amassing] activities. Laws have been written defining “Hard” and “Soft” campaign monies and regulations covering donations of these kinds of finances. Rules have been established concerning amounts for each type of resource that can be donated by a company, individual or entity; how these funds can be distributed and which contributions must be identified, etc. It has also been confirmed that no “Foreign” money, via any kind of contribution, be allowed to be donated to a candidate’s election fund, but this particular regulation is often hard to uphold because of the “Identifying Contribution Rules”which allow donations of under $200 to remain anonymous. Additionally, there are too many political money gathering/disbursing entities to successfully monitor, so instead of regulating them (which only causes government expansion) just remove the reason the rules were established…money.

Finally, I’d like to offer my own observations concerning the temptations that are in place that attract undesirable people into government employment today. For my entire childhood and throughout my adult life until now, I kept hearing how little our government employees were being paid and this caused the government to lose quality people to the Business World. The talk was always about how governmental salaries had to be increased to attract and retain qualified personnel. Well, that was all just smoke and mirrors to cover up progressive increases to federal paychecks and congressional perks [free parking, free airplane transportation (and in Nancy Pelosi’s case, even her choice of planes), free gasoline, etc.]. The idea has always been that “don’t worry…congress cannot vote itself a pay increase” but that is not true when you consider the shit-load of career representatives and senators who will be retaining their jobs when these new rates become effective. Let’s not forget to mention the number of administrators required to fill the needs of an ever expanding federal government. Today, as reported in the USA Today March 8, 2010 edition, that the typical government worker is paid 20% more than his counterpart private industry worker. Of course when you add in perks and retirement benefits, the gap is much higher making government work more attractive to a job seeker than any employment in the private sector.

Some questions to be answered before I propose my fixes for this total degradation in our Republic are:

• Why did President Obama, on December 23, 2009, issue an executive order increasing federal civilian employees’ salaries by 2% when SSA recipients were denied a cost of living increase in their payments for 2010 due to no inflation?
• Why are the same salaries being increased in 2011 by 1.4% by the Senate Appropriations Committee when again, SSA recipients, for the same period, are being denied a COLA because there was no inflation?
• Why are former congressmen allowed to work for lobbying firms in any capacity?
• Why are congressmen allowed to work for any organization that profited from their oversight?
• Why are the Congressional, Executive and Judicial branches of our government exempt from so many statutes covering the rest of America?
• How can legal immigrants and illegal aliens who have not made any Social Security payments, ever, collect money from this fund?
• How can non-citizens who have not made any Medicare/Medicaid payments receive free Medical Treatment?
• How can people, who have sworn to uphold the Constitution, blatantly ignore it and go unpunished?
• How can a US city declare itself a “Sanctuary City”, which is not constitutional, and not have the US Attorney General prosecute them but the same Governmental Authorities will sue a state for attempting to ensure its sovereignty from foreign invaders which is its constitutional right?
• Why are groups that demand fiscal responsibility and a return to the Constitution in peaceful demonstrations described as Terrorists while real terrorists are identified merely as criminals?
• How can the same groups that claim peaceful Tea Party members to be radical activists describe Left-wing protesters, who burn cars, buildings and otherwise destroy personal property while violently confronting police, as merely “demonstrating their frustrations”?
• How can the US Government describe 2nd amendment right groups and former military as “Potential Terrorists to watch” when they ignore the real terrorists encroaching on our borders and teaching in our schools?
• How can anyone who ever declared their intent to overthrow our government be allowed to serve in that government?
• How can anyone be named to the post that oversees payment of taxes when they didn’t pay their own taxes for any reason?
• How can anyone in the post that writes tax code not be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law when they don’t pay their own taxes?
• How can Congressional members commit illegal acts, which would result in non-government workers being immediately jailed, get away with no punishment for years or even ever?

I have many more questions but this Blog entry is getting too large so I’ll stop here. Although it looks like I may have strayed off subject, I can point to the “love of money” as the cause for all these problems as well as, but not limited to, totaling dismantling our Constitution by establishing a “World Order”; “saving” our planet by “Going Green” and destroying the United States of America by redistributing our wealth to everyone else. I firmly believe that if we elect people that will attempt to fix the money problem, then term limits will be easy to pass...who would want to fight an attempt to limit the chance to make a career out of a crappy paying job? Okay, here’s the start of my plan to take the “Money” out of our government:

#1 – Reduce all pay scales for all branches of our Federal government (Legislative, Judicial & Executive) to the level of the Social Security Administration’s highest wage. Administer these wages under SSA rules (including COLA). Also apply to all retiree’s.
#2 – Place all Federal jobs under the auspices of the Social Security Administration and dump all undistributed former pension monies into the Social Security fund. Also apply to all retiree’s.
#3 – Replace all government employees’ medical benefits (except for the Military) with Medicare coverage and distribute any monies into the Medicare account. Also apply to all retiree’s.
#4– Eliminate free gasoline, free parking, free transportation and all monetary compensation from any unused allowances pertaining to all Congressional and Executive office employees.
#5– Remove all political contributions of any kind. Political expenditures must be allocated and tracked to the penny. Every major, political party (that is registered and meets rigid qualifications) must be provided the same amount of money per candidate for a position from Federal or State General Political Funds that contain only voluntary, private contributions. After all, who cares where the money comes from if everyone gets an equal share?
#6– Eliminate all earmarks. If a need is so great to consider an earmark, write a bill.
#7– Outlaw all Lobbying functions. Treat any lobbying activities as felony bribery crimes.

If we can elect honorable candidates into the Federal Government, we may be able to implement at least some of my proposed changes and then we will be served by a government that would be interested in making America whole again. Someone would surely suggest term limits, balanced budgets, reduced taxes, reduced expenditures, restoring the Constitution and reducing the immense size of our bloated government.
Remember this Ronald Regan Quote, which is even more valid today:

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story

2010-10-18T07:04:00.003-04:00

The beginnings of the MAAS – The trip
Last week I left you at the point of this story where Dan and I had just decided to go with our originally planned route for the journey but changed our start time to one hour earlier at 4:00 AM. That Friday morning, I was in the parking lot by 3:25AM (no one wants to be late for a date with the Director of their organization). Dan and his girlfriend arrived at 4:23 AM; the Director of your organization doesn’t care about being late…for anything with the possible exception of a tee time However, it did make the trip to the airport extremely interesting as I never knew Dan Cone was actually Richard Petty [now I am showing my age…this was the first NASCAR name I thought of and I am not too sure that any of my younger readers will understand the comedic value of this comparison; oh well]. I also discovered that I did have a cast iron stomach as I did not vomit one time, unlike Dan’s poor weak-bellied female companion.

Anyway, we reached the airport and checked in their luggage and got boarding passes. He was the first passenger to check-in and we had to wait 20 minutes for the agents to open the ticket station. I will not detail any more of the activities at the airport because I wouldn’t want to be the cause of teaching anyone new profanity, so suffice it to say I was back in the Signetics parking lot by 5:53 AM. What made me mad was that I had done a lot of work that was required on Friday from home on Thursday evening and could actually not even get to the online system until 7:30 AM, so I had a lot of time to think about…no make that stew over this fiasco…so I wrote a letter thanking each of my co-workers who suggested their particular trip itineraries for their thoughtfulness.

First was Frank “Wrong Way” [last name omitted] who I mentioned was a direct descendant of that old pioneering pathfinder Jonathon Corrigan Nagle(I didn’t say I wouldn’t name their ancestors) who was hired to lead the “Donner Party” into their land of “Milk and Honey”; Oregon. Jonathon was the guide who explained that the more traveled direct route to Oregon, which bypassed the Sierra Madre Mountains, was just too crowded with travelers trekking to California that they would never get to their promised land in time to plant their crops for a good harvest next fall. He suggested the wagon train divert through the Northern Sierra Mountains, which contained the Donner Lake. He insisted that was the only way he had ever gotten to Oregon on time for planting crops and “…besides, Donner Lake provided a wonderful water park-like diversion for weary travelers”. Over the objections of everyone in the traveling party he declared, “I can guarantee that the pass will be clear because the snow won’t fall for three months yet”. He also added that there was no need to carry all the heavy, extra provisions stored in their wagons, in case of a winter stoppage of the Pass, “Dump all that unnecessary, heavy food stuffs you have in your Conestogas so that we will be able to travel faster and re-supply at the “Last Chance [name withheld] Store” located at the other side of the Pass. Of course, all the beasts of burdens glorified this man and raised a statue in his honor even though they were all slaughtered for food because of his bogus promises.

My next message was directed at Todd “The Hunk” [last name omitted] by implying that it was his ancestor, Captain Falkenburg Miller, master of the Famous ship known as “The Flying Dutchman” who had told his crew “Don’t worry about the waters around the Cape of Good Hope; I have an alternate, safer path plotted to get us home” and then, of course, guided his ill-fated frigate across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans into the nether regions beyond [although being Dutch himself, his grasp of the Dutch language was not too firm and he confusingly assumed “the nether regions” and “The Netherlands” were the same]; never to be seen again except, of course, in low-budget, poorly acted “made for TV” movies. Maybe Captain Miller would not have been retained as Captain of his vessel if the ship’s owners had known that he was also the infamous owner of the “Lost Dutchman’s” gold mine.

Last I thanked Al “Boris” Morris, whose cousin Igor “The Red” Morris had been the navigator for Amelia Earhart on her tragic flight in 1937 when she became a lost legend. A little known unpublicized fact was that Igor was a last minute replacement for regular navigator, Fred Noonan, who was fired after Amelia was duped into believing that Igor Morris had plotted a faster, safer route through the Pacific by way of the Arctic Ocean through the Suez Canal. If she had been aware that his navigational training had been limited to finding his apartment’s bathroom door in the dark [he never paid his electric bills] and his tool kit consisted of a used pad of unlined paper, a metal protractor and a broken, gummy “Peter Rabbit” eraser, I doubt if she would ever have replaced Noonan with him.

I then attached this letter to another memo describing each of the noted luminary’s suggested route to the San Francisco airport; the actual route we took, along with the times involved and then emailed the entire mess to everyone in the CIS department at Signetics…with the post script that I wrote this note because I had so time to kill since, due to the scare these “experts” gave us, we left so F***ing early. Since it was Friday, Al Morris answered my email with the following response: “Enjoyed very much reading your inaugural edition of the Friday Attitude Adjustment Story (FAAS) and am looking forward to next week’s equally exciting edition.” Because Al also copied everyone in MIS on his reply to my email, and almost all seconded his idea, the FAAS was born. Then, when Dan returned from Hawaii and became informed of all the facts, he actually created a new project that I was responsible for which sealed my fate as the official author of the weekly “FAAS”. I even had to select replacement “FAAS” authors whenever I took vacation.

Next week's 10-25-2010 (#164) title: Al “Boris” Morris

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story

2010-10-11T05:55:00.000-04:00

The beginnings of the MAAS
Maybe I should pick on myself for a while. I hurt too much from all the abuse I had to take from relatives just because I made them immortal in print…there is no gratitude in the world, ouch, anymore. Damn, I have to be careful typing with my two broken arms. You know, I would never have believed that I could scratch the inside of my left ear with my right hand being leveraged up my back, but I did, once. Anyway, I have to share a story about some of my time in California…why? Well, the certain event I am about o relate to you is considered the official beginning of the Friday Attitude Adjustment Story [FAAS] at Signetics which, as some of you are well aware, lead directly to the current format, the MAAS (which makes more sense to me since more people need their attitudes adjust on Mondays than Fridays). Anyway the incident started with The Director of MIS at Signetics in California, Dan Cone, going to Hawaii with his girlfriend and leaving my family to babysit his house [there is another story there but I won’t go into that part until maybe later in this narration]. Anyway, the plan was for me to meet them at the company parking lot; park my car and then accompany those two lovebirds to San Francisco airport and then drive his car [truck actually] back to work where I would leave it until their return. I would then be able to use my car to drive home.

We thought this was a good plan and only had to agree upon the time to meet. This was long before the current Terrorist procedures, so getting to the airport one hour before the flight was way more than required. Since their flight was set for 7:20 AM and it took about an hour to drive from Sunnyvale to the San Francisco airport, we decided to meet at 5:00 AM to make sure that the traffic heading north on a workday would hopefully ensure our on-time arrival. The flight was set for Friday morning so all day Thursday, co-workers who had been in California longer than I had kept stopping by to give me (and then Dan) their suggestions about our planned agenda. Since I do not know where most of the Signetics’ employees that comprise this story are these days, I will not name them (other than their first name). I do know that one of my friends from that time, in fact the guy who named the FAAS, Al “Boris” Morris, is now deceased and those of you who knew him realize what a comedic talent the world is missing now due to his passing. Al became known as “Boris” while long before the FAAS was established, but that particular dubbing is a story into itself and I will not divulge those details in this MAAS.

Anyway, the first to put the fear of traffic into both Dan and I was Frank "Wrong Way" [last name omitted]. I must pause for a second here to explain that due this particular, convoluted route of his, Frank was dubbed, by yours truly, with the moniker “Wrong Way”. Frank told us that our plan was so full of holes we would probably arrive at least an hour after the plane’s departure. He professed to be a maven of the US-101 Expressway North route we planned to take [mainly because the airport was right on 101 about 10 miles south of the city of San Francisco] and his unique knowledge told him we could not travel by car via that route and make it on time. First he said we needed to meet an hour earlier and then we should travel only as far north as Fremont using US-880 Expressway North where I should then drop Dan and his honey [name withheld due to personal reasons] at the Amtrak station where they could take the train right into the airport. “Only the train will get you there on time”. Dan and I dismissed this idea as adding too much mileage to the trip since US-880 took us on the wrong side of the bay and Amtrak itself did not offer the most reliable mode of transportation since the Government, thanks to “Tricky” Dick Nixon and Congress, established it in 1971.

The next person who offered us travel advice was Todd “The Hunk” [last name omitted]. He was given the nickname “The Hunk” because he was a dead ringer for Christopher Reeve’s “Clark Kent” persona in the move “Superman”. Now Todd agreed with Frank that we could never reach the San Francisco airport on a Friday morning, but he also agreed that taking Amtrak was a bad idea. His suggestion was to take US-880 North but his idea was to go as far north as CA-92 west and there cross the San Francisco Bay to US-101 North. “The Hunk” said he always avoided traveling on the “101 Parking Lot” as much as possible. Dan and I considered his suggestion but again felt that the added mileage would only extend the length of the trip and we also dismissed this suggestion because of that and the fact that we had heard that sometimes US-880 could also be dubbed the “Parking Lot”

The last suggestion was donated by good old Al “Boris” Morris. He also denounced the ability of US-101 as well as US-880 “♪To get us to the Church on time♫” and promised us our only alternative was to take I-280 North to San Carlos and then CA-92 East to US-101 North and then up to the airport. He told us he had often taken this route and had never been late to the airport. Of course, when pressed, he admitted he had only taken that trip once, but insisted it was our only viable choice. Again, Dan and I discussed this seemingly ridiculous path and decided that it too added needless, extra mileage and Dan stated the CA-92 east and west were many times shut down for hours as a time due to various reasons.

That day after work, Sylvia, Dan and I met at the Moria Inn, the local, nearby watering hole, to discuss the next morning’s trek. After a pitcher of beer, we decided that out original plan was the bet. It was a straight shot and the shortest route. Besides, I had traveled it many times and had fewer problems with the way than traveling on 880 or 280. The only alteration we made to our plans was to set our departure time an hour earlier, so we decided to meet in the Signetics’ parking lot at the ridiculously early time of 4:00 AM. This was the same time we had met to travel to the Oakland train station (via I-880) when we had taken the fun train to Reno and at that time we had two hours to kill in the train station before the 6:00 AM departure time; and another hour and a half it took the wonderful scheduling Amtrak organization to get the outbound trains ready to roll out to by 7:30 AM. This was one reason why we did not trust Amtrak. More on this Fun Train trip in another MAAS and the conclusion of this story next week.

Next week's 10-18-2010 (#163) title: The trip and the story itself

Progressives go too far ***CORRECTED

2010-10-04T11:36:00.021-04:00

Somehow I showed a picture of a woman who was horrified at what the Agony Aunt was saying instead of the actual perpetrator of the disgusting verbiage. I will replace the incorrect picture with an actual video so you can hear her for yourself. I apologize for the error
===============================================================

Here's a video that caused all kinds of horror and revolution in the UK(and now here as well) that is supposed to be promoting "Cap and Trade" [or as I identify it "Crap & Tax "or nothing but "Smoke & Mirrors" without the mirrors]. Caution, this video contains extremely disgusting and disturbing images:

Another repugnant, repulsive and totally obscene piece of propaganda being vomited out of the extreme far left can be viewed by visiting this link or you can see and hear for yourself as this woman, Virginia Ironside one of Britain's "Agony Aunts", spews her disgusting venom.

I thank Glenn Beck for showing this to me and as a follower of his TV/Radio shows, I am attempting to provide this data to everyone I possibly can. Together we can make a difference and hopefully put an end to this blatant propaganda to support murder of children, as the Agony Aunt, and the lie of president Obama's push for Crap & Tax so that his supporters of Carbon Trade (as Al Gore, the Clinton's & George Soros, etc.) can make billions of dollars selling smoke.

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story

2010-10-04T07:21:00.000-04:00

Paul’s Trips to Mass
I think it is time to give poor Sylvia a break and pick on some other family members. Why do I think that my MAAS stories need a new, fresh outlook? Well, for one thing it is getting very chilly in my bedroom and for the second, my arm is almost twisted up to the top of my ear and it’s beginning to hurt Ssssweet HEART! Therefore, I will be relating some recent events surrounding my son Paul and my Brother-in-law Julian. Forgive me guys but the pain is just too unbearable not to pick on someone else and you two are it for this week. Now you need to understand that Julian attends the Mass Service held 4:00 PM on Saturdays at St Anthony’s Catholic Church. He used to attend services at Sacred Heart Catholic Church for years until they closed it down not too long ago. Sacred Heart was attended regularly by the entire Bank family for years (with the possible exception of Joe Bank, the Patriarch). Joe did attend the high-lights of the church year, like Christmas and Easter and many believe that if he had attended on some non-significant Sunday, for example, it would probably have been shut down earlier due to the lightning bolt strikes on its roof.

When Julian first picked up Paul for a trip to church, I thought it was extremely thoughtful and kind of him to drive his nephew to church. However, the more this “heart-felt’ activity occurred, the more I came to believe that this was not so much an act of kindness but more like a case of kidnapping. Why do I make this claim? It is easy…you see services, as I motioned earlier, are held at 4:00 PM Saturday afternoons and Julian always arrives sometime around…3:00 AM…Thursday morning to pick Paul up. Oh, to digress for a moment, Julian, where did you buy those chains, handcuffs and leg irons and how much did they cost? I have a Son and Grandson that need to be shackled together and I was hoping to get a discount. Call me when you get a chance, okay? Anyway, getting back to my narration, I could understand Julian wanting to get to church early to either secure a front or back row pew, but when I questioned Paul on this subject, he answered “No, we sit somewhere in the middle”. Now this only confirms my abduction theory; you see, once enough people start filling up the church from the rear, normal church primo pew selection, Julian can safely release Paul’s bonds without fear of his escape because too many worshippers could see him fleeing from the day’s sermon and that would be too embarrassing to bear.

