Ranting About Politics

My Position on Initiative #26

2011-11-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know, this Tuesday, Mississippians will be going to the polls to elect a new Governor, Lieutenant Governor, a new Cabinet and a new Legislature. We will also be voting on three amendments to the state constitution. All three of these initiatives are controversial, however one has generated a lot of national news coverage.

Ballot Initiative Number 26, also known as the Personhood Amendment, is an amendment that would grant "personhood" to a fetus at the moment of fertilization, effectively ending abortion in Mississippi. This is the first time any state has drafted such an amendment and it has raised many questions here and around the nation.

The biggest concern of mine is that of the language of #26, which, according to the Secretary of State's website, reads:

"Should the term "person" be defined to include every

human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning,

or the equivalent there of?"

On the surface, #26 does not outlaw anything. It is simply giving the rights of a person to a fetus at the moment of conception, an idea that I support. But what most do not think about is the potential can of worms that this will open up.

In my opinion, there are too many grey areas in the language of this initiative. When writing #26, they went too far without going far enough. What I mean by that is that the writers could have simply used conception rather than fertilization and left it at that.

Or, they could have gone farther and listed all of the exceptions to the amendment, providing protection of in vitro fertilization, giving an exception for rape, incest or threat to the life of the mother, protecting contraceptives, protecting mothers who suffer a miscarriage, and any other exceptions. Look at the other two initiatives, #27 and #31. Both are full of definitive language that clearly states the intent of the amendment and lists exceptions to it. But the writers chose not to do this with #26 and so we are left with an initiative that is full of ambiguity.

Because of the ambiguous language, it will be left to the Legislature to pass legislation to govern the new law. What that legislation will be, who knows? We will have to pass it in order to see whats in it. Sound familiar?

I understand what the proponents of #26 are trying to do. They're trying to get it passed and enacted so that its opponents will challenge the law in Federal court, ultimately leading to the Supreme Court where the Court will have to re-debate precedent and hopefully lead to the demise of Roe v. Wade. This is something that I would love to see as well. However, I just don't feel comfortable giving a government... ANY government... such broad powers over a critical aspect of a person's life. That is why I am against this amendment and will be voting No on Initiative 26.

A New Speaker

2011-01-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

I got this at work today and thought I'd share it with you guys. I found it too funny!

WTF NFL

2011-01-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

Really NFL? Really?

This was funny up until the friggin machete. There was absolutley no need to go there. Dumb asses.

Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-01T00:48:00.000-08:00

Here's to a very prosperous 2011 (especially now that Boehner is in charge)!

Snowmaggedon Craziness

2010-12-29T23:59:00.000-08:00

Have y'all seen this? This is footage from the aftermath of "Snowmaggedon 2010" in New York City.

WARNING: Strong Language.

I really cannot believe what I'm seeing here. What I want to know is how in the hell the plow driver got the snowplow into that spot in the first place? I realize that the snow is bad, but my God, use a little sense when you're working in a residential neighborhood with cars lining the streets. Jeez! Second, what the hell was the tow truck driver thinking?! You pull at something from an angle and it's going to got the way you pull it. Simple science! Wouldn't it have been less trouble to wait until the snow melted a little before trying to get that sucker out? Hell, they could have dug the SUV out and moved it a few feet before trying what they did! But some how, I don't think thinking is something these people do well. Let's face it... Governments hire stupid people to handle these sorts of things. Hell, they hire stupid people to run things as well. SO, these sorts of things are to be expected.

I haven't seen anything about how the city is going to reimburse the owner of that car, but surely they will have too. They also need to get some of that Obamacare and have that tow truck driver's head examined. And the plow driver's too while they're at it.

That is all.

Picking on Grandma. Again.

2010-12-14T17:03:00.000-08:00

So prior to last Thanksgiving people complained about being patted down if they opted out of going through the full body imager at select airports. Some went so far as to call for a national boycott of such machines last November. Now to those of you who really thought people were truly going to revolt and cause airport delays I have to ask, are you really that thick headed? Americans can certainly be rallied to a cause(look no further than our recent elections) but one thing they are not willing to do is mess up thier well planned travel.

To the airports I say why didn't you call thier bluff and leave the machines on? Shame on you for just wisking through air travelers and going out of your way to keep the day as smooth as you could. What message did you send to the world when you turned the machines off?

With Christmas coming will you turn them off again? Personally I want to feel safe when traveling and I'm a little on the fence about how detailed these machines can get but if it help keep things efficent and free from delays I'll go through without complaint. But on the other hand, if we could stop being so sensitive about profiling I'm sure we could save Grandma, Grandpa, little Johnny and even little Suzie from feeling violated.

Could we get common sense please?

Why?

2010-10-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, time for a rant. I was watching O'Reilly a little while ago and something just totally got me ranting. Since my roommate wasn't listening to me, I figured I may as well spout off here. You guys are probably going to wonder if this is really Matt talking here, as I am bashing a Republican, but I beleive it's well deserved.

I don't know if any of you have heard about this (Mike, I'm sure you have), but apparently a Republican candidate for New York governor is causing a ruckus because of his comments against gay marriage. I'm not going to get into the details about what's happened in this post, but here's an article and a video to explain exactly what's going on.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/10/11/paladino-says-did-write-dysfunctional-homosexual-line-speech/?test=latestnews

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4369345/paladino-on-damage-control?playlist_id=86918

Gay marriage has always been a touchy issue for me, but not the issue itself. I for one could care less. If two men or two women or two monkeys want to get married, it's really no skin off my ass. My life and everyone else will move on just the same as it was before the gays were allowed to get married. So, I could careless... if it makes them happy, go for it.

But what really grinds my gears (that one was for you Chris) is the fact that something really so insignificant to national policy has hijacked national politics so easily. I mean seriously, what is the big deal? We are at war in a near stalemate on two fronts, we are being invaded from the south, we have an out of control government that is spending money hand over fist, government waste and corruption is everywhere, taxes are out of control.........

And despite all of that and more, we as a people are more concerned over who has the right to marry.

It's the pointless stuff that this nation is worried about that really just irks me.

But let me get to Mr. Paladino. Now granted, I don't know how he is politically. All I know is that he's a Republican and he's running for Governor of New York. That's it. I don't know if I would have supported him before his comments or not because I had never heard of him until now.

So he's speaking at a synagogue in New York. Nothing wrong with that and frankly nothing wrong with speaking out against gays in a synagogue. I may disagree with him, but that is a proper place for it. However, it seemed to me by the article that he made these remarks in response to the gay bashing case in the Bronx earlier in the week. If that is the case, then that's pretty despicable in my opinion, using such a terrible event to farther your political agenda is just sick. But then what kills me is the back peddling. He totally uses the "My best friend is gay" card. Sick!

This has all really backed fired on him as it should have. I mean seriously. He's a conservative running for THE statewide office in a state that isn't exactly the most conservative state in the union. What the hell was he thinking? Serves him right for venturing off the important issues that are his strong points this election year.

Well I'll shut up now and let you guys talk about it.

Holy Crap!!!

2010-09-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

Ok... I'm suffering from insomnia, so I start checking my emails and all the other mindless crap I do when I can't sleep. So, I'm checking my email and I see a notification from Twitter. Apparently, "Karl Rove" is asking to follow me. I just laughed and figured it was spam. I checked it out and the site is varifified. That's right, the real honest to God Karl Rove is twitter stalking me! Wow! Apparently he follows everyone who follows him, but still, pretty cool. Me being an aspiring political consultant, I find it kinda awesome.

Are you kidding me?

2010-06-02T06:44:00.000-07:00

OK so I just got done reading this article on Yahoo Finance about this girl who can not pay her student loan back. Here is the article http://finance.yahoo.com/college-education/article/109701/placing-the-blame-as-students-are-buried-in-debt?mod=edu-collegeprep . Why is it that someone is always looking to blame someone else for their stupid financial decisions. That's all this article does. Looking else where to place the blame. I nearly fell over in my chair when I read this paragraph from the article "She recently received a raise and now makes $22 an hour working for a photographer. It's the highest salary she's earned since graduating with an interdisciplinary degree in religious and women's studies." Wait you spent $100k on that degree and you thought it was going to pay off in the end. People just because you have a college degree does not guarantee that you are going to land a great job somewhere. It's the Van Wilder story. 7 years of college and majoring in leisure studies. If you are going to spend that much on college you should be majoring in something that actually has a career after college. There is only 2 people to blame for her debit. The girl and her mother not the colleges or the lending companies. And she lives in San Francisco! And her mom runs a B & B in the Thousand Islands. No wonder they are broke. They live in very expensive places and think nothing of it. My god People get a clue. Your financial short comings are your own fault. I just don't know how many more times I can say it. OK I am done. Discuss

OK Tea Party where were you on this one?

2010-04-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

So I just got reading an article from Washington Post writer Eugene Robinson. It's about AZ new immigration laws and well let me just let you read it http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/26/AR2010042602595.html .I truly do believe he is right on about this and I am kind of glad he said it. I do sometimes roll my eyes at some of his articles. But I think he is spewing truth in this one. Me personally I think this law goes way too far. But I do understand that it looks like they had no other choice because of the lack of Federal help on this. But again hey Tea Partiers where were you when a Republican Gov. signed a bill that now just made racial profiling legal in that state. Guys do remember I am an Independent with views on both sides and believe if you are illegally here then go home, but I think this is just walking all over the rights of the legal citizens of this state.

WTF! Global Warming Vehicle Score.

2010-04-17T23:25:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday evening my wife and I were out shopping and just for fun we stopped by a Chevy dealership to have a look at the new inferno orange Camaro.

Although a new car is not in my budget, I do like to dream every now and then and this car caught my eye. I love the styling that harkens back to the late sixties.

As I'm shaking my head over the $35,000 price tag, my eyes fall upon a sticker I have never seen before, "The Environmental Performance Label" Yes folks new cars now come with an EPA label that tells you just how that new car is likely to contribute to Global Warming.

Now if you're a tree hugging liberal who buys into the whole Global Warming myth then I guess this should make you feel all warm and fuzzy. If for no other reason than you now have a new tool to help calculate the purchase of your planet saving carbon credits. (BTW Al Gore's pocket book thanks you for that)

Out of curiosity I visited the Government's Drive Clean site and looked up the EPA rating on this car. I find it interesting that the v6 which has an in town 5 mpg better fuel economy rating, received a lower score. Of course when it comes to facts and figures you can always count on some government official to skew the numbers to support their own agenda.
You can be environmentally conscience without being an extremist. “Global Warming” is a hoax.

And now from the common sense department

2010-03-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

Our local Target store has a policy that requires all cashiers, regardless of age to view and scan the drivers license of any individual purchasing alcohol. This requirement protects both the store and the cashier. I feel that the policy itself is a good idea and would like to see other stores adopt it. However...

Last night while checking out at Target a gentleman who I would say is around fifty was buying shampoo, two cans of chicken noodle soup, and a bottle of Nyquil. In todays society you can guess where this is going. Target's rule required a drivers license for the purchase of that one single bottle of cold medicine. Of course the guy did not have it on him. (not sure why, other than the fact that when I followed him out of the store he was not driving, his wife was) The cashier flipped off her "in service" light and called for assistance. Meanwhile, I am in line behind this guy and there are two other shoppers behind me. One had unloaded an entire cart full of groceries onto the belt.

Help did not come right away so we were all stuck there. The guy noticed everyone waiting and told her to forget it and that he would stop at Walgreens. Now a policy is a policy but some common sense could have applied here, its not like the guy was buying a whole case of Nyquil. Perhaps the register locks up until an ID is scanned or the purchase is removed, either way I'm sure there must be a code that could have been entered that would have saved this customer a second trip.

In the "war on drugs" it seems to me that much of what you see put into practice is just window dressing. A few years ago Iowa past a law that any medication which contains pseudoephedrine must be placed behind the pharmacy counter. This was suppose to put a dent in the manufacturing of meth. It hasn't done a thing, drug companys changed their formulas in order to get their product back onto the front selves and meth makers just modified their formulas as well.

Use and Abuse

2010-02-26T21:06:00.000-08:00

I observed something today that just has me livid. As most of you know by now, I recently took up a job as a Cashier at a local supermarket. While in this position, I knew I would have to deal with customers who use food stamps. To be honest, I never really had a problem with food stamps. I always knew that some abuse happens, but for the most part I found it to be a good program to help out those who really need help.

But after taking this job, my thoughts have totally changed. I would say that 8 of 10 food stamp users that I have dealt with have (in my view) abused the system in some way.

For example, last week, a woman went through my line and bought $100 worth of food, all of which was paid in full through the EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) card. However, the woman also purchased almost $120 in alcohol and tobacco products and several magazines.

