Random Ramblings

These are just various and sundry thoughts on what is going on in my world right now. Some are irreverant and others are not. Some might just be WAT’s (Wild A--Theories). My wife says I have plenty of them.

My opinion piece in the local paper, which is a pretty big paper, got some good press. I was only saying that we will have to deal with Iran at some point or another. I did it tongue-in-cheek and most of the people who don’t agree with me on the subject thought it was a pretty good work. I hope I can write more. One of the reasons we better deal with Iran is because there is one bunch who will take care of them if things get too bad. I did not even approach that subject. Who might that be? That would be the Israeli’s. We better keep them out of the fray. They fight to win!!

We had class at lunch today. It was Ok, but not great. We had one girl from our group who talked for most of the time. She was well-organized and gave a great presentation. I was impressed. Well, I kind of like this girl to start off with so I would probably be impressed with most anything she did. But she did a great job. After her, one of our “professional” guys gave a short talk\demonstration. He was not the best. He doesn’t prepare for his classes. So it was OK, but not great. We did get a free meal, but it was from Chick-Fil-A!!

Everyday it’s getting to 90°. That’s hot, but that’s the way it is. We’ll have this weather for a long, long time. Also, we are having trouble getting rain. I have my rain-dance gear ready. That means the garden is not doing the best. I will have to watch it closely and water it. Most of my plants are doing OK though, but they would prefer rainwater.

In a discussion at work today someone asked if I thought of my animals as people. What do you mean think of them as people. They are people. I even write stories about them being just like real people. At the last Olympics we won every single gold medal given out. The most amazing performance was by my tuxedo cat, Pierre’. In the 70-m ski jump he jumped in Italy and landed in Switzerland! The officials wouldn’t even let him on the 90-m hill.

The price of gas went down five cents. I sure hope they don’t want to cut out any or all of that $100 they are planning on giving us. I wish we could have some honest discussion on the profits the oil companies make. Yes, they make massive profits from a dollar standpoint. Everyone mentions that. They also make ultra-massive revenues. Their profit margins are not that high. Why doesn’t anyone call my bank to task? They charge very high interest rates on loans and credit cards, but pay near zero percent to me. I’d like to see them have to answer some questions.

It’s mayhaw season back home in Louisiana. My family is harvesting the berries for wine, jelly, and syrup. My brother can make it all for you. The rest of the family does their part also. I miss out on that.

I will continue these ramblings later. I will post this and move on to other fun things. Like sleep after a trip out with my dogs for a last walk. They are people also. Casey once won the Tour de France. She rode the whole 2,400 miles in one day. She averaged a little over 100 mph. She rode down the street to the finish line. The presented her with a trophy for her victory along with a check. She tore the check up and strode over to the River Seine where she flung the trophy and her bike into it! You would have to know my Casey to understand that story. More later!

GOP can’t buy much for $100!

Man, these guys need to learn to pander. You can’t buy much for $100. I am originally from Louisiana. I have stated many times something I heard in a Louisiana History class; “most states tolerate corruption, Louisiana demands it”. So why didn’t the GOP find an old-timey political boss from Louisiana and learn how to buy people off.

First of all the math is all wrong. I have a small truck. It costs me $30 to fill up and I fill up once every two weeks. So I spend $15 per week on gas. An official from the Administration said these high gas prices could be around for three years. So why low-ball me by giving me $100. It needs to be more like $2340. That’s how much I will spend in three years at the present cost. We can revisit the money if the prices rise. But don’t play me for being stupid. I might be kind of stupid, but I ain’t that stupid.

Then the GOP needs to learn to use props when they suggest a program such as this. Go on site and give us some dramtic footage of what you mean to do. Like, show up at the bank and have a few Congressman and Senators giving out money to people who pass buy. Explain to the world that this will be you in a very short time. Don’t let the Democrats gain all the leverage on the issue. The GOP has the upper hand here. The Democrats don’t have any money to give away for such a program. They use their money to keep their base in line.

Also explain the program in terms we all can understand. Don’t give us this “you have to pay taxes to get some money back”. What kind of program is that? Just give the money to everyone. Make sure you are seen advocating giving it away to people who don’t pay taxes at all. Be fair to all Americans.

Make sure Rush Limbaugh is your point man. He might be a little high, but even being high he’s a good man to have on your side. He can reach a lot of people. If he has any of those pills left over maybe they can be sold for extra money to give away also.

Take pages out of the Democratic playbook, but not from recently. Go back about 50 years and try some of those tactics. It worked for a lot of years for them. I don’t see why it can’t work now.

And most of all; try to look concerned. This is poor America here who is getting raped by big and bigger oil. When you get on TV have that “look”. The “look” is one like Bill Clinton would have when he spoke of poor people, or Chuck Schumer when he panders to his base. Look pained. Look like you have constipation. Sit and stand in a strain.

Come on GOP. If you are going to pander to us voters learn to play the game. I am a bit insulted by $100 and I am a good Republican. Up the ante a bit. Promote your agenda using props. Make sure we all get a piece of the action. Hire a good point man. Steal plays from the other team. And most important of all, look like you are concerned. After all, it’s my money you need to give back to me.

Looney Clooney; At Least He Means Well

George Clooney recently took a trip to Darfur along with his father to draw attention to the plight of the people of Darfur. I have to give George and his father some credit here. They went alone. There were no escorts to help them out or protect them. If you follow the news though you know about Darfur. It did not take George Clooney and his dad to bring this situation to light. It has gone on for a long, long time. Much too long.

An interesting part of the filming in the area was the conducting of the interviews with the local people. Clooney’s dad interviewed some of the locals. He asked his questions in English and the locals listened and began to answer in a native tongue which was then translated for the viewer into English. I found this very interesting.

Clooney also took part in a rally today that was supposed to spur the White House to action on the problem in Darfur. Well, as well as that may be Mr. Clooney took his rally to the wrong place. Washington has done more than it’s fair share of giving aid and comfort to the people of the region. Could we do more? I am sure we could, maybe. But lets look at some facts and figures before we jump on the good old USA once again.

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP), based in Rome, said it was slashing the food rations for more than six million people in the Sudan in half. The reason is donor countries have quit giving money to the organization. The annual appeal for the area is $746 million. To date only $238 million or about a third of the money has been received for the program. Of the $238 million, the United States has given $188 million, or 79% of the aid. Italy was the only major European country to contribute so far giving $1.2 million.

What? No France, or Germany, or Great Britain, or Spain, or any of the other major European countries. It seems Mr. Clooney should have taken his appeal to Europe. The good old USA is doing it’s part in the deal. Many of our critics from Europe don’t seem to be holding up their end of this deal. And the rest of the world can’t be doing very well either. They have contributed $50 million to this dire situation.

As usual the United States will bear the brunt of the criticism in the whole mess. But we are doing a great job, as we always do. I give the President a lot of credit in this deal. He has held up our end of the bargain. That’s more than the most of the rest of the world can say about the deal, especially the Europeans. In times of need, of any kind, the United States of America always does what is right.

How Will The Left And Democrats Spin This Good News

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12529451/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12495804/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12494555/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12478734/

U.S. economy rebounds strongly in first quarter
New home sales see biggest gain in 13 years
U.S. durable goods orders surge in March
Consumer confidence highest in 4 years

The four headlines above correspond to the links I have above in this piece. How do you think the Democrats and left will spin this bit of good news. Do you think they will embrace the fact that our economy is pointing up and doing great? Do you think they will say it’s good news for Americans that good economic news continues to pour in from all quarters? No, they will not. That’s because then they would have to admit George W. Bush’s policies are working! And yes they are working. And they are working pretty well by all measures.

If you read the pieces the “experts”, “analysts”, and whoever had predicted something much worse than actually happened. They have been wrong now for about 60 months in a row. How can these people be experts on economics if they never get the economic news correct? I will bet they are all lefties and hate George Bush!

The whole country should hail great economic news such as this. I know I do. A rising tide raises all ships. The left won’t and can’t agree with that. They should be happy. What will we get from them. I will bet they will whine, moan, and complain about the whole deal. And why are they doing that. Good news about our country is bad news for them. They just can’t stand to have good news come out of the deal. They need bad news to enhance their position to get back in power. Good news is awful for them. What a way to be? The left has to be miserable most of the time. When bad news is good and good news is bad you are just a pretty pathetic group. And I think that hits the nail on the head for the Democrats and left in general.