By the time that the service is over, there can be no question of escape since my son’s only thought is to get out of those hard, uncomfortable seats and home in time for lunch. Julian and Paul must not have the same luck as I did attending church, before my college days, since I was never in a hurry to go home. In fact I can’t tell you how many times I informed my parents that I had a ride home with either Chief Tatum, whose jurisdiction covered the entire Everglades was also a parent to a frisky, well endowed daughter; or the Music Director, who lived in Broward country and was the proud father of beautiful, agile twin daughters; or any of the myriad Deacons of the church, but only the ones who had good looking, lonely daughters (Mom never caught on but I think Dad did); ostensibly to help them out with some task or church related function. Actually, on second thought, I could tell you but I think I’ll save these stories for future MAAS’s. Or maybe it was just that the Southern Baptist bred hotter, more pliable women than Northeast Ohio Catholics did.

Anyway, the trips “home” always end up the same way…with a long layover at the lair of Julian’s Mother, or as I like to refer to her “the Best Mother-in-law I have”, Rosa B, the human cooking, baking and dessert offering machine. Seems like all those old-country style mothers & grandmothers are the same (mine too except Rosa B never tells me that I am “Too Fat” before plying me with a quarter ton of vittles like my mother does). Considering that Paul was taken to church by his Uncle he has no way to get home until Julian is ready to take him home, but since Rose always fills him up with culinary delights, he is never in any hurry to go home anyway. As I write this MAAS, I just figured out why Sylvia never offers to pick him up either…he always comes back with a sh*t-load of food. Paul must get his smart genes from Sylvia.

Next week's 10-11-2010 (#162) title: TBD

There is Hope with God

2010-09-29T09:42:00.000-04:00

I received the following story and wanted to share it with everyone. It is very appropriate especially in these times of stress on our beloved country. Please accept this as the gift it is intended to be...

The fern and the bamboo
One day I decided to quit...I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality. I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"

His answer surprised me; "Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the Earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed...But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit and the same in year four. Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth.

Compared to the fern, it was seemingly small and insignificant. But just six months later, the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.

It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.

Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you.

Don't compare yourself to others. The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful. Your time will come…You will rise high"

"How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.

"As high as it can?" I questioned

"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."

I left the forest, realizing that God will never give up on me. And He will never give up on you.
Never regret a day in your life.

Good days give you happiness; bad days give you experiences; both are essential to life.

Author ~ Unknown

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story

2010-09-27T08:11:00.002-04:00

Trip to the Orthopedic Surgeon

I don’t think I have related the ordeal to you that I fondly refer to as “Our trek to the doctor’s office” or “Driving Mr. Crazy”…and by that I mean the missus was driving the mister nuts! Here are all the gory details, with the exception of the actual date of our journey. That’s because I will be using real names (no innocents to protect in this story) and I don’t want to tip off the property owners, who may have felt their “right to privacy” was violated, to our location on the fateful date…that may punch holes in our alibis. Anyway, I admit that this was the first time we were going to Dr. Bear’s office and neither of us had any idea where it was located…except of course that we had the actual address. So I availed myself of the use of Mapquest.com and it mapped the route in its usual, indomitable fashion clearly marking each directional twist and turn. One thing we forgot, having been away from Akron for so long, was that after Portage Path turned into Portage trail, the street numbers do not reset until you travel a few more blocks and cross State Road in the Falls, so we were looking for the number on Portage Trail in the wrong place. As we were cruising nicely along, with me announcing each turn at each street when I directed her to, “turn left here dear” and then, as we were approaching the end of a cul-de-sac, I corrected myself and told my chauffeur, “I’m sorry, darling I meant your other left…you know in the direction of the hand you write with.” At this point my wife did the sensible thing; pulled into a driveway and turned the car around. She explained that she only became confused because she was talking, so I planned to ease the burden she endured of providing me with transportation by looking for the turns as well as announcing them so she would not again become overwhelmed with an inordinate amount of tasks to perform, like unnecessarily conversing with me.

At this point I must pause to digress from my narration in order to explain, in advance, that the cul-de-sac we erroneously entered was entirely paved, driveways included. Why does this matter? Well let’s just say that the next two boo boos that occurred, through no fault of the driver nor the navigator, caused us to drive into two more dead ends…the last of which was not paved. When I reach that part of this epic you will understand the significance of this bit of data. I will now proceed with my story telling. After we transitioned from Portage Path to Portage Trail, I was looking for the address number of Doctor Bear’s Portage Trail office by viewing the address numbers on the left side of the road. We passed what was a hidden drive that had no address posted we could see and a place that looked like it was another hidden drive but was actually a dead-end street with its sign hidden from view. The next address we could see was higher than the address we were looking for so we agreed that one of the two areas we had passed must be the address we were seeking. Sylvia pulled the car into a playground parking lot so we could reverse our direction and turned right at the street with the hidden sign (which was also paved like the cul-de-sac had been). Again my wife very sensibly reversed our direction, by steering the car into a driveway, and then turned right again to explore the street address of the hidden drive. Now comes the fun part and the reason I will try real hard to obtain a drivers’ license again. This driveway was not paved and it branched two ways; one dead-ended into the homeowner’s barn (could have been a garage but I swear it looked more like a barn). The other branch circled in front of the house and then back to the driveway for exiting but there was a large truck parked right on the loop, close to the front door.

I have never seen Sylvia so shaken in all my life…not even when she laid in the hospital with a shattered femur…not even during Ryan’s childbirth when the staff forget to turn on the vacuum cleaner hose they use to suck the crap out of the kid’s lungs (they don’t slap the babies anymore…too many kids are extremely large and started slapping back…hard!) She was actually shaking so badly she could hardly put the car in reverse and with tears welling up in her eyes she stammered, “Oh no…I have to back up!” I was thinking that I was going to have to turn the car around for her and, reflecting back now, maybe I should have for both our stomach’s sake. You must understand, our car has a proximity sensor in the rear and Sylvia was terrified of backing into one of the three tees that stood about ¼ of a mile away from the driveway. She was trying to back up using just the mirrors and was freaking out about “…hitting one of the trees!” Me, well, I was concerned more about her running into the ditch that ran along the driveway because she was weaving all over the place...the reason I will not give the date or we might be sued for ruining the farmer’s lawn. Anyway, she didn’t get back onto the gravel until I told her that I was only worried about her hitting the mailbox. There wasn’t any but I thought that it would get her back on track…and it did. I was laughing so hard by the time we got back on the road that Sylvia was ready to kill me and if looks could do it I would not be telling you this story now. The rest of the trip was boring and uneventful with only the occasional glaring dagger shooting my way and the small ice age forming only in our car, so I’ll stop this story now while I have enough time to make a clean getaway.

Oh, by the way, Sylvia took me to the dentist Friday, September 24, and I mapped out the route (a lot of good it did me on the Orthopedic trek) but this time I told her to mark an “L” on her left hand and an “R” on her right. Maybe I should have supervised her in that but I did remind her that the “L” went on her writing hand as she is left-handed. I sure hope I didn’t make a mistake by letting her mark her hands unsupervised. Oh well, if it was a mistake I’ll just have more fodder for the MAAS mill.

Next week's 10-04-2010 (#161) title: TBD

How's that Obamacare working for you?

2010-09-22T15:06:00.000-04:00

Now that Obamacare is the “Law of the Land”, I need to ask all of you who supported this boondoggle, how’s it working out for you? Have you benefited from the reduced premium payments from your current insurance carrier…No? Well at least none of you have seen any increase in your premiums have you? After all, under Obamacare the insurance industry cannot raise premiums due to increased costs because they will recoup any of those costs with their increase of customers, right? What do you mean your insurance premiums went up, they can’t…oh wait…I forgot; that benefit does not kick in for another three years yet.

Okay, but don’t you feel so much better knowing that your child will be medically covered until age 26? What do you mean your offspring is still not covered? I see…Didn’t you know about the loop hole in that benefit which denies coverage to anyone not already on the policy? Well, that’s just too bad for you; you should keep current about information such as this. Well, that’s okay, at least you can start new policies for your younger dependents and they will be covered for any conditions, pre-existing or otherwise until they are 26 years old! Oh, that’s not right either…why not? I see, your insurance company is so afraid of raising costs, since they only have a 4% profit margin, that they stopped issuing any children only policies…period. You can’t blame them for that quite gripping.

The best part about Obamacare is if the insurance companies incur any more costs, you know the “hidden” kind [since there might be some in the bill because as Nancy Pelosi said “we have to pass the bill to find out what is in it”], those companies will just go out of business as they should [no bailouts here]. But not to worry, you will have Medicare/Medicaid to fall back upon and take my word as a user of these two, fine programs, they well, sort of SUCK!

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story

2010-09-20T08:07:00.007-04:00

Road trip to Jacksonville Part II
I left this story at the point in my narrative where Benny and I had just figured out that his car keys were missing and we didn’t have a clue where the Motel room we occupied was located and that Freddy was missing. Even before we ran outside to see if his car was parked in the lot we both knew we would not find it. “Where the Hell is that Mother- F**ker Freddy and what the F**k is he doing with my F**king car?” [Author’s note: Sorry to employ such foul language but we kind of talked that way all the time in college, especially those of us in ROTC. In fact I got so used to it that at my first sit down dinner back home with my family on spring break I blurted out, “Could someone please pass me the F**king potatoes?” By some miracle of God, I am still alive to relate this saga to you, so I will, without further adieu, get back on message.] Anyway, we walked to the diner next door to eat brunch noticing on the menu that we were in Jacksonville, Florida. I did not know anyone (at that time) who lived in Jacksonville and neither did Benny. We wracked our brains over the reason for being in Jacksonville but for the life of us, we came up empty. After we finished eating, Benny remembered we had enough booze for one small drink apiece left, so we returned to our motel room, stopping to buy a newspaper on the way. We poured our meager beverages (this time with some ice) and slowly sipped them while checking the paper for something we could do that night in Jacksonville since we did not, as Benny so eloquently put it, “We don’t have enough F**king time to get the F**k to Tampa and still return to F**king Tallahassee in time not to miss more F**king classes than usual.” Hell, without Benny’s car or any information concerning Freddy’s whereabouts or schedule or anything, we had no idea when we could even leave “F**king” Jacksonville.

It was some time after 1:00 PM when we noticed that the message light was on the phone…it had been Freddy. He said he would meet us at the Motel around 3:00 PM. That was it…no phone number…no explanation…no F**king nothing. Benny was furious and frantically started leafing through the phone book looking for bars in our area but could find nothing within walking distance. Oh, we could have taken a bus but not being familiar with the schedules or routes we didn’t want to take the chance of returning late and missing Freddy, although I would not have minded…at least I would have been spared the sight of Freddy’s blood spattering everywhere. Taking a cab was out of the question; we didn’t have a lot of money and Benny insisted that, since he owned a car, he’d be [expletive deleted; I am tired of writing various derivatives of that stupid word F**k] if we would spend a dime on cab fare. I did not want to state the obvious, such as “Are you sure that you still have a car Benny?” but there’s no need to smack the hornet’s nest after it’s been knocked to the ground, so I didn’t. We passed the time watching TV because although Jacksonville is a fairly large city, it seems that if you are not familiar with the good, secret spots, about all there was to do even on a Saturday (unless you owned a boat), was to go out to eat, visit a Redneck bar or watch the Submarine races down by the St John’s river which at that time made Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River (remember the one that caught fire?) seem like a clear mountain stream of pure running water. Neither of us were really in the mood for a hillbilly bar and since we were not the right kind of couple to be viewing submarine races (besides who knew what lurked beneath the brown, muddy river, awaiting its chance to arise to life from the water like some horrible Roger Corman monster B-movie “Attack of the [fill in the blank] Monster!!”. We had found and noted the seemingly best Italian restaurant that was on the road back to the relative raucous life of our rowdy Campus. We figured we could stop there on the way home, providing of course that we could clean Freddy’s blood out of Benny’s car in time to make it there before closing time; 10:00 PM, so we settled into the Motel room and watched TV (Gator City Tractor Pull on all three stations); killing time until 3:00 PM.

At 10 minutes past 3:00 (Benny was fit to be tied and stalking the parking lot like some large, demented Grizzly bear) we spotted his car driving along the road and then into the motel parking lot. As it pulled into the parking space in front of our room, Benny ran to it like the father greeting his prodigal son and started running his fingers over the entire car checking for any new dings or dents. Finding none (…and boy was I glad) he finally turned his attention to Freddy and the rather attractive, buxom blond in the skimpy, shape revealing attire who had driven a cute, red Ford Mustang convertible into the slot beside Benny’s car. Freddy smiled; Benny Scowled; the Blond froze like a deer transfixed in a set of headlights and I cringed awaiting the explosion I knew would erupt in the very near future. And then Freddy put his arm around the Blond, pulling her stiffening torso close as he announced, “Benny, Paul this is my girlfriend [you pick the name I honestly don’t remember] and Blondie [why not?] these are my friends Benny and Paul”. Benny’s visage softened a tad; almost smiling at the terrified sex object as he gruffly hissed, “Pleased to meet ya” and then, ignoring my own, meek “hi”, turned to confront Freddy only to be stopped in his tracks by the words, “Sorry guys, but I can’t go back to FSU with you. I promised Blondie that I would transfer to Jacksonville University since she is going to pay for it, so here’s your keys Benny; drop in and see us if you ever come back to Jacksonville again” after flipping the car keys to Benny the two of them jumped into the Mustang and burned rubber out of the parking lot. I’ll never forget the sight of that squealing car with the smoking tires rapidly disappearing into the horizon as Benny growled, “Mustang my ass; that lucky SOB gets the use of a Ford Cobra GT!”

I’ll close this tome by mentioning the fact that we did stop at the map-marked Italian Restaurant and the meal was excellent. We had wanted to order Chianti to go with dinner but didn’t think we’d pass the acid test here…you know about being 21, but we did order Spumoni with wine sauce for desert and it was delicious…so we ordered a second round. We discovered our waitress had a sister who also worked there and they lived together...alone. Both were getting off work about the time we ran out of money and asked if we wanted to…uh…um visit with them. Good timing because we had ordered another five helpings of the Spumoni with wine sauce except “forget the Spumoni” and were in need of a place to rest for the night. Needless to say, we still did not get back to FSU in time for Monday classes…or Tuesday’s… or…

Next week's 09-27-2010 (#160) title: TBD

American flag desecration in Phoenix

2010-09-15T14:30:00.247-04:00

I first heard about this from my son Paul. I tried checking it at snopes.com but found nothing...could not prove it one way or another at that site, however, Googling it gave me a lot of hits. You can verify the truth of the following information by going to the CBS affiliate KOLD Channel 13 [I don't think CBS would allow a lie like this do you?] There are many more websites reporting this activity and the video below can be found on YouTube where you can watch it or just view the same clip below:

It bothers me that Snopes has no information on this because it is such a polarizing news segment and the truth should be posted. For example: some articles claim those performing the desecration are Mexican Illegals while others say they are California liberals who had been bussed in etc. I don't know which claim is correct; if neither is right or if a combination of the two is the truth. Frankly I really don't care. Why? Because no matter who the perpetrators are they support "Illegal Aliens" being given a free pass; in fact they want Illegals to be instantly treated like US Citizens and they don't give a damn about The Republic of America as demonstrated by their vile and disgusting actions. How many Red-Blooded Americans have spilt their blood to preserve this Republic? That's what our flag stands for. These jerks (whoever they may be) might as well urinate over all the graves at Arlington Cemetery. It is disgusting that only the Federal government can enforce the law against this type of activity...especially given the penchant our current US Attorney General has displayed for not enforcing any laws pertaining to "Illegal Aliens". I continue to use this term because this is what the Illegals are; they are not "Undocumented Immigrants" nor are they "Illegal Immigrants" as both are merely euphemisms employed by Progressives, Far-Left wingers; Marxist revolutionaries, Constitution scorners and just plain generally whacked out weirdos who want to "fundamentally transform America".

In case you are not totally incensed from the video, here are a few pictures that are sure to tug at your gut unless you are one of the troglodytes performing these heinous acts. If you are as enraged, disturbed and disgusted as I am then maybe we should get together and demand that our local and state officers of the law be ordered to detain these individuals to turn over to the feds for breaking the law, just like they are allowed to do even without Arizona's SB 1070. Of course, we would then have to rely on our Justice Department to prosecute the a**holes.

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story

2010-09-13T08:52:00.003-04:00

Road trip to Jacksonville

One of the guys I used to hang out with at Florida State was Benny Hamovitz. He, like Steve Pla, was from Tampa, Florida. One weekend he asked me if I wanted to drive to Tampa with him and a friend of his (whose name completely slips my mind and I do apologize to this man on behalf of my senior style recollections). Anyway, Benny was a year older and one of a handful of sophomores who had a car on campus. He said we needed to gas up before heading out on the road, so we stopped at a Gas Station just off campus. Since it was Benny’s car, I was going to pay for the gas going and the other kid was going to pay for the gas on the way back. All I had on me was the $20 bill I had been paid with for 5 hours of catering on Campus…easiest job I ever had. Gasoline was a lot cheaper in those days, something like 25¢ a gallon so it didn’t take a lot of money to fill up Benny’s 20 gallon tank…it was something like $3.75 as I recall because he wasn’t totally empty. Before I continue this saga, I should mention that the attendant was a student in one of my large lecture classes. Anyway, when this future Businessman told Benny the cost, I passed my $20 to him and he in turn placed it in the grimy, outstretched hand. It seemed to me that the guy was taking a little too much time making change and when Benny gave me the rolled up wad of bills and a quarter, I started to count it to make sure that I had not been cheated. Just as we ran through a red light (Benny wasn’t a very good driver), I started laughing hysterically. Benny’s friend (I will call him Fred…why well because I can’t keep referring to him as the dude or guy or whatever for the entire length of this story), Fred asked me what was so f***ing funny, he was known as Foul-mouthed Freddy for good reason. I told them that I had counted the change because I was afraid of being short-changed, but I wasn’t. I announced that I knew the major of this genius with numbers; he had to be math major because he gave me $21.25 change. After the belly laughs died down Benny announced, “No…he didn’t make a mistake in math Paul, he just gave you change for a $25 bill”.

Well, we could not drive directly to Tampa as we had to stop at Freddy’s house someplace close by like Quincy, Florida, but before going I made a stop at the liquor store where I was a regular customer (did I ever tell you about the batty woman who worked there or the field promotion I received for using the place? If not…I have a good idea for a future MAAS) and I purchased a fifth of Jack Daniels Black Label Tennessee Sipping Whisky…no time for any further elaborate description of this sour mash liquid refreshment. Anyway, when we got to Freddy’s house, no one was home so as all red blooded male students attending FSU at the time would do, we cracked open the bottle and asked our host if he would care for a wee dram. Elated at his response (he did not drink) we ignored his activities (he was supposedly cleaning his room and doing his laundry) and procured the use of rather large water glasses for our first drink and after finishing those “over the rocks” drinks, the trip became a hazy, fog filled adventure. Before I knew it the night had passed and I woke up, feeling fairly…make that very hung-over, possessing light sensitive throbbing eyeballs and in a bed that was obviously in a motel room.

On the other side of a night table, upon which was perched a large bottle of Old Granddad 100 proof whisky along with wallets change and another empty bottle of something alcoholic (black label Jack Daniels I think but my eyes were not focusing so well), was Benny laying in his own bed thank God (Benny, if you ever read this story there is neither innuendo nor demeaning accusation being hurled here it’s just that you are definitely not my type.) About the time my eyes focused on his torso, he allayed my fears by opening, although ever so slowly his own, obviously hurting eyes and muttered “Oh, it’s you. Where the hell are we and did you get the license of that Bus?” Sitting up at the same time I forced my body to respond to the same impulses, I replied that I had no idea but thought that “The Hair of the dog” would be a good idea so we poured the remainder of the Old Granddad into two conveniently placed Motel room cups, drained them, almost choking and in unison inquired, “Were is Freddy?” Leaping from his bed; throwing open the door and searching around the parking lot, , Benny suddenly became extremely sober, alert and agitatedly boomed “…And just where the F**K are my F**KING keys?”
Next week's 09-20-2010 (#159) title: Part II of Road trip to Jacksonville

Why bother with Primaries?