Another example, a couple of days ago, I had another similar situation. The woman's alcohol/tobacco purchases nearly exceeded her food purchase, but on top of that, instead of buying dog food for her dog (She was going to get it until I told her she owed $8 for it) she sends her son to get a steak for the dog.

My very first EBT customer wasn't much better. She also bought a large amount of alcohol and tobacco. But because I was taking too long for her taste (keep in mind, this is my first day and there is a "Training" sign at the front of my line), she proceeds to get my manager and then says "I am in a hurry, could you please take over for this dumbass!" I couldn't believe it... And for the most part, the 8 of 10's attitude isn't much better.

But the straw that broke the camels back happened tonight. Granted, it wasn't nearly as bad as the aforementioned situations, but it really got me thinking and the more I thought the more I was pissed off. This guy comes to me, puts down two limes, a package of rock salt, and a bottle of margarita mix. Then has the audacity to slightly get testy because he can't get cash back from the EBT card. Fortunately this guy was rather pleasant, but as I said, he really got me thinking.

I'm not saying that all EBT users are like this. Not at all. The remaining 2 of 10 are usually very pleasant, keep their "luxury" spending in the store to a minimum. They always seem to be rather embarrassed because they have to tell me what they are doing, so I try to distract them through conversation and get them out as quickly as I can to help ease that embarrassment. It's the other people that really anger me.

I see a ton of people who come in flat out exhausted because they've been out all day busting their asses to earn their money. If they want a beer after work, well then by God they deserve one. It's the fat and lazy twits with attitudes that piss me off.

Finally, Something for Me to Write About!

2010-02-10T09:09:00.001-08:00

Hey guys! Long time no see! The other day, I was forced to write and form an opinion on the Supreme Court's decision on Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission. Basically, my Nigerian Socialist professor made us read an article from the New York Times and then write our reaction to it. So, rather than trying to re-write a paper on the subject, I'll just post "in a nutshell" what I wrote:

In a 5 to 4 decision by the Supreme Court, the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections commission was upheld, meaning that two precedents were overturned. The first, Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce was a 1990 decision that continued the restrictions on political spending. The second, McConnell v. Federal Elections Commission, upheld a portion of the McCain-Feingold Act that further restricted corporate campaign spending. This represents a shift of beliefs in this area for the court. As for my opinion of this situation, I have to agree with the majority that this is a freedom of speech case and that the government has no authority to regulate political speech. However, should a union or corporation have the same rights as an individual human being in this regard? A corporation has way more resources at its disposal than an ordinary citizen. With the regulation in place, the playing field was a bit more level. Now, corporations will have free reign in the government. They will no doubt use this opportunity to advance their agendas in Washington, further corrupting an already corrupt system.
So, it is my opinion that the court got this one wrong. Removing those restrictions only invites further corruption in the government. Yes, the political speech of an individual should be protected, but not those of a corporation. A corporation is not an individual, rather than a collection of individuals whose objective is to make a profit at a particular trade or industry. I have no issue with the individuals in that corporation contributing funds to candidates, but a corporation itself should not have a political view one way or the other. What's next? Giving corporation the right to vote? That may be an absurd proposition, but it may not be far off if we continue to view corporation the way that we do in this regard.

Sarah Palin Joins the Tea Party

2010-02-07T07:51:00.000-08:00

If you didn't like President Obama's State of the Union last month, I give you a more accurate view of the country via VP candidate and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and her keynote speech from the Tea Party Convention last night:

BTW, I want "No One Messes with Joe" on a t-shirt :)

President Obama: America's Next Great Pitchman

2010-01-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

Have you ever looked at something on TV and wondered "Man, I wonder how that thing works?". That was how America viewed government run health care for most of 2009, until a brave congressman stood up to America's new axis of evil (Obama, Pelosi, and Reid) with this statement:

Well, since health care is crossed off the list, what's next on Premier Obama's ways to socialize America and run us into near bankruptcy a la Iceland and Dubai? According to a Politico article that provides a sneak preview of the President's propaganda to the American people tomorrow; the White House, who has spent more on programs in nine months than Clinton's entire administration, the address will talk about cutting spending and creating jobs in the face of double digit unemployment numbers. Funny how this comes up; for two reasons: a)Wasn't the stimulus supposed to create jobs? and b)I have a good feeling since Health Care fell through that our old friend cap and trade will take center stage. Last I checked, the stimulus was mired in corruption while giving stimulus money to such worthy causes as pig and catfish research and $150 billion over 10 years (What this year's federal budget has slated for clean energy development)isn't cheap either. Look President Obama, America did its homework on Health Care, the Louisiana Purchase and the Nebraska deals. It would be better for you to use tomorrow's speech to give America practical solutions to unemployment instead of giving us a backhoe and telling us to dig our own grave.

NPR Monday 1/11

2010-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome back from a frozen Disney World! This week I start off with our President presenting our year in review....

American Idol: Everybody's favorite glorified amateur hour/karaoke bar returns this week on Fox yet Fox milks the cow for what its worth: 6 Grammys? I'm sorry, but until you approach George Solti (A longtime conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra) who is the all time Grammy winner with 31, SHUT UP FOX! With the exception of William Hung, who I met this past summer, who can say American Idol really helped launched their careers? Focus on better shows like the Simpsons, 24, and Family Guy.

Air Canada: The Canadian government (Who I agree with on most topics), is forcing Air Canada to offer a "nut free" section on their planes. Having personally having a nut allergy in my childhood and I fly a lot, I dealt with peanuts on the plane. Air Canada can do the same.

Hooters: A Phoenix high school music teacher is on leave today after taking kids to a Hooters after parents complained. Really? When is this an issue? The wings are really really good :) and their high schoolers, not kids.

Video of the Day: Hilarity ensues on Wheel of Fortune

Hurricane Katrina Victims To Sue Over Global Warming

2010-01-04T12:12:00.000-08:00

Looks like this story broke back in October. Click Link to read the full story.

Hurricane Katrina Victims To Sue Over Global Warming

NPR Special Report: When to Call 911

2010-01-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

I was going to do my 2009 year in review, but I ran across this story in the LA Times about how USC has an "America 101" class for foreign students wanting a better grasp of American culture. One of my favorite topics from the course was when you should call 911. I present you the textbook on when NOT to call 911:

Ranting about your child's behavior (NSFW-Not safe for work)

Wanting a date (Safe for work)

Asking for help with homework (Safe and actually pretty cute!)

Rounding up loose cows in Wisconsin. While the intent may be right, it still is pretty funny and wrong (Safe):

And when dispatchers try to do the right thing, they get chewed out (Safe)

Have a good week everyone!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T22:18:00.001-08:00

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and an awesome New Year!

NPR 12/22

2009-12-22T08:06:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!
It's time for this week's NPR so take a break between all the holiday shopping to see what's on my mind:

Jersey Shore: If you've been under a rock, it's basically "Hills East" in which you have dopey and ditzy young adults lives followed. However, the big controversy about this show involves one of the main characters getting a beatdown and the use of the term "guido". I'm not Italian, but from what I know it's the Italian equivalent of the "N" word because at one point it was (some believe it still is) yet the young believe it's okay. Shame on MTV! If they greenlighted a show where the "N" word was a showcase, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would have a field day and a half.

Garrison Keillor: He wrote in the Baltimore Sun last week: "If you're Jewish, don't write Christmas carols!" before going into a sleep inducing account about Christmas in the Norwegian Arctic. Really? Who reads the Baltimore Sun? Insomniacs? I feel bad for you suckers.

Video of the week comes via a request from Jeff who demanded more Neil Diamond, so here is one of Neil's biggest hits, Cracklin Rosie:

I'll be back next week for my year in review! :) MERRY CHRISTMAS!

NPR Monday 12/14

2009-12-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you're doing well today, so let's get to it:
Tiger: Shut up! That is all.
Male enhancement products: When can I get a refuge from it? The last straw was reading during a business story "You can't control the market, but you can control when you're ready". Really? I can't read about Dubai's debt without being blitzed by sophisticated filth? Shame on you Cialis for making me squirm though these uncomfortable ads!
Avatar: This movie isn't even out yet but I'm already ticked off with it. During the Vikes game yesterday I saw an ad for Panasonic but I swear it was an ad for Avatar! I honestly could care less that's it's a James Cameron flick, as the Terminator is the only film by him I've truly liked.

Finally for the Video of the Week. I'm not Jewish, but I DO find Neil Diamond covering Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song amazing!

Have a good week everyone!

City Says No to 406% Increase

2009-12-09T19:18:00.000-08:00

In about a year and a half, Grimes residents who rely on limited Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority bus service will have to find an alternate means of transportation. The city plans to sever its relationship with the transit service because of a significant fee increase for services that haven't been expanded.

The Grimes City Council voted unanimously last week to withdraw from the DART program, which provides Grimes residents with an on-call, Wednesday-only public transportation service. The agreement had cost the city $16,000 a year, but through a revised budgeting formula DART created, Grimes' share of the service cost rose to $65,000 annually in the current budget year. (Full Article)

I have often wondered why our city bothers to offer a link with the Des Moines bus system that only runs once a week and on an on-call basis. What is the point of such an arrangement? Several years ago when daily service was offered in our city it died a quick death due to a lack of public interest and the service was terminated at that time.

I was surprised a couple years back when the Des Moines Metro (as it was called at the time) lobbied our city council and persuaded them into offering the current option. The transport that comes out is not even a bus, it is more like a retirement home van. I was pleased that recently our city council has decided to say no an increase of 406%. I say let's drop it again, once and for all.

The Copenhagen Mess

2009-12-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

"If you believe -- If you believe that this country, not the United Nations, is best hope for democracy, then you are a Republican."-California governor Arnold Schwarznegger in his 2004 keynote speech to the Republican National Convention

This week, including President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the world gathers in Copenhagen for the UN Summit on "Global Warming". While some developments coming out are good (i.e. the UN backing off on climate regulations), what disturbs me is why we're twiddling our thumbs with this ideology when we could be using our resources to say, I don't know, our own problems such as cutting off the bailouts, terminating the public option, and eliminating TARP funds to banks, businesses, and individuals who knew they were in over their heads and distancing ourselves from this flimsy "science". The only withdrawing we should be doing right now is out of Kyoto, eliminating cap and trade, and reversing the liberal education in our schools by ending the showing the now-flimsy "An Inconvenient Truth" and once again give voice to the creationism movement. It sickens me as an American that our leader is bowing to leaders across the world and bowing down to this flimsy "assembly" of government. While I was a Bush supporter in 2000 (Wore my Bush button to school in 4th grade on election day and the Monday after Bush won the election), Governor Schwarzenegger's speech spoke to me as to who I side with, a card carrying registered Republican. I may be a "terrorist" for not supporting President Obama, but when you're turning us into a dependent entity of the world instead of an independent country, that is where I have problems. If we rely more and more on the world, what about all the lives that our soldiers have sacrificed over the years? Surely they won't go out the window like American ideals already are.

NPR Monday 12/7

2009-12-07T06:04:00.000-08:00

First off, we remember a "day that will live in infamy" 68 years ago with a picture of the USS Arizona:

To those who served, thanks.

Now to the NPR at hand.

Tiger Woods: Really Tiger? Do you have no class, or were you just this trashy all along? It's been a roller coaster of women who come out day after day. The best part? A web game entitled "Golfer's Revenge" in which you drive a car away from a woman armed with a golf club. Sound familiar anyone? I'm getting tired of this Tiger. I couldn't watch your tournament over the weekend without wondering if a blonde woman armed with a golf cart was going to come out of nowhere hitting golfers who made a bad shot.

Elf on a Shelf: I was at Barnes & Noble over the weekend when I saw this...thing. To basically describe the premise, it's an elf doll that sits on different shelves of the house as "Santa's helper" that kids can talk to but can't touch. What a waste of $30! Kids aren't scared of "Santa's watching you?" anymore or better yet, why is this worth buying?

Zhu Zhu Hamsters: Continuing on the holiday toy trend, the Times of London is reporting this morning that these popular battery operated toys that represent life sized hamsters may contain a high level of antimony, some chemical that may or may not cause cancer. Let me say this, I do have some familiarity with how toys are manufactured knowing some people in the business and if the toys do contain whatever the heck this is, it was and oversight by one of the testing companies.

Finally, to celebrate Walt's birthday over the weekend, the full version of what made Mickey Mouse Mickey, Fantasia's "Sorcerer's Apprentice":

And Where the Hell Have I Been?

