The 21 Century!

So far...it has not been a day at the beach!

The Good!

• 30th & 35th wedding anniversaries!
• Two new son-in-laws
• 1st grandchild (prompted me to start this blog)
• 2nd grandchild on the way. Romell will be a big brother!
  UPDATE:   Unfortunately...it was not meant to be!
• Barack Hussein Obama! I never thought I'd live to see that day.

The Bad:

• Y2K
• dangling chads
• George Bush - you knowingly lied to us!
• Weapons of mass destruction...NOT!
• Mission accomplished??? Not!
• A 2nd term...you gotta be kidding me!
• Dick Cheney - see Bush
• Donald Rumsfield - see Cheney
• John McCain...you introduced Sarah Palin to the world!
  
• Sarah Palin
• Mitch McConnell
• Mahmoud Ahmaddinejad
• Michele Bachmann
• The US Defense budget - exceeds the total of the next 20 largest defense budgets worldwide
• The Great Recession
• The Birthers
• The Teabaggers
  
• losing 4 jobs in 4 years!
• short sale on Florida condo - ouch!
• The value of my 401K

The Ugly:

• September 11th, 2001
• Osama Bin Laden
• Iraq War
• Katrina - "You're doing a heckuva job Brownie"!
• The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
• Al Qaeda
• The Haitian Earthquake
  
• H-pylori lymphoma (stomach cancer) - I survived!
• Nephrectomy - a tumor...so they took one of my kidneys.

I'm sure I'll think of others. Like I said, goodbye and good riddance!

Rest in Peace

It snowed yesterday!

First snowfall of the season and it was a beauty...a blizzard!   20+ inches in Central Park.   The 6th highest snowfall in New York City.   Had this happened on Xmas day...it would have really screwed up the plans!

The Front Door Wreath!



Down the Street:


A block away:

paulitics?

Been having a lot of political discussion around the house lately.   My daughter and son-in-law (visiting from Munich) suggested that I rename this blog to PAULITICS!

Boxing Day!

Post December 25th.   It was awesome.   Family, friends and good times!   But today...I learned that a new box will be delivered on August 22nd 2011.   Stay tuned!

Triple hitter!

• Repealed DADT!
• Dealt with Russia!
• Embraced the 9/11 respondents!

They're already calling him the "Comeback Kid"!

AWESOME!

Dear Terry

Happy Birthday kiddo!   You are/were special...and you are surely missed!

Imagine Again & Again!

I watched several newscasts tonight...and heard all the tributes to John Lennon.   Its been 30 years!   Chris Matthews,   of MSNBC news,   said that if you listened to Lennon's "Imagine"...you knew he was anti-war.   "Give Peace a Chance"   was definitely anti-war...but   "Imagine" was much more than that!   "No heaven or hell below us"!   Just Imagine!

I remembered...but they didn't!

Well...it's been two weeks now...and a lot of folks didn't remember! Mitch McConnell & John Boehner say that the American people have spoken. No! The American people haven't spoken! Only SOME of the American people have spoken and those that did speak...outshouted the rest of us! The latter knows that Sarah Palin was NOT qualified to be Vice President (or a heart beat away from the Presidency) of the United States. And yes...if the insanity continues...Bristol Palin will win on "Dancing with the Stars!"

I remembered...and I voted!

My polling place ran out of "I Voted" stickers!   Brideport, Connecticut ran out of ballots!!!

Happy Holloween!

The door bell rang twice!   Two kids the first time.   Maybe five kids on the second ring!   Now what are we supposed to do with all these bags of Kit Kats???

Get on the Bus!!! The Rally - part one!

Although it could be described as somewhat of a letdown...I don't regret that I gave it the good ole "college try" to participate and attend.   What is this you may ask?   The "Rally to Restore Sanity" and the equally as infamous "Keep Fear Alive" rally today in Washington DC.

• As the organizers requested...I arrived at Citifield (the Met's Shea Stadium replacement in Queens, NY) at 5:30AM expecting to board a free (Arianna Huffington) bus around 6:00AM (as was confirmed in all prior e-mails) and listed on all the related "Rally & "Fear" sites.


• When I got out of my car I got somewhat emotional realizing the size of the crowd...10,000 people I'm told!


• Didn't know what to expect...but a staff person told me that 200 buses were signed up!


• 10,000 people and 200 buses???   (How did they expect 10,000 people to board 200 buses in a half an hour?)


• I boarded said bus at 7:40AM!!!


• We arrived at RFK Stadium at 1:00PM (rally kicked off at noon)


• Needed to take the Washington DC Metro (4 stops) from RFK stadium to the Mall.   That took another hour!   (Details to be embellished in a future post...but it can be best described as the worst part of the journey!)


• Arrived at the mall at 2:00PM...amidst crushing crowds.   (Gotta admit...again...I was taken aback by the turnout!)


• I could barely move.


• Made it up one block towards the main stage.   That took a half an hour!   Still couldn't see anything...but the signs were really cool.


• Left the Mall at 2:30PM to catch the Metro...back to the buses at RFK stadium.


• Left RFK at 3;20PM and arrived back at Citifield at 8:30PM


• Got home at 9:30PM...made a drink...and watched the rally on TV compliments of my DVR!

Hang tough Mr. President!

How to Restore the American Dream - Fareek Zakaria (CNN)

You need to read this! Here's a short excerpt.

"Technology and globalization are working together at warp speed, creating a powerful new reality.   Many more goods and services can now be produced anywhere on the globe.   China and India have added literally hundreds of millions of new workers to the global labor pool, producing the same goods and services as Western workers at a fraction of the price.   Far from being basket-case economies and banana republics, many developing economies are now stable and well managed, and companies can do business in them with ease.   At some point, all these differences add up to mean that global competition is having quite a new impact on life in the U.S."

