Didactic Curveball

Good Unions. Evil Unions. Dispelling the Myth

2009-02-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

The Unions are coming! The Unions are coming! Grab your pitchforks and muskets and fight off this evil force!

I have lost count of how many conversations I've had about unions and whether or not they are the anti-Christ cometh or a positive force with a valid role in a healthy economy. I presently live in the pacific northwest so I will say that most people that I encounter in my area are less inclined to demonize unions than are those that I know from other parts of the country. There is a notable exception, however. For the sake of maintaining anonymity (his and mine), I'll refer to him as "Brian". Brian, my quasi-stepson if you will, is a big part of my life, as are his wife and his two young children...my quasi-grandchildren. When I pace the floor of my bedroom late at night worrying about the state of our country and the failing of our economy, it is their futures I am most worried about.

Having said that, Brian was born and raised in the pacific northwest, yet his opinions on most issues mirror those of someone born in South Carolina. He is GOP all the way but, sadly, he has no real idea why he supports the GOP and its ideals or what those ideals are really all about. Don't get me wrong...he's no dummy. He is a well-educated man working as a construction management engineer. I specifically mention his job because it has relevance to the argument I'm about to make as you will find later in this blog.

Although it is not my intention to insult anyone or to stereotype, I am sure that some of what I'm about to type will do just that. Brian, like many people who clench their fists while reciting one of any number of standard GOP party lines, is doing just that...he's reciting something that someone else has written that is usually inflammatory and meant to "rally" the masses into a shared fury, fueled by half-truths and misconceptions. I do not mean to suggest that those who support the GOP are monkeys. In fact, some of the most intelligent and best educated Americans are members of the GOP. Among those are some of the most well-spoken and the best, skilled writers in America and they are able to argue their positions effectively and support their arguments with facts and figures. As there is with any political party or affiliation, there are those that simply go along for the ride, drink the Koolaid, recite the party line but do so without really having any idea of that which they speak. It sounds good, it feels good saying it and so it is said. When pushed or prodded to support their argument with facts rather than just emotion, they are unable to do so. To those...I just shake my head in sadness and disbelief. That is the point where I go back to what seems to be my "line", if you will, "Be involved. Be informed. Be proactive."

Having laid somewhat of a foundation now, let me move on to the true subject of this blog...unions and their role in history and our economy.

The first thing I want to address is the issue of labor unions and whether or not they are good or bad for our economy. If you go back about 50 years to the mid to late 50s, the U.S. economy was soaring and the middle class was expanding. At that time, more than 1/3 of all working Americans were members of unions. They were paid well and were able to purchase more which, in return, creates more jobs. So many Americans were unionized, in fact, that the wage agreements spilled over to workers not in unions. The unions bargained for the good and fair wages, safe workplaces and health benefits and, in return, companies thrived and our economy was extremely healthy and the middle class prospered.

Compare that to today's economy where not even 8% of working Americans are unionized in 2006. The number of American workers without healthcare benefits is at its all-time high. Wages have been all but frozen for the last 8 years and the middle class has lost its purchasing power. Initially the middle class could continue to purchase goods and services because the housing bubble supported home equity loans and lines of credit. American middle class still purchased, albeit by accumulating debt by using credit, but the economy definitely started to stall around 2002. When the housing bubble burst, the middle class lost its purchasing power and the economy has come to a screeching halt. The unions didn't factor into this at all. Unions are all but non-existent in the country anymore. If more middle class Americans had been unionized the last 8 years, wages would have increased at a steady pace, workers would have had healthcare benefits, and the economy would have continued to grow steadily. The people doing the most screaming about unions are the heads of these companies that are taking home $450 million a year in salary and bonuses. Are you kidding me? Talk about a self-inflated opinion of one's self worth. Give the CEO $1 million a year and spread the other $449 million around to the company's workforce and you have a healthy and prosperous company on all levels. No need for a union in that kind of workforce. Costco has figured this out and their CEO set his salary at 10 times that of the lowest paid worker in the company. He makes right around $400,000.00 and, when interviewed, says that anyone who says they can't have a good standard of living making $400,000.00 is out of touch with reality. Costco has the lowest employee turnover ratio of any corporation in America and their workers are among the happiest. It's also one of the healthiest corporations in America...even today, bad economy and all. You do the math on that one.

Smaller number of unionized workers means less bargaining power, and less bargaining power results in lower wages, and lower wages results in less purchasing of goods and services, which results in a shrinking economy and recession.

The only way to heal our economy is to boost the purchasing power of the middle class. Tax rebates like the one Bush gave do NOT work because they don't permanently raise wages. One poll and study found that most Americans used those rebates to pay off debt, not to purchase new goods and services. So the idea behind the tax rebate...that being that Americans would go out on shopping sprees...proved to be false. And as far as the one-time tax rebates being a tool to stimulate the economy...that was a total joke.

The bank bailouts won't work either. As we are all witnessing, the Wall Street banks that were handed $350 billion by the Bush administration are not opening up lines of credit because no business will or can borrow without having consumers in line to purchase their goods. So the $350 billion is being used by those banks, instead, to boost their own value by purchasing other failing banks and rebuild their own infrastructure. Handing Wall Street banks $350 billion with no oversight is the single largest social welfare program in the history of our country and it was given to the wealthiest 3% of Americans. Why aren't more Americans rallying in the streets and screaming for accountability on this?!!! Do people not understand that this was their money being handed to Wall Street?!!! Many people should be going to prison for this sham.

