Bloggishness

"Strong, brutal violence throughout."

That is the one-line description for the movie am a going to see today.  I can hardly wait.  It's called The Mechanic.  My expectations are low with regards to acting, plot and that sort of thing.  However, everything else about it looks good.

Michelle Bachmann (R) is now the latest of a long line of people that feel they are qualified to be president.  You may remember last week when she delivered the Tea Party response to the State of the Union speech.  She was so far off with regards to facts that she's been comedy fodder all week.  She and Sarah Palin are a swimsuit away from the only thing they may be qualified to do.

What I'm saying is, slap a bikini on either one of them and you have an above average screen saver.  Beyond that, they may be good at cooking or something like that.  ( I know this is a hugely sexist remark but I can see nothing other than their sex appeal that could have gotten them to where they are now.)

But president?

Come on.  It's not a beauty pageant.  Well, maybe it is, but at least there is no talent portion where points are awarded for catch phrases and pom-poms.

Elsewhere, Egypt seems to be in a bit of disarray.   I heard an analyst say that Egypt has a great constitution; it's just that it's been on hold for the last three decades while the autocratic ruler handles an emergency situation.  A 3-decade long emergency situation.  That has to be a record.  Of course, our 10 years of Terrorist condition Orange has be worthy of at least a silver medal in the "pretend" category.

By the way, the Egyptian government cut off internet and cell phone coverage in a couple of major cities.  It through off the opposition who were depending on text messages from the Muslim Brotherhood to tell them how they should think.

I just read an article where second graders admitted to performing oral sex on each other.  The principal went on record with, "I'm not sure but it seems like the teacher had a serious lack of judgment."  You think!?

I just heard about a female suicide bomber that was working on bomb-vest that she'd hooked up to a prepaid cell phone.  The cell phone minutes had unknowingly expired and the number to the now-defunct cell phone was assigned to someone else.  That someone else tried to send a text message, blowing up the female bomber.  That is cool.

Update: I won my 15 stories in 15 days writing contest.  I am posting one story a day for the next 15 days at http://promptedshortstories.blogspot.com/.  Don't expect much; after all, I could only spend 15 minutes on each one.

State of the Union

Overall, I give Obama an A+ for delivery but only a moderate B for content.

There was a lot of good stuff in there but not a lot of details about how to get it done.

What I liked the best is that he seems to be aware of the fact that we need to compete in order to maintain our standing in the world.  It's not a gift.  To be who we are, we must work for it.

Now for my detailed observations.

First of all, I like that both parties sat amongst each other instead of each having their own side of the room  To me it felt like "Together we can get things done."

A lot of emphasis on Education.  Let's see if he can put his money where his mouth is.  I am still waiting to hear that every child in the country has and i-pad type device with all of their books on it.  Right there we can pay for the next Republican war with the surplus.

He mentioned immigration.  I hope the Dream Act is still alive.  For those of you that don't know, the Dream Act gives "front of the line" privileges to those illegal immigrants that were brought over when they were young and are now in college or serving in the military.

He is standing by Health Care Reform but is open to fixing it.  He mentioned the one big thing I think is important and that is Malpractice Reform.   I agree, fix it - don't trash it.  Only 18% of all Americans disagree with me on this.

Simplify the tax code.  Last year 1% of my income went into income tax preparation.  I claim almost nothing so I keep it simple.  However, the complications mean that those that can afford big-time tax attorneys can pay almost nothing. I imagine only those that can afford to cheat don't like this.  It's too hard to hide your money when the system is simple.

He does not want to extend the tax cut for the richest amongst us.  This extension is a huge budget buster.  Interesting the the GOP wants to keep it.  Oh wait.  They are the rich.

Here is one that he took straight out of my blog.  All lobbyist activity must be posted on the internet for all to see.  I love this one.  It allows us to see who is owned by who.

There was also some Blah, Blah, Blah terror type stuff.

Overall, the economy is improving and he seems to know where we need to go and I am in agreement.

The GOP response was very predictable.  Of course, the first thing they did was talk about God and prayers.  This really gets their base up on their feet and clapping.  Once you say "God" nothing else matters to these people.  The GOP then went on to blame Health Care Reform as a budget buster in spite of the fact that the GAO (Government Accounting Office) says it is saving money.  They also made a blanket statement about failed policies which means nothing.  So, they believe in God and then went on the crucify Obama.

The GOP heroically said they would not touch Social Security for those at or near retirement.  They didn't mention their specific agenda which is to eliminate Social Security for those younger than 55.  They also called for less regulation and sort of mentioned "a few bad decisions on Wall Street," before going on to blame Obama for the economy.

Like I said, no surprise there.

