Tag Archives: Vladimir Putin

Don’t ‘Send in the Clowns!’ (The Looney Clowns are Already Here!)

In the last blog I quoted a line from Shakespeare.  In this blog, I am quoting the name of a composition by Stephen Sondheim which he wrote in 1973 for the musical, A Little Night Music.    Do you remember who first recorded ‘Send in the Clowns?’  Many famous musicians have sung it, including Barbra Streisand, Judy Collins and the most famous version on the ‘Simpson’s’ by Krusty the Clown. But the first person to record the song, after it appeared on Broadway, was Old Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, in 1973.

But I digress.  I have finally decided that what has changed most significantly during my lifetime, and not in a better way, is entertainment.  For the purposes of this blog, specifically ….comedy (thus the clowns).  What constitutes good comedy today, compared to what was good comedy 50 years ago?

Well, one thing that I have noticed, is that somehow, comedians today think they have transformed themselves into mental giants overnight.  In addition, they have taken it upon themselves to routinely inject their political beliefs into their routines.  They do this with malice, with venom, and with a large dose of aggression that certainly was not present in the comedy of my youth.

Everyone knows what comedienne Kathy Griffin has done recently.  She, in the hopes of having her head sculpted into a memorial atop the Hollywood hills, held up a severed, bloody head of Donald Trump, in pure ISIS fashion.   Besides doing this deplorable act, do you know what the most idiotic part is of this whole ordeal?  It was Kathy Griffin’s surprise about the backlash that occurred by her actions.  She thought she would be beloved by the radical left.  She thought she would become the poster girl for Hollywood and its left leaning politics.  She thought she was being funny.  But then the backlash occurred and it took aim where it hurts the Hollywood elite the most….in the pocket book!  Yes, their god is money and once taken away, they lose faith.  In this instance, sponsors began withdrawing their support and as a result, her New Year’s Eve gig with Anderson Cooper was canceled.  Ouch!  But the idiotic Kathy was not done.  She apologized for doing the act, but she did not apologize to the POTUS or his family.  She did not apologize to Baron Trump who was traumatized by seeing his father’s severed head on national television.  Then she decided to strike back by saying that the Trump family are a bunch of bullies and have “broken her” and ruined her career.  Ruined your career?  You are a D level actress/comedian that has pandered sleazy comedy and sleazy events for years and now you think your career is over?  I sure as hell hope so!  What part of this action on your part was funny?

But wait, another intellectual giant has weighed in to defend Kathy Griffin.  That intellectual giant would be none other than Ace Ventura; Jim Carrey himself!  Here is what he said about comedy: “It’s the job of the comedian to cross the line at all times.  That line is not real and if you step out into that spotlight and you’re doing the crazy things that (Trump) is doing, we’re the last line of defense. The comedians are the last voice of truth in this whole thing.”  Nothing is politically motivated in that statement.  (Yeah, right.)  Exactly, Mensa Jim, is that line that has to be crossed at all times? Respect? (check).  Viciousness? (check).  Politically maligned?  (check).  Common Sense?  (check). Entertaining?  (check).  Funny?  (check).  Are these the components of the imaginary line?  If they are, Kathy Griffin, and your dumb-ass comments defending her are definitely over the line!  What’s this B.S. about the ‘last line of defense?’   I am convinced that the last thing you cowardly wienies would do would be to take up arms and defend this country.  You may defend your country club, but not your country.

Unfortunately, Kathy Griffin is not alone on her ‘cross the line’ diatribes and actions.  Stephen Colbert is so far left politically that it is amazing he can stand up straight.  But….Stephen Colbert has an audience and he uses his platform to spew his malicious venom all in the name of comedy.  Here is a part of one of his monologues when he begins ranting about Trump: “Sir, you attract more skinheads than free Rogaine.  You have more people marching against you than cancer.  You talk like a sign language gorilla that got hit in the head.  In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin’s cock holster.”  Granted, I do find humor with the Rogaine part of the monologue, but then he ‘crosses the line.’

Not to be outdone, we have Bill Maher.  While on his HBO program Real Time with New York magazine reporter Gabriel Sherman on a Friday night, the 61 – year – old made the incest joke about first daughter Ivanka Trump’s relationship with her father President Donald Trump.  He said: “What do you make of Ivanka and her efforts to sort of humanize her father?  We see all this misogyny at Fox News, we see it in Donald Trump himself.  A lot of us thought, Ivanka is gonna be our saving grace.”  Maher then took it a step further and mimicked Ivanka performing a sex act on her father.

