Ok, I know I haven't been here in over a month. Fact is, I and the men I work with had been furloughed over the month of April due to circumstances beyond our control. During this furlough, I accomplished several projects that were overdue here around my house like sanding and painting my back porch and other areas desperately in need of paint. A result of all this work was I spent a lot of time at various hardware and paint stores; this post will be a summary of my observations and experiences during the month of April.
As you know, the first weekend of April was Easter weekend; my wife and I made the trek to New Orleans, like we do every Easter, to be with her family. Well, she (my wife) has a friend down there who is not very smart when it comes to money. For example; on Easter Sunday, we announced that I was going to be unemployed for April but I would be receiving half-pay and keeping my benefits. The first thing my wife's friend did was ask her if she wanted to go to to Florida for a weekend. Huh??? What??? We took a serious hit to our finances so why would we want to spend money on a weekend trip...especially when we know our income is about to be seriously cut. This little event triggered something in me; I started observing different behaviors when money is involved, like watching the "Can I Afford It?" portion of the Suze Orman Show. Hello? A person who is over $85K in debt asks Ms. Orman if he can afford to buy a $100K boat? Seriously, can you not figure out that you can't afford to spend $100K when you already owe $85K?!?!?
With all the talk of the recession, bank bailouts, tight credit, and job losses, one may think it is the greedy rich people who are to blame for the whole thing. Well that is true...to a point. You see, a lot of people around this country are losing their homes and possessions because of THEIR OWN dumbness! Now, before you take out your poison pens, you need to hear me out, ok?
When I was preparing to retire from the Navy, we made a decision to pay off all of our debts. When I received an employment offer from a company here in Mississippi, we came down to look at houses. We wanted to buy a house we could afford even if I lost my job. This is exactly what we did; we found and bought a house with a mortgage payment we could pay with my military pension so that, if I lost my job, we wouldn't have to worry. Well, right about that time-frame the housing market was red-hot; properties were being snapped up without so much as a credit or income check. The result of that was we were approached several times with statements like, "With your credit, you could get approved for a $750,000 home!" Our response was always, "We don't WANT a $750,000 home! We WANT a home we can AFFORD!"
So, when the economy started to tank and the housing bubble burst like a bubblegum bubble poked with a finger, we didn't worry one bit. While the news ran on and on about people losing their homes, jobs, and cars, we lived frugally and comfortably. The result of that was we didn't feel the bite of the recession. Well, evidently, this was not the case for a lot of people. When I would watch CNBC, MSNBC or FOX, all I would hear was how bad it was for these poor, poor people who had thousands of dollars in credit card debt and foreclosed homes.
Well let's look at things another way, ok? I temporarily lost my job and took a hit to my income so, I cut back on my spending in order to manage our money better. Even now, when I am getting ready to go back to work, I am still living under the premise of, if we can't pay cash we don't buy. Want to know something? We are living comfortably and have very few worries about the future. I'm not here to toot my own horn nor do we think like we're better than anyone else BUT what I AM here to do is to vent my frustrations with people who are in the "poor me" pity party about the recession.
A major part of why so many people are in so much financial trouble is simply because they confuse the word "right" with the word "privilege". For example, nobody has the "right" to a big house, expensive car and other various toys. Those things must be EARNED and the ONLY WAY to EARN them is to WORK and SAVE the money in order to purchase these things. Nobody has the "right" to drive a vehicle or own a cellphone or big flat screen TV. If one wishes to have these things one must WORK to get the money to purchase them! Too many people in this country think they are entitled to everything they want; the result of which is sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt!
I keep hearing rhetoric like, "We need to spend our way out of this recession." WHAT??? Did the idiots in our government not take simple math in school? Pundits out there are saying our government is spending money like drunk sailors! That statement bothers me because, unlike our elected morons, when we "drunk sailors" ran out of money we simply stopped spending! Notice, people, that I have no singled out either political party because THEY ARE BOTH TO BLAME!!! Also, MOST of the people here who are in financial trouble are there because of THEIR OWN IDIOCY! It's NOT HARD people!! If you don't have the MONEY you don't BUY whatever you want! The priorities and thought-processes in this country are so out of whack, I worry we are digging our own graves! PLEASE, SOMEBODY, bring COMMON SENSE back to our mindset!
02 May 2010
25 March 2010
Stupidity - It's What's in Washington!
Well now, let's see...what were we talking about the other day? Hmmmmm...oh yeah, I know! We were talking about the idiocy in this country! Ok, so maybe the country is not being run by idiots...or is it?
I am in a stupor over this supposed healthcare reform. The whole time the debate has been raging over this thing, I have voiced my opinion time and time again about how bad an idea this is. So far, I have been called a racist and a gun-nut by, get this, CANADIANS! Yes kids, it's true, somewhere along the way the world decided it needed to voice its opinion of our government. Well, the only thing I can really say about that is this, HEY! WORLD! MIND YOUR OWN FREAKIN BUSINESS!!! I mean, it never stops! Any time ANYBODY publicly disagrees with the Joker-In-Chief they are branded a hateful racist! Why? That's what I want to know...why? When I talked about the rampant fraud that permeates our healthcare system now, I was called a racist...even though nothing racial ever came out of my keyboard. So, to back up my claims of fraudulent behavior, let me show you a case or two of this fraud.
A 20-something woman, who still lives with her parents and has a child, whose father she has nothing to do with, plans to move out of her parents' home because she can afford it since she has no bills. Wait, did you hear that? She has a CHILD but thinks she has no bills! When it is pointed out to her that her child will need shots, food, clothes, etc. her reply was, "Well my child is on Medicaid so all the medical stuff is free...and I got WIC to get food." Okay, so there's nothing wrong with a single mom getting a helping hand, right? Sure, until you find out this girl has a job that offers medical benefits but she wants to stay on Medicaid so she can use her money to do important things like party. Uh-huh...so we pay taxes to provide Medicaid and WIC for this?
Here is another one for you. This is the case of a married couple that defrauds the system and thinks nothing of it. The husband has a decent job that pays modestly but his wife does not work. The reasoning is the husband believes a woman's place is in the home; this is Mississippi, after all, and this kind of thinking is still popular here (remind me to tell you the one where my wife overheard a man on a cell-phone outside Wal-Mart one day). The wife starts going through the "change of life" and seeks medical care...but they don't use his insurance; nope, Medicaid picks up the tab for the whole thing and they pay nothing. So, again, we pay taxes to provide Medicaid for this?
