Last minute holiday notes

It's been over a week since my last post.  Usually I don't go that long but things have been very busy.

I like it that way lest, "Jim becomes a dull boy."

I have almost completed my holiday shopping.  My wife likes magazines in the checkout line so, I bought a bunch of those for stocking-stuffers.  That was way more embarrassing that I had anticipated.

I am a big-time carnivore, however, I am thinking of changing my ways.  I have recently been eating Morning Star Foods vegetarian things and they are great!  Try the riblets or the chipotle/bean burgers.  Way better than meat.

The Republican party is faced with the Start Treaty.  This is an agreement to limit nuclear arms. It has been through 17 committees since last April.  Every living Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Security Adviser supports this treaty.  What do the Republicans say about this bill they have had on their desk for 8 months?

"We don't like this being pushed down our throats at the last minute."

You have got to be kidding me!!!

This is not the same as their stance on health care which is basically: Let the poor die.  Nor is it the same as their stance on extending tax breaks: More money for the rich using borrowed cash.  Nor is it the same as their stance on the dream act: Let them fight our wars but "No citizenship for you!"  Nor is this the same as the overall hypocrisy of: Lower spending but give money to the rich while building up the national debt in spite of what 100% of economists think.

No, this is about the End of the World.

That's what nuclear arms promise.

Albert Einstein said, "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

Christmas is just around the corner.  I love this time of year.  My kids are coming over this Wednesday night.  Everyone has to bring some Christmas candy/cookies that they made.  Then, when we are all sufficiently buzzed from all the sugar, we'll sit and watch It's a Wonderful Life.  We do this every year.

Christmas day I am off to Hungary.  From there, I go to Austria for three days of snowboarding.  Sounds exotic but Austria is really only about 4 hours away ( 2 hours to they border).

I watched a great movie yesterday.  The Fighter.  I give it four out of four stars.  Christian Bale will win the Academy Award for best supporting actor.  You heard it here first.  However, I expect Jeff Bridges to be over the top in True Grit for Best Actor of the year.

As for acting, I have a pretend world to save.

Up, up and away...

Jim

My Platform

Here is what I believe in...

Long slow kisses that last for....whoops, I slipped into my Bull Durham mode.

Second try...

Everyone should start their day with a song that makes them feel happy.

Tax cuts for the rich, paid for with borrowed money is ridiculous.

Smoking in public should be banned unless the smoker is wearing a smoking helmet which allows him to carry his cloud of smoke around with him.

I'm in favor of extending unemployment so long as the unemployment rate is above 8%.

I think we should each greet each other when we pass in the street.

I believe Obama made a mistake by negotiating without his party being involved.

Popeye's chicken is way better than KFC.

I think an expired tax cut that is replaced in February with a new tax cut for the middle/lower class and made retroactive is the same as extending a tax cut but without the taxes for the rich.

I think the Hertz rental service at the Chicago airport is the worse in the country.

Peanuts is the best comic strip out there; but the Far Side is a close second.

I'm in favor of repealing the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy that is so foolish as to be embarrassing to me.

I think I was lucky to be born American.  It was luck.  I didn't earn it and have no feeling of "I deserve it."

The Dream Act, an immigration bill, is a great idea; one of many being held hostage by the GOP.

NEVER negotiate with terrorists.

Wesley is right, the scrambled eggs at Hampton Inns are terrible.  However, they (Hampton Inns, not the scrambled eggs) make great biscuits and gravy.

I'm convinced the Republican Party is made up of rich people trying to make themselves richer and they believe the rest of us are not smart enough to notice.

Obama has what it takes to do the job.  He just hasn't figured it out yet.

Building a fence to keep out Mexico is the dumbest idea since "Don't ask Don't tell."

We owe it to Mexico to fight their drug battles.  After all, we are the market that is supporting those drug lords.

300 is the best movie ever...after the Sound of Music.

I love coaching wrestling, watching college football live and listening to baseball on the radio.

I think every man wants to find a Jeep Wrangler under the tree this year; even if he doesn't know it.

I love Christmas music and the holiday season in general.