Here is my question.  Why are these two disrespectful, constipated at the mouth morons still on television?  Well, I answered the question earlier in this blog.  Money is the god of Hollywood and these two bring in lots more to their respective networks than Kathy Griffin could ever dream about. She was expendable….they, because of their earning potential, are not.  It would be the proper, respectful, action to take to can both of them, but don’t ever expect something proper and respectful to ever come out of Hollywood.

It is obvious that Ace Ventura never watched or followed the comedy of his predecessors.  During my youth, the comics were extremely funny and they did not have to ‘cross any line!’  Grandma P’s favorite comic was Red Skelton.  He was on TV for over 20 years, from 1951 to 1971.  He ended every show with the words, “Good Night and God bless.”  His shows were hilarious as he was also a talented mime.  His most memorable character was Clem Kadiddlehopper.

I had two favorites.  In the early 50’s and 60’s it was Jackie Gleason in The Honeymooners.  He was a bus driver in New York (Ralph Kramden) and his next door neighbor was Art Carney (Ed Norton), who played a sewer worker.  Their wives were played by Jane Meadows (Alice) and  Joyce Randolff (Trixie).    His ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes provided for a solid basis in humor.

But, my all time favorite comedy show was the Carol Burnett Show.  It ran continuously from 1967 to 1978.  Her supporting cast included Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Lyle Waggoner, and for a short time, Dick Van Dyke.  The show was made up entirely of skits, and, done before a live audience.  Some of the routines were hilarious.  What made them particularly funny was that oftentimes, there was ad-libing taking place, especially by Tim Conway.  The reactions of the other actors was as funny as the skit itself as they were completely caught off guard by his shenanigans.  I recommend watching the films of this show.  You will see what comedy was meant to be.

There were many other comedians that were extremely funny.  Don Rickles, Ernie Kovac, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno,  Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller, Phil Silvers, Dick Van Dyke, Lucille Ball, Morey Amsterdam;  these were just some of the funny, humorous comedians of my youth and you know what?  They did not cross any damn line to be funny!  They may have all pushed the envelope on occasion, but they were never disrespectful, crude or vulgar.  They never, ever used their fame for a public political stage.  They knew what their position was in our society, they were there to provide entertainment for the family.  

So the clowns of the present could definitely learn from the clowns of the past.  No one, and I mean no one, is interested in your crude, malicious political commentary.  It is classless humor coming from classless people.

Damn.  I miss the old days of comedy.

Pole Vaulting Over Mouse Turds!

Donald Trump presidency…….D + 46

There were many times during my military and business careers when some individuals would become bogged down in minutia.  This was not necessarily a bad thing if there were no time constraints and the minutia being provided stayed focused on the end product or mission.  That was usually not the case, however.

Let me use the military as an example.  Whether the planning involved training or war plans, there were always time constraints.  Yet, some staff wienie would always want to use precious time to delve into the most insignificant of details that were only of concern to him, and not to the group or geared to the mission.  The same situations occur during business planning meetings.  It seems you always have one or two individuals that want to demonstrate their intelligence or elevate their importance by monopolizing time that just was not available.  When asked a question, oftentimes these individuals would provide an answer in an overabundance of detail that was just not necessary.  As a shortcut to brevity, I would chide these people with the phrase, “When I ask you what time it is, don’t tell me how to build a clock.”  This phrase would usually get the ‘minutia minded’ back on track.

Most people have heard the phrase, ‘making a mountain out of a mole hill.’  Cute.  I found that the phrase, ‘You are pole vaulting over mouse turds’ was much more effective in keeping a staff in line and focused based on our time constraints and mission.

So, with the ‘pole vaulting over mouse turd’ concept in mind; could it be applied to what is currently happening in Washington, D.C.?  Unfortunately, I believe it fits all too nicely.

Donald Trump has been POTUS for 46 days.  Here are some of the items that the liberal biased media and the Democratic party have brought to the forefront since the Trump inauguration.  One of the initial biggies was that some female members of the Democratic party called for a boycott of the Ivanka Trump clothing line.  You would think with all these ‘women’s marches,’ like the one occurring today as I am writing this, that these women would be ecstatic that a member of the fair sex is successful in business.  Not the case!  So, in defense, Kellyanne Conway mentioned on a Sunday morning news show that people should buy clothing from the Ivanka Trump collection.  The response?  The shouting began!  “Kellyanne Conway needs to be replaced!”  “Kellyanne Conway needs to be severely disciplined.”  “Kellyanne needs to be prosecuted.”  (As an aside, the Ivanka collection is having unprecedented high sales after the Democrat women called for boycott!)