The Tea Party had a response as well.  I will just say this:  If you found the Tea Party statement compelling then you have never taken a course in economics and you are more likely to believe a politically motivated politician than EVERY SINGLE ECONOMIST in the world.  Their spokesperson showed a chart that had a huge jump in unemployment the first year Obama was in office and then blamed it all on him.  This is absolutely amazing to me that people like this can get elected.

Overall, I liked the toned down animosity between parties.  I like that I am not the only one that sees where we need to go.

Speaking of knowing where to go; there is a world out there to save.

Up, up and away...

Jim

Absent but not gone

Time to check in.  I know that I've been away for a bit but don't worry.  If I am your main source of news, you haven't missed much.

I find myself much less motivated to "bitch" about politicians now that I am boycotting the Pretend News people on radio and television.  In keeping with my new year's resolution, I shall not mention them by name.  I can tell you this, when I listen to them, I get pissed off...at them.

The GOP has managed to pass a vote to get rid of health care.  I have mixed feelings about this.  Just recently, I think the health care is possibly too broken to fix so maybe we should start over.  The problem is that I don't think the GOP wants to start over.  They want to kill it.  As a rule of thumb, if it involves big money, the GOP stands to benefit by being on the side of the money.

Now, I think it's best to look at Health Care as two separate issues.

Health Care issue #1: Get costs under control.

Health Care issue #2: Insurance for everyone.

I say fix issue #1 first.  Once the economy is better, take a look at issue #2.  Right now, issue #2 is considered accomplished simply by making it illegal not to have insurance.  It also alienates states by making them pick up the tab of insuring those that can't afford it.  This is sort of like passing a law that from now on, everyone can fly by simply flapping their arms.  Voting for it doesn't make it true.

I saw a great movie yesterday.  Black Swan.  This is a 4-star movie that gets my highest recommendation.

Onward...

China owns us.  Don't be mistaken on this point.  We are as politically hog-tied as those that the Chinese throw in jail for speaking out.  We need to grow a pair and say, "Starting next week, we will impose a 25% tax on all imports that exceed the "one-for-you-one-for-me."  Said another way, balanced trade or pay for the difference.

We are sort of saying this now but in a very wimpy way.  "Please China, won't you quit manipulating the value of your currency so that we can compete fairly." To which they respond, "You have insulted me by bring this up in public - No Soup For You."

Don't get me started on copyright infringement.  Did you know they reverse engineered their stealth fighter?  Back in 1998, a stealth 117 Nighthawk helicopter was shot down over Serbia.  The Chinese went around and bought pieces of it from local farmers and then figured out how to make one of their own.

Did you hear the country is suffering from Palin Burn-out?  Who didn't see that one coming?

The UK is having yet another round of inquiries about the invasion of Iraq way back when.  I was watching when one politician said to Blair, "Tell us again why we helped invade Iraq when there was no evidences of WMDs."

I am in a writing contest that lasts for 15 days.  Each day you get a picture prompt and have 15 minutes to write a story.  There are 50 writers.  With 5 days to go, I am in a tie for second place.  Wish me luck.

Looks like its going to be Green Bay and Pittsburg playing between commercials during the Super Bowl (although the Jets could still pull it out as of the time I am writing this).

The State of the Union is coming up soon.  Can't wait to see how that goes down.  My guess is the political cooling down period following the Arizona shootings will have passed.

Time to get my cape on.  It looks cool flapping in the wind as I slide down the pole...

There is a world to save....to the Bat Cave...

Up, up and away...

Jim

Blame Game Etc.

If I were to buy some drugs on the street corner, would I bear any responsibility for the drug-war deaths south of the border?  I’m not certain about this but I would probably have to say…yes.

So, a guy goes wacko and shoots a bunch of people down in Tucson. It just so happens that the sheriff blames the current slew of radio and television personalities and politicians for the killer’s state of mind.  By this logic, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and Rush “give me another burger” Limbaugh are guilty. 

Perhaps.

But if we are really honest with ourselves, I don’t think the buck stops there.  These guys wouldn’t be around if we didn’t pay attention to them; even if that attention was to criticize them.  I think we, or at least I, may have pulled on that trigger; at least just a very tiny bit.

I have a new New Years Resolution.  I am not going to pull any more triggers.  These guys are no longer part of my agenda.  That doesn’t mean “no more politics.”  It means no more references to these guys.  I have decided to be better than that.  Let’s see if I can make good on this one.

Onward to…Augusta, home of the masters and a regional airport named Bush Field. 

I once met Huey Lewis at this airport.  There were about five or six of us sitting in this tiny waiting room.  I go up to him and say, “You look just like Huey Lewis.”  Turns out he was.  We got on the same puddle jumper.  This was about ten years ago.  The airport is much nicer than it was back then.  Apparently, they just finished a remodel.