2010-09-12T09:41:00.007-04:00

While most American states are frantically seeking ways to reduce spending and our massive debt, some states are throwing good money away after bad by running costly primary elections, ostensibly for determining a political party's candidate in a general election. In the past I had questioned the wisdom of running elections when there is only one, unopposed candidate...that is until I realized that there could always be "write-in candidates". Therefore, if a state allows a write-in candidate, then the general election must be held, but there is no reason for running primaries to accommodate write-in candidates since these can be offered in the General election. If your state allows a write-in candidate in a primary election you should demand election law changes in that state to prohibit this waste of time and money...no matter whose money it is. You should also make sure that if a candidate is running without opposition in a primary, there is no need to hold the primary unless additional issues need to be resolved.

I have issues with ever growing problems with primary elections. We witnessed my first concern when

in 2009, after Arlen Specter (R-NJ) voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in the Senate on February 10, 2009 enraging Republicans and Conservatives by being only one of three members of the GOP to break ranks and vote for this massive spending bill, it became apparent to him his future in the GOP was over. So after serving 44 years as a Republican Senator he switched parties becoming a Democrat to increase his chances of being re-elected. However, he lost to Joe Sestak in New Jersey's Democratic Primary May 18, 2010.

Next we heard that in May of 2009, Florida Governor Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist Jr (I-FL) declared he would run for the vacated senate seat of Mel Martinez. He campaigned as a Republican until it became obvious (after falling 20 points behind in the polls) that he could not beat his GOP opponent, Marco Rubio, so he announced his intent to run as a non-affiliated candidate but retain his membership in the Republican party.

However, he formally switched to the Independent party on May 13, 2010. His election campaign announced they would not refund donations that were made to his election fund while Crist was running as a Republican.

Now we hear that Senator Lisa Ann Murkowski (R-AK) lost the Alaskan Republican Primary and is seeking to either affiliate with any party that will have her or run as a write-in candidate. Since she has campaign funds left over she figures she might as well spend them to continue to represent Alaska in any way she can. If you do not believe this story, you can check it yourself in that venerable, conservative rag, the New York Times.

What is wrong with politicians today? Do they not know the meaning of "Defeat"? I know that they are very handsomely paid, a lot more than their private business counter parts in this day and age, but are they so inept that the very thought of having to obtain a real job drives them to such desperate measures to retain their cushy government jobs as these three fine examples? What is wrong with the three states these people represent? Granted governor Crist 's situation is a little different but I feel that once a candidate files his/her/its required election papers, that should be it. They should not be able to change the party they indicated on those filed papers as all of these Cretans (two Cretans and one Cretaness?) have done.

Why is it not "False Advertising" to obtain money by misrepresenting yourself? No one should be able to keep running and running as these might do? If Specter ever decided to follow Ms. Murkowski's example, he could run in the General election as a write-in candidate. When will it end? Only two items are required to squash insidious activities such as these. Install term limits and alter the election process to only allow a candidate to campaign as they represented themselves when they filled their election papers. Both can be accomplished without requiring amendments to the US Constitution...they would only require changes to the state's election laws. This may require amendments to the state's constitution but that is a lot easier than attempting to amend the US Constitution. The best part about this kind of problem solving is that most states would probably have these changes made, because it would be the will of the majority of their citizens and there is nothing that the current, Constitutional hating administration can do about it.

Proposed Mosque near Ground Zero Part III

2010-09-07T06:16:00.032-04:00

Finishing my discussion on this subject, we need to cover the Money man behind the Imam: Sharif El-Gamal:
1. He has a history of run-ins with the law, money problems in 2008 and yet he bought the ground zero mosque building in 2009: Read Here

2. Some Muslims, like Asra Nomani, share non-Muslim concerns.

3. The co-signer of Burlington Coat factory property (ground zero mosque building) is Hisham Elzanaty whose dealings need to be scrutinized.

4. Sharif El-Gamal also has very questionable past and present dealings.

5. Will failure to pay taxes violate his terms his lease on the property?

Overall Wrap-up:
Although this video is from 2008, it shows the frightening connection between the UN and Islam and as I pointed out in the first part of this blog, , Kofi Anan, a former UN Secretary, was quoted as though he were a saint; now I understand why.

A few questionable words from the Imam’s own mouth should make you sick.

If you are not sufficiently frightened by now, you should read this…and remember it is from 2003!

Here’s an article in a Canadian Newspaper that contains some items you should ponder.

In closing, listen to the words of a Muslim leader from Great Britain…Which contradicts the portrait of Islam as a “peaceful” religion and in my translated copy of the Koran, this “Jerk’s” claims seem to be substantiated by Surah 3. Al-‘Imran Verse 116 through 118 which can be found on page 22.

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story #157

2010-09-06T07:32:00.000-04:00

Traveling from California to Ohio

When we moved from California to Ohio in January 2000, we took the longer, southern route (Route 66) because there were four of us traveling in a Ford Escort LX (at least it was a four door); Me, Sylvia, Ryan and our Grandson Stephen whose fourth birthday would not be until May. Why do I though this fact in, well because it was really uncomfortable for him being strapped in the required car seat, so I would not travel any more than ten hours a day with frequent breaks (net 8 hours of driving). If we made him sit too long at one time the poor kid would suffer from terrible leg cramps but all in all he was really pretty good for such a long, boring trip.

Sylvia was still drinking at that time, so when I stopped at a gas station in Oklahoma, I noticed they were selling cold beer, so I asked both Sylvia and Ryan if they wanted beer for the night at the Motel we would be staying at. I indicated that I was not going to drink anything…just get whatever sleep I could and Ryan said he didn’t care, so Sylvia said we could get it later. I think she was actually trying to figure out some way she could get more than beer because she never turned down alcohol in the past (being an alcoholic and not into recovery for another two years yet). When We settled into a motel in Northern Texas, she managed to drive off without Ryan after I went to bed. Finding out about it the next morning I was a little upset and told Ryan he would have to go with her the next time so she couldn’t buy anything stronger than beer. I chuckled out loud as Sylvia vehemently groused about how this county was a “Dry County”. “I never heard of ‘Dry Counties’ in Texas before!” I asked her why she just didn’t drive to a “wet” county and her reply was “It was so foggy I didn’t want to try to find the damn thing on side roads with the instructions that woman gave me. I could hardly understand her anyway!” When I found out the woman had given her directions by North, South,East & West, I knew why Sylvia could hardly understand her…it wasn’t her southern accent as my wife had complained.

She checked the map and made it clear to me that we were not stopping over night in Texas again and I indicated that would not be a problem as I had to catch US 75 North in Arkansas anyway so I would be happy to stop just short of a large metropolis in Arkansas. When night came, Stephen and I laid down to sleep while Ryan and a grumbling Sylvia drove off to hunt down a place where beer could be purchased. This time I stayed awake because as soon as Ryan left, Stephen woke up and started crying and would not stop until he returned so it was hard for me to sleep through the racket. When they did return Sylvia was in the darkest mood I had ever seen before but Ryan was laughing so hard he fell down to his knees as soon as he entered the room. I asked what the problem was and Sylvia just glared at us while Ryan made chocking sounds and gestures which I finally got and asked, “Don’t tell me another ‘dry county’?” Ryan almost choked while gurgling his answer, “YESSSSS!” Poor Sylvia I did feel sorry for her but at least it made a good story to tell…now.

Next week's 09-13-2010 (#158) title: TBD

Shameless Self-Promotion - New book available now

2010-09-02T09:06:00.198-04:00

For all fans of my Monday Attitude Adjustment Stories (MAAS) book who yearned for a sequel, the wait is finally over! I have just released my book MAAS II; available in print only at the moment and only available on LuLu.com (as far as I know).

You may not be aware of the fact (as my meager books sales my indicate; I hope that's the reason) that all my previous books that are available Amazon as eBooks are also available in their printed format as well.

So, here for your reading enjoyment is MAAS II; I simplified both the book name and design so no one would be intimidated or scared away from long titles and "too much information"in my book as our President is so fond of complaining.

Oh, in case many of you are unaware of this I'd like to inform you that all Kindle eBooks on Amazon.com can be purchased without have to buy a Kindle...they provide other for reading books to accommodate Blackberries, other cell phones etc. including computer reading software. Also, if you purchase books on Mobipocket.com, they will provide you with free software for reading the book on multiple reading devices as well.

REMEMBER: My new book is currently available only in printed form on LuLu so get your copy now before it is too late (Grandma needs a new pair of shoes).

Proposed Mosque near Ground Zero Part II

2010-09-01T12:59:00.047-04:00

Continuing my discussion on this subject, we need to cover these points:

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf

Hamas (Part I Blog)
Sharia Law
Muslim Brotherhood
CAIR

The Imam’s wife, Daisy Khan.

1. First we scrutinize Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf as he declares that Sharia Law and American law are almost the same:

As previously stated in Part I, this Imam wants to install Shariah (Islamic holy law) in the United States…no make that globally. However, contrary to his claims, Sharia Law is NOT a peaceful, caring law when you look at it in practice:

…Forty lashes for wearing trousers? Is it just a coincidence that installing Sharia Law globally is also a goal of the Muslim Brotherhood? The Muslim Brotherhood that took root in Egypt that now even Egypt has outlawed? The group that spawned Hamas can also be tied, although indirectly, to Hezbollah and all these groups can arguably be tied to , Abdullah Yusuf Azzam founded it to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan.

This Imam is the same man who would not denounce Hamas or other extreme Islamic organizations as “Terrorists”. How can he justify his assertions about that organization when the Hamas Charter contains the following statement:

"Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors” (read the entire charter online)"

2. Next on the list of the Imam’s associated organization to study is the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR):

• This article ties the Imam Rauf and his wife Daisy Khan to CAIR
• CAIR is now considered a Foreign Agent:

• In A 2009 CBN News report on CAIR:

Daisy Khan

Her soft side pandering video

But here’s a current speech where she claims America Hates Islam

In a 2007 Newsweek video she has a totally different view of America’s treatment of Muslims...I wonder what changed?

Read her Interview with Sally Quinn

She doesn’t seem to think much of Catholics as this article about her tenants seems to imply.

Since the money man, Sharif El-Gamal, seems to have new revelations popping up every day, I will leave my discussion on him for Part III

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story #156

2010-08-30T07:13:00.003-04:00

More Stories about my Grandpa Garber
One of the distinguishing, and disgusting, traits of the Garber family men is the propensity for discussing their bowel movements with anyone willing, or not, to listen. I tell you this because you need to have this understanding firmly embedded into your consciousness in order to appreciate the first of the stories I wish to relate to you. My dad was constantly complaining about this particular habit so readily practiced by my grandfather, not because of what he would say but rather when he would say it. Dad would complain to grandpa, “Dad, why do you have to talk about your bowl movements while I’m eating?” Not to be outdone grandpa would simply answer, “Well Bill, if you weren’t eating all the time, I just wouldn’t have to.” This particular problem disappeared when my grandparents moved from Akron to Miami, Florida. However, in 1955, we followed my grandparents, to live in Miami. For the first few months, we lived with them in their house. Since there was a lake with plenty of bass and bluegill as well as a large are for digging night crawlers and grubs to bait our cane poles, my brothers and I were very happy but I don’t think my parents always shared our joy. I know my mother wasn’t too happy when grandma announced that “The smell of your cooking is making me sick.” I was only eight but I didn’t care much for that either, however, I think my grandfather wanting to discuss with all of his extended family the never-ending story of his bowel problems was the main reason for us leaving. If memory serves me it was about the time that dad slammed his fist on the table and said, in an extremely stern fashion, “Dad for the love of God shut up about your damn bowels, please!” Grandpa’s reply after grandma’s, “William, there’s no reason to shout and curse”. Grandpa didn’t miss a beat and said, “Bill, when I’m in your house you can tell me what or what not to say and I will respect your wishes. However, in case you have forgotten, this is my house.” There were not really any bad feelings as we visited their house many, many times to fish and water-ski, but dad did mention, more than once, that it was wonderful to eat a meal in peace without having to hear about the condition of grandpa’s bowels. It wasn’t too long after we moved into our new house that my father was severely injured in an automobile accident and after coming home had to be in traction for six months, but after he first got home he was actually in a pretty good mood because he said,”…at least I’m home now and not a captive audience of your grandfather’s”. He spoke too soon because as he was eating his first meal at home in bed, who should appear? Well, I can tell you it wasn’t a jolly old elf in a sleigh being drawn by eight tiny reindeer. I had to run out of the house so neither would see me laughing and as I left I heard, “Ah, c’mon dad…for Pete’s sake…”

The second story I want to pass on is a very short story, unless of course I embellish it with a lot of useless descriptive verbiage…but I digress. It seems, when I was too young to remember, that my grandfather was helping my dad move a piano into our home. They almost had it inside when it slipped and dropped on my father’s foot. A stream of obscenity that would have made Barnacle Bill the Sailor proud flowed fourth from my father’s foaming lips (alliteration anyone?) and he viciously kicked the side of the piano. As my dad leaned against the piano breathing heavily from the effort while the excruciating pain was streaking up his leg from the injured foot my grandfather asked, “Well Bill, feel better now?” Dad revealed to me when he told me this story that he could hardly speak without screaming in agony but managed to serenely reply, “Yes, dad…it feels much better now”.

The final story about my grandfather, for now, occurred when we were still living in Ohio. He came over one Saturday complaining of sharp pains in his back. My dad asked, “What did you do? You are no spring chicken you know; you should cut out some of the more strenuous activities you’ve been engaging in.” Okay, you know and I know that is not the way my father talked and serene was never a part of his makeup, but I have grandchildren who read this sh*t, even when no one else will, and I must not subject them to the words that dad was so fond of using. Anyway, grandpa continued, “No Bill, I really didn’t do anything strenuous; I just woke up this morning sore and I can hardly walk.” My dad then became concerned and told grandpa, “Maybe you should go see a doctor…it might be something serious.” Grandpa indicted that he just might do that because the pain was terrible. Dad asked him, “Are you sure you didn’t do something yesterday that was unusual? That you were not used to doing?” Grandpa shook his head and answered, “No, nothing unusual. All I did was to take the Sunday school class roller skating last night.” “Oh Dad, you didn’t roller skate with them did you?” And with a straight face, which my father was unable to reproduce after Grandpa’s response, answered “Oh Bill that couldn’t be the problem. After all I only fell four or five times.” No wonder the old codger had bowel problems.

Next week's 09-05-2010 (#157) title: TBD

Proposed Mosque near Ground Zero - Part I

2010-08-25T11:59:00.000-04:00

Those curious why the Muslims, seeking to build a Mosque/Community center close to ground zero, would name their project the “The Córdoba House” should check out the site depicting the mosque at Córdoba,Spain. In case you desire a little more history, you can find it on Wikipedia. Reading about this city’s location provides another clue to the naming of this architectural venture. That is the fact the city is one of a very few cities in the world, in geographical terms, known to be an almost exact antipodal city. The definition is not as important in this case as the derivative of the word which is from the Greek words: anti- "opposed" and pous "foot". To me this is very symbolic and if Islamic Radicals are anything, they are steeped in symbolism; e.g. the Twin Towers were destroyed because they “symbolized” American Capitalism; the Pentagon was attacked because it “symbolized” American Power and I believe that Flight 93 was supposed to attack the White House which of course “symbolized” American leadership. A Mosque erected near ground zero would “symbolize” the Islamic “opposite” (my interpretation of antipode) to the “evilness of the Christian backed Capitalistic system known as America”. Actually more like the Triumph of Islam over Christianity and reclamation of Islamic lands previously lost to King Ferdinand (not the one who sponsored Columbus but he was canonized by the Catholic Church). Besides, dedicating this Islamic tower on the tenth anniversary of the destruction of the twin towers is not what I call an attempt “...to smooth relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world”; at least as far as American citizens are concerned.

Now that I’ve established the symbolism behind the placement of the mosque, unlike Nancy Pelosi, I’d like to research:

The organization pushing to erect the Mosque
The Imam behind the “Córdoba Initiative”
The funding of this enterprise.

First the funding because last I heard, at the time of this writing, Rauf’s organization had less than $20,000 in its bank account while it needs about $100,000,000 to erect the structure. Proponents of this project, as well as the Imam himself, maintain that “No Money from Terrorists” will be used in constructing this mosque, however, Feisal Abdul Rauf will not denounce Hamas as a terrorist organization. Therefore, monies collected from that organization would not be considered as a “terrorist” source according to his perspective. Additionally, he is currently on his fourth State Department sponsored (taxpayer funded) tour; two under the Bush administration and once earlier this year, via the State Department’s Bureau of International Information Program. Many in the “Main Stream Media” (news organizations controlled by the Obama Administration) denounce the significance of objections to the Imam’s participation in this program because he agreed to volunteer to participate in this project before plans for building the Mosque were announced. Oh, and don’t forget, he has promised the State Department that he would not attempt any Córdoba House fundraising. Great, so by applying this logic to our Civil War, if this program had been in place back in 1861, I guess Jefferson Davis would have been provided trips to Southern states even after Confederate forces had fired on Fort Sumter on April 12 of that year if only he had volunteered to participate in the program at an earlier date. And if Davis had promised not to attempt to raise money for the Confederacy on these trips, there could be no questioning of his motives or intents either. I almost forgot, the State Department has forbidden any news reporting on this trip by any organizations other than “local” media to prevent any “out of context” news coverage. Good move, ignore our first amendment rights because Aljazeera has such a stellar reputation for reporting facts in an unbiased manner. Considering this administration has displayed such antipathy towards our Constitution, what else could we expect?

The Córdoba Initiative is the organization behind the push for constructing this Mosque/Community Center was established by the Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. It seems to me that a Website for an institution copyrighted in 2006 would have more than a "Coming Soon” banner on its Homepage. When I check some of the other pages available, like the “About us” page, it contains a quote by Elie Wiesel, inferring the backing of the Nobel Laureate for this Islamic group, which is extremely doubtful considering Wiesel’s documented views on Jerusalem and Islam. Besides the Imam, others listed on this page that should be investigated are:

John S. Bennett
Courtney Erwin
Josh Martin

John S. Bennett is a former Mayor of Aspen. Colorado and details about his association with the Garrison Institute seem to have been obscured. Interesting that he is listed as a “…founding Executive Director of the Garrison Institute” because a check on the Garrison Institute site only mentions him as a Senor Program Advisor and a member of the Advisory Council in the Summer of 2004 and 2005 newsletters. Checking out other items on this site reveals that this organization is little more than a propaganda machine for the “Green Movement. After all, on the Garrison Institute’s page Supporting Bold Leadership on Climate Change provides reference of creation and a link to the 1Sky organization. Clicking the Allies TAB and then selecting the “Notable People” category produces the following list:

 President Bill Clinton (Now we know why Hillary has ignored this issue)
 Van Jones, Green For All (Isn't he an avowed Communist?)
 Rev. Sally Bingham, The Regeneration Project
 Professor James Hansen, Columbia University
 Bill McKibben, Middlebury College
 Gus Speth, Yale University
 Dr. Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor, Northland Church
 Sheila Watt-Cloutier, International Chair, Inuit Circumpolar Conference
 Stephen Heinz, President, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
 Professor Jon Isham, Middlebury College
 Edward Mazria, Founder and Executive Director, Architecture 2030

Also, under the list of National and International Environmental Organizations there is one member listed that has no clickable link: Environmental Support Center. A check on this organization reveals why they would not want you to easily access this site, especial when you inquire on their Institutional Supporters and find scary, progressive organization such as The Ford Foundation and The Underdog Fund of the Tides Foundation. Did I mention that when you click on the About Us link, you can find a beautiful picture of Van Jones?