Poor Kellyanne could not catch a break after someone posted a picture of her sitting on her feet on a sofa in the oval office.  Again, the shouting began from the left.  Disrespectful!  (Followed by the three comments in bold in the previous paragraph.)  Apparently, the liberals have forgotten about the picture of Obama with his feet up on the historical Resolute desk in the oval office.  This desk was a gift from Queen Victoria of England.  Or, about Bill Clinton having an intern under the desk.

Combined

Any disrespect there?

Other media consuming biggies is that Donald Trump uses ketchup on his steak.  Earth shattering!  And, recently, Ben Carson referred to slaves as immigrants.  Again, earth shattering.  Would you say the four mentioned situations are all important, or would you classify them as ‘pole vaulting over mouse turds.’  I am a believer that we could use toothpicks to vault over those turds.

Here are some items that I believe the media and our politicians from both parties should be focusing upon.

Earlier this week, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles in the direction of Japan.  We have 50,000 service people stationed in Japan.  Today, the North Koreans have said that they were trying to hit Japan, even though the missiles fell short by 150 miles.  After the firing, we sent additional anti-missile defense weapons to South Korea.  Now the Chinese are claiming we are being aggressive and spoiling for a war.  I would say this is a biggie.  Especially in light of the fact that the Chinese are constructing artificial islands in the South China Sea and fortifying them as naval bases.  And…they are claiming the surrounding oceans as Chinese territorial waters.

China’s banks are financing much of the aggression that is being shown by not only the North Koreans, but by the Iranians.  They are lending money for the purchase of all types of weapons to whoever wants to borrow and purchase, including nations that sponsor terrorism.  Its nice that we continue to purchase Chinese made items so that their banking system can afford to finance the terrorists of the world.

Have you noticed how many times our ships have been buzzed by Iranian patrol boats in the Persian Gulf?  It seems to be happening more and more as the Iranians become more belligerent.  In the very near future, either they will fire on us or we will fire on them.  Then what?

Not to be outdone, those pesky Russians are buzzing our ships with their airplanes.   Much of this is to test the resolve of our new president.  Nothing happened to any of these nations over the last eight years and they are attempting to determine if they can continue their aggression unfettered.  After all, what decisive action did we take against Putin during his invasion of the Ukraine?

On the national front……………….

Have you seen anything of late about the national debt?  Apparently, our politicians and media are not concerned about a $20 trillion debt.  Maybe this debt sounds smaller if it is expressed as 20,000 billion dollars.  The ‘b’ sound is apparently less menacing than the ‘t’ sound.

Did you realize that after 46 days in office, President Trump is still missing four key individuals from his cabinet?  He is missing the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretaries of Labor and Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative.  It appears that with the Liberals fighting every step of the way, it will take longer for him to get his cabinet.  In comparison, Obama had 7 cabinet members confirmed on his inauguration day.  Then there is the Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch.  Have you seen this guy’s credentials?  If he and Jesus had a contest to see who would get the least wet while walking across water….I think it would be close to a tie!  His confirmation should be a slam dunk, but will no doubt be contested.

Of course the biggest item in Washington today is the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.  The Republican roll out is now available for scrutiny and there is no shortage of scrutiny.  At least it is one-tenth the length of the original act at 200+ pages versus 2,000+ pages.  With that in mind, it will be read before being passed into law.  Also, it is open to correction and amendment.  This was something not available for the original bill when the it was rammed down the throats of the American public.  I want to point out that health care is an entitlement and not a right.  Entitlements can be taken away.  This particular entitlement comes with a very expensive price tag.

So readers, I want you to scrutinize as to what is important and what is political and media grandstanding.  What is important for the country versus what is important to a politician to get reelected.  Those interests are not the same.  Be discriminating about national and world events. What is more important?  The way Kellyanne Conway sits on a couch or the fact that the North Koreans have fired four missiles at Japan?  Don’t fall into the shenanigans of the media and some politicians by ‘pole vaulting over mouse turds.’

Newest Reality TV Show, Survivor…Washington, D.C.

When did the election year politics turn into a bad reality show?  Do we blame the Amazing Race? Do we blame the Bachelor?  How about the Kardashian’s or any of those Housewives of Wherever shows?

Trust me when I say that this is the most devisive and unprofessional year I have ever seen for people that are contending to be President of the United States.  What happened to dignity?  What happened to respect?  What happened to important issues?

