I Still like a Good Western.... Watch Out for that Chair!

I must admit I didn't actually watch any of the Republican convention. But then again, I have to admit when I read the article today saying Clint Eastwood talked to a chair and told it to shut up I was kind of saddened. Really??? Clint is this what you've become??? You should have stopped with the Chrysler commercial that was an instant classic!! Imported from Detroit!! Man, you blew it, now people are talking about Eastwooding... I won't tell you what I thought when I heard that term this morning... So do you turn to the East when you are playing with your.... I have to admit I lost some respect for you Clint...and then you had to say the line... why did you say the line... Make My Day Punk. Please say it isn't so. I had to ask myself... did he lose his mind 5 times or 6....well did he? I have to admit I won't be able to watch a Clint Eastwood movie the same way again. I'm going to wonder now if he is actually talking to the other actor in the scene or maybe he's just been talking to the props all this time. You Clint became a senile old man last night and that saddens me. But hey I hear you stole the show at the convention... Actually, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo stole the show!! Yes that is a fact, the reality show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo had more viewers than the Republican National Convention. Just proves the Republicans are winning the war against intelligence. Have you seen the show? They actually have sub titles because you can't understand what they are saying... wait a minute.... HEY is that a reality show about Limbaugh and Hannity??? No wonder... which one is BOO BOO?

Let's dumb it down shall we

No really, let's dumb it down... what are we dumbing down? The American voter of course. Think about it for a minute... are you done thinking? I ask you, what do you think the real issues are when it comes to the current Presidential election? The economy? A balanced budget? Gross government overspending? Health Care reform? Taxes? Social Security and Medicare Reform? Welfare Reform? Can I get a big Hell NO! It's about Abortion rights and obviously the definition of Rape, because obviously there is a difference between forced and "unforced" rape. Let's pause and reflect on that last statement..."unforced rape" isn't that a contradiction in terms? Rape is defined as: the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse. any act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person. So, I ask what is unforced rape? I'll let the Republicans answer that they seem to be doing such a great job lately... by the way according to GOP Senate hopeful Tom Smith it's the same thing as having a baby out of wedlock.
Back to the program. So the major issue number one is Abortion rights, Number two is Mitt Romney's failure to disclose his taxes(this is payback for "Where's your birth certificate") but politicians have short term memories. Do you see what is happening here? Politicians constantly play a smoke and mirror game with social issues so they don't have to explain economic plans, health care reform plans etc. to the American voter. Do you know why they do this? Because there isn't a politician who actually has anything concrete when it comes to major issues. Have you ever tried to explain a plan when you don't actually have a plan? Ask Alpena's current Mayor how that works, you just say you are heading in a new direction and then fire someone so the story gets shifted. See how it works. Politicians want to cut spending to schools for one reason... Educated Intelligent People can see through the smoke and mirrors. Politicians already know what percentage of the populous will always vote for them the key is to know what social issues pull at the heart strings of the rest of the populous to swing the vote their way. Have you noticed that the abortion issue comes up every four years? And what usually happens after the election? It fades away, why, Roe V. Wade that's why. It has been settled and it would take one hell of a Supreme Court to overturn it. You my friends are being duped by both parties. Where do you think all that campaign money comes from.. Did hear everyone say the Republicans get theirs from Big Business... Uhmmm, So do the Democrats otherwise they would even come close to the same amount of money... So what does this mean.. There isn't really a left wing anymore, there has been a shift and the shift has been to the right so we are more of a center/right wing country. When you get money from big business you walk a fine line when it comes to policies and the people who give you the money always expect something in return so the democratic party is more along the lines of an independent party. I will say this much though.. why would you vote for someone who wants to take away your bargaining power, you health benefits, your pension, and raise your taxes while cutting the taxes of the rich. If that's what you think is right for you than vote for Romney. Sorry but if you can't see that ultimately this country will end up with two types of people, the haves and the have nots, Rich and Poor. That is what smoke and mirrors causes. Are you going to have your intellect insulted? Until there is a viable third party this country will continue to wallow in the current plutocracy. One more thing, don't blame just our current President for the state of our country.. it was well documented that the Republican party vowed to make sure that a Democratic President would not be able to accomplish anything whatever the cost... Well they did it and now they are betting that you will think the Democrats couldn't get the job done. Politicians are betting that you aren't smart enough to do your homework. Do your homework and make an intelligent decision based on viable issues before you vote. I don't care how you vote just make it an intelligent vote.

I found it disheartening to read two editorials over the course of a week stating that Alpena is not likely to entice and is not shelf ready to entice a large manufacturer to the area in order to create family wage supporting jobs. Although I think it is a great thing when local people open local businesses I also think it doesn’t necessarily create the “family wage supporting” jobs we need. It is my opinion; these types of businesses more than likely create minimum wage types of jobs and in a sense recycle local money. Tourism aside, if a business does not have a statewide, national, or global presence it recycles local money. The issue with this process is, it creates a stagnate local economy. In other words, we need the influx of the external dollars a large company operating on a global scale would bring to jump start Alpena, entice one, more will come. Kind of like the “if you build it they will come” philosophy.