The “Programs” page sports a partial quote by the 2003 Noble Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, which would be a more impressive endorsement if not for the fact that this award is considered as an assault on the Middle East policies of the United States. This fact alone seems to ring a false note considering the very first program listed on this page, which is to “...improve the relationship between America and the Islamic world”. It’s a concern to me that all I can find on this page about the “The Shariah Project” is the following quip:

“Shariah (Islamic holy law) requires a nation to care for its citizens’ welfare, provide religious freedom, offer educational opportunities, protect minorities, and allow citizens to participate in their own governance. The Shariah Project will enumerate the societal – as opposed to religious – obligations that Shariah requires of a nation governed according to Islamic principles. The Project will strengthen the capacity of moderate Muslims to employ the vocabulary and principles of Islam to reduce conflict and promote democratic values in Islamic societies.”

…a quip that I do NOT believe because Shariah law is what the Taliban imposes in Afghanistan and we all know how well that is working to ease the life of all Afghani’s, including women and any NON-Muslims that have not been executed to date.

The History contains a quote of the American loving and scandal free administration of the former leader of the Protector of the World organization called The United Nations, Kofi Annan. Funny thing about the history page is that it contains no entries after November 2006.

The Advisors page, which starts with an out of context quote by John C. Danforth implying that religion is problematic, lists such notables as Karen Armstrong, Mrs. Samia Farouki (pictured with her husband Mr. Abul Huda Farouki who like John S. Bennett have ties to Aspen, Colorado), Rabbi Bradley Hirschfield, Julia Armstrong Jitkoff, John Edwin Mroz, Elaine Pagels and Shashi Tharoor.

Finally, the Contact page is adorned with a partial quote or poem from Rumi, a 13th century person I know absolutely nothing about. The most significant item to me on this page is the second address listed for this organization: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Why is this interesting…because Malaysia does not recognize the State of Israel…Funny place to locate an office of an organization that implies to be supported by a Jew, Elie Wiesel.

Lastly, I would like to look into the Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, but this blog is getting too long to continue for now, so I’ll cover him in a separate Blog.

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story #155

2010-08-21T18:26:00.030-04:00

Good news week
Well, I got the call I was waiting for from my Heart Doctors; I have two…ain’t I the lucky one. Both called to inform me that the results from the 48 hour halter I wore (no not for boobs even though I look like I need one; it was to hold a heart monitoring device) indicated that my heart was beating like a normal human being’s heart (just damn lucky it didn’t hold anything to monitor my brain waves) and therefore, I could stop taking the blood thinning pills. I informed my regular doctor, since he complains that none of the specialists ever inform him, and asked him if I could see an orthopedic surgeon about a knee replacement now that I don’t have to worry so much about internal bleeding from falling. He thanked me for keeping him abreast (another sleazy halter brassiere reference) of my medical situation and said it was good that I requested to see a specialist now…you know, before Obamacare has a chance to become fully implemented. When I questioned his reasoning with a few facts about Obamacare: namely it will actually provide seniors, like me , with more options and better care at reduced prices, he responded to my lecture with a question. He asked if I would be interested in acquiring stock in a certain Arizona bridge project being proffered by a New York funded outfit in Brooklyn. I pooh-poohed his attitude and asked him for explicit examples to explain this wayward thinking.

“Well,” he said, “consider your cardioversion. Now I know that Medicare patients can still have this procedure performed and the fact of the matter is that under Obamacare the cost has been radically reduced but, lucky for you, that part of the plan does not kick in for another couple of years.”

So I asked what the problem was and he answered by detailing the new cost cutting procedure; “First of all, any licensed or unlicensed, active or suspended MD or DO; Witch Doctor; Chiropractor; Registered or Non-registered Nurse; Any PhD; Chinese Needle practitioner or Water torturer; Practical Nurse or Practical Joker will be authorized to perform the cardioversion. Fact is,” he added, “no specialist will have to waste their time with this kind of thing leaving more heart specialists and surgeons available to provide coverage for real cardiac patients…like Congressmen, Senators and other government officials.” I then asked other than the qualification of the practitioner what else he found wrong with the new procedure and he replied, “The new procedure,documented by Article 137A; Section 69; Sub-Section 87C; Paragraph 1327; Sub-Paragraph 18c-e; stroke 1392.

The cardioversion will consist of the following items:

• a standard 110 volt wall socket
• one metal bobby pin, fake $1000 bill (if the Treasury Department cannot supply this item from their stash of counterfeit money, the Federal Reserve Bank is authorized to release part of their money supply)
• a chalk board

The procedure will be self-inflicted and implemented by following the steps documented below:

1. Locate any wall socket (closer to the morgue the better) and cover openings with fake $1000 bill (if the Treasury Department cannot supply this item, the Federal Reserve Bank is authorized to release part of their money supply)
2. Make sure any and all reusable parts (such as gold teeth and clothing) are removed from vic…er…patient
3. Situate chalk board behind a protected, walled section
4. Place person witnessing exec…er…procedure next to chalk board to record events as they occur
5. Put metal bobby pin in patient’s hand explaining that if they retrieve the bill within 30 seconds it will be theirs
6. Run out of room like a bat out of hell"

I asked what would be done with the electric paddles that were no longer being used. “According to the manual” he said “they can now be used in emergency procedures for clientele that are actually more deserving to save from cardiovascular problems like Congressmen, Senators and other government officials. I stated how awful that was and he said it could be worse. When I asked how he said, “Cap and Trade” could be implemented before your procedure and they could shut the power off just when it was needed for saving the Congressmen, Senators or other government officials.

“Would you like to hear how they plan on improving the catheter ablation procedure you just went through?” Although I replied in the negative he seemed to enjoy seeing the pain he was inflicting upon me and ignored my response, “The description for this is covered in the same general area of the Obamacare manual and it identifies the following components:

1. Wire scrounged from all discarded Japanese brake control wiring components
2. Any old transistor/automotive/boom box radio
3. Any available pocketknife or, if none is available, a rusty government surplus bayonet

I begged for him to stop screaming that I couldn’t take anymore and he agreed not to proceed any further with the description of the new catheter ablation procedure description except to articulate that the same requirements applied to the medico performing this operation as were described under cardioversion. Thanking him for the referral for my knee replacement, a sh*t-eating grin spread across his face as he asked, “Would you like to hear the details of the new procedure defined under Obamacare for knee replacement surgery?”

I answered by screaming at him, “No…for the love of God no, don’t tell me, my heart has just been restored to normal and you have strained it to the breaking point with changes to the descriptions of procedures I have successfully survived and now you want to put me into cardiac arrest with a sordid description of a procedure I have yet to experience? Hell no…shut up!”

Next week's 08-30-2010 (#156) title: TBD if my heart holds up

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story #154

2010-08-16T06:26:00.007-04:00

Watermelons – An Update
Hey John & Judy, remember the awful mixed league volleyball team we had? We were lucky to even score points let alone win games, but all the other volleyball players wanted to attend our after game parties? Those were the days…we couldn’t attract anyone who knew anything about volleyball to join our team but we did seem to have the best after game parties in the league and everyone wanted to attend those. John kept talking about serving “Watermelons” and he finally did around the last party we were going to have. I believe it was the last game of the season, there was snow on the ground, and he finally proceeded to make good on this “Threat”. Now if you do not know what a Watermelon is (the Alcoholic drink that is) I cannot give you the ingredients because I do not know its exact composition; you’ll probably have to pay a hefty price to get it from John C Yeargin (Note to John: bump it up by 10% for my cut). I can say that if you ever heard about or tasted “Long Island Iced Tea” let it be known that Watermelons fall into the same category…extremely strong alcoholic drinks that have no alcoholic taste.

Now the players in this story are three Animals and their wives (if you want to know what the Animal names are and why we were tagged with the moniker of “Animal”; you will have to purchase and read my first Monday Attitude Adjustment Story (MAAS) book [Warning: Shameless Self-Promotion Incident], but the wives names I will divulge here: John’s wife (Judy) was “Jugs”; Larry’s wife (Debbie) was “Buns” and my wife (Sylvia) was “Bones”. To clarify the logic behind these naming assignments I must divulge that Debbie was responsible for the wives’ names and personally I think that the only wife aptly named was “Jugs” but I digress. If you really want to know the Animal names given and how John and I earned them, you will have to read my new book, MAAS II [Warning: Another Shameless Self-Promotion Incident]. Now where was I Oh yeah, I was aware of the potency of this beverage, along with Jugs, Larry, and Buns, but we were the only ones that did know (and I wasn’t so sure of Buns). John was so sophisticated and cool; he would walk up to a reveler and ask, “Care for some Watermelon?” while showing them the gallon jug of the crap he was toting. If the response was in the affirmative, he would fill up a large ice tea glass and provide it to the hapless soul. I say hapless because he would float around the room like a giant, bumblebee “…just topping that off for you” as Jugs or Larry would supply him with fresh gallon containers of the stuff (I think Buns was too busy enjoying the pink juice to be of any help in its supply). I don’t know the actual count but I think he did make up about a gazillion gallons give or take a few.

Of course, having prior knowledge of the potency of the quaff, I presented the small glass that had held my Jack Daniels when John asked me if I wanted some Watermelon. I don’t like to drink anything sweet but I was a little curious…I now know what is meant by “Kick-a-Pooh Joy Juice”. Of course, Sylvia saw me and figured it wasn’t poison so she got a large tumbler full as well as the other person I am going to write about in this story; Marianne (I will not provide her last name to protect the innocent) who was known as everybody’s little sister. No one drinking that stuff realized how bombed they were getting but later in the night, I went to the fridge to get a beer and saw Marianne sitting at the kitchen table. She was sitting there because that’s all she could do…but when she saw me she perked up and with eyes crossed she belched and then laughingly inquired, “Why is my husband such an asshole?” Now I can’t be sure this is actually what she said because she was slurring quite heavily at the time, but I replied anyway, “I don’t know Marianne…some people are just born that way” and she responded by crying profusely. Then she spoke and started laughing; then she cried and she kept alternating between the two emotions as she continued talking. I swear that was the first time in my life that I have ever seen someone laughing and crying at the same time while carrying on a semi-logical conversation (at least as far as I could tell in between the slurs, laughs and heart-rending sobs). But not to worry, she did get a ride home because John did not want anyone to get hurt, so he had arranged that every loaded person would have a designated driver.

Bones had me to drive her and she is the other person I want to rat out. Now I know this will break a long standing practical joke (about 26 years) but for literary’s sake (and the fact that I couldn’t think of anything else to write about this week) I am sure that my friends will forgive me. You see my wife is almost a professional dancer who loves fast dancing; never tiring of gyrating her hips in sensuous motions. Debbie asserted that Sylvia would dance at the ring of a bell…and since Debbie happened to have a small, ceramic bell, she rang it…all night long. At first, whenever Debbie rang that damn thing, Sylvia would start grinding out of good humor…later, after a few pints of Watermelons… grinding was supplanted with flopping. Anyway she finally passed out and I had to carry her out to the car (her shoes were off and like I said before, snow was on the ground) and put her to bed when we got home. I undressed her and tucked her in for the night. The next morning when she asked my why she was naked, I pretended to be in a foul mood and hissed, “…Why don’t you call Judy and ask her yourself, ‘Barbarella’?” then I stormed out of the room and totally ignored her. When she finally did call Judy, John answered and said “Ring-a-ling -a–ding there hot mama. I gotta table you can dance on…” then Judy acted mad and pretended she had pushed him away from the phone. Then, when Sylvia asked what happened last night, Judy replied by chiding my poor wife saying; “You announced that you were tired of hearing about Paul’s past days running around with go-go girls, so how’s this?” Then you removed your shoes and hopped onto Debbie’s coffee table…Stripping down to your birthday suit, you danced announcing, “Is this how they did it?” Everyone was in on the joke, so no matter who she called she heard the same story and then, as if to prove it all, I showed her the bell that Debbie had given me to take home so that quote: “No other husband would be subjected to such lewd behavior”. In fact, every time she talked to Debbie or Judy or John (even after we moved to California) they would usually bring up that night and that damned little bell. Well my dear, I’m telling you it was all a lie. You can rest easy now secure in the fact that you did not reveal yourself to anyone…at THAT party…heh…heh…I’m a little stinker ain’t I?

Next week's 08-23-2010 (#155) title: TBD

Moday Attitude Adjustment Story #153

2010-08-08T11:00:00.014-04:00

My week so far
Well, the week sure started out okay…Found out Monday that the catheter ablation seems to have permanently corrected my irregular heart beat. When they listen to it now it sounds like a normal, boring “lub-dub lub-dub lub-dub lub-dub” and not like a medley rendition of The Syncopated Clock, Summertime, The William Tell Overture and Song of the Volga Boatmen. For those not old enough to know what I am talking about just follow the links to the YouTube renditions. On Tuesday I am supposed to find out from my Doctor if I can stop taking the massive doses of blood thinner that had been required to ensure no blood clots would form in my vacillating ventricle. I’ll have to continue my story when I find out and Oh yeah, the best part of my check-up was the question as to what affect sexual activity would have on me and the Nurse stared Sylvia right in the eye and said “…anyway; any place and any time just do it”. I thought I was in a Nike commercial except that Tiger Woods didn’t poke his head in on us. I got down on my knees and kissed the woman’s feet blubbering “Thank you; Oh dear Lord, thank you!’ Actually I am exaggerating a little here, but I know that I was the only man in the world who asked for sexual relations with his wife and was told, “No. Not tonight YOU have a headache”. I won’t say how long we have waited “Due to my condition” but if I don’t have to waste time scraping her off the ceiling, I may report on that too…if I can stop skipping and singing Oh What a Beautiful Morning that is.

I am now continuing this Blog on Tuesday morning and the first thing I want to do is to ask the Buckeye members of my reading audience if they read about the UFO sighting (or perhaps personally witnessed it ) that was reported throughout the entire state of Ohio Monday night? Well, I’m sorry to report that was NOT Sylvia skipping the light fantastic among the cumulus. No, she did not tell me that I had a headache nor did she refuse me at all. Our problems were myriad and unfortunately we spent more time laughing at each other than re-consummating our marriage. First we tried the woman on top position and found that although it was working for me, we discovered that to continue that way, Sylvia would require a back brace, knee pads, massive doses of painkillers and a special saddle to stay on (she kept slipping off to her left). We finally gave up on that option and I announced (much to her relief) that I was going to get on top…which was our only other choice. Hey, we weren’t attempting to follow the Kama Sutra here you know. Anyway I did manage to get on top but can you picture Jabba the Hut mounting Princess Leia? (I know that’s disgusting and when I first saw Star Wars III, I just could not do so myself) But, back to our story…by the time I finally got into position I discovered that we were actually too far apart to make any kind of physical contact with the required bodily parts for sex. Of course Sylvia laughing her butt off kind of put me out of the mood anyway and since I need to lose weight, I suppose I should have been the one to accomplish that particular feat. But take heart all you MAAS readers, my dear wife, when she could catch her breath long enough to breathe again, assured me we would try again, so I will continue to keep you posted on our weekly progress.

Okay it is now Thursday morning and still no attempt to “Re-connect” so to speak. I can’t blame my poor, squashed wife for wanting to wait until her body snaps back into shape. Hey, how would you feel being crushed under 360 lbs of dead weight? This morning Sylvia was stirring and looking like she was trying to get off my hospital bed in the raised position (top & bottom) by sliding down to the foot of the bed. Since I didn’t want her to injure herself any further, I lowered the bed and got off so she could easily slide of the side. After she returned from the facilities and I had taken my turn, she sat up, looked at me and stated “I think I’ll go sleep on the coach”. I asked her why and she replied. “Because the side bars on this bed are digging into my back.” It was early enough that I just decided to get up and told her to move into the middle of the bed. I told her that I had to fix the mattress so that the side bars would not dig into her back. She then asked me “…am I the problem? Am I scrunching you too much?” The reason I tell you all of this is because after she got up for the day, I asked if she felt better now that she got some sleep and she asked me, “Why, was I restless last night?” She remembered NONE of our early morning conversation; point being she was making excuses for not “Sleeping” with me even in her SLEEP! Of course I am not entirely innocent in this matter…I could just remove the side-bars but then how would I keep her trapped in bed? Hope tonight brings better results…keep your fingers crossed.

Friday morning…No, nothing new to report dammit so quit bugging me about it…In fact, I don’t even know if I want to report on anything more for the rest of this week or not, so all you sadists will just have to suffer if I don’t. Humpft!

Late Friday/early Saturday: Wonderful even to report…no, we did not make love, but my son Paul and my granddaughter Tyler just arrived from the West Coast. A blessed event; how can I thank you God? Just imagine two more pair s of super sensitive ears to cramp my style. I already have to put up with my grandson Stephen saying things like “Grandpa you are such a pervert; leave grandma alone” and “What are you doing in there? I can hear your bones splintering”. And just think of the joy that hearing my adoring wife whispering sweetly into my ear, “Stop it. Are you crazy? The kids might hear!” I’m going back to bed now; the future is looking dim.

Shut up Phantom and Jugs it’s Saturday now and it’s definitely NOT funny. Oh yeah? Well you can kiss my rosy red…

Sunday ^?$!/+%`&*<&%~*>Q!(#

Next week's 08-16-2010 (#154) title: TBD

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story #152

2010-08-02T08:04:00.007-04:00

AT&T U-verse for Mom
One thing I had to help my Mother handle was her AT&T U-verse bill. She had purchased a bundled package of Internet, Digital Phone & TV, but my brother Grant, who is suffering severely from advanced MS, could not get used to the new television remote and screen navigation so Mom called to cancel the U-verse TV package and have Direct TV re-installed. However, when she received her first U-verse bill, it was dated for services starting three days after she had cancelled the service and included charges for the TV package. She had thought that since the TV part had been cancelled, she should not be charged for it at all. Additionally, she wanted to know why the $180.044 bill was so much more than the $108.00 she had been quoted.

I knew part of the problem was the fact that billing is charged in advance of using the service, so even though this bill included charges for the Television package, she should receive a credit for it in the next bill. However that $108.00 quote had included the TV and it was to be a “Free” installation. The bill also included a $32 Pro-rated charge and a $29 “One Time Charge” so I called the billing inquiry phone number. I recognized the voice at the other end as having the same accent as all the other New Delhi help agents I have ever spoken to…I hoped communications would be easier to establish with this individual…Sad to report that my hopes were soon dashed.

The first thing I tried to get fixed was my mother’s name on the bill. You see she always went by the English translation of her Armenian name, Helen. However, after 9/11, she had to be identified by her birth certificate name, Areknas (AH´-rec-naz) and that is what she had provided to AT&T. I think I told you the story before, but it is worth repeating here again. My Grandmother did not speak very good or clear English when she had her first child, my Uncle Van, so his name on the birth certificate was Vahan (Va´-han) which means Van. She was still not too sure of her English when my mother was born and wanted to name her Helen, so that is why she got the name Areknas. When she had her third and last child, my Aunt Alice, she thought she would give her an American name...thus Alice. When my mother would complain about being named Areknas my aunt would just tell her “At least you have a real name that means something on your birth certificate; mine reads Hal´-liz”, but I digress. On the AT&T bill they had spelled Areknas as Arenkas. So I said “I’m calling for my mother Areknas Garber and my name is Paul Garber. After he asked what he could do for me I said “Well first her name is spelled wrong on the bill and you can fix it.” There was a long, pregnant pause on the other end of the line so I said it should be (spelling it out) A-R-E-K-N-A-S. He asked “what?” so I spelled it again; A as in Apple; R as in Rat (that got him thinking about lunch because I could hear his lips smacking) ; E as in Ever; K as in Knife…no I jest. Anyway we finally got the name fixed and I felt like I had just completed the 50 mile hike that JFK wanted everyone to perform.