2009-12-06T12:40:00.001-08:00

Hey guys! LONG LONG LONG time no see! I know, I know, I've been very lazy here lately. I think the last time I ranted on this blog was back in July! Thankfully there has been some action over here but I would really like to breathe some new life into this blog.

Frankly, I've been SO busy with school that I haven't even had time to think about this blog (I can barely update my other blog) and I haven't even been able to watch news very much and have been cut off from the modern Political world for a few months now. I told Andy the other day that if it's political and it didn't happen in the early 19th Century, I have forgotten about it.

When I have heard some news, I am honeslty not all that suprised. Things that used to just totally piss me off doesn't really bother me anymore. I just push it aside and hope for the best.

But, since I seriously don't want this blog to die, I'm going to start conjuring up some of that old "redheaded anger" about some subjects. Hopefully they will be entertaining to some and enlighting to others. I also encourage all of you to do the same! Let's bring this blog back!

NPR Monday 11/30

2009-12-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry I'm late, but I had a crazy day yesterday.
The Today Show: Where, oh where, has the class gone from this show? Today Matt Lauer "interviewed" the gate crashers from last week's White House state dinner. This is the second time in two months people have tried to milk mainstream media for attention (Balloon boy and family anyone?) and it saddens me. When will we realize that America is looking towards false idols and is going nowhere putting these people on pedestals?

American Idol: Get ready for four months of amateur karaoke on network TV! The promos started this weekend on Fox as the show is coming back with another new judge Ellen off its worst season on record (Kris Allen had the worst debut of any Idol winner and Adam Lambert had his shameful display on the AMAs). I'm predicting that it's Idol's last season because people are slowly tiring of it and the novelty wore off a long time ago.

EDIT: Since it is Tuesday, I can rant politically, so I will: Oh President Obama, have you no respect for Charlie Brown and the gang? That's right America, America's best pitchman following the death of Billy Mays takes to the airwaves tonight, this time to pitch Afghanistan. Listen Barack, I don't like you, your administration considers me a "terrorist" for not agreeing with your points, but once you mess with my dog Snoopy, it's personal. You were a big blockhead by speaking tonight, and you should get a lot of grief for bumping the best minute and change on TV (Linus' monologue on Christmas). That said, why does everyone (Except the CW) have to air this thing? Sure, you may be set aside by the almighty White House, but you'd get a gold star in my book. Two videos today, both dealing with Charlie Brown Christmas. First, the Peanuts gang meets Led Zeppelin:

Along with the best minute and change in TV history:

Have a good day!

NPR Monday 11/23

2009-11-23T06:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving week to all and safe travels to those going somewhere this week. It's rare when two topics gets NPR for the week, but two things in pop culture have been driving me crazy this week. I will refer to them as the "Two T's": Twilight and Taylor Swift.

Twilight: Dear God! Can't I even watch a Vikings game without reference to the movie series? Burger King ran an ad a couple of times during the game that was basically an advertisement for "New Moon", which, if you've been in Iowa this week, debuted to the 3rd highest opening in box office history only behind Dark Knight and Spider Man 3. I don't need any hands to show you the number of guys I know who are into Twilight, so why should this spill over to my beloved football?

Taylor Swift: She is an example of how our society coddles celebrities, and the more I'm exposed to her, the more I agree with Kanye: Beyonce has the better video, and Michael Jackson should have won the AMA for artist of the year.

Too funny not to laugh.

2009-11-20T07:59:00.000-08:00

OK so I was just reading this article on yahoo about Fox news getting busted for splicing footage of different rallies together. And who busted them? That's right John Stewart. Here is the link to the article and there is a clip of the daily show that is pretty funny in the article. Enjoy I know I did.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20091111/ts_ynews/ynews_ts977

NPR Monday 11/16

2009-11-15T21:26:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another great edition of NPR Monday! Today I tackle such life changing issues as random comments on the Internet, a bear on primetime TV?, and Live from New York, Saturday Night Live isn't funny anymore! I also introduce a new segment to the bit, which will come later.

Random Commenting on the Internet:
I'm sure every so often, whether it's a forum or a news story up for discussion you find some random comments on the page. However, what I found on a video of The Last Goodnight's song "Pictures of You" set a new mark for me. In the first ten comments alone I found the following quotes (With original spelling intact):
"this is my future girlfriend favorite song xD"-And what if your future girlfriend doesn't like this song or what if it doesn't work out?

"awsome song and great job on the video check out some of my prank videos especially the prank calls peacee"-Ummm....no. I get enough advertisements everywhere else in my life.

Later on in the comments there is a man who dedicates this song to his snowmobile that burned down 10 years ago with the comment below that being "my cars brunt down a few moths ago". Wow....where we've come to as a society; and don't even get me started on the grammar! While I believe in free speech, I also believe people should have the intelligence when to know not to speak the words they have in their minds.

Ahhh! A bear!:
After a rare occasion of watching one of TV's best shows of all time in "The Simpsons", I caught some of "The Cleveland Show", a spin off of the ever popular "Family Guy". Not the biggest Cleveland fan, but I thought it was pretty clever. Anyway, the thing that threw me for a loop was Cleveland's new neighbor which happens to be of all things, a bear family. Last I checked, when do a) bears reside in residential Virginia taking up residence and b) what role do they really play in the show? They seem to be bit parts at best.

Where Has All the Laughter Gone?:
I was exploring NBC's vast SNL archive on their website this week; especially clips from the late 80's/early 90's (a la Dana Carvey, Chris Farley, my boy Kevin Nealon) to when the legendary Will Ferrell left and I laughed my butt off at every clip (i.e. Church Chat, Celebrity Jeopardy). Now, with Amy Pohler and Tina Fey moving on to bigger and better things the humor has dried up more than things you can do during an Iowa winter. Seriously though, SNL just depresses me and NBC should move on to bigger and better things, like giving Jay Leno weeknights at 10 ET.(Whispers) They've done that? It's tanking? My apologies NBC, you're in worse trouble than the public option.

And now for the something new today; I call it the Monday Virus, a video I find fun, enjoyable, AND safe for work! This week, to commemorate the airing of the first "holiday" special of the year, "Merry Madagascar" over on NBC, I give you my favorite part from my favorite Christmas special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas", the true meaning of the holiday:

Have a good Monday!
Andy

Attempt for Justice of Balloon Boy Parents Flies Away

2009-11-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

It was announced today that Richard and Mayumi Heene, the parents of "Balloon Boy", will agree to plea deals tomorrow; Richard pleading guilty to a charge of attempting to influence a public servant which is a felony and punishable with up to 90 days in jail while Mayumi will plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false reporting to authorities with up to 30 days in jail. In this instance, I don't believe the punishment fits the crime; I was on a beach in Florida when this broke and this captivated me, pulling me from my book as it was this decade's OJ Bronco chase; and to think these parents won't face any sort of child endangerment charges for stressing poor Falcon out so much? Insane! As much as I'm grateful for the American justice system, this is an instance where it fell flat on its feet.

The Return of NPR Mondays!

2009-11-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! It's Andy again and it's time for everyone's favorite part of Mondays, NPR Mondays! No, I do not take time and praise Public Radio, it's non-political rants, so here we go!

College Athletes Gone Bad!
Exhibit A: LeGarette Blount. The University of Oregon suspended our friend LeGarette for the season for this show of affection towards Boise State player Bryan Hout after the first game of the season.

Oregon's now in the Pac 10 championship race and faces a big game this weekend against intra-state rival Oregon State. Guess who will be in uniform this weekend? LeGarette himself! Nice way to go back on your word Pac 10 Conference!

Exhibit B: Brandon Spikes. The University of Florida Gator linebacker was originally suspended for a measly half of football for this gouging then suspended for the whole game.

A game is not enough for this in my eyes (Pun not intended). Florida just suspended him for the game this past weekend against Vanderbilt which proved to be a mere cakewalk (Gators win 27-3 over Vanderbilt). This wasn't a suspension, this was a slap on the wrist merely to show the world that there was some punishment in this incident and that Spikes will be back to play against South Carolina this weekend.

Finally (and in my mind most shocking) Exhibit C: University of New Mexico soccer defender Elizabeth Lambert turned her team's Mountain West Tournament semi-final match against BYU last week, into well, an MMA octagon.

New Mexico loses 1-0 to BYU end the season, and Lambert, a junior, is suspended "indefinitely" by the school. Hopefully this one sticks and Lambert doesn't see another second on the field.

What can we learn from these incidents? That universities and players alike should realize that playing as a college athlete is entirely a privilege and by no means a right.

When Will We Be Responsible for Ourselves?

2009-11-08T21:01:00.000-08:00

I also apologize for being gone so long. This is based of a news clipping out of the Mankato (MN) Free Press, the town where I go to college:
Schools settle kickball lawsuit

By Dan Nienaber
Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO November 08, 2009 11:21 pm

— The mother of a girl who fractured her ankle while playing kickball during summer school at Dakota Meadows Middle School has reached a financial settlement with the Mankato School District.
Amanda Smith was less than a week away from her 12th birthday when she slid on a file folder her teacher provided as one of the bases for the game in June 2008. The folder slid out from under Smith’s foot when she ran to the base, which resulted in the broken ankle and other injuries to her right leg, court records said.
Her mother, Rachal Karstens, has reached a settlement with the school district’s insurance provider, EMC Insurance Companies, that will cover medical expenses and create an annuity for Smith that will mature with a final lump-sum payment on her 30th birthday.
The settlement was filed in Blue Earth County District Court last week. It will go before District Court Judge George Harrelson for approval during a hearing Nov. 18.
The total payment from Independent School District 77’s insurance provider is $25,000.
Smith’s medical expenses totaled nearly $12,000, but most of that cost was covered by UCare Minnesota, a state health care insurer. A payment of about $3,600 will be issued to UCare through the settlement.
A total of about $8,800 will be paid to Mankato law firm Maschka, Riedy and Ries to cover about $8,300 in attorney’s fees and about $500 in expenses, according to the settlement.
The annuity, issued by Allstate Live Insurance Co., will be purchased for the remaining $12,600. If the payment is accepted by Karstens, the school district and EMC Insurance will be released from any further liabilities for the incident, according to the terms of the settlement.
If the settlement is approved, Smith will get her first lump-sum payment of $1,500 in 2014 on her 18th birthday. Another $2,500 will be paid out on her 21st birthday in 2017.
She would receive $4,000 in 2020, $5,000 in 2023 and the final $6,761 payment on her 30th birthday in 2026.
The total value of the annuity is estimated to be nearly $20,000 by that time, based on a guaranteed annual return of slightly more than 3.7 percent.

I am no lawyer (Nor will I claim to be), but here are some points that just shocked me about this story:
1. The annuity payment in general. I and most people would deem the reasonable and responsible action would be for the school district to pay the mother the amount insurance didn't cover.
That said...
2. Does anyone else find it appalling that there's no court interference with this settlement (i.e. x amount goes towards Amanda's college education) or any financial planning? Sure, amounts from $1,500 to $6,761 may not seem like a big deal, but it wouldn't hurt, would it?
3 (and final). Why sue at all in this situation or better yet, why not take responsibility? At least when I played kickball in gym class we weren't allowed to slide unless we were on a dirt surface because of the risk of injury. Our society has to learn to be responsible for ourselves and our actions; we're not going to get a magical annuity whenever we rupture or break something in our bodies.

Senator Kennedy

2009-08-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by apologizing for being away from this blog for so long.

As the Ranting About Politics Massachusetts corespondent, I figured I should put in my two cents on the passing of Senator Kennedy. I wasn't sure if this story would translate on the national scene, but obviously this has become a national story.

This may be in bad taste, seeing that the late Senator has not been put in the ground yet, but my blood is boiling. The Massachusetts legislature is going to be considering a change to the current law that guides the process of replacing a member of congress in the middle of a term. The way it stands right now, we the people of Taxachusetts get to vote for the replacement in a special election, which must take place within 5 months of the vacancy. This has been the case since 2004. Before the change the way it worked was, the governor would appoint a replacement. So what happened in 2004 and why did it change?? Well, in 2004, Republican Mitt Romney was occupying the Governor's seat and there was some potential that Senator John Kerry was going to vacate his seat mid-term. If you remember Kerry was in a battle for the presidency and had he won, it would have left an open seat. Shock and horror!! God forbid a Republican Governor appoint someone to fill that vacancy!!! So the overwhelmingly liberal legislature voted to change the law to the special election system that we have now. This was done after a strong urging from the states senior senator, you guessed it, Ted Kennedy.

I happen to agree with the idea that the people of Massachusetts should elect their congressman through a special election. So what's the problem?? Well, a couple weeks ago, as Senator Kennedy realized he was about to check out, he sends a letter to the Massachusetts legislature, declaring his "final request" is that they change the law to allow the governor to appoint a temporary replacement immediately upon a vacancy until the special election can be held five months later. Ironically enough, there happens to be a liberal democrat holding the office of governor right now.