Now, before all you good little Obamabots (yeah, I know, the bloom has fallen off the rose for me and it is only now, when it is too late, that I realize the folly of my thinking, but you can be sure I will not be repeating this mistake in 2012) get out your poison pens, let me clue you in on something; there are ABSOLUTELY NO RACIAL TONES IN THESE TWO CASES I HAVE DESCRIBED!!! No, all I am pointing out is that the system we have NOW is so expensive because there are more people like the ones I described here that are draining the government tit dry than there are like us that WORK and PAY TAXES and OBEY THE LAW.
So here's an idea; instead of passing a thousand-page bill that is going to cost nearly a TRILLION DOLLARS, why don't we take a long, hard look at the fraud happening now? Why don't we channel resources into rooting out these fraudsters and PUT THEM IN JAIL? Why can't we imprison the doctors that double-bill or bill for tests and procedures that were never performed? Why can't we take the insurance companies out of the stock-market, force them to be non-profit so they can do better things like FOCUSING on the people they insure rather than their shareholders and their own corporate pockets? Why can't we do these things? Tell me why, I really want to know, because I am willing to bet if we did these things, there would be more than enough money in the Treasury to truly offer universal healthcare to everybody...and that's really not a bad idea, is it?
I am in a stupor over this supposed healthcare reform. The whole time the debate has been raging over this thing, I have voiced my opinion time and time again about how bad an idea this is. So far, I have been called a racist and a gun-nut by, get this, CANADIANS! Yes kids, it's true, somewhere along the way the world decided it needed to voice its opinion of our government. Well, the only thing I can really say about that is this, HEY! WORLD! MIND YOUR OWN FREAKIN BUSINESS!!! I mean, it never stops! Any time ANYBODY publicly disagrees with the Joker-In-Chief they are branded a hateful racist! Why? That's what I want to know...why? When I talked about the rampant fraud that permeates our healthcare system now, I was called a racist...even though nothing racial ever came out of my keyboard. So, to back up my claims of fraudulent behavior, let me show you a case or two of this fraud.
A 20-something woman, who still lives with her parents and has a child, whose father she has nothing to do with, plans to move out of her parents' home because she can afford it since she has no bills. Wait, did you hear that? She has a CHILD but thinks she has no bills! When it is pointed out to her that her child will need shots, food, clothes, etc. her reply was, "Well my child is on Medicaid so all the medical stuff is free...and I got WIC to get food." Okay, so there's nothing wrong with a single mom getting a helping hand, right? Sure, until you find out this girl has a job that offers medical benefits but she wants to stay on Medicaid so she can use her money to do important things like party. Uh-huh...so we pay taxes to provide Medicaid and WIC for this?
Here is another one for you. This is the case of a married couple that defrauds the system and thinks nothing of it. The husband has a decent job that pays modestly but his wife does not work. The reasoning is the husband believes a woman's place is in the home; this is Mississippi, after all, and this kind of thinking is still popular here (remind me to tell you the one where my wife overheard a man on a cell-phone outside Wal-Mart one day). The wife starts going through the "change of life" and seeks medical care...but they don't use his insurance; nope, Medicaid picks up the tab for the whole thing and they pay nothing. So, again, we pay taxes to provide Medicaid for this?
Now, before all you good little Obamabots (yeah, I know, the bloom has fallen off the rose for me and it is only now, when it is too late, that I realize the folly of my thinking, but you can be sure I will not be repeating this mistake in 2012) get out your poison pens, let me clue you in on something; there are ABSOLUTELY NO RACIAL TONES IN THESE TWO CASES I HAVE DESCRIBED!!! No, all I am pointing out is that the system we have NOW is so expensive because there are more people like the ones I described here that are draining the government tit dry than there are like us that WORK and PAY TAXES and OBEY THE LAW.
So here's an idea; instead of passing a thousand-page bill that is going to cost nearly a TRILLION DOLLARS, why don't we take a long, hard look at the fraud happening now? Why don't we channel resources into rooting out these fraudsters and PUT THEM IN JAIL? Why can't we imprison the doctors that double-bill or bill for tests and procedures that were never performed? Why can't we take the insurance companies out of the stock-market, force them to be non-profit so they can do better things like FOCUSING on the people they insure rather than their shareholders and their own corporate pockets? Why can't we do these things? Tell me why, I really want to know, because I am willing to bet if we did these things, there would be more than enough money in the Treasury to truly offer universal healthcare to everybody...and that's really not a bad idea, is it?
20 March 2010
What Happened To My Country???
I have been getting more and more aggravated lately. I sat here for days trying to figure out what was aggravating me so much and I think I finally hit it. Our country is endangered...no, I am not ranting against immigration, Democrats, Republicans or anything like that. No, what I AM ranting about is the weakening of American society. Essentially, what I am saying is, we are turning into a nation of pantie-wastes! Thanks to the misguided, inane notion that society needs to make life as fair as possible, we are creating a generation of ignorant, weak, entitlement-minded idiots!
When I was a kid, I played Little League Baseball. We had to tryout for a position on the team and if you weren't good enough, you did not make the cut, period; there was no thought that every kid should get to play. No, if you couldn't hit, catch or throw you didn't make the team. The reasoning was like this; we are competing against other teams for a Championship! Yes, people, we had a Championship where the two BEST teams competed for a TROPHY! The losing team did NOT get a trophy nor did every kid on the winning team get an individual trophy! Do you want to know why? Really, do you want to know? Simply put, the trophy was a TEAM TROPHY! Every kid on the winning team worked together to win; simple and fair. What I think happened, though, was some of the kids who were not good enough grew up and became parents. Once their kids were old enough to tryout, they remembered the "pain" of not being picked. So, they took over youth sports and changed the rules so that every kid who tried out made the team and every kid on every team got a trophy just for being there because this would help their "self-esteem". Gone is the idea of TEAMWORK and PRACTICE. Why bother coaching and practicing when everybody is going to get a trophy anyway?