After the name was spelled correctly (I hope; must wait until the next bill to find out for sure), he asked me how that was pronounced and I replied, “AH´-rec-naz” and he echoed “ah-Reck´-naz”. I said (hold on kiddies because here we go again) “no it’s AH´---rec---naz” and he dutifully repeated “ah-Reck´-naz”. I won’t give you all the gruesome details that followed just suffice it to say that I finally gave up and did not try to correct him anymore. This way I thought we get continue with the real concerns I had about my mother’s bill, but (and now I am really shielding your delicate sensibilities here; thank you) sighing, he questioned me with the satisfaction of a sexually gratified partner (I think he trapped the rat that was loose in his “office”) “Okay now what can I do for you Mr. ah-Reck´-naz?”

Next week's 08-09-2010 (#153) title: TBD

Answering a Progressive

2010-07-31T12:35:00.059-04:00

Before I begin, I want to explain three things; The first is why I placed this particular Blog entry under "Religion and Philosophy" instead of "News and Politics". Although the statements I am responding to are indeed political; they exhibit the philosophy of Left-wing Politics as well as the "religion" of Evolutionism and there is no category of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, so I chose the class label which contains two out of three.

Secondly, the Progressive disease which has infected All Political parties with a fatal pestilence that threatens to destroy our Republic, is not limited to the far left wing of the Democrats, although the Democratic Party has been hijacked by this Progressivism movement.

The third and final point I need to make is that Progressives label All conservatives, including Independents, (the few remaining) Democrats, Tea Party and Republicans simply as "Republican", a term they have equated with "Fat-Cats".

Now that you have been dutifully educated as to the Political atmosphere of America today, here are the venomous statements which require a humble response from me.

"It is tempting to begin a sentence about today's Republican Party
with the words, 'Just when you thought they couldn't get any
dumber,' but then you realize you're talking about a group that
actively thwarts benefits for the unemployed while pimping tax
cuts for rich people, a group that champions a political base
which by and large doesn't believe dinosaurs existed because
they're not in the Bible but can't stand the thought of stem cell
research making people whole again, who attack the ideas and
policies of the majority with vehemence but absolutely refuse to
offer any of their own, and you come to the realization that you
can't begin a sentence with those words, because there really is
no bottom to this particular barrel."

It is tempting to respond to your malicious verbiage with the words: "Just when you thought it was safe to listen to a Left Leaning Progressive Liberal again", they surprise you with comments that just makes blood shoot out of your eyes. Let me begin by requesting that before making comments about the Bible, perhaps people should read it first. To quote the scriptures: Job 40:15 "Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.". This verse is generally interpreted by Christians and Jews alike to mean that Dinosaurs Did exist...they just existed in a later Epoch than the Evolutionists would have you believe.

Statements such as: The Republican Party just want to give money to the rich (e.g.: Fat Cats) while denying benefits to the unemployed without offering alternative solutions is the kind of Propaganda regurgitated by these Progressives in spite of their insincerity...no make that in spite of their awareness of the truth. Re-stated in simpler, laymen terms that even I can understand, they lie. This statement is deceptive in its assertions because:

1. The reason for Conservative opposition to Extending Unemployment is the expansion of this entitlement that tends to result in reduced job searches

2. They oppose taxing individuals making $250,000 and above because not all these are “Rich People” and in fact includes 90% of the Small Business owners (who file their taxes as Individuals) ~ Since the small businesses are the engine of our economy, this taxation is stifling job growth.

3. Conservatives do have an alternate plan; reduce Taxes, allowing more money to flow into our economy and reduce spending because history has proven the only way to recover a sagging economy is to reduce both taxes and spending. Name the country (and there are many) that have tried to recover their economy by employing massive spending measures and then name the ones that succeeded…I’ll save you the trouble; the answer is None.

4. Stem cell research is Not opposed by Conservatives; new, Embryonic stem cell production is opposed because we believe that a human life is sacrificed to create these stem cells. What is asinine is the assertion by Progressives that these new stem cells are required; they are not. Not yet because the on hand supplies of these are far from being exhausted and Afterbirth can provide many more stem cells, so prudent use of existing stem cells, augmented by those which can be created from discarded Placentas, should last a long time into the future.

5. The United States is and has been politically, a center right country with a majority of its population identifying itself as either Conservative (42%) or Moderate ( 35%) and only 25% as Liberal ( as reported in Wikipedia’s Definition of Political Ideologies in the United States which contains the Progressives since they cannot be Conservative nor can they abide Moderates (just ask the Moderate Democrats that have been pushed out of the Democratic part like Joe Lieberman)

I am sorry for taking so much time to respond and that my response is so wordy, but the progressives have been eating away at the fabric of our Republic for over 100 years, so trying to cram in enough facts to expose their prevarications takes time. Besides, as we Conservatives have discovered, once we expose a lie they just go on to another without ever apologizing for the exposed one; regardless of whether the lie was intentional or not. What makes it even more difficult to get these wild eyed fanatics to understand they are actually In the minority is the actions taken by Congress. The Progressives in Congress hold a majority (when you add the Non-progressive Left Wing Nuts to their numbers) and no matter what we "little" people try to tell the 'Wackos" running our government, they continue to follow the Progressive agenda. This only instills the belief in that part of our country that has been brain-washed via a progressively infested Public and Collegiate school system that they are in the majority.

This is dangerous...this is quite dangerous to the survival of our beloved Republic. Why you ask, well this turning of a deaf ear to the people was one of the main reasons for our Revolutionary War. Do you not recall the phrase "No taxation without representation". We "little" people feel that we no longer have representation in our Government...do you get my drift?

Signed one of the few, remaining Conservative Democrats,
Paul D Garber

PS - I just heard one of the best examples of Propaganda being force-fed to the American people today...an example that everyone should be able to relate to and comprehend. A spokesman, no make that a Shill for the Obama Administration was on the News responding to accusations concerning the sad lack of action concerning the Arizona border by those who are supposed to be providing Border Security stated "...the facts are that the borders are more secure now than they have ever been". This was the favorite tool of Joseph Goebbels, the man credited with perfecting "...the 'Big Lie' technique of propaganda, which is based on the principle that a lie, if audacious enough and repeated enough times, will be believed by the masses". The Borders cannot be "safer than they have ever been"...why? Well because our Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano who, has expressed this exact same fabrication herself, was appointed to her position directly from the Governorship of Arizona where she, a fact conveniently forgotten perhaps, was constantly begging Congress and the White House for more and better border security.,

Congress should have listened to Glenn Beck

2010-07-26T18:58:00.038-04:00

Even before the Stimulus...er...Recovery Act...er...Jobs Bill or whatever they want to call it today was passed Glenn Beck questioned why it was even called a Stimulus package" in the first place. Remember Obama's comments about the original Stimulus Package?

Here's the final law from this fiasco:

Public Law 111-5 Date Approved: February 17, 2009 Full Title: An act making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes.

Did you catch that last part; "and for other purposes"? Who writes a law with ambiguous verbiage like that...only someone who is planning on using the money in ways other than what was intended; indeed what had promised to the American People.

And finally there is the Financial Reform Bill that was enacted Jul 24, 2010. In the PDF search field enter "FOIA"; find the second occurrence and then read until you discover that the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been authorized to deny Freedom of Information ACT requests. That means the power (which is very great) of the SEC cannot be questioned. Therefore, the ability to sell Smoke (with out the mirrors) cannot be investigated by ANYONE. Yeah this is the same SEC that failed to catch Bernie Madoff. The same SEC that failed to notice the games that Enron was playing with investors money. But cheer up because this is the SEC that does not have to explain anything to us, the Peons , anymore, so they won't look so bad when they miss all the dirty tricks this this Administration will be pulling on us by pushing through Crap and Tax without requiring any legislation and our SEC "watchdog" will "Transform" into a Pit Bull that growls in the dark.

Oh, did I happen to mention that since Congress has delegated so much of its power in the Stimulus, Obamacare and Financial Reform bills that Cass Sunstein, our Regulatory Czar can bypass it entirely and they will find themselves out on the same branch with us, the "Little People" that are too stupid to know what the right thing do is unless the Government tells us.

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story #151

2010-07-25T12:08:00.010-04:00

State of Irony
Just up through today, Monday July 26th, I have helped my Brother Grant and Brother-in-law Julian with computer problems; my Grandson Stephen with his request for Online Schooling; my Son Paul with stuff (I won’t discuss here); my Son Ryan with faxing data; my Mother with AT&T & Medical Billings and my Daughter Julie. Why do these acts fall under a state of irony? Well, if all these people knew I was being treated, along with everything else, for depression (and they should know being my relations), would they trust me with handling their affairs? To be honest, I myself do not feel that I am suffering from depression these days, but when Kaiser Permanente first started treating me for this problem, I was depressed…but more on that later.

My doctor at Kaiser wrote prescriptions for anti-depressants and a three month’s leave of absence from work. When that produced no appreciable results, he repeated the actions chiding me and telling me to straighten up and act like a man. Problem was I had to stop driving because I was falling asleep driving and during meetings at work. The second time he told me I had to see a psychiatrist (just once) so I went to see the guy (no couch so I was not sure of his actual abilities). He asked me what the hell my problem was and I told him I keep falling asleep and just want to be left alone. Then he leaned forward across his desk and with his best rat-boy like impression he sneered, “I didn’t ask you how you felt or what was bothering you; I asked what your problem was!” After waking up (because I kept falling asleep, remember?) I asked him to repeat the question. He was not amused but repeated it anyway in the same, rat-like manner. I reiterated that I couldn’t stay awake…and then proceeded to fall asleep again. Waking up one more time, I caught him telling me that “…there has to be more to it…you can’t sleep due to the depression”. I won’t tell you about falling asleep during this interrogation anymore; just picture it occurring within a time span of about every 30 seconds to one minute.

At the time, my wife, now a recovering alcoholic God love her, was still filling most of her days with extremely unique and imaginative ways of how to acquire money for purchasing liquor…so in self-defense (I kept depicting this small rat-like creature sinking his fetid tooth into my arm thereby giving me rabies) I blurted out something about her drinking being a problem. Keep in mind that we had been married about 25 years at the time when I tell you his final disposition (since my 45 minutes were up already) was “Get a divorce.” I answered, “Excuse me?” …and he repeated himself. To keep from squashing him like the little toad he was I just stood up and told him to perform a sexual act upon himself and crawled out of his office (I found myself on the floor after falling asleep again).

Now here’s the Irony in the suggestion that my lack of sleep was causing my depression; it turns out that once I found an actual qualified ENT at Kaiser, he diagnosed my Obstructive Sleep Apnea. He explained that my weight gain and lack of sleep (which he indicated had almost killed me) were caused by the Sleep Apnea and therefore, my depression was caused by lack of sleep not the other way around. Unfortunately, no one monitored me and my condition worsened again causing me to evolve from a C-Pap machine to a Bi-Pap (much stronger version) after I became the sole support for 9,000+ users; 24 hours a day; 7 days a week at work, but that’s another story for another day. I wouldn’t even state that this MAAS qualifies as a feel good story for you except for the fact that people seem to feel better about their own lives when they hear how much someone else’s sucked.

Next week's 08-02-2010 (#152) title: TBD

Sick of the Progressive Games

2010-07-19T15:10:00.075-04:00

One more example of our wonderful Government's march towards Socialism is the recent rejection of the Amendment #032 proposed by Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to the Clear Act (HR 3534) bill as reported on Daily Events .

Nancy Pelosi, who less than ½ of 1% of US Citizens can vote for, can apparently do whatever she wants in the House to either stop legislation she does not agree with or ensure that her legislative preferences are passed...by hook or crook. Let's examine how she killed the Cassidy Amendment:

US Territories such as Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Northern Marianas and the Virgin Islands are all represented by one NON-voting member in the House of Representatives (None in the Senate).

In 2007, H. RES. 78 was passed in the house allowing those NON-voting representatives to have their votes counted in committees of which they are members. They all vote with, who else, the Democrats. It sure does not seem that allowing Non-voting representatives the right to vote could possibly be constitutional, but since when have these Progressives ever worried about the Constitution?

How are memberships in committees, like the Committee on Natural Resources which killed Rep.Cassidy's proposed amendment assigned? Well, they are appointed by her Highness, Queen Nancy Pelosi...no that's not fair to the other Queens of the world since they do not enjoy half the power that our smiling (she has no choice but to grin stupidly due to the numerous plastic surgeries she has endured and one more should result in her ears rubbing behind her back) gavel toting House Speaker enjoys.

So what can we do about the apparent Unconstitutional practice of allowing NON-states to vote in our House of Representatives? Well, that decision needs to be left to the Constitutional lawyers and Attorney Generals of the afflicted states. One thing I do know is that the action of this government in the Gulf Oil crises is not accidental but a deliberate, calculated attempt to ruin our offshore oil drilling capability. Why do I make this assertion...because Harry Reid just announced today that "Cap and Trade" is officially dead. What does the disposition of "Crap & Tax" have to do with the Gulf Oil crisis? Well if our offshore oil drilling is eliminated, then what will we replace this loss of oil with (and remember petroleum is not just for fuel and heating)? Well, even without "Crap & Tax", we are stuck with the EPA and pollution limits so replacing the fuel and heating of Oil with coal would not be allowed. So either we have to buy more foreign oil or develop more "Green Fuels" or, in all probability, both. Eventually, as this administration has already illustrated, they will enact "Cap and Trade" one way or another and since we will be well on the way to producing cleaner energy, that part of their scam for selling smoke will have already been implemented.

The sad facts are:

These oil rigs for drilling cannot sit idle and are already being moved to other shores like Russia, Brazil and Venezuela to name a few.

It is expensive to move these rigs and the rentals are generally long term; they won't be coming back to our shores in the near future.

Even if the courts finally decide that the Moratorium can be lifted once and for all, it will take too long to do any good. The oil and the jobs will be gone.

Losing the jobs will just add more to our welfare roles and this is what this administration wants. They are executing the Cloward-Piven strategy to collapse our republic onto itself reducing the USA to a third world power that they feel can then be more easily transformed into a Marxist state. Of course a side benefit is the redistribution of wealth without implementing "Crap & Tax" to Obama friendly countries like Brazil, Russia and Venezuela. If you do not believe me, just follow the money and see who wins if I am correct. I'll give you a hint; check for large stock holders in Petrobras

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story #150

2010-07-18T14:14:00.007-04:00

Home front Status
Okay. I give up. From now on I will always entitle next week’s MAAS…TBD. That way I never have to stay on script because everything always changes around here on an hourly basis. Our Daughter Julie, along with her significant other Frank, has moved to Wisconsin to become a Cheese Head. I guess that’s better than being known as an Airhead but not quite sure about that. The Grandson that lives with us, Stephen, just announced he wants to attend an online school next year. Great, he now goes to Firestone Middle school (which is right across the street from our house), but for high school he want to attend Firestone High which is, as luck may have it, right across the street from us. Don’t ask me his reasoning because I do not believe there is any. He is basically an A/B student who does his homework…unlike his grandfather; his reasoning powers are definitely a gift from his grandmother.

I must be feeling better because I am doing a lot more now. I even went outside to help Sylvia, who had been trying to start the lawn mower for about an hour. She came in and said that neither she nor Stephen could get it running and she was going to have to wait until Ryan got home. So I gallantly hobbled outside and began acquainting myself with this foreign, to me, piece of mechanical equipment. I found and primed the choke and started yanking on the cord…to no avail. I decided that maybe I’d have to put my cane down so to better position myself for pulling the string. The ^%%$@#! thing would not even turn over and just as I was about to suggest we get a new spark plug, Sylvia advised me, after 10 minutes of unsuccessful yanking, that I had to hold down the bar (which I had thought was just a brace) running below the top of the handle bar to start the mower. So I held it, pulled once and the machine burst into live, purring like a lion…well make that a large cat…uh…as Maxwell Smart would say, “Would you believe a three week old kitten?” After explaining to my adoring, grateful wife she could have been mowing 10 minutes sooner if she had only told me about this nifty little trick BEFORE I started yanking my arm off. I didn’t think it was too much to ask for since I had never even seen this piece of equipment before, but it’s not important now. I’ll know what to do the next time; I’ll just tell her to wait until Ryan comes home.

I will have to make this a short MAAS because I was not able to spend as much time getting the old imaginative juices flowing this week, so I could not remember all the funny things, that I intuitively know occurred. Therefore this MAAS is at an end. In the future I will endeavor to try harder even if I have to make some of this true stuff up.

Next week's 07-26-2010 (#151) title: TBD

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story #149

2010-07-10T14:39:00.008-04:00

Cardiac Abolition
Okay, okay…I know I said I was going to write Miscellaneous Catch up Stories #3 today, but Friday I had my Catheter Ablation outpatient procedure and there was just too much material not to write a MAAS story about it and if I wait too long, at my age, I will forget too many of the juicy details. Now as you may notice I entitled this story as “Cardiac Abolition” which is not the same as the real procedure “Catheter Ablation” but it does have the same initials “CA” so if I want to refer to it in this esoteric representation you will not realize what I am really talking about.

Well, this story starts off, for those of you old enough to remember Robert Mitchum movies, like the final action scene of Thunder Road…you know where the car flips over crashing into the power station exploding into a ball of fire. Well, that may be a slight exaggeration, but Sylvia was driving you know. Anyway, we got to the right entrance on the first attempt (I will be applying to either the Guinness Book of World Records or Ripley’s Believe it or Not as it was the first time [with Sylvia driving] this has ever happened) and there was a line of cars backed up. Apparently Old Age has taken a toll on Sylvia; it just doesn’t show on her like it does on me. I must digress long enough to express an observation concerning male and female aging. As the years accumulate on us I have noticed that as I grow fatter, balder and uglier, Sylvia, on the other hand, seems to be growing slimmer, more shapely and even sexier. Oh, she’s constantly reminding me that without the copious amount of dye applied to her lustrous locks, she would never dare to stand holding a broom for fear of being penalized by the FAA for flying without a pilot’s license. Of course she is always whispering this fact into my left ear, which she knows is practically useless, so I question her affirmation. She also tells me that my eyesight must be failing, but always respond that I can see she has the same hourglass figure that she had when we married…of course if I just wouldn’t add that part about holding a lot more sand, I wouldn’t have to keep telling the doctor that I am falling down (walking into doors is a woman’s story).

Enough digression for now…so we pulled into the queue of cars and Sylvia went inside to get a wheelchair for me because it is so far to go to get to the operating, not to mention the distance to the Hospital entrance. I mention this because it proves that all further surgeries or appointments I must insist be made, I repeat must be made no earlier than 10:00 AM to allow her time to fully wake up. Why do I say this; because she taught me that Hospital wheelchairs come in convenient, not just for obese adults but also in small, children’s sizes. Oh, did I mention that we were in the Valet Parking line? You know the place where you can ask the attendant, no matter how long of a line you are in, to provide a wheelchair for the patient? Thank God, there was an attendant who took control and wheeled me us to the waiting room because Sylvia drives wheelchairs even worse than cars and I had just about had enough crashing and burning for one day. All the way to the elevator I kept my shaking head down, to avoid disclosing my identity, and had to listen to the guy complaining “…this wheelchair is terrible.” I had to agree when he started steering me out of the elevator and the damn thing stuck in the door tracks and I had to grab the door to keep from being unceremoniously dumped onto my face. Once we got to the waiting room he suggested I sit in a chair and he said he was going to get a better chair. Not only was he trembling with laughter on his way out but everyone he paused in front of on his way out broke into uproarious laughter. When Sylvia was not looking, I motioned towards he and mouthed “…it was her!” I think I’ll skip the narrative about walking to the prep room as it is too painful to recall…not the journey but the giggling, snickers and outright laughter I had to endure along the way.

