On the Road (with apologoies to Jack Kerouac)

Top ten collectibles while driving from Washington, DC to The Villages Florida in one day.

10.  A speeding ticket in Va for driving while being from Florida.

9.    15 ounces of love bug meat on your car.

8.   40 ounce drive thru drink in collectable NASCAR cup.

7.   40 ounce emergency pee.

6.   A "South of the Border"  Dale Earnhart commemorative  spit cup

5.   $5000 dollars worth of gasoline (two tankfuls)

4.   A roadkill armadillo, known in SC as "Possum on the Half Shell"

3.   Nausea from Georgia pulp mills

2.  The finger from the hitchhiker with dreadlocks, shorts at half mast and a meat axe on his shoulder.

1.  Athlete's Butt

Too much time on my hands

                                  Facebook Musings and Rants

                             Top 10 new reality show concepts for Fall TV season

10. "Hillbilly Ice Road Nannies  at the Jersey Shore" - pathetically self explanatory

9.   "In search of a straight Line" - a panel  of journalism professors watch 24 hours of Fox News and try to  find the one actual unslanted,  factual story of the day.

8.  "Fracking for Dollars" a reality show in which cute blonde girls audition to be the next totally unbelievable oil company shill to try to convince TV viewers that fracking is safe.

7.  "The Unbelievablest" - A  4th grade dropout who is unable to tie his own shoes becomes a brilliant corporate lawyer ( Or FBI consultant, or Crimesolver, or Doctor)

6. " Payback is a Bitch" - George Zimmerman is dressed in a Klan outfit and dumped in the Overtown section of Miami. No prize, no contest, just satisfaction

5.  ."NCIS Los Angeles" - already exists. Linda Hunt?? Puleeze

4.  "Diving for Donuts" - contestants must bob for  Krispy Kremes from the cooker,  the contestant with the most recognizable face left wins.

3.  "Law and Order - South of the Border" -  contestants are dropped into the center of Mexico City.  last one neither kidnapped or killed in a drug shootout wins.

2.  "Undercover Bus Monitor" - A sixtyish female martial arts expert is assigned as a bus monitor.  When she is harassed, she slaps the shit out of the little bastards. Most lawsuits wins immunity.

1.  ."CSI Bithlo " - A team of skilled forensic criminologists attempt to determine who tipped over the shithouse.

                          Top ten ways to increase golf's appeal to the masses

10. Must be up and down in 4 minutes max or incur 5 stroke penalty

9.  Dump wealth management sponsors, switch to beer companies

8. Cheerleaders

7. Scorpions in sand traps

6. Rattlesnakes in the rough

5. Ball explodes at some random number of strokes between 15 and 35

4. Topless caddies

3. Topless female caddies

2. Two words - "Full Contact"

1. Trash talking while putting

      

                                        Top ten ways to tell your pet is possessed

10. Your dog whispers in your ear while you sleep, "kill the cat, kill the cat."

9.  You catch your cat surfing mouse porn on your laptop.

8.  Your hamster leaves notes requesting hearts of Romaine.

7.  Your dog chases his own tail, catches  it, and gnaws it off.

6.  You find your three cats doing "rock, paper scissors" for who gets to use the clean  litter first.

5. Your Golden retriever shoplifts Bush's baked beans and tries to mail them to Duke

4.  Your goldfish swims to the glass and mouths  "change the water, monkey boy "

3.  Your beagle has horns.

2.  Your Cockatiel curses  in ancient Sumerian

1.   Your pet lizard pleasures himself to Geico commercials.

Rush to Condemn

        What  ever happened to reflective, reasoned, good judgement?  One of the tragic spinoffs of the information age is the public's rush to instantly indict an entire institution or group based on the bad behavior of one or several  members.  The latest casualty is Penn State University.  As a military retiree and 20 year high school teacher I've seen it before, and it is usually similar in nature.  In the military it would not be unheard of for a group of seniors to protect a fellow member of the "boys club" even if his incompetence led to major shortcomings.  In education at every level, most of us academic instructors have, at one time or another,  seen coaches and/or administrators close ranks around another member of the jock fraternity, even if he needed assistance to tie his (or her) own shoes.