That's not the only thing that bothers me today about society; no, there is so much more but the baseball analogy is the broadest description for the problems we have today. Check this out; it used to be that in school, if you failed you got an "F" on your report card and could be held back if necessary. Nowadays there are no "F"'s anymore; they've been replaced with kinder, gentler marks like "I" for Incomplete...and nowadays it seems like kids today are not TAUGHT. They are not taught to think critically and study; they are taught instead on how to pass a standardized test and they are asked how do they feel about a certain subject. HUH??? To quote George Carlin, "We have no more stupid people, we now have "challenged" or "learning disabled"; nobody is crippled or retarded anymore, we now have "handicapable" or "differently abled"; people don't die anymore, they "pass on" or "expire". This is where liberal thought and political correctness came from. Essentially, the people who couldn't cut it on the playing field as kids grew up and changed the rules to what THEY thought was fair.
It's not just the liberals and political correctness that are ruining us. Nope, the conservative, Bible-thumping crowd is just as bad. These are the ones who try to protect their kids from EVERYTHING. They ranted about parental advisories on video games, the v-chip in televisions, and the television and movie rating systems. These are the ones who, in the insane thought that teaching kids sex-education will cause them to have sex. These are the morons who want this country to go back to 1950. They are so stuck in their mindset that they oppose growth and learning, spurn science and Darwinism, and literally want to go back to Ward and June Cleaver or Andy Griffith. This notion is just as dangerous as the misguided liberal notion that we can make the world absolutely fair for everybody.
I knew we were in trouble when, before a show on Discovery Channel, I read a disclosure that roughly read as, "Some material may be inappropriate for some audiences", I wondered what kind of show it was...are you ready for this? The show was called "Two Weeks in Hell" and covered the two week testing period to be eligible for Green Beret training in the Army. HUH??? I watched the show and for the life of me I could not find ANYTHING that could POSSIBLY be inappropriate or graphic. A bunch of soldiers being grilled and examined to see if they have the basic skills and mindset needed to endure Green Beret training and eventually BE a part of the elite unit. I can only think that they had to put the disclaimer up because somewhere in America some IDIOT was offended that the Army would not accept everybody who applied.
Today, it seems like the majority of Americans think they are "owed" something; they are "entitled" to have everything they want. No personal responsibility, no rules, no guidelines, no kind of regulation at all because they are ENTITLED to live however they want. Normally, I would not have a problem with that; the Declaration of Independence says it perfectly when it says we all have a right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". The PROBLEM lies with the last of that trilogy; PURSUIT of happiness. It doesn't say everybody is entitled to a trophy just for being on a team nor does it say everybody is entitled to a 2,200 square foot home with a 2 1/2 car garage. All it says is everybody has the right to PURSUE those things. Everybody has the right to educate themselves and work hard to acquire the things that would make them happy. Life is not fair, people, DEAL WITH IT! You are trying so hard to preserve your kids' self-esteem that you are crippling them! You are preventing them from ever experiencing the satisfaction of having built something or earned something! STOP!!!
Remember this, without the bad there can be no good! Without death there is no life! Without grief there can be no joy! Without effort there can be no appreciation! If you give your kids everything they never learn how to EARN! If you protect your kids from everything bad, they will not know what to avoid when they are grown! When you give welfare to the poor, you take away their dignity and motivation! Changing education to focus more on how the child feels will severely affect the child's ability to THINK! So make your kids play outside! Let them play cowboys and indians without worrying about offending the indians! Let them climb trees and ride their bicycles without knee, ankle and shoulder pads! Let them fall down and skin their knees! Let them settle their playground differences themselves...even if it means a fistfight! In other words, people, let your kids GROW and LEARN!
This isn't the end, people, stay tuned for more ranting...
When I was a kid, I played Little League Baseball. We had to tryout for a position on the team and if you weren't good enough, you did not make the cut, period; there was no thought that every kid should get to play. No, if you couldn't hit, catch or throw you didn't make the team. The reasoning was like this; we are competing against other teams for a Championship! Yes, people, we had a Championship where the two BEST teams competed for a TROPHY! The losing team did NOT get a trophy nor did every kid on the winning team get an individual trophy! Do you want to know why? Really, do you want to know? Simply put, the trophy was a TEAM TROPHY! Every kid on the winning team worked together to win; simple and fair. What I think happened, though, was some of the kids who were not good enough grew up and became parents. Once their kids were old enough to tryout, they remembered the "pain" of not being picked. So, they took over youth sports and changed the rules so that every kid who tried out made the team and every kid on every team got a trophy just for being there because this would help their "self-esteem". Gone is the idea of TEAMWORK and PRACTICE. Why bother coaching and practicing when everybody is going to get a trophy anyway?
That's not the only thing that bothers me today about society; no, there is so much more but the baseball analogy is the broadest description for the problems we have today. Check this out; it used to be that in school, if you failed you got an "F" on your report card and could be held back if necessary. Nowadays there are no "F"'s anymore; they've been replaced with kinder, gentler marks like "I" for Incomplete...and nowadays it seems like kids today are not TAUGHT. They are not taught to think critically and study; they are taught instead on how to pass a standardized test and they are asked how do they feel about a certain subject. HUH??? To quote George Carlin, "We have no more stupid people, we now have "challenged" or "learning disabled"; nobody is crippled or retarded anymore, we now have "handicapable" or "differently abled"; people don't die anymore, they "pass on" or "expire". This is where liberal thought and political correctness came from. Essentially, the people who couldn't cut it on the playing field as kids grew up and changed the rules to what THEY thought was fair.
It's not just the liberals and political correctness that are ruining us. Nope, the conservative, Bible-thumping crowd is just as bad. These are the ones who try to protect their kids from EVERYTHING. They ranted about parental advisories on video games, the v-chip in televisions, and the television and movie rating systems. These are the ones who, in the insane thought that teaching kids sex-education will cause them to have sex. These are the morons who want this country to go back to 1950. They are so stuck in their mindset that they oppose growth and learning, spurn science and Darwinism, and literally want to go back to Ward and June Cleaver or Andy Griffith. This notion is just as dangerous as the misguided liberal notion that we can make the world absolutely fair for everybody.
