Land of Oz

Religion

Do you realize that Jesus probably never read the bible when he was growing up?

Why weren't/aren't people surprised when God told them to kill their own kid.

God had no problem killing a city (er, whole world) full of children because their parents were idiots.

Jesus was a bootlegger - remember the wedding?

If the bible is the word of God, why are there different versions?

Why do celibate priests offer marriage counseling?

Why doesn't eating meat on Friday constitute a sin anymore? When did God say it was OK to have a bologna sandwich for lunch? And if I did eat a hot dog on Friday when I was kid, has that sin been excused by the new law, or lack of one?

How did the lack of a head-covering on a woman when I was a kid, harm her church worshipping capabilities?

And if a woman has to keep a hat on, why does a man have to keep it off? (or at least we used to)

Why does the church keep asking for money for the poor, yet spend so much of it on vestments and church decorations?

Since Limbo is now much downplayed, what happened to the kids that were there earlier? Are they still screwed or have they gone on to heaven.

If the communion host was the body of God, why could we eat it on Good Friday?

Why is God still holding a grudge after 4004 years (or whatever is was since Eden and the apple)?

Labels: religion

Remember When?

Do you ever wonder what your high school crush is doing right now?

Do you ever think about what wet, slimy rock your favorite high school bully is slithering under right now?

Did you ever have your word processor and data files on one floppy disk?

Do you think your first car is still on the road?

Does your house still have the little table/seat combo that held your dial phone?

Do you remember eating at Macdonalds when it didn't have tables and chairs?

Do you remember how cool cigarette commercials were?

What ever happened to ABC's "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" on Sundays?

Did you ever use the tube tester in the drug store?

When you played pinball was 10,000 considered a high score?

Remember when Cracker Jack toys were actually toys?

And cereal boxes really contained stuff you could play with?

Was there a time when none of your toys had batteries?

Did you ever have a record player that used actual metal needles?

Remember when you signed out a book at the library and could look at the card and sign the names of all those who signed it out earlier?

Do you recall sleeping on the little deck below the rear window in your parent's car?

Have you ever used a tire iron on a tire?

Did you ever drive a vehicle with a starter pedal instead of a key start or that used a six volt battery?

Labels: oldies

Money

"the Republican National Committee spent $150,000 on makeup consultations and clothes at high-end department stores such as Neiman Marcus and Saks in New York and St. Louis."

Obviously the Obama folks are looking for any kind of dirt to throw McCain's way. Equally obviously, the McCain folks should've seen this coming. I would guess that for something with the stature of the Republican convention, spending a bunch on clothes and makeup could be justified. Equally, however, in these days of economic downturns and the painting of Palin as "Mrs. Joe Six-Pack" and hockey mom extradinaire, you'd think they'd have had more sense than to spend the price of a home on dresses and lipstick.

And speaking of money, I think Obama has now raised something like $600+ million for his campaign! That means, to my cynical way of thinking, that a bunch of people have paid a bunch of money to Obama in the hopes that stuff he does will pay them back for all the money they've sent him. (and really, how do you say NO to someone who just handed you $1,000,000) I'll tell you what Mr. Obama, you send me just .0165% of that, about $100,000, and I'll be more than happy to vote for you and you don't even have to do me any favors in the future.

P.S. Do you realize that as much as Obama's $600,000,000 seems, it's only .075% of what Bush has us paying out to bail out the banks and loan companies - who seem to be spending at least some of it on $400,000 vacations and "executive retreats."

P.P.S. If any of my math - especially the percentages - are wrong, please let me know. Dealing with millions, billions and trillions has always been a bit confusing for me.

P.P.P.S. Did you know that the list price of a nice six-piece set of Sorby lathe chisels is just over $300 which is about .00005% of Obama's war chest?

Labels: government, scams, tools

Vote for Somebody

In a couple of weeks something pretty cool is going to happen in the United States. You and I get to have a say in what happens for the next four years in our country. I'm 95% sure who I'm going to vote for, but I have no intention of trying to influence your vote. Both sides have good and bad points; both sides have lied and told touching stories, both sides have done some some real smart stuff and both sides have done some real stupid stuff. It's always like that. What you have to do in a couple of weeks is vote for the one you think will do best for the country. In a couple of weeks, don't do bad and be one of the 70% or so who will stay at home and whine about not being able to do anything, do good and vote.

