Stop the Presses! The DNC Doesn't Like the Press Either!

I was just about to write a blog about Howard Dean, or his apparent disappearance off of the face of the Earth. Well, he just popped up in an article saying that the Press should not be around when politicians speak (Click Here).

Why shouldn't the press be around? Dean's answer is politicians fear that the press will twist their words around in the race for network profits. To blow that line of thought out of the water, half of the Press doesn't even get paid these days. YouTube and Blogging don't pay all that well, but lots of people watch and read these outlets because they can be the most unfiltered sources out there.

Why should he or any democrat be afraid of the Press? Any politician craves free press it is like a drug for them. The Press gets the candidate's name and message out to the uneducated masses. I am guessing Howard would rather get his message across by the means of indoctrination camps or propaganda.

Impeach This!

Another day and true to form someone, "famous," goes and says something stupid. This time the honor goes to Congressman and lame Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich. What did he go off and do this time you ask? He has filed articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney. With less than 18 months until the Presidential election I would describe this move as stupid, ignorant, or dumb.

What would be accomplished by not having Dick Cheney around? Would there be one less, "liar," in Washington D.C.? A town which is well known to be full of them? Will this move cause our troops to come home any faster? Did I miss the part in the Iraq Study Group's final analysis where the recommended to impeach the VP?

Perhaps an unpaid member of Kucinich's campaign staff can comment on how throwing half of the administration into disarray will benefit this nation during this difficult period of time.

Having only raised $344,891 for his White House campaign, Dennis may want to spend some of his free time trying to figure out the fact if no one gives you money to run for President that then means no one wants you to be President.

The End is Near

I hate to say it. I can't believe I am thinking it. I really can not believe I am about to write it. I actually agree with Rosie O'Donnell.

That statement may be a sign of the apocalypse.

What I agree with Rosie on is the oh-so lame idea of using 1 square of TP when using the bathroom which was the brainchild of Sheryl Crow. I am pretty sure that we all can preserve the freedom to use TP as we wish without government control or oversight.

If an issue such as this can bring us together, maybe we all can unite to solve some of our other more pressing societal needs like:

Placing a drain at the bottom of the ocean to prevent rising sea levels.

Moving the Earth further away from the Sun so it will not be as warm.

Opening a window to outer space. This will let some of the hot air out.

Oh gosh, there is so much we can do if we all come together.

"What, You Don't Know About the Three Seashells?"

I am not always sure what is in the air in California. Click Here When Sheryl Crow recommends that only 1 square of TP should be used at any one time except for "pesky" situations where 2 to 3 could be required.

Uh what?

I can see it now... TP actively police roaming our communities checking our septic tanks for illegal bundles of used TP. Will we also have to file for a permit to go over the 1 square limit? Also I imagine 1 square of TP will grow from its current size to somewhere around 24"x24".

WTF Award for 2006

Even though it is late I need to give credit where credit is due.

In 2006 Mary and I went to a Long John Silver's which was out in West County. I really haven't been to one in such a long time so I insisted that we stop and eat. We parked and as we were walking in a sign on the door read, "WE WILL BE CLOSING EARLY FOR A WEDDING RECEPTION."

We went in and ordered our meals. In the dinning area there were two women setting all sorts of white fu fu things on the tables for the reception.

We ate fairly quickly so as to avoid the reception crowd. As we were leaving one of the ladies attempted to place an empty 1 gallon milk container under the A&W Root Beer dispenser and quickly opened the spigot. Root beer sprayed everywhere and I walked on out.

So to the unknown family who held their wedding reception at the local Long Johns this WTF award is for you!

Those Poor Politicans

How can it be that the almost 600 men and women of the United States Congress live in a perpetual state of being appalled, shocked, dismayed, outraged and on and on and on...

Here is how I feel about their state of mind. I am bored. I bet the press is bored as well. Imagine you are a reporter covering Congress and you get to interview a fairly important Congressman, but the only thing you get from him is that he is appalled or shocked or whatever on 8 different issues at the same time.

Really I can't remember when I was appalled about anything. I was shocked on 9-11. I was dismayed on how Sanjina stayed on American Idol as long as he did.

To freshen up the talking points of Capitol Hill perhaps they can use the adjectives to really show their true state of mind.

Bored, sleepy, confused, baffled, hysterical, hungry, hung over, distracted, etc...

If you can think any more adjectives leave it in the comment box.