         Like many, I admired Joe Paterno  by reputation and, by extension, his football program and Penn State  University. The recent Freeh report makes it fairly clear, in their own words, that a relatively small group of men were unwilling to believe that "a coach, for God's sake" should be held accountable like any other person entrusted with the welfare of youngsters. The statement  regarding " looking for a more humane solution"  to the Sandusky problem makes it seem that the top men in the institution were blissfully unaware of Pennsylvania public law, which then and now, as any Pennsylvania certified teacher knows requires instant reporting to the state. Not maybe, not perhaps, but absolutely. As a grad assistant, Mike McQuarry might not be expected to know this, but the Head Coach certainly was.  Their (lack of) actions, especially including  Paterno's  were heinous, despicable, and totally in keeping with the cover  your butt, protect football at all costs mentality which is prevalent in many institutions today.

        I write all the above to make two points.  First, the public  now, is painting all of PSU with the same brush they properly are using to tar and feather Jerry Sandusky,  three or four administrators and Paterno. The teaching faculty, student body and student athletes  are  blameless here. To tarnish them all is as inappropriate as the actions I outlined above. Penn State is,  has been, and will always be a quality University, and the crimes of four persons should never be allowed to wipe that away from the public eye.  Second, ask yourself if a female  administrator would have perhaps had a different take on what actions were proper when dealing with a pedophile in their midst.  "Humane solution?"  - not for the molested children.  Let the lawsuits begin!      

Will she please just shut up and go away?

Again she shoots off her mouth, this time last night to Bill O'Reilly. I just have to do this every so often because Sarah Palin just won't go away

1)  “I think we should keep this clean, keep it simple, go back to what our founders and our founding documents meant,” she said. “They’re quite clear that we would create law based on the God of the Bible and the 10 commandments, it’s pretty simple.”

     This from Jefferson: "History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes" (Letter to von Humboldt, 1813).

 Washington: "I have diligently perused every line that Washington ever gave to the public, and I do not find one expression in which he pledges, himself as a believer in Christianity. I think anyone who will candidly do as I have done, will come to the conclusion that he was a Deist and nothing more." -- The Reverend Bird Wilson,

John Adams: The United States of America have exhibited, perhaps, the first example of governments erected on the simple principles of nature; and if men are now sufficiently enlightened to disabuse themselves of artifice, imposture, hypocrisy, and superstition, they will consider this event as an era in their history. Although the detail of the formation of the American governments is at present little known or regarded either in Europe or in America, it may hereafter become an object of curiosity. It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven, more than those at work upon ships or houses, or laboring in merchandise or agriculture; it will forever be acknowledged that these governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses. -- John Adams,

That, Sarah is the first three Presidents. Now shut up regarding that about which you know little or nothing. The founding fathers would be revulsed by your presumption!.


2)    “…Pray...... Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s plan.”   


"Thou shalt not kill" -  sixth Commandment.  Did God forget the plan?


3)  A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.

a: How about the 100 million gallons of crude dumped into Prince William Sound? Is that man made enough for ya?

b: Is Alaska having droughts, hurricanes, tornados? (simply not more affected, just different)

c: Are polar bears having a rough time finding ice -YES. Global warming, dumbass.

4) "He can say he is a Christian but as far as I'm concerned, Obama is a Muslim, look at
his middle name" (2007)

Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible. According to tradition Sarah gave her maid to hubby as a concubine and drove both the concubine (Hagar) and their natural son (Ishmael) away. As far as I'm concerned, Palin is Jewish;  look at her first name! Of course I really don't, and if I were Jewish I'd find that offensive. therefore I apologize to all my friends who are members of the tribe; Shalom, y'all.