President Obama - It's Get Better!

LGA to ORD to DBQ

I went to Homecoming last weekend.   The impetus?   Well...it was really more for a fraternity reunion that happened to coincide with the homecoming weekend.   What fraternity?   Phi Omicron!   (I know, you never heard of it).   Where?   Dubuque, Iowa.   (I know, you never heard of it either...other than the comedic reference to the "Little Old Lady from Dubuque").

It's a long story how a kid from the South Bronx (New York) wound up at the University of Dubuque.   Perhaps it was fate?   Who knows...but as fate would have it...those four years left an indelible mark on my life.   There are good people in this world...and I found them at the University of Dubuque!

33 and counting!

How long did I (and the rest of the world) stay up and watch this pulley do its' magic.   Counterclockwise...it was going down.   Clockwise it was pulling another miner up to freedom...to life!

Copiapo, Chile!

In the midst of all the ugliness in this world...what a joyous escape to see this!   Florencio Avalos would be the 1st miner to be rescued.   Age: 31   All the world watched as this unfolded.   It was definitely good vibes.   Really took my mind off of all the other crap!   They broke thru...and all 33 miners were alive!

10/10/10

I won't be around the next time this happens (400 years from now)!   But hopefully I'll be here for 11/11/11 and 12/12/12!

Imagine!

$824 ain't two grand!!!

Wow!   It was somewhat of a disappointment.   After cashing in the pennies...I just knew the silver coins would bring...maybe two grand!

Roll Call!

• $490 in quarters = 49 rolls
• $260 in dimes = 520 rolls
• $74 in nickels = 37 rolls

Total = $824!

WTF! Enuf already!

• Billy Lucas (IN) - 15YO - 9/9 - hung himself
• Seth Walsh (CA) - 13YO - 9/19 - hung himself - taken off life support after 9 days
• Asher Brown (TX) - 13YO - 9/23 - shot himself in the head
• Tyler Clememti (NJ) - 18YO - 9/22 - jumped off the GW Bridge (NYC)
• Raymond Chase (CA) - 19YO - 9/29 - hung himself

We Give A Damn!

U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey

Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons are among the highest-scoring groups on a new survey of religious knowledge, outperforming evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants and Catholics on questions about the core teachings, history and leading figures of major world religions.



On average, Americans correctly answer 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions on the survey by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.   Atheists and agnostics average 20.9 correct answers.   Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons are among the highest-scoring groups on a new survey of religious knowledge, outperforming evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants and Catholics on questions about the core teachings, history and leading figures of major world religions.

On average, Americans correctly answer 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions on the survey by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.   Atheists and agnostics average 20.9 correct answers.   Jews and Mormons do about as well, averaging 20.5 and 20.3 correct answers, respectively.  : Jews and Mormons do about as well, averaging 20.5 and 20.3 correct answers, respectively.

You can take the test here.

Pennies from Heaven!

Well...not really!   Heaven?   Nevermind!

Cleaned out my water cooler "coin collector" bottle.   It was half full of coins.   I've been tossing in pennies, nickels, dimes & quarters over the last several years.   A few 50 cent pieces and dollar coins in there too!  My little stash!   Decided it was time to take it to the bank.   This is a recession isn't it?   Separated the pennies from all the other coins.   30.2 lbs of pennies!  Schlept the 30.2 lbs over to the local supermarket and dumped them into the "coin counting" machine!

5,029 Pennies!!!   If I rolled them myself...that would have been 100 rolls of pennies!   How long does it take to roll 100 rolls of pennies?   More time than I have...even tho' I'm unemployed!  Like I said...this is a recession!   Total $51.09.   Wait...how does 5029 pennies add up to $51.09? Eight dimes snuck in there somehow!   Walked away with a little over $46 net...10% coin eating machine fee!

Just weighed the rest of the coins. We're at 40+ lbs of silver people!   I'm guessing maybe two grand?   Plan to count these myself.

I ain't about to give up 10% of two grand!   Can ya' feel me?

A Bible for All!

This was posted in a special section of this Sunday's New York Times.   The section captured some of the Op Ed entries submitted to the Times over the past 40 years!   This one really grabbed me for obvious reasons!

"Those who speak for the religious right do not speak for all American Christians, and the Bible is not theirs alone to interpret.  The same Bible that the advocates of slavery used to protect their wicked self-interests is the Bible that inspired slaves to revolt and their liberators to action.

The same Bible that was used to keep white churches white is the source of the inspiration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the social reformation of the 1960s.

The same Bible that anti-feminists use to keep women silent in the churches is the Bible that preaches liberation to captives and says that in Christ there is neither male nor female, slave nor free.

And the same Bible that on the basis of an archaic social code of ancient Israel and a tortured reading of Paul is used to condemn all homosexuals and homosexual behavior includes metaphors of redemption, inclusion and love — principles that invite homosexuals to accept their freedom and responsibility in Christ and demand that their fellow Christians accept them as well.

In this summer of our discontent, one of the most precious freedoms for which we must all fight is freedom from this last prejudice."

PETER J. GOMES, an American Baptist minister, is a professor of Christian morals at Harvard.   This Op Ed was originally posted by PETER J. GOMES, on August 17, 1992

Amen!

College perspective as posted in the NY Times

I read this in this   Sunday's NY Times OP Ed page.   I was impressed.   It says so much.

"College is your chance to see what you’ve been missing, both in the outside world and within yourself.   Use this time to explore as much as you can.

Take classes in many different subjects before picking your major. Try lots of different clubs and activities.   Make friends with people who grew up much poorer than you, and others much richer.   Date someone of a different race or religion.   (And no, hooking up at a party doesn’t count.)   Spend a semester abroad or save up and go backpacking in Europe or Asia.