I got to the prep room and was told that I had to strip off everything and put on the Hospital gown. Must have been the look I gave her because she proceeded to explain the “You have to be shaved for the operation”. Once I finished disrobing she and another nurse, hooked me up to every monitoring machine known to man plus the obligatory IV. Imagine my surprise when the same nurse entered my room with shaving paraphernalia and announced she was going to shave me now…I was expecting a male nurse. As she peeked under my robe at my boyhood (since entering my 2nd childhood I do not refer to it as my manhood…and besides, it seems to have shrunk in old age and manhood just doesn’t seem to apply any more). When she started actually shaving, after taking about 20 minutes to apply the shaving cream (which she seemed to enjoy a little too much), I had to give her credit; she only left the room once to laugh (she claimed it was to get a new razor but I knew better). I did ask her not to shave me too close as Mr. Happy is small enough as is. Funny thing is after she finished saving and covering my groin with that anti-bacterial orange crap, she announced that she should probably shave the other side because sometimes they use both sides. I told her Okay but if Pvt. Dick stands at attention to receive his field promotion to Major General Richard the Lion-Hearted; United States Military Academy at West Point, New York; class of ‘69, not to worry as it was nothing personal. When she finished, I told her it was too bad you couldn't smoke any more in hospitals. She gave me a puzzled look saying, "But I thought you said you quit smoking?" I told her that indeed, I no longer smoked but that after her last activities, I sure could use a cigarette. When Sylvia came in to stay with me until the procedure (now I know why she wasn't allowed in earlier), she asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, "...So, did they shave you?" When I said yes, she didn't believe so I told her to look under the covers. "Oh my God it looks like a Hitler Elephant!" I thanked her for her kind words but corrected her by saying that I thought it looked more like Jimmy Durante as der Fuerher.

Later, when the laughter died done, the anesthesiologist came in to talk to me; she indicated they would be putting me into a “sleep mode” like they did under the Cardio version, but not quite so deep because the doctor may have to question me during the procedure. Funny thing is I heard the doctor talking but never remember him talking to me. I was introduced to another nurse, but never saw another man in the room. Every now and then, I could feel a hand fumbling around my groin and a sexy, female voice telling me not to worry as she was just taking my pulse. I told her Okay, but my heart is in my chest, not to mention that fact that I just swallowed my tongue. As I was being checked out and sitting in an Adult wheelchair (see Sylvia, I told you they had them) I was talking some of the nurse’s and told them that I was glad I could now really concentrate on getting back into shape and do some of the things I used to love but had given up. When one asked what that was I told her “swimming at the beach and laying in the sun. When they asked why I didn’t do it now, I replied that I was sick and tired of the hundreds of kids who would try to push me into the water as I was sun-bathing screaming “…save Shamu” or the snotty little brats (and not just my kids either) that would point at me in the water and scream “…thar she blows; Moby Dick the Great White Whale!”
There was more but that’s all I can remember…a true story, sort of.

Next week's 07-19-2010 (#150) title: Miscellaneous Catch up Stories #3

State of the Union: Sinking Fast

2010-07-07T12:02:00.053-04:00

The State of our Union is either in "Disrepair" or "Confusion" or "Panic", but the Obama Administration wants you to think that everything is just peachy keen. Relax, the economy is going great; our debt is only an indicator of our wealth [per Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) the poster politician for term limits];

we have a wonderful Health Care System...just like the NHS (National Health Service of Great Britain) and our President just bypassed the Senates' mandate of Advice and Consent by appointing Dr. Donald Berwick as the head of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) over the holiday weekend.

Why? Well he was looking at a very hard confirmation fight with Congress over this choice. Fact is that Dr. Berwick in on record as saying, “I am romantic about the National Health Service. I love it". The department of the NHCS he seems to admire the most is the National Institute for Clinical Effectiveness (NICE), it's rationing arm. Citing Dr. Berwick this institution is a “global treasure.”

This is also akin to a "Death Panel" because if your life-prolonging costs are above a certain limit, chances are the procedure will be denied. Wow...this guy loves Rationing and "Death Panels' which critics of Obamacare said would happen while proponents, including Obama himself, laughingly asserted would never happen and were only lies and scare tactics. He and his (I won't even refer to them as his administration anymore; I'll call it like I see it) Henchmen are the ones spreading lies and in his arrogance just does whatever he pleases because in his mind we are just too stupid to know what is good for us. This post had been vacant since 2006; why the rush to appoint someone over a holiday weekend? Is it just a coincidence that this former Harvard acquaintance is also a proponent of Redistributive Wealth?

For all you "Lame Stream Media" as Bernie Goldberg has dubbed you, what did you call Glenn Beck when he told you that Obamacare was not about health care but was about Redistributive Wealth? If any other President had attempted this kind of Unconstitutional posturing and "Revolutionary" antics, well Congress would have had him impeached months ago. All Clinton did was lie about cheating on his wife; this man has cheated on the entire American public. Impeach Barack Hussein Obama before it is too late.

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story 148

2010-07-05T15:41:00.005-04:00

Miscellaneous Catch up Stories #2
Too busy over the weekend to bother with writing up one of these and besides, at my advanced age, I discovered that there are two things you lose right off the bat when you becomes a senior citizen. I forget what the first thing is but memory is the second. I asked Sylvia if she remembered was the first thing and she refused to even talk to me…said that she didn’t converse with older, strange men, so she was no help at all. Actually, I am looking forward to dementia or Alzheimer’s or whatever because it will take me back to my college days. You know those days when I could go to bed with one woman and wake up the next morning with a female stranger snuggling me. Okay, that’s just a stupid fantasy but it will become a reality in the not too distant future and the plus side is I will also be able to meet a whole lot of new people every day.
But I digress…I covered my siblings and now I need to cover my Mother, Mother-in-Law, my Brothers-in-Law, Children, Daughter-in-Law, Significant-other-in-Law & Grandchildren, but I am tired from just from communicating all of the people I have to cover. I can only hope that there will be no new entries in the Garber or Bank family trees before I can finish writing this update. For a while it seemed like they were spouting like weeds and at my age it will be hard to remember all of the names. However I have eight nieces and nephews (four of each) at the moment (see, I forgot to mention these already) and all are capable of spawning at any time…Oops, too late, I just remembered that I have two Grand Nieces and one Grand Nephew and my fingers are bleeding as I write.
However, before I delve into any family news, I’ll have to talk a little more about my wife, Sylvia. She actually is happy that my birthday is today because for six months now, she can say; “I married an ‘Older’ man” or “Did you what ‘my old man’ did now” or “Yeah, my husband robbed the cradle when he married me”; and feel she is being entirely truthful and honest. Today, for the first time in six months, when I referred to her as my “Trophy wife” she didn’t tell me to shut up. She just stuck a seductive pose and inquired, “Why…Because I married an ‘Older’ man?” I answered, “No because you are all for show but no touching is allowed”. Not to worry, the doctor told me I would recover in time to go through the Catheter Ablation scheduled for Friday, July 9, as long as my blood tests on Thursday come back Okay. Just reminded me, we are going to be alone in the house later today and I’ll have to try to use Sympathy to wheedle out a great birthday present for myself so I’ll have to wrap this up to plan my sneak attack…wish me luck. More (I hope) next week.

Next week's 07-12-2010 (#149) title: Miscellaneous Catch up Stories #3

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story # 147

2010-06-27T14:46:00.018-04:00

Miscellaneous Catch up Stories #1
I must update a few things for you to set the stage for future MAAS stories (and to ensure they make sense). For my first update I will have to discuss my three Brothers’ attempt to form some kind of depraved “Disabled Super Heroes Crime Fighting Club”. Consider my Brother Van,
who appears to be devoid of any, obvious maladies that afflict the rest of us, until he regales you with his rendering of that old Kirk Douglas classic song from Walt Disney’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea; “Got a whahe of a tahe to tehh you wads…” and then you realize he is perfect for the “Elmer Fudd as the leader” role. Of course for him to serve in this capacity, I must necessarily relinquish all my elder brother privileges, but that actually amounts to nothing for this particular group. Now there is a leader for this conglomeration, so we must concentrate on adding the actual, working participants.

As those of you who know my youngest brother Bill might be aware of, he is aiming for the “Man in the Waffle Mask” opening…if you have seen his recent Head gear. In case you missed it, here is it:.I personally believe he is a shoo-in as long as he keeps sending us Loooong View pictures of himself to make sure we can’t detect the tube shoved down his throat he must wear at all times. No, it is not due to the re-missive cancer but as I warned him against, “Bill, whatever you do, do NOT piss off your doctor”. Of course he listened to my advice, as he always did as a kid, and told me to “Pound sand where the sun doesn't shine, bro”.

The next Brother attempting to “Break” into the club (sorry for the pun but you know how I adore them) was my middle of the pack brother Grant. I believe he was practicing for the “Commander Kangaroo” slot by constantly leaping into his chair on one leg. He is now lying on his bed with a cast up to his crotch, so he will probably be appointed to the “Now I have to work in a bed, on a laptop” group sub-heading. He requested that his Brother Paul (me), along with his youngest son Ryan, father to Paul’s Grandson, Stephen, be included into the group to establish his own personal “Nerd Herd” posse. However, I am here to tell you that only I, the oldest sibling of the Helen and William Garber brood of four, am the only qualified member of a herd of any kind…If you restrict membership, as it is, to the calculated tonnage of beef “on the Hoof “.

Finally, I know that my youngest sister (in the sibling sense) Elena, will be chomping at the bit to enroll in this “Band of Brooders” group. But I am afraid Little Sis, that you do not possess any of the required deformities to be inducted into this “Hall of Shame”. Sorry, but you still have time. Unlike the rest of us old farts, you still have the best years of your life ahead. Unless, of course, you decide to take any of the paths that were chosen by your idiot Garber brothers. Give Beverly, Corrine, Lauren & the soon to be delivered little Lauren our love.

Next week's 07-05-2010 (#148) title: Miscellaneous Catch up Stories #2

Get all your facts first

2010-06-25T15:54:00.034-04:00

Sheppard Smith Chastises Judge Napolitano on BP:
On June 24, I watched with disgust as Judge Napolitano attempted to explain to Sheppard Smith, on his FOX News Show, that although BP is responsible for the oil spill, they are hardly the only participants responsible for the Gulf Disaster. In an emotional display of Liberalism, Smith demanded, how the judge could possible defend BP.

Here's my take (Known Facts):
#1 - The Judge was right about the $73 million Cap of Limitations on all Oil Companies for cleanup costs due to any oil spill. Exxon had spent 2.1 Billion dollars on clean up of the 1989 spill.
#2 - This limit caused oil companies to become lax concerning spill safety measures because they realized the [relatively] small responsibility limit left them in a good crisis, cost versus revenue situation.
#3 - However, to receive a cap on limits, as they requested, the oil companies had to agree to allow the Government to dictate where they could drill.
#4 - BP had indicated they wanted to drill in 500 feet of water but the Government said that Environmentalists had declared that to be dangerous, so they were forced to drill in Deep water for "Safety".
#5 - As the Judge also stated, Russia had four deep water well leaks and fixed them all...by exploding them. BP wanted to try this, but again, the Government said no...too Dangerous.
#6 - As I write, there is a Nigerian ship sitting in dock awaiting the Government's permission to allow it to operate in the Gulf for skimming purposes. This ship has the capability to skim huge amounts of oil.

The story is that the Dutch offered their Skimmer ships to help the clean up process, but have been told "no thank you" either by the EPA or the Jones Act which was waived in the aftermath of Katrina.

Here's the May 4 Story from the Netherlands which Documents the Dutch offers for help.

Here are my observations:
I do not in any way think that this Oil derrick was intentionally blown up by either BP or the Government, but the roadblocks to rectifying the dilemma that continues to pollute the Gulf only serves to ruin the US Economy and give credence to the supporters of "Green Energy" that "Cap and Trade" (or as I like to refer to it: "Crap and Tax") is our energy solution. Well, that is a load of crap and Obama will now use the excuse that bigger government is needed to fix our economy...which is also crap. Has anyone else noticed that there have been quite a few providentially timed disasters as far as this President is concerned? Well, I for one do NOT believe in coincidences.

Disparaging General McChrystal's Public Comments:
First I would like to state to everyone saying that President Obama HAD to fire the General and/or agreed with that firing, the only quote attributed to the General himself was directed towards Joe Biden and his asinine assertion that the withdrawal date is absolute. Why is it asinine...because it is about 15 months away and the final deployment of the 30,000 troops Obama gave McChrystal will not be completed until September this year. The date gives the Taliban an advanced "notice of eviction" so to speak. The President did not HAVE to fire the General for comments made by his staff; a severe public tongue lashing would have sufficed. Didn't Harry S Truman give MacArthur the courtesy of this action before firing him when he said much worse about the President? To the General's credit, he took the blame and made no excuses. Did anyone attempt to question why the General would have had his resignation in hand when he reported to the White House? Could it be he had already talked to the President about muffling "Louie the Lip" Joe Biden and had been denied? Someone should certainly impress upon this Joke of a Political figure that "Loose Lips Sink Ships".

Here's my take (Known Facts):
#1 - Obama did not give McChrystal the Troops he had wanted.
#2 - Obama did make McChrystal wait on the tarmac for their first meeting.
#3 - Obama did not meet with his General for any updates on progress or problems.
#4 - McChrystal had been taking heat from Congress about the progress of the war.
#5 - McChrystal had better relations with Afghans than the White House.
#6 - General McChrystal was restrained by the Rules of Combat that will be relaxed for General Petraeus.

Here are my questions to you:
Can any of you tell me for sure that the General hasn't asked for more resources via channels and had been denied?

How many times had Obama dissed the General in McChrystal's mind?

How many times had McChrystal requested progress and/or problems meetings with the President and been denied?

How many times had the General requested the White House to muzzle the Veep?

I believe that General McChrystal fell on his sword to protect his troops and made a pact with Obama for the benefit of his troops. I think it went something like this: Mr President if you will relax the Rules of Engagement for the troops; make Biden's comments about the "hard troop withdrawal" irrelevant; consult with my replacement (and he should probably be Petraeus) about progress and issues and finally display a modicum of respect towards my replacement, I will tender my resignation. However, if you renege on your promises, I swear I will go to all the media outlets and tell them the real story.

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story (MAAS)

2010-06-20T15:54:00.005-04:00

In MAAS 145, I left you where I had been escorted into the Emergency ward. I didn’t think the place was really that busy since they found a place for me right away. However, it wasn’t too long before I found out that Police Officers have a dry sense of humor. There were really only three other patients when I got there but I think all must have escaped from the Loony bin. One was a woman who was locked in a room walled with rubber padding who kept moaning “Why am I strapped to the bed?” and “Someone please let me loose”. I could hear the scuffling of a nurse’s shoes as one would drag herself into the room and sarcastically answer, “Like we told you before (sigh) not until your family comes”. The other two were both men. One was handcuffed to his bed and didn’t say too much; just every now and then would complain that he had to go home to feed his dogs. The other guy, I could hear but not see because the curtain blocked my view, but it sounded like he was traveling all over Emergency talking to any poor soul he could entrap into listening.
The nurse came and looked at my foot and then after vomiting profusely, tried to draw blood for testing. Why…I don’t know since my foot was leaking like a sieve, but after trying four times (twice in each arm) she called for the professional blood sucker. All this time, Sylvia was standing at the foot of my bed and even though there was a chair in the empty nook right across the aisle, she declined to sit down. Then the head vampire came in to use a drill bit on my arm that was made for digging the Chunnel. He got a blood sample (spilling a quart or so on the floor in the process) and attached an IV to the gaping hole. It was when the nurse came to take an EKG and had to move the curtain back that I saw why Sylvia had refused to sit down. I saw the cowboy who was galloping around and he was using the standard issue Hospital gown (you know the type that leaves your backside exposed to God and country). I couldn’t tell whether he was wearing extremely soiled jockey shorts or just had a hairy derriere, but I chided my loving wife of nearly 40 years and made her sit down, away from the floor show.
Now I was attached to a vitals monitoring device and a doctor, accompanied by a nurse, inspected my injured foot. He kept apologizing for the pain he must be causing me and I kept telling him that my neuropathy left me no feeling anyway…over and over as he washed it out and repeatedly to the nurse as well when she bandaged it tightly (being diabetic they did not want to take chances with stitches). All through this medical treatment I kept hearing the three stooges until I saw the female cast member walking by; tethered to a portable IV with her family trailing behind her. Once I saw her brood, I knew why she had to wait so long for them to arrive. It had to take them a long time to skedaddle down from the hills. I could hear the shackled man still pleading to be sent home because he had dogs to feed. Later I heard that they had to wait for his blood alcohol to dip below the legal limit or at least under the highest rating on the Richter scale. I also found out that he had a wife and about seventeen hundred children all below the age of 6, but he was only worried about his dogs. Maybe that was why he was so pickled in the first place. The Peep Show provider was gone by the time I was released and I asked where he had gone. I was told he wanted to walk home but he lived in Ravenna, so the police said he could only leave if someone would pick him up or pay for a taxi. He said that his wife had left him taking his car and he had spent all his money at the bar. The staff quickly too up enough money to pay his way to Canada and instructed the cab driver to do so. All in all a very interesting trip. Oh, I almost forgot…since Sylvia couldn’t smoke on Hospital property and there is no smoking allowed in our car, Sylvia pulled into the first parking lot to smoke a cigarette…and discovered she had left them at home. Being the heartless, cruel scum that I am, I laughed hysterically all the way home.

Next week's 06-28-2010 (#147) title: TBD

Oil Spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico

2010-06-16T15:07:00.053-04:00

On May 27, 2010, 37 days after the explosion, President Obama told reporters Thursday

...BP is responsible for what he called a "horrific disaster" that began when an oil rig exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and rupturing an undersea well.

Why was BP, who supplied 6 of the 126 workers on the rig, the only company mentioned when other players were deeply involved like; the owner of the rig, Transocean Ltd, who supplied 79 workers; contractor Halliburton, who supplied 41 workers; MMS the regulatory agency that was watching porno instead of the drilling operation and the US Government who issued the order to drill in deep water in the first place. The US Government was granted the power to establish where the Oil Companies were allowed to drill when they legislated a Liability Cap for oil companies as part of a deal brokered after the expensive Exxon Valdez incident. On June 16, 2010, 57 days after the explosion, our president finally met with BP's chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg & other executives, for the first time; duration...20 minutes were allotted by President Obama for what he labeled "The worst environmental Disaster America has Ever faced" yet he allotted 90 minutes for lunch with Joe Biden. The results...BP will not pay dividends for one year and have established a slush...err...trust fund of 20 Billion dollars that will be controlled by an "Independent"; Kenneth R. Feinberg. Since BP is in Bed with the President on "Crap & Tax", or as this administration calls "Cap & Trade" a system of selling smoke without the use of mirrors, they stand to make more from that "green" legislation then they have to pay in restitutions. Is this oil spill an event that the Progressive members of Government will use, as per Rahm Emanuel, as s crisis not to be wasted? I guess it just takes our focus from our Border problems with Mexico; the Middle East fiasco caused by our government not supporting Israel and the financial ruin this administration is leading...no make that driving us towards.