I think my mental state is closely linked to my physical state and visa-versa.

George W. was a worse president than most think.  George H. was better than most think.

I think we need an Energy Policy and a Manufacturing Policy.  Start building those nuclear power plants.  Electric cars don't run on air.

I love watching my dog (the one in Hungary) play in the snow.  She's a good girl.

Family Guy is really, really funny.

Without heroes, the world would be in big trouble.

Up, up and away...

Jim

Cave-Man

Obama caved. 

The Republican party was willing to let everyone's taxes go up and let the unemployed lose their income.

Their terms: Give a tax break to the rich, at a $750 billion cost, paid for by money borrowed from China.  In return, they would approve tax breaks for the poor and middle class and an extension of unemployment benefits.

Obama gave in and, in doing so, lost my vote.

He could have simply let all the tax cuts expire along with unemployment and then introduce new legislation in January - but he couldn't handle the pressure of the MINORITY party.

I find myself wishing that California had  a Republican senator so I could call him up and tell him he's fired.

Other news: Dandy Don Meredith passed away.  I grew up on Monday Night Football with Dandy Don, Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford. 

Now for some math:    Chicago = Traffic

Two hours to drive the 15 miles from the airport to my hotel.  And don't get me going on the Arctic temperatures.  What were the first settlers here thinking?  "Wow!  Look at all that beaver, Ma.  It's frozen clear through. This must be the promised land."

I saw a book about Glen Beck called Tears of a Clown.  I like that.

Next weekend is the Army/Navy football game.  It's the only college football game on that weekend.


I know this is short but traffic cut into my schedule and I have a world waiting to be saved.

Up, up and away.

Jim

Batboy Fantasy

I think it’s time to admit why there are so many bad drivers out there.  I have a faulty classification system.  Basically, it comes down to this: if you are not driving exactly the way I want you to drive at exactly that point in time, you are a bad driver.

Ahhhh.  Confession can be so good for the soul.

I finally hooked up with my Hungarian friend for dinner last night.  Somehow, we got to talking about how we hold some people up as superior to others simply because they get more air time.  We look at sports figures, actors and politicians as if they are somehow, wiser and more capable than for example, the person serving our pizza.  Sarah Palin is a perfect example.  Nice legs – she’s on television a lot – let’s make her president.

Of course, they are just ordinary people.  We are all funny, boring, honest and deceitful.   We have petty jealousies and moments of unconditional love.  We embrace our friends and fantasize about how our enemies need to be “darted.”

Right now, I am having this fantasy where I am Robert De Niro playing Al Capone.  In this fantasy, I am walking around a table filled with politicians.  They sit nervously, knowing I have a baseball bat and am going to unleash in on the first person that says something stupid.

I walk and I listen.

Obama has something to say.  “I came out of my meeting with the GOP and they say they are willing to work with me.”

Not bad.  I keep my bat in its holster.  And I walk.

About 20 hours later, a representative from the GOP, the same group that said they would work with Obama, stands.  He has something to say.  “All 42 Republican senators have signed a letter to the president saying we will block all legislation until they extend the tax cuts to millionaires.”

He gets the bat.  It’s not pretty, but no one else speaks up.  They fear the bat.

No one wants to mention the fact that stalled legislation means no action on a Nutrition Bill for schools.  No one mentions the fact that a stalled legislation means no treaty with Russia, a longtime enemy that is sitting at the table ready to make peace.  No one is mentioning the $750 billion dollar price tag of giving the rich a tax break.  No one wants to stand up and say “We need to extend unemployment or 2 million people will have no food.”  As for national debt discussion – no one wants to talk about how to eat that elephant.

They don’t talk because they all fear the bat.

The GOP fears it because they know who they are; and they know I know it.  The Democrats fear the bat because it’s in their nature to be fearful.  This is what we get for electing eunuchs.

I want out of this fantasy. 

I understand that this is a problem with my classification system.  I know that bad politicians are only people that aren’t thinking the exact way I want them to think at that exact point in time.  I know this and yet…I carry a bat and circle the room.

This can be very distracting when there is a world to be saved.

Up, up and away…