Here is the other problem. We as a community need to stop thinking that we are solely a manufacturing community. Manufacturers have been leaving this community slowly over the last decade so it is now time for the community to think outside of the manufacturing box. Last I heard there was a pretty good broadband infrastructure being installed in the area. Has it occurred to anyone to entice someone along the lines of a Google, Yahoo, or other internet based service? We can leverage our Community College and our Hospital (think billing services), not to mention our natural resources. Not everyone wants to live and play in the big city! By enticing these kinds of companies you will eliminate logistic and warehousing issues while increasing Alpena’s national and global base giving us an influx of external dollars.

I believe Alpena and our surrounding communities, if handled correctly, could be on the verge of something great and exciting. Stop thinking manufacturing and start thinking and embracing internet style services. Start thinking globally.

I Got a Call Today...

I complained about an ache, about being tired, about not having enough money, about having to pay too many bills and then I got a call today...

I grumbled about having to wake up this morning and go to work, I got irritated about not getting what I wanted and then I got a call today...

Yes, I got a call today... that call got me thinking, thinking about life, thinking about others, thinking about what's important. Thinking about gratitude, attitude, and appreciation. Appreciation for the little things. Gratitude for what you have and being able to have a positive attitude about everything.

I've seen it, you've seen it... we've all done it.. taking things for granted, taking life for granted.

Todd it is obvious from what I have read today; in life, you have touched many lives some knowingly maybe some not knowingly. In your passing today, I do not doubt that you will touch many more.
Thank you for being you and always being you. Yes, you deserved better, but you continued to smile all the way through it and taught many of us a lesson we can carry with us for the rest of our lives.

Rest peacefully.

Have We Really Evolved???

On this faithful day in 1669 Mt. Etna erupted on the island of Sicily. It rumbled, it grumbled, it burped, burped burped and then it threw up(we've all done it, think porcelain bus). And what do you suppose all the fine people from Catania living around the volcano do... they pulled up easy chairs, bucket 'O beers, some smokes and kicked back and watched the show. What a show it was!! Along comes Diego de Pappalardo and his band of fifty lava loppers. Diego shouted "Afferra la tua mucca nascondere ragazzi screpolature e godersi em down! Stiamo andando a correre su questa montagna e qui deviare questo Lava! " ( "Grab your cow hide chaps boys and soak em down! We're going to run up this here mountain and divert this Lava!") With metal rods, picks and shovels the boys managed to poke a hole in the hard lava and low and behold make the lava head west!! Yeah Lardo! Then along come the boyz from Paterno(no not happy valley) and what do they say about the whole thing. "Non si può fare che la testa il nostro modo di lava! ora dobbiamo a calci in culo!"(You can't make that lava head our way! now we have to kick your ass!) Hey they said it... and they did it. So the hole plugged up and the Lava headed back toward Catania and the good people of Catania watched it come screaming toward them at a break neck speed!!! The lava was flowing at such a tremendous speed that several weeks later when the lava reached the city 17,000 Catanians were killed! What...??? Wait a minute... it took several weeks for the lava to reach the city of Catania and 17,000 people were killed??? Oh, I see... no, actually I don't see. They didn't leave! There were only 20,000 residents in the city at the time(3,000 that survived were in Rome on Vacation). The moral of the story... the next time you hear a rumble, grumble, burp, burp, burp... don't wait to get hit with the spew help put the hair back and then get out of the way.

Anyone Have A Goat?

Happy Lupercalia Day! C'mon shout it out loud... HAPPY LUPERCALIA DAY!!! WAHOOSKI!(that's polish for wahoo.. no, no ... Polish not polish). The really good Christians no what I'm talking about. Let's take a trip back in time shall we, back to a simpler time... say.. 753 B.C. or there abouts. So, there I am lounging around in my tunic eating a couple of grapes thinking to myself... Damn this marble lounger is hard(You, yes you over there. You lazy boy get off of your tuckis and o make me a more comfortable chair!) Boredom... what to do... what to do...Got it! You two noble boys over there, go fetch me a dog and a goat and meet me by Lupecal Cave, you know the place, the one where Romulus and Remus got caught doing that beastiality thing with Rumina the she-wolf. What do you mean what kind of dog? I don't care... get me a Roman Shepard or a St. Roman, no make it a small dog.... a Vatican Terrier will do. Mean while I'll set up the beer tent cause boys we are going to have ouselves a Festival.. No, wait, we are going to have ourselves a Pagan Festival and we are going to purify all of these hot women of their curses, bad luck, and infertility!
Okay, here's how we're going to get this party started. I'm going to sacrifice the dog(Hey, not a festival without fido roast).Now I'm going to sacrifice the goat(you didn't think one dog was going to feed all of those people did you). Now I'm going to smear the blood on your face and then wipe it off(done with the hazing) What a good laugh that whole blood on the face thing was. Okay, you two boys put these loinclothes on.. take this goat skin and soak it in the blood really good. Now, run around like crazy and see how many women you can flog!!! Then meet me back at the beer tent ... don't worry we'll tell the women getting flogged gives them the best results for fertility.. they'll fall for it.
A short time later.... back at the beer tent with Romulus, Remus and the Roman V kicking out the jams the revelry, drinking, rowdiness and horseplay began and it didn't end until 1200 years later. Hell, even the Pope got on board, of course he got the marketing rights so he got to change the name of the festival. In 494 A.D. Lupercalis became known as "Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary". After all, a Pope can't associate with a Pagan Festival...or can they....

ask, believe, receive.