5) "Todd and I talked about Hurricane Katrina as God's way of
cleansing New Orleans of the blacks who have sinned, the Bible predicted
it" (Todd Palin, Alaska seperatist, can hold a conversation? Who knew?

     And remember, if any white folks were hurt, it was just collateral damage. Wouldn't ya think the most perfect entity in the universe  (according to some) could discriminate better?  Again Palin reads the mind of God, just like Pat Robertson.

A scream from the bastion of conservatism; "Live from the Villages"

                 

“We’re not going to implement Obamacare in Florida,” (Florida Governor Rick) Scott told Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren on Friday night. “We’re not going to expand Medicaid because we’re going to do the right thing. We’re not going to do the exchange.”

Puhleeeze !!! I feel like Roxie Hart: " It's good, Isn't it grand? Isn't it great? Isn't it swell? Isn't it fun? Isn't it, nowadays?"

            To live in Florida where the governor simply decides he doesn't like a law, even if it was upheld by SCOTUS , and therefore simply won't implement it.  If it makes anyone feel better, Rick Perry (the other idiot governor named Rick) has decided likewise.  Scott cites concern over Medicare and Medicaid costs as his reason, citing a $1.9 billion implementation figure that has no known real world derivation. It seems on a quick look that Scott is just being prudent and cautious, but wait!!! Isn't this the same Rick Scott that was the CEO of Columbia/HCA,  a major healthcare provider?  Isn't this the same Rick Scott whose incompetence (collusion?) in supervising his larcenous employees resulted in a fine of $1.8 BILLION for Medicare fraud and his (Scott's) ouster as CEO. I believe it is. So when did Governor Skeletor grow a conscience ? Probably right after it became apparent that increased scrutiny of Medicare and Medicaid fraud might make the kind of larceny at which he and his ilk are so adept harder to perpetuate and to get away with. As a private citizen, Scott formed a Republican organization with a soft and squishy name that sounded like an attempt to actually improve health care in Florida and make it more affordable to  more people. Reality was , it was a cover organization to ensure continued high profits to existing companies like Columbia/HCA, the same groups, coincidentally who have spent many millions lobbying against any meaningful health care reform.

Lest we think it's just Scott, here's a quote from Congressman John Mica, another well of concern for the poor.

"Florida does have a lot of folks that are uninsured," said Congressman John Mica.  "I think what we need to do is repeal Obamacare and I think that will probably be one of  the first orders of business of the next Congress and hopefully a new President."   So "Yes, we have a lot of folks that are uninsured....." so let's overturn the law that would guarantee their insurability in favor of.....???  This is directly analogous to saying, "Yes, Ralph, I know Florida Panthers are endangered, so let's start having an open hunting season on them!"

And please, please, please... it is a law passed by both the House and Senate (435 persons) and agreed to by the President (1 person)  Stop calling it "Obamacare," already. When you do, that pointy  sheet on your head  wiggles.

                                                      Mike Dorman

An amazing dose of common sense

We have names for people who have many beliefs for which there is no rational justification. When their beliefs are extremely common we call them ‘religious’; otherwise, they are likely to be called ‘mad’, ‘psychotic’ or ‘delusional’…Clearly there is sanity in numbers. And yet, it is merely an accident of history that it is considered normal in our society to believe that the Creator of the universe can hear your thoughts, while it is demonstrative of mental illness to believe that he is communicating with you by having the rain tap in Morse code on your bedroom window. And so, while religious people are not generally mad, their core beliefs absolutely are.

                                             Sam Harris

Mitt Romney, gutless wonder!

Recently at a Romney rally, a woman called out that President Obama should be tried for treason, for what she had decided was executive action that "violated" the idea of separation of powers. There are two grotesquely, yet characteristic misimpressions, and one glaring omission here. First, separation of powers applies only in that some powers are granted to each branch of government to limit the ability of any branch to unilaterally pursue objectives inimical to the common good. Any other action not specified may be controversial, but is certainly not illegal. Second, this ignorant citizen has no idea that treason is defined specifically in the Constitution and what she seems to be referring to is decidely not it! The glaring omission is Candidate Mitt Romney's apparent lack of (pick one - guts, character, backbone, fairness, or constitutional knowledge)  in failing to correct her. John McCain would have done so, Santorum, now a Romney fan and sycophant would have agreed with her.  