So in short, Kennedy wanted it switched to benefit the democrat party in 2004, and now he wants it changed again to benefit the democrat party. In typical Massachusetts style, the legislature is considering it and the governor has already declared that he would sign a law change if it came to his desk.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Status Quo in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Anyone want to move here??

Health Care

2009-08-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would post a topic of discussion. Lets hear what you guys think.

Are you serious?!

2009-07-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Quick! Everyone feel the ground. Is it cold? Has hell frozen over? Check this video out:

Is Helen Thomas actually question The Anointed One's Administration? I can't believe this! I think hell has actually frozen over!

Obviously, I have NEVER been a fan of Helen Thomas, but she and Chip Reid make excellent points. What exactly IS the point of having a town hall meeting if you're going cherry pick questions asked and "screen" those who are invited to the event. Last time I checked, a town hall meeting is where citizens can question their leaders, not a glorified photo op.

Oh, and I LOVE Gibbs defense of the whole ordeal. He says that this was an opportunity for the public to ask the President questions via Facebook and Twitter. He brought that up many times. However, that just solidifies their argument. It is SO much easier to pick out questions that makes the President look good and weed out those that don't. Then he kept telling Chip and Helen if they emailed their questions. Why do they need to? They're members of the White House Press Corps. They have access to the White House everyday. If they have to email or tweet their questions, then why the hell are they having briefings everyday?!

The sole point of this "meeting" (as well as any of the President's public appearances) is just put on this show that Obama and his cronies are taking care of the American people and that they have everything under control, without actually doing a damn thing about it. Kind of like all of these "Czar" positions.

I'm not saying that Obama is the first President to do these sorts of things. I'm sure all of them have done the same thing at one point or another in their administrations, but my God, his entire campaign was based on Change. He wanted to run his administration on Openness and Transparency. Controlling the media isn't exactly the way to do that, is it?

More Fun From The Recount

2009-06-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

If you haven't noticed, it's June and we're still trying to figure out who won the Senate election in November up here. Yesterday a Ramsey County judge (St. Paul's county), ruled that due to the "outcome of the race not changing", and forced by Minnesota law, Franken supposedly leads by 312 votes, so Senator Coleman had to pay $95,000 to Franken in "legal expenses". Senator Coleman's 726 original vote total slipped down to 215 to Franken's "lead" of 312 votes. This is democracy at its worst with a power hungry and ruthless Democratic Party using such partners as ACORN to push their ideals and people into office (In this case Democrat Secretary of State Mark Ritchie) to compromise what Minnesotans and Americans want: A free and fair election.

And now from the if you can't take a joke department...

2009-06-08T04:55:00.000-07:00

The following article By William Petroski appeared in the June 3rd edition of the Des Moines Register.

Iowa trooper tied to disparaging e-mail fired

The Iowa State Patrol said Tuesday that it has fired a veteran state trooper accused earlier this year of using his state-issued laptop computer to circulate mug shots of prisoners wearing Barack Obama T-shirts.

Sgt. Rodney Hicok, 46, who was based in Fort Dodge, has appealed his dismissal. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Hicok remains on paid administrative leave until his appeal is resolved, said Courtney Greene, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety. He received a state salary of $76,732 last year, state records show.
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Greene declined to comment on the reasons for Hicok's termination, citing department policy and Iowa law regarding confidential records.

Hicok was first disciplined in January for circulating an e-mail inside and outside his department that made disparaging remarks about 15 people in law enforcement mug shots. The original pictures were posted on a popular Web site that features court records obtained nationwide. Most of the people shown in the mug shots were minorities, and all wore Obama-related T-shirts.

A message that accompanied the mug shots said, "I've seen some 'unique individuals' aka (expletive) wearing these type shirts myself ... Nice to know that the low-lifes are getting involved in politics now."

The e-mail had been sent while Hicok was at home and off duty with a state-issued laptop, state officials said. The officials said that they concluded he was making a political statement, not a racial one, but that he violated the department's e-mail policy.

Hicok was suspended again on April 30 for unspecified reasons.

Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Eugene Meyer said in a statement Tuesday that his department on May 20 initiated dismissal procedures against Hicok following an investigation by the agency's professional standards bureau.

Hicok's discipline in January included a 30-day suspension, although he didn't actually serve it because of provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Hicok, who has been with the patrol for 27 years, issued a statement of apology at the time, saying, "I wear the uniform proudly and have dedicated most of my life to the Iowa State Patrol. I can guarantee with 100 percent certainty that nothing like this will ever happen again."

Before the incident in January, Hicok's record was unblemished with no complaint filed against him, state officials said.

OK so perhaps the guy should not have used his state issued PC to share something he found to be funny. But you know there are things like this floating all over the internet. Would Sergent Hicok have been repremanded for circulating pictures of celebrity mugshots?

My personal favorite is James Brown. Clearly one celeb here (Paris Hilton) was given special treatment, what a glamor shot.

Speech less

2009-06-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

Heard this on the news and nearly fell out of my chair. Usually our Gov's. just cave in. You'll read how great they had it. I do hope it gets signed into law because it will be a one of the many building blocks needed to right our state. Oh and by the way. This is not happening because of everyone in the state (besides the people affected) wanting major change. It's because Patterson has a 19% approval rating and is up for re-election. He did sign a 9% budget increase into law earlier in the year. I just hope the "Business as usual" in Albany phrase will take in a whole new meaning.

Gov. Paterson and unions set to avoid layoffs with pension, buyout deal
BY Kenneth Lovett DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF
Friday, June 5th 2009, 4:00 AM
ALBANY - Gov. Paterson and the state's two major public employee unions are expected to announce a deal Friday to avoid major layoffs, the Daily News has learned.
In exchange for job protection, the Civil Service Employees Association and the Public Employees Federation will okay a new pension plan with lower benefits for new workers.
A key component is a plan to offer $20,000 buyouts to specific people who have hit state retirement age.
The goal is to target higher-paid employees in an effort to save the same amount that would have been saved if the governor's call for 8,700 job cuts had gone through, the source said.
Although union members will benefit, one legislative source said it was possible some managers will also get the buyouts.
"They're going to use it like they're handing out golden parachutes," the source said of the Paterson administration.
The unions, which Paterson previously blasted for refusing to forgo their 3% raises to help the state deal with its fiscal crisis, agreed to pension changes, sources said.
The new Tier 5 plan would strip many of the pension enhancements added before the economy tanked.
The new tier would restore the minimum retirement age to 62, up from 55, and require a worker to contribute 3% of his or her salary toward pensions for as long as they work, not just the first 10 years.
Workers would also have to wait 10 years, instead of five, to become vested in the system.
Paterson wanted to eliminate overtime from counting in pensions, but the deal would allow up to $10,000 in overtime pay to be factored in, sources said.
Paterson stressed "the state has got to make up for about $300 million." Union officials had no comment.
Getting the unions to agree to Tier 5 would be a big boost for Paterson in his bid to extend it to police and firefighters.
The governor forced the unions' hand Wednesday by vetoing a routine pension bill extender affecting new cops and firefighters.

Yes We Can

2009-04-22T05:11:00.000-07:00

Oprah Praises Her New Messiah

2009-03-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

I arrived home Monday and found my wife watching The Oprah Winfrey Show. The episode which aired on 3/2/09 was entitled "What Can You Live Without?" How to Simplify your life.

This episode challenged a couple families to change their lifestyles for a couple weeks. They had to do things like give up the computer & TV, not use credit cards, not spend more than $25 a week at the grocery store, and no dining out.

For the sake of this blog I will skip all the general "Gee Oprah I feel so good about the changes I've made" shit and go straight to the point of this rant. If you want to learn about the fluff, visit the link above. Ah heck go ahead and read it. Just be warned, you're likely to smack your forehead in disgust more than once.

My rant is aimed at the "no dining out" portion of the challenge. While doing a post challenge interview with one of the moms, Candice mentioned that during the challenge it was so pleasant to have her whole family sitting at the dinner table together for a change. Then Oprah spoke and I cursed the TV as I left the room. She said (and this was the first thing out of her mouth) " Isn't it wonderful that the Obama's are bringing back the family dinner?"

I'll pause here and give you a moment to recover from the stupidity of that statement.

Pardon my language but where in the F*** does she get off making a statement like that? I am so happy that Oprah has found her savior and that soon the dark clouds will part and the world will soon be back on track. Soon there will be a new modern utopia. There will be no more drug abuse, no war, all of my bills,(perhaps even my DVC will be paid for) there will no longer be premarital sex, siblings will never fight, there will be no more divorce.

If my neighbor is diving a new fully loaded Mustang GT and I'm still driving my Oldsmobile, all I need is to simply call up my President and manna, sweet manna will fall from the heavens and soon I will have my own Mustang GT. Perhaps I should call him and explain that I would like to retire today while increasing my current lifestyle. Yes my friends, family values and all your dreams are going to come true. Just don't tell Joe the plumber about how you got your piece of the American dream OK? But then all Joe really needs to do is ask, Right?

I guess we missed the family dinner memo. Last night my son ate at his work, my daughter had dance right after school and just nuked up some Easy Mac, and when I came home from work we had to take her up to appear in honor choir. On the way my wife and I grabbed McDonalds.

BTW Oprah this picture is for you.

"I'm thinking combo #5 looks good tonight."

OK so I will go there.

2009-03-04T10:57:00.001-08:00

Someone has to tell me why the Republican party looks to Rush Limbaugh as their voice of the party. I would like someone to tell me this. I liked the fact that Mr.Steele spoke out against him. But the VERY next day he is apologizing on TV to an entertainment figure! Hey maybe this is why the people have lost faith in the republicans. This guy is nothing but full of hate, spins the truth(gets more listeners=more ad rev.), and oh yeah lets face it he's a glutton. I have listened to his show many times and I just can not see why Republicans hold him in such high regard. I have heard people say well he speaks the truth. Really? I heard him actually say(This is non political) that Michael J. Fox is faking the severity of his Parkinson's. Saying all the shaking is him just acting. Really? Could he have said anything dumber. Well maybe he could have. I do not take offense to what he said (even though I have experienced a family member suffer through Parkinson's). It is his right, but really. As an independent that really likes the true views of the Republican party I have a hard time getting behind a group that holds an Entertainment figure in such high regard. I do not have a problem with him saying what he says. Again it is his right, but for a political party to get behind him and make the head of that party apologize on national TV makes me think that party has got some really bad internal issues to work out. OK go on blast me guys. I'm a big boy I can take. Oh yeah yes I will admit that there is sometimes truth behind what he says.

Quick Rant

2009-02-16T17:25:00.000-08:00

Ok... I'm watching the Factor just now and I see an add for High School Musical 3. Why in the HELL is Disney advertising HSM 3 on, of all things, The O'Reilly Factor?! That doesn't make a lick of sense to me!

Ok... rant over. The show is back on!

Wait who's a jigga what?

2009-02-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

So I am watching dateline right now and the subject is the bank bail out. They just had a writer for some business journal and he said that main street just as much as wall street is to blame. He says and I quote"No one put a gun to their head when they got that sub prime mortgage." OK true but I ask you this. Who is more at fault the banks that offer and PUSHED these kinds of loans or the person getting it. If there was no loan like this to offer in the first place we would not be in this sub prime mess to begin with. But hey what do I know. OK discuss.

Приветствия мои камрады!

2009-02-04T18:08:00.000-08:00

Gяеетфиgs му комядds! I коме бедяфиg тнфs мееsдge fяом ouя gloяious peяiмeя, Bдядк Oбдмд:

Humor: Additional Captions Welcome

2009-01-30T08:29:00.000-08:00

And in other news… Podcasters across American arrived in Washington today looking for their share of the Government bailout pie. The media however was quick to point out that at least one podcast program did not learn anything from an earlier public relations mistake made by the auto industry.

Biden Possibly Drunk, Nancy Pelosi's Cat, and Bipartisanship?

2009-01-30T06:05:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been ranting all that much lately. I just really haven't had much to rant about. The only thing so far is Obama's ability to scare Congress into passing the $1 Trillion Economic "Pork" Bill a few days ago, with no Committee hearings, no debate, no anything other than a vote. Fortunately, Pelosi's "Abortion Pork" was cut (our economy is failing, so how can we fix it? Let's Kill Babies! Yeah that makes a hell of allot of sense!)