Somewhere in your childhood is a gaping hole.   Fill this hole.   Don’t know what classical music is all about?   That’s bad.   Don’t know who Lady Gaga is?   That’s worse.   If you were raised in a protected cocoon, this is the time to experience the world beyond.

College is also a chance to learn new things about yourself.   Never been much of a leader?   Try forming a club or a band.

The best things I did in college all involved explorations like this.   I was originally a theater major but by branching out and taking a math class I discovered I actually liked math, and I enjoyed hanging out with technical people.

By dabbling in leadership — I ran the math club and directed a musical — I learned how to formulate a vision and persuade people to join me in bringing it to life.   Now I’m planning to become an entrepreneur after graduate school.   It may seem crazy, but it was running a dinky club that set me on the path to seeing myself as someone who could run a business.

Try lots of things in college.   You never know what’s going to stick."

— TIM NOVIKOFF, Ph.D. student in applied mathematics at Cornell

Bishop Long...A Sinner?

Religion & Ignorance...not to mention Intolerance!

The combination of religion and ignorance is a poisonous elixir that scares the hell out of me.   This may sound like blasphemy to many folks who are friends and family...but I'm scared.   I think of all that is wrong with this world...not to mention this country (especially this country?)...and it all boils down to these two!   Think about it.

Then add intolerance to the mix...need I say more?

College Degrees

As posted on the the Huffington Post, according to the Lumina Foundation:

"The U.S. has fallen from first in the world in the proportion of adults that hold two- or four-year college degrees to fourth.   Even more worrisome is that, among young adults -- those between the ages of 25 and 34, the U.S. is no better than tied for 10th, and now trails nations in Asia, Europe and the Americas.   Each year for at least the past four, the U.S. has fallen in these comparisons.   In almost all other developed nations, attainment rates are increasing -- in many cases dramatically and to levels significantly above ours.   As a result, ours is one of the very few nations in the world in which younger adults are not better educated than older adults."

Interesting to note those states with the lowest percentage of college degrees.   Why am I not surprised?   There seems to be a pattern here.



Now you know this was coming!




Sorry about the red state / blue state notation.   This country is divided enough as it is!   Hey!   It is what it is!   Thanks teabaggers!

ten.thirty.ten!

• Rally to Restore Sanity!

• Keep Fear Alive!

nine-eleven

Burn Baby Burn!

God gave humans the truth, and the Devil came and said "Let's organize it, we'll call it religion!"
Deepak Chopra

5 Years Ago!

• the levees broke
• 80% of New Orleans was under water
• thousands left without food, shelter or water
• almost 1,800 people died
• $75 billion in damages

Glenn Beck - "Restoring Honor"

No!   I'm not going to 828!

A few days ago...
"President Obama is not a Muslim.   I’m taking his word that he is a Christian.   But here’s where it falls apart for many Americans: It’s a Christianity that most Americans just don’t recognize."

"I don’t know what that is, other than he’s not Muslim, he’s not Christian.   He’s a perversion of the gospel of Jesus Christ as most Christians know it."

August 17th, 2010
"There are so many things that this administration has done that I think will go down in history as ... it's going to go down in history as the most corrupt administration ever,"

August 17th, 2010
President Obama wants to rescind a Bush-era regulation so that "doctors can't refuse to" perform abortions.

July 28th
Obama has "over and over again" exposed himself as "a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture.   I don't know what it is..."

May 28, 2010
Glenn Beck, who repeatedly and angrily tells his alleged persecutors to "leave the families alone," spent a good chunk of his radio program this morning mocking and attacking the intelligence of President Obama's 11-year-old daughter, Malia.

May 28,2010
On Michelle Obama's dress...(State Dinner for Mexico's President)
"She looks positively like she's trying to be some Greek statue," he said. "I don't think I've ever seen the first lady with her, excuse the expression, but with her breasts all smushed up.   What is that? Did you even see that picture?   I mean that, that's . . . what is that?"

April 9th, 2010 on the next Supreme court nominee...
If he's smart he will find a gay, handicapped Black woman who's an immigrant, because that way he could just say, when...She could be the Devil!   She could say 'I hate America.   I want to destroy America.'   And that way they'll only be able to say 'Why do you hate gay immigrant Black handicapped women? Why do you...hate that?”

April 7th, 2010
“His parents seemed to place radical politics over everything else, including their little boy,” said Beck. “How many of us have been abandoned for a Marxist political theory or politics? This didn’t happen to little Barack Obama once, but twice, by both parents.

Happy 1st Birthday!

• Romell
• zerosixnine

Obama - A Kenyan and a Muslim!

46% of the Republican party believe President Obama is a Muslim!

CNN Poll on the President's birthplace:
Do you think Barack Obama was definitely born in the United States, probably born in the United States, probably born in another country, or definitely born in another country?   The responses below are for the 1,081 Americans polled.

• 42% - Definitely born in U.S.
• 29% - Probably born in the U.S.
• 16% - Probably born in another country
• 11% - Definitely born in another country
• 2% - No opinion

27% of the 285 Republicans included in the poll, believe the President was probably born in another country!

(Interviews were conducted with 1,018 adult Americans,including 335 Democrats, 398 Independents, and 285 Republicans, nducted by telephone by Opinion Research Corporation on July 16-21, 2010.   The margin of sampling error for results based on the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points.)

Refudiate?

Mrs. Brown 12/5/1916 - 8/5/2010

I really don’t think Mrs. Brown fully understood the impact she had on so many lives.   She was so much more than a wife and the mother of two…her sons…Johnnie & Jerry.   She was the matriarch of a building; of a block; of a neighborhood; of an extended family.