Ronald Reagan, that icon of conservatives, justifiably feared impeachment for the Iran-Contra affair. He intentionally  violated the Arms Export Control Act, a criminal statute,  sold arms to radical supporters of terrorists, and  unconstitutionally violated a congressional prohibition on providing money and support to the Nicaraguan Contra fighters. The Reagan administration’s violation of the Boland Amendment grossly violated the spirit and intent of separation of powers by circumventing Congress’s most important power—the appropriation of public monies.


George W. Bush is followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, but left many more tracks.  Invading a  country (Iraq) on false pretenses is grounds for impeachment. Additionally, the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution specifically says that the people have the right to be secure against unreasonable government searches and seizures and that no search warrants shall be issued without probable cause that a crime has been committed.  The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requires that warrants for national security wiretaps be authorized by the secret FISA court. The law specifies that it is a crime for government officials to conduct electronic surveillance outside the exclusive purviews of that law or the criminal wiretap statute. President Bush’s authorization of the monitoring of Americans’ e-mails and phone calls by the National Security Agency (NSA) without even the minimal protection of FISA court warrants was clearly unconstitutional and illegal. Executive searches without judicial review violate the unique checks and balances that the nation’s founders intended and created in the Constitution and are an erosion of  American civil liberties.  Furthermore, surveillance of Americans by the NSA, an intelligence service rather than a law enforcement agency, is a regression to the practices of the Vietnam-era, when intelligence agencies were misused to spy on anti-war protesters—another impeachable violation of peoples’ constitutional rights by LBJ and Nixon.


President Bush defiantly admitted initiating such flagrant domestic spying but contended  that the Congress implicitly authorized such activities when it approved the use of force against al Qaeda and that such actions fit within his constitutional powers as commander-in-chief. But the founders never intended core principles of the Constitution to be suspended during wartime. In fact, they realized that it was in times of war and crisis that constitutional protections of the people were most at risk of usurpation by politicians, who purport to defend American freedom while actually undermining it.


The Bush administration’s FBI  also expanded its use of national security letters to examine the personal records of tens of thousands of Americans who were/are not suspected of being involved in terrorism or even illegal acts.  President Bushs also took  us back to the Vietnam era by monitoring anti-war protesters. Information on peaceful anti-war demonstrations has apparently found its way into Pentagon databases on possible threats to U.S. security.


The issue of Guantanamo  Bay and the status of those held there is equally contentious, but probably falls into the purview of Executive orders, since the Geneva Convention is not binding.  President Bush’s attempt to expand the power of presidency during wartime—as if the imperial presidency hadn’t been expanded enough by his recent predecessors, is significant.  President Bush usually got the Attorney General or the White House Counsel to agree with his usurpation of congressional and judicial powers, but, of course, who in the executive is going to disagree with their boss?  The Bush administration described the president’s war making power under the Constitution as “plenary”—meaning absolute. The founders would roll over in their graves at this interpretation of a document that was actually designed to limit the presidential war power, resulting from their revulsion at the way European monarchs easily took their countries to war and foisted the costs—in blood and treasure—on their people. Conservative Bob Barr, a former Congressman from Georgia who was quoted in the Post, said it best: “The American people are going to have to say, ‘Enough of this business of justifying everything as necessary for the war on terror.’ Either the Constitution and the laws of this country mean something or they don’t. It is truly frightening what is going on in this country.”

Where was the woman who  called for President Obama being tried for treason (for totally legal and constitutional acts while)  all this was going on?  I can't say, but wherever she was I'll bet she thought everything  Reagan, "Poppy Bush", and  "W" did was just peachy keen. Where was Romney setting her straight?  Well, let's just say it takes a spine to stand up for the truth.