Well, Here is some humor to brighten every one's day. This is Jay Leno's monologue from the other night. Towards the end, watch Biden. It's obvious that Biden is drunk and Obama's reaction is priceless! I also found Pelosi's cat quite funny.

http://www.nbc.com/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/video/clips/monologue-122/963963/

The Big Basketball Debate

2009-01-26T05:42:00.000-08:00

By now you've certainly heard of Dallas Covenant's 100-0 whipping at the hands of Dallas Academy earlier this month, and the cries foul on both sides of the issue. First off, we should congratulate DA for hanging in there throughout the game. That said, I think there was nothing wrong with how Covenant handled the game, while it was on the floor. Letting the coach go or offering to forfeit the game are both stupid points, and life should move on. This is America people, you should win as much as you can, not baby our kids. Academy should have known what they were getting themselves into, simple as that.

Is this REALLY change?

2009-01-19T05:49:00.000-08:00

According to most estimates, Barack Obama's inauguration will cost more than $150 million, more than THREE TIMES the $42.3 million President Bush spent in 2005. Obama, with the good intention of trying to "reach out to the nation", is now spending money left and right when most Americans are forced to cut back. Shame on you President Obama for setting a poor example. In these hard times, most reasonable people would just have the inauguration ceremony and the parade; not 5 million concerts disguised as "balls" involving everyone from the Jonas Brothers to Dionne Warwick and a train tour. I have a friend of a friend who is in Washington right now; and I had to ask which ball she was going to. If this will be the precident for our next President, Sarah Palin probably won't be able to see Russia from the White House when she moves in in 2013.

Idol Rant

2009-01-16T18:52:00.000-08:00

The one thing I hate about Fox is that I dragged my butt down to Kansas City in August to audition for Idol. Was I on TV? No, but here's my audition (Had to bribe Ryan Seacrest for it; also I get in a verbal scrap with Simon!):
http://tinyurl.com/2g9mqh

Batteries Not Included* (A NPR Monday Special)

2009-01-12T05:41:00.000-08:00

The North American Auto Show is getting underway today in Detroit, and the Free Press is declaring that "Battery powered cars are sparking a buzz", with Ford and Chevy unveiling electric cars that will come out next year. Last time I checked, these two were in trouble and begging for money from the government because they can't sell cars. Not only that, the only place I've seen ANY electric cars was in LA where they have specialty spots for this form of Liberal environmentalism along with handicapped spots. I'll include hybrids on this. According to Ford, Escape hybrid sales plummeted 20% last year while Mercury Mariner hybrid sales dropped 25.2% over the same period. The only reason these cars only came on the scene was because of "high gas prices" that have since come down to earth.

NPR Monday 1/5/09

2009-01-05T07:26:00.000-08:00

Good Morning everybody!
Any Eagle fans on this blog? No? Alright. Today is a bit longer than usual (and some political) rants today covering the gamut from Roland Burris to my Minnesota Vikings.

Billy Mays: Surely by now you've heard this man scream bloody murder wanting you to buy everything from Oxi Clean to the Slider Maker. WILL THIS MAN SHUT UP??? HOW DO YOU LIKE IT WHEN I SCREAM AT FULL VOLUME AS I RANT? OH WAIT, AND IF YOU ACT NOW, YOU CAN GET A PIECE OF CRAP FOR $19.95!

The Senate Controversies: Let's start in Illinois. Roland Burris should be seated tomorrow as Barack Obama's replacement. Until the bleeping tape comes back with the evidence that Mr. Burris handed over a sum of money for this appointment, he is innocent until proven guilty. Now to Minnesota, where apparently the dead have spoken and every vote is +15 for the New Yorker trying to represent Minnesota. Honestly, how do you legally account for almost a 360 degree change in the vote tally? The Senate should refuse to seat Albert Franken instead.

Marley and Me: Saw it yesterday, and it was a great movie. However, I have to take issue with the "critics" who say it's not appropriate for kids. There is a reason why this film is rated PG (Mostly for love scenes), but as long as your kids know about the circle of life, and everything must die in the end, you should be good.

Eagles/Vikes: First off Fox, I could care less about Idol. It won't sway me that there's a new judge and that you advertised it like it's better than sliced bread. I have a better alternative: it's called amateur night at the local bar. As for the game, I'm happy my Vikes made the playoffs for the first time in six seasons and won the division for the first time in eight, but the opposition knows about Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. We need someone who can catch, and fast!

That is all, have a great 1st day back (Except for me and possibly Matt)!

Uncle Jay Explains It All. The Year In Review

2009-01-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T20:56:00.001-08:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Um, I'd like to be a Senator, You Know!

2008-12-29T17:43:00.000-08:00

Um... Yeah it's been a while since I've ranted over here on the blog, but something has sort of bothered me enough to post. Mike, I sort of venturing into your turf, so If I get things wrong, please correct me.

So, um you know, here it goes.

Surely by know you know that Caroline Kennedy wants Hillary's senate seat. Honestly, that didn't really bother me at first. Yeah she's a Kennedy and we probably don't need any more Kennedys in office (I don't see us wanting any more Bushes in office now do we?), but I really didn't know much about her so I figured, why not give her a chance.

Then I heard her interview with the New York Times today. I think she made herself look like a total ass in that interview. She sounded like the elitest version of a redneck! How many times can you say "You know" in a short interview? Apparently Caroline can do it 144 times!

I know I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill, but come on! If I were trying to win the confidence of the people that I'm trying to represent, I would certainly try to sound some what intellegent. Caroline, you're running for a senate seat in New York. Not Mississippi! You can't get away with that up there (you probably could here, lol)!

That's it from me. Is my "Grammar Nazi" ways disrupting my perspective here? What do you guys think?

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T13:25:00.000-08:00

Deck The Halls Funny Jokes at JibJab

I found this on Jib Jab the other day and thought that it would make for a perfect Christmas greeting for the blog. Hope you enjoy!

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!!

NPR Monday

2008-12-15T06:40:00.000-08:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful (-5 this morning), but regardless it's another NPR Monday, the last one for a couple weeks due to the holiday. This week I talk about fox urine, paying $15 to talk to an American, and blind people.

I'll start with the fox urine. From my neck of the woods (up in Willmar, Minnesota) a man is accused of assault after spraying a mixture of one third fox urine to two thirds water at a group of 60 kids who toilet paper his house every fall as a homecoming prank. Whatever happened to the right to defend property? The kids are the one who should be charged, not the man.

Dell Computer is offering a service for people buying a new computer: for $12.95 a month or $99 annually, you can talk to an American for tech support. Props to Dell for introducing this service, but why charge extra? I honestly don't believe the cash is there.

The Blind: The blind community is up in arms over SNL's take at New York Governor David Patterson.Governor Patterson took the joke, why can't other people, especially if they can't see it?

Finally, also from SNL, Governor Blagojevich asks for a bailout:

By the way, two million yen equals $22,081.15.

"A Sad Day For Government"

2008-12-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

Illinois Governor Rod Blageovich is in federal custody today under a variety of charges that US attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said that "Lincoln would roll over in his grave". The two most damning: trying to extort the Tribune Company, a Blageovich critic, by blocking the sale of Wrigley Field (A Tribune property) if they didn't fire two anti-Blageovich editors on staff at the Chicago Tribune and giving the US Senate seat vacated by President-Elect Obama to the highest bidder, and appointing himself if he felt he didn't get the price he wanted. And you wonder why Americans have such low faith in their public officials or why the citizens of Illinois reelected Blageovich in 2006.

NPR Monday!

2008-12-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

Before we get to our usual program, it's time for a pledge drive! For the next 5 hours, if you give $600 to NPR you'll get an autographed copy of Jeff W's "Life Amongst the Corn". That is all.

It's time for another NPR Monday! Let's get started:

Survivorman: I was forced to watched this during breaks of the Vikings game yesterday. I don't know about you, but the whole "stranded in an area" concept and the display of fish hearts on TV just isn't for me. That said, I'm sure this will inspire some idiot to try living on an Arctic island and freeze to death.

The ability to sue over whatever you want: A 16 year-old Washington state girl is the center of a lawsuit after she was expelled and kicked off the cheerleading squad for taking nude pictures of herself then sent the pictures to her boyfriend, and her parents are suing. Oi vey! The parents are supposed to parent, not be the best friend of the kid, and if that means having an uncool cell phone without a camera, so be it.

Shamwow!: The commercial for this is classic! With such phrases as "Made in Germany" and "Beware of imitators" puts major question marks on this product.

The DTV Switch: Not too many people are truly affected by this, so why must I see Tyra Banks explain to me why I need an effin converter box every 5 minutes?

Have a good Monday!

More Political Fun in Canada

2008-12-04T11:16:00.000-08:00

When we last left the Canadian political situation, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives had rallied to a strong minority government in October's elections. Now, barely just over 10 days after Parliament opened (and much mudslinging between the party leaders over who was at fault for the recession), PM Harper has once again approached the Governor General to suspend Parliament for six weeks, four days ahead of a minority fueled no confidence vote in Parliament (Sort of like impeachment but you didn't break the law).
While I do like some aspects about the Parliamentary government like question time (a daily period where MP's, their congressmen, can ask almost any question of any party leader) and the ability to change course if need be between scheduled elections, the idea of exchanging the car right after you bought it isn't always the best. This is, in my mind, the Liberal party leader Stephane Dion's weakness of the English language (While it should be understood that both English and French are the official languages of Canada, French is not much used outside of Quebec and government business), the outright socialism of the NDP, and well, then we get to probably the selfish of them all, the Bloc Queboics, only doing what Quebec wants.
As I've quoted in an earlier post, Harper said during his victory speech in October that he wanted Parliament to work together through this economic time, not for every non-Conservative to blame him for the lagging world economy, and how the three opposition parties lack delayed gratification in terms of the economy; wanting solutions right now. It was the correct decision for Stephen Harper to approach the Governor General to ask for a suspension of Parliment and an even better one for the Governor General to suspend it.
If you want a further explanation of what's going on with our neighbors up north, I suggest reading the following column from CBC reporter Neil MacDonald: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/12/03/f-rfa-macdonald.html

Ad(vertisement) Nauseum

2008-12-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

A suburban San Diego AP calculus teacher has started to sell advertising on his tests ($10 for a quiz, $20 for a test, $30 for an exam). I'm usually OK with "Fill in the Blank" Sports Arena if it's a sound company (Save for Enron and Citi Fields in Houston and New York respectively), but on a high school test? While I didn't like Pixar's Wall-E that much, I thought it did bring up a valid point of society being overdependent on companies. Imagine, like in Wall-E if one company controlled everything that influcenced our lives. We don't need everything sponsored by a company on this living earth, and would it hurt us for life not to be one giant commercial?

Monday Non-Political Rants

2008-12-01T08:42:00.000-08:00

All-Christmas Radio: I understand it's the Holiday Season, but how many spins of Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" every 2.5 hours can you stand? My personal favorite: A "Country Christmas" with a focus on the "12 Redneck Days of Christmas" by Jeff Foxworthy.

Britney Spears' Birthday: Since when is Britney Spears having a birthday a big deal? Granted, she has a new album and an MTV special, but dude, it's not that big of a deal.

Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State: And you thought American attitudes overseas had already hit rock bottom.

Mousefest: I just realize as I type this that my mom is going to be in Orlando next weekend but I have finals. Thankfully she won't be venturing over to Disney World, but I so wish I could go :(

That's all I got. Have a good Monday.

Recounts Through Time

2008-11-25T11:52:00.000-08:00

A humorous look at how we've come in counting ballots in less than a decade:

Then (Florida 2000)

Now (Minnesota 2008)

Rantfest, Here We Come!!!

2008-11-24T10:13:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! It looks like that we may have decided on a place to meet for "Rantfest" meet (I had a more colorful name made up, but I wanted to be a little P.C.).

Mike mentioned having the meet at Victoria Falls at the Animal Kingdom Lodge on Thursday Afternoon/Evening. Those who voiced their opinions agreed. So, That's where we're going to have it. Does anyone have a time preference?

I know nothing about Victoria Falls. Is it a restaurant or a bar? Will I need to make ADR's?

Also, I just wanted your thoughts on this idea... Should we invite Bryan and Jonathan and any other "Mouseketter's" to join us? I've been trying to get people over at the Disney blog to comeover, but know luck so far. I was thinking that maybe I could send an email to the guys and see if they wanted to come. They may could even promote the meet on the podcast if they wanted. Should I email them?

What's Happened NBC???

2008-11-20T18:34:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful I don't watch network TV that often, and the following scene provides more evidence as to why:

Usual Thursday night, settling in for "The Office" (The only show I watch on a week to week basis), when all of a sudden I see a spot by one of the "Heroes" taking about recycling car batteries and a pop up on the bottom of the screen encouraging me to use CFL lights. Since when is NBC Universal a reliable authority on energy? I'll tell you the green they're going for: money.