The Brown’s apartment at 1070 Stebbins Avenue (in the Bronx) was a home to so many of us in our formulative years.   The door was always open…and the welcome mat out.   There was always activity there or, if nothing else, something was always cooking on the stove (the latter of which she freely offered to anyone who walked through the door).   Sure…she cursed you out about eating up her food…but a few minutes later…she’d ask you if you had enough to eat…or wanted more.   Her potato salad will go down in history.

Little did she know that she made her home a sanctuary to so many of us young folks…way back then…about 50 or so years ago.   She understood us!   She allowed us to be us…but we knew the boundaries.   She provided us with a sense of freedom…of comfort…and last… but not least…of respect.   It’s hard to explain…unless you were there.   And if you were there…you knew.

I wish I had a picture of all of us…more than a dozen teenagers…packed in the Brown’s living room at 1070 looking at that first episode of Star Trek on the first and only color TV in the neighborhood.   It became a weekly tradition.   And yes…there were pots of good eatins’ on the stove!   More complaining and cussin’, but we knew she loved us!   Not only did good food come out of that kitchen, but many of us sat shoulder-to-shoulder around that kitchen table during our legendary games of blackjack.   Again…if you were there…you would know what I mean!

Early, in our teenage years, we experienced a tragic death.   He was another teenager, someone very close to many of us.   Where did we find comfort and solace?   It was at 1070 with Mrs. Brown of course.   We were all in that apartment that day…dozens of us.   She knew.   She understood.   She comforted us through our loss.   It was typical of Mrs. Brown.

We loved her for the person she was.   She told it like it was.   She didn’t mince her words and didn’t hold back anything!   She affectionately referred to some youngsters that she caught misbehaving as knuckleheads.   She referred to some of us older folks in words unique to Mrs. Brown.   But above all…she knew right from wrong.   She helped make us who we are.   She had a heart of gold.   We loved her for who she was!

So Mrs. Brown, Aunt Merc, Mercedes, Ma!…you are gone…but you will never ever be forgotten.   You touched so many lives and we are all left with many fond and cherished memories.   You had a good long run…93 years!   We know that death is inevitable.   However, it’s hard to accept.   We just took for granted that you’d be here with us forever…but, you know what?   You will!   See you again Mrs. Brown…on the other side!

Pakistan & Saudi Arabia - Go figure!

Thanks to Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times for his insightful synopsis of who’s doing what to whom in Central Asia and its impact on America.   It's brilliant!   Read the full article here.

• The 911 terrorist attack was planned, executed and funded by radical Pakistanis and Saudis.

• We invaded Iraq & Afghanistan because Pakistan has nukes that we fear and Saudi Arabia has oil that we crave!

• The Pakistani Army is obsessed with what it says is the threat from India.

• The absence of either a stable democracy in Pakistan or a decent public education system only swells the ranks on the Taliban.

• Pakistan thinks it must control Afghanistan because if India controlled Afghanistan, Pakistan would be wedged between the two!

• Saudi Arabia is built around a ruling bargain between the moderate al-Saud family and the Wahhabi fundamentalist establishment

• The al-Sauds get to rule and the Wahhabis get to impose on their society the most puritanical Islam – and export it to mosques and schools across the Muslim world…including Pakistan with money earned by selling oil to America!

So….

We pay Pakistan to help us in Afghanistan even though we know some of that money is killing our own soldiers because we fear that just leaving could lead to Pakistan’s Islamists controlling its bomb.

We send Saudi Arabia money for oil, even though we know that some it ends up financing the very people we are fighting, because fighting the Saudis over their ideological exports seems too destabilizing!

How many American lives and dollars? Go figure!

Vuvuzelas and…Ballet with a Ball!

I never watched a soccer match until this years’ World Cup.   My daughter, a German resident, planted the seed!   Now I’m addicted!   Initially, I was into it in the hopes that Germany would make it to the finals….if nothing else…for my daughter’s sake.   She sent photos of the excitement in Munich when Germany defeated Argentina!



But I’ve learned that this is much more than that.   This is truly a world sport.   And an exciting one at that!   How they dance with that ball is just amazing.   Like I said, I’m hooked!

Nice hosting job South Africa…but in the end…it was Spain…a first!

LeBron James

Finally…the insanity is over!
I don’t understand it…probably never will.   Never was much of an athlete myself (maybe that’s why), but over 8 million people tuned in to the ESPN circus last night to hear firsthand the “Kings” decision.   8+ million!!!   Needless to say, I wasn’t one of them.   I have nothing against LeBron, I just can’t understand how one athlete, could have at least half the citizenry of at least 3 states holding their breath while he decides which team he’s going to join!

Even Mayor Bloomberg’s “Take us to the promised land”!   For Chrissakes!


Obviously there are financial considerations.   Jobs, ticket sales, etc., but that's what scares me even more!   How can one athlete (I don't care how good they are) have such a significant financial impact on any city?

Shares for Madison Square Garden rose by $98 million on Tuesday in speculation that the “King” would sign up with New York!   The odds on Tuesday were 50%.   On Wednesday that gain was wiped out and fell 5.5% to $20.38 as the odds fell to 11%.   Today…at 11:00 AM…it was trading at $19.50!

Am I the only one that considers this insanity?   What am I missing here?

Fela!

Got to see "Fela!" last night...an anniversary gift compliments of our extended family!   Up until last night...I thought it was just the name given to a Broadway musical.   I had no idea that what I was about to witness was a musical biography of a real person named Fela Kuti from Lagos!



Wait a minute!   It was so much more than a musical biography!   It was amazing!   It was an event...unlike anything I've ever seen before on Broadway.
Ya Ya!