Birth Control...OH, MY!

Let’s see…. Today I’m either going to make you really think about something or I’m going to get you really ticked off. Here it goes…. Drum roll please…. Are you ready?

Let’s talk about Birth Control, Catholics, and Politicians. (I’m off to a good start.) I saw where the Obama Administration is making it mandatory for “Faith Based “ employers to provide birth control as part of their health insurance plans and Catholics are pissed because it goes against their beliefs or shall I say it goes against what the less than 10% of those who choose to practice that belief believe. Along with that the Politicians are saying it’s a violation of Religious freedom and under no circumstances should there be a mix of church and state (Unless of course I’m running for office and need the money from your congregation).  Well, that’s that in a nut shell. It’s really just political fodder in an election year.

On to the good part where I screw with your mind and Catholics… by the way I’m a non-practicing Catholic so I get to do this and after all it is my blog…. Freedom of speech and all that.

So, the Catholic Church doesn’t believe in Birth Control (we’ll see about that), they believe in Abstinence (boring) and the rhythm method (now we’re talking). But most of all they believe in being hypocritical, yes I said hypocritical. Let’s take a look shall we….

Most Catholics have already said they practice other forms of Birth Control other than those stated above or should I say, Catholic women, and they do so under secrecy so the Catholic Church won’t send them to hell. I heard the number is around 98% but I don’t know that for fact so don’t quote me.  So even though most of the clergy doesn’t follow the rule the Catholic church won’t change it,  but oddly enough  they don’t have an issue with Viagra and Cialis…hhhmmm  Why, because it promotes conception which in turn increases the potential clergy and that’s all good. Here’s a twist. If the Catholic Church doesn’t approve of Birth Control than it must not approve of Hysterectomies and Menopause for that matter because both would prevent women from bearing children hence, both are forms of Birth Control. I’m kind of wondering… How many Catholic Men have had a vasectomy?? Last time I checked this would be another form of Birth Control so the Catholic Church must have a rule on Vasectomies… right? I’d be willing to bet you that hysterectomies and vasectomies are surgeries covered under the current health plans provided by the same Catholic institutions that are fighting the Birth Control issue.

How come you never hear a politician talk about banning vasectomies?? If you think about it it’s a form of abortion… nothing gets fertilized without the sperm. Any snipped right to lifers out there… shame on you, you got to choose how come the women can’t??? How come you never hear the Catholic Church’s point of view on vasectomies? My thought, it’s because you have a bunch of old men who have old fashioned thoughts and are still under the belief a woman’s place is in the home making babies, or,  it’s because you have an old religion that can’t figure out how to recreate itself for the 21^st century in a dignified way. I’m sure even Jesus would have changed with the times after all; he seemed like a pretty righteous dude.

One last thing, we are afforded a lot of freedoms and you have to decide what is right and wrong for you but remember, just because it is your belief doesn’t mean it’s everyone else’s and that’s okay, because differences of opinion and great debates are what make this country great.  

Ask, Believe, Receive.

Green with Envy??

It's nice to see a person of such stature and prominence finally throw their hat into the Presidential ring...aaahhhh.... Such the perfect candidate after all. The ability to sing an undaunting rendition of our country's National Anthem and to have such a connection with America's lower class even though they are perceivably more wealthy. Yes America I give you Roseanne Barr the first female President of the United States of America! Kind of has a nice ring to it doesn't it.
In case you haven't heard she wants to be the Green Party candidate and according to her platform we need to start taking care of business here at home. Well I guess I can agree with her on that aspect. I mean after all, the $800 billion the Nation has spent fighting two wars overseas could have built a pretty nice base alternative fuel infrastructure and last time I checked we had some intelligent individuals living within our borders that probably... and I'm reaching here... could have designed some things that would utilize that alternative fuel. What? The design phase has been done...hhmm... so there is a possibility that we don't have to rely on OIL??? What's the world coming to.
Imagine $800 billion being invested into our economy to create a Greener(see the connection) more diverse society... Healthier, cleaner air, the creation of jobs(somebody has to build that infrastructure), new types of businesses popping up everywhere. What a unique concept... this concept of paying yourself first and then being charitable.
Now for those of you sitting there thinking.... "They should just take that $800 billion and divide it up and give me my share!!" Here's your $2.59.. now shut up!
Have you heard what the political pundits are arguing about these days? Chrysler's Clint Eastwood super bowl ad... Didn't you know it screams of political undertones and it's pro Obama... GASP!! Supposedly it is Chrysler's way of saying thank you for the bail out Mr. Obama and we will do this ad for you but we will be so subtle about our support for you that really nobody will see it except for Karl Rowe. By the way The bail out program was started by Bush and finished by Obama so everyone relax it was a bi-partisan thing.
I understand using Clint Eastwood, everyone knows his face and voice, but he lacked one thing for me... He isn't from DETROIT!! The message, although a great one, would have had a greater affect if Chrysler would have used a lineup of famous Detroiters like Aretha Franklin etc...
Anyway at the end of the day regardless of your political affiliation do some research and don't fall prey to the Social Issue rhetoric being spewed by both parties. Force yourself to get to ground level and see the whole picture. Go Green! I mean Roseanne Barr... really.. is this what this country is coming to??? Heard her running mate is going to be Andy Dick... can just see the BARR DICK bumper stickers now.... just kidding..