Oh yea, I will hear the chorus from the left. Just keep to the facts here. Tell where any of this news is bad. Tell me you are happy to see some economic policies working. Tell me the “experts” were wrong again and George W. Bush’s policies are working. The numbers sure don’t lie.

Government Is Not Going To Bring Prices Of Energy Down

The whole country seems to be in turmoil over gasoline prices. Oil companies makes billions of dollars profit on staggering amounts of revenue. Banks and credit card companies rape up with interest rates and get away scot free. No one questions their 25% profits. Water bills go up in most places along with electricity bills and other utilties much faster than our incomes grow. We all complain, mostly about the gas companies, but nothing will change until the people change it. Government is never going to change things such as this.

The Democrats claim they are a friend of the little man, but they have yet to do anything to help out I have seen. They were in control of the Congress for many years, most of the time in sole possession, and they never did anything to amount to a hill of beans. They will talk and beat their chests like they are doing now, but they don’t ever say anything of any substance. They won’t lift a finger to help anyone out. They only want to get back in power. They will not float a plan to bring energy prices down. They want people to get mad at the Republicans and vote them out of office so they can get back in power. They could put forth a plan right now to drive down prices and win a big majority in Congress in the next elections. They can’t because they don’t have a plan. Never had! Never will!

The Republicans let the thing ride. They lose the battle on the publicity front all the time. Of course, about 90% of the media is against them, but they could do better in getting what they are going to do across. They are in power. They need to call the shots. They only react to what public opinion says. They get caught with their pants down most of the time. They are no better than anyone else in fixing our energy problems.

As an electorate we need to throw the bums out of office. We need some good energy plans that allow the common man to take advantage of alternative energy sources. Tax policy needs to accompany these plans. Wind, solar, hydro, and whatever else needs to be on the table. Let’s give the people something on invest in and change the way we use energy. We need to screen the candidates closely and elect people who follow the will of the people who elect them. Until we do that.....we’ll pay out the nose, and gas tank, for a lot of stuff.

Cal-Berkeley: More Of A Threat Than Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia

At the liberal bastion of whatever in California two psychologists, Jack and Jeanne H. Block, tracked nursery school kids for 20 years. They analyzed their findings and proclaimed that liberals were happier than conservatives and the study gave us more insight into the makeup of liberals and conservatives. Several other studies mentioned in the article with this one showed just the opposite.

First of all, these children still had to be very young even after 20 years of study. At this age most of us would tend to be much more liberal than when we get a bit older. But that is just my opinion. It happened to me and some of my family and friends so I think that might be the case.

The study said conservatives were, “easily victimized, easily offended, indecisive, fearful, rigid, inhibited, and relatively over-controlled and vulnerable.” These traits can be found in all the great conservatives I know! Rush Limbaugh, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, to name a few, had these traits. The study went to to say these kids were likely to develop troubled personalities. The professors also described conservatives as “uncomfortable with encertainty.....constricted in their behaviors, judging self against conformist norms, and moralistic.”

What? How off base can a study be. Come on people. This study is about as big a bunch of hogwash and bull as I have ever heard about. Cal-Berkeley is one of the biggest threats to the country that exists. The education students get at this so-called university is of dubious value in my estimation. This university poses a bigger threat to our great land than Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia combined.

When Andrea Bocelli Sings, I Cry!

There is no way I can hear that heavenly voice and not be moved to tears. I will never pass a radio station, or a TV program, or any other type of media when I hear Andrea Bocelli singing. He moves me that much. His voice has to be the best in the world. I know there are many fine singers in this world. But I don’t know if any compare to him. He is awesome.

It’s The Democrats As Usual; Whine, Moan, and Complain!

Instead of offering concrete plans to bring the price of gasoline down the Democrats resort to their age old bag of tricks. That is to whine, moan, and complain.

Here’s some exceprts from MSN.com:


Democrats hammer at Bush

Still, Democrats are hammering Bush and his Republican colleagues for failing to come up with a strategy that would cut prices soon. They hope to harness voter anger over the trend and, by Election Day, turn it against the Republicans who control Congress.

In an April 20 memo to candidates, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recommended that Democrats running for Congress "hold an event at a gas station . . . and pledge that, as a member of Congress, you will fight for families in your district, not the oil and gas executives for which this Republican Congress has fought so hard."

Notice the words, “hope to harness voter anger”! They are not planning on offering any plan to counteract the higher price of gasoline. They just want the voters to get angry at the Republicans and vote them back in power!! They are going to “fight for families”, but they never mention how. That means they are going to get on all the media they can and whine, moan, and complain and feel your pain.

Has anyone ever thought of this? I know a sure fire way the Democrats can get back in control in November. They could win about 90% of the seats in Congress. They could force the President to resign the day after the election. How can they do that? Why wait until November to bring the prices of gasoline down? The Democrats could put forth their plan and bring the gasoline prices down to about $1.50 and win the whole world over.

You know why they are not going to do that? They don’t have a plan for gasoline prices. They don’t have a plan for anything. All they want to do is whine, moan, and complain. They have perfected that. It’s an art form for them.

Democrats Pressure On Gas Prices; & I Want That Republican Rascal!

The headline read, “Democrats Put Pressure On Gas Prices”. Man, I thought that was a good thing. I mean I own stock in an energy company. When I read the article though they want to keep prices down. Imagine that! They didn’t say how they plan to do so. I think they know it’s just attention grabbing. No, the Democrats wouldn’t do that.

And the Dems have finally caught on to the game. First I want that card carrying Republican rascal that let the cat out of the bag. It’s a widely known fact in America that Democrats pay more for their gas. That’s a fact that can’t be denied. Republicans pay less for their gas. They must. The Democrats seem to think they are the only ones affected by the rising gas prices.

There is a formula, The Gas Formula, the GOP uses to calculate gas prices for their members. It goes: RGP= DGP - 75 cents! RGP stands for Republican Gas Price. DGP stands for Democrat Gas Price. So as you can see if you are a member of the Republican Party you pay 75 cents less per gallon of gas. It would be better for all you Democrats to join the Republican Party. You could at least save on gas and maybe even be on the winning side of a few elections.

So now the GOP has been found out. High gas prices don’t affect them as much. They get a break based on The Gas Formula. I still need to find that dirty Republican rascal that let America on to this.

Those Gas Prices Keep On Rising; Great!

People act like all they can do is whine and moan about gas prices going up. There are plenty of strategies that one can use to take advantage of the prices going up or at least keep yourself from paying too much for gas. I guess it’s easier to bitch about the whole thing. It’s someone elses fault then.

The easiest way to take advantage of the rise in gas prices is to buy stock in the companies that sell the product. That would seem to be the most logical way to capitalize on this situation. One could also trade in and get a smaller car thereby using less gas. People could carpool. That’s a good idea. You could ride the bus. That’s a good one.

I buy stock in a large energy company. I have been rewarded handsomely. It’s not hard to do and I use some of my 401K money to do so. You don’t have to complain. You can do something about this.

The United States has not allowed a refinery to be built in a very long time. The oil and gas industry is so highly regulated that a refinery would be much too costly to build. Even if an energy company decided to take the plunge to build a new refienry can you imagine the uproar from the enviromental crowd? The refiners have invested billions of dollars in upgrades and new technologies to get more out of the refineries they have online right now. At some point they want their investment back.

The price of a barrel of oil may fluctuate a bit, but high prices are here to stay. And demand continues to grow. So there is little hope of prices ever going down, at least in the near future. As China and India and other developing countries use a greater share of the world’s oil the price will continue to rise. If the United States does not keep pace there will be a day when we won’t be able to get all the oil we need to run our country.

High prices are here to stay. There are many factors that drive the market. Bashing the oil companies may make us feel better, but it does no good in solving the problem of high gas prices. There are things we all can do to take advantage of high gas prices. There are things we can do to help ourselves use less gas and save money. They require action; not whining and crying.

Today was our 12th Wedding Anniversary

It does not seem like that long. Twelve years ago my wife and I stepped in front of family and friends and promised to love and cherish each other for the rest of our lives. The promises we made that day ring true these few years later.

I still love my wife with all my heart and soul. She is the reason for my existence. My heart beats for her. My every move and action is for her. I could not live without her in my life right now. That is being very dependent on a single person. But that is the way it is.

Have there been tough times? You can bet there have been. They don’t bear mentioning here, but everyone can rest assured we have had some monumental problems. Yet, our love has been strong enough through it all to last, and flourish. We will still be loving each other for years to come. There is no doubt about that. And we will still be married.