Although Mr. Feinberg seems to be an honorable man, he is the "Pay Czar" for the Obama Administration and appointed by Mr. Obama to administer this restitution fund; therefore he is obligated to the President and therefore not hardly independent. If Mr. Feinberg denies monetary claims, they can protest to an undefined "group of three" and if that brings no result, they can always sue in court. Nothing new here, but how is this mysterious "group of three" chosen and by whom? Also, listening to Congress grilling BP's CEO Tony Hayward the next day, you would have thought that he was personally responsible for the entire incident and took it upon himself to drill in deep water. Rep. Bruce Braley (D–Iowa) even had the nerve to ask him if he felt that the President "had shaken him down" in the concession meeting on the previous day and also if he thought the $20 billion fund was a slush fund. What does either question have to do with the purpose of the congressional investigation?

Let us review what has happened; the US government instructs BP to drill in water deeper than any has been previously drilled. The US government under George Bush is accused by the Democrats of being too close with the oil companies, but cozies up even closer to them under Barack Obama. Thirteen countries offer to help our government plug the leak and are all rejected and dismissed. The US president lets almost two months elapse before meeting with Head Executives of BP to demand that they set up a pool of money which is not only illegal under Judicial Law but also is unconstitutional. The Obama administration has done nothing to help plug the leak but have wasted more of the taxpayers' money in a display of crude and vulgar "divert all attention away from us to make us look like we are blameless and genuinely concerned citizens" side show.

I can say that I have never been ashamed of my country before but I am now. I am not apologizing but I am disgusted with the "Al Capone-like' tactics that this administration has been using. I am appalled at the direction this group of "gangsters" is herding our country; the direction of Cuba, China; North Korea; the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany; a Socialistic Oligarchy or Dictatorship. And I am sick to my very soul about the way these Progressives have systematically ignored our Constitution; assaulted our faith and propagandized our children. I only pray that our country can recover and still be able to freely vote in a fair election and not trade our Republic for a Marxist Dictator.

Monday Attitude Adjustment Story (MAAS)

2010-06-05T10:15:00.004-04:00

I figured that since the world (and especially America) is in such poor shape that I should find some way to share my "true" life stories with you & since I am close to publishing my second MAAS book, this might prove to be an excellent sales pitch tool. While I don't have enough time to compose a story worthy of sharing by next Monday, I thought I'd just re-publish the last MAAS I had written before suffering a total system crash last year (maybe my computer had been trying to tell me something and I was just too stupid to pay attention?). Anyway, for those who missed it, he is Part I of my hospital trip to St.Thomas emergency after a fall. Pay no attention to the dates listed; I left them in only for a time reference and will update them for the next issue.
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Trip to Bountiful…er… St Thomas Emergency
Last Wednesday night I had to make one of many nightly excursions to the restroom and on my return voyage, just before reaching the safe haven of my bed, I fell to the floor. I will not relate all the sordid details behind my trip to carpet city, just suffice it to say that I landed on all fours and got back into my bed without any help from anyone. I did however; awaken the entire household (except for my 13 year-old grandson who has become oblivious to these kinds of ominous sounds) as well as causing great consternation in the Ohio department of seismology until they discovered it was not another earth shattering seismic event. Unlike other experiences, I raised myself up fairly quickly into my bed and was eager to return into slumber-land when Sylvia & Ryan said I was bleeding and they wanted to press my “Help I've fallen and can’t get up” button. I could see the blood on the carpet (which is almost blood colored anyway) and pooh-poohed that idea but when I got into bed; they could see that there was a significant gash under my little toe…And they pushed the panic button. A very short time later, I thought the circus had come to town; you know that small car with a seemingly endless line of emerging clowns? Except this was a seemingly long line of paramedics entering my room. In fact I asked if someone had dispatched the entire Akron Fire Department. There were actually only four but it seemed like a lot more. One guy was wrapping my wound until my foot looked like it belonged to Boris Karloff’s Mummy while another was asking me what health problems, other than a bleeding appendage, I had. What the other two were doing, other than laughing at my jokes, I have no idea. When the “Questioner” had finished he announced that they did not have room in their emergency vehicle for me and asked if I wanted them to call an ambulance or have my family drive me to the hospital. Later, when Ryan seemed indignant about their statement that there was no room for me I told him that was obvious since four had emerged from their truck but the rest of the clowns were still inside, putting on their makeup for the “Big Show”. I refused the ambulance (trying to do my part to reduce Medicare/Medicaid costs) and said my family could take me. Especially since they said they couldn’t get the stretcher down our hall and into the bedroom so I was going to have to walk into the living room anyway. Everyone kept worrying about the pain and I kept telling them that the only benefit of diabetes generated neuropathy was not being able to feel anything below my ankles (once it gets to be numb from my waist down, I’ll opt for Dr. Kevorkian’s beside manner). I must say that poor Sylvia had a tougher time than usual putting on my Frankenstein-like diabetic shoes because of the enlarged size of my heavily bandaged right foot. All eyes were surveying me with trepidation as I waddled into the living room and sat down in my over sized, motorized recliner. When they asked me what was wrong I lied to them and said that I just wanted to rest. The truth was that I wanted to wait until the masses got out of my way and I could make it unobstructed to our car…there were bodies everywhere and one guy even stopped in the door and asked if I wanted any help. I was nice and just replied, “No thank you” when I was actually thinking “No, just get the *&^#%$ out of my way you $@%^ Bozo!” I finally got to the car and breathed a sigh of relief until I realized that Sylvia was driving me to the Hospital. I promised her that if I wrote about this story (as she knew I surely would) that I would not relate how she ran a red light nor would I recount how, although delivering all of her children at St. Thomas, how she went the wrong way and even bypassed the entrance, so I won’t. When we got to the entrance, the policeman that helped us enter and directed us to the emergency room stated, “Good luck it is a real crowded night”. Seeing how long this story has become already and knowing how much more there is to tell, I feel this would be a good break point (Oh wow, had an old 501 flashback! This is an operations insider joke and you have to be older than dirt to get it so don’t feel bad if you don’t), so I’ll finish my tale next Monday in Part II.

Next week's 11-02-2009 (#146) title: Trip to St Thomas Emergency Part II

Letter to block Elena Kagan's Nomination

2010-05-28T11:55:00.010-04:00

I composed and sent this letter to all Republican Senators in order to block Elena Kagan's Nomination to the Supreme Court. Please feel free to copy & paste this letter and use and/or change it as you wish. The URL I used to select the senators to email is: List of Senators

Here is my crude letter. If you choose not to use it at least compose your own and try to send it:

We are not residents of your state and not even Republican, but we are writing all GOP senators because of the Senatorial scrutiny of Elena Kagan required under Advise & Consent. We need to ensure that you block the nomination of this individual to the Supreme Court if only for actions she took as Dean of the Harvard Law School. In that position she petitioned for and obtained the removal of Constitutional Law study as a requirement for Graduation! She did however; make sure that three courses of study that were required for earning a Harvard law degree all pertain to Intentional Law. Are you kidding me? This is America and the Constitution is more important than ANY International law…period.

Please do not allow this Progressive Activist to infect our Supreme Court.

Thank you,

Stop Picking on Al Gore

2010-05-13T12:24:00.014-04:00

Poor Al Gore, people have been making disparaging remarks about his becoming Significantly Weight Challenged. He is actually not over-weight; he is the perfect weight if only he were some four feet taller. I guess you could call him vertically challenged in lieu of horizontally challenged, but whatever adjective you choose to apply in his description, the fact is any recent weight gain is only due to his massive efforts he has exerted supporting "Climate Change".

Oh, I know that many of his detractors have belittled him for the huge volume of red meat he continues to consume (especially of steak) after espousing the benefits of being a Vegan. In fact, even his fellow "Save the Earthers" have questioned his commitment to Vegetarianism. Well, I'm here to tell you that he only continues to eat steaks cut from Cows in his effort to reduce the volume of Methane Gas being spewed into our atmosphere by these horribly destructive animals.

His critics have argued that even Al knows the validity of the science involved to calculate Global Warming is bogus and they use the fact that he paid 9 million dollars for a seaside home in California. Boy did they ever take this out of context. If they would have looked more closely at the home's pool and yards they would have discovered the terrible disrepair of these items. All Al did was to anticipate the flooding due to the melting of the Polar Icecap and purchase a building that is sufficiently large enough to serve as a cabana to enable him to enjoy his new underwater park, Dizzy Land.

Obama's FCC Thugs Must be Blocked

2010-05-06T12:03:00.010-04:00

This article By Phil Kerpen of FOXNews.com demonstrates the Marxist way of stifling the "Freedom of Speech" rights of a people that this Administration is willing to implement. This is URGENT and must be stopped at all cost. This is the MOST important issue we need to focus on and stop immediately. This is more important than Immigration, Crap & Trade and even border security because if this designation of the Internet as a Utility is successful, articles like the one listed in this Blog will never see the light of day again. Nor will any articles or Twitter or anything that is deemed "Seditious" or Harmful to the Public. You must contact everyone you can, State & Federal authorities, Tea Party members,9/12 organization, friends, family, Judges and anyone else you can. This obvious "Chavez Style of Politics" must be stopped!

The Oil Rig Explosion in the Gulf

2010-04-30T10:12:00.014-04:00

The main question being asked now by both the Press and the Obama Regime is "What caused the Oil Rig Explosion in the Gulf. Well, I believe that the timing of this event, as are so many of today's coincidences occurring in the Obama Administration's favor, a great bit of fortune. Why do I say this?...Well for two reasons:

First reason: Too much attention was being paid to the Puerto Rico Statehood scam (Thanks solely to Mr. Glenn Beck...you know the ultimate Liberal Whipping Boy) and to the Arizona "Illegal Alien" problem. Notice he is giving a televised comment on the Oil Spill? Did he give such a speech on the "Tennessee Plan" Boondoggle?

Second reason: This tragedy makes Off Shore Drilling a taboo activity when discussing energy independence from OPEC on oil. In fact, it has already put a stop to proposed offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico by Louisiana and Florida.

Okay, now my main question is not how did this happen but can anyone account for Bill Ayer's Activity and Location at the time of the Oil Rig Explosion? I sarcastically tweeted this question on the day of the explosion but now, considering the benefits the Obama Administration reaps from this event, I am not so sure that question is sarcastic. Besides, the fishing and Tourism industry in that area have been drastically affected and this would require even more, "Bigger Government" action...Yikes and Egad.

Immigration Fix

2010-04-26T10:00:00.020-04:00

I believe that Glenn Beck has the right solution for fixing our Illegal (Illegal being defined as: "against the law"; NOT a sick bird) Immigration problem. His idea is to deport those without jobs and fine both the Illegal Aliens and the Companies that hire them. By the way, I will not refer to these lawbreakers as Immigrants because, although stated differently by the far left, they are not immigrants. Aliens in the phrase "Illegal Aliens" was replaced with Immigrants by the progressives to imply a legal status (normal Progressive word play); if they were Immigrants they would have followed the "Lawful Immigration Process" and these Aliens have not done so. For companies that knowing hire Illegal Aliens then the fines need to be of the company existence threatening type (I feel that there should also be criminal charges as well as fines applied to those company executives responsible for the Illegal hiring). Mr. Beck indicated that any back taxes owed should be paid (and I assume all normal penalties associated with the nonpayment). He also indicated that he doesn't know what to do after that point, but I have some ideas:

#1 - Ensure, by law, that all immigration fines levied be allocated to ONLY immigration issues.
#2 - Open up Ellis Island and create at least two more immigration centers; one in the south and one in the west (a fourth could be along the Canadian border if needed and FUNDED).
#3 - Make the Illegals with Jobs apply for green cards and perform strict background checks on them (similar to the FBI NICS firearms check).
#4 - Confine Illegals in one of the Immigration centers pending verification.
#5 - If no room exists in the Immigration Centers then they are to be deported until the green card verification is done at which time they will be contacted.
#6 - If they do obtain green cards, they must wait until a job (including the one they had) becomes available. NO jumping to the front of the line here either

I believe the biggest reason for Americans not working jobs "beneath" them, thereby opening up the job market for Illegal Aliens, is due to the fact that many people can make more money on Welfare than by working available jobs. Rescind Welfare and replace it with Workfare and the only pay scale for Workfare should be at the minimum wage rate. Jobs would be the type that prisoners (chain gangs) currently perform; no work, no pay.

I also believe that if an Illegal Alien is found to have used any falsified documents or broken other laws (outside of the normal, Immigration laws) they need to be charged, detained and tried in criminal court for those unlawful activities. If convicted, they need to be fingerprinted, photographed, deported and placed on a Federal "No immigration list" for a period of at least five years (negotiable and in accordance with the crime committed) or (if the crime is serious enough) go to a US prison.

In closing I must add that I do NOT favor asking anyone to prove either their Citizenship or legal status unless they are being charged with a crime or have been apprehended attempting to sneak across the border. I feel that ICE raids on companies (like the ones that were working before the current administration stopped them), border security and possibly rewards for reporting Illegals should be the enforcement methods for Immigration Laws. We in the US are fond of traveling freely within our country and it is a precious freedom that MUST be protected.

PS - Why not pass a Federal Law, as part of the Green Card procedure, requiring all driver's licences to be marked as "resident alien" & require proof of green card? We require proof of automobile insurance (and probably will require proof of Health Insurance real soon) so why not proof of residence for Non-citizens?

New Political Party

2010-04-24T12:41:00.022-04:00

I know that everyone alleges America has a two party political system but there is nothing in the Constitution restricting the number of parties or their designation. In fact many parties exist today, if you count all of the Independents; there are just two major parties. The Tea Party is not and should not be a political party but what is wrong with establishing a new, Conservative Party? Oh, I know what you are thinking, that’s the Republican Party but I submit that the Republican and Democratic Parties have been designated with different adjectives in the past and will probably be associated with others in the future. In fact, the reason there are so many new, Independent parties is due to the changing values of the GOP and Democrats. It seems that the Republicans have become more Liberal while the Democrats have rejected its Conservative membership.

What is wrong with establishing a Conservative Party (Has the National Independent American Party already done that?) to accommodate the disaffected members from the other parties? In fact instead of naming it the Conservative party we could call it the “Constitutional Party”. Either way, I feel that this new party could be established in a unique way, with Divisions…like certain “rights”, as described in the Constitution, or by Amendment. That way, members could declare themselves as Constitutionalists from the 1st Amendment Division or 2nd Amendment Division or Bill of Rights Division or Right to Live Division or All Divisions etc.

Whatever the name, even using an existing one with no divisional designations, the most important change is to get the new party recognized and added to all state primary elections. Of course, a three major party system would mean there could no longer be any “Bi-Partisanship”, but what the Hell, none exists now.

Where I disagree with Glenn Beck

2010-04-20T09:42:00.055-04:00

For the most part, I agree with almost everything Glenn Beck says...with only three exceptions. First, Mr. Beck does not believe that our President is deliberately leading our country down the path of Socialism. He believes that presidential advisers and czars are the culprits. He doesn't believe that a president would deliberately ruin American. I whole heartily disagree with this belief . Second, I believe Mr. Beck poo-poos the importance of money (as it relates to Washington Corruption) as an issue that needs to be resolved...again I believe money (and Lobbying)is one of the largest problems in our government today. Third, and lastly, Glenn Beck states that we can restore our country with ballots and not bullets. Although this is my strongest wish and I pray to God Glenn is absolutely correct on this point, I am not so sure that we can recover our country with ballots and what other option does that leave us?

FIRST: I believe that President Obama IS intentionally leading us down the path of financial ruin and a large, socialized government. As Glenn Beck himself said, President Obama is not dumb...he is very intelligent. The President is a community organizer and life long Socialist (I am being kind here because I could have said Marxist and been even more accurate). As Barack Obama himself quoted, his Grandmother "People will know you by the company you keep"; and "If you remain friends with people up to no good, you are bound to become like them". Look at his friends and the company he keeps and they are almost all evil. Most are either Marxists, Socialists or even Communists, many are tax evaders and most are radicals from the 60's. He is merely following his own beliefs and the game plan of George Soros; World Socialist government. Why is Obama amassing such debt...he wants our system to collapse upon itself so he can establish his World Socialist Government. He is following the Saul Alinsky inspired Cloward-Piven Strategy which is to overload the Government with welfare entitlements to hasten it's collapse. As Glenn is promoting these days "There are no coincidences" and President Obama, his administration cronies and Progressive members of Congress are trying to "Fundamentally change" the USA into the USSA (United Soviet States of America). They are duping liberal left members of Congress, even more than their disgusted supporters, into thinking that the Progressive agenda is the Liberal Left agenda. Wrong, the Left Liberals are still wanting a Constitutional Capitalist Government, not Marxist Socialism. I can only take solace in the fact that I believe Barack Obama is a very ambitious guy and my guess is that if the US is transformed into a Socialist Nation, he will turn on Andy Sterns, George Soros ET AL, and try to rule like Chairman Mao. If he does, at least he will be easier to overthrow than if he conforms to the Global Socialist Government principal being orchestrated by Soros.

SECOND: I totally agree with Glenn Beck's proposals to institute Congressional term limits and tie Government salaries to either the medium or average (not the same) American wage. However, we also need to completely reform the Political money handling process in America today. I am not talking about the lip-service "reforms" Congress has instituted in the past; soft versus hard money, Bull Hockey! I am talking about making our Government responsible to the people they are supposed to represent and not the Special Interests that buy support via Lobbying. I firmly believe we need to treat Lobbying as the crime that it is, bribery. I would also take away many of the perks enjoyed by the President and Congress (I feel the Supreme Court needs to be examined separately). If they had to pay for the fuel they used themselves, then maybe they would pay more attention to the price of gas. We also need to stop providing Airplanes and Automobiles for their travel; especially from home to work. They need to be limited to the same, Corporate and IRS rules that American workers observe. That would mean filing expense reports with a certain limits; personally paying out of pocket expenses exceeding those allowable limits. Cost allowance for Airline Tickets would be based on the price of coach tickets, so if the person wants to upgrade or take along non-essential personnel, could pay for themselves. Not only will this reduce costs for the Military (Planes, Maintenance, Pilots & Fuel etc.) but would also help the economy by pay private industries for Congressional travel. Additionally, we must remove the role money plays in our elections. This is no easy task and there are people smarter than I am who should devise a method by which donated money can be allocated evenly to all candidates. The time and efforts expanded seeking election funds would be much better used to perform legislative tasks, like reading bills for example. Money, our Government has so aptly demonstrated, is the "root of all evil".

Third: My last disagreement with Mr. Beck is not that I have any problem with his avocation of Martin Luther King Jr.'s and Mahatma Gandhi's peaceful nonviolence philosophies but I am not convinced that their strategy will succeed under this administration. I must remind everyone that Peaceful Protests do not always work; their success depends upon the times, places and circumstances. No protests of any kind are allowed in many places of the world today (Iran seems to be the perfect poster child). The Tiananmen Square Massacre did not occur in the Dark Ages (1989) and do you honestly believe that Stalin or Hitler or Mao would condone any "unauthorized" protests, even peaceful ones? Because if you do I would ask if you would be interested in buying acreage in the Lost Continent of Atlantis. Remember, Gandhi was protesting the British rule in India and Mr. King was protesting for Civil Rights in a still, Constitutionally protected America. Neither would qualify as a Marxist, Socialist or Radical Islamic environments. So, although I strongly endorse the Peaceful Protests Glenn advocates, I am not so sure it will succeed, but the peaceful path must be followed until the Progressives in our Government turn to violence. That is why our Founding Fathers gave us the Right "...to keep and bear Arms" as second only to the First Amendment because, to quote President Jefferson:

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government"

And

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."