I knew we were in trouble when, before a show on Discovery Channel, I read a disclosure that roughly read as, "Some material may be inappropriate for some audiences", I wondered what kind of show it was...are you ready for this? The show was called "Two Weeks in Hell" and covered the two week testing period to be eligible for Green Beret training in the Army. HUH??? I watched the show and for the life of me I could not find ANYTHING that could POSSIBLY be inappropriate or graphic. A bunch of soldiers being grilled and examined to see if they have the basic skills and mindset needed to endure Green Beret training and eventually BE a part of the elite unit. I can only think that they had to put the disclaimer up because somewhere in America some IDIOT was offended that the Army would not accept everybody who applied.
Today, it seems like the majority of Americans think they are "owed" something; they are "entitled" to have everything they want. No personal responsibility, no rules, no guidelines, no kind of regulation at all because they are ENTITLED to live however they want. Normally, I would not have a problem with that; the Declaration of Independence says it perfectly when it says we all have a right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". The PROBLEM lies with the last of that trilogy; PURSUIT of happiness. It doesn't say everybody is entitled to a trophy just for being on a team nor does it say everybody is entitled to a 2,200 square foot home with a 2 1/2 car garage. All it says is everybody has the right to PURSUE those things. Everybody has the right to educate themselves and work hard to acquire the things that would make them happy. Life is not fair, people, DEAL WITH IT! You are trying so hard to preserve your kids' self-esteem that you are crippling them! You are preventing them from ever experiencing the satisfaction of having built something or earned something! STOP!!!
Remember this, without the bad there can be no good! Without death there is no life! Without grief there can be no joy! Without effort there can be no appreciation! If you give your kids everything they never learn how to EARN! If you protect your kids from everything bad, they will not know what to avoid when they are grown! When you give welfare to the poor, you take away their dignity and motivation! Changing education to focus more on how the child feels will severely affect the child's ability to THINK! So make your kids play outside! Let them play cowboys and indians without worrying about offending the indians! Let them climb trees and ride their bicycles without knee, ankle and shoulder pads! Let them fall down and skin their knees! Let them settle their playground differences themselves...even if it means a fistfight! In other words, people, let your kids GROW and LEARN!
This isn't the end, people, stay tuned for more ranting...
02 March 2010
Stupidity and Ignorance: The Latest Fad
I have been shaking my head at recent news reports on television, internet and in print. It seems that there has been a rise in auto accidents lately due to, get this, WINTER WEATHER! Oh my goodness, imagine that, people do not know how to drive in snow and ice! That's not all, folks, the Supreme Court is now hearing a case from Chicago arguing that Chicago's 28 year old ban on handguns is unconstitutional. Can anyone tell me what these two stories have in common and how do they apply to the title of this post? Simply put, it seems to me that ignorance, stupidity and/or apathy are what reigns supreme in the United States today.
So, let's see if I can make my point to you clear. Let's start with cars. Nowadays it seems, at first glance, that automotive technology such as anti-lock brakes, front and side airbags, and now auto-braking systems are wonderful advances that would cut down the number of accidents and related fatalities on our roads and highways. You'd think they would...but they won't. Nope, the smarter they make our cars, the dumber we get. It's not too hard to see this principle in action. Back in the 60's and early 70's, cars had steel dashboards and lap seatbelts if they had seatbelts at all. Every bump and pothole was felt inside the car because the stiff suspensions transferred the motion from the shocks and struts through the frame to the driver. I'm not saying there weren't distracted drivers back then, I'm just saying that back then most people were careful when they drove because there were no safety systems then.
Now look at today; suspension systems are so sophisticated now that road feel is almost non-existent. Cruise control, anti-lock brakes and airbags lull drivers into a false sense of security. People think that modern technology has made their cars idiot-proof. Again, this is not hard to see; take a recent snowstorm we had here in Mississippi. Six inches of snow fell that Friday. I know of at least one person who professed to running off the road several times that day...his full-size pickup with mudder tires couldn't handle the slippery conditions (I think it may also have been his speed, but, hey, that's just me). Automakers boast about traction control, all-wheel drive, anti-lock brakes, and now, auto-braking systems (Volvo). Should be real safe yet the number and severity of auto accidents is on the rise. It's not the car's fault, people; it's the IDIOT BEHIND THE WHEEL! This is a PRIME example of stupidity and ignorance.
Now let's look at the Second Amendment (again). Chicago has had a handgun ban in effect for 28 years, yet the South Side has become increasingly violent over this time. Some Chicago residents have challenged the ban and this case is now in front of the Supreme Court (McDonald v. Chicago, 08-1521). Mayor Richard Daley has even come out and stated that government has, "...for health and safety to pass reasonable laws dealing with the protection and health of the people of the city of Chicago." What the good mayor leaves out is the rising violent crime rate in his fair city. These are not "gun nuts" that are suing the city. Nope these Chicago residents are, specifically, ordinary citizens. The following quote from the AP article says, "A couple worries that burglars who tried to break in when the wife was home alone will return. A retiree fears the drug dealers and junkies just outside his window will attempt — again — to steal what he spent a lifetime earning. And a businessman wants to protect himself as he could when he was a police officer." Wow, what a nutty bunch, huh? The gun-grabbers are, once again, predicting dire straits and a return to "The Wild West" if citizens are allowed to own and carry guns; despite mounting evidence that proves the opposite is true. It's not hard to see; if a criminal thinks you are waiting inside your house with a 12 gauge, said criminal is going to think twice about breaking into your home.
So here we sit, fighting the ignorance and stupidity of the Brady bunch and the majority of Democrat politicians who think they have to control how we live. Now we are also fighting the same ignorant and stupid Dems who want to control how we drive. Common sense is dead in this country, folks. We have become a nation of lazy idiots that no longer possess the ability to think critically about situations without relying on idiot talking heads in the media and in Washington. Heaven help us.
