Ya gotta have heart

Ain't the GOP grand?

First:

WASHINGTON – House Republicans have temporarily blocked legislation to feed school meals to thousands more hungry children.
Republicans used a procedural maneuver Wednesday to try to amend the $4.5 billion bill, which would give more needy children the opportunity to eat free lunches at school and make those lunches healthier.

Then: 

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans threatened Wednesday to block virtually all legislation until expiring tax cuts are extended and a bill is passed to fund the federal government, vastly complicating Democratic attempts to leave their own stamp on the final days of the post-election Congress.

Let children starve. We rich Rupugnicants gotta get our tax cuts. Save a little money so we can head to Paris for dinner. Or a snack.

The tea baggers must be so proud.

And so it goes.

Life support?

After noticing a number (in fact most) of my old favorite blogs haven't been updated in months, I'm forced to ask:

Are blogs dead?

Have they been replaced by social media like Facebook and Twitter?

Are blogs a thing of the 90s which has outlived its usefulness?

Does anyone care?

And so it goes.

Dis and dat

Just a few election night observations

- Apparently being unqualified is a qualifying attribute to too many voters.

- A lot of good people got swept away in Tuesday's tea bag ignorance.

- Remember, in nearly every off-year election the party out of power makes gains. Usually at least one house of Congress changes hands.So don't go calling it a revolution, especially since the Dems kept the Senate.

- It makes me SO happy that we continue to have an absentee U.S. Representative. Wasn't aware that Southern California was in Collier County. Wonder if Connie even knows where Collier County is?

- Apparently many tea bags contain hallucinogens.

- An awful lot of voters seemed content to bring in garbage and throw out the quality.

- Could be that the upper class is taking back THEIR AMERICA, at the expense of the rest of us.

- Is the Florida governorship REALLY worth what, $50 million of your own money?

- Do any of you REALLY believe any of this is going to make any difference?

- Just drink your koolade and shut up, OK?

And so it goes.

Another cup of tea?

A tea party candidate demonstrates her knowledge of the Constitution.

WILMINGTON, Del. – Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell of Delaware on Tuesday questioned whether the Constitution calls for a separation of church and state, appearing to disagree or not know that the First Amendment bars the government from establishing religion.
The exchange came in a debate before an audience of legal scholars and law students at Widener University Law School, as O'Donnell criticized Democratic nominee Chris Coons' position that teaching creationism in public school would violate the First Amendment by promoting religious doctrine.

And

"Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?" O'Donnell asked, a statement that drew laughter from the audience. When Coons returned to the topic a few minutes later, he said her comment "reveals her fundamental misunderstanding of what our Constitution is."
"The First Amendment establishes the separation, the fact that the federal government shall not establish religion," Coons said.
"The First Amendment does?" O'Donnell interrupted. "You're telling me that the separation of church and state is found in the First Amendment?"
When Coons summarized the amendment as saying government shall make no law establishing religion, O'Donnell interrupted again: "That's in the First Amendment?"

What surprises me is this doesn't really surprise me.

Just another example of tea party genius.

And so it goes.

Party of dumb

I see a whole bunch of old rich white folks lined up along a street in Naples today to protest the government spending money on anything that doesn't directly impact them.

If you saw the pictures, you'll notice not a single person of color, either black or hispanic/latino, and not a single disabled person in the crowd. The only children are those that grandma has dragged along to hold a sign insulting President Obama. The kid doesn't know what the sign means, but it's kids who get their picture taken.

The protest, in effect, is that right now the government is not treating rich folks and rich corporations with the respect and deference they had come to expect from the previous administration.

The shame. I'm rich. Pander to me!

There's another undercurrent that the rich white folks know of but cannot speak about except in 'code.' They're appalled that there's a n*****r in the White House.

It's the Whirte House because, obviously it's reserved for whites.

Doncha know.

And so it goes.

YeeHaa!

You really have to be kidding me:

Haven't they made flying uncomfortable enough already?