Labels: freedom, government

Illegal is Illegal

From an AP News story:

Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan told Spanish-language paper La Voz Independiente last week that he's worried that so many people are being pulled over and jailed through 287(g) on simple traffic violations. "It is not a perfect program," Duncan said. "One of the things that is hard to explain away is that for otherwise law-abiding citizens, other than the fact that they are here undocumented, what IDs them is a minor violation or even driving to work, having to drive with no operator's license."

I don't get it. Why do people keep missing the point about so-called "undocumented law-abiding citizens?" That phrase is so full of contradictions it's surprising people don't choke when saying it. It's a perfect example of newspeak. First, "undocumented" means that person entered the country without filling out the correct paperwork - in other words, against the law. If you don't enter the country correctly, you can't become a citizen. So how can a person who enters a country illegally be considered a law-abiding citizen?

There are legal ways to enter the country and become a law-abiding citizen. It's takes time and a ton of paperwork, but it can be done. I know since I've gone through the process. And since I've spent the time, effort and money involved in the process, I don't think someone who doesn't do that is entitled to one penny of my taxes.

The way I see it, the sheriff isn't using a traffic violation to put away law-abiding citizens, he's using a traffic stop to arrest law-breaking illegal immigrants who don't care enough about the country they have sneaked into to bother to follow the country's laws.

Labels: crime, government

Home Store

OK, I spend a lot of time complaining about stores here, so I thought I'd say something nice for a change. We moved almost out in the country this year. The ironic thing is that after a move from a city to the suburbs we are now within walking distance of some pretty nice places.

Pat's is a combination hardware/grocery/dollar store. The grocery store is Spartan based and the hardware store is Doitbest based. It's about 15 minutes away. The service is very good and the quality of groceries is pretty good as well. Prices range from OK to low to expensive. As a penny-pincher, I've had really good luck with their reduce priced meats.

The hardware store is well supplied although with prices somewhat higher than the big-box stuff. And unfortunately the level of knowledge is about the same as the big-box places. There's one or two older workers who know what is going on, but there's also a couple of younger ones who are totally clueless. Overall, though, it's a nice place to shop and of course, being only 15 minutes walk away, very handy.

There's also a couple of nice places to eat within a couple blocks of Pats for when we get tired of cooking. The Second Street Sports Pub is just what the name sounds like, a small sports related bar. I usually go early on a weekend when it isn't too crowded. They have a very good BLT, that unfortunately was left off the new menu, but can still be ordered.

Another place is Antonio's, an Italian eatery. It's basic mid-west cooking, no fancy Italian stuff, but they offer pizza, spaghetti, lasagna along with burgers and a pretty good breakfast. Nothing fancy, but nice prices and good helpings. Just up the road is the Log Cabin, which to be honest, I have been afraid to go into. Most of the time there's a load of bikers parked outside, so I've just decided to leave it alone. A few blocks further, almost out of walking distance is the Riverside Restaurant. It caters to the older crowd, but is always busy and has good prices and average American food. We don't go here too often, but the pies are pretty good and I've heard the bread pudding is great.

Most everyone around here is nice and friendly and I really like that. A little bit of Leave it to Beaver or Happy Days come to life.

Labels: food, michigan, rave

Big Box

If you haven't heard, I'm not entirely thrilled with the service levels at places like Home Depot or Lowes. Sometimes I think they'd be better off if they just officially had no workers and just planned on letting you go it alone. Today I went to Home Depot for some stuff and had the usual irritations. First, the one aisle I had to enter to pick up some Minwax finish was next to the aisle they were doing material handling on. That means of course, you have to cool your heels outside the kiddie gate while they decide to finish whatever they finish.

Then comes checkout. I love to use the self-checkout lanes in grocery stores and department stores. I can quickly run through the line with my few items, swipe my credit card and leave. But not Home Depot. Today I bought a couple of tiny batteries for my wife's car's remote. I went to the self-checkout lane (primarily because since they put them in, it's hard as hell to even find a cashier). I scanned my masking tape and Miniwax stuff and put it in a bag with no problem. Then I scan the first battery and toss it in the bag. The bag doesn't register it. The screen sneers and tells me I'm an idiot and will I put the damn article in the damn bag.

I find the self-checkout helper talking to her friend and tell her the scanner isn't scanning correctly. She tell me I'm wrong and it is working. I point out the message on the screen and she goes, Oh, and pushes her button. I scan the second battery and guess what. I tell her again and again she says it is and again and again and finally she pushes her button and I get out of there. And once again the hot dog vulture tries to sell me a hot dog as I leave. (See previous Home Depot Rant).