Ask, Believe, Receive.

It's not always about Lasagna!

You really have to wonder... Are there warning labels on the dashboards of these big oil tankers and cruise ships that read " This vehicle is intended for water use only, Do Not attempt to operate on any type of land mass." Just so you know, running into rocks is not the same as running the ship aground. Really, the Captain of the ship that ran aground in Italy said " I made a mistake when I hit the rocks but I ran it aground to keep from sinking.... No I was not going to fast." Quick thinking on his part, No really..... he actually saved a lot of lives. Just imagine how many more he could've saved if he wouldn't have hit the country of Italy in the first place.... 17!
Carnival did try to make things right though.... they offered every passenger a "settlement" of 11,000 euros, that's $14,534 U.S., in case you were trying to do the math. Oh, wait .... this just in...A N.Y. law firm is filing a class action suit against Carnival and Costa Concordia on behalf of "hundreds of passengers." That's right, the NY law firm of Napoli, Bern, Ripka, Shkolaik has stated they represent "hundreds" of passengers and for their "6" (six) that's SIX named plaintiffs they are seeking $10 million in Economic and Compensatory damages and a mere $450 million in Punitive damages and when it is all said and done each plaintiff will receive approximately 11,000 Euros or, yep, about $14,534.00 U.S. ten years form now after all of the appeals. Oh, and I almost forgot, the lawsuit also includes (2) John Does??? I'm thinking they must have long Italian names that the law firm can't spell so they filed against Carnival, Concordia, and (2) John Does not 3 or 4 just 2 (is that anything like 2 players to be named later?)
One passenger stated he and his wife "the nurse" would just like to be reimbursed the $6000.00 for their lost possessions and a little something extra cause they had to swim to shore and they helped calm people down.. one person even had blood on their face. I feel for them, I really do but last time you went on a trip did you pack $6000 worth of stuff??? What the hell did they take with them? Sounds like someone needs a new living room set.... Hey genius, take the 11,000 Euros it's more than $6000 U.S. You can get the living room set and have a little extra for a "Nice" cruise.
Don't even get me started on the Peruvian Crew member who filed a lawsuit Not in Peru, Not in Italy, but in Illinois!!! That's right, Illinois!! How in the...
As far as the Captain is concerned.. he faces charges of Manslaughter and Abandoning ship.
Remember, the Captain must go down with the ship you can't just simply leave the keys in the ignition, run screaming to a life boat and be the first one off the dingy. So much for women and children first, I guess nobody has ever really defined the "first" in that statement.... first to be saved, first to be left behind.

To those who lost their lives..... R.I.P.
To those who lived..... be thankful.
To the lawyers.... be ashamed.
To the Captain.... be honest.

ask, believe, receive.

Biggest Sale Ever! No.. Really, Ever!

It's absolute pure genius! And I ask you why they hired a new CEO when they could've hired me for probably less than half the amount! Seriously, after spending what has to be millions of dollars each year on an obsessive amount of ad campaigns it took someone from outside of the J.C.Penny organization to come up with the novel idea of just marking the price at 40% less than original and keeping it there! No more sales of the century, no more of our biggest sale of the year, even though we had our biggest sale of the year last week, this one is bigger! But if you wait a day... well that's Presidents day and we will have an even bigger sale. Anybody who has ever walked into a Jacque Panae with me over the course of the last ten plus years had heard me say.... "Why don't they just price everything at the lower price and save a ton of money by not having to spend so damn much on marketing all these damn sales." But hey we love sales,Don't We!!! I just saved $350 on this T.V. ... How much did you pay for it.... $1200 hhmmm.. Sounds to me like you spent $1200... yeah, but it was marked down from $1550!!! Would you have paid $1550? NO... Then you didn't save anything! YOU DON'T SAVE MONEY BY SPENDING IT!! Did the clerk hand you $350? NO. Did you come out ahead $350? NO. You spent $1200!!
Sales are a con job on the American Mentality. Companies like J.C. Penny's mark an inflated price on their goods then tell the consumer they will mark 20% off and we fall for it hook, line, and sinker!!!
My questions; How do you think our Economy would look if companies were only allowed to realize a 20% profit max? What would the price of consumer goods look like? We all know there is a 200 to 500% mark up on furniture and jewelry, apply the above.... how does the price look... or would they just add more middle men to drive the price up? A little something to think about.