This looks like something you would find in a hemorrhoid treatment clinic.

Who thinks up this stuff?

Ouchie ouchie ouch.

And so it goes.

Hallo?

Opponents of the Islamic Center in New York City near the 9/11 site say the area is 'hallowed ground' and therefore nothing Islamic should be built there.

In the same hallowed ground neighborhood as the proposed Islamic Center (NOT a mosque, by the way): a strip club and a betting parlor.

A strip club and a betting parlor.

Hallowed ground?

Hallo? Anyone out there?

And so it goes.

Apropo of absolutely nothing

Sometimes the mind wanders. Probably where it shouldn't.

And that mind has decided with certainty that women as a human subspecies have no taste whatsoever.

It they did, the human race would have died out tens of thousands of years ago.

My thinking: The male portion of the human subspecies is, generally, pretty disgusting. Disgusting looking. Disgusting acting. Disgusting in every way possible. Pull my finger and laugh outrageously disgusting. Although I speak no language other than English, I'm betting that in languages with gender differentiation for words, disgusting is universally male.

And not just disgusting. As a group, we're just about universally ugly.

There may be a couple Brad Pitts and George Clooneys out there, but 99% of us are just ugly. No other way to state it.

Yet, somehow, for reasons I cannot fathom, women find men handsome, or cute or hot. Other than the few Brad Pitts and George Clooneys out there, I just don't see it. I have a mirror. I've been in a lot of locker rooms in my lifetime. Handsome, cute, good looking, hot generally ain't there.

Ugly. Disgustingly ugly.

Even the junk we're so proud of, we must admit, is pretty disgusting junk.

But women, for some reason, like some of us. They like us enough to marry us. Make love to us. Make babies with us. Make lives with us.

It makes no sense. Except that using a male yardstick, women have questionable taste at best.

But I'm sure glad they do.

Viva la difference!

(I told you this had nothing to do with anything pertinent. Other than the fact that I just celebrated our 18th anniversary with the most wonderful woman in the world. I still cannot believe I'm allowed in the presence of such a beautiful soul.).

And so it goes.

Yeah, you

God bless the Christian right, right?

AP Photo/Phil Sandlin   Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center speaks to the media.

The Christian Right is not-so-slowly taking control of the GOP. Is this what we can expect more of in the future?

Religious intolerance has worked so well in Iran, Iraq ... 

Why not here?


The GOP says it's gonna retake control of Congress.

THIS JUST IN: As you may have heard, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh and Terry Jones (you know, the Gainesville, Fla., pastor who threatened to burn Korans on 9/11) graduated from the same high school in Cape Girardeau, Mo., in 1969.

I grieve for America.

And so it goes.

Hmmmmm

Has anyone noticed that since the Alaskan standup comedian Sarah Palin has arrived on the scene, no one has seen or heard from Dan Quayle?

Coincidence?

I think not.

The GOP always seems to have at least one irrelevant court jester around, don't they?

And so it goes.

Why not?

I know, let's get all out political insights from a failed top-40 radio DJ who's willing to sell anything and everything for a profit.


Novelist Stephen King has referred to Glenn Beck as "Satan's mentally challenged younger brother."


King is too kind.


And so it goes.

I'm Free!

I believe in freedom of religion.

It's in the Constitution, right?

So as an American, I believe.

JUST NOT FOR ANYONE WHO BELIEVES DIFFERENTLY THAN I DO!

Got that?

If they had proposed a new Presbyterian church two blocks from Ground Zero, do you think there would have been a conservative uproar?

Of course not.

They believe the same things I do.

But not a mosque. They're not American, are they? They shouldn't get freedom or religion.

Just my religion, right?

Hint: The first Europeans came to the New World in order to practice THEIR religion they way THEY wanted to. Because the government in the Old World said you have to worship the way WE say.

What, exactly, is the difference?