The 400 Dollar Doo?!?

Wait one minute here. Yeah I picked on Edwards for having a McMansion and sorry for assuming that he lived on a square lot (See previous post and comments.) Now I get to pick on his habit of paying $400 for at least two styling sessions from a Beverly Hills Salon. Here are some questions that need to be asked.

1) Is North Carolina so bad that Edwards can not find a decent barber in the entire state?

2) Why Beverly Hills? What is so awesome about a salon that Edwards would fly almost 3000 miles to have his hair coiffed?

3) Why did he not just add a salon on to his 6 million dollar home? Ray can you answer that one for me?

4) What kind of service do you get for $400? Do unicorns prance around to the sound of opera music being sung live by Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti while angels part and cut your hair?

Now pardon moi for not having the type of expendable income to drop 4 bones on a cut. If I did have that kind of change I still would opt out for something a little less expensive.

The Days After

It was Sunday when I signed up as a member of the NRA. Less than 24 hours later Seung-Hui Cho destroyed the lives of many as well as the feeling of safety for thousands of students and parents around the nation. The Second Amendment and gun control, which has been on the political back burner for the last several years has now been thrust front and center into the American conscious.

The only person who knew what was going on Monday was Seung-Hui Cho. I can not imagine a person's life to be so bad that in his rage that the decision to end the life of so many people was made.

Now here comes the ramifications.

Even yesterday, Tuesday the 17th the gun control advocates were out preaching the evils of lax gun laws in this country. Seung-Hui Cho used a Glock 19 handgun and a Walther .22-caliber handgun on that fateful day. These are both pistols not assault rifles. These were also legally paid for by the soon to be killer. He wasn't a criminal or a person who warranted suspicion from the gun shop owner. I can not think of any law, if enacted earlier would have stopped these transactions from occurring.

I will now take you back to Sunday the 15th. I went to the National NRA convention which was held here in St. Louis, that is when I became a one year member to the NRA. To be honest I will admit my knowledge of firearms is limited in both the technical and hands on aspects of the field. I grew up firing BB guns and then .22 caliber rifles in Boy Scouts. A few years ago I was able to go to a free trap shoot and try my skills at the range. To be more honest I was never a very good shot above the BB gun level. I will tell you that I was a little nervous about the show, mainly because of my lack of experience. I really didn't know what to do or where to begin. The first gun I picked up was probably the smallest gun there, a single shot .22 pistol. It is about the size of a CD and pretty lame compared to pretty much anything else at the show. From there I gradually moved my way up the line and towards the end I felt very comfortable with picking up and checking out even the largest of the display firearms.

Now why should you care about this story of mine? First do not be afraid of guns and do not let people lead you to believe you should. You can be intimidated by guns more for the fact that you probably have never been around someone who either used or collected firearms. Second the more than 60,000 people who came to the NRA convention are not the people you need to worry about. These folk love firearms as well as the fact we all have a constitutional right to own any number of firearms. As much as the press will defend the right to free speech, NRA members are equally devoted to defend the right to bear arms. If you haven't gone to a major gun show you should. Talk to the people there and ask them why the 2nd amendment is important. You may get several different answers, but you are hearing it from the source without someone else "interpreting" the issue. After talking check out a firearm. Don't worry the guns won't bite.

This will not be the last discussion on firearms on this blog. However it is a starting point. You need to learn more about firearms and just saying, "Guns are bad," does not count anymore. As I learn more I will let you know what I find out.

Cranky Neighbors

When I first read the story of Elizabeth Edward’s allegedly mean gun-toting neighbor, my first thoughts of an old man storming out of his front door and charging the interlopers which had come into his driveway.

Woe is me to assume that the Edward’s actually live in a “house” which lies on a road with a house directly across from it. John and Elizabeth have taken up 102 acres (the Vatican is 108.7 acres) of property and have placed a quaint 28,200sqft abode in the middle of the sprawling landscape.

Elizabeth worries that her children could wander into the offending neighbor’s drive and be assaulted by the cranky old man with a gun. Just one thing, depending on where the house sits on the Edward’s property her children would have to walk at least 1.5 to 3.4 miles through the densely wooded countryside to make it to the property line.