The only winners in this media circus is the ………well, the media.  One pundit said that this year’s electoral campaigns are good for CBS, but bad for America.  No fooling!  As of this writing, there have been eleven Republican presidential debates.  I am being overly gracious when I actually describe these events as debates.  Same issues.  Same mud-slinging.  Same name calling. Different time slots, moderators and channels.  Why so many?  Frankly, I have watched about half of them and the debates I missed were pretty much reruns of the debates I watched.  Ugly!

After hours of contemplation, I have decided to contact Mark Burnett and propose a new show for the Republican debates….. Survivor….Washington, D.C!

Can you picture it?  Cue the music!

Blast the irritating horns!  Show some tribal symbols in the promo!  Show the panoramic view of the island that the competition will take place!  Yes, we can’t have this competition in the actual Washington, D.C  The crime rate there is high and  that would be too dangerous!  We will select a deserted island somewhere close to the continent of Africa; close to where the last Survivor winner was born.  With any luck, this island will be  full of cannibals.  Could we be so lucky?

Now the introduction of the contestants.  Firstly, the Gabber from Gotham, Donald J. Trump!  His opponent, from the state of Florida, Marco (I am the son of Ronald Reagan) Rubio!  Their opponent, representing the state of Texas, Ted, I can be trusted because I know what a Bible looks like, Cruz! And our last contestant, representing the state of Ohio and responsible for anything good that has ever happened in that state, John Kasich!

Jeff Probst was unable to be the moderator at this contest as he was previously committed to moderating the Democratic Survivor contest titled, Survivor…Leningrad.  In his place will be the intelligent, charming and witty, Megyn Kelly.  Ms. Kelly of Fox News fame has demonstrated impartiality when it comes to who survives and who wilts like a pansy without water.  And, she is just gosh darn good looking and as long as this is my idea, she will be the moderator!

Our first reward challenge will be the name-calling challenge.  First out of the gate and with a large lead is Rubio.  He is being closely followed by Ted Cruz.  Both attempt to trip up Trump.  Trump makes a half-hearted, half-assed rebuttal to the two leaders.  Con Man.  Charlatan.  Faker.  Failure.  Liar.  The competition is furious and vicious.  Kasich?  Well, this was obviously not his best challenge.  The name calling becomes more intense. The three leaders are miles ahead of Kasich. Eventually, Megyn calls a time out as it has been determined that more negative adjectives were used during this contest than in the last twenty presidential elections combined.  The winner?  Marco Rubio…by quite a distance over his opponents. As he approaches Megyn Kelly to receive his reward, she informs him that while he and Trump and Cruz were flinging the adjectives, Kasich had eaten the reward.

The next reward challenge will be the body part challenge.  Again, Rubio jumps off to a fast start by bringing up the size of Trump’s hands and feet.  He presses on that because these are small, it may be concluded that his man parts may not be adequate or manly.  Cruz is befuddled.  He is more concerned about the size of his Bible.  Trump counters by calling Rubio…little Marco Rubio.  He again, in a half-hearted and half-assed rebuttal counters that his man parts are adequate and manly and that his hands are strong, as verified by his golf instructor.  Kasich again is trailing in this challenge as he continues to ramble about such things as the national debt, ISIS, creating jobs and all those other unimportant things that no one cares about during this challenge.  It was suggested that maybe the boys should just expose their man-parts, and winner takes all!  Megyn Kelly knows a good story when she sees one, so she orders additional cameramen to film this historic event.  The co-winners of the body part challenge are Rubio and Trump.  Cruz and Kasich were outdistanced in this event.  The idea of exposing their man-parts is dropped as Vladimir Putin wanted to enter this part of the competition, which was determined to be against the spirit of this competition. (It would have been to easy to suggest Hillary would have won this competition, but that would be tacky.) Rubio and Trump are contented to each get half of a crap sandwich (I can’t say shit sandwich, as my grandkids could read this) as their reward.

The next and final reward challenge is the back stabbing challenge.  Megyn allows each contestant to select their weapon.  Cruz selects an old-fashioned Bowie knife in honor of the Battle of the Alamo, which of course took place in the great state of Texas.  Rubio selects a switchblade stiletto knife, as it is the knife of choice in Miami.  Trump selects a Scottish dirk as it honors his Scottish heritage.  Kasich selects a 2″ pen knife in honor of the pen knife he uses to open his mail.  The contestants take their places.  Megyn raises her hand and says, “are the contestants ready?”  All contestants nod their preparedness.  “Ready…….stop!”  Stop?  “What do you mean stop?”  Megyn replies, “we now have a new addition to this competion.  Now entering the back stabbing challenge, representing the great state of Utah, Mitt, (the Mormon Mauler), Romney!”  Romney, the loser in the last Survivor contest, makes his presence known.  The Mormon Mauler selects his weapon, a double edged machete, as he intends to cut a wide swath through his challengers, one in particular.  The final reward challenge is over before it really began.  Mitt Romney back stabs Trump repeatedly, much to the amusement of the other candidates.  No contest…Romney wins the back stabbing competition.  And….like all good things, my Survivor….Washington, D.C. fantasy must end.