The only real solutions to fix our failing economy are tax cuts to the middle class and higher wages and benefits. That puts the purchasing power back in the hands of Americans, which results in businesses expanding and a stronger and healthier economy.

You really need to understand the history of unions and their role in our economy more before you demonize them. Unions have their place and, as I said, so few Americans are actually unionized at this time in history that it's almost humorous that anyone complains about them or points the finger of blame at unions for the problems in our economy. In fact, in today's world it is almost impossible for workers to form unions. The fines levied against businesses that intimidate or fire workers who attempt to form unions is so menial and insignificant that businesses consider those fines as a normal cost of doing business.

When the 111th Congress was first seated, a bipartisan coalition was formed to support the Employee Free Choice Act (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-1696), which essential would protect the rights of working Americans to form unions without fear of intimidation or retaliation from their employers. The most important aspect of the EFCA, in my opinion, is that it would establish stronger penalties for business that violate employees' rights as relate to forming unions. Although there has been much support for the EFCA, it has all but been put on the back burner at present because of the proposed stimulus plan now currently before the Senate. Something worth noting, however, that America saw an increase in the number of new union members beginning in late 2007, just after the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced. It started the first increases in union memberships in more than a decade which saw significant declines. Coincidence? You be the judge. I think not, however.

Those who are most vocal in their opposition of the Employee Free Choice Act argue that it would strip American workers of their right to a private-ballot vote as relates to forming a workplace union. What they fail to see or mention in their arguments, however, is that the Act was created to eliminate the need for a private-ballot vote, which were created so that employees could vote without fear of intimidation or retaliation by their employers. Their arguments are ones of convenience and rely on people not being fully informed and rely on playing to peoples fears and emotions rather than to their intellect.

There are reasons to be wary of unions, however, if one focuses primarily on some of the abuses done by a few bad apples who tarnished the good intent of unions with their own greed and corruption. Like any industry or organization, there has been greed and corruption. We see it every day, more and more...the corruption at all levels of government, private business and even within religious organizations. Sadly, unions have been no different but that doesn't discount the overwhelming good that unions have done for American workers in the last 60 or more years.

The overwhelming majority of opposition to unions has its roots in the South throughout most of the 20th century. Unions were associated with liberals, progressives and even Communists and it was white, southern conservative politicians, businessmen, and social elites that feared that such progressive organizations would challenge the region's political, economic and racial orders. As such, unions had little success in establishing a foothold in the South and still today, most opposition to unions has its origins in the South. Even white southerners who would otherwise join unions, refused to do so because the unions were not segregated and so unions never succeeded in the south largely due to the racial divides still prevalent in Dixie.

When racial divides weren't successful in preventing the formation of unions in the South, the political culture adopted the "Red Scare" method of combating unions. This was a method whereby persons or organizations with progressive and/or liberal political agendas...namely unions...were unjustly accused to be associated and allied with or members of the Soviet Union or sympathetic to communism.

When all else fails, heighten peoples fears (real or imagined or created) and play on those fears to create a hysteria that causes people to vote based on emotion rather than sound and rational thought process. This has been a method used throughout history but never more evident than that which we just lived for eight years during the Bush/Cheney administration. Like it or not, history has proven that you can cripple the power of the collective populus with fear.

I think...I believe...that we are beyond the times of our leaders talking down to us; instead, they talk to us now with the ushering in of the new administration. They are all-inclusive, speaking to each and every American rather than just a select group and they appeal to our collective intellect, inviting us to participate rather than dictating to us how they will do things because they, and only they, know what is best. From all appearances and initial impressions, those days of dictatorship disguised as a democracy are done and over.

Brian is a construction management engineer as I mentioned in the opening paragraph of this blog. He was vehementally opposed to Obama during the elections. Most of the reasons he gave for his opposition to Obama were those I've heard recited, almost word-for-word, from many others vehemently opposed to Obama. And like many others, he could never support his position with facts, figures or an original thought. And so, during a recent conversation with him, as he dissected the new Obama administration and cursed the proposed stimulus package, I pointed out the following to him.

In President Obama's proposed stimulus program, a considerable portion of that program is designated for improving our infrastructure...the roads, bridges, dams, etc... He, more than almost all other Americans, is going to benefit from that because of the work his company does. They specialize in large infrastructure projects. It is his company (and companies like it) that are going to bid for and win those contracts and his industry is going to expand because of the need to hire more skilled workers and engineers. I think that part of the stimulus package will almost surely guarantee that he won't be amongst the millions of Americans in fear of losing their jobs in the next few years.

It gave him a moment of pause and he told me it provided him with food for thought. If I've done nothing more than create a desire in him to become more informed, regardless of whether or not he comes to the same conclusions he had prior, I have succeeded.

Setting the Rules for Superbowl Sunday

2009-01-29T14:40:00.000-08:00

The Superbowl is drawing near and as the day fast approaches, I feel it necessary to establish some new rules relating to "football fan etiquette".