Ask, Believe, Receive.

Coffee Talk

I have a question... when you grill a steak, be it rare, medium, or well done does anything about that piece of meat change aside from the flavor? How about Beer? What changes from a light beer to a dark beer? Color and taste. Does the alcohol content increase? Ahh depends on the ingredients and the amounts of certain ingredients. I know sugar content will increase the alcohol level. What's my point you ask? Sitting on the counter at work are two cans of coffee. In one can Folgers in the other.. fresh roasted/ground Columbian Supremo. Here's my question.... which one would you make? My co-workers will 99.9% of the time make Folgers. The comment I hear 99.9% of the time is.... I like my coffee, But I don't like my coffee to knock the hair off of my chest. My response... well... if you are making Folgers than you don't like good coffee or you just don't know what good coffee is.
Lesson one: When a green coffee bean is roasted and kept in bean form it becomes stale after 2 weeks. Lesson two: Once you grind the beans they become stale after 2 days, so when you buy Folger, Maxwell House or any other ground or whole bean coffee in a grocery store chances are it's stale.
Now all the roast signifies is Flavor... the darker the roast does not mean more caffiene. It means more flavor in my book.
All I ask of you is one thing... Don't tell me you're a coffee drinker and know what good coffee is when you're buying and drinking one of the many major store brands cause your coffee is stale and frankly you don't know what a good cup of coffee taste like. In case you wonder, I have a roaster and roast my own coffee and you can't get any fresher than that. Have a great day.

Rally Cry: In this time of Economic Need a GED is all you need!

Yes Virginia, sadly it is true.... there is no need for an education beyond a GED. Oh, and there is a Santa Claus.. Yeah, I saw him and your mother under the mistletoe kissing, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Now, back to reality... sadly I have come to discover that all you really need is a GED (okay, high school diploma). I know diploma is a big word but work with me here. Fact... saw an ad for a "Store Manager" for Alpena's Home Depot... Education required.. yep.. High School diploma or equivalent (GED) I was not qualified. Here's another one.. Production Manager, needed to have knowledge of Continuous Improvement... education required...you guessed it.. high school diploma or equivalent(GED).  Commercial Lending officer.. education required ..once again high school diploma or equivalent(they did note a bachelor's degree was preferred). Hmmmm, I guess taking the initiative to better ones self is really only for your self. To all those employers out there... You Get What You Pay For! Oddly enough two positions listed above have come up on job sites three time each within the year. Don't get me wrong.. I understand the world of business and all about bottom lines and what not...but last time I checked there were considerable cost involved when it comes to training people and if you are training people for the same position three times in a year you are wasting valuable time and resources or maybe, just maybe you need to up your requirements. Here's an idea.. talk to the educated people, don't automatically write them off because you think you can't afford to pay them. Last time I checked these people were looking for a job for the same reason someone with the GED is. Now, I'm not saying anyone with a GED is less of an individual or of a lower stature than someone with a college education(I know some of you were thinking that!) All I'm asking is... wouldn't you prefer to have someone with a college degree in a field related to your business with the experience in your business?? Oh, and by the way... experience in different fields is transferable so don't box your self in.. think outside of the box for a change. For those of you who are wondering... Yes I have a job, I drive an hour one way to get there because I do what I have to do to make ends meet. Yes I said job, but what I really want is a career.

Ask, believe, Receive

Perseverance - Leads to Peace

Perseverance - Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. It's what our armed forces are all about. It's what being an American is all about. Let this be a lesson to world.. Yes we may argue amongst ourselves, Yes we may bicker about our politics and our President, Yes we may complain about our economy and the state our country is in. We are allowed. Why? Because we (and by we, I mean those soldiers who put their life on the line) fought for the freedom to do so. Throughout history we have been a country of fight, a country of freedom, and a country of perseverance. Yes, let this be a lesson to the world.. No matter how long it takes, no matter how well protected you may think you are... we will persevere and then  make you pay for your atrocities. We  always become one as a nation when it comes to protecting our brothers, sisters and fellow man. Today is a great day for Peace.

YeeHaw!