I guess the easiest way to get across what I am trying to say about our marriage is this; if I had to do it all over again I would jump in head first like I did twelve years ago.

Donald Rumsfeld: Maybe He Thought The Situtation Was In Hand!

So much anger and ire have been directed at Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as of late that it makes me begin to wonder. Just what makes this one guy the culprit of all that is wrong with our military in Iraq. It seems the left in general, the liberals and Democrats, have made Mr. Rumsfeld the whipping boy for the whole affair in Iraq. To be sure there have been many, many things that have gone right. Our media, for some reason, does not want to tell us that part of the story. They sure like to beat a guy if they have a chance though.

On the talk shows, TV news shows, newspapers, and Internet, Mr. Rumsfeld has borne the brunt of the criticism on the handling of the war in Iraq. While Mr. Rumsfeld has made some mistakes, as all Secretary’s of Defense do, he should not have to bear the burden of all the mistakes the military has made in Iraq.

A few frequent questions that arise have me wondering. The critics ask why did he not ask questions or do something when the munitions depots were being raided or the National Museum was being plundered by the Iraqi’s. While there may be no easy answer to these questions, I have a few thoughts on just what Mr. Rumsfeld might have been thinking.

Is it too far-fetched to think the Secretary may have thought our Armed Forces had the situation under control? Mr. Rumsfeld surely had to think when the American generals, along with other officers, found out the weapons caches were being plundered they would take action to stop it. The same thing would hold true for the National Museum. Or any other similar situation in the country.

It appears we just sat by and let the Iraqi’s pretty much plunder what they wanted. Mr. Rumsfeld sits in Washington D.C. His office is at the Pentagon. He does not work in the Theatre of Operations. Our generals lead the war in that arena. Mr. Rumsfeld has to depend on these generals, and by extension, officers of lesser rank to do what is right and proper in the field. Mr. Rumsfeld has to trust our soliders to stop actions such as plunder and pillage.

After the fall of Saddam the whole of Iraq was in chaos. A people held in bondage for so long were suddenly cut loose of chains. When it was time for them to stand up and do right they chose to destroy their own country. They have to step up and share a lot of the blame for that. Our military should have stepped in and restored and kept order in this chaotic time. I think our Secretary of Defense thought our officers would have handled the situation better.

Mr. Rumsfeld has to take his share of the blame for the happenings in Iraq. He is the top dog. If our military would have gone ahead and done the proper thing at the right time Iraq would be in much better shape now. And our military would be looked on in a much kinder light. Mr. Rumsfeld has had a lot of hateful venom slung at him. I am not sure he deserves all that. Our Armed Forces could have made a big difference in all of this.

So maybe when we hear some retired and digruntled generals criticizing Mr. Rumsfeld and his handling of the war, we should ask these generals to take a long hard look at their actions in the field. They may have been the ones who dropped the ball. They would need to deflect some heat off themselves!

Lines of Credit Equity May Help In A Pinch!

There are times when we go into debt that begins to cause us problems. Whether this situation is intentional or not, sooner or later we must deal with it. If the debt is on a credit card or similar vehicle one will begin to pay ever higher interest rates. The interest will rise and may reach 25% to 30% and even higher in some instances. At this point one has to begin to look into taking steps to pay the debt off and get the interest rate down.

While surfing the Internet I found a site offering to help out with the words “Credit Equity Line $55.12”. This is a keyword that I see often and is one of the highest cost-per-click keywords. Since I have had credit problems in the past I decided to use the words to see what I would come up with.

Of course, a variety of sites came up. Most seemed to be of dubious value and quality. A few seemed to offer some services that might of be help. Before anyone tries any of these sites they should check up on the company offering the service to see about complaints and such.

I think using equity to help secure some money to pay a debt or debts is a good thing. The interest rates will eat you up if you don’t. You will never pay off what you owe or it will take a long, long time. All you will be doing is paying interest. New laws make it much harder to go bankrupt also. So you may be stuck have to pay it back.

Using home equity is one choice. Another good one is using your retirement plan for a loan. If this is allowed you will be paying yourself back with interest so this is not a bad choice also. You can also use bank accounts, stocks, and such for equity.

Having to use equity to pay back a debt is not the best of things. It may be the only choice one has though. Research your choices and make the best decision you can.

The Dems Have To Support McCarthy Firing!

Mary McCarthy, a career CIA employee, was fired for leaking information to the press. Her revelations led to a reporter winning a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on secret prisons. It has also led to some strained relations between the U.S. and several other countries, at least in intelligence circles.

As I have watched TV, listened to the radio, and read on the Internet, the Democrats find themselves in an interesting position. They need to denounce what McCarthy did and praise the CIA for taking such action. I have yet to find any strong condemnation of McCarthy by the Democrats or the left in general. The left and the Democrats were quick to jump on Scooter Libby when he “leaked” information. So where is the chorus from the left this time? I want to see the Democrats stand up and give McCarthy a good going over. After all it would only be fair play!

Thursday night thoughts and ramblings!

It is a great Thursday night. I am a bit later than usual, but I will write and then go to bed. I won’t get as much sleep, but it won’t be too bad. I can catch up over the weekend.

We had some rain here today. That is very nice. It was not a ton. It was enough to do a little good though. Maybe we can get some more tomorrow. We will see.

Work has been OK this week. I have had some people to train and that makes my work fall behind. It won’t be too bad. I will just try to have a great Friday and then a great weekend.

We don’t have a big weekend planned yet, but that could change. There is a herb festival not too far from here. If the temperature is not going to be 100° we might go. I just hate to sweat for no reason and even though I like plants that’s not reason enough.

My article will appear in the editorial section of our paper any day now. I am ready for it to be there. I want to see my mug in the paper. Maybe it will lead to bigger and better things. San Antonio is the 8th largest city in the country. The metro area is probably ranked 30th or so. The newspaper is ranked about 40th in the country as far as circulation goes. So this might be a good chance for me to get some exposure. I will keep the blogs posted.

It’s time to go. I am tired and ready to go to bed. I will rest well and then wake up to a fine Friday. More later.

Arbitron can’t be right? Rush has too many listeners!!

This post is really not about Rush Limbaugh or his ratings. It’s about the ratings in general in the deal and how the left views them. I don’t listen to Rush because he comes from 11-2 and I am at work. So I don’t listen. I will pass by his web site from time to time and look at what he has to offer. But that is not the reason for my entry here.

My purpose for writing this is what does the left look at when Arbitron comes out with these ratings. I was looking at several threads with tons of comments on them and the left seems to think all is falling apart for the right on talk radio. Air America is just walloping them at every turn. What? In the three biggest markets in the country, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, Rush mops up the competition. And these cities are bastions of liberality. I didn’t even care to look at any ratings from anywhere else. It would have been more of the same.

I mean Arbitron just puts out numbers. These numbers give us the picture of who listens to the radio at various times of the day. Rush Limbaugh leads the competition by a long ways. The numbers show it. The figures show he is way ahead of everyone else. So what’s the deal? How can seemingly intelligent people look at these numbers and have the ideas they have? The fact is 5.9 is much larger than 1.4! Also, 4.8 is considerably larger than 1.4. So the numbers are there. Don’t try to spin them any other way. Those figures are etched in stone for all to see.

I’m glad my oil company does not profit like my bank!!

Yes, you read that right. With the way the news reports the thing the oil companies are getting away with murder. Well, they better look again. Looking at net profit margin, a percentage of profit to revenue, my bank murders the people I buy gas and other convenience items from.

The oil people have revenue of a little over $80 billion. They make a 4.4% net profit for a total money profit of $3.6 billion. If my bank had the same revenue as my oil company their profit would be $18.3 billion. So who’s gouging the people? Please keep my bank small. If they get to be the size of my oil company we are going to be in a world of hurt where I live. The bank will have all the money. Wait, they have it all now! Where are they going to get the new money from? We’ll all be bankrupt. Then we won’t be able to buy any gas. This is going to be a terrible situation one of these days? Wait......it already is .......well, I will quit now before I make myself sad.

No other President had people resign on him; only President George W. Bush!!

Can you believe President Bush is having people resign on him? That’s just terrible. His administration is in such disarray that he is having people quit on him right and left. This just spells doom for the Republicans at the polls for at least the next 25 years. They won’t be able to come back from these defections.