So, let's see if I can make my point to you clear. Let's start with cars. Nowadays it seems, at first glance, that automotive technology such as anti-lock brakes, front and side airbags, and now auto-braking systems are wonderful advances that would cut down the number of accidents and related fatalities on our roads and highways. You'd think they would...but they won't. Nope, the smarter they make our cars, the dumber we get. It's not too hard to see this principle in action. Back in the 60's and early 70's, cars had steel dashboards and lap seatbelts if they had seatbelts at all. Every bump and pothole was felt inside the car because the stiff suspensions transferred the motion from the shocks and struts through the frame to the driver. I'm not saying there weren't distracted drivers back then, I'm just saying that back then most people were careful when they drove because there were no safety systems then.
Now look at today; suspension systems are so sophisticated now that road feel is almost non-existent. Cruise control, anti-lock brakes and airbags lull drivers into a false sense of security. People think that modern technology has made their cars idiot-proof. Again, this is not hard to see; take a recent snowstorm we had here in Mississippi. Six inches of snow fell that Friday. I know of at least one person who professed to running off the road several times that day...his full-size pickup with mudder tires couldn't handle the slippery conditions (I think it may also have been his speed, but, hey, that's just me). Automakers boast about traction control, all-wheel drive, anti-lock brakes, and now, auto-braking systems (Volvo). Should be real safe yet the number and severity of auto accidents is on the rise. It's not the car's fault, people; it's the IDIOT BEHIND THE WHEEL! This is a PRIME example of stupidity and ignorance.
Now let's look at the Second Amendment (again). Chicago has had a handgun ban in effect for 28 years, yet the South Side has become increasingly violent over this time. Some Chicago residents have challenged the ban and this case is now in front of the Supreme Court (McDonald v. Chicago, 08-1521). Mayor Richard Daley has even come out and stated that government has, "...for health and safety to pass reasonable laws dealing with the protection and health of the people of the city of Chicago." What the good mayor leaves out is the rising violent crime rate in his fair city. These are not "gun nuts" that are suing the city. Nope these Chicago residents are, specifically, ordinary citizens. The following quote from the AP article says, "A couple worries that burglars who tried to break in when the wife was home alone will return. A retiree fears the drug dealers and junkies just outside his window will attempt — again — to steal what he spent a lifetime earning. And a businessman wants to protect himself as he could when he was a police officer." Wow, what a nutty bunch, huh? The gun-grabbers are, once again, predicting dire straits and a return to "The Wild West" if citizens are allowed to own and carry guns; despite mounting evidence that proves the opposite is true. It's not hard to see; if a criminal thinks you are waiting inside your house with a 12 gauge, said criminal is going to think twice about breaking into your home.
So here we sit, fighting the ignorance and stupidity of the Brady bunch and the majority of Democrat politicians who think they have to control how we live. Now we are also fighting the same ignorant and stupid Dems who want to control how we drive. Common sense is dead in this country, folks. We have become a nation of lazy idiots that no longer possess the ability to think critically about situations without relying on idiot talking heads in the media and in Washington. Heaven help us.
25 February 2010
Real Biker Or Not?
Okay folks, I am going to be incognito for a while after tomorrow. I am going in to have my right hand operated on to repair the carpal tunnel syndrome that has plagued me for more than 10 years now. I am finally tired of living with the pain, phantom itching, numbness and all the other good good feelings that come with CTS. That's not what I am writing about in this post though, friends. Nope, I want to go back to an earlier posting of mine concerning "poser" bikers. Why do I want to re-hash this, you ask? Well, it's not because I want to beat a dead horse; no, I want to talk about an experience I had tonight.
Okay, it starts like this; this week I have had to stay away from certain painkillers and anti-inflammatories for seven days because of the procedure I am undergoing tomorrow. Those of you who know me personally know that I am rated at 70% disabled by the VA; a direct result of that is I take a mini-pharmacy of pills twice daily to keep the pain at bay. So, I have not been in the best of moods this week and neither has my wife because on top of my sunny disposition, she has been dealing with a cold this week. Yeah, it has not been pleasant in our household this past week. One thing we have not done a lot of this week is cook dinner, mainly because we have been both feeling so bad that cooking was out of the question and tonight was no exception.
Down here in the bucolic town that is Brandon, Mississippi, restaurants are not something we have a lot of. There is one little place here that makes pretty good sandwiches and things so we called them and ordered our dinner. I drove to this little place and, being a biker myself, was kind of surprised to see two brand stinkin-new Harleys parked in front...especially when the low tonight is supposed to go down to the 20's. I walked into the place and saw about two dozen people sitting around, swilling beer and eating crawfish in biker leathers. Now...wait a minute...there were only two bikes out front so how do we have 20 or more in here dressed like they've been riding in cold weather? Well, remember what we talked about the other day about the difference between a poser and a biker? Yeah, most of these "bikers" had driven their cages (cars, to the non-biker) for their "bike night". I noticed on the back of a couple of vests a patch that said "Spirit Riders" and an indian dream-catcher. Shaking my head to myself, I chuckled a bit at just how pathetic this scene actually was.
So, I walked up to the counter and it was easy to see they were slammed, so I did a "Helllooooo?" a couple of times to try and get someone's attention. It was at this point that one of these "bikers" must have decided I needed a talking-to and suggested to me that I try a little patience. I am pretty sure you guys out there know the look I gave this person...you know it; I gave him the "what business is it of yours?" looks. I finally got one of the girls' attention and asked about the order we had phoned in. Just a couple of minutes and it'll be ready, we promise. No problem, I said...hell as long as they know I'm here and they're doing their best, I have nothing to complain about, right? So I stood there at the counter, quietly waiting for my order and being alone inside myself.
Then I heard something...I wasn't sure I heard correctly but now my ears were perked up and it came again. Mister "bad-ass biker" who drove his pickup truck to "bike night" was speaking loud enough about the "asshole at the counter". Seeing as I was the only one actually AT the counter, it wasn't hard to deduce he was talking about me. Maybe, I thought, he doesn't realize that I am a biker too. I mean, I drove my truck and I was wearing my gray fleece and was totally devoid of any type of clothing or accessory that would have advertised me as a biker. I tuned my ears to the loudmouth and, sure as hell, he was talking about me and singling me out, trying to bait me into a fight.