Point 2: Apparently NBC gave Rosie her own variety show (Time and date withheld for security reasons). Who was the bozo that allowed this? But hey, she's on LBC (Liberal Broacasting Company) so no one really cares. It'll be over before Obama's sworn in.

What has happened to NBC? Up til about five years ago they were the home not only good shows (Seinfeld, Friends to an extent, Cosby, Cheers, Family Ties, Fresh Prince), but smart shows as well like Fraiser (also good). Most of these shows you could watch as a family (With the exception of Friends, unless you wanted to have a premature "birds and the bees" talk), because there were jokes for everybody, characters you'd want to associate with, and now network TV is devoid of that show (No, I don't count "American Idol", seperate rant). That's a main reason outside of study time I don't watch much network TV is that it's sadly turned to all four networks turning into havens for Progressive politics, ideals, and values.
P.S. If you have found one of these shows, feel free to comment and I'll check it out.

Recount Fever!

2008-11-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

Today is Day 1 of the "Great Minnesota Recount" in a race that quite frankly (pun intended) shouldn't have been this close. People up here have been intoxicated with the Kool-Aid of a comedian whose political policy is nothing more than a joke. Even though a recount is required by state law, does anyone think that someone in the Franken campaign is scouting Minneapolis area cemeteries for votes to win this thing "fair and square" by having the support of every high up person outside of the Governor (Senator Coleman currently leads by .3% or about 215 votes) and Al Franken meeting with Senate majority leader Reid this morning (???) Now, you may remember that I voted for the Independent candidate, but as Americans it is in our Constitution for a check and balance system, and while I have great confidence that Senator Chambliss will retain his seat in the State of Georgia, every seat matters.

Cast Your Vote!!!

2008-11-19T06:11:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! Since we're always debating democracy on this blog, I thought I'd be a little more democratic in the Rant Meet details (mostly because I have NO ideas what so ever!).

So, chose what general area you'd like to meet at, and once we've made that selection we will narrow it down.

If you have any ideas on where to eat, or what to do, or an agenda, or anything else go ahead and post it or email me. I know Chris has already mentioned going over to the ESPN Club (that's at the Boardwalk right? I've never been over there before, so I'm not sure).

Anyway, I'm rambling so I'll shut up now and let you guys talk!

Political Rant Meet Anyone?

2008-11-15T11:40:00.001-08:00

I was just wondering if those who are going to be at the World for the marathon (sorry Andy, maybe next year) would like to meet up for dinner somewhere. Chris mentioned it over at my Disney blog a couple of days ago and I thought that it would be alot of fun to debate you guys in person.

What do you think? Is this something you guys would be interested in? If so, when and where?

Bye Bye 401k....

2008-11-12T12:11:00.000-08:00

Is anyone else concerned about this? I've been reading a number of articles and backlog "where the politicians stand on the issues" sites and wondering what the heck this country has gotten itself into. Obama seems to favor an expansion of SS tto be funded on the backs of our 401k's? Can they legally do this? Take our 401k's? Okay, I don't believe they will just swipe it, more like, you can give it to them as buy in to a goverment plan and oh by the way, your 401k contributions will become taxable. This of course will lead to employer matching stopages.... Sure, why not, they've done a bang up job on Soc. Sec....we should totally give them our life savings now cause we believe they will get it right this time.... This time he can't blame Bush though cause we've had this issue on the table for years!!!

Just finished an Economics class for my MBA and wow... Could Obama's potential policies be any further from a capitalistic economists view or what! Rule #1, never raise taxes on ANYONE in a down market....Rule #2, monopolies pretty much only exist in the public/goverment sector...even when given an opportunity through regulation (airline industry is a great example). Rule #3, free market solutions to healthcare, retirement, choice in schools...breeds competition and a higher level of output....

I'm just banking on the fact that if he tries to implement any of the radical policies he's campaigned on that it would divide this country even further and tarnish his "legacy to be".

Sorry for the incoherent babble guys, needed an outlet to vent and knew this was the place....I haven't checked grammar, spelling, etc. either as I just wanted to dump and run!

Thank A Soldier

2008-11-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

As you know, today is Veteran's Day. Without going too much on the tangent on how Veteran's Day should be observed in our schools, my 6th and 7th grade teacher, proud Army vet and friend of mine, gave us the lecture on both Veteran's Days on how he felt betrayed by the school district on how there was nothing done to salute his service. What once was a proud and respected tradition of having a veteran speak at the high school I graduated from with the color guard present has been reduced to "Write a Soldier" or "Write a Member of the Peace Corps" (?) day. Anyway, back on point, I always make it a point to thank uniformed personnel when I see them, and more times than not it makes their day. I actually had a nice conservation a couple months back in my hometown with a soldier who is headed to Iraq in January, and he said that my support is sadly he doesn't hear too often from Americans, especially with the unpopularity of the Iraq war. So, to every member of our military, I THANK YOU!
I also present the songs for each branch of the military.
Air Force:

Army:
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Marines:

Navy:

When First Pets Attack!

2008-11-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

Apparently Barney Bush isn't too happy about leaving the White House, so he takes it out on MSNBC reporter Jon Decker:

The Pendulum Has Swung

2008-11-06T05:14:00.000-08:00

I must say that I was expecting a somewhat closer race. Hopefully with Tuesday’s decisive victory, the people of our nation can move on with their lives and not cry fowl. McCain was very gracious in his concession speech and that speaks to his true character. And Obama said it himself when he stated that he understands the needs to earn the trust of the rest of our country. We'll see about that. I'm sure Peggy is already standing in line looking for a bigger slice of welfare pie. Personal feelings aside this is a historic day in our nation. Although I am not a fan of Jesse Jackson I admit that I was a bit moved by the tears in his eyes the other night night. A dream has come true for a group of our countries citizens. We can expect many mentions of ethnicity and diversity and the importance of this election in the days ahead. Hopefully such discussions will promote a positive tone and not one of division. Hopefully the positive tone will prevail.

For those of us that feel let down all you need to do is look at why the country became disenchanted. History shows us that once one of these political powers gain control it's not long before that power begins to corrupt. In the next 4 to (dare I say) 8 years the country will grow restless again and vote the Republicans back into office. Unless our nation finally says we've had enough of the two party system and we actually back an independent.

One last thought and this goes back to an early observation. (and this is NOT sour grapes talking) Do we really believe the Republicans wanted to win? I still feel they saw the writing on the wall and held back. I throw out this observation from Tuesday. Did anyone pay attention during the day when the news programs would show the locations of candidate's planned reception areas being set up. Did anyone notice how small McCains area was?

Yes I'm disappointed, but mostly because the GOP could not manage to live up to the expectations of those who sent them to Washington in the first place.

Scratching my head

2008-11-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

OK here is an article I read on yahoo today. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081105/ap_on_el_se/alaska_senate How can this guy be convicted of corruption still be allowed to run for re-election and still might win his seat back? Do people in Alaska not care that he used his political power to benefit himself and got caught! I know he has been in that seat for over 40 years, but the voters need to realize that if he gets his re-elected that it will open the flood gates for more of this from other politicians.

The Morning After

2008-11-05T06:10:00.000-08:00

I have a really bad taste in my mouth as I write this morning, mostly about what's to come. Not that I congratulate Senator Obama's accomplishment as the 1st African American president elect, rather it's the policies that he brings with him that scares me to death. Case in point: I put the following status on my Facebook last night "Andy is America should hang their heads in shame. Anyone who thinks that the last 8 years was bad; the following 8 years will be worse". Within 15 minutes I had a variety of responses from "Go to Hell" to being called a racist for not supporting Obama (?). I'm returning to my roots this morning by listening to Imus (Something I did with my grandpa before his death in 2000). Somehow I think he'll be the biggest fighter of this "Fairness Docterine" crap that Obama wants to force on us.

Ahh The Disillusioned

2008-11-04T13:47:00.000-08:00

Ahh The Media

2008-11-03T05:09:00.000-08:00

The next 48 hours should prove to be quite interesting. The media or more particularly "Oprah" kicked things off last Friday when she discussed her experience using electronic absentee voting machines in Chicago. According to Miss Winfrey she double checked her ballot before submitting it and the machine had failed to accept her vote for "the right man, Obama" The Presidential fields were mysteriously blank. Now, she did not go into any conspiracy here, she just said "I must not have pressed firmly enough on the machine." Was she planting an idea here? Will we wake up to massive electronic fraud on Wednesday morning?

Watch the media today. This morning on the "Today Show" the recurring theme is "McCain has a lot of ground to make up" or "McCain is facing an uphill battle" They go on to mention that McCain has planned more stops in key states to rally supporters. Obama is visiting fewer states and because of this he must be more confident.

What BS! How many electoral votes do each of these states carry? I think this will be a very common theme throughout the day.

I think this election will be close. And if I could borrow a quote from Dan Rather a few years ago. "This thing is tighter than the lug nuts on a '56 Ford"

Get Out And Vote!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T19:22:00.000-07:00

Not a rant but I thought this was a better place to post my pumpkin pics that on my other blog. I found celebrity pumpkin carving templates online over at Better Homes and Gardens. I could not resist trying them out.

You can see more detail in the night shot by clicking the image to enlarge it.

How do we fix it?

2008-10-30T04:42:00.001-07:00

Mike touched on that answer in a response to my last post when he mentioned Mitt Romney, fiscal responsibility, and the Olympic games. There’s no quick fix but here is where I feel we need to start.

We need elected officials who will eliminate fraudulent pork barrel spending while honestly working to balance our national budget.

So how do we get there? To get there we start with informed voters and not just a bunch of sheep who will vote a straight party ticket on Election Day. In that flock of sheep I include those who would vote for a candidate simply because of their race, sex, or charismatic charm and good looks. Have you ever watched “Jay Walking” or listened to a Sean Hannity “man on the street” interview? How scary is it that someone can identify Oprah Winfrey but can’t identify Condoleezza Rice or worst, looks at a picture of Miss Rice and names her as Oprah. Dear God, are these people registered? Let’s hope not.

Kick corporate lobbyists off Capitol Hill and let Congress and the Senate respond directly to the concerns of the American people.

Let a bill be a bill and stop allowing our elected officials to add unrelated addendums to them. Let’s put a lid on wasteful government spending by people like Octobers Porker of the month FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. Read the citizens against government waste article here, and while your there take a look around.

On Tuesday we will be electing someone that will hold the power of the veto pen, but let us not lose site of the fact that it’s our other government bodies that craft these expenses and if the sitting President vetoed these expenses they go back to them again for yet another vote.

In an older post on this blog I mentioned that I felt that the Republicans basically rolled over at some point and handed the nomination to McCain. I still feel that way. I am registered as a republican, which is something I did in high school. I used to be one of those straight party voters, but I am not anymore. Regardless of Tuesdays outcome I will be changing my registration over to independent. I was going to do this earlier but just never got to it.

Before I close, consider one more thing. In the next four years it is likely that the sitting President will be naming two Supreme Court nominees. Who do you want appointed to that bench, a candidate that considers our Constitution to be a living document and is willing to legislate their own interpretation of it from the bench? Or someone who will adhere to our Constitutional laws and rights as written?

Which candidate is most likely to put your choice in that position for a lifetime?

Getting Fired Up

2008-10-28T05:38:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday I attended a rally here in Des Moines for Sarah Palin. This marked the first time I had attended such an event. Now I must admit that although this may be one of the most important elections in many years, I have felt luke warm at best about our presidential choices.

I freely admit to having conservative values, and up until this weekend I was still wondering if those values could be applied to my choice come election day. There may be hope. McCain may try to paint himself as a moderate but his record is more liberal. And I don’t what to hear about how he voted over 90% of the time with George Bush. Bush is a moderate at best. Let’s face it Palin is the only true conservative on the ticket.

We need strong leadership and here I invoke the name of President Ronald Reagan. Why? Well because when President Reagan spoke, you knew he was proud of and loved his country. Reagan knew that changes needed to be made and he believed in empowering the American people rather than increasing government programs and spreading the wealth.

Now don’t get me wrong I am not saying Palin is the next Reagan. Only Nixon could go to China and only Reagan can be Reagan. We have been let down before. Anyone remember the “Contract with America?” Newt Gingrich and his fellow republicans stood there in Washington and declared they would uphold conservative values. Much of the country was encouraged by this, but then everyone went back to their Washington offices and soon it was business as usual.

So what does my vote come down to? Hmm gee I wonder… Like Joe the plumber I do not want to live in a socialist society so I’m going with the McCain / Palin ticket.