That’s the story I have heard all day long on some news shows, reading some stories on the Internet, and just general thinking of people I have heard talking during the day. Over the past few weeks it has gone from bad to worse for President Bush. This is just awful for the guy, but so wonderful for the Democrats!

I am going to go out on a limb here and make some predictions. The President will survive with these new people just fine. What if the new people are much better than the old ones? Well, they are going to have to be better than the old people. We have been told how bad the old guys were. So just by getting rid of the old guys the President will be in much better shape. I will even bet other President’s had advisers and Cabinet members quit on them while they were in office. I will bet even Bill Clinton had people who resigned on him.

You would not think any Democratic president had this problem. Reagan and Bush I had it bad. They had some things to deal with along these lines. But a Democrat having this kind of problem. No way. It just did not happen.

Am I being a bit sarcastic and tongue-in-cheek. You bet. But how else can you deal with a story such as this. People have quit while serving the President, all President’s, in various capacities since the beginning of our country. Yet, this seems to be only a problem the Republicans and most especially, George Bush, has to deal with.

Big news on my writing; I made The List; ramblings!!

I got a call at lunch today from the local newspaper. They asked me to send a picture of me and a tag line. They are going to publish a story of mine in the editorial section and put my picture alongside it. This is big news for me. It’s very exciting. I don’t even think it’s my best writing. But it will be what gets my foot in the door. It’s up to me from here. I will keep submitting. I want my very own column at least once a week. Then I can move on to more newspapers and then get syndicated. I am happy. I am scared and nervous. Do they have to put my picture?

I am sure I made that list of the “un”-sexy people. I must be near the top. If you get to know me well you know I am a loyal and trusting friend. But sex appeal is something I just don’t have. I was scared to look down the list because I was sure my name was going to be on it. So I did not bother to do so. I think my former girlfriends nominated me. If you see my name on the list please don’t tell me.

It was 100° in San Antonio yesterday and today! How hot do you think it will get in August? Maybe this will somehow be some of the warmest weather for the summer. I don’t see how that can happen though. We need rain. We need cool. We need some relief from the heat and arid conditions.

It’s time for me to go to bed. I will rest well tonight. I am getting to be a writer. It is a long, slow process, but it’s happening. I have set a goal and I am pushing toward it. My dogs and I will have a good slumber. Then we will wake up in the morning ready to take on the world. Get our of our way. I just hope I don’t have to sweat too much to do so. More later. Enough said.

New Orleans mayoral election!; this could be a doozy!!

Twenty or so candidates! They are all colors, all over the political spectrum, from all walks of life, different backgrounds, different incomes, and all wanting to be mayor of a devastated city. The voters! They are all,.......well, all over....the country that is! Some are in New Orleans, but only about half as many as used to live there. Some are in Baton Rouge, others Houston, Dallas, Detroit, and spread out over the fruited plain.

The city of New Orleans will hold a mayoral primary this weekend. Out of the ton of candidates, or is that two tons, two will emerge in a runoff to be the city’s next mayor. What kind of election will this be? It will surely be one of the strangest in American history. A populace spread out around our great land trying to vote in a local election in a torn up city.

I am an old Louisiana boy. At LSU once upon a time, a professor of Louisiana History told us in class, “Most states tolerate corruption! Louisiana demands it!!.” We could see that and more this election. I am sure the wheels are turning right now on things such as this. How can we get ahead? Is there any way to cheat? Oh yes, you can bet that is going on as you read this.

This will be one fun election to watch. It will be a doozy. It will be a humdinger. If the city can get through this election relatively unscathed there may still be hope for it. Now can someone tell me why anyone would want to be the mayor of New Orleans now? I don’t think many people would have wanted that job before the hurricane hit. Yet, they are lining up for the job now. This will be a treat to watch. Stay tuned.

Taxes finished and sent off!

We owed about $5. That is not too bad for the strategy we used to figure out how to break even. We did a good job. We gave a lot of money to charity this year along with goods and services. Of course, the wife and I are both from Louisiana and we have to send money home after the hurricanes. The wife was born below New Orleans so we had to help out as much as we could.

I think we did well in that respect. We gave to other charities and all in all we did well. I am just glad we got it all finished for another year. We are giving again this year and we will have the same tax implications for this year as last. We will do what we can to make sure we pay our fair share of taxes and help others also.

Generals; it’s not rocket science, but a lot about politics!

And no common sense has come into the mix. The left and Bush haters have just gone bonkers as usual over the six generals who have come out after they retired and bashed Donald Rumsfeld. If these guys would know what they are talking about they have let the guy off the hook. The time to speak up would have been when they were still on duty! It’s too late now!!!

Look, to me it’s just common sense. If these guys would have complained during the war they would be much more credible. Now they get on TV to bash the war effort and it’s sounds like some kind of infomercial. At the end of the program you always seem to get that “Pick up General So and So’s book at your nearest bookstore” kind of ending.

If, during the war, these guys would have complained they would have either gotten results that would have helped our soldiers out or not. If not, they could have pushed the issue and gotten fired or resigned under protest. After a few of these incidents people would have taken notice. When the complaints these guys should have been making came to pass Rumsfeld would have been dead meat. He would have been fired or had to resign. These guys who would have looked like experts. These generals did not do that. They spoke up after they retired. What kind of general does that?

What kind of general quits his guys during the war? How many of our precious soldiers died because they generals did not take a stand on their behalf? The Bush haters have gotten blinded by their hatred for the President. Surely the President and Mr. Rumsfeld have made bad decisions. A lot of those decisions came with the help of our generals in the field. So do those generals share in the blame. Yes, they do. By not speaking up when they should have they have probably cost American lives and prolonged the war.

I think these generals are cowardly to speak up after the fact. Our fighting men and women deserve to be served by better generals. Or at least by generals who have some backbone. Speak out for our fighting men and women. Their lives depend on it. Don’t whine and cry after you quit and come home. We have almost surely lost lives because of these general’s actions. They need to keep quiet and not capitalize on the hatred for President Bush and Donald Rumsfeld.

Parker was hanging on to his Easter basket!

My brother’s family was tabbed to bring up the gifts at Mass earlier today. It was decided my two great nephews, my brother’s grandkids, would bring up Easter baskets for Father. This would surely be a fun thing.

When it came time for the offerings to be brought up my sister-in-law and her two sons brought the water, wine, and host’s. My niece brought the money box. Coleman and Parker, who are twins, each brought an Easter basket. When Coleman got up to the front he gently placed his basket in Father’s hand. When it came Parker’s turn he stepped back a bit. Father reached his hand out and motioned for Parker to come forward. Parker stepped forward a little, but did not hand over the basket. He only said, “Mine.” Father smiled and told the congregation that it would look bad for him to be fighting for an Easter basket with a two year old. Parker’s Dad looked at him with a stern face and reluctantly, very reluctanly, Parker handed over the basket.

Once home Parker headed straight to where he had last seen his Easter basket there. He walked into the room showing it to everyone. He seemed content he still had “his” Easter basket.

Thoughts on Iraq; quotes,translations,”Generals”, etc.

In our local paper we have a story by Phil Sands, a reporter who was held hostage for a short time by the Iraqis or in Iraq I should say. His piece speaks well of the kidnappers and such. I have a slightly different view of what I think of them. In one piece of the article I will translate a quote from Mr. Sands.

“I outlined some of my stories including one about an Iraqi whose family had been shot dead at a U.S. Army checkpoint. ‘My wife and child were killed like this,’ my interrogator said”. Permit me to translate what his “interrogator” meant. The way to read what the guy said was this, “I want to kill all the Americans. But they are much too strong for me and us. They would kill me instantly. Plus I am a big coward. So I strapped my wife and child into a car laden with bombs and sent them off to do the work that I am too cowardly to do myself.”

Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, calling for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to be replaced, said, “The Who had it wrong. We have been fooled again.” He didn’t say when we were fooled the first time, but I have a translation of that also. Here is what he meant, “I don’t know why Bill Clinton made my a general. I mean I was happy to be a no-telling gay private. But they next thing you know I was a general. Well, not a full general, but one of the lieutenant ones, and that was good enough for me. But then this dang war started and I had to go to Iraq. And get this, I was expected to lead my men in fighting some other bad guys. Well, I ain’t much for killing anyone. I figured someone would eventually getting around to finding out I was not really a soldier so I had to do something. Knowing the media is against the war and everything the President and his Administration does I thought I would speak out against the war and how terrible we were doing. I quit first though! I would not have wanted to talk to Mr. Rumsfeld and give him an idea of how dumb a general I actually was. The old saying ‘it’s better to keep your mouth shut and let everyone think you are an idiot, instead of opening it and proving that you are one’ really holds true for me. So please get me on the front pages. I might get found out in due time.”