What exactly is happening to the Republican party in general and why did Romney do what he did specifically.

If you have been observant, you will notice for every political pundit advancing one theory, there is another pundit advancing the opposite opinion.  Can Trump beat Hillary?  Yes responses followed by no  responses.  Can any of the other candidates beat Hillary?  Again, some yes polls followed by no polls.  Will Romney’s scathing and vicious attacks on Trump help or hurt the Republican party?   Again, opposite responses.

I have a theory about Romney.  If you remember, last summer he hosted Jeb Bush in Utah.  After their weekend together, Romney announced he would not seek the Republican nomination.  Jeb was the fair-haired boy.  He had name recognition and a vastly successful money machine for campaign funds.  Then. lo and behold, Jeb gets a lukewarm public response for his presidential bid.   My opinion?  Jeb has not been governor of Florida since 2006, campaigned as if he still was governor, and lost contact with the anger and concerns of most Republican voters.  Mitt must now feel like he opted out too quickly.

His attack on Trump is nothing like I have ever seen in my life.  Vicious, deliberate, unethical. Regardless of who Romney attacked, he has made me regret voting for him in the 2012 election.  All of this after he received financial and personal aid from Trump in 2012,    I have heard the 2012 Trump endorsement of Romney and I have heard Romney’s appreciative comments and over the top descriptions of the virtues of Donald Trump.  In the words of comedian Dennis Miller, “It’s too bad Romney didn’t go after Obama like he has after Donald Trump.”  I find Mitt Romney’s action despicable by any measure.  If his attempt is to become the Republican nominee, he can forget it.

The Republican party?  My theory is that much like Jeb Bush, the Republican party has lost contact with the majority of the people that call themselves Republican.  The ‘king makers’ may have lost track of the desires of the pawns.

I do not want to see a third party candidate.  That’s how we got Bill Clinton.  With a third party candidate, we would have Hillary Clinton and that would mean Survivor….Leningrad would become a reality.

Wake up Republican party!  Your debates have become bad reality TV.  Stop these candidates from ripping on each other and get into the business of ripping up the Democratic side of the house.  The last eight years should provide adequate ammunition for ripping the present administration…so start using it!  Get off your butts and come up with a party plank that the American public can understand. Much good and bad can be said about Donald Trump, but I and everyone who has watched this circus, knows where he stands on issues.  Where does the Republican party stand on issues?

Has Washington, D.C. become such a cesspool of graft, corruption, influence peddling, waste, fraud and abuse that an outsider like Trump, an outsider that can’t be bought, scare the hell out of them? The recent actions of Romney, coming out of the woodwork the way he did, makes me wonder.

The upcoming election could be Survivor…..USA! 

Common Sense – A Hardy, Yet Uncommon Tool

As I was growing up in the 50’s, I thought that common sense was pretty common.  Thus the name of this blog site.

Don’t run with a pair of scissors in your hand.  Never put your finger into an electrical socket.  Look both ways before crossing a busy street.  Never put your tongue on a frozen piece of metal.  (Okay.  People from the south have no idea what I am talking about.  People from the northern climates have only done this once in their lives.  That is why we talk funny.)

How difficult can it be?

How uncommon can common sense be?  Apparently – common sense can be very uncommon.  About as common as ice cubes on Florida sidewalk in August.  Common sense has become as uncommon as exposing a ring of Lutheran suicide bombers.

Here are some varied examples of what should clearly be common sense,

The Ukraine

Have you seen pictures of the Ukrainian separatists?  Have you seen any teenagers, women or older men in any of those pictures?  The only pictures I have seen involving women, teenagers and older men show them going in the opposite direction of the warring factions.

What I have noticed is that the typical male, Ukrainian separatist  (age 20-35) could join an Olympic push-up team!  And the sit-up and chin-up team.  And no doubt an Olympic shooting team!

Common sense tells me that these are not your typical Ukrainian civilians, but rather, they are more likely to be paratroopers from the Russian army!  Typical civilian separatists do not have the weaponry that these separatists possess.  They have even managed to shoot down a civilian aircraft with a very technologically-advanced missile system!  Another indication is the skull with jump wings decal that is visible on some of their armored vehicles.