For the menfolk...look guys...it's simple...if you're not on the gridiron on Sunday, don't wear the jersey. Yeah, yeah...team spirit...rah rah. What are you...10 years old? You've had your days on the field and your time has come and gone. It's time now to put away childish things and embrace your manhood. Leave the "mancrush" in a box in the basement. Trust me when I tell you that nothing appeals to a woman less than a grown man wearing a jersey with another grown man's name on it. Are ya feeling me?

For those of you who will disregard my sound advice on this matter, let me help you out a little. If you attend an NFL game between, oh...I dunno...the Jets and the Bengals, do not...I repeat...do NOT wear the jersey for another NFL team that isn't playing in that game, especially if you're going to up the ante by wearing a "mancrush" jersey. For clarity's sake, let me provide an example:

If you're at Jets v. Ravens football game, don't show up wearing a Colts jersey with Peyton Manning's name on the back. Two obvious problems with this scenario. 1) Colts aren't playing in the game; 2) refer back to my previous comments on the "mancrush" jersey thing. If you wear a Colts jersey with Peyton Manning's name on it to a game that the Colts aren't even playing in, you are telling the world, "I am a braying donkey. Please abuse me." (see below)

For the womenfolk...enough with the pink jerseys. I don't care if Jessica Simpson made wearing a pink jersey fashionable for all of 5 minutes...stop it already. (side note...Dallas lost that game. i.e. pink jerseys are cursed!)

Seriously though...disrespecting a perfectly great game like football by introducing pink into its color schemes is ...well...it should be a misdemeanor at the very least. As a woman, I don't feel any sexier or more feminine in a pink jersey than I do sporting an extra small version of the real thing. In fact, taking something made explicitly for manly men and making it look quite sexy is a feather in my cap.

Men seem to dig it, too, so my suggestion...try it, they like it.

Sigh...let's talk separation of church and State (zzzzz)

2009-01-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

I hear the arguments over and over again from people who are right (usually far right) of center about the role that religion plays (if any) in politics and governance of this nation. I am often reminded by these folks that this nation was founded on Christian principles. While I will agree that this country's founding fathers were Christians, I strongly disagree with the assertion that the foundations of our Constitution are based exclusively on Christian beliefs. Rather, our founding fathers primary objective when drafting the Constitution was to guarantee all citizens certain rights that include the freedom to practice the religion of their choice. Nowhere in the Constitution does it state or imply that the founding fathers intended those rights to be limited to Christians alone. The founding fathers also went to great effort and detail in the Constitution to ensure that our government was divided into three distinct branches so that no one person or office could exercise too much unilateral power. It is called "checks and balances" and is structured in such a way as to protect the citizens of the country from government tyranny. That is why our founding fathers came to this country and founded it as a democratic society.

That brings me to the Constitutional principle of separation of church and state. To the anti-separationist right wingers out there, the principle of separation of church and state was included in our Constitution for the explicit purpose of protecting our religious liberties. We are a pluralistic society with a diverse racial, socioeconomic and religious citizenship. As such, it would be impossible to protect the Constitutional rights of each citizen as relates to religious freedoms by injecting any one religions distinct beliefs into our government. It cannot be done...not in this country and not in any country as diverse as ours and with the types of protections we have in place. So deal with it and enjoy the religious freedoms you have, live your life according to your religious beliefs and allow others to do the same.

And if that isn't enough reason for the need for separation of church and state, what follows here surely makes the argument effectively:

I rest my case. Amen.

The Happy Hole (and I kid you not)

2008-07-16T04:21:00.000-07:00

Well pardon my French ladies and gents. It has been brought to my attention (by someone I don't know, mind you) that it was improper for me to use the word "vagina" in my blog about the State of the Union. If you didn't read my blog...please disregard and return to your previously scheduled activities. If you read my blog then you know what the "vagina" reference was about. It was a purely clinical reference, I assure you!

Hmm. Let me think for a moment as this one has me stumped.

Okay...I'm back.

After careful consideration...I remain stumped. "Vagina" has to be the least derogatory term for a "vagina" that exists (if that makes any sense...which clearly it does and does not at the same time...baffling). I didn't refer to anyone as a "vagina". I wasn't making juvenile jokes about the female anatomy when I mentioned a "vagina". So I decided to research further so I could better understand how this reference could raise the ire of a complete stranger.

My first stop online...www.graysanatomyonline.com. According to this reputable publication and authority on the human body, specifically at Chapter 7 (Abdomen and Pelvis) on page 106, the proper and clinical term for female external genital organs (i.e. the "vagina") is "vagina". I assure you that I am not making this up. Do your own research.

Not satisfied with the say-so of the late Henry Gray and his "peerless source of reference on all matters concerning human anatomy", I searched on. I went to yet another reputable source...www.brittanica.com. Surely I would find clarification on this matter by the encyclopedia of all encyclopedias. I'll list the definition given for your review.

No wait...I won't. It's quite graphic and could disturb the delicate sensibilities of those with anatomical phobias or some other such affliction. Rather, I will post the link for you to peruse at your own discretion. Good luck.