What kind of generals are these guys who are speaking out against the country they were supposed to serve? I can see why we are not doing too well! With generals like this we couldn’t fight a bunch of nuns and come out too well. The generals are what win wars with strategy and leadership. We have a bunch of pansies for the most part. Can you imagine Patton and MacArthur whining like these guys? Eisnehower would have shot these guys personally!

I am appalled by the lack of honor with these generals that have spoken up after they quit. What could they not be men and speak up when they needed to speak up, like Patton and MacArthur! These guys were weak. We are having problems because of leaders such as them. They are pitiful and should be tried for treason. That’s all they are doing now. They are traitors!

Rescued a big boy; a big Greyhound named Blaze

He was standing in the middle of one of the biggest streets in the city. Several cars had to dodge him. He was confused and did not know what to do. I was following my wife in my truck as we drove home from picking up my truck. We stopped and both jumped out and I grabbed the big boy. He was scared. Real scared!!

I held onto his collar which had a phone number on it. My wife ran to get some water at a convenience store and called the number on the tag. It was the Greyhound rescue number. They told us they could not come and get him right away, but that they could come in an hour or so. So we took the old boy to our house.

He was Ok. He was a big, old boy. And he was beautiful. According to the number on his collar the lady at the rescue league told us his name was Norman, but he lived about 200 miles away. My wife kept on calling him Norman and he kept on giving her a funny look. He knew that was not his name.

We have four cats and three dogs at home. The dogs were out, but the cats were inside. Norman was cat friendly and my cats took right to him. They really did not mind each other. After about forty-five minutes a lady from the rescue league came and got the old boy. She thought she knew who his owners were. She thanked us for grabbing him and keeping him until someone could come get him.

We told her that he was fine and really docile. We also told her we gave him some medical care while he was at our house. She asked if he had been hurt or something. I told her no, but he had been given several “cat scans” as our cats gave him a good going over.

Several hours later the lady called and told us the old boy’s name was Blaze and he had been reunited with his owners. I will bet he is resting well right now.

Friday at last; Friday at last!; feeling great (and happy)!!

It is Friday at last. And Good Friday on top of it all. It seems like Monday was about a month ago. I am glad it is finally Friday. My wife is off, but that is fine. I like when she can stay home.

It is 63°. That is nice. We don’t have much of a chance of rain. So it is dry. I watered my garden yesterday. It looks great. I am ready for some great gardening success this year. I don’t want to get behind on any gardening chores. I have been keeping up nicely. It will time to pick more snow peas this weekend. I have some other herbs I will harvest. I will snip some Rosemary for sure. My news plants I started from seed are all doing well. Things are just looking up.

My wife and I will go out with some friends tonight. We will have fun. My wife does not drink very much and sometimes she does not drink at all, but she is fun. She likes to go out and meet my friends. All the young guys flirt with her and she likes that. I like it also. It makes her feel good. We both don’t drink a whole lot to start off with and we don’t go out very often so this will be fun. Plus, I like to meet a few of my friends from work in a non-work setting at times.

The rest of the weekend should be nice also. The wife will use today to put up a border in our niece’s room then clean up in there with help from my niece. She will rest some. We might go to lunch if she feels like driving over to where I work twice in one day. She will have fun and I will also. Then we have a few things to do tomorrow and Sunday. Sunday is Easter and while we are not really religious people we do keep in mind what the day means. We may go to church although I feel that is being a bit hypocritical, but I guess anything you try to do is OK.

I have a very early meeting this morning. So I have to get going. I will have a great day and a great weekend. I will continue to write as often as I can. Thanks for reading. I hope everyone has a great day and a great weekend. More later. Enough said.

And he’s the ranking Democrat on the Ethics Committtee!

http://www.nlpc.org/view.asp?action=viewArticle&aid=1346

Rep. Alan Mollohan, the ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee, has been investigated by the National Legal Policy Center. In early April the NLPC disclosed it had filed a 500-page Complaint against the Congressman by “detailing hundreds of ethics law violations”. On April 7, 2006 the Wall Street Journal carried a front page article on the guy.

Some of the trangressions are as follows:

failing to disclose real estate assets owned by Mollohan and his wife

failing to disclose financial assets owned by Mollohan and his wife

failing to disclose major loans used in the acquistion of financial assets which were not being disclosed

failing to disclose interest in companies which owned major assets

grossly undervaluing assets

You can read the article at the link provided above. This guy is a wonderful person is he not? And I ask where is the big mainstream media on this? Where is Katie Couric? Where is Wolf Blitzer? Where is the New York Times? They are silent as usual. They just can’t bring themselves to report any trangressions by the Democrats on a regular basis. They do seem to be able to fault the Republicans each and every day for something.

I just like to write these blogs to let everyone know the left in this land is every bit as bad, and in most cases, much worse than the right. It’s just not reported. I will keep the left’s failings in the limelight. It’s only fair.

Thursday thoughts in the very early morning

It is a great Thursday morning here in Texas. Our temperature is 69°. Each day is is getting a few degrees cooler, but it’s not too warm yet. That weather is coming. We don’t have much of a chance of rain, but we need some.

I am up very early. I am getting ready to go to work. I wish I could stay home and write and garden all day long. That day is coming. And it is sooner than I expect. I have a goal that I am working toward.

Today I get to pick up my check for the women’s shoe article I wrote. I signed the copyright and all yesterday. That’s a great feeling. I will have two articles in the magazine this month. That is just more than I thought could and would ever happen. I am working hard to be a writer and I will continue to do so. I am giving this my all.
A bunch of the guys will eat lunch at a Puerto Rican cafe today. They are all much younger than me, but I fit in with the younger crowd for the most part. It’s fun to go with the guys. They are crazy.

My wife has tomorrow off. I have to work. Easter is a very solemn time. We have to remember the reason for the day and do our best to honor and worship Jesus.

Not much this morning big in the world of news. I will make some comments. It’s hard to read the news and get a good take on what is going on. Our media is pretty much rotten and they want to make things look bad for the most part. Some retired generals are on Donald Rumsfeld’s case. I am glad they are retired. We sure wouldn’t want them leading our troops in Iraq with the attitude they have. These generals decide to become experts and speak up after they retire. They did not do anything about it when they were in charge of our forces in Iraq. So good riddance. Maybe they are all commie, pinko, faggots or something. They sure have lost my respect. Scooter Ligby wasn’t ordered to “leak” Valerie Plame’s name. This is old hat to begin with. Nothing was leaked to start off with. It was declassified which the President can do if he wants. Also, Plame’s husband, Joe Wilson, is the biggest liar on the planet. So this is all hogwash. Many homes in New Orleans need to be lifted. Wow, I wonder who came up with that report. How high do we lift them? It will have to be pretty high. That’s funny. I will end on that one.

It’s time to get this animal herd fed and then I can get ready for work. Thanks for reading. More later. Enough said.

John Conyers, gotta love him!

http://www.noagenda.org/2006/03/conyers_violated_ethics_rules.php



Conyers violated ethics rules

by Matt Margolis :: March 1, 2006 2:28 PM

Two former aides to Rep. John Conyers, Deanna Maher and Sydney Rooks, have provided evidence (in the form of numerous letters, memorandums and copies of e-mails, handwritten notes and expense report) that the Michigan Democrat violated ethics rules by forcing them to work on a number of local and state campaigns and to baby-sit and chauffeur his children .

They also claim that other aides illegally used his congressional offices to "enrich themselves."

Maher decided she could no longer work for Conyers in such an unethical environment and quit in May 2005. Rooks had left Conyers years earlier; she was a full-time staffer working in the office for him from 1997 to 1999. Before leaving, Conyers placed her on paid administrative leave for several months and stopped paying her in April 2000.

“I could not tolerate any longer being involved with continual unethical, if not criminal, practices which were accepted as ‘business as usual,’” Maher wrote in a letter to the ethics panel dated Jan. 13, 2006.

The ethics committee has been aware of the allegations against Conyers for at least two years. According to The Hill Maher’s allegations date back to 1998, only a year after she was hired.