Do not be fooled by the façade that Putin is attempting to put on this affair.  He is attempting to regain the power of the former USSR during the Cold War.  He will continue to do this until someone puts a halt on the Russian aggression.

The fact that the ‘separatists’ are acting on the orders of Putin seems fairly obvious to me, an advocate of utilizing common sense.

Italy

It is every parents desire to have their children go to college.  We desire this so that they can be instructed by the best and the brightest professors available.  Or are they that bright?

In Italy, one college professor has asked Captain Francesco Schettino to give a guest lecture on Emergency Procedures.  Do you remember Captain Schettino’s claim to fame?  Wait for it.  Wait for it.  Captain Francesco Schettino is the former captain of the Costa Concordia.  If you don’t remember him, you certainly remember the ship that was lying on its side off the coast of Italy on January, 2012.  Carelessness caused this ship to become grounded, causing an at-sea accident resulting in 32 lives being lost.  By many accounts, the good captain was canoodling with one of the showgirls on the bridge.  He then abandoned the ship, virtually leaving every passenger to their own fate. It is amazing that the loss of life was not catastrophically higher. It easily could have been much more disastrous .

What does his selection of a lecturer say about the common sense of this college professor?

Common sense tells me that Captain Schettino should be in prison and not on a college campus enlightening the minds of Italy’s future workforce.

Profiling

Profiling has become a politically incorrect word.

Personally, I do not mind being profiled.  More importantly, I do not mind if our security/police personnel profile others as well.  Why?  For the safety of the masses.

After doing some research on the profile of a typical suicide bomber, I was surprised to learn that depending on which country the bomber is targeting, that profile changes drastically.  For instance, the profile of a suicide bomber in Iraq or Afghanistan is much different than that of one targeting Israel.  The profile of a suicide bomber targeting a predominantly Christian nation is much different from one targeting a Muslim nation.

Do you know why El Al, the airline of Israel has never had a bombing incident?  They profile!  Apparently the entire Israeli security apparatus is very good at profiling.

So let me be the first to go out on a limb and say that we will never expose that ring of suicide Lutheran bombers I referred to in my opening paragraph.  Suicide bombers will likely be Muslim, not Christian.

My biggest fear has been the ‘home-grown’ terrorist.  An American that thinks our democratic society sucks, he had a bad childhood, his parents don’t love him, he is more loved by Allah than God – and he is going to take revenge on the infidels.   A somewhat lesser fear is the Muslims that have moved to our country.

Common sense indicates we need to profile to protect the civilian population.   The ‘home-grown’ terrorist presents a very different and difficult challenge.

Social Media

Listen up, people!  Do you think when you post something on a social media website that only your friends and relatives can see it?  EVERYONE in the WORLD can see it!

For those of you applying for jobs, perspective employers are searching these sites to find out about you before hiring.  If you want pictures of yourself getting drunk, skinny-dipping, or generally acting like an idiot on the internet, good luck with getting that job.

Men, do you think anyone is interested in seeing a selfie of your feet with a bottle of beer on a foot stool?  You have athlete’s foot.  You need a pedicure.  Hairy legs are not sexy.  I have seen this twice in the last month.  Egads!

Don’t think that posting more ‘stuff’ makes you appear smarter.  Quite the opposite is true.

Common sense tells me that over half the material posted on a social website should be forwarded through a private email account.  If a message is designed primarily for one person, send a text message or make a personal phone call.  That way, only you, the recipient and the NSA will know what you said or sent!

Congressional Summer Recess

August is the month when our federal legislators go home and ‘glad hand’ with their constituents.  What harm can the government do when they are out of session?

Well, apparently they don’t stop working, or in this case, meddling.

With all of the serious things taking place around the world (Ukraine, Gaza, ISIL, North Korea, ebola) and in our own country (national debt, Obamacare, droughts and floods), Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) has decided to take on the Redskin name when the Redskins take on the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis on November 2.

The Vikings are building a new stadium.  In the interim, they are playing on the University of Minnesota football field for the next two years.  They are paying $250,000 per game to rent the TCF Bank Stadium.  If the Vikings were playing in their old stadium, they would probably politely tell Representative McCollum to ‘suck eggs.’  But because they are renting the stadium of a land-grant university, the government funding for the university provides a ‘hook’ for the politician.

She has sent a letter to the Vikings and to the U of M, requesting that there be an effort to keep the Washington Redskins’ name from being used in ‘promotional’ and game date materials.  She has argued with the owner of the Vikings that  he needs to ‘take a stand against that hateful slur.’