The only problem is that they forgot to put in a restaurant.  There is an indentation in one of the walls where you can buy food but the choices are sparse.  You can get a blueberry muffin wrapped in foil, or you can get a sandwich.  I went with the sandwich.  Bad call.  This turned out to be more of a loaf of bread with “meat essence.”  I knew there was meat in it because I could see it.  It’s just that the ratio of meat to bread was so distorted that if you closed your eyes and took a bite, you might think the meat had fallen to the floor.

I ditched the sandwich and ordered a pizza.  I figured if I’m going to take in that many carbs, it had better have some pizza sauce on it.  I had to order out for it.  The girl on the phone thought I was kidding when I asked for a large sausage pizza to be delivered to the Hertz rental counter at the airport. 

God bless you Papa Johns. 

Now granted, this wasn’t as good as Kimmy’s Chicago deep dish delicacy, but it beat the heck out of a loaf of bread with lipstick.

I was in Augusta to look at a plant that makes cookies.  That’s what I do.  My job is a lot like a high school field trip.  I watch how people make stuff and then suggest things they may want to do differently.  It could be cookies or tables or semiconductors.  People make stuff and I get to watch.

We were looking at a production line and I asked, “What do you make on this line.”  My guide answered, “Sugar cookies dipped in fudge.”  I am not kidding.  There is a god and he is making fudge covered sugar treats in Augusta, Georgia.

Now I’m on my way home.  I’m flying the only third world airline to operate in the United States.  The name on the tail says USAirways.  I can think of a lot more appropriate names.  In my office, we fly all the time and this is the one airline we try to avoid at all costs.  Imagine a plane that never takes off on time and has nothing inside but middle seats.

The guy in the seat next to me is watching Avatar.  I keep looking over, hoping to get a peak at the blue girl.  You guys out there know the one I’m talking about.

Right now, they are saving their world, which reminds me.  I have one of my own to save.

Up, up and away…

jim

Posted from 35,000 feet

Once again, I find myself blogging from an airplane.  There is something so absurd about so many aspects of air travel that I just can’t help myself.  For example, they just passed word, “It is absolutely illegal to gather in groups, anywhere on the airplane.”

What does that mean?  Are they afraid if too many people get together they will decide to form a rugby scrum and shuffle down the aisle in an attempt to take over the plane?  This makes as much sense to me as if they had said, “On this flight, there will be no reading the odd numbered pages in your book or magazine.”

Food will be served soon.  I have trained myself to eat anything placed in front of me on an airplane.  You never know; your next calorie may be 5,000 miles away.  And yes, I did pass on the Peanut M&M’s at the duty free shop – although I was tempted by a bag big enough to qualify as carry-on luggage.  I didn’t buy it for one reason: No matter how big the bag, it would have been empty by the time the plane landed.  You can eat a lot of M&Ms between Europe and the States.

I am also struck by how unembarrassed people are when crowding at an airport.  I usually call then out on this but the guy I picked to make a scene with turned out to have a wife with him.  I let him go with a glare that he never saw.

Europeans crowd even if the line is moving so fast they have to jog to stay up with it.  It has to be cultural since I never see any shame.  I challenged one guy the other day, not knowing if he spoke English or not.  He just smiled at me and nodded.  I half expected him to say, “No Coke, Pepsi,” like Bill Murray in the old Saturday Night Live skit (cheeseburgercheeseburgercheeseburger).

China has the same sort of “Lack of Shame.”  Their national telephone system is made up of phones identical to those used all over the world - All of them rip-offs.  On their website, they boast of an R&D department with “nearly twenty” research specialists.  This is exactly the same number of research specialists Seven-Eleven has working on their next Frozen-Burrito/Slurpy combo.  And yet, they have supposedly, independently developed the same phones that the rest of the world has. 

China recently bragged about the new 4G telephone system they have developed on their own.  What this means is that their crack team of researchers managed to pry of the label from a competitor's hardware and glue on one saying “Made in China.”  Ask them and they will tell you I am speaking the truth.  They see nothing wrong with this.

Here in the United States, we have the same sort of unbelievable behavior taking place at the highest levels.  For example, we have campaign contribution limits that are specifically designed to prevent corruption.  On the front page of the USA Today newspaper were listed 6 Republican presidential hopefuls that have found a way around this law.  It’s a loophole and thus legal.  I ask you this, if you find a loophole to do something that is deemed to be corruption, is it okay to do it?  Morally, I mean.

Here are the six Republicans that want your vote for president in 2012; Six Republicans that are dancing in the field of corruption simply because they found a missing comma in the law that allows them to do so without going to jail.  They are:  Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney. . 

The really bad news in this is that some of us will vote for them.

Alas…

Saving the world is getting to be a full time job.

Up, up and away…

jim

The Coffee Party

It's finally come to this.