As the New York Post put it back in November!
"There's enough energy in the first act of "Fela!" to short-circuit Con Ed.   It spills over from the stage and into the orchestra seats, boundless and joyous.   This is as close as Broadway gets to fully immersive theater."
Ya! Ya!

The honeymoon is over!

You know the honeymoon is definitely over when the comedians start ripping my boy!
....................................................................................................

The liberals are asking us to give Obama time.   We agree . .. and think 25 to life would be appropriate.
JayLeno

America needs Obama-care like Nancy Pelosi needs a Halloween mask.
Jay Leno

Q:   Have you heard about McDonald's' new Obama Value Meal?
A:   Order anything you like and the guy behind you has to pay for it.
Conan O'Brien

Q:   What does Barack Obama call lunch with a convicted felon?
A:   A fund raiser.
Jay Leno

Q:   What's the difference between Obama's cabinet and a penitentiary?
A:   One is filled with tax evaders,blackmailers, and threats to society.   The other is for housing prisoners.
David Letterman

Q:   If Nancy Pelosi and Obama were on a boat in the middle of the ocean and it started to sink, who would be saved?
A:   America!
Jimmy Fallon

Q:   What's the difference between Obama and his dog, Bo?
A:   Bo has papers.
Jimmy Kimmel

Q:   What was the most positive result of the "Cash for Clunkers" program?
A:   It took 95% of the Obama bumper stickers off the road.
David Letterman

Virginia too?

Just had a chat with my best friend who resides in Virginia.   We were talking about my girlfriend in Seattle, shortsales/foreclosures, Obama's honeymoon (posting later today) and a few other things.  During that conversation...he informed me the you can carry a concealed weapon in Virginia!   Got to add Virginia to my list!

I need to go read up on the 2nd amendment!   This is getting out-of-hand!

Oh no she didn't!

Who's the aggressor here?   Who put their hands on who?   I'm just sayin'.   People of color...let me give you some advice when stopped/confronted/interrogated by the men/women in blue.   I don't care if you were speeding (or not), JAYWALKING (or not), or were caught peeing on the street!   You only need to know two phrases and each phrase contains only two words!

Yes Sir...No Sir!   That's it!

I'd have popped her in the mouth too!   'Nuf said!

Afghanistan...I've had enough!

Okay...I'll admit it, I'm a pacifist!   I've never ascribed to the justification/support of war...with maybe one (or, at most, two?) exceptions...and in the future, I probably, never will.   But now, I've really had enough!   So much so...that it's pushed me over the edge!

Sure...Afghanistan is where we should have been all along!   Not in Iraq!   We still haven't found those WMDs...have we?   We never will...those WMDs weren't there folks!   BUT...watching tonight's news...I'm just sick and tired of it all!

Seeing all these young American "20-some-year olds" in bunkers/trenches firing weapons at Taliban/Al Qaeda encampments in these far-away outposts?   Being killed?   For what?   The Taliban/Al Qaeda firing back!   Am I missing something?   This reminds me of WWII battle scenes!   Sure...the drones of today are cool!   Hey!  Can we fight the entire "war/assault" with these drones!   I'm sure such a tactic can save a lot of young/innocent lives!   No?   Okay...this drone assault thing probably won't happen!

The solution!   Get the word out to the people of Afghanistan!

Dear Citizens of (said territory) Afghanistan,
America will make arrangements to evacuate you from said territory...and relocate you to temporary asylums.   You will have one (okay...maybe two or three) weeks to accept this offer of evacuation!   Once relocated...you will be fully interrogated to ensure that you should have been included on the initial invitee list and were fully qualified to accept our evacuation offer.   For your sake...we hope that you were, because, if not... (detailed consequences to follow).   At the end of the seventh (or 14th, or 21st) day...we plan to erase said territory from the face of the earth using whatever it takes...short of nuclear weapons!   Sayonara Al Qaeda!

Once said territory is removed from the face of the earth...we will assist the aforementioned evacuees with resettlement.

Much love & warm regards...your friends in America!

PS.   Dear citizens in (certain locations of) Pakistan...similar letter to follow!

PPS.   Aside from saving American lives...as of today, American taxpayers have spent $277 billion dollars to fund this lunacy in Afghanistan.   Two hundred and seventy seven BILLION dollars!   TWO-SEVEN-SEVEN-BILLION!   Image what we could have done with this money!  Okay...like I said...I've had enough!

Deepwater Horizon

If this isn't enough...


this image surely is...

or even worse yet...this one!

and I'm sick of this one...my/our stomachs continue to churn!

"I ultimately take full responsibility for solving this crisis!"   This will come back to bite him in the a** for a long time to come!

Perhaps it already has!   As he said...the buck stops here!

I can't relocate/retire there!

My intent is not to offend anyone... my best friends and relatives live in some of these states. I just don't think I could.

• Alabama - The scars are just too deep!   The Edmund Pettus Bridge….and didn’t they blow up a church that killed 4 little innocent children?   Did I mention Bible Belt?


• Alaska - Sarah Palin!   AND it’s too cold…AND…you can carry a concealed weapon without a gun permit!   I still want to take a cruise there though!


• Arizona - All my out-of-state (or out-of-country) Latino friends probably would NOT come to visit me!   And did I mention you can carry a concealed weapon without a gun permit?


• Arkansas - Tornado Alley and Bible Belt!


• California - I could do it…it's beautiful!   San Fran, the Pacific Coast Highway!   Redwood Forest!   We even own a timeshare in Laguna Beach!   BUT the potential earthquakes…nevermind!   Lived through a 6.2 in Tokyo…and that was enough for me!   Did I mention mudslides and yearly fires!   Oh, and I think there's a problem with the budget?