Here is what common sense tells me.  Common sense suggests that with all the serious happenings in the world and in our own country, our elected officials should focus on what is important and get  their noses out of private business.  The football game will last three hours.  The items that she should be concerned about could have far-reaching consequences. (Common sense tells me that the Redskins name will change.  But that should be their decision and not one made with government intervention)

Exactly what will the Washington Redskins be called, if not Redskins, during this game?  They could always refer to them as ‘those guys from Washington.’  But that could be mistaken for  the entire Congress of the US.   Now that would be frightening!

Common sense people!  It is as simple as knowing the difference between right, wrong, and stupid.

Like the old American Express card – don’t leave home without it!

PS.  With the midterm elections approaching, I would like to state the party platform for our new political party in my next blog.  I am requesting any input on the name of our new party and on any issues you would like to see in our party plank.   Of course, all submissions must pass the ‘common sense’ test.

Grandpa T

God Bless America, Land Filled with Debt

Today is the Fourth of July!  Or, if you just pressed 2, Quattro de Julio.  Happy BIrthday America!

The freedoms that this country enjoys did not come free.  It was gained with the sacrifice of blood and lives for over two centuries.  Our first war was the Revolutionary War.  This was the war that won our freedom from the British Empire.  For the most part, the war was fought because of, ‘taxation without representation.’  The American colonies were being taxed to support the British expansionism around the globe, without one word as to how their taxes were being used in the way of representation.  King Georgie III was not concerned about what the American colonies thought.  He was only concerned about collecting taxes.  Thus the war.

How things have changed!  {Except for the collecting of taxes!}  Now Washington, D.C. is the most powerful city in the world.  We have a strong central government which brings up the question, ‘Is our federal government focused on the proper national issues?’

Let us reflect.

Did you know that there was a petition presented recently in Washington to change the name of Ronald Reagan National Airport?  You remember Ronald Reagan.   Ronald Reagan was our 40th President of the United States.  He was  largely responsible for the downfall of the USSR and for the destruction of the Berlin Wall.  He won the Cold War!  {The Cold War was the most financially expensive war in US history.   It cost an estimated $12 trillion!}  He had many other accomplishments, but these were his biggies.

Has your curiosity been piqued?  To what do they want to change the name?  The proposed name change is the Tim Howard National Airport!  Are you excited yet?  What?  You don’t know who Tim Howard is?  Let me give you a hint,  U-S-A!  U-S-A!  Tim Howard was the goalie for the United States soccer team that just got eliminated from the World Cup competition in Brazil.  I saw the United States lose to Belgium, 2-1 in additional time.  Tim Howard made a record breaking 16 saves during that game.  Many of them were unbelievable!  The score could have been 5-0 in regulation time, but Tim Howard put up a wall in front of the American goal to force the scoreless game into extra time.

So there you have it.  Tim Howard put up a ‘human wall’ in front of the American goal, and Ronald Reagan tore down a wall between East and West Berlin.  I am sure that in the minds of some people with their ‘heads up their butts,’ these are comparable accomplishments.  Thus the proposal for the name change.  Egads!

Need another example of government focus?

Have you been following the controversy surrounding the Washington Redskins because of their name?  Yup, even our POTUS got involved with this.  He just could not pass up the opportunity to throw his weight behind a name change.

This whole incident came to a head when the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, a division of the US Patent Office, refused to extend the trademark protection of the ‘Redskins’ name.  They did this even though the US Patent Office never received one complaint about the name.  How convenient!  Some subset to the US Patent Office has decided that they are the judge and jury when it comes to a private enterprise trademark.  What happened to the good old days where patrons voted with their wallets?  If you were offended or didn’t like what you got for your entertainment dollar, you could decide not to attend and not to spend your money.  Apparently many people are not offended.   RFK Stadium is a sell out for every Redskin game.  Maybe that proposal for the Reagan National Airport name change should be targeted at RFK stadium;?  After all, Reagan was a Republican POTUS and Robert Kennedy was a Democratic Attorney General.  I think I just answered my own question.

I suspect that the owners of the Redskins will eventually change the name.  My objection is that some government autocrats think they have the authority to force this change.

Have you followed the Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision?  The whole lawsuit was initiated because Hobby Lobby refused to provide specific types of birth control to women as a part of their health care program because of religious belief.   Hobby Lobby had an objection to the abortion component of the birth control coverage.    I find it admirable that a company provides a health care package in light of Obamacare. I find it unsettling that anyone would want to take their sex life and sex practices to a Supreme Court level.  I find it just as unsettling that the Supreme Court even reviewed this case!  Apparently we, as a nation, are willing to relinquish our individual freedoms and responsibilities.