I put the stuff in my car and go to the gardening center. I ask the two clerks if they have weed and feed stuff for my lawn and I get the classic answer that is guaranteed to piss me off. "If we have any, it's over there..." pointing towards some corner of the building.

If I wanted to wander the store looking for your product that I want to give you money for, I'd wander the store and look for it. I'm asking you because this is your department and you should be able to tell, or at least find out if you have the stupid product. This is like K-Mart and their damn phone that they say they put in for the customer's convenience. If they really cared about customer convenience, they'd have a few more clerks around to help instead of making a customer (who's already in the stupid store) call them on the phone. Quit telling me if you have it, it's over there and just let me know if you have it.

Labels: gripes

Joe Six-Pack

And I'm not talking about abs here. I've heard that Palin considers herself to be a Joe Six-Pack kind of person. One of us she thinks. According to her, it's about time us fellow six-packers were represented in the Oval office. Look around you. Think about the fellow six-packers you know. Do you really want of those Bud swilling, pick up driving, Copenhagen chewing folks to be leading the county?

Newsweek: On the phone from McCain's retreat in Sedona, Palin replied: "I think they're just not used to someone coming in from the outside saying, 'You know what? It's time that normal Joe Six-Pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency.'

In some ways, I consider myself an elitist snob. I'll drink a six-pack, but it's more often Becks than Bud. My choice of radio station tends to play Celtic and Classical more than Top 40. I don't have cable and would rather spend time in a library or museum than at a NASCAR track. I did make it through high school and college and can actually find my home state and England and Italy on a map. OK, I know finding Michigan on a map is cheating compared to finding West Virginia or Arkansas, but you get the idea.

However, my roots are definitely Joe Six-Pack. My dad drank Pfeiffer or PBR. I grew up on a farm with two dogs, a cat and a John Deere tractor. My childhood hero was John Wayne and I still love to shoot guns and make knives.

However, given that background, I assure I don't want a Joe Six-Pack kind of guy (or gal) running my country. I'd much rather have a well-educated, well-traveled individual who realizes that close proximity to the Bering Straits doesn't make them a Russian expert. And I really don't want someone who figures it's god's will to go to war because the other side's god doesn't like our god.

Labels: government, michigan

Tax Cuts

We (the government, you and me) just decided to spend somewhere around $1 trillion bailing out one firm or another. We have one war going on in Iraq and another looks to be heating up in Afghanistan/Pakistan. Last I heard, Iraq was costing us $85 billion a month. Who knows what Russia or Venezuela is going to do - whatever it is, it'll probably cost us big bucks. Social Security is getting beat up and there needs to be something done about health care. Energy prices are going up along with food and probably air.

All that and politicians are still promising tax cuts. Were the hell is the money coming from? Just printing more dollar bills doesn't help much. The more you print, the less they're worth.

Labels: crime, government

$700B$812B

This post is being written off and on all day as the thoughts come to me.

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Remember Miss Addie Polk

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I am quite pissed at the moment with our politicians. Think about just what happened this week. Obviously, I don't know all the facts, but here is what I see. The people told their representatives they didn't want this bill passed. Web sites and phone lines all were down as a majority of folks told their representatives they didn't think the $700B plan was a good idea. And at first, the representatives agreed. But then they decided to put an extra $112B in their special interest's pockets and pass it anyway. Basically these bastards decided to screw the taxpayer with an extra $112B on top of the $700B we're already going to pay. This is just plain wrong.

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I'm going to leave the stuff I wrote earlier today about not understanding what is going on. The bill has passed - all now $800 plus billion of it. Basically Congress bribed itself with $112 billion in extra pork.

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$812 billion to pay off banks that don't know how to handle money. At least I can put my extra $150,000 cash into my bank account and not worry about FDIC covering it. I'll have that much extra now, since I'm making a film about rum-drinking Samoan racing drivers.

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First, I do get the idea that the bailout is supposed to give financial institutions more chances to lend money and that lent money is the money we use for day-to-day business. However, I don't see where this bill will help any of us peons.

If I'm losing my house now, this won't help me pay for it. Sure, the company I work for will get some credit to pay me, but if I couldn't pay my bills last month, I'm still not going to be able to pay them this month.

From what I understand the whole underlying reason for the financial mess we are now in is because it was too easy to get credit. People were taking out loans to buy stuff they couldn't really afford. I also don't understand how an expectation of rising house values affects the mortgage you can't afford.