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9074620/vagina

Still not satisfied and in search of more concise clarification to this dilemna...I came across what has to be the most authoritative source for these sorts of matter.

www.uncyclopedia.org.wiki.vagina

Alas...I have seen the light and the error of my ways! I now know the proper and most politically correct and socially acceptable term for ...ya know...the secret place (wink). And in an abundance of caution, I shall post the definition as it is printed from this source. Readers beware!

The Vagina (or more commonly known as the "Happy Hole") is commonly considered to be a small furry animal with possibly thousands of rows of razor-sharp, serrated teeth - capable of devouring large quantities of raw meat. The vagina has the distinction of being colloquially known as an "axe wound" in every spoken language on Earth. Also known to all men who have ever roamed the Earth as the "thing that you will spend nine-tenths of your life looking for but never getting".

Its primary justification is to give meaning to the existence of females, for the vagina was made to give pleasure to men (among no other things) and is the one main reason why men keep women around (aside from breasts).

Females were created to be a host to vaginas and sustain their lives by supplying oxygenated blood, and enable transportation to fresh kills of raw meat. Some experts claim that the original intended use of the vagina (note: the orange ones fuck you up real good) was to steal any fresh kitten souls from men who've been huffing - which explains why the male become lethargic and the female energized after sex.

Professors of vaginology are commonly referred to as vaginarians, vaginalogists or vagiterians. That they may be called gynecologists is a vagination of clitorical proportion.

I stand corrected and remain forever changed.

The Problem with Skinny Cow

2008-06-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

My brain officially gave out on me about 10 minutes ago and I was sitting in a daze with a blank stare of my face and figured...hey...what the heck...let's talk about ice cream sandwiches.

I only bring them up because as I sit in my late afternoon stupor...I was going over some of the changes life has thrown me since hitting 40. Let's see...at 40 I began to lose my eyesight. I haven't graduated to prescription reading glasses yet, but I'm all over the magnified reading glasses. At 41, my knees and right shoulder started to ache...all the time. It used to be an infrequent thing...old sports injuries...too many falls during rockclimbing...silly youthful things like that. Now I notice some aches and pains at pretty much all times. Holy crap people. I didn't get the memo that told me it would be like this! Did you?!

So I was sitting here wondering...wow golly gee...what surprise will come with my 42nd birthday? I must admit that I think more now about the possibility of acquiring chin hair than I ever have in my life. There is no Goose Gossage manchu yet but isn't it inevitable? Aren't all women doomed to have a chin hair to some extent? Have I been misled? And what about the inevitably droopy butt? We can't run and hide from it forever, right? Well I've decided to take no chances. Let me tell ya that I have a fantastic diet...and no, I don't mean diet as in the sense of "dieting". I simply mean my food intake. I've always been a healthy eater, preferring "clean food" to the majority of crap that most Americans seem to eat on a daily basis. I tried a Twinkie once...hated it. I'll never eat one of the fuschia colored Snowball thingies. I still just do not do pink food. It's not regular. Nothing "pink" comes from this Earth that I can think of. No...a strawberry is NOT pink. It is a shade of red...maybe even raspberryish. But not pink. Ya getting my drift?

I just went off on a tangent. Okay...I'm back. Food and droopy booties. So I read an article at some point in the not too distant past about this product called Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches and what a fantastic option they are for people who just don't want all the crap in with it. I was skeptical. Then I bought some and I'm hooked. My problem is this...the boxes come mixed with ice cream sandwiches that have chocolate ice cream in the center and some that have vanilla ice cream in the center. Now...I used to be all about chocolate growing up. I didn't eat it often but I dug it. Eh...I've changed. I'm more of a vanilla person...maybe French Vanilla (as much as I hate to even say that given my utter dislike of all thing French right now). My point is that I might be getting rather bland in my years. I'm off on another tangent. Shoot. Back to my point...I don't like them mixing the chocolate ones with the vanilla ones, doggone it! Chocolate ice cream between the chocolate sandwichy part of the ice cream sandwich is just too doggone much for me. The vanilla works. Why not make a box with all chocolate or a box with all vanilla? Why scew with us simple folk who just want to eliminate as much chaos in our lives as possible? Is that too much to ask?

Skinny Cow...help a sister out, will ya?!

I'm going home.

Things that Frighten Me

2008-06-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

These are scary times we live in. This is a world that thrives on and is motivated by fear...fear of terrorism, fear of global warming, fear of carbs, fear of unemployment, fear of diabetes...fear of the unknown. The media and politicians and advertisers are complicit in this campaign of sabotage of the American psyche, inundating us daily with crime statistics, the next great "threat" to become one with the "axis of evil", how and why and where we don't measure up and why we must measure up to the idealized images and icons in the countless magazines, commercials, advertisements and all Hollywood mediums that are thrown at us daily...hourly...by the second...and at an earlier and earlier age. By the time a young girl in

America

reaches the age of 8 she has already been programmed to believe that beauty comes with a socially mandated and predetermined weight, height, body proportion and eye color. In today's America, by the time that girl has reached the age of 14, she has been brainwashed into believing that promiscuity is a virtue and that getting ink is almost mandatory.