The Muslims own the property. They are allowed to build what they want on their property, right? Or do property rights only apply to good, Christian Americans?

Think about it, folks.

Does the Constitution apply to all Americans.

Or just the ones YOU approve of?

And so it goes.

Switching gears

Let's assume that legal justice includes some kind of punishment for those found guilty.

Whether the punishment be in the form of a fine, loss of privileges, loss of freedom and/or other.

Then let us assume that punishment is, in fact, punishment, i.e. something the guilty party does NOT want.

The most heinous criminal I've heard about in many years is Messac Damas.

You remember him. He's the guy who is accused of (and has admitted to) killing his wife and their 5 children by stabbing them and slitting their throats.

Real fun guy. He admitted he committed the crime when a Naples Daily News reporter caught up with him in Haiti.

Last week Damas appeared in court as part of the ongoing process in which he will, no doubt, be found guilty. (Let us hope he doesn't use or get off on an insanity plea. He may be insane now, but he wasn't when he was executing his children.)

He begged the judge to 'throw the switch,' i.e. give him and enforce the death penalty.

He wishes the death penalty, he said in order to join his family in the afterlife.

Back to the top now.

Punishment means forcing someone to DO WHAT THEY DON'T WANT TO.

In other words, Damas wants the death penalty. For him, he sees it as no penalty. He'll just be able to rejoin his family.

What justice would be served by fulfilling his wishes? Why allow him to 'join his family' in the afterlife.

DO NOT GIVE HIM WHAT HE WANTS.

Throw the book at him.

The incarceration book.

Give him life in prison without parole. Life in prison in solitary confinement.

Separate him from society permanently.

But don't give him what he wants.

That's not punishment.

And it's not justice.

And so it goes.

Cook 'em, Danno

I am not a supporter of the death penalty.

I do not support corporal punishment.

For the most part, I eschew violence at every level and at any time.

However.

When some jerk does something like this, I begin to question myself.

A family left its small poodle mix in the car outside HealthPark Medical Center in Fort Myers on Monday and it died.

Maybe a couple hours in a hot, dark-colored car in the Florida sun would do this jerk a little good.

C'mon, guy. That's a little, essentially defensless animal, dependent on you for everything: food, drink, shelter, love.

And you cook it in a car.

When the dog was removed from the car, its temperature registered 115 degrees — the maximum temperature of the thermometer.

115 degrees! Or more!

Some people, some people ....

And so it goes.

Gov't 101

Two letters to the editor in today's Naples Daily News almost had my chin dropping into my morning Cheerios.


To quote:

Reprehensible, that’s what it is. Why do we allow a handful of individuals functioning under the guise as county commissioners to act on the behalf of 300,000 citizens of Collier County?

And 

The vote by the Collier County commissioners to bring Jackson Laboratory to our county equates to taxation without representation.

Folks, it's called representative government.
That's the way it's supposed to work.
We allow a handful of individuals functioning... for us, a handful of individuals we have hired, to to act on our behalf,


Representative government.


I guess it's only representative when my representatives act EXACTLY how I demand they act.
Otherwise, it's taxation without representation.
Figure it out, folks.
Would you have written the same letter if the decision had been different?
Of course not!


REP- RE-SENT-A-TIVE GOV-ERN-MENT.
Look it up.
Then shut up.


And so it goes.

Pathetic

Some people have such a low opinion of themselves that they have to invent an 'underclass' from which to feel superior.

Hence the pathetic sign that showed up in my neighborhood over the weekend:

Although some sorry souls found this humorous, personally, I found it disgusting and pathetic. 

And ugly.

If you think so little of yourself that you have to denigrate another human being, just what does that make you?

Sub-human?

Just gotta feel superior to someone/something, don't you?

Didn't work, did it?

And so it goes.

Not a happy sight

Unfortunately, the news doesn't seem to be getting better. Too close; too close. At least they're not using the 'H' word yet.

And so it goes

Not yet, please

I think we can do without this.