I have elected to start my very own political party.  You are invited to join but I must warn you - membership is highly exclusive.

There is only one rule for joining: You cannot be an idiot.

Now for my/our platform:

1. Every politician must have a website where he or she tells how they voted that day and why.  Statements are limited to 50 words or less.

2. Every politician's website has a referee from the opposing party that must verify that the content is correct.  Should anything incorrect or misleading be discovered, the offender must spend the day in a clown suit.

3. All benefits must be the same as Joe American.  This means a 401K plan and a medical plan that they must contribute to.  No more medical and full pay for life.

4. All money collected for any reason must be posted on the website.  Who gave it and how much.

5. All compensation for politicians is zero during any year they spend more money than they take in.  Exceptions can be made for wars, but only those wars not started to make your dad proud of you.

6. Any filibustering must be done while wearing a clown suit.

7. If you vote along party lines more than 80% of the time, you are not being true to yourself or those you represent.  You get the clown suit until the average drops below 80%.

8. If you get caught lying or cheating and try to get away with it.  You go to jail and have to wear a clown suit the entire time you are there.  If you fess up to your crime, no jail but one month in the clown suit.

9. Any verifiable hypocrisy gets you the firing squad.  During the event, you will be in a clown suit.

10. Daily brain scans will be taken while you posting to your blog.  A scan will show indications of lying.  I know this is true because I saw it on House.

Now I know what you are thinking. 

"This is all great stuff but where in the world are we going to get enough clown suits?"

Good question.   I suggest we borrow them from the Tea Party - the largest voting block of clowns anywhere.

So, are you in?

Think about it.  I could use some help saving the world.

Up, up and away...

jim

Good-bye Mayberry

Several years ago, there was a television show called Family Ties.  It was a big hit with Michael J. Fox as a young, straight-laced kid.  I knew right off the bat, I was that kid.

Back in the late 60's, I was in junior high school.  In the news would be pictures of war protesters being beaten by the police.  My position at the time, "Damn hippies deserve it."  I had no idea what the war was about but I trusted government.

Then, one day, while I was attending a party at a park, my whole view of authority changed.  It was a party thrown by my ship, one that I had just been assigned to so I knew none of the players.  Anyway, the port police show up and start spraying Mace at everyone.  I saw the unprovoked attack from the start and there was nothing that could be said other than...it was unprovoked - totally.

My ship's captain showed up and a whole bunch of rental cops lost their jobs on the spot.  However, the damage had been done.  I had seen authority; I had seen men with badges and they were wrong.

For the first time in my life, I had seen that the King had no clothes.  Authority does not equal right.

For the first time I thought, "maybe those hippies from the 60's had been right all along."

My world view was forever changed.  There was no Mayberry.  The world was not run by highly evolved apes in suits.  It was run by un-evolved apes in suits.  We used our opposable thumbs to sew in order that we may appear civilized.  But in the end, an ape in a suit, is still an ape.

Now I am much older and have taken on "cynical" as a second middle name.

I have watched as religious leaders cry, "I have sinned," while holding out a hand for tithing that will be used to put their mistresses up in free housing.  I have seen politicians impeach each other for "indiscretions,"  while failing to pay taxes or while maintaining several extra-marital affairs themselves.  I have seen Governors go to jail.

But at no time have I ever seen anything as tragic as the true story of the banking crisis of 2008 as told by Michael Lewis.   This is the guy the wrote MoneyBall and The Blind Side.  It is a true store called The Big Short.

Read this book!

It should be as mandatory to read and discuss as Catcher in the Rye or To Kill a Mocking Bird.

The scariest part of the story is that we are continuing to be ripped off by the same people that made this all happen in the first place.  I'm not talking about a $250 toilet seat for the army.  I'm talking about the end of democracy so a few can have it all in the short run.

In America, our greatest strength is our economy; not the number of tanks on the ground or planes in the air.  We make up about 30% of the world's economy.  Two years ago, that nearly changed.  Today, the gun that we shot ourselves with is still smoking and ... it's still in the hands of those that pulled the trigger to begin with.

If you don't want to read the book go to the following link and watch a 60 minutes section on it: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6298082n&tag=related;photovideo

I am still on vacation so have been away from the news lately.  Apparently, North Korea has yet to unleash the Mother of all Deaths.  American politics is still filled with "You shut up; no you shut up," and the department of Homeland Defense is still at threat level orange, whatever that means.

As for me, I am relaxing.  I went snowboarding for three days and survived.  It's freezing here in Hungary but I have a wife that makes sure I dress in layers.  My Peanut M&M intake is way down but only because I have other sugary treats to fill the gap.  I have not been writing but I will finish one book by March and a second in the Spring.

I have one more week here before I head home.  I can see that there is a world to save and I am nearly rested up enough to do just that.

Up, up and away...

jim