I am a 41 year old healthy, caucasian, heterosexual, college-educated American with two healthy and thriving grandchildren, and marketable job skills. I should have no fears, yet I am fearful most days. Despite the overwhelming positives in my life and my steadfast positive outlook on life, I find myself entering each day with a lingering sense of fear and dread and worry which is layered inbetween all the hopes I have for life. I suppose, in that respect, I am just like the majority of adults in this country. We do not live in the world of our parents. Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, "The only thing to fear is fear itself." He lived in our parents' times, before the campaign of fear was waged against American citizens by the most steadfast institutions in this nation. I wonder if he'd speak those same words in today's world.

So, yes...I am fearful of many a thing.

The threat of another major terrorist attack in the United States frightens me.

The realization that we are on the brink of a world-wide energy crisis and all that that entails frightens me.

The possibility that nuclear weapons will be used in my lifetime frightens me.

The likelihood that nuclear weapons will be used during the lives of my grandchildren terrifies me.

The loss of our youth to all the temptations of this free society frightens me.

The extinction of animal life as a result of human greed, negligence and abuse frightens me.

The fragmentation of the family nucleus in our society frightens me.

The fact that most Americans do not know their neighbors frightens me.

The destruction of the churches of all religions that comes with the failures of its leaders and the pedophilia that has run rampant frightens me and, frankly, it really pisses me off. Where will the flocks graze now, oh shepherds, if they fear that you will lead them to the wolves?

The current President and his administration that has operated illegally, unethically, immorally and with impunity terrify me. I’ve served my country, I stay informed, I do the research and I vote, thus I am entitled to this opinion.

The Patriot Act frightens me because of the way it has been and continues to be used.

The possibility of John McCain as our President really, really frightens me. Good American and patriot…yes. Presidential material…no. He is reason enough for the continued need for separation of church and state. This is not an indictment of church or God. The founding fathers of this country had it right when they structured a nation where church and state are separate. If this were not done…tell me…which church of all the choices available in this country would be the chosen one to blend with and shape this nation state? Start that conversation at your next mixed gathering and see how fast the debate heats up.

The pastor that McCain calls his "spiritual guide" is Rod Parsley who believes that America's now founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he refers to as a "false religion". That is scary on so many levels. First, the premise of his belief is that Islam = terrorism. Unfortunately, many Americans share that belief based on misleading information, propaganda of fear and just plain ignorance. But for the sake of argument let's assume that Islam represents the enemy that must be destroyed. Years ago I was in a class and the lecture conveyed, in part, the following premise...

To defeat the enemy, you must identify the enemy and then you must understand the enemy. Understanding the enemy enables us to form compassion and enter into dialogue which is necessarily the key to diplomacy and peace.

That is a whole different page of reference than that being used by Pastor Parsley. God help us all if Rod Parsley is who McCain chooses to guide him in his spiritual choices and path of consciousness. If you want to mobilize the extreme minority of Islamists that would wage war, tell them that your primary doctrine is their own destruction and then sit back, watch what happens and pray, if you pray. Some would argue that the extreme Islamists do just that and therefore, so should we. They would be wrong.

John McCain also scares me because he just doesn't get it when it comes to now being the crucial time to protect the environment. Out of 535 members of Congress in 2007, John McCain is the ONLY one who chose to miss every single key environmental vote. The League of Conservation Voters in 2007 scored McCain with a zero. Your eyes are fine...that's right...a ZERO. Check it out for yourself. I’ve done the research for you. League of Conservation Voters Scorecard

Yes, John McCain scares me but I'm hardly alone with that fear. Many in his own party will not give their support in the coming election and have publicly voiced their concerns. Recently on the NBC Today Show, conservative Pat Buchanan argued that McCain "will make Cheney look like Ghandi." *pause* HOLY CRAP...now that is an indictment and from a fellow center-leaning Republican conservative. I'm not sure I have enough information to agree or disagree with Buchanan on that comparison but I will go so far as to say that McCain would make Cheney look like the Easter Bunny.

For the record, my fears and hesitations regarding John McCain in no way imply that I have or will endorse the other major candidate in this election year. I am neither Republican nor Democrat. I will never vote down a party line because I believe to do so is implicitly a compromise of my beliefs about being a free thinker.

So anyway...back to my list of fears...

People that get theirs news from one source only frighten me. Here's what I mean: If your one and only news source is Fox News, you are a very scary person that is only half-informed and thereby a dangerous voter. If your one and only news source is MSNBC, you are a very scary person that is only half-informed and thereby a dangerous voter. It is very difficult to find a "news show" anymore that is not actually editorializing disguised as news but that carries the foul stench of biased, leaning, news-shaping rather than news reporting. Do you follow me? In other words, be a free thinker. Do your research. Pull from various sources. Be informed. By the way, Bill O’Reilly (Fox News) and Keith Olbermann (MSNBC) are equally obnoxious and frightening but if you’re going to pull your “news” from one of them, go ahead and watch both. At least you’ll be more well-rounded at being misinformed. If you’re actually looking for some balance and solid news reporting, try Anderson Cooper on CNN, Jim Lehrer on NewsHour (PBS) or Tim Brokaw on Meet the Press (filling in for the recently passed Tim Russert…RIP).