Now Monty Johnson, the afore mentioned cranky neighbor who had the unfortunate luck to have the Edwards move “next door” had lived on his families land for decades. Quietly not doing much of anything to mention Monty pretty much minded his own business. Now he has to face the reality that his property taxes are going up due to the fact that a building worth at least 6 million dollars has been built in semi-close proximity to his mobile home. Perhaps Monty could build a golf course, Ritz Carlton hotel or an exact reproduction of the Taj Mahal to better suit the changing neighborhood. That may entice the Edward’s over for tea and crumpets.

I would suggest to Monty that he stick it out for 8 months or so. Then he can have the satisfaction that John Edwards never made it through the Democratic primary and as a goodwill gesture Monty should install a tissue dispenser at the front of his driveway in the likely event of John or Elizabeth needing some.

My Thoughts on Cliamte Change

Since the issue was thrust into the limelight from Al Gore’s Oscar win I have been meditating on this global warming thing for the last few weeks. This issue has so many facets that it is tough to grapple, but the outcome(s) are easy to visualize. Arid deserts where there were once lush forests, cities flooded and decimation of populations are just a few of the calamities that we all assume would result form global warming. I felt it was time to throw my two cents into this penny pie.

This issue does not have one cause as it does not have one resolution. How do you quantify the problem? Why must we fault any particular industry? Why should you conserve energy?

There are hundreds of thousands if not millions of variables that enter into the atmospheric equation. Number one is the Sun, number two would be the ocean, number three would be the land itself this goes on and on until it gets down to me exhaling every few seconds. The sun generates 4 X 10 to the 26^th power of wattage. If that number gives you a headache you can equate one second of the Sun’s output to the yearly output of 2.5 billion major power plants. Would anyone say that a single percentage change up or down would cause havoc with the Earth’s environment. When the oceans cover 75 percent of the planet they will drive the atmosphere in any direction they please. If a giant volcano erupts you may not hear it, but you may feel its effects on cooling the atmosphere. Humans affect their environment, but does all the human activity on this planet equal the effects of the sun or ocean or a single volcano? It is impossible to quantify, but I’ll say no.

Where we lay blame is interesting. Cars and power plants are easy targets for environmentalist to pick on. Cars are great things. I get into my new 2007 Dodge Nitro SUV drive to work (5 miles) work for eight hours drive home and relax for the night. It also allows me to drive to my Parent’s house on the weekend (about 25 miles.) Do I cause global warming? Maybe, but I am living the way I want to live. I want a reliable car to get me to work and home on time and without the real possibility of the car breaking down on me. Mary and I bought the Nitro to accommodate our lifestyle and to also be a safe and easy car to access for our children when we have some. I drive the distance to my parent’s house because I want to see them for a few hours at least once a week.

I love power! You and I use it every second of the day. Power runs my alarm clock, keeps my food cold or hot, washes my clothes, lights my way at night, runs my laptop, and most importantly keeps my iPod running. Let me tell you all a dirty little secret of energy you can not produce or expend energy without making a byproduct. Blaming a coal fired power plant for emissions is like blaming a baker for emitting doughnuts form his bakery. I don’t care where power comes from it can be wind, coal, nuclear, fuel cell or hamster wheel. I demand that power is there all the time for me to use and that it is affordable. If you have a problem about where your power comes from then stop using power altogether. Go use a wind up alarm clock eat MRE’s all the time, wash your clothes on a rock by the river, use candles at night and don’t forget to hand crank your laptop (See Below) for power.

As much as I love power I do like to conserve on power. One of the first things I bought when I purchased my condo was a thermostat. I was nice and very expensive. I have also used copious amounts of Great Stuff. This is the ooze that fills in cracks around anything. I have used 3.5 cans of this stuff in a 975sqft condo. Needless to say there were a lot of cracks to fill. I have also weather stripped my doors to fill in the wide spots. I have also had a fluorescent light bulb in my bedside lamp for over 7 years and counting. Now why did I do all of these things? It wasn’t for the fear of an ocean lapping at my door tomorrow it was for saving money on my electric and gas bills. This rather selfish motivation does help the environment, but these acts are not done for the environment. Could I do more? Sure I could drop thousands of dollars and buy solar panels and wire my house up to the Sun, but I can’t afford it.

I hope you enjoyed my tirade. As serious as this issue may seem, none of us will die tomorrow of global warming. The seas will not rise to cover cities nor will our forests die and fade away to dust for a very long time if ever. You should conserve where you can, but not at the cost of not living the way you want to live. Most importantly tell your children that they are safe and not to fear and you should sleep well at night for living a life well lived.