Okay, let me get this straight… Merle Haggard life was turned around/influenced by Johnny Cash??? Was Merle portrayed in “Walk the Line”? So, Mr. Haggard is sitting his ass in San Quentin because of a burglary rap and in struts Mr. Cash who supposedly flips off the guards and does all these things that the inmates wished they could do and suddenly Merle’s life is changed forever. C’mon! I’m not sure I can believe that, then again I’ve never been in San Quentin or prison, county jail or any other kind of lock up you could think of, at least not yet anyway. Seems to simple, Merle’s mom sends him to jail as an eleven year old because she can’t handle him, he ends up in jail three more times before the age of eighteen (escaped once, must have watched the “Great Escape” at some point or was it “Bird Man from Alcatraz) then at the age of eighteen Merle is sentence to 15 years in San Quentin for his burglary rap (no, he didn’t do a rap song about burglary, he stole something). This, my friends, is where Johnny Cash influenced Merle’s outlaw career, I mean outlaw country music career. Oh, my bad, Merle is an Okie from Muskogee, or at the very least an Okie and supposedly if you’re an Okie you have an undying love for stealing things and country music. Not just any country music...nooo… loud and obnoxious country music that plays all night long (wait, I think he may be my next door neighbor, but he isn’t an Okie???)  I’ve always be under the impression that country songs consisted of … someone getting out of jail, a dog getting run over, and a divorce. Let see how Merle did... he spent time in jail (check), not sure if he had a dog but if he did it would be dead by now (check), Divorced (uhhmm three times, definitely a check) Well, have to give him credit he has a lot of experience and all of the credentials to be a country star. Here’s another thing, if you are currently sitting in jail, become a country star, hit number one on the charts (if you have to re-record Merle’s first number one hit “I’m a Lonesome Fugitive”, don’t escape first though) and then have the Guvna of California pardon you for all of your past crimes. Arnold will do it. Ronald Reagan did it for Merle in 1972 why wouldn’t Arnold do for you… Just tell him Ron did it cause he wouldn’t want Ron to one up him. I must admit though, Merle did alright for himself 38 number one hits  and a whole bunch of country music awards ain’t all bad for a “Lonesome Fugitive”.

Hail, Hayle, The English Are Here!!

The blog has taken somewhat of a turn.. maybe because of a tad bit of History in my background. But once again I will try to put my twist on it.

On this fateful day in 1360(back then it was a Monday, so it came to be known as "Black Monday", friggin' Monday's). The next time you think you are having a bad Monday I want you to consider this...
The Hundred Years' War(quick, how long was the hundred years' war, see answer at bottom) started in 1337 and King Edward III being an impatient man decided in 1359 that he was going to put an end to this doldrums of a war(even though it was taking place in France) so he decided to actively conquer the French because he was really just messing with them during the previous 23 years(1359-1337=23,for those of you who didn't do the math, it helps with the answer at the bottom). King Edward took a Huge, Extra Large Force across the channel to Calais. What did the French do you ask?? They hid behind walls and wouldn't come out into the open and fight like men(back then it didn't occur to anyone to hide behind something and keep from getting shot, if you did hide than you were considered yellow, wait that was the old west, you get the point). So, King Edward III being of sound mind and kind heart promptly pillaged the French country side(must of had a little Captain in him). Have you ever wondered why there aren't any suburbs in Paris... in April of 1360 King Edward and his troops burned them down, didn't need them, don't like them, have no use for them, burn them down! King Edward failed to take in account the wrath of God, yes you read it correctly, the wrath of God! Boooom, a sudden storm opens up over Paris and what use to be the burbs.. know remember the English didn't know enough to go inside.. so along comes the thunder, along comes the lightening, and along comes the HAIL or Hayle if your English. Well, the lightening killed a couple of chaps and the hailstones/haylestones began pelting the troops.. two English leaders were killed and you know what happens when leaders die..yup... panic! Every man for themselves!!! King Edward III being a religious man realized that the 1000 deaths, yes I said 1000 deaths was a sign of the almighty so he signed the treaty of Bretigny thus ending the first phase of the hundred years' war(because a war that long has to be fought in phases). The King of France being a nice guy gave Eddie of England some nice wine country in the north of France. That is, for nine years anyway and then the King of France decided Eddie of England was a bad boy and declared war thus phase two of the war. The second phase of the war lasted until 1453.
By the way, the largest hailstone(according to history.com) was recorded in Aurora, Nebraska...seven inches in diameter... about size of a soccer ball!

How long did the Hundred years' war last.... (1453 - 9year hiatus= 1444-1344=100 + 7 years(1337-1344) = 107 years.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

Have a Great Day! Ask, Believe, Receive.

What Do You Believe?

Let's take a step back in time, shall we... Picture yourself on this day in 1633. My good buddy, Galileo Galilei, and I were sitting in a quaint cafe when a courier comes strolling up and hands him a note. I asked him what was up and he tells me that the Pope, Pope Urban VIII has ordered him to turn himself in. C'mon, not the whole earth, sun center of the world thing again.. Yep that's what it's about. Didn't you go through all of that in 1616 and tell them that you didn't really believe it you just liked to talk about it. See what you get for stirring the pot. Didn't I tell you to stop writing about how the Sun was the center of the world. Didn't I tell you that sooner or later the Pope would have nothing better to do and then come after you again, hhhmmm didn't I tell you.
So it began, the interrogation by Chief inquisitor Father Vincenzo Maculano da Firenzuola(Father Vinny). Galileo turned himself in and the Catholic church being of fair mind promptly imprisoned him and secluded him during his trial because that was the standard practice and heaven forbid one gets to really defend themselves. Of Course, like stated above, Galileo denied he held his theory in "belief" and stated it was merely for discussion purposes only. The Church of course believed that the Sun revolved around the Earth and the Earth was, as defined by scripture, the center of the world(universe) and if you didn't believe it then it was consider heretical and you were thrown in jail, I'm sorry you were put under house arrest(remember back then they didn't have T.V.s, computers, or Ipods. Oops my mistake Galileo was condemned to prison during Our will and pleasure of the Holy Office.(he was sentenced to prison for however long they felt or until it wasn't pleasurable to the Pope which ever came first). But like all good parents the Pope had to hit Galileo where it really hurt.. Galileo was prohibited from releasing his book the book of Dialogues(kind of like taking away the XBox back in the day). Galileo being the great man that he was agreed not to teach the heresy any more (even thought scientist had proved he was right centuries before) and live out his life under house arrest. Let's give it up for the Catholic church... because they made right what was wronged... it only took them 300 years but they finally admitted Galileo was right and cleared his name of heresy. Just doesn't seem like justice does it. So, What do you believe?