• Kansas - Tornado Central!   With any luck...maybe one will take out the Westboro Baptist Churh!   Sorry Toto...but we're not here anymore!
  


• Kentucky - Rand Paul & the Tea Party?   Did I mention the Bible Belt?
  


• Louisiana – I luv me some New Orleans…but this is Katrina territory…not to mention the BP oil spill!   Did I mention Bible Belt?   Oh...and by the way...they just passed a bill allowing concealed weapons in church!   Why would anyone need a weapon (concealed or not)...in a church?


• Minnesota - Beautiful lake country BUT...extremely cold in the winter…plus that wacko Michelle Bachmann!   Thank God for Al Franken.


• Mississippi - I could go on forever on this one and I love you Morgan Freeman…but…


• North Carolina - Spent many summers in the Outer Banks!   However...the citizens voted for Jesse Helms to serve them in the Senate for 30 years!!!   Did I mention Bible Belt?


• North Dakota - in spite of a great movie…aka “Fargo”…it’s cold as hell and the population is small and appears to be extremely homogeneous.   No?   Can you get good Chinese takeout food there?


• Oklahoma - See Arkansas!


• South Dakota - See North Dakota!


• South Carolina - They voted for Strom Thurmond to be their governor and then sent him to the Senate for eight terms....the last term ending in 2003!   Welcome to the 21st century people!   Is the confederate flag still on the capitol building?   Did I mention Bible Belt?


• Texas - they elected George W. Bush to be their governor!   And…recently...didn’t their school board decide to rewrite history?  This is the new Texas Massacre!


• Tennessee - Perhaps a bum wrap?   Memphis is cool, however...the formation of the Klu Klux Klan?   The assassination of Martin Luther King.   Did I mention Bible Belt?


• Utah - I think they all look alike and...although declining...think alike!   No?
  


• Virginia- UPDATE!   June 18th, 2010.   Virginia wasn't on this original posting...but my best friend who resides in Virginia...just informed me that you can carry concealed weapons there!  I need to go read up on the 2nd amendment!   This is getting out-of-hand!
  


• Washington - Seattle…beautiful…BUT it rains how many days of the year???   Doesn’t that volcano erupt every now and then?


• West Virginia - Deliverance!   Bible Belt!   Can a Boeing 767 land anywhere in the state?


• Wyoming - panoramic beauty…population about half a million.   Can’t be much diversity?   I'm sure you can't get good Chinese takeout food there!   Doesn't Dick Cheney still live there?   Matthew Shepard...R.I.P.!

iPad + velco = Love!

Creative brillance at work!



Now I just need to get an iPad!   More brilliance from Jesse Rosten is here!

Large Corporations? Just one opinion.

The New York Times interviewed Omar Hamoui, founder and chief executive of the mobile advertising network AdMob.   (In 2006, Omar Hamoui founded AdMob, one of the world’s largest mobile advertising companies.   Earlier this year, Omar had Google knocking on his door to buy this entrepreneur’s company for an estimated $750 million.   Not bad for a three-year venture.)




Here's an excerpt from the New York Times article...I've selected just one question/answer of many!

Q. So what did you learn about large corporations?

A. Two really key things.   One was that insecurity is incredibly damaging in a corporate environment.   You end up making really poor decisions, a lot of things you do are based on fear, and eventually it will fail.   When people are playing defense and they’re primarily focused on their own jobs, it ultimately ends up being a sort of losing strategy.

The second thing is that there’s a lot of time wasted in conversations that don’t happen face-to-face.   When there are backroom conversations and dealings — as opposed to direct conversations — it’s less efficient and you get poorer outcomes.   People could spend weeks building these political coalitions rather than just having a direct conversation.

Hmmmm...wish I wasn't as old as I am...and lived in San Mateo!   Read the full New York Times article and you'd see why I'd be knocking on Omar's door!

You are the Sunshine of My Life!

Happy Anniversary Babe!

Thirty six years...wow!   Thanks for your love, support, friendship and understanding...not to mention two incredible kids!   I told you it would take a while to get someone to get me to "Put A Ring on It"!   You were that someone...and still are!   Much love...always...Me!

Stormy Weather & So Much More!

R.I.P. Lena Horne!

R.I.P. Dorothy Height

You were a pioneer and will be missed!   Thank you!   Thank you!

The 2nd Amendment!

The Tea Party (baggers) & The Black Panthers!

OK...imagine this!   The old guard of the "Black Panthers" agrees with the position of the "Tea Baggers" regarding the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms.



The Panthers (aging boomers) decided to participate in a Tea Bagger protest...Arms in hand!   (Also imagine that these aging Panthers happen to reside in Virginia...where exposed weapons/guns are allowed...and where April is now celebrated as Confederacy Celebration month!)



Would the Baggers welcome the Panthers with open arms?

I don't think so!   If these aging Panthers showed up...they'd be shot on sight!   Am I missing something?

Another thought.   If a "bagger" or "Panther" or any other Virginian walked into a bank with an exposed weapon...what would happen?   I know what would happen to a Panther!   I'm just askin'!

Snickers & Divas!

I crack up every time I see this one!   Truly timeless!   Doesn't hurt that I really like Snickers too!

Is there a Doctor in the house? I'm ISTed out?

I know I’m dating myself, but what ever happened to the family doctor?   Oops…sorry, he/she is now referred to as an internIST.  Quite honestly, I’m ISTed out!   Why?   It’s a long story…but I’ll try to shorten it up for Internet consumption.  (I guess this didn't turn out as short as I thought it would be!)