Well, you know, I am just old enough to know that the worst thing I could do would be to acknowledge this guy and then have to take on him and 15 of his poser buddies, so, I stood quietly at the counter and decided on my plan of action. See, I am not normally the one who starts the fight now; rather, I am the one who usually ends the fight. So, I listened to him talking a little bit louder each time he said something and mentally prepared myself to knock this idiot out of his boots if he so much as touches me. Finally, my order came, I paid for it, and turned to leave. I did shake my head and smile a little smile as I walked past...I couldn't help it, I tried to resist but I couldn't help it; right when he was looking directly at me, I very clearly mouthed, "ignorant f***s". Then I walked outside to my truck.
I didn't sit and actually wait for anybody to come out but I did move just a wee bit slower than normal, just to see. Nobody came out, I got in my truck and left. Driving home, I laughed out loud as I thought about the absurdity of the situation. A bunch of guys, dressed out in leathers, chaps and bandannas, acting like bad-asses and only TWO actually rode their bikes out...and ONE of them that rode was a woman. You know, I think Trey Parker and Matt Stone got it right on their SouthPark episode. "Bikers" like those guys...yep, they're fags...or posers...or ignorant redneck hillbilly pretenders...take your pick...they're pathetic little posers.
Okay, it starts like this; this week I have had to stay away from certain painkillers and anti-inflammatories for seven days because of the procedure I am undergoing tomorrow. Those of you who know me personally know that I am rated at 70% disabled by the VA; a direct result of that is I take a mini-pharmacy of pills twice daily to keep the pain at bay. So, I have not been in the best of moods this week and neither has my wife because on top of my sunny disposition, she has been dealing with a cold this week. Yeah, it has not been pleasant in our household this past week. One thing we have not done a lot of this week is cook dinner, mainly because we have been both feeling so bad that cooking was out of the question and tonight was no exception.
Down here in the bucolic town that is Brandon, Mississippi, restaurants are not something we have a lot of. There is one little place here that makes pretty good sandwiches and things so we called them and ordered our dinner. I drove to this little place and, being a biker myself, was kind of surprised to see two brand stinkin-new Harleys parked in front...especially when the low tonight is supposed to go down to the 20's. I walked into the place and saw about two dozen people sitting around, swilling beer and eating crawfish in biker leathers. Now...wait a minute...there were only two bikes out front so how do we have 20 or more in here dressed like they've been riding in cold weather? Well, remember what we talked about the other day about the difference between a poser and a biker? Yeah, most of these "bikers" had driven their cages (cars, to the non-biker) for their "bike night". I noticed on the back of a couple of vests a patch that said "Spirit Riders" and an indian dream-catcher. Shaking my head to myself, I chuckled a bit at just how pathetic this scene actually was.
So, I walked up to the counter and it was easy to see they were slammed, so I did a "Helllooooo?" a couple of times to try and get someone's attention. It was at this point that one of these "bikers" must have decided I needed a talking-to and suggested to me that I try a little patience. I am pretty sure you guys out there know the look I gave this person...you know it; I gave him the "what business is it of yours?" looks. I finally got one of the girls' attention and asked about the order we had phoned in. Just a couple of minutes and it'll be ready, we promise. No problem, I said...hell as long as they know I'm here and they're doing their best, I have nothing to complain about, right? So I stood there at the counter, quietly waiting for my order and being alone inside myself.
Then I heard something...I wasn't sure I heard correctly but now my ears were perked up and it came again. Mister "bad-ass biker" who drove his pickup truck to "bike night" was speaking loud enough about the "asshole at the counter". Seeing as I was the only one actually AT the counter, it wasn't hard to deduce he was talking about me. Maybe, I thought, he doesn't realize that I am a biker too. I mean, I drove my truck and I was wearing my gray fleece and was totally devoid of any type of clothing or accessory that would have advertised me as a biker. I tuned my ears to the loudmouth and, sure as hell, he was talking about me and singling me out, trying to bait me into a fight.
Well, you know, I am just old enough to know that the worst thing I could do would be to acknowledge this guy and then have to take on him and 15 of his poser buddies, so, I stood quietly at the counter and decided on my plan of action. See, I am not normally the one who starts the fight now; rather, I am the one who usually ends the fight. So, I listened to him talking a little bit louder each time he said something and mentally prepared myself to knock this idiot out of his boots if he so much as touches me. Finally, my order came, I paid for it, and turned to leave. I did shake my head and smile a little smile as I walked past...I couldn't help it, I tried to resist but I couldn't help it; right when he was looking directly at me, I very clearly mouthed, "ignorant f***s". Then I walked outside to my truck.
I didn't sit and actually wait for anybody to come out but I did move just a wee bit slower than normal, just to see. Nobody came out, I got in my truck and left. Driving home, I laughed out loud as I thought about the absurdity of the situation. A bunch of guys, dressed out in leathers, chaps and bandannas, acting like bad-asses and only TWO actually rode their bikes out...and ONE of them that rode was a woman. You know, I think Trey Parker and Matt Stone got it right on their SouthPark episode. "Bikers" like those guys...yep, they're fags...or posers...or ignorant redneck hillbilly pretenders...take your pick...they're pathetic little posers.
19 February 2010
Get A Grip And Go Away Sarah Palin!!!!!
Okay, look; I don't know about anybody else but Sarah Palin is proving over and over again that she is nothing but a self-serving, two-faced idiot bitch who has absolutely no business receiving the publicity she has. I'm sure you all know by now about how Sarah and her daughter Bristol excoriated the creators of "Family Guy" over their Valentine's Day episode. In the episode Chris meets a girl with Down Syndrome; she tells him she is the daughter of “the former governor of Alaska.”
Well now, that was just completely unacceptable to Ms. Palin and her daughter; their righteous anger was flowing like lava from Kilauea. I think they were a little over the top but I will let you decide for yourself; Sarah's vitriolic statement included lines such as the “Family Guy...really isn’t funny” and that this was the work of “cruel, cold-hearted people.” Bristol, the daughter, wrote that the “Family Guy” writers were making fun of her brother and family and they were "heartless jerks.” WHOA!!! HOLD ON!! Now wait just a minute!! This is the same idiot that vehemently attacked Rahm Emanuel for saying an act was retarded, that that was hate speech and then gave Rush Limbaugh a pass when he called liberals retards!!! For Pete's sake; are you telling me that Sarah Palin, during her campaign for Vice President, denounced political correctness but now has TWICE come out and demanded political correctness? Why, because PC is bad unless it concerns her family and then PC must be observed?!? Guess what sweetheart, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!!!