People that vote down a party line but cannot explain why they do scare the crapola out of me. People...educate yourselves on the issues. With the privileges in this country so too come responsibilities...civil responsibilities. Democracy will not work if the people do not participate. Apathy, ambivalence, gluttony...all foretelling indicators of the fall of all past great nations. Why do we assume we are not next when we have become a nation that is apathetic, ambivalent to each other and entirely gluttonous? Most people in the United States have not lived long enough to truly know what it's like to go without because for decades now we have been a nation comprised of entitled citizens with all kinds of inalienable rights that have come with very little effort and sacrifice. I fear that this will be our eventual downfall. History is the best tool we have to predict the future and that paints a pretty bleak picture for our future if we don't change...as in yesterday.

People capable of abusing defenseless animals frighten me.

People that look away because they figure it isn't their problem or just don't want to get involved frighten me.

People that still drive after imbibing ANY alcoholic beverages frighten me. It is not only against the laws in every state in this country but to do so is also irresponsible, dangerous and very cavalier. Alcohol does impair a person’s thinking and reaction time. That means everybody. Trust me when I tell you that the when a person is pulled over by a trooper and cited for a DUI…their entire life changes (and not for the better) and their perspective on this subject changes as well and pretty much mirrors my own.

People in troubled marriages that have children because they think it will "cure" their marriages scare the heck out of me. Cowards.

The rapid emergence of drug-resistant diseases in the last 10 to 15 years terrifies me. Oh and who in their right mind ventures outdoors willingly? Good grief...think of all that can happen! If I take my grandchildren camping some day, will they contract Lyme disease if they encounter ticks? If we vacation in Hilton Head, SC or Savannah, GA and the mosquitos are out...West Nile disease. It used to be that e-Coli was a worry shared only by meat eaters but now we who choose not to eat meat have to wonder if the spinach we serve them or the tomatoes we add to their sandwich will carry it. Heh.

Driving a vehicle on American highways frightens me. In 2007, over 42,000 people died in automobile accidents. And it's not so much what you do and what you can control, it's all the idiots on the road that you have no control of...drunks, teens and tweens, and the road-rage jackasses. So maybe we all just take a bus...after all a bus is larger than other vehicles and obviously safer. Nope...gotta worry about the terrorists again. I figure it is just a matter of time before they start bombing our buses and subways, too. So perhaps take up bicycling for most commutes. Wait...there's no way in heck I am riding a bicycle in a bicycle lane with all the incompetent drivers that swerve in and out of them. Guess I'll just stay home.

All pink food frightens me to the point of nightmares. Pink food does not occur naturally…and, no, a strawberry is NOT pink. It looks pink when made into ice cream because its color (red) when mixed with white (cream) makes for pink. Pretty cool, huh? I think I first learned all about the color wheel in kindergarten. They weren’t kidding when they wrote “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”.

People that screw with food scare me. A lot of American foods scare me. Need an example? Okay...you've got a pizza in America...basically ruined already because the crust is too thick, the sauce not right, the cheese semi-artificial...and then some weirdo comes up with the idea of "let's make a Mexican Taco Pizza"!! I mean...WTF already?!! Why not eat a friggin taco if you want a taco? Why always the gluttony?

The other night I was watching the college World Series and saw a commercial for beer that is now "infused" with flavors. *pause* Dear Lord, that makes me want to beat the living crap out of somebody. Just cut up a goshed darn lime or lemon and plunk it in your friggin beer if you must! I believe I even heard them say that one option is peach-infused beer. I quit after that. I quit all things. I shall crawl into a hole and hide for all eternity.

Garbage disposals frighten me. Actually they terrify me. Any time you've got a deep, dark hole that houses anything that can possibly chew your hand off, I'm scared like a kitten in a dog park. I don't even use them. Someone taught me a few years back that composting is a pretty doggone good alternative and there's no fear of loss of hand involved. Works for me and the compost does amazing things for my garden.

I tried to remember when fear got its grasp on me and my first thought was 9/11/01...that is the obvious choice, right? Oh wait...what about the campaign of fear (and greed) that was waged against all society as the turn of the century approached and we all ran out and bought new computers and clock radios and you couldn't find a generator in stock anywhere after October of 1999. Yeah...that's when the fear got me. I’ve never used my must-have generator. It’s sitting in my garage untouched to this day and I plan to throw it a party on its fast approaching 10 year birthday.

Hmm...no, not quite. AIDS - the end of free love and the sexual revolution and shaking hands and kissing friends and relatives on the cheek. I remember when the hysteria first took hold seeing people actually wearing masks over their mouths and noses or wearing medical gloves when they were in public places. Crazy huh? Well...actually...I kinda dig the idea of wearing the gloves but then I've always had a bit of a phobia about touching a door handle that 5000 other people have touched in the same day. Face it...there be some funky folk walking around. I'm like Monk...just less hairy, better dressed and a tiny bit less OCD (not much though).

So it all began with AIDS awareness. Wait...nah...it was the Russians...the big, bad, dark, menacing Soviet Union and the Cold War and the fear of nukes in the skies and gloom and doom sound of their national anthem. The Soviet Union in the 80's was the equivalent of the evil looking flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz and their dark, menacing castle. Scary business.