About 20 years ago…I didn’t have a doctor.
I wasn’t feeling well, and my wife insisted (as they always do) that I needed to go and see a doctor (aka physician).   She knew I didn’t have a doctor/physician…so she referred me to her cardiologIST (heart person type physician).   I obliged.   He did the height, weight; blood pressure thing…gave me a prescription…and sent me on my way.   On occasion, over the course of the next few years…I visited my doctor/physician (aka cardiologIST) for routine checkups (at my wife’s insistence).

2003!
I’m sick.   I think it’s the flu.   I set up an appointment with the aforementioned doctor/physician/cardiologIST.   He does the height/weight/blood pressure thing again and gives me a prescription.   Tells me to come back in 3 weeks.

3 weeks later….
I tell my cardiologIST that I feel much better, but my stomach feels a little “weird”.   My cardiologIST…refers me to an oncologIST. ’cause he thinks there’s something suspicious.   (I hate to admit it…but at the time…I didn’t even know the difference between a cardiologIST…oncologIST…physician)!   OncologIST has me undergo every scan conceivable to man/womankind.   CAT…PET…and yes, even a sonogram…the thing they do for pregnant women!

OncologIST refers me to an urologIST…because oncologIST thinks there is something else suspicious.   UrologIST confirms oncologIST’s suspicion…a tumor on the kidney!   OncologIST and urologIST confer/consult and agree…that I also have stomach cancer…but also agree that kidney must be removed first!   Aside from a few coughs/sniffles…I have never been sick in my life!!!   I thought this was a stomach ache!!! What happened!!!

2 years later…
Kidney removed and cancer treatment completed…oncologIST refers me to a gastroenterologIST (stomach person) for follow-up exams/monitoring…which includes endoscopies and colonoscopies (more about that later).   OncologIST also has concerns of high blood pressure so he prescribes medication (Norvasc)

3 years later…
Upon a routine visit to the aforementioned gastroenterologIST…I complain about my swollen ankles.   My gastroenterologIST suggests that I see my internIST!   I tell him I don’t have one (my cardiologIST has long since retired)…and he (gastroenterologIST) gives me a referral.

2 weeks later…
Visit my new internIST.   He tells me Novasc is known to cause swollen ankles and prescribes new medication (why didn’t the gastro dude know this?).   New medication inflames my slight case of psoriasis.   InternIST suggests I go see a dermatologIST.   (I don’t have one!)   DermatologIST confirms that the prescribed medication is inflaming my psoriasis. (Why didn’t my internIST know this?)   InternIST changes prescription again!

New prescription causes hugely swollen lips!   I google’d this and after many hours/searches discover that this is referred to as angioedema.


Wife and kids are disgusted by (laughing at) my huge lips. Wife insists I go see an allergIST!   (I don’t have one!)

2 weeks later…
AllergIST confirms that internIST’s 2nd prescription can cause fat lips (aka angioedema).   Again…why didn’t the internIST know that?

Epilogue I:
I’m back on Norvasc.   I haven’t fired my internIST…yet!  No more fat lips or inflamed psoriasis …but fat ankles!   Good news...blood pressure…120 over 80.   I mentioned this to a dear, lifelong friend, of ours (who happens to be a sales rep for a medical company).   She suggested that I see an endocrinologIST!

Epilogue II:
My son-in-law's brother is an anesthesiologIST and his wife (the anesthesilogist's) is a gynecologIST!

R.I.P. - Eugene Allen

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Nigger! ...aka..."The N Word"

The so-called "N Word"!   Think about it...its use is stupid!   Who's kidding who?

No doubt about it...Nigger...is a vile and ugly word...but it is...what it is!   Check out any dictionary...and you'll find it!   Quite honestly, I'd prefer to abolish the use of the phrase the "N Word" and insist on using "Nigger"!   I know this will go against the grain of (aka...piss off) many Black...African-American...Negro...Colored folks...but so be it!

Why Nigger?

Imagine the impact if the American/World news media would have reported that the so called "tea baggers" called John Lewis (a Civil Rights icon) a Nigger instead of...as reported, they (the tea baggers), called him the "N Word"!   Again...who's kidding who?



Had these same reporters stated that these "tea baggers" yelled out the word "Nigger" it would have driven a spike through many (but not all) American hearts.   It would have underscored a message to the world that in spite of the fact that we have elected a black (African-American, Negro, colored) President / Commander-in-Chief...he is still considered a Nigger (and other repulsive identities/associations) by more than enough Americans.



Let's call a spade a spade! (no pun intended)

When the American media refers to the "N Word" everyone says to themselves...oh...they really mean Nigger...but they can't say Nigger...they have to use the "N Word" instead.   Sorry Oprah and Dr. Cosby...but it is...what it is!

The good...the bad...and the ugly!

The Ugly
Like I said...the word Nigger is vile.   It's ugly.   It's disgusting.   It conjures up painful memories!   History speaks for itself!



The Bad
Hip Hop...duh!   Quite honestly...I'm not its biggest fan...but I'll admit, most do carry powerful messages.   Since this genre of music is consumed by a worldwide audience, and the word Nigger is often used in the lyrics...doesn't make me a happy camper because it assumes that its use is carte blanche for everyone else to use! Aka...if the rappers can use it...why can't I (regardless of race)

The Good
Within the Black (African-American, Negro, colored) community it is often used as a term of endearment.   My best friend is an Irish-American Catholic...but he's my main nigga! And I tell him that!   Sorry Oprah!

I have yet to locate a definition of   "N Word" in any dictionary!

219 to 212!

Yes Joe..."This is a big fucking deal!"

Welcome to the Tea Party!

They spat upon representative Emanuel Cleaver (a black Congressman from Missouri); they called John Lewis (another Congressman and civil rights icon) a “nigger” (more about that later)…and Barney Frank a “faggot” (more about that later too!).   I don’t believe it was just one person in the crowd…but many.   I couldn’t believe it.   It took me back 50 years ago and it left me disgusted.