This weekends rally started off with a concert by Aaron Tippon. He concluded with his latest song “Drill Here, Drill Now!” while referring to it as the Sarah Palin theme song.

Mrs. Palin spoke for about 40 minutes. The attached clip contains some highlights. Her entire speech can be found on youtube as well. She focused on ridding ourselves from the energy dependency we have with foreign nations, and on how she too would rather empower Americans to financially stand on their own two feet through tax cuts rather than spreading the wealth and facing socialism.

In all there were over 8000 people in attendance. One report said 10,000. On the way in I counted a total of 18 protesters. All of them were teenagers and they did not appear to be old enough to vote. They were not informed about the things they shouted, which is a pity because even with an opposing viewpoint it was good to see some teens engaged and not just sitting at home playing Nintendo. One can only hope that these individuals will grow up and become better informed. Liberal or Conservative the choice is theirs but as I said, be informed and then make a choice.

Drill Here, Drill Now!!!

Sarah Palin Highlights – Des Moines 10/25/08

Joe the Plumber – Complete

My Endorsements

2008-10-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

Since it's endorsement time in newspapers across the country, I figure I would get in the act as well with the presidential and Minnesota senate races.

President: John McCain
Granted, when McCain won the Republican nomination earlier this year I was a little skeptical about McCain (Age and amount of time in Washington being key factors). However, as the campaign wore on, I sized the two senators up and realized that Washington experience and know how is what we need at this moment with the tanking economy and our involvement in Iraq/Afghanistan among other issues. Senator McCain, being a member of our armed forces and having been involved in war, knows what he is talking about, especially when he spoke out for the surge in Iraq almost as soon as the war started. He also as Mitt Romney in his corner, who I would give the nod as a possible Secretary of the Treasury. Governor Romney has faced large debt situations in the past, most notably when he ran the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics then later on when he was Governor of Massachusetts. Senator Obama? Well, he has the inferred support of the majority of the media. While that may be good in theory (Not being attacked for everytime you breathe), Americans must realize that the media does not have to dictate how we vote or run our lives (Thank you "climate change"!).

MN Senate: Dean Barkley, Independent
Sometimes it is right to break from the norm politically, and Dean Barkley is one example. Barkley's policies are the true definition of "change" at least in my mind, including proposing term limits for Congress, a "living within your means" approach to the budget (i.e. defunding something when you want to fund something else) and $100 vouchers for every constituent to control campaign spending. Even though it will be a long shot that Washington will embrace these policies with open arms, a vote for Barkley means a vote for true change in Washington, which is what we need.

Political Correctness of the Week

2008-10-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

A Florida 7th grader has been called a racist for wearing a Sarah Palin T-Shirt to school. I'm sorry, but how crazy have we gotten as a society? Am I racist for liking Dale Earnhardt Jr., a white NASCAR driver? This is just dumb.
Link: http://www.myfoxorlando.com/myfox/pages/News/Politics/Detail;jsessionid=A55270238C1DEFA27B3D841894EF1140?contentId=7664724&version=11&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.14.1&sflg=1

How John McCain can learn from the Canadians

2008-10-14T22:14:00.000-07:00

Up north tonight, Canadians made an intelligent move by keeping Stephen Harper and the Conservatives in power (See my primer on Canadian politics for more info) with the leg up in a minority government during an unstable time in our world. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Harper made a key point during his victory speech tonight about how he as Prime Minister will reach across the aisles in Ottawa. Granted, the Conservatives have EVERYBODY (aka four other parties) on their tail and I mean everybody. How does this compare to what's going on in the States? During the 1st two debates, Obama is the only one who has brought up the idea of having a united government during this financial crisis, and that has what drawn people to him like vultures on a carcass. Here's how McCain can try to help turn the tide in these final three weeks:
1. Use tonight's debate to stress bipartisan unity, his record, and that he can and will use bipartisan support to get the US through this crisis.
2. Let the reasoning about the Palin pick out of the bag. Yes, we know she's a maverick, but what else can she do?
3. Use Mitt Romney and his economic experience to your advantage. He turned around the Salt Lake games, so he has experience in budget crunches, and he can help bring credibility to McCain's economic policy.
I know it's late, but is any of my reasoning making sense?

"Endorsements"

2008-10-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

Before I get too into this, let me just say that I'm all for democracy, but sometimes people may rush to judgement:

Following Madonna's rants over the weekend to "eff Sarah Palin" during concerts at Madison Square Garden and in New Jersey, I decided to Wikipedia the list of Barack Obama "supporters". The categories range from what you'd expect, like congressmen and senators, to more obscure like J.K. Rowling (In terms of AMERICAN politics), the mayor of Obama,Japan (No kidding, there is an Obama,Japan) and Kim Kardashian. Also on this list are a who's who list of political leaders not here, but in Europe. That's reason #1 I'm voting for John McCain. I live in America, not Europe. Socialism isn't cool, and that's what you get with a vote for Barack Obama, and I wonder if all these people that support him know what they're getting themselves into with a vote for Obama.

SNL Nails It Again.

2008-10-05T07:15:00.000-07:00

Let's hear it for the 3rd Grade debate class of Gladys Woods Elementary!

Let's get Mavericky.

Trayless Meals?

2008-10-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

To piggyback off Jeff's post, if you think "Going Green" has gotten out of hand, my college has adopted trayless dining for the next week in the school's cafeteria. Although the campus has sent out a flyer on why this is a good move, I don't see how it is, as I addressed in my failed bid for student senate. It's not going to make that major of an impact on the environment, and as a result of this move, I am boycotting the school cafeteria for this week of tomfoolery. Good or bad idea on my part?

Carbon Credits: The Biggest Scam Ever.

2008-10-03T05:57:00.000-07:00

Do you suffer from Eco Anxiety? Do you feel guilty about burning fossil fuels?
Is the heel strike of your carbon footprint pressing down upon you?

You can free yourself from all those worries today by purchasing carbon credits. Just go online, find a site, and donate. Yes, donate to the site of your choice. It doesn’t matter which, because you’ll feel better doing your part to offset the lie that is Global Warming. Never mind that your money is going into someone else’s pocket instead of your own bank account. You’ll be able to sleep better at night believing that you have helped.

Two of the best sources which I have come across discussing this fraud can be found below.

The Carbon Footprint of the Olympic Torch and the great Carbon Credit Scam

And for those of you that have Showtime On Demand visit Showtime/ Series and check out Penn & Teller #65 The Green Movement.

If you are still feeling guilty and really need to part with your money, email me and I can help you out with that. I need some cash to offset the carbon impact of my upcoming flight to Orlando. Oh and let's not forget all the bus transportation I’ll be using.

A Couple of Videos

2008-09-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys! I found a couple of videos I wanted to share with you.

The first one is a parody of the Palin/Couric interview on SNL last night. If for no other reason, I want McCain to win just so Tina Fey can continue playing Palin on SNL. She is SO freakin' funny!!!

The other is a local senatorial campaign commercial. Ronnie Musgrove (I call him MusgRat) is the former governor who is running for the Senate against Roger Wicker (former Congressman who took the great weasel, Trent Lott's place).

The scandals aren't important here, I just think the commercial is fuuny for the fact that it shows MusgRat trying his best to get a good answer out, but he just can't do it.

* Remember- Not Mississippians talk like MusgRat!

Parent of the Year Award

2008-09-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

I was going to dedicate this post to updating about the kid who was suspended for having the boxcutter in his car (He was allowed to return to class, but he's on probation for the rest of the quarter) but halt all nominations, because I'm sure I have the winner here for Parent of the Year (Courtesy of the AP):
FOND DU LAC, Wis. - A father who bought a beer for his 4-year-old son at the Fond du Lac County Fair and shared it with the boy's 2-year-old sibling wais cited after becoming belligerent when he was approached by police.

A woman working at a beer tent last July told an officer she thought the man was joking when he asked for two beers — one for him and another for his 4-year-old son.

When he was questioned by an officer, he told him it's legal for underage children to drink in Wisconsin, as long as they're with their parents. The officer countered that the boys weren't old enough to know what they were drinking.

A police report says the man began yelling and swearing and was kicked off the fairgrounds.

The Fond du Lac County district attorney recently requested that the man be cited for disorderly conduct.

Having many close friends from the state of Wisconsin, I've known about this law and many friends who have taken advantage of this law. However, I am not surprised one bit when Wisconsin is at the near the top of such stats as drunk driving deaths, percentage of alcohol use among minors, etc. In addition, alcohol is a depressant slowing your brain down to a point and can cause many life changes. Being a college student in a town with multiple college campuses, it is a hot topic, and sadly, one that needs addressed (At last count there were 5 deaths so far this year here in Mankato involving young adults and alcohol use) I understand that alcohol use is a big part of our culture, but really, when I sit down and watch what could be considered a "family" program (i.e. Our beloved Twins here in MN and the Dakotas gunning for the AL Central title in the last week of the season), must I see Busch beer ads playing for impressionable kids? I don't think so. However, when those ads do appear, a good parent would sit their young adult down and speak to them about the dangers of alcohol, and that is what we should do as a culture.

Palin vs. Bidin in Florida

2008-09-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

Ok so I just got done reading an article in our local news paper about the 2 V.P. hopefuls giving speeches in Florida. Here is what is really eating at me. Gov. Palin went to a very Rep. part of Florida and made people wait more then 5 hrs. in 92deg. heat and only gave a 23 min. speech. She did not answer questions from the crowds and did not talk to the media. On the other hand Biden made 4 stops in 2 days while in Florida and 2 of them were heavily rep. city's(Ft.Myers and Sarasota). Yes people still had to wait a long time in that awful heat, but he did answer questions from the crowd and media at all his stops. All I hear about is how Gov. Palin could easily slide into the Presidential role if needed. BUT they only let her speak in controlled environments and never from the hip. Lets face if she is this strong minded, intellectual person that they make her out to be then they need to prove it. As I have always said I truly do not know who I am voting for, but if I do not see just her as her I probably would vote dem.

Political Correctness to the Extreme

2008-09-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

A story broke out of suburban Minneapolis a couple days ago involving a high school senior who left a box cutter that he uses for work in his car at a local high school. He was suspended for 10 school days, and the school board will consider expelling him at a meeting Monday night. Keep in mind that his previous discipline record, according to TV station KARE 11 out of Minneapolis was three tardies! Don't get me wrong, I'm concerned about school safety as well, but if a kid with a clean behavior record makes an honest mistake, should he be treated like a kid who's going to go out and kill? I don't think so.
Here's the link to the KARE 11 story:

Best Political Comedy Bit This Year

2008-09-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

Ok this is not a rant, but being that it is political in nature I felt I could put it up here. The choice of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin was perfect and she nails it. Amy Poehler expresses very well the thoughts and frustrations that I can only imagine are going through Hillary's mind.

Bloodsuckers

2008-09-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

After a conversation with Matt I felt I should post this and hear what you think. Me personally I love the comment. It truly shows that it is all for one with both parties. The thing is that the Governor is right. Too many times we hear our reps. in Albany say they want to lower school taxes and property taxes. Then they go and pass a bill saying that school boards can not make an adjustment to Teachers Benefits(It's a one year bill that they keep passing year after year) and set unfunded mandates for the schools! So is he wrong with his comment. You be the judge. To me though he is starting to get my vote.

Paterson's remarks create heat
Addressing rising energy costs, governor calls some legislators "bloodsuckers"

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau First published: Tuesday, September 9, 2008
COLONIE -- Gov. David Paterson is working on a plan to help ease the bite of rising heating costs, saying Monday that he's been meeting with the heads of state agencies to see where they can find money for such an effort.
But the governor might also have to stanch political wounds that might result from his comparison of some lawmakers to vampires.
The governor's remarks on a potential home heating plan came after he addressed the state Association of Independent Living. During the Aug. 19 legislative session, the group had protested cuts to programs for the disadvantaged.
Speaking at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Colonie, Paterson said the protesters were right to air their views. Paterson recalled his days as a state senator, and suggested some lawmakers harbor a callous disregard for groups that don't have large advertising or lobbying budgets.
"There were legislators who, I used to think, practiced their own versions of being Count Dracula," he said, "in that they would be very nice to the advocates when they came to Albany, and then (the advocates) would get back on the buses around 4 o'clock, and by 5 o'clock the sun would go down and they'd go back to who they really are -- a bunch of bloodsuckers."
Staffers for the governor said it was possible that Paterson and lawmakers may once again come back to the Capitol for a one-day special session before the customary January start, to expand on heating cost subsidies currently offered to low- and moderate-income families. The governor may announce a plan as soon as this week.
Although Paterson offered no details about his own plan, the governor has been meeting with staffers on the issue since July, and lawmakers have already offered a number of proposals.
In June, Assembly Democrats passed a measure that would have added $550 million to existing home heating subsidies. They also wanted an additional $250 million for increased weatherization programs, which could have eliminated the backlog of 45,000 families that currently qualify but haven't yet gotten subsidies to better insulate their homes, said Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston. That plan would have been funded by a "windfall tax" on major oil companies.
Senate Republicans, meanwhile, pushed for a $1,000 tax deduction for heating costs. On Sunday, Senate Democrats put forward a plan that would extend HEAP eligibility to families earning $85,000.
Legislators in both houses expressed frustration at the governor's "bloodsuckers" comment, characterizing it as the sort of thing they had hoped to leave behind after the departure of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
"Good grief, here we go again," responded Assemblyman Jack McEneny, D-Albany, recalling the combative style of Paterson's predecessor.
That feeling seemed to be bipartisan: "The governor's comments were flip and not very amusing -- in fact, they were Spitzeresque," added Senate Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos of Long Island.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Double standard? McCain Campaign or Media?