But then again...there was the really scary stuff before that called Pop Rocks. Yeah. Mixing Pop Rocks with your soda and drinking the concoction ensured a slow and brutal death. Heh. But we all tried it anyway, didn't we? Survived that and school playgrounds and bicycling without helmets and skating without kneepads and all kinds of other stuff. Nowadays to do any of those things, parents would dress their children in clothing the equivalent of a football uniform with full pads. Ridiculous.

I could go on and on and on and further back in my lifetime but the reality is that the fear has been here for quite awhile and I am just another person born, bred, and fed on fear and all that it entails.

Now I'm headed outside for a few minutes. I sure hope the elevator doesn't fail. Maybe I'll take the stairs. Sure hope I don't trip and fall. Better grab my gloves for all those sticky doors.

The Great Ones

2008-06-07T15:52:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of one of those weekends that just requires one to do nothing but stay in, crank on some tunes, eat endlessly and sit with a blank stare. I love it. I need it. I’m doing it.

This weekend is all about the masters of modern music...those great voices that so clearly have defined all music since the 1950s...the voices that you just know the second you hear. Seems we don’t get too many of those anymore...not in the last 15 years or so. Oh yeah yeah yeah...I know...that is old fogie talk. Eh. Maybe...but I’m right. Check out my 2 new jukeboxes and tell me if there is one singer on either that doesn’t have that "forever" quality. I dare you.

Oh yeah...some of these greats are still singing but most of the songs I chose (with the exception of a few singers who can just knock em out no matter the decade), I stuck to songs pretty much pre-1980s. Huh. I have major issues with 80s music and a lot of 90s music...but especially 80s music. I went to high school in the early 80s (hush). I love the very early 80s classic rock songs (Journey, Billy Squire, Rossington Collins, Zeppelin, even Billy Idol etc...). I don’t do the other stuff very well. When we started having to listen to The Bangles and Flock of Seagulls and crap like that...I tuned out and went back to the good stuff from the late 60s and 70s. I am a huge Kenny Loggins fan. The man is a musical genius...one of maybe 10 ever in my opinion...but jaysus already with his 80s stuff. When I hear his 80s music, I automatically think of movies like "The Breakfast Club" and my body starts to recreate that white suburb girl dance that Molly Ringwald did in the movie. You know the one...where it looks like she’s running in place kinda. Anyway...it’s just not regular for that to happen to me and it just happened a bit ago and now my co-workers have ammo with which to blackmail me in the future.

Moving on. Yeah. I love Kenny Loggins but do NOT play "Danger Zone" around me or I’ll pummel you. Michael McDonald might be the only master voice that has credible 80s songs. Let me think. Yep. Wait. Boz Scaggs had one or two. Rod Stewart bombed BIG TIME, as did Elton John, as did Billy Joel. Billy Joel really was in his prime in ’77 (The Stranger) and ’78 (52nd Street)...working too hard can give you a heart attack, ack, ack, ack...you ought to know by now...who needs a house out in Hackensack...is that all you get for your money...oh it seems such a waste of time...if that’s what it’s all about...Momma, if that’s moving up then I’mmmmmmmmmmmm...moving out.

See? Was I right or what? Yeah baby.

So anyway...great weekend filled with great music and great food and no cares in the world. It doesn’t get any better than that.

P.S. Awww drats...I forgot to add DeBarge!

Good idea? Bad idea? Justice...Americano style? You be the judge.

2008-05-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

Judge: Learn English or Go to Jail

WILKES-BARRE, Pennsylvania (AP)
7 hours ago

A judge known for creative sentencing has ordered three Spanish-speaking men to learn English or go to jail.

The men, who faced prison for criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, can remain on parole if they learn to read and write English, earn their GEDs and get full-time jobs, Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said.

The men, Luis Reyes, Ricardo Dominguez and Rafael Guzman-Mateo, plus a fourth defendant, Kelvin Reyes-Rosario, all needed translators when they pleaded guilty Tuesday.

"Do you think we are going to supply you with a translator all of your life?" the judge asked them.

The four, ranging in age from 17 to 22, were in a group that police said accosted two men on a street in May. The two said they were asked if they had marijuana, told to empty their pockets, struck on the head, threatened with a gun and told to stay off the block.

Attorneys for the men said they were studying the legality of the ruling and had not decided whether to appeal. One of the attorneys, Ferris Webby, suggested that the ruling was good for his client, Guzman-Mateo.

"My client is happy," Webby said. "I think it’s going to help him."

The judge sentenced the four men to jail terms of four to 24 months. But he gave the three men, who already had served at least four months, immediate parole. Reyes-Rosario remains imprisoned on an unrelated drug charge.

Olszewski ordered the three to return with their parole officers in a year and take an English test. "If they don’t pass, they’re going in for the 24 [months]," he said.

Olszewski is known for outside-the-box sentencing.

He has ordered young defendants who are school dropouts to finish school. He often orders defendants to get full-time employment. But he also has his staff coordinate with an employment agency to help them find the jobs.

Couldn't Make this up if I Tried

2008-04-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

Whether you're a card-carrying member of the ACLU, a white supremist, a Christian or a Jew...if you're not scratching your head after reading this...something ain't right up there to begin with.