Have a Great Day, Ask, Believe, Receive.

Watch Out For That Hole! Survival Guide.

In case you haven't heard the news or you have been living under a rock. A five foot hole ripped out of the ceiling of a Airliner last week. Yes, a commercial airplane, big hole, 30,000 feet in the air!!! Somebody actually asked the question to the Discovery Channel website of what would happen if you got sucked out of the hole at 30,000 feet...and the answer, according to experts, is... prognosis wouldn't be good. WTF! Prognosis wouldn't be good???? Oh really? Are you sure? I mean after all it's only 30,000 feet.. c'mon. So you bounce once or twice and then land the perfect two point landing.. and the scores are in.. 10,10,10,9,10.. dang Russian judge. This just in... within in seconds you would be dead due to oxygen deprivation... low oxygen levels at that height would cause a slight issue with be able to breath...so grab your oxygen mask on the way out(problem on solved). Ahhh, bbbrrrr, the temperature at that height -70 degrees F. so instant freeze ray.. that's what the blanket is for.. take that with you also (problem number 2 solved). According to the Discovery Channel website there would be an extreme case of Stress and the sudden drop of air pressure would create the bends and the trauma would make your nervous system go nuts... the pillow comes into play here along with the vodka tonics... relaxes the system and creates a zen sensation(problem solved). Last but not least you would probably hit the plane on the way out or get hit by the plane getting cut in half... tuck and roll grab the cushion on the way out to deflect the impact... it's not just a floatation device.
By the way... the suggested method of survival is to keep your seat belt fastened and put your oxygen mask on... my way to survive... Drive to your destination unless flying is absolutely necessary.

Have a Great Day! Ask, Believe, Receive.

I've got nothing, let's shut it down.

I've come to a conclusion today. If I decided to ever run for office and I don't have a plan or a leg to stand on I will just attack the other candidate. What I will do is pick something so minute and something that has already been checked into numerous times and then re-hash it. That way it will distract people and they won't realize that I really don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to politics... Hi my name is Donald Trump and I'm going to run for President and you will like me because I'm the Donald and I have this great looking head of hair and a reality show... See Sarah Palin and I are kind of two peas in a pod.. neither one of us really now what we are talking about when it comes to politics but we look good and we can do a hell of a reality show... Your fired Joe six pack! Hey I can see New Jersey from my kitchen window.
Heaven forbid we believe the state of Hawaii... look give up the birth certificate issue Don. Obama's camp released a copy of his birth certificate 3 years ago... two Hawaiian newspapers published birth notices in 1961.. So, now you are going to tell me that a cover up started on the day he was born? Go ahead and complain about the President that is your prerogative... but find something new will you. Oh, and at least run with some sort of platform.

Let's shut it down! Wahoo.. It's all about riders... you know all those little spending thingys politicians add to bills so they can appease their constituents. Guess where the hang up is with the budget in regards to the shut down... Subsidized Pap Smears. That's correct, women's health issues regarding Title X. Why is this the big issue... because you have a bunch of "Good Ole Boys" sitting across the table from each other and women's health issues don't mean a whole lot of diddly squat to the "Good Ole Boys". You know who the Good Ole Boys are.. Senior Republicans and their rider list keeps getting longer and longer because they have been fighting the abortion battle for so long and now they are going to prove they still "got it" when it comes to pushing social issues through. It was actually confirmed by a GOP aide. The old members of the GOP realize or think that when all is said and done citizens will ultimately blame the Tea Party for a shut down, so the old members have seen an opportunity to throw the monkey wrench in the contraption and muck things up. See, riders are not the issue, spending is, and Tea Party members are concerned with spending and balancing the budget but old members sitting on the same side the aisle are looking for a way to hang Tea Party members out to dry. We have a Government close to shutting down because of a Good Ole Boys club can't handle the fact that things are changing and they have lost control and all of their rich friends will be mad and then the trickle down will be disrupted. Did you know that both parties are pretty much equal when it comes to spending cuts.. According to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor(R-VA) it's equal to the equivalent of a penny. The issue isn't the spending, the issue is Senior Republicans going after riders like defunding planned parenthood which has nothing, I repeat, nothing to do with the deficit. Did you get that.. Riders have nothing to do with the deficit. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) doesn't want to admit that it's about the riders, he is under pressure from the Good Ole Boys on social issues and even though at one point they had an agreement on the budget he threw in more and more riders to muddy the water. So if a Government shut down is a concern to you thank the Senior Members of the GOP for it because the numbers have been agreed on but they have to show Capitol Hill they are supposedly still in charge.