In her Jan. 13 letter, Maher recapped a previous allegation she had made that DeWayne Boyd, a former top aide to Conyers, used Conyers’s congressional office to obtain a fake passport after being convicted of fraud, making false statements and government theft in 2004. Sentenced in 2005 to 30 to 46 months in prison, Boyd fled to Ghana before being recaptured and extradited to the United States.

The crux of the allegations involves complaints that Conyers used his staff to work on several local and state campaigns including his wife’s failed bid for a seat in the state Senate. In 2003, the Detroit Free Press reported about the allegations that Conyers repeatedly violated House rules by forcing staffers to work on campaigns without taking leave.

Apparently, this isn't a rare thing in the Democratic Party.
A former staffer who has worked for two House Democrats said, “This type of behavior is so prevalent, the unofficial duties that members require you to do off-the-record. Most staffers are subjected to this unfair treatment. It’s the great untold story on Capitol Hill.”

Stories such as the above are so heartwarming to me. The culture of the Democrats is to blame the Republicans and more specifically, President Bush, for everything that is wrong. Well, Mr. Conyers seems to be a little wrong here also. And bad wrong. I love reading stuff such as this. I am ready to hear the liberal chorus consisting of the left, liberals, and Democrats jump on this story and run with it. Where is the condemnation of Mr. Conyers? I will wait for the repsonses from the left on this one.

The story above was from noagenda.org. Before you go telling me they are some right wing group that only bashes Democrats I will remind everyone of something. This story was run on CNN tonight with none other than the venerable Katie Couric at the helm. So it has to be true.

We are asked to believe all that is said about the President and the Republicans. Every bit of bad news the media can report about the President is ballyhooed and treated as gospel with such reverance. CNN is the leader in news. So.....it looks like Mr. Conyers has been caught and the chorus of condemnation should begin from the left.

If I don’t hear this I will just assume the left hates Bush and the Republicans and it doesn’t matter if the truth or not is printed when it’s bad about them. This is why the left is in second place and second place in this country is last place. Give me more reporting such as this. How bad will the Democrats look if stuff like this starts to get out about them? It won’t be pretty.

Hump Day early morning thoughts!

It’s early and I am up and ready to go. It’s still my week to go to work early and I am ready for the day. Going early has it’s rewards, but they are not many. The day is too long when you have to go in this early. But I will live. I am just a cog in the wheel and I have to do my part to make the whole wheel turn.

I looked a bit of news first thing this morning. It’s just the usual stuff. A report shows the trailers we found in Iraq were not laboratories for chemical weapons, but it does not say what they were for. That’s a bit odd to me. I guess the Iraqi’s just liked to make big trailers that did nothing. Who won in Italy? The big media told us Mr. Prodi would win easily. Now, it’s one big mess. I hope the left in that country does not do like the liberals did here in 2000. They were planning on counting until Al Gore got ahead and then they were going to quit counting. I think the same might happen in Italy. Good for them. Cincinnati hit six home runs in a game yesteday, including one by a pitcher of there’s. There’s more but that enough for now.

It will be a great day. I will work and then come home to some great fun. It will be hot during the day and we probably won’t have any rain so I will have to water the garden. That’s just something you have to do regularly here. I will continue to eat better as I have been doing. I am not getting very hungry either. So maybe I can stay on my better eating plan for a bit. I just need to get healthier. If I lose weight fine, but I need to eat better. I will write more. I have a good humor piece to write about my Casey dog.

That’s it. I will go now. I want to thank people for reading this stuff. I will write more later. Everyone have a great day. More later. Enough said.

Iran,nuclear,uranium,IAEA,Security Council
We have some pretty good information now that Iran is enriching uranium! Now, that might not be a bad thing in and of itself, but in this case it just can’t be good. What do we do now? I mean the United States for the most part. No one else is going to do anything about it.

If my Mom were enriching uranium in her kitchen we could all be reasonably certain that it would be just fine. You would have to figure she had used the uranium to fire up a perfect oven that would cook perfect apple pies that she could give to all the other mother’s to bring to baseball games. Anyone else doing such a thing might not be doing it for peaceful purposes. And that means the Iranians for the most part.

They can’t be using their nuclear program for peaceful purposes. If they were they would call my Mom and she could help the Iranian mothers make date pies to bring to soccer matches. In the absence of that or something along those lines happening, we must figure the Iranians are up to no good.

So what will happen now. The IAEA, led by Mohamed El Baradei, will go in and “inspect” the sites that the Iranians pick to show them what they are doing. This will allow the Iranians time to enrich the real good stuff to make nuclear weapons. Mr. El Baradei will go to the UN and tell them he saw baby food factories and aspirin factories. He will report he saw a cesium beam atomic clock on the wall at Teheran University which is the only evidence of nuclear activity he saw in the whole of the country. He will announce that the clock was made by Westclock in the U.S. and denounce us as being a terroristic country.

Mr. El Baradei will then inform the U.N. of his findings. The U.N. will issue 317 resolutions and ultimatums to the Iranians, all of which will be ignored. The whole world will condemn the U.S. for wanting to put pressure on Iran. We will choose diplomacy over might to remedy this situation.

This action will be met by much joy in the U.S. by the left, liberals, and Democrats. We will be told to hold discussions with the Iranians to better understand them and what they are trying to do. Harvard, Yale, Cal-Berkley, and a whole host of our left-leaning bastions of education will host the forums. The Democrats in Congress will fawn over the Iranians and praise them to no end while running down the conservatives, the President, and our military. CNN and the big media will explain to us how we are being unfair to Iran. It will be an Iranian lovefest.

In the end Iran will send teams of terrorists, helped by Hamas, to detonate small nuclear devices in Europe, the United States, and Israel. A hundred million people will be killed and five times that will suffer terrible injuries that will lead to death and disablement.

What will happen then? The left and the rest of the world will want to know why George W. Bush did not do anything to save the planet!!

What now for me! Nuke ‘em before they have a chance to figure out what hit them.

Tuesday morning thoughts!

It’s a fine Tuesday morning in Texas. We have temps in the low’s 60’s and pretty clear skies. That is very nice. I am looking forward to a very nice day. It will warm and sunny today with not much chance of rain. Watering comes into play again at this time of year. I will water my plants and yard tomorrow if we get no rain.

I have to go to work very early again. I was there at 6 am yesterday and had a great day. That’s a long day, but it’s part of the deal. I just have to do it. I am part of the team that has to do this from time to time.

I was the first one at work yesterday. I was able to get the building opened and then go back out and enjoy the cool morning air. I also got to see the sunrise. I love doing that.

Today I am sure we will be treated to more immigration marches. I wonder if those people truly realize they are here illegally. They are going to go from being tolerated to despised if they are not careful. They need to think about what they are doing.

In rallies and marches do you think it’s always necessary to overstate the number of people at the march. The organizers will claim there were 100,000 at a march. The police will put the number at 1,500. It happens each and every time.

My wife has been losing weight. She is just eating less and a bit better. I have been doing the same thing for a few days now. I feel better, but I am hungry a bit of the time. That will pass and it will be fine. We can both do this.

My 4 cats and 3 dogs are starving. It’s time to get off my butt and doing this writing and feed my babies. I think my Sam cat is getting ready to scratch me. She’s 15 years old and bad. She has no skin on her nose. She has not had any in several years. That’s because she gets in a fight everyday. And she’s 15. She’s just bad.

I could write much more. I have to get ready for work after doing my animal duties. I will write more later. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday and a wonderful rest of the week. Thanks for the read. Enough said.

Immigration march; she let the cat out of the bag!!

There was a march by illegal aliens and their supporters in San Antonio this afternoon. The crowd was supposed to be 50,000 according to one of the organizers who was interviewed on local radio. Preliminary reports show about 1,000 people showed up. Maybe more would join along the route. This rally was to support the illegals staying in the country!

The Archbishop of our local diocese spoke to the crowd. I guess he’s not really a lawful man. Watch out altar boys! No telling what this guy might not do.

The telling thing about the interview with one of the organizers was a statement that she made. In response to a question about the Mexican-American border this woman answered, “We did not cross the border. The border crossed us.” This just about sums it up. The illegals don’t think they are here illegally. They think this land is still their’s!! This old girl may have just let the cat out of the bag!!!

Women’s shoes; Why are they so dear to their hearts?; Rooster’s (W)Riting about it all!!

In the next few days I will officially have an article on women’s shoes published in a magazine. While I can’t copy any of the text that will go in the actual article I will include some excerpts that did not make the article. My editor is very excited about me, a guy, writing an article about women’s shoes. I had a ball doing this. I hope we can write more articles like this in the future.