Every time we relinquish our individual freedoms and individual responsibilities, we move one step closer to Socialism.  This explains why Hillary Clinton has come out against the Supreme Court decision.  This decision stated that closely held corporations need not support specific birth control practices.   No surprise there on the part of Hillary.

Common sense tells me that if you are mature enough to have sex, you are old enough to provide protection to avoid unprotected sex and unwanted progeny.  Somehow, I don’t think it is the responsibility of your employer to provide this protection.  It is the individual’s responsibility!  Even though I am an old fart, my last tattered biology book indicated it took two people to have sex.  That would make two people responsible.

I am personally elated that the Supreme Court did not sanction, or get involved with an individual’s sex life.  I do believe in birth control, especially by women that have children as a business to receive welfare.  I just do not see how it is the responsibility of government or business to provide birth control, yet 85% of health plans provide it.    It is bad enough that the federal government sanctions drug usage.  Oh?  You did not know?  Never mind the thriving pot business in Colorado and Washington state.  What I am talking about is that the State of Florida proposed that future welfare recipients and present state employees, be drug tested.  The welfare recipients would be denied benefits until ‘getting clean.’  They would then be periodically checked to assure continuation of benefits.   The state employees would be required to ‘get clean’ in a specified period of time, or lose their jobs.  All in all, a great proposed program!  Or at least it was until a Federal judge ruled it unconstitutional.  You would think that having less drug-dependent people would be a win-win for America!  Apparently not.

There you have it!  Si, senor to drugs, no sir to specific types of birth control.

I think the federal government needs help in focusing on national issues and prioritizing those issues.  Rather than proposing name changes for airports, reviewing  birth control or worrying about the name of a sports team, I propose they address some of the following issues.

Balancing the budget.  Hurray for us!  One of our elected officials is celebrating the fact that our national debt is increasing at a slower rate!  His reason for celebration?  It appears our national debt will only increase by about $700 billion this year rather than exceeding a trillion dollars as originally anticipated.  Wow.  Should we be planning a celebration party?   Let me make it perfectly clear.  We need to reduce spending and make an attempt to balance our inflated budget.  I wrote a blog recently about the fact that we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world.  Our highest corporate tax rate is 40% and that is before any state corporate taxes!  Since that blog, Medronic of Minnesota has announced a relocation to Ireland.  They will then have a 15% corporate tax rate.  Now, Walgreen’s is indicating it is moving out of the United States!  This is all because we have an inflated federal government and an inflated budget.  Thus the higher corporate taxes to fuel the overspending.  Expect more corporations to move.  For them, it is a no-brainer!

Illegal Adolescent Aliens.  Have you seen the pictures of the unaccompanied illegal adolescent aliens that are crossing the borders?  It is disturbing.  Adolescent aliens and all illegal aliens are an issue that can no longer be avoided.  It is an issue that cannot seem to get any traction or resolution in Washington.  I have a common sense solution.  Follow my thinking.  Pick up all these illegal adolescent aliens and bus them to Washington, D.C!  It is easy to avoid resolution when it is only a major problem for four border states and invisible in Washington.  Once the Washington Mall is overflowing with illegal adolescent aliens, I bet we would get a resolution pronto!  Here is my resolution to the problem.  Provide food and clothing as necessary, and then transport them back to their home countries!  Then – send an invoice to their home countries for the food, clothing and transport provided.  Do you think that if we invoice Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and all responsible Central American and South American countries that the borders would become a little less porous?  I do.

Vladimar Putin.  Let me be perfectly clear, Vladimar Putin’s objective is to reestablish the USSR!   The Crimea is just the first step.  I also believe it is Putin’s first small step to determine world resolve and world reaction.  Our response?  We will sanction him to death.  Sanctions typically don’t stop tanks.

Vladimar Putin is the 21st century Adolf Hitler when in comes to European land-grabbing.  Hitler began by occupying the Sudetenland, then annexing Austria, followed by the occupation of the Germanic parts of Czechoslovakia.   He then occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia for good measure.  The invasion of Poland finally triggered a world response.  Putin is a dangerous and driven individual.  Forget about ‘cease fires’ in the Crimea and ‘nicey-nicey’ overtures toward the United States.  He is not interested in or honest about either and will continue on his mission of  reconstructing the USSR.

There you have it.  Three problems that need to be resolved.  So if anyone from Washington, D.C needs help with prioritizing or focusing on national issues, give me a call.  I have a hundred or so ideas.

God Bless America.  May we celebrate many more birthdays.