And so it goes.

Who?

Florida's in the middle of campaign season (when isn't it?).

Problem is, I have yet to find a single candidate I want to vote for

I have, however, found a whole shitpotful of candidates I sure want to vote against.

I'm particularly suspicious of extremely wealthy men who seen to want to buy political offices.

In fact, I think perhaps the extreme wealth pretty much disqualifies them.

And so it goes.

Never a chance

Dave Moulton never got it.

The Cubs were never gonna come to Naples.

Never. Never. Never.

All Naples was was a lever to extract more from Mesa.

And it worked.

And Dave, your latest column sounds like sour grapes.

Took lessons from the Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, huh?

Wah. Wah. Wah.

And so it goes.

Cause and effect?

Lets see, more people started playing bills online and using email because of the cost of stamps. So the Post Office started losing money.

To make up the difference, the Post office raised the price of stamps.

So more people started playing bills online and using email because of the cost of stamps.

To make up the difference, the Post Office raised the price of stamps again.

And more people started playing bills online and using email because of the cost of stamps.

So now, the Post Office is raising the price of stamps yet again.

Anyone else notice a trend here?

Think if, just maybe, the Post Office were to REDUCE the price of stamps, more people would go back to using mail?

Or is it too late?

And so it goes.

The north side Hoovers

I have been a Cubs fan for a long time.

I expect I will be a staunch and loyal Cubs fan for the rest of my days.

I like being a Cubs fan. Really.

I expect that sometime in my lifetime the Cubs WILL win a World Series.

That being said:

This year's Cubs team sucks. Really sucks.

Sucks. Sucks. Sucks.

Sucks.

And so it goes.

Turn out the lights...

The party's over....

Well, the U.S. soccer (sorry, football) team bowed out of the World Cup with a weak whimper. Pathetic.

For being a team filled with 'stars' and lots of hope, they sure did disappoint. I'm certain some apologists will attempt to blame the officials for a couple questionable calls. Instead, they should blame the U.S. team for a questionable offense.

Not once in the World Cup did the U.S. lead any match.

But then again, it's only soccer.

Not like anyone on this continent really cares.

Well, maybe we will again for a couple weeks in four years.

In the mean time, let the baseball season continue.

And Cubs, you can start any time.

And so it goes.

Ghana have some fun now

I'm trying really hard to care. I really am.

But any game that the only player who can use his hands is wearing Hamburger Helper gloves and more players flop than in a NBA game just doesn't hold a lot of thrill.

Then there's the matter of playing 4 or 5 hours (or so it seems) for a 1-0 win or an 0-0 tie, If you can at least get it to 15-14 or so, then MAYBE.

And don't forget the vuvuzelas.

Yawn.

And so it goes.

Shocking ... simply shocking

Who would have thought this could happen in this day and age?

A federal judge in New Orleans on Tuesday sided with the oil industry, striking down the temporary moratorium on new offshore exploration and deepwater drilling the Obama administration imposed last month. That judge, it turns out, has in recent years had interests in Transocean—the world's largest offshore drilling company and the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig—as well as other energy companies engaged in offshore oil extraction.

According to the most recently available financial disclosure form for District Court Judge Martin Feldman, he had holdings of up to $15,000 in Transocean in 2008. He has also recently owned stock in offshore drilling or oilfield service providers Halliburton, Prospect Energy, Hercules Offshore, Parker Drilling Co., and ATP Oil & Gas. Feldman was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983.

Let's look at that. Appointed by Ronnie Reagan, owns stock in Halliburton and offshore drilling companies.

Yep, definite knee-jerk liberal, I'd say.

Anyone want to bet he's also good buddies with George W and all his oil bidness friends?

And so it goes.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

How in the world can you watch and enjoy soccer (football) if you spend the whole game blowing on those sent-from-hell vuvuzelas?

And so it goes.

Count on it

Let's see ...

The Pac-10 has 12 but wants 16

The Big Ten has 12. And has had 11 for years.

