Goodbye to my Imaginary Public
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Well the results are in and I got eight spam results. I only approved three of them because five of them were either unintelligible or didn’t make any sense.
Fortunately this answers the age old question ” If a blog dies on the Internet does it make an impression” ? The answer is No.
To any people who did read this on a regular basis I apologize but it doesn’t seem to make sense to continue. The readership was declining and I like to leave just before the rats make their exit.
This may not be the last that you hear of me since my wife is continuing her Lt. Gerard- like pursuit to keep me writing. Hopefully this will result in a lot less Spam which should lower my cholesterol.
Thanks and goodbye
Warren
Dithering
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 | Life | 3 Comments
I like to get as much information as I can when I make a decision which sometimes helps and sometimes leads to dithering, unlike Joe Wilson I didn’t have to look up the definition. So though you may feel this post is going to be about politics, it will not.
Over a year ago I started writing this blog and though I initially said that it was just for fun, I lied. No, I am like any other writer, I write for personal reward. The reward can be anywhere from money to the reward of having influenced someone else’s life.
Based on the statistics my readership seems to be about thirty people on a consistant basis. Some of these people might be members of my family which means that more people may be reading this because of a feeling of familial obligation than they like the blog.
I don’t want to turn this blog into a public forum but lately I have been feeling that the only people who have an opinion of my blog work for Hormel ( for those of you not knowledgable about their canned meats, they make Spam). So for the next week I want the blog to be sort of interactive. If you think that I should continue writing this blog send me a message that says yes or if you think I shouldn’t then say, no. If I get a majority of affirmative responses that will help me to continue and if the majority is negative then Hormel might have to find an other outlet for it’s product. On the other hand who the hell are you to tell me what to do? Haven’t you heard of the First Amendment etc…
Silk Purse on a Pig
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 | Life | No Comments
Last week I wrote about Susan Finkelstein the woman who is accused of offering sex for World Series tickets and I had more to say about it then my meager typing skills could accomplish in one week. By waiting I will be able to update the story.
First of all, it turns out that she did get tickets from a local radio station and car dealership. Here we go again.
When did sleaziness become not only acceptable but the norm? I realize that I may be called a curmudgeon but I think that we should at least consider changing our views on what is happening.
It seems that girls and women are using the new found freedoms their predecessors fought for to sell themselves. Susan Finkelstein doesn’t seem to be the only one who is offering sex for goods. Today on Maury Povich was a segment on teen prostitutes. They were from middle and upper class families and they were selling themselves for money to buy Pradas and Jimmy Choo’s.
During Mardi Gras in New Orleans girls used to flash for beads. I assume it started because most of these women were drunk but also because women are competitive. Soon Joe Francis realized that he didn’t even need the beads just the booze and Girls Gone Wild was born. I am constantly amazed that so many women are willing to show their breasts for less then dinner and a movie.
I often hear from women that men think with the head that isn’t on their shoulders and I’m beginning to think that it is outsmarting women. I have often thought that the 1964 Civil Rights act was better for men than women. Women are gradually becoming the breadwinners, we don’t give them our seats or hold the door for them, when we both work the women still do most of the housework; that’s my kind of equality.
Now men have convinced women to take off their clothes and more for trinkets. We also get to take the moral high ground. We can still comment that these girls who sell themselves for Prada bags are sluts or to paraphrase the election phrase with the old adage;’ you can put a silk purse on a pig but it still isn’t Sarah Palin”.
Are Sports the New Crack?
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 | Sports | 2 Comments
We have all seen movies where a woman strung out on crack will offer her body to get her fix. The fact that it has become a cliche, to me indicates that crack can become so addictive that people will do anything including giving up your self respect to get the drug.
In the news today, was a story about a woman named Susan Finkelstein who offered to perform a sexual act to get tickets to the World Series. I’m not a big fan of sports but I have been a Yankees fan since I was in grade school. This was partially because I like to win and when I was growing up it was a pretty safe bet to choose the Yankees to win. So I may not be called a fanatic but I am a fan. This being said, I can honestly say that I can’t think of an instance where I would go to extremes to get tickets.
I realize that because of my relative sports inexperience I am not on the cutting edge of sports traditions. I used to think, even in my youth when we are more likely to do foolish things, that those people who would camp out to get tickets were crazy. Now I am reassessing their motives because apparently after you have spent a week camping out without shaving or bathing you can still get laid.
Again, because of my inexperience, I can only assume that there is a list of services for the type of tickets you got. If your seats were behind a pole would you just get a tease, for a nose bleed seat, a hand job? Does this mean that box seats are appropriately named? Was this the etymology of the phrase “Getting to first base”? Is there an S/M meaning for a “walk on balls?”
I am going to continue this next week cause I have more to say
Warren
If Aliens Attack?
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 | Politics | 3 Comments
I was listening to a program on television and they were talking about Oath Keepers. They are, from what I can gather, a group that believes they should have the right to carry concealed weapons. They seem to be recruiting police and former Armed Forces people and from what I heard they seem to be getting an Army.