Have a Great Day, Ask, Believe, and Receive!

Great day in History!

In 1776 the U.S. Navy captured its first British ship off the coast of Virginia. See what happened back then is the British ticked off the Irish and then the Irish came to the U.S. and signed up to fight the British. No sense in having their homeland invaded(wait, the British did that anyway). John Barry(he be the Irishman) offered his services to the U.S. in 1745. Congress purchased his ship the BLACK PRINCE from him and then promptly renamed it.... wait for it.... wait for it ..pause for effect... ALFRED! Yes, Alfred because we are a creative lot.
In 1862 the great civil war battle of Shiloh concluded. Two days of fighting, remember back then they didn't fight at night. No night vision goggles, no fighting thems was the rules. See the Confederates had the Yankees driven back but night fell and everyone went to supper, some went to the Hornet's Nest, others went to the Bloody Pond, some went to the Peach Orchard but they all had a nice dinner. The Yankee casualties were: 1754 killed, 8408 wounded, and 2885 captured or wounded. The Conferate casualties were: 1723 killed, 8012 wounded, and 959 missing(they wouldn't admit to being captured) which goes to show you that even it you had more killed, wounded, and missing you won the battle(what? do you think this is golf, the lower score does not win in the case of Civil War).
In 1939 Italy invaded Albania because Mussolini wanted to impress Hitler by showing he could over run a country also. Uhhmmm.... Benito you don't invade a country that is already dependent on you for everything it has... you could just keep the stuff you're giving them.. you know, take your ball and go home type of thing. OH, it was a precursor for bigger and better conquest, I see, what was I thinking... So how did the invasion of Greece work out for you Benito? Not so well huh, disastourous you say. Anyone else, Did you conquer anyone else? Noooo.... so basically what you're telling me is you picked the wrong side. Yeah, that's what I thought.
Oddly enough the above is all true so I hoped you learned something today.

Have a Great Day, Ask, Believe, Receive.

Dare to Dream - then fall short???

On this day in 1909 four Eskimos stood on what they thought was the North Pole. They celebrated with a big guy in dressed in red with a big white beard by eating seal meat and drinking whale ale(please note that no animals where harmed in the writing of this blog). Why did they go to the North Pole... because a guy by the name of Robert Peary had what he considered an "elusive" dream. So he and a assistant by the name of Matthew Henson paid four Eskimos to lead the way.
Of course, as with any dream you have to practice to make perfect. How does one practice to jockey dog sleds across vast icelands to reach an imaginary pole sticking out of the top of the world... well you go to Greenland(why didn't I think of that!!) in 1886 Bob took a little trip down the mighty... no wait.. he took a little bacon and he took a little beads and he farted his way to New Orl... nope that's not it. He jumped a sled dog and rode him all the way to the interior of Greenland or maybe the sled jumped him but he made it to some where inside of Greenland. Being the intelligent Navy Civil Engineer that Bob was he decided he needed assistant and that's where our African-American friend Matt shows up(because all guys stranded on a island need a African-American friend.. I'm sure you'll get it by Friday!). Of course, Bob told Matt they were going to find the equator because nobody in their right mind would sign up to spend months in the ice and snow(wait I live in Northern Michigan, must not be in my right mind). So, Bob and Matt practice some more by taking an "extended" dog sled ride to even further into the interior of Greenland(wouldn't it occur to them that eventually you come out on the other side??) and low and behold they make it to latitude 88 degrees north(fancy civil engineer talk for almost..) oooohhh only 150 miles from hitting that latitude 90 degrees... see practice, it's all about practice.
Well, along comes 1908, Bob and Matt and the four Eskimos who for some reason don't have names start of in Ellesmere Island and then proceed to "race"(yes, according to history.com they "raced") across hundreds of miles of ice until Bob on this fateful day in 1909 stopped, did some calculations, and said this is it. Santa said "What took you so long, Dr. Frederick A. Cook was here last year." Yep, after Bob and Matt returned, Bob's former associate Doc Fred claimed he had done it the year before and a major controversy ensued. I mean "MAJOR" and Congress, because they had nothing better to do discussed the issue for two years and then decided that the Doc lied and Bob, Matt and the Escanaba Eskimos really did do it.(Helps to have Eskimos backing your story).
Here's the twist... studies have shown that neither party actually made it to the North Pole.... Bob was close, he missed it by 30 miles (because the Eskimos knew they wouldn't get any recognition so they duped Bob). Ladies and Gentlemen the first person to ever reach the North Pole was U.S. Lieutenant Colonel (cause he couldn't decide between the two) Joseph O. Fletcher of Oklahoma when he stepped out of a plane and walked to the exact location of the North Pole in 1952. Know that's funny!

Have a Great Day. Ask, Believe, Receive