The Big 12 now has 10. Or maybe 9 or 8.

Don't they teach simple addition and subtraction in college anymore?

And so it goes.

Wait 'til ... ?

I know it's a long time until September (never mind October).

I know a team performing badly in April, May and early June can turn things around.

But these are the Cubs we're talking about.

As much of a positive fan as I am, it's getting a little depressing.

Aramis Ramirez is on the DL. Again. DLee is slumping. Again. Fukudome started strong and is fading. Again. Geovani is lost at the plate. Again. Alfonso started strong and is quickly falling back. As usual. Can't figure out Mr. Steady (Theriot), Seems like NO ONE can get that key hit. Lou went fishing last July and never came back.

And right now, our 'Ace' is Carlos Silva. That hurts.

All that said, LET'S GO, CUBS!

please

And so it goes.

Spare change

On first impression, it would seem like a good idea for Baseball Commissioner Bud (used car salesman) Selig to change the umpire's ruling and award Armando Galarraga his perfect game.

After all, it was a blown call. Even the umpire who blew the call admitted after the fact that he had blown the call.

So why not give Galarraga the perfect game?

Why? Because it opens a whole new can of worms. If the commissioner can overrule this call, which others can/will he? And who decides? Selig used to own the Brewers. Would that mean he'd give them a little help on some questionable calls? Or bend over backwards to avoid being unfair?

If that call is overruled, why not a called third strike somewhere? A fair/foul call? The call to cancel a game because of rain?

Part of the charm of baseball is the human element. George Steinbrenner never understood that if he paid a player $1 million more, why couldn't he hit another 100 points higher. Doesn't work that way.

The game's made up of people and rules. People make mistakes. They strike out. They drop fly balls. Then they take the field the next day and try not to do that again. That's the way it should be.

I remember an old story, probably not true, of an umpire calling balls and strikes. After a pitch, the umpire pauses. The catcher says, 'Well, what is it, a ball or a strike? And the umpire responded, "It's nothing until I say it is.'

Umpires have to make 200-300 split-second decisions every game. Maybe more. Umpires are human.

Sometimes humans make mistakes. There's probably a misspelling somewhere in this post. I make mistakes, too.

All that being said, if you're the umpire responsible for saving or ending a perfect game, you'd better make damned sure the call is right. Even if you have to pause to be sure. And if there's a doubt, ... there are three other umpires on that field. Ask.

Umpires have a right to be wrong.

They also have a responsibility to try harder in more critical situations.

Umpires can't afford to be looking over their shoulder at Bud Selig on every call.

But they can be disciplined.

And occasionally, some should be.

And so it goes.

Left for dead

Reports of Apple's death are, shall we say, a bit premature?
Now if I'd only been smart enough to buy stock.

And so it goes.

Shocked, I tell you

Are you surprised that a Kentucky Republican can be a racist?
No more surprised, I suppose that the fact that GOP folks met to restate their support for the candidate and, in effect, for racism:

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Protesters carried signs outside Kentucky's Republican Party headquarters decrying U.S. Senate nominee Rand Paul's comments on civil rights Saturday while GOP leaders met inside to pledge their support for the candidate.

Hey, it's Kentucky. And it's the GOP. You expected anything less?

And so it goes.

Hmmmm

Anyone else think it's just too convenient that Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott was in Times Square at the exact same time the car bomb was discovered?

Coincidence?

And so it goes.

Say what?

How's that 'Drill, Baby, Drill' working out for you?



And so it goes.

Me, too

Lotsa Tea Party protests around the country today.

A few observations.