If you don’t believe me look at their web site
This isn’t the only group that seems to be forgetting that our country is named the United States of America. I think that they should realize that it is exactly this unity that gives us our strength. Of late, the Birthers, the Oath Keepers, and a lot of our elected Republicans among others, seem to be suggesting that the Bible was wrong and a House divided against itself can stand.
Now don’t get me wrong, I think that one of America’s strengths is the fact that we encourage dissent but it is the after-effect that I am worried about. When I was growing up if you didn’t get the laws that you wanted you redoubled your efforts especially at election time.
The latest action seems to be that of the petulant child ” If I don’t get my way I’ll take my state and secede.” Which finally brings me to the point.
America is often called a melting pot and I think that we should revise that idea to being a stew pot . The gravy being the rich and they affect the majority and the minority. The other parts of the stew still retain their own ideas and customs but they are still part of the stew.
Even though we are separate we should be like a big family. I may talk about my brothers but don’t assume that you can. We should be working towards that idea.
I remember a television series called V that was about aliens that took over Earth. While there were a few humans that sided with the aliens; the majority fought side by side with their fellow humans despite religion, creed, skin color to defeat these invaders. Maybe the SyFy channel should run the series again.
Noblesse Oblige or Rank Has It’s Privileges?
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 | Hollywood, US Judicial System | 3 Comments
When the term Noblesse Oblige was first explained to me, the person explaining it gave me the impression that it meant rank has it’s privileges. It bothered me that this didn’t seem to be an accurate translation. While I am no fan of the French language I sought to tranlate it even if I had to deal with the language.
I realized that there is a world of difference between the two. Noblesse oblige implies that nobility demands that you do certain things: like help the poor or feed the hungry; the other implies that the rich get special favors cause they are rich.
This last month the newspapers have been talking about the arrest of Roman Polanski. He was convicted of a crime with an underage girl. Rather than face the punishment, he chose to leave the country. Since that time, he became a fuguitve and recently was captured.
Some of the Hollywood community have been saying that the fact that he has spent 30 years in exile is punishment enough for what he did. I believe that this is wrong. Polanski is considered a very good director and Hollywood seems to be making allowances for him because of that. I have to ask, if he were a cameraman or a key grip, would the Hollywood community still be coming to his defense?
A lot of people in Hollywood feel that because they are artistic, they deserve some special treatment because they are more emotionally involved or because they produce artisitic works. This is creating a class of people that feel superior to the common man. And, in truth, we all are “the common man.” I have a garbage man who collects my garbage every week and the fact that he does it every week and that I haven’t had any problems with him means that hs is doing a good job. If I found out that he was also a child molester, would that give him any special privileges?
I might feel differently if Roman Polanski had sex with a girl who he thought was 18 and later found her to be under age. This was not the case. Roman Polanski drugged the girl, plied her with alcohol, and sodomized her. I think the majority of people would agree that this constitutes rape. He purposely did these things and he should pay the penalty. Art shouldn’t be a “get out of jail free card.”
What About Mono-tasking?
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 | Healthcare, Politics | 1 Comment
I know that the new way of doing things is to multi-task but there are things that might better be done with a laser focus. One of those things that should have been mono-tasked is President Obama’s healthcare inititiative.
Instead of going to try to get the Olympics, or going across the country trying to get the birther vote, he should be concentrating on the votes that count. President Obama is a Constitutional lawyer he should know that the votes that count are the ones that will give him the sixty votes.
The Democrats seem to have forgotten that they won the election. They also seem to have forgotten that the people elected them to get things done. If they don’t get things done, they may not get re-elected.
If President Obama got the healthcare with a public option that he and the majority of Americans want, then he could be in a better position to help those Congressmen and women that need to be re-elected. He should be concentrating on those people to get their vote.
He should forget about pleasing the Republicans and remember what he said after his Presidential win: that he is the President of all the United States. While the public option may not please everyone, it will please the majority and that’s what our laws require.
Speaking of what our law requires. why don’t we do away with the filabuster option in the Senate? The House has done away with it and I think that the Senate should too. The filabuster makes it almost necessary to get a two thirds vote which should be reserved for Amendments.
P.S. Today is my daughter’s birthday. Every day, but particularly at her birthday, I am reminded I may never create a breathtaking sunset or a Mona Lisa but having a part in creating this Awesome human being makes me thankful to God, and Da Vinci jealous.
P.P.S. Happy Birthday!!! Anjanette Love Dad
Let’s Cut It to the Bone II
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 | Economics, Healthcare | 1 Comment
Now aside from doing away with our Armed Forces being used for a World Poliice force and doing away with the minimum wage I have a few more suggestions. Maybe if we implement some of these we could pay for healthcare.