I'd like to suggest a poem (obviously pirated from Glenn Beck) for all Conservative signs, clothing and flags until our own Government betrays us:

"Neither Hatred nor Violence or Mandated Silence,
Will be used to ensure total Federal Compliance;
The people have stated in a loud and firm voice,
Make the Government smaller for that is our choice!"

PS - Before publishing this blog entry we have been notified to the latest trick employed by the Barack H. Obama regime, to ensure their version of a thousand year Reich, on the Glenn Beck Show. This is the attempt the use of the Tennessee Plan to establish Puerto Rico as the 51st state. With Illegal Alien Amnesty; statehood proposal for the Washington DC area and this Puerto Rico boondoggle, Comrade Obama will have enough votes to carry "Democratic" elections for eternity.

Separation of Church and State

2010-04-19T10:30:00.005-04:00

Let's get one thing straight, the phrase "Separation of Church and State" is NOT in the First Amendment of the Constitution or anywhere else in the document for that matter. What the First Amendment actually says is "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof:...". That is it and it is pretty clear, both in language and knowing the religious situation that existed in Europe at the time, the founders said nothing about keeping religion out of our Government. Somewhere in the past, Progressive Supreme Court Justices have re-defined our Constitution which is NOT their job...they are just supposed to apply the law in a Constitutional manner.

We should turn the tables on the Atheists and Tea Party detractors by actually applying the real First Amendment Guarantees. Let's consider those attempting to stifle all religion by shooting back that they are infringing on our First Amendment right to "freely exercise our religion". Erecting religious signs and objects is NOT prohibiting Atheists free expression of their religion but denying Christians the right to display our Icons IS denying our right to free expression. As for the Tea Party opposition, just remind those Progressive Zombies, including those in the current administration, that the First amendment states that we have the right to peaceably assemble and to petition the Government "... for a redress of grievances". Oh, and by the way, isn't the US Navy infringing on FOX News' right to free speech and denying the Freedom of the press, both rights defined in the First Amendment? FSN should sue the Navy on these grounds. Isn't Cass Sunstein's call for "infiltrating" demonstrations,both physical and virtual, Unconstitutional and shouldn't he lose his job based upon this fact? Conservatives need to fight back using the REAL Constitution.

Fair Income Tax

2010-04-15T15:19:00.007-04:00

Okay, we need to have (pa-tooey) Income Tax and a smart politician once said taxes should hurt (that way they should be harder to increase). But that politician never met the current Congress or Presidential Administration or he would know these people don't care if it hurts us especially since Government workers owe about $1,000,000,000 (that's a Billion dollars folks) and the IRS doesn't seem inclined to "...relentlessly pursue" these deadbeats as the TV ad claims. Hello...Since the Secretary of the Treasury (boss of the IRS Tim Geithner), doesn't pay taxes why should they make any of his Cohorts in Crime...er...Congressional Friends pay taxes? But I digress into a morality discussion. None of these problems would exist if we would just employ my old (ask anybody who worked with me in the 1960's), espoused Flat Tax system. Back then, I proposed a 10% income tax rate for everyone, but now I would have to say about 18%. Before all you people that believe we should tax the rich more and that the current, progressive tax system is what you want, just remember this; No tax system will support the unsustainable debt (only after passing Obamacare you heard this from Paul Vokel, Ben Bernanke and The CBO to name a few) caused by our current expenditures without raising taxes on everyone and almost everything. Haven't these clowns been watching Glenn Beck? I know they do so they can't claim that they never heard of reducing expenditures (Spending). When you try to comprehend the current debt (which only increases when you employ a philosophy of "Deficit Spending") it becomes so mind-boggling it seems to numb the senses.

I believe that only two Income Tax Strategies are fair. One is a tax on Consumption (or National Sales Tax, NOT the VAT) and the other is a flat rate tax for everyone. The National Sales tax only taxes people that have and spend the money on goods and services. I prefer the flat rate income tax because that way everyone pays their "Fair" share. For the rich it is more dollars and for the poor it is less dollars but everyone pays the same percentage, EVERYONE. My taxation system would contain no credits, no exemptions, no non-taxable income and therefore no tax filings or refunds. I would tax everyone including the poor, the people receiving Welfare and even church personnel (like Priests or Nuns) that currently work for non-taxable income (which as I said does not exist in my system). Even I would have to pay 18% tax on my SSD income, as everyone else receiving Social Security would have to pay. If I need assistance after the tax, then the government should provide it, at which point I would pay 18% of that too. That way, the only tax cheats would be those not reporting income and IRS resources could be better allocated to discover those people.

Think of the money the IRS could save. No Tax Publication costs, or having to hire programmers to design screens or other costs associated with providing and processing returns. This also facilitates a balanced budget by knowing that all tax revenues received are actual, spendable income for the Government. I know there are downsides associated with this system. One is that Tax agencies (like H&R Block), Tax Attorneys, Paper and Ink producers and Publication Printers and Deliverers that will either have their businesses slashed or put out of business altogether, but this is a small percentage of the American people compared to those that it will help. Also, these jobs, with the exception of the Tax Specialty Attorneys, are seasonal, like department store Santa Clauses and Easter Receipts.

Think of the savings for the IRS in auditing individuals and companies. Right now, reporting agencies who have to notify everyone with tax forms that require explanations and need to have programs that calculate interest, for example on savings, or any instrument (and the infamous 1099-INT statements which would now only go to the Government). Therefore, only the reporting agency needs to notify the IRS about interest and only they need to be audited. Since everyone pays the same rate, the banks can pay out the interest but only pay out the interest to the individuals after 18% is deducted and reported to the IRS. When companies pay employees, they do the same. When they deduct the 18% Income tax they send it to the Government and their Taxation on payroll is completed for that period. No W2's or 1099's required (which always have printing and form changes required) since the money sent was all reported and taxes paid at the same rate already. The main IRS job would now be to both protect consumers (making sure their taxes are dutifully processed) and audit the reporting agencies/companies to discourage tax cheating by under or non reporting income. Makes tax cheating a lot harder on Interest doesn't it?

Racing tracks currently pays out winners by adding total wagers per race; deducting the track's cut (whatever that is) from the total and then allocating winnings. When Individuals cash those tickets they only have to report winnings over $600 on a $2 or $3 bet (used to be those limits). Since people know this, there are individuals who are low-income hanging around tracks to cash winning tickets for a price, which is usually less than the tax. Also, the winnings would not have to be added to the real winner's total income at tax time, which could possibly raise their progressive taxing rate. Now the race track can add up entire wages bet on a race; calculate the 18% interest and then report and send it to the IRS (the Individuals & Corporate tax rate are both 18%). Take the remainder and allocate it, after taking their cut, then allocate the winnings. Neither the Track nor the individual winner is not taxed on this income because it is already taxed and reported.

There are more benefits and downsides to my plan but I feel that to make the Tax fair and to also help balance the budget, we need a Flat Tax rate for Income tax.

President Obama's Next Steps

2010-04-06T12:10:00.014-04:00

Instead of ramming through Cap & Trade (or if you prefer Crap & Tax); instead of providing the EPA with the power to implement C&T policy (thereby bypassing Congress); instead of demanding hybrid & electric automobiles and instead of setting unreasonable and expensive goals to implement Gasoline mileage requirements, we should be studying ways to First make our country independent from Foreign Oil (Off-shore Drilling, Shale Oil etc.); Second improve our aging Energy Infrastructure; Third review and improve our current energy consumption (best done the Capitalist way such as charging more for usage during peak hours or seasons of the year); Fourth, challenge Private Industry to discover cleaner coal burning and then Lastly study feasible alternative energy sources (Natural Gas, Hydrogen, Wind and/or Solar Power etc.) I for one refuse to believe, if Government gets out of the way, that the Private Business Sector cannot discover cleaner methods for burning coal. Keep in mind that 50 to 75% (I have heard a wide range of statistics) of US Electricity is generated by burning coal. I have also heard that the US has huge (if not the Largest) Natural Gas reserves and since the technology already exists and is very clean, why not focus on using Natural Gas for transportation instead of Petroleum or Electric fuel sources? Remember, when the Government got out of the way, the private industry developed a viable Space craft, so why not Hydrogen powered transportation?

Giving the EPA enforcement power for policy not authorized by Congress is unconstitutional. The Congress cannot delegate powers granted to it by the Constitution and the Obama administration is both circumventing Congress as well as "delegating" its powers to the EPA. It is just another way to implement C&T even when it can't get Congressional approval and this is flatly wrong. President Obama has already made his cabinet irrelevant through the empowerment of his many Czars and now has done the same thing to Congress. Next to marginalize are American Citizens (and their voting clout) by granting the multitude of illegal aliens currently residing in the US with amnesty. I guarantee that if Obama's job destruction policies (which swell the Welfare Rolls with devotees) and amnesty plan do not sufficiently increase his voting base to ensure re-election, he will use the Tea Party and Conservative "Radical" uprisings as an excuse for declaring Marshal Law and suspending elections for an indefinite period.

All this man has done, since gaining power, has been to to increase that power; recklessly spend masses sums of money to suffocate us with unsustainable debt and attempt to"Transform" America to a mere pawn under a world power organization of socialism. Oh, and let's not forget the third part of our Government, the Supreme Court. If President Obama cannot install sufficient numbers of radical, Progressive Justices, I assume that he will orchestrate some ridiculous reason for disbanding the entire Court, but more of this in a separate rant.

Makes you wonder

2010-04-06T11:48:00.006-04:00

When I received this picture from my Daughter, I thought it was probably some photo shopped image.

However, after I watched the YouTube video of Michelle Obama...well it makes me wonder.

I'll leave you to your own conclusions but I myself now feel that maybe those "Birthers" aren't so crazy after all.

Mike Peters Glenn Beck Cartoon

2010-03-23T12:18:00.006-04:00

Obviously Mike Peters is a progressive. I can assume this by the Cartoon he created entitled “If Jesus returned as Glenn Beck”. It is also obvious that either Mike Peters has never listened to Glenn Beck himself or he is passing along the same lies that have been spread by the Left-wing Liberal Progressive Nuts. First, Glenn Beck is as strong a Christian as I have ever seen. Christians do not spout the drivel attributed to him in this horrendous cartoon. Second, none of the crap in this so called “Health Care” bill has anything to do with Christian Kindness as this cartoon implies. Lastly, let’s look at the actual facts of the matter:

• Glenn Beck and his followers, of which I am proudly one, do not believe the lie that Health Care is a right. Health Care is a commodity that is bought and sold by people and only God bestows rights…just as the Constitution declares.
• Glenn Beck does not say anyone in Obama’s administration is a communist except the Self Avowed Communist, Van Jones. Glenn Beck calls them what they are, Progressives and Marxists. Of course it doesn’t help when many of Obama’s Administration cite rights from the Communist Constitution of the USSR.
• Glenn Beck does not encourage people not to help their neighbors. In fact he talks only about the generosity of Americans and that the Government has no Constitutional right to demand charitable donations.

Just because the Obama Administration is attempting to employ the collapsing of the government tactics of radicals Ala the Cloward and Pivons philosophy and have verbally communicated their beliefs, do not accuse him of name calling. He is just informing us of their actions. Glenn Beck is touting Faith, Hope and Charity, all Christian Values. You see he has Faith in the American way and Constitution. He has Hope that Americans can peacefully return to the path that our Founding Fathers charted for us. And finally, he believes in the Generosity of Americans to provide charity as they always historically have. By the way, Mr. Peters needs to thank God that Glenn Beck is not Muslim and the cartoon was not entitled “If Mohammad returned as Glenn Beck”.

Climate Gate

2010-03-07T12:21:00.004-05:00

I have posted this Blog under Religion and Philosophy because the advocates of “Climate Change” (formerly known as “Global Warming”) remind me of the Evolutionists. Their “science” is their religion and woe to the non-believers. They are so sure in their convictions that they can distort the facts to fit their views without repercussions. Al Gore, High Priest of the Climate Change Society, should be required to wear a headdress containing the plumage of an endangered species bird and register this religious group with the Federal Government. Then no one can make fun of his chant “The debate is over” or they could be called just atheistic buffoons. For any of you who do not agree that Evolutionists and Climate Changers should be categorized together remember these facts: Climate Change believers insist that the Polar Bear is in danger of becoming extinct even though statistics indicate their population has increased five-fold. Add to this the Evolutionists insist all life began when nothing exploded (yeah, the Big Bang Theory). Any idiot who can believe that nothing, I repeat NOTHING can explode could also argue that a population increase of 500% was indicative of an “Endangered Species”. I rest my case.

Turkey and Genocide

2010-03-05T14:24:00.014-05:00

Turkey has threatened to sever ties with the US if the 1915 (- 1923) Genocide is recognized by the US. This has been a sore point for Turkey ever since the events occurred in 1915. In fact they even blocked the filming of Hans Werfel's book "The 40 days of Musa Dagh" (a novel published in 1933 using the 1915 Genocide as its background) for about 40 years because of the bad light it cast upon Turkey. In 1915, The American Ambassador to Turkey, Henry Morgenthau Sr., described the massacres as a "campaign of race extermination". Germany, Turkey's ally, was just as critical of the Genocide according to German engineers, workers and embassy staff. German Armin Wegner was a military medic who documented the atrocities via photographs . Truth of the matter is that the 1915 "Re-location" (which was Turkey's euphemism for the 1915 Atrocity just as Hitler later called his mass murder of Jews "The Final Solution"...He learned well from Turkey) was not the only mass killing of Christians but it was Turkey's most successful. There were also the Hamidian Massacres (in 1894-1896) and the Adana Massacre (in 1909).

I have to admit to having more than a just little interest on this subject because my mother Areknas (Helen in English) Garber (nee Vartanian) is Armenian. In fact my Grandmother (Aroxy Shanazarian) fled Armenia because of the continuing persecution at age 13 in 1922 on the condition she marry Abraham Vartanian . She survived because she was visiting an aunt who lived on the coast away from the "Re-Location". When you drive Christians, mostly women and children, through deserts and over mountains of one Islamic country to another Islamic country (Syria), you are lucky to have anyone left to re-locate (which was the plan all along). Most died of exposure, starvation and diseases, like Typhus, but many were sadistically raped and murdered by Muslims (Turks, Kurds and Syrians) along the way.

The Turks claimed the 1915 "Re-location" was due to an Armenian revolt in support of Russia. Although some Armenians did side with Russia (due to previous atrocities and the fact that Armenia was physically located inside both countries), truth is Enver Pasha needed a scapegoat. The Turks had been defeated by the Russians at Sarikamish in the Caucuses in an attempt to recover land previously lost to Russia. So the Armenians were removed, along with Coptic Greeks and Assyrians, because they were, for the most part, Christian.

I see no difference between this Christian massacre and Hitler's "Final Solution" other than the higher numbers of the Holocaust. Both were directed at people due to their Religion (Judaism is a not a race) and both need to be remembered. I feel a lot of empathy with Jews and really don't understand some Jewish resistance at declaring the 1915 acts as Genocide. After all, if the Armenian Genocide had not been swept under the rug by Turkey, Hitler may have thought twice about performing his Final Solution. To Barrack Hussein Obama I say, go ahead and don't support the Congressional declaration, but remember this about our Great Ally Turkey. Their Government would not allow American troops to "invade" Iraq after indicating they would. Oh yeah, and also remember that Turkey wants the US to ensure that the NOW pesky Kurds don't want to declare freedom and lands of their own out of Northern Iraq. Turkey fears that their Kurds might want to join free Kurds across the border. I wonder why they feel that way, don't you Barack?

March 24th is Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day and I hope that we Armenians can finally remember a Genocide not merely a re-location. Oh, I forgot to mention that the Law professor who coined the term "Genocide", Raphael Lambkin, claimed to have had the Armenians in mind at the time.

Health Care Summit Fiasco

2010-02-28T12:41:00.004-05:00

What was the real reason behind the Progressive's televised Health Care Summit? If you even watched just the first hour (all I could stomach) you realized it was not a "Summit". Was it a photo-op? Maybe, but I think that it was all part of the "Smoke & Mirrors" distraction of Obama the Magician's show. Why, well first there was and still is no acknowledgement from the Progressives that the GOP was left out of the whole Health Care Legislation crafting within both the House and Senate. All I hear is how the GOP only wants to include their ideas and scrap all of Obama's because they insist on stating anew, as the majority of Americans wish. Just more propaganda from the left.

Let's state the facts...Until Brown won AND was sworn in as the 41st GOP member in the Senate, the GOP might as well have not existed as far as the Obama Administration was concerned (Except of course as a well-worn whipping boy). The GOP could not have successfully filibustered any Legislation because they did not have the required votes without a Democratic defector. The House and the Senate Democrats could not even agree on the same items and if Obama just wanted the Senate bill to go through because he truly believed it was needed by the American people he would have used the Reconciliation process at that point and not threaten to use it now. But that would prove to the People that the Democrats themselves were spilt between the Progressive party members and others.

So, we had this Dog and Pony show where the GOP did not even get as much time to speak as the President alone and where there were lies spewed by Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, The President and others about only the GOP holding up the progress on this issue. Don't fall for the lies any more. Remember, the Progressive motto is "You are too dumb to know what is good for you and that the ends justifies the means". If this law is passed I for one will not obey it because it is unconstitutional in the first place and against the wishes of the American people in the second.

When is someone going to stand up

2010-02-24T11:43:00.004-05:00

I am waiting for just one politician to find their spine by standing up and asking, "Why do we need a huge, pork & earmarked bill for health care reform?" Wouldn't reform be easier and quicker to pass if Health Care reform legislation consisted of multiple, small bills devoid of earmarks (why would any be needed in National Health Care reform?). For that matter, why would you need a bill to remove waste and fraud from Medicaid/Medicare? Just do it.

I personally believe that three ideas would go a long way to reform health care and then this administration can put the damn thing to bed and start working on the issues that really require their attention...our Economy, along with Iran and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

First, we need to allow Interstate Health Insurance and remove the Intrastate monopoly. This would stimulate competition and help lower every one's costs. Since Interstate commerce is one item the Federal Government is supposed to regulate this item is a No-Brainer. It may also help relax some requirements (preexisting conditions and coverage not wanted or needed) that are harmful. This would require no earmarks because it should require no money allocations. Everything is already in place. An added benefit is that we can easily see how Congress votes on this issue and it would not be influenced by other issues.

Second, we need to also allow Insurance portability. By that I mean allow the insurance a person signs up for at work stays with them even if they do not get another job. again, since the first item is in place, insurance companies would want more business and offer better deals to individuals whether they are self-employed, working for a large or small business or not working at all. Portability should also be almost cost free and should be overseen by the first reform, Interstate Insurance availability.

Thirdly, we need to establish tort reforms. This is the murkiest suggestion as far as being Constitutional is involved, but don't let the Progressive and other Big Government proponents fool you about this would not save on medical costs. The huge insurance premiums that doctor's have to pay need to be recouped and are passed along to their patients. This extreme cost has driven some doctor's out of medicine and has caused many perspective doctor's to ignore medical school altogether. Especially when you look at the lower pay that Medicaid and Medicare doctor's are paid. Of course is hikes up doctor's bills because many bills are inflated due to the known reduction that Medicare and Medicaid will pay. I am not talking about caps on actual damages but on, what I believe are called, Punitive damages or payment for pain and suffering. Along with the other reforms, this change should help cut out some Bill Padding (which will help reduce waste in the Medicare/Medicaid systems).

Of course, these changes might require a beefing up of the Interstate Commerce Commission employees but that cost is much better then the money being bandied about now for Health Care Reform. Like Glenn Beck asks "Where has common sense gone?"