Now look, people, personally I can't stand political correctness in any form. I think one of the biggest tragedies in this country is that people have forgotten how to be self-deprecating. I'm also not a fan of Family Guy; not for any kind of pc reason, I just don't think the show is that good. I may have just become a fan of the show, though, thanks to Andrea Friedman. She wrote a letter to the New York Times saying Sarah Palin doesn't have a sense of humor. Ms. Friedman is a 39 year old woman with Down Syndrome who did the voice-over for the Family Guy character.
This is the letter she wrote, in full, for some reason the "liberal" New York Times didn't print the whole thing:
"My name is Andrea Fay Friedman. I was born with Down syndrome. I played the role of Ellen on the "Extra Large Medium" episode of Family Guy that was broadcast on Valentine's day. Although they gave me red hair on the show, I am really a blonde. I also wore a red wig for my role in " Smudge" but I was a blonde in "Life Goes On". I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line "I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska" was very funny. I think the word is "sarcasm".
In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life. My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes."
Got that, people? This lady thinks Sarah Palin is grubbing for sympathy and votes in the worst way possible; Palin is prostituting her son to garner the votes she needs in order to make a run for the Oval Office in 2012. Andrea Friedman knows what Sarah Palin is all about!! I loved her letter but I particularly loved the last sentence of her letter; she knows EXACTLY what type of person Sarah Palin is.
The biggest problem I have with this is, THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE WHO LOVE HER! WHY?!? How can ANYONE still support this pathetic waste of space? MY GOD, what does she have to do to finally convince the citizens of this country that she is an ignorant buffoon? I mean, COME ON, how in the world can ANYBODY support this moron after this!?!?
Well now, that was just completely unacceptable to Ms. Palin and her daughter; their righteous anger was flowing like lava from Kilauea. I think they were a little over the top but I will let you decide for yourself; Sarah's vitriolic statement included lines such as the “Family Guy...really isn’t funny” and that this was the work of “cruel, cold-hearted people.” Bristol, the daughter, wrote that the “Family Guy” writers were making fun of her brother and family and they were "heartless jerks.” WHOA!!! HOLD ON!! Now wait just a minute!! This is the same idiot that vehemently attacked Rahm Emanuel for saying an act was retarded, that that was hate speech and then gave Rush Limbaugh a pass when he called liberals retards!!! For Pete's sake; are you telling me that Sarah Palin, during her campaign for Vice President, denounced political correctness but now has TWICE come out and demanded political correctness? Why, because PC is bad unless it concerns her family and then PC must be observed?!? Guess what sweetheart, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!!!
Now look, people, personally I can't stand political correctness in any form. I think one of the biggest tragedies in this country is that people have forgotten how to be self-deprecating. I'm also not a fan of Family Guy; not for any kind of pc reason, I just don't think the show is that good. I may have just become a fan of the show, though, thanks to Andrea Friedman. She wrote a letter to the New York Times saying Sarah Palin doesn't have a sense of humor. Ms. Friedman is a 39 year old woman with Down Syndrome who did the voice-over for the Family Guy character.
This is the letter she wrote, in full, for some reason the "liberal" New York Times didn't print the whole thing:
"My name is Andrea Fay Friedman. I was born with Down syndrome. I played the role of Ellen on the "Extra Large Medium" episode of Family Guy that was broadcast on Valentine's day. Although they gave me red hair on the show, I am really a blonde. I also wore a red wig for my role in " Smudge" but I was a blonde in "Life Goes On". I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line "I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska" was very funny. I think the word is "sarcasm".
In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life. My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes."
Got that, people? This lady thinks Sarah Palin is grubbing for sympathy and votes in the worst way possible; Palin is prostituting her son to garner the votes she needs in order to make a run for the Oval Office in 2012. Andrea Friedman knows what Sarah Palin is all about!! I loved her letter but I particularly loved the last sentence of her letter; she knows EXACTLY what type of person Sarah Palin is.
The biggest problem I have with this is, THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE WHO LOVE HER! WHY?!? How can ANYONE still support this pathetic waste of space? MY GOD, what does she have to do to finally convince the citizens of this country that she is an ignorant buffoon? I mean, COME ON, how in the world can ANYBODY support this moron after this!?!?
17 February 2010
Biker or Poser?
Tell me, dear readers...what, exactly is your idea of a biker? If you don't own a motorcycle or have never even ridden a motorcycle, don't fret; I still want to know your thoughts as well. Why am I asking this question? I'm sure you all would like to know, so...here goes.
It seems there is an awful lot of debate, lately, in the "biker world" about the differences between a "biker" and a "poser". It seems there are many people out there who ride motorcycles consider themselves "bikers" and anyone who is different from them is a "poser". Now, I'm pretty sure some of you out there are thinking, "What's the damned difference?" or "Who cares?" and, normally would agree with you because, to tell the truth, I don't give a damn, but the whole thing is bothersome to me; kind of like the chicken or the egg debate.
See, I ride a 2004 Harley Electra-Glide Standard (FLHT to those "in the know"); I bought it used after my 2003 DynaWideGlide (FXDWG) was run over in 2006 in our apartment parking lot (we lived in Virginia Beach at the time) by a sweet little 60-something lady who SWORE it wasn't her fault...even though her car was basically PARKED on top of my bike. My wife rode a Honda Shadow Spirit 750; hers was totalled by the same sweet little old lady. My wife thought, at first, she wanted a Harley, so we went hunting. After sitting on several different makes and styles of Harleys, she looked at me and, almost in tears asked if I would be upset that she wanted another Honda. My answer to her was, "You can have whatever bike you want. Why would I be upset?" We ended up buying a 2004 Honda VTX 1300 for my wife; she loved it and loves riding it whenever we get the chance to ride together.
That's part of what got me started wondering about the whole biker/poser thing. When we lived in Virginia Beach, we had a lot of friends we rode with all the time; most of them rode Harleys but there also were Hondas, Triumphs and various other street machines. Sometimes when we were getting ready to ride, one of our friends would playfully ask my wife if her bike was running; that, to me, is fun humor shared by a group of people who just want to ride. They didn't care what you rode, as long as you rode. Well, every once in a while we would be at a local watering hole and some jagoff would mouth off about the Honda not belonging amongst the Harleys; most of the time, said jagoff was laughed at and told to shut up but...sometimes...there was that one a-hole who wouldn't let it go...and that's when I would have a problem.