This next idea might, at first,seem radical but it might be closer to being realistic. We should grow and distribute drugs. Since the war on drugs seems to be going the way of the Viet Nam War maybe we should declare a truce.
Now we all know that drugs in this country are controlled by organized crime and if we control the sale of drugs and tax it we could be making that money. The money we would save from fighting a futile war would again go in the public coffers. We could put more police on the streets although we might not need them since a lot of crime is drug related.
We would be creating more jobs for Americans and fighting the War on Terror at the same time. The Afghans have increased poppy production over twenty times since 2001, who do you think is buying?
One of the things that got us into problems was oil. The countries that have oil have been holding us hostage. Well I recently heard that in the future water may be the new oil. Along with this, food will become scarce and therefore more valuable then oil. If we started to hold the world oil producing countries hostage for food then maybe the price of oil would come down. If not, let them eat sand.
Let’s Cut It to the Bone
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 | Uncategorized | 2 Comments
In the movie Dave, Kevin Kline is told he can have the money for a child care program if he can cut the budget to cover it. He enlists his accountant friend, played by Charles Grodin, to actually cut the budget which they do and they keep the child care program. I never thought I would ever say this but we need Charles Grodin.
I want a good healthcare bill and I think we can manage it if we cut some things. First we should get rid of our Police Force, no not the local one. I mean the one that has been policing since the end of WW II. The one that is in Iraq and Afganistan. The one that had those missions in Korea , Viet Nam and Kuwait. I’m not suggesting that we do away with our Armed Forces, just the policing part.
We have been engaged in police actions since WW II and I can’t think of one success.It seems that all of our interventions have just made the people we were trying to help hate us more.
Let’s do away with the minimum wage. We can no longer pretend that we are not part of a global economy. How are we goiung to compete if our minimum hourly wage is the weekly wage for an other country’s worker? Besides money is just a piece of paper. the value of money is what you can buy with it. I think of it as the loaf of bread theory. If you are getting paid $.10 an hour and you can buy a load of bread then you are better off then the neighboring country that gets $100 an hour but bread costs $101.
Besides the wage is unfair, it didn’t raise everyone’s wages just the ones making the minimum. If I’m making the Federal Minimum wage of $7.25and my co worker is making $7.30and they raise the minimum to $7.29 I just got a raise but my co worker didn’t. Worse than that is the fact that the raise was probably caused by inflation. This means that the loaf of bread that used to cost $7.25 now costs $7.29 which means that my co worker will not be showing up at $.05 beer night.
I have more ways we can cut but I’m saving that for next week cause I am typing this. I literally started personal typing in High School at 25 wpm and ended at 15 wpm so if I type too much my fingers bleed and mess up the keys. Till next week
PS I know that you are wondering if I forgot or maybe I am going by an Aztec calendar( if I am then none of this will matter in 2012) but wasn’t yesterday Tuesday? Yes it was and I have to apologize.
The good news is that everything still has positive and negative effects. Let me explain. When I finish my blog I normally ask my wife to check it out for errors, cause she is smarter than me in everything but picking mates. Once or twice when she was extremely busy I actually posted without her review. Last night I told her I was finished and I expected her to check it and post it. She took it to mean that I had finished and had posted it.
So now the good and bad news, The bad news is that you the reader may have been disappointed and have lost all faith in me. the good news is that my wife now feels guilty and being a typical male I will parlay this into something that is beneficial to me. with any luck I may be busy next Tuesday too.
Easier to Ask
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 | Life, Politics | No Comments
Grace Hopper is credited with the quote “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission,” so she might be to blame. This seems to be the rallying cry of the last few weeks.
The two most recent occurances seem to be from Joe Wilson and Kanye West. At this time the House has decided to formally rebuke Republican Representative Joe Wilson for his “You Lie” comment.
The Republicans are crying that the Democrats are politically motivated. They are saying that they should be talking about healthcare; that they are wasting valuable time. Was this the same Party that wasted time with the Clinton Impeachment? I guess the difference is that they were the ones wasting it then.
I know that many people feel that freedom of speech is at stake here but we don’t truly have unrestricted free speech. You can’t yell fire in a crowded theater. So, yes, there are times when the government has decided to restrict our free speech for the public good.
I have friends that don’t have the same religious views as I do and I know that if I talk to them about religion I might lose friends. If I were to invite them to my house and embarass them by attacking their religion I would be solely responsible for losing their friendship and also a poor host. Not only was Rep. Wilson a poor host, he was also an embarassment to the people he represents. I’ve often heard about Southern Hospitality, if this is an example then I’m staying in the North.
Then we have Kanye West who interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech to inform us of his opinion. Now he had the opportunity to vote like everyone else but he felt that we were waiting to find out, not what the majority of people thought but what Kenye thought: guess again. Now I could understand if it was Jay Z up there cause he was going home with Beyonce but I think he has too much class to do that. Maybe that is the answer. We may live in a classless society but that doesn’t mean our society shouldn’t have class.