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Talk about pandering and pigs with lipstick, I ran across the following somewhere online from ABCNews: "Some of the goodies intended to attract the votes of individual members of Congress include $192 million for the rum producers of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, $128 million for car racing tracks, $33 million for corporations operating in American Samoa, and $10 million for small film and television productions. " There's also a provision in there about repealing a $0.39 tax on arrows for kids - which just goes to prove that no payoff is too small for Congress to be involved with.

Labels: government, scams

Agrestic Living is Good

From a Times story: "The Times of London asked readers to vote for the word they most felt should be spared from oblivion and attracted more than 11,000 votes in a week. The word embrangle (to confuse or entangle) won with 1,434 votes, while fubsy (short and stout) came in a distant second." After describing some of the abandoned words that are still used in some places, they said, "Apparently, one man's linguistic recrement (waste, refuse) is another man's treasure."

Here for your pleasure is the list. I've highlighted my favorites:

• Abstergent: Cleansing



• Agrestic: Rural



• Apodeictic: Unquestionably true by virtue of demonstration



• Caducity: Perishableness



• Caliginosity: Dimness



• Compossible: Possible in coexistence with something else



• Embrangle: To confuse or entangle



• Exuviate: To shed



• Fatidical: Prophetic



• Fubsy: Squat



• Griseous: Somewhat grey



• Malison: A curse



• Mansuetude: Gentleness



• Muliebrity: The condition of being a woman



• Niddering: Cowardly



• Nitid: Bright



• Olid: Foul-smelling



• Oppugnant: Combative



• Periapt: An amulet



• Recrement: Refuse (waste - not as in to decline)



• Roborant: Tending to fortify



• Skirr: A whirring sound, as of the wings of birds in flight



• Vaticinate: Prophesy



• Vilipend: To treat with contempt

Labels: oldies, reading

September 15

According to info on ABCNews that's the day our economy went to crap. Actually it happened sometime that afternoon according to McCain. Sometime that morning McCain said, "...still, the fundamentals of our economy are strong..." Later that day in another speech McCain said, "Those fundamentals are being threatened today because of greed and corruption that some indulged in on Wall Street..."

Actually, from his standpoint the economy is strong. He owns 14 houses - more than he can remember actually and 13 cars. I think I've seen where his wife is worth about $100 million. That's a pretty strong economy. According to Vanity Fair, his wife wears an outfit worth $300,000. In all fairness, it isn't just the dress that cost $300K, it was the entire outfit. It turns out that $280,000 of that $300K was for earings. The dress was only $3,000. And of course there's McCain's $520 shoes.

Labels: government

Bailout Blues

I'm still not entirely sure I'm for this or against this. At first, and for that matter second glance, it seems something to benefit only the well-to-do. Even the addition of the savings insurance upgrade seems of minimal benefit to most. I can't say I have many friends who are too concerned that the insured savings limit is only $100,000. To be honest, I'm not sure too many of my friends would be overly put out with a $10,000 bank savings limit.

I work in a pretty well-paying job and there's folks I work with who have serious difficulties coming up with $500 for emergencies. So the bank saving insurance increase to $200,000 isn't too impressive. While I understand (sort of) that credit is the lifeblood of our economy, I also thought that credit is the root of the problem of our economy. Just how long do people figure they can keep buying stuff without the money to pay for it. And yes, I am a financial idiot so this bailout probably makes sense to someone who has the big bucks.

I'm also a little curious as to what happens to all these foreclosed properties from these busted mortgages the government will be buying. I did hear the government will be selling them off to recover the money. Why do I feel they'll be selling them off in big chunks. Say, tens of millions of dollars worth at a time. And guess who won't be able to get in on any of that. If you take the $700 trillion and divide it by $10 million (I pulled this value out of thin air - like the government did with $700 trillion), you end up with 70,000 chunks. What I can see is someone like Buffet or Icahn coming up with a financial offer wrapped all in legalese that gives them the $700 trillion of foreclosed properties for about one hundred-fourteen dollars and eighty-nine cents in cash. Which they will then sell off with easy-to-pay financing through themselves to those of us who lost the properties in the first place - making even more money for themselves.

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And on a note that may or may not be related to this mess, the Chinese just successfully landed a manned space mission that included a space walk. We, the USofA, has just delayed its almost defunct space shuttle mission to rehab the Hubble Telescope before we discontinue the shuttle - after which we will be beholding to the Russians to get our folks up and also back from the International Space Station.

And did you know that 46% of Sanlu (the Chinese company poisoning milk products) is owned by a New Zealand company?

Labels: government, scams