There are some out there who think that unless you turn your own wrenches on your own bike, you are a poser; others think if you wear a Harley t-shirt, jacket, gloves and boots, you are a poser; and still others think that if you only ride on the weekends or you don't ride a Harley, you are a poser. THIS is where I have the heartburn with these idiots and this posting, my friends, is my way of telling those idiots to shut up and ride.
I wear Harley t-shirts...I have a Harley leather jacket and gloves I wear sometimes when it is cold out; I have also ridden from Virginia to upstate New York and back, and to New Orleans, then Texas, and back to Virginia. I've ridden in searing heat, bitter cold, thunderstorms, rain showers, and snow storms. Living in Mississippi, I ride to South Carolina in May for Spring Bike Week and then back to Mississippi. Yet, because I wear a Harley t-shirt and wear a Harley jacket and Harley gloves, some think I am a poser; the funny thing is the only time it comes up is when I'm online in a biker forum...for some reason these "men" don't say it to my face.
My brutha from anutha mutha, Iron Horse Cowboy (who writes the blog "The View From Downrange") is another guy who is called a poser alot, although not to his face either. My friend rides a really nice Harley Nightster, which is a variant of the original Sportster; he wears Harley clothing and Harley boots...and he also rides his Nightster from his place in South Carolina to his dad's in North Carolina regularly. If you think that's not such a long trip, you try it on a motorcycle and then tell me it's not that far. He rides to work every chance he gets and when Spring Bike Week comes around, I ride to his place and then we ride to Myrtle Beach together.
I think you can get what my definition of a biker and a poser is...can't you? Simply put, if you own a motorcycle and you ride it, you are a biker...no matter what you wear or ride, no matter how often or how far you ride, you are still a biker. A poser, in my book, is one who wears the clothing and hangs out in the bars but doesn't ride a bike or even own a bike. Personally, I don't understand people like that; why would you want to dress and act like a biker if you don't have a bike? My friend IHC and I have the same opinions on this subject; I want to know what you think.
It seems there is an awful lot of debate, lately, in the "biker world" about the differences between a "biker" and a "poser". It seems there are many people out there who ride motorcycles consider themselves "bikers" and anyone who is different from them is a "poser". Now, I'm pretty sure some of you out there are thinking, "What's the damned difference?" or "Who cares?" and, normally would agree with you because, to tell the truth, I don't give a damn, but the whole thing is bothersome to me; kind of like the chicken or the egg debate.
See, I ride a 2004 Harley Electra-Glide Standard (FLHT to those "in the know"); I bought it used after my 2003 DynaWideGlide (FXDWG) was run over in 2006 in our apartment parking lot (we lived in Virginia Beach at the time) by a sweet little 60-something lady who SWORE it wasn't her fault...even though her car was basically PARKED on top of my bike. My wife rode a Honda Shadow Spirit 750; hers was totalled by the same sweet little old lady. My wife thought, at first, she wanted a Harley, so we went hunting. After sitting on several different makes and styles of Harleys, she looked at me and, almost in tears asked if I would be upset that she wanted another Honda. My answer to her was, "You can have whatever bike you want. Why would I be upset?" We ended up buying a 2004 Honda VTX 1300 for my wife; she loved it and loves riding it whenever we get the chance to ride together.
That's part of what got me started wondering about the whole biker/poser thing. When we lived in Virginia Beach, we had a lot of friends we rode with all the time; most of them rode Harleys but there also were Hondas, Triumphs and various other street machines. Sometimes when we were getting ready to ride, one of our friends would playfully ask my wife if her bike was running; that, to me, is fun humor shared by a group of people who just want to ride. They didn't care what you rode, as long as you rode. Well, every once in a while we would be at a local watering hole and some jagoff would mouth off about the Honda not belonging amongst the Harleys; most of the time, said jagoff was laughed at and told to shut up but...sometimes...there was that one a-hole who wouldn't let it go...and that's when I would have a problem.
There are some out there who think that unless you turn your own wrenches on your own bike, you are a poser; others think if you wear a Harley t-shirt, jacket, gloves and boots, you are a poser; and still others think that if you only ride on the weekends or you don't ride a Harley, you are a poser. THIS is where I have the heartburn with these idiots and this posting, my friends, is my way of telling those idiots to shut up and ride.
I wear Harley t-shirts...I have a Harley leather jacket and gloves I wear sometimes when it is cold out; I have also ridden from Virginia to upstate New York and back, and to New Orleans, then Texas, and back to Virginia. I've ridden in searing heat, bitter cold, thunderstorms, rain showers, and snow storms. Living in Mississippi, I ride to South Carolina in May for Spring Bike Week and then back to Mississippi. Yet, because I wear a Harley t-shirt and wear a Harley jacket and Harley gloves, some think I am a poser; the funny thing is the only time it comes up is when I'm online in a biker forum...for some reason these "men" don't say it to my face.
My brutha from anutha mutha, Iron Horse Cowboy (who writes the blog "The View From Downrange") is another guy who is called a poser alot, although not to his face either. My friend rides a really nice Harley Nightster, which is a variant of the original Sportster; he wears Harley clothing and Harley boots...and he also rides his Nightster from his place in South Carolina to his dad's in North Carolina regularly. If you think that's not such a long trip, you try it on a motorcycle and then tell me it's not that far. He rides to work every chance he gets and when Spring Bike Week comes around, I ride to his place and then we ride to Myrtle Beach together.
I think you can get what my definition of a biker and a poser is...can't you? Simply put, if you own a motorcycle and you ride it, you are a biker...no matter what you wear or ride, no matter how often or how far you ride, you are still a biker. A poser, in my book, is one who wears the clothing and hangs out in the bars but doesn't ride a bike or even own a bike. Personally, I don't understand people like that; why would you want to dress and act like a biker if you don't have a bike? My friend IHC and I have the same opinions on this subject; I want to know what you think.
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