2008-09-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

CNN is particularly guilty on this one. (no surprise)

Not long ago we were treated to political ads from the McCain campaign portraying Barack Obama as a poser who is more of a celebrity than a politician. If he really felt that way shouldn’t someone in his camp be addressing the way his running mate is being splashed about?

Personally, I do not feel Mr. Obama has been caught up in the celebrity mind set. I do however think Mrs. Palin is teetering on that line. Have you seen the way she gushes for the political paparazzi?

Now my rant here is strictly about how these candidates (as well as their respective parties) present themselves. Certainly the republicans need to paint a picture of Mrs. Palin as tough. I feel this became a mute point when they began packaging her in a way that is clearly intended to distance her from Mrs. Clinton’s personality. Let me ask you this. Which Politian do you think is more likely to bake you a warm batch of chocolate chip cookies, the hockey mom or the senator? Who is more likely to honestly care about your health? I’m going with the one that does not seem to be a bitter person. You sort it out.

Regarding the lipstick wearing hockey mom. Let me ask another question. If you were running for political office is this how you would want yourself presented?

At first I thought this was a fake. Then I went directly to the magazines website and discovered it was real.

Another little item the media has been calling our attention to this week is the new Sarah Palin action figure. In all honestly I am certain Mrs. Palin has nothing to do with this doll. I do find it interesting that those making it feel the need to show us that she can go from conservative to sexy by exchanging her pant suit for a trench coat. They even gave her GI Joe's kung fu grip.

Also interesting is the fact that I never heard about the Obama and Hillary action figures.

Mr. Biden it appears is not worthy of action figure status. A google search yields no results. Hey maybe there is something I like about Joe after all…

Celebrity ideals aside, I do not think we will be seeing Mrs. Palin on MTV answering a question about her underwear. Can you imagine some teenage boy asking this question? “Umm Mrs. Palin, my friends and I were wondering, is it panties or thongs?”

Update 9/18/08

Matt I wanted to bring your comments out front here because they are well put. "I have to disagree with one thing though. Obama has gotten the "celebrity bug". I'm not saying that it's his fault. People are just stupid enough to see him as the "hip" canidate. But I do think that he has let it go to his head."

I was so caught up with my Palin rant that I did not give Barrack his due share. He "is" enjoying the limelight much more than I first stated. In fact Mr. Obama seems to be embracing this process in a Bill Clinton sorta way. Take for example this edition of Us Magazine. Like "PEOPLE" celebrity is what this rag is all about. I so happy to learn that Michelle shops at Target. Hey these two are every day folks just like you and me. It gives me the warm fuzzies all over.

And hot on his heels we get this cover. Again I stress we need leaders not pop stars. I wonder if she shares her favorite corn muffin recipe?

Are Joe and John next? I'll be watching the newstand but somehow, I doubt it.

O Canadian Politics! (A Primer with Insight)

2008-09-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked the Governor General to dissolve Parliment today (or yesterday if you're out east) forcing an October 14th election (In Canada, the Prime Minister may call for new elections essentially whenever he/she feels like). Even though polls point towards a Conservative majority, these polls also Canadians are tired with the conservative policy towards an unpopular war (Afghanistan) keeping the door open for the more liberal policies. Now, before we get too farther, let's explain party affiliations.
Conservative: Basically the Republican equivalent in Canada. Harper has gotten much flack over such policies over Afghanistan and pulling Canada out of the meaningless Kyoto Treaty, which have ticked off the opposition.

Liberals: Shockingly, this is the moderate party in Canada. They're slowly fighting back after ethics violations earlier in the decade, and their leader, Stephene Dion, are propping up what the more liberal parties are calling the best "Green" message called the "Green Plan", mostly involving taxes on doing anything outdoors outside of breathing and driving hybrids.

Bloc Quebecois: Quebec has been trying for several decades now to become their own country, and the Bloc essentially supports one thing and one thing only: What is best for Quebec.

New Democratic Party (NDP for short): Barring the election of Barack Obama, this is the closest thing you'll see to European socialism on the North American continent. They've never been a major player in National politics, but party leader Jack Layton hopes to change that this year.

Green Party: Essentially, think of Al Gore or hippies running this party. Although they have no representation yet, they are the rising stars in Canadian politics.

How does this affect America? If Harper maintains prime ministership, expect little change if he and McCain are elected. However, if either Dion or Layton come to power along with Obama (or even with McCain in power), conservative politics here and in the provinces look to be grim.

Special thanks to http://mightygodking.com/index.php/2008/03/19/a-primer-on-canadian-politics/ for their help with today's post (also a good source if you want to read more).

Bigger Is Not Always Better

2008-08-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

As I'm following DNC coverage from Denver this week, I'm not that pleased with how it's being covered by PBS. Sure, I'm all for both sides getting equal time, but three hours EVERY NIGHT??? Isn't this why C-SPAN came around? Then again, it's better than begging me for money for stuff I could care less about. Back to point, being a student of the media as a Communications major in college, I somehow doubt this marathon coverage will continue onto St. Paul next week with the liberal bias of most of the networks. John McCain's right, Obama is just a celebrity and Biden's pick as VP only strengthens this argument.

Candidates Of The Corn

2008-08-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or could this election come down to a coin toss, or worse yet another hanging chad? Is anyone excited about either of these candidates? Anyone...anyone...Bueller...Bueller? (somewhere a cricket chirps)

McCain can “appear” conservative from time to time but we all know he’s not. I am of the opinion that the GOP decided that if they wished to win this years election they had to put up a candidate resembling Hillary err I mean a liberal. Why else would other more conservative republicans have dropped out earlier this year? Where is the choice?

I recall watching the GOP candidates duke it out prior to W’s first run at the office. Many debates were aired and good old George was not in any of those debates. Then one day we learned that George W was entering the race and the other candidates suddenly dropped their high office pursuit. I remember thinking “what the ….?” It’s like the GOP said here’s our guy and the public has no say. It seems to me that this has happened again.

Ok by know your thinking I’m a right wing conservative zealot. I’ll admit that there was a day when I agreed with a lot of the things I heard coming from Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. I gave up listening to these guys when at long last their arrogance shined through. How many times can someone pat themselves on the back? Gee Whiz. I remember switching from Limbaugh to Hannity and thinking, here is a guy talking about issues, and not just about himself. I was wrong, he likes to hear himself talk too.

The trouble with these guys is that they say they want to be fair and balanced, but if they have a guest on with an opposing view point you never get to hear the others opinion. Call me odd but I want to hear the opinions of others. Let your guests speak. Perhaps they will dig their own hole, but maybe, just maybe you will instead. These guys are hypocrites. They have spent years bashing McCain and just this past week I heard Hannity singing his praises. I have not listened to Limbaugh. I don’t need to. I am certain that McCain is now the second coming and Obama is the evil one. (Most likely they both have theme songs by now too)

Give me Glenn Beck. At least he has an opinion and he is willing to hear both sides. He actually discusses issues with his guests instead of talking over them. He may not agree but you are left to decide. What a guy. Glenn Beck rocks!

Man I am off the point here. Today I read that roughly half of Hillary’s supporters are going to rally behind McCain. And why is that you ask? Simply because they do not want too support the guy that beat their candidate. Boo Hoo Hoo. Just listen to the sound bytes in the news it’s all there. It’s amazing. Perhaps the GOP isn’t so dumb.

Political Caption This

2008-08-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

As seen on Jeff W.'s "Run the Iowa Tundra", I give you Political Caption This!

Matt: How dare they compare something so loveable and adorable to something as vile as a rat!

Jeff: Taking a queue from the Chinese Olympians. Barrack Obama attempts to capture the vote of Americas youth by stating "As long as you look 18 cast a vote for me"

My Turn To Rant

2008-08-17T17:08:00.001-07:00

I am a big Disney fan, especially of the classic animation and early live action films. An early offering in the “Disney Treasures” DVD line is “On the Front Lines,” a collection of animated shorts and films that Disney produced during the World War Two years.

Recently Matt asked for my opinion about a cartoon short from that DVD entitled “Der Fuehrer’s Face” and whether or not he should post it, or a link to it on his blog. Below is my reply which turned into a rant.

“I think Disney did a very smart thing when they had Leonard Maltin introduce this and other cartoons on the DVD. I feel the Maltin approach was a brilliant idea. Especially for those of us that did not grow up in that day and age. I think anyone that does not watch this cartoon all the way through might be offended. Perhaps not personally, more likely they could be shocked that Disney made these shorts. The short details the life of our fine feathered friend as if he where a German soldier. He is forced to “be all he can be” for the “Fatherland” Donald begins to lose his mind as more and more is expected and demanded from him. In the final scene we are in a darkened bedroom Donald is having a nightmare while raising his arm in his sleep and uttering “sieg heil” in an involuntary manner.
As the sun begins to rise we see a shadow on the wall. It is a figure standing above his bed with an outstretched arm. We imagine it is another soldier standing over Donald. The camera pulls back and we see a replica of the Statue of Liberty in his window. It was her arm we saw on the wall. Donald was only having a nightmare.”

On the same DVD is "Education for Death?" It's a frightful thing to watch, especially if you understand and accept that these things did indeed happen. (actually they still do though in other countries) It’s all about how the German government controlled the personal lives of its people in those days. I feel that our society today could, or rather would not be willing to sacrifice the way in which "the greatest generation" did. There are too many Nancy's out there. Too bad none of them will be willing to fight back until it's too late.

Ok I'm starting to rant here so bear with me. I can't stand the people in our own country that witnessed our nation being attacked and then choose to respond by saying "well we deserved it, we are so greedy." Or their response to a hostile leader is "let's chat over coffee about this." My favorites are the reporters that interview these leaders and tell our people "he's not such a bad guy". If it wasn't for the "art of war" that nice guy would have taken your sweet head off. He is only letting you live for propaganda purposes you smug arrogant ignorant journalist!

Those Rebel Republicans...

2008-08-14T06:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0808/House_Dems_turn_out_out_the_light_but_GOP_keep_talking.html

Doesn't it bother anyone that the Democratic led congress would rather go on vacation than to have a simple vote, to have a vote on a plan, for energy? This irk's me.....I thought that's what they were there for? To propose and vote on stuff? Especially when everyone in the country is now ready for this discussion and resolution!

It bothers me more that Pelosi would tell her fellow Democrats who will be in hotly contested elections this fall to tell their constituents they are FOR energy independance if there were something to vote on....Then she won't allow a vote.....Duh, yeah, I'm for it...as long as I don't have to vote on it.... Did Pelosi not get the memo that her, and congress', approval rating is in the toilet? Perhaps she thinks that the polls are mistaken in this case....ya know, cause she's restoring all of that "integrity, and civility" to congress..... Screw integrity and civility!!! We just want people who will roll up their sleeves and get the job done! OY!!!!

America Snubbed at the Olympics?

2008-08-09T22:35:00.000-07:00

Posted by Jeff W. - Welcome to the ranting Jeff!!! Hope to see you more!
_____________________________________
Grrrr I'm pissed off. When Michael Phelps received his gold medal They JIP'd our national anthem. (Joined In Progress) Like several measures into it. And then it was all chopped up. They even cut to President Bush cheering in the stands and made commentary about what he must think about how they messed up our anthem.

Athletes train years for this moment of glory. I feel that the sense of pride one gets from receiving that gold medal can only be surpassed by the national pride they carry in their hearts as their anthem plays. I mean how moving is it to see an athlete (American or not) moved to tears during that moment.

Gee Whiz China with all the technology that went into your fantastic opening ceremony do you think a soundboard guy could get that right?

Hopefully we will not hear this disaster repeated.