Doing the research for the article was fun. The best part of the whole deal was getting to see a lot of legs! You can’t ever beat that. I can also now see why women need plenty pairs of shoes. I always thought is was unecessary for a woman to need so many pair of shoes. I stand corrected now. I can see why it takes so many.

I will include some of the excerpts now that did not make the article, but I think will be fun reading: (italics are my words that were cut out of the article)

Footwear does not need to match clothing. It just needs to compliment the attire and enhance it in some way.

This came as a bit of a surprise to me. I always thought the footwear needed to match, but that was not correct.

Shoe variety plays an important role in a woman’s choice of footwear. Different styles of shoes augment a female’s features and add to her persona. The boost a lady gets from a perfectly worn outfit, complete with flattering footwear, can give her poise and confidence.

Wedges add a little height and elongate the leg. These add a little stature to a woman. These are not the ultra high platforms worn in the 70’s, but a shoe with a more feminine wedge. For this spring a heavier sole and heel are being used to compliment women’s attire. A wedge might be the perfect addition to your wardrobe.

If a more ladylike alternative appeals to you try a very low-heeled pump, or a ballerina flat, with a peep toe. These shoes look wonderful in a variety of colors in either linen or leather. These shoes work with shorts, trousers, and even long skirts.

Espadrille's may be the most popular of the spring shoe styles. These casual sandals come in many incarnations. A women is sure to find something to her liking. Espadrille-styled pumps can be found which add another option for women’s attire. Even though fashion magazines show espadrille lace-up ties winding up the calves, several wraps at the ankle and a pretty bow fit nicely in today’s wardrobes.

Also, if a woman has an appealing body feature she may want to choose a shoe to compliment that attribute. To draw attention to a shapely ankle she may wear strappy shoes or sandals. High-heels and low cut boots might show off an athletic calf. Shoes can be used in this way to bring out the best qualities in a woman.

Today’s lady has many options when it comes to choosing footwear. There are many types and styles to choose from. So no matter what outfit a lady intends to wear a complimentary pair of shoes can surely be found.

The above few paragraphs were good I think. We had to cut them out because the article was too long. We had included them to see how they would fit in the piece, but they just did not work out. They are good in my estimation though.

I truly enjoyed writing this article. I hope it is the first of many to come. I pride myself on being able to write about many different things and this piece helps to show my editor that.

You knew the griping about jobs was coming!

I wrote a post a few days ago about the job news from the government. While I thought it was good news I have gotten some comments and read some other posts from people, mostly who don’t have jobs, about how terrible it is. I can sympathize with them to a certain extent. I will also say there are really only two numbers that count when you are talking about employment. The figures are either 100% or 0%. You either have a job or you don’t.

It’s all George W. Bush’s fault. And its not our economy. The people who don’t think the jobs report was good generally say “your” economy. Well, if it’s my economy why are you worried about getting a job in it. Get one in yours! I have one in mine. Well, it’s the Republicans fault in general with George Bush at the helm. All the people who vote Republican have great jobs and they are safe and secure. The only people who are out of jobs are Democrats. And the ones who have jobs are hanging on by a thread. Those jobs are being readied to send to India or some other country where the pay is a lot less.

When the news of jobs during the Clinton years hit the airwaves we heard a steady stream of how great those jobs were. Well, they must not have been too good. They are all dried up now. Where have they gone? I thought those jobs were keepers. When good news hits us now about jobs, well.....it’s just not good news.

I wonder if the attitudes of the people who have no jobs are contributing to them not having a job in the first place and then having a hard time finding one. We need to all think about that.

Look, it’s hard not having a job. Many of our jobs are being sent elsewhere. We all know that. Many jobs from overseas wind up here. We have some auto manufacturing plants from companies based overseas. So this works both ways. The jobs outlook in this country is fine. We are creating plenty new jobs and many of them are great jobs. Many are not. It is not George W. Bush or the Republican’s fault! Each one of us has to be on guard all the time for our jobs. There is no more job security. That’s a thing of the past. So we need to make sure we always have a Plan B at least. I have down to about Plan ZZ in my book.

I am just tired of all the whining and complaining about how bad things are. Come to the company where I work or my wife works and see how great we have it. And you know why it’s so great at places such as this. It’s because they hire people like my wife and I who work hard and do a great job. Am I stepping on some toes here. You bet I am. I am not going to pull any punches.

If you think your job situation is bad the reason might be staring you back in the face in the morning when you look in the mirror. There are jobs here in our country. And there are good ones also. Get out and get one of them and quit complaining about George Bush and his economy.

Great weekend!; what a Sunday!!

This has been a wonderful weekend. Most of our weekends in the old Rooster household are fun, but this one was really good and we did not do too much leaving the old homestead. There was a lot of work mixed in with a lot of fun. So we are happy now and tired.

The lion’s share of my weekend was spent in the garden. The old garden really looks great now. It’s hard to believe how much it has been tranformed since the beginning of February when I really began to work on it. I have so many different things planted and they are all doing well. Today I planted some watermelon, squash, Swiss chard, Morning glories, mints, basil, and chives. I grew them all from seed. That makes growing them all the more special. The garden looks great. It will continue to do well.

The wife and I went out to eat today after taking a ride and doing some shopping and mostly looking at stuff to buy later. Our niece was down at the Strawberry Festival in Poteet. Now, that’s a fine town if there ever was one. We ate a nice restaurant for lunch. It was a great meal. We sat down and had a great talk. We don’t get to spend too much time like that anymore. We made the most of it.

The wife also took the niece shopping yesterday. That child is growing like a bad weed. She needs new shoes about once a month. She is tall. We have to keep her clothed. So we have to continue to buy her clothes. Do we have to buy her clothes? This is one aspect of parenting that really has taken us by surprise. I guess we never had to think about clothes for a young one, and a young girl at that. We will do whatever it takes to give the child a great home. She has problems, but we will work through all of that in the long run.

I could sit and write much more about my weekend, but I will spare the minute deals. The big deal is this was a great weekend. It’s back to work tomorrow, but I will be ready. Thanks for the read. Enough said!!

Saturday morning; various and sundry ramblings!

We woke up to a wonderful Saturday morning here in Texas. The temperature at daybreak was around 56°. It was clear and will remain that way all day. The high today will be near 80°. That is just about perfect weather. That’s just the way it is. I will get out in it and have some fun in a bit. I have to mow some grass and do some other general gardening chores during the day. My yard needs to have some touch up things done to it to make it look nice.


Report: Prince Harry celebrates at strip club

British royal said to end military military training with a lap dance

The above in italics was a report online. I am a big fan of Prince Harry. He’s bad and I like that. Come on. The guy is third in line to the English throne. He probably won’t ever have the chance to be king so he does not have to be the saint people think he should be. He would make a great king though! I just know he would.

He’s admitted to smoking a little weed and underage drinking. He’s gotten him a lap dance. This is just so cool. I am all for it. I have done all those things and I did not turn out too bad. A lap dance is so nice. It doesn’t hurt anyone!! And the guy is finishing his military training. So I think that gives him the right to a little fun. And Prince Harry knows how to have fun.

All I can say is I am on his side. I love to hear stories about my boy being bad. That’s part of his job being a royal! He’s doing a great job of it.


Everest trek uncovers exotic species

Conservationists document Himalayan hot spot for biodiversity

This is a wonderful story I saw on MSN and it has some pictures to go along with it. Stories like this make me happy. I really like to hear about new animal species being found on our planet. National Geographic will air a show on April 15 that will give us the scoop on all of this. It’s a great story.

These are just a few stories I looked at this morning. I will make sure I check in during the day. I will write a lot I hope and get a lot done. More later. Enough said.

More good economic news; “experts” pretty much wrong again

Employers added 211,000 jobs in March

WASHINGTON - Employers boosted payrolls by a sizable 211,000 in March in a springtime hiring burst that pushed the unemployment rate down to 4.7 percent.

Employment was stronger in March than economists were expecting. Before the release of the report, they were forecasting a gain of 190,000 jobs and they said they believed the overall civilian jobless rate would hold steady.

Analysts believe the economy emerged from an end-of-year funk and grew at an annual rate of 4.5 percent or higher in the just ended January-to-March quarter.

The above words were taken from an article on MSN.com. The italics are mine.