--Funny how the majority appear to be older, well-off retirees. Poor young folks need not apply.
--Lots of signs denouncing Marxism and Socialism and Communism. From the wording, the sign bearers have no idea what any of those isms are. But they know they're BAD.
--There's a clear undercurrent of racism throughout the protests. Not an African-American face to be found. Or a Latino. Just your average White Anglo-Saxon Klansman.
--Seems like everyone is carrying a sign with a different agenda. Some want smaller government. Others want the government to fund just their cause. Some want the abolish the income tax. Others express fear of the VAT. Others are afraid of the Rush/Glen lies presented about the Health Care reform bills.
--It doesn't appear that any two baggers agree on anything, But they sure like to get together and scream. (As long as they get home in time for the early bird dinner specials).
--A lot of they seem to want to vote everyone out. No one seems to realize how unrealistic that is. What they mean is they want YOU to vote out YOUR representative, cuz mine is just fine. It cannot and will not happen. There are 435 congressional districts. Imagine convincing ALL the voters in all 435 districts to oust their incumbent. Dream on.
--I think they just like to scream.
--And show how upset they are that we have a BLACK president.

And so it goes.

Aha!

Just figured out the health care argument.

If you're rich you can afford health care. You get to live long, healthy productive lives.

If you're poor you can't. You should die. Quickly.

And don't expect us to bury your poor, sorry ass, either. That would mean confiscating some of my justly-deserved wealth. That's socialistic!

Rot, poor folks. Rot.

(But rot out of my sight - and far enough away that I don't have to smell you. I've got another wine auction to go to. Don't ruin it for me.)

And so it goes.

It wasn't me

I've argued against anonymous comments on newspaper web sites for some time.

No one has listened.

Now, someone has.

Amen.

And so it goes.

At last

Finally, the U.S. has taken steps toward health care reform.

It's only a baby step, but it's a positive start.

Personally, I'd much rather have the government overseeing my health care than an insurance company whose only real job is to maximize profits for its shareholders at the expense of my health care.

I have been denied care because it's too expensive (for the insurance company). As have countless others.

And so it goes.

Makes perfect sense

Just curious...

If the print product of a media company is subsidizing the online ventures, why would you jeopardize the print product by pushing all your efforts to online?

If the print product goes under (or is rendered so irrelevant as to be useless), just what is the online division planning on putting online?

And if the online product is so embarrassingly unedited, inaccurate and inept, does that in itself reflect poorly and eventually continue the downfall of the print product?

Finally, why are accountants running media companies when it's obvious none of those accountants pay any attention to the news and have no idea how it's produced?

And so it goes.

Told ya

$2 fiddle.

And so it goes.

Leverage

An awful lot of folks hereabouts have been thinking the Cubs just might, yeah they might, yeah I think they're gonna, oh, yeah they're gonna for sure move from Mesa, AZ to Naples, FL.

Ain't gonna happen folks.

Never was gonna happen.

It was all a leverage play. All along.

The Cubs wanted concessions from Mesa. Complacent Mesa. Mesa which has really really become used to having the Cubs there, for like 57 years.

In order to get those concessions, the Cubs had to manufacture a scenario that indicated they JUST MIGHT leave.

Worked. Like a charm.

Scared the stuffings out of Mesa folks.

Concessions are on the way.

Just the way the Cubs knew they were gonna be.

And Naples. We were played like a $2 fiddle.

We never were in the running because truth be told there never was any running.

The Cubs wouldn't have moved. Even without Mesa's cooperation.

They just wanted some new toys.

And they're gonna get them. The Cubs knew they would.

And so, Mesa gets the elevator and Naples, predictably, gets the shaft.

And so it goes.

Vote 'em out

I keep reading in the NDN's letters to the editor that we should vote out all the members of Congress.

Fine.

Just how are you gonna go about that?

You only get one vote for one House member. What about the other 434?

You only get two votes for U.S. Senator, one every 6 years. How you gonna vote 100 Senators out that way?

Besides, odds are, you LIKE YOUR Senator and Rep.

So, what you mean is that EVERYONE ELSE should vote THEIR senator and rep out, right?

Just how are you gonna accomplish that?

Think people.

Stupid is contagious. Just read the letters to the editor.

And so it goes.