Remember the political machine that has is trying to abolish all reference to "In God We Trust" and has banned prayer in our public schools?

Doesn't "...and equality for all..." mean "equality for all"?

I can tell you that daily prayers can be and are almost always accomplished in far less time than a half hour lunch break. No, I am not anti-Muslim. I have many, many Muslim clients and a few friends. I am pro-equality, pro-tolerance and 100% pro-lets-make-some-friggin-sense-for-a-change. I just happen believe that in the process of opening up dialogue and acceptance and tolerance of all persons of all races, religions and historical background...that being caucasian shouldn't equate to political incorrectness and a life of shame.

Go figure...

http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?mid1=674&&ArticleID=24114&&name=n&&currPage=1

CAIR-PA: Muslim Employees Get Time for Prayers Posted 1/29/2008 11:02:00 AM

Somali immigrants who quit work at Arnold Logistics in Hampden Twp. because of a "misunderstanding" are back on the job, with accommodation for their daily prayers, a Muslim advocacy group says.

The warehouse and distribution services company has agreed to provide a 15-minute break for Muslim prayer, according to the Pennsylvania office of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

CAIR said 16 machine operators walked off their jobs on Jan. 9 "after a misunderstanding over a new policy which limited personal breaks for all employees to five minutes."

Madina Hasson of Mechanicsburg, a nurse who volunteers as a community organizer among midstate Somali immigrants, contacted Justin Peyton, director of civil rights for CAIR in Philadelphia.

They met Jan. 11 with Amy Rafferty, human resources director for Arnold Logistics, to explain that five minutes was too short for the daily prayers required of Muslims.

The workers had been unable to make their case because of a "language barrier," Peyton said Friday.

He said Rafferty "graciously listened" and relayed the workers' concerns to senior managers, who offered this week to rehire all 16 and provide them time each day for prayer. (MORE)

Superbowl XLII

2008-02-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

1. I picked the Giants to win.

2. Yes, I knew the Patriots were 18-0 going into the Super Bowl.

3. The Patriots got worse as the season progressed.

4. The Giants got better as the season progressed.

5. The Giants defense. Enough said.

6. Bill Bellichick is as low-class as they come. Bottom of the barrell. Not only is he a cheat who got caught and has branded the Patriots "dynasty" forever with an asterick, he's a sore loser who showed no grace at all after losing last night.

7. It's all George Dubya Bush's fault. Bellichick and Bush are both graduates of Andover and part of that boys club that carries over into adulthood, the world economy and international politics (yes, Bush gradumacated). Bellichick is a cheater. Bush is a cheater. After Bellichick was caught cheating, he had to devise a more covert method for cheating. He turned to his buddy Bush. After all, Bush controls NASA, right? Uh huh. Anyway...Bush was supposed to push the big red button that says "PUSH" to redirect NASA's infrared satellites over the stadium in Phoenix last night so Bellichick could get a feed of the Giants playbook, but he couldn't figure out how to do it. Go figure.

8. I screamed out of joy last night. I have no voice today. Go Giants!

State of the Union (and then some)

2008-01-29T03:08:00.000-08:00

Read at your own risk (the risk of being offended by what you are about to read...my thoughts...just my thoughts and opinions (though they happen to be spot on))

I watched last night's State of the Union. I knew to expect something quite less than mediocre but still I watched. Why? Because I am an American and I consider it my responsibility to be fully informed and educated about the goings-on of my nation, regardless of whether or not an idiot is its Commander in Chief. Before anyone considers condemning me for making that statement or labeling me as unpatriotic, let it be known that I served in my country's military...not once, but twice. I did not serve in the military because I am a warmonger; in fact, I am entirely opposed to all war and military conflict. I am entirely opposed to the loss of life a the hands of another human being. I hate that this world requires militaries to exist. Going on to my original blog...

So I affixed my butt to my sofa to watch our President give the State of the Union address...prepared for the worst but hoping for something digestible. Mr. Bush...you lost me at "Hello" and insulted me when you jockeyed around issues concerning our country's energy policies and improving them so that we may become a nation no longer dependant on oil and gas.

Sigh. (pause)

I'm insulted because you have waited until the 11th hour (literally) to insert your "ideas" when you (and every other living and breathing human being) knows that even the best of Presidents (which you are clearly not) are largely impotent during their final year in office. Mr. Bush...you had seven years to implement changes...any change...in the direction of improving our nation's energy independence. The billions that you (almost unilaterally) spent to invade and occupy Iraq could have and should have been invested in those policy changes you are now touting.

Mr. Bush...you are a disgrace to your office and to this great nation.

President Clinton inserted a cigar into the vagina of a White House intern...IN THE WHITEHOUSE HALLS...and you, sir, will be remembered as a far greater disgrace to the office of the presidency.

And for shits and giggles...let's review some of your finer moments.

1) "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002 (Watch video clip; listen to audio clip)

2) "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004 (Watch video clip; listen to audio clip)

3) "Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" —Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

4) "They misunderestimated me." —Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

5) "You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." —to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005 (Listen to audio clip)

6) "I hear there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft." —second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004 (Listen to audio clip)

7) "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." —Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000 (Listen to audio clip)

8) "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." —LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000 (Listen to audio clip)