Where were these “teabaggers” when “Dubya” took us to war in Iraq on the pretense of “weapons of mass destruction”?   Where were they when he cut taxes for the rich…and ran the deficit to historic highs?   Where were they when he turned his back on Katrina?   Did they know at the time that “Dubya” and his crew (Rove, Cheney, Rumsfield) laid the groundwork for the polarization of America?   I think they did and probably embraced it!   I didn’t see any protesters then…but I’m not surprised that I didn’t!

Again...I'm disgusted...but in spite of their protests and ignorance...the health care bill passed...219 to 212!   Is it the best of everything or all that it could have been?   Probably not?   Is it a step in the right direction and a moral obligation to this nation?   Absolutely!

The GOD Factor…other voices.

“Believing there's no God stops me from being solipsistic (egotistic).   I can read ideas from all different people from all different cultures.   Without God, we can agree on reality, and I can keep learning where I'm wrong.   We can all keep adjusting, so we can really communicate.   I don't travel in circles where people say, "I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith."   That's just a long-winded religious way to say, "shut up," or another two words that the FCC likes less.   But all obscenity is less insulting than, "How I was brought up and my imaginary friend means more to me than anything you can ever say or do."   So, believing there is no God lets me be proven wrong and that's always fun.   It means I'm learning something.

Believing there is no God means the suffering I've seen in my family, and indeed all the suffering in the world, isn't caused by an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent force that isn't bothered to help or is just testing us, but rather something we all may be able to help others with in the future.   No God means the possibility of less suffering in the future.”

Penn Jillette
Mr Jillette is part of the magic and comedy act Penn and Teller. The original article is posted here

The Paperback!

Anyone who knows me...knows I'm a big fan of Matthew Goodman and his awesome 1st novel..."Hold Love Strong".   Well folks...it's now in paperback.   No more excuses!   Buy it now...you won't regret it.

“Matthew Aaron Goodman’s Hold Love Strong is a powerful and poignant story of the gallant Abraham who struggles on the night side of American society yet exudes a light of genuine hope.   Goodman is an activist and artist who never loses sight of the humanity of those either imprisoned or free!”  -Dr. Cornel West, author of Race Matters and Democracy Matters

The Good Men Project

He continues to inspire.   Check out Matthew Goodman's contribution to "The Good Men Project" .   And if you still haven't read "Hold Love Strong"...it's your loss!

Here's an opening excerpt from Matthew's contribution to "The Good Men Project"...just for starters...

"Sometimes we find role models in the strangest places, and they need not possess personas or histories that are without faults or similar with our own; or at least that has been the case in my life."

Need I say more?

More Parenthood 101

A lifelong friend offered her pearls of wisdom! Thanks Aunt Nancy! My original entry is here. If you have some more...please leave a comment or send them to me.

• Children grow up to act like you have been acting all of these years, so be kind, loving and fair
• Never doubt that raising children is a full time job...forever
• Listen, really listen... they have a view point that is often right for them
• Remember that in their hearts they want to please you, so let them by letting them be themselves
• Don't freak out too much when they are under 21 years old and the calls come late at night
• Remember in the morning to tell them that you NEVER want to receive another one of those calls
• Don't tell them, show them, over and over and over and over again, with patience
• Do not let them run amuck in your home or in other homes
• Remember...... most of the time it is worth it

Oma

I hardly knew her…but I loved what I knew about her.   I believe she came from somewhat humble beginnings and had a relatively hard life…at least according to American standards.   She was a child of East Germany and survived the WW II bombing of Dresden, Germany.   That, in its self is noteworthy.

I first met her in Dresden.   It was the Xmas of 2002.   She was jolly and welcomed us with opened arms.   Her Xmas present to us were these incredible hand knitted socks.   I have them on now as I write this.

Her first (and only) trip to America (at the age of 82) was to witness her grandson’s marriage to my daughter.   It was also her first time on a plane!   That was two and a half years ago and that was another memorable occasion.   She seemed to enjoy every minute of it.   She jumped into the cold waters of a Pocono Mountains lake...as we all looked on in amazement/disbelief.   She enjoyed some wine and shared in the excitement at the pre-wedding day celebration, and beamed with joy during the wedding day itself!   And she had the chance to visit with us in our home. Again, that was the late spring of 2007.

Unfortunately, she left us on Monday.   Rest in peace Oma!   It was a short but sweet time together.   Thanks for the fond memories…and the socks!   I’ll think of you every time I put them on!

The Game!

They're all playing the game...
But I have to pretend that I don't see...

Because I know...
if they knew...
that I know...
I know...
they'd change the rules!

Illustration by Kimberly Klauss

Parenthood 101

I'm no authority...I'm just sayin'

Mandatory:

• Teach them to say “please” and “thank you”.   A written thank you note really blows us old folks over the edge!
• Do not put a TV in their room (assuming they’re fortunate enough to have their own room)
• If they “act up” anywhere…(supermarket, Fast Food Place, etc) snatch them up and LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!
• Hold their hand wherever you go…until they are embarrassed enough that you are holding their hand.
• When you are in someone else’s home…always know where they are and/or what they are doing!
• Let them know it’s okay (polite) to be the first to say hello to someone they know.

Nice additions:

• Read to them…(as often as possible)
• Listen to what they have to say…and respect it…regardless of their age.
• Insist that they never put “their hands on anyone”
• Insist that they be kind to others.
• Let them know that it’s ok to fail…it’s a learning experience.

010110

New Year's Resolution...NOT!

The decade from hell...Good-bye & good riddance!