Yes, another good economic report. I will bet the Democrats will say “yes, but”. The economy has been doing great. The media keeps telling us we are in a “funk” and not doing well. The figures seem to show otherwise. The President’s tax policy is helping the economy grow and expand. The problem is the Congress won’t quit spending and President Bush won’t veto bills that would hold the spending down. We are growing nicely. We are spending like a drunken sailor though.

Our economic policy is a good one. Tax relief is always good. The economy might suffer in the short run, but in the long run cutting taxes benefits everyone. If we continue to spend wildly though we will continue to drop deeper into debt. We have to elect people who will hold down the spending and get things back in balance on the money front.

Weekend is here; cooler temps; no work; garden; random thoughts!

The weekend is officially here. At exactly 4:55 PM CDT this afternoon old Rooster here walked out of the building at work and declared the weekend to be officially on. The ride home on Friday’s is wonderful. The feeling of being free from work is just not easy to describe. I am just happy.

We can look forward to some cooler temps for the weekend. The low tonight should be in the low 50’s. It’s 88° right now. So I don’t know if the temp will drop that low. It will be cooler than it has been though. At least I think it will be. Tomorrow’s high will be around 80° if the forecasters are correct. It will be dry. We need rain in the worst way around here. I will have to continue to water just to keep things alive.

I am not going in to work tomorrow. I probably should, but I have made up my mind I am not. I will stay home and be productive here. There are a lot of things I neglect here sometimes when I work on a Saturday.

We got raises today. Mine is the standard 3%. That is fair. I have not followed the cost of living indices for the area. I am happy and that’s all that matters.

The garden will occupy plenty of time this weekend. I will give my whole yard a good workover. I need to do a few things to make my garden and yard look better. I will do so and love every minute of it.

I will end this and go. I will write more over the weekend. I think I will be in a writing mood and mode all weekend. Thanks for reading. Enough said.

“BE CAREFUL, JIM”

One of the most enduring memories I have of my childhood and early teens is of a television show that brought me so much joy and taught me so much. Each and every week I would sit down to watch this wonderful show, eagerly anticipating what far away country we would be visiting. I spent many a happy day learning about nature, other countries, other peoples, and gaining the utmost respect for the world around me. This show was Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom” hosted by Marlin Perkins. It had to be one of the best shows every produced.

The show visited every corner of the planet. It featured almost every imaginable type of animal. We all learned so much from Marlin and his show. I can still remember some of the episodes just like I watched them last week. I also remember Jim.

Jim was Marlin’s sidekick. I don’t know if I ever caught Jim’s last name. If you could do what Jim did you didn’t need but one name. Everyone was going to know you. I don’t know if I ever wanted Jim’s job. I do know I liked watching him and all the things he did on the show.

I think now we can be relatively certain about a couple of Jim’s character traits. He was fearless for sure. He had to have an undying allegiance to Marlin. And his mother must have dropped him on his head one too many times when he was a youngster.

I can also envision a few things that went on when the show “Wild Kingdom” was being formed. When news of the show reached the Mutual of Omaha CEO he must have been more than happy to agree to underwrite such a fine show. When the job Jim would perform was mentioned to the CEO the first words from his mouth were, “We are not going to insure him!” Some other insurance company carried Jim’s insurance.

I also don’t think Jim was informed ahead of time what he was going to be doing each week. He was just to show up at the airport for the trip to the next show’s destination. I think if he had known what he had to do beforehand he would have never gone with Marlin to do most of these shows. If someone had told you ahead of time you had to rush an ostrich nest to grab one of the eggs you would have not made the trip. So Jim could not have been told what he was to do ahead of time.

I will give a few examples of what I mean. The exact details of the programs may have escaped my memory, but I think you will get the picture with my examples.

Now picture this. The helicopter swoops down low over the Serengeti. A herd of three million wildebeest are roaming over the vast plain below. Marlin is sitting next to the pilot. He will narrate the action. Jim is sitting in the back hanging out of the door with a camera. Marlin says, “The herd of wildebeest are making there way toward their ancestral home. More than ten percent of them will die on the journey. Lets get a closer look.” When Marlin says this you expect the helicopter to drop down lower to get a better view of the animals. Then Marlin says, “Jim will now drop out of the copter and onto the back of one of the animals with his camera to give us a better view of the action.” If you watched closely you could see Jim in the background with that “look” on his face as if to ask “I am going to do what”. The next thing you see is Jim falling from the helicopter and toward the back of a wildebeest. In the background you hear Marlin’s voice call out, “Be careful, Jim”.

The bad thing for Jim about this whole ordeal was the producer back at camp looking at the film. I can hear them now, “We are going to have to shoot this scene over again. The lighting was all wrong. We’ll do it again tomorrow.” Or can you imagine Jim hurling from the helicopter only to miss the wildebeest and crash on the ground. They would have to land and pick Jim up and try all over again.

I think I recall one show about the capture of a cheetah. The plan was going to go something like this. A dead carcass of an animal would be placed on the ground. A huge net was placed to the side of the carcass. When a cheetah ventured over to the meat two sidewinder rockets would propel the net over the cheetah and it would be caught in the net. Jim was to being creeping up to the cheetah and secure the net after it entrapped her. Marlin was standing behind a very large tree as the drama unfolded. Jim was behind a much smaller tree ready for action. A cheetah finally comes along and spots the carcass. It immediately begins to move in that direction. As it gets nearer the carcass Jim creeps from behind his tree. When the time comes the rockets are fired. Jim is closing in on the cheetah fast. It was all working to perfection, except for one thing.

Only one of the rockets fired! Only half the cheetah is caught in the net. It is trying frantically to get away. It would have probably have just run away if it could have escaped except for one small fact. Jim has now run up to within 10 feet of the cheetah. Now lets take a hard look at what is going on. The cheetah is half caught. It’s trying to protect its catch. Jim is too close. What does Jim do now? He has to stay and fight. He has to get the other part of the net over the cheetah. The cheetah runs seventy miles per hour. Jim can run about ten. So he has to stay and fight. About this time you hear Marlin voice from the background, “Be careful, Jim”. I could not bear to watch. Jim must have made it though because he was on the show the very next week.

Another one I think I can recall clearly is the show where Jim is going to help us film and study the bald eagle. The setting is in a California redwood forest. The trees are all 600 feet tall. A bald eagle has been spotted with a nest at the very top of one of the trees. As the show begins Marlin and Jim are standing under the tree looking up at this magnificent bird in her nest. Marlin begins, “To better study the bald eagle and her young we must get a closer look at her nest and environs. Lets watch while Jim climbs the tree to tag the eagle and check out her eggs.” Jim has that “look” again. He dutifully climbs the tree with a tag and a camera. He climbs all the way to the top and is met by an enraged mother eagle. Jim frantically tries to get the tag on the eagle all the while getting pecked and clawed by this large bird. During the height of the fray you can hear Marlin call out from below, “Be careful, Jim”.

These are just a few of the wonderful stories I can remember of “Wild Kingdom”, starring Marlin and Jim and a host of animals the world over. I am pretty sure Marlin has died and gone to that animal heaven in the sky. I don’t ever know what happened to Jim. I will bet one thing though. Wherever he is right now he can still hear Marlin call out to him, “Be careful, Jim”.

Hamas broke already; Scooter Libby: they told me to do it!; (politcial ramblings)
From the Associated Press (AP):
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- The new Hamas-led government is broke and missed the April 1 monthly pay date.......

It was the Islamic militants’ first admission they’ll have difficulty running the West Bank and Gaza without massive foreign aid.

Finance Minister Omar Abdel Razek said he’s waiting for $80 million from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE!

Now, is this nuts or what. How can you have a government and you miss a payment this soon? I can tell you why. They don’t do anything over there. Well, if you wanted to rally against the United State or Israel they could get a million people in the streets in 15 minutes. But you don’t get paid for doing that. Can’t these people get something going to make money? It can’t be that hard. People do it all over the world. Israel does it right next door. Egypt does it right next door. So why can’t people in the Gaza Strip begin to take care of themselves? This is funny to me. Come on....it’s just a tad bit humorous. The people in the area couldn’t wait to elect these guys. And what do they get?

Scooter Libby is now telling us the President and Vice President put him up to leaking information and such. That’s what he told prosectuors!!

That’s a bit convenient. He’s testified and given statements before. Looks like this would have been the first thing he told everyone. I have a theory about it all and it’s a good rule or law you see people invoke all the time: The more trouble you are going to be in the more you have to blame someone else!! Mr. Libby needed to come clean with this from Day One. Now, he just looks like a bigger liar to me.