mediawingnuts

2012-02-07T18:38:00.000-08:00

"Corporations Are NOT People and Money Is not Speech!" and "Get Corporate Money Out of Our Democracy" have been the theme of demonstration after demonstration during January and February. Although aimed largely at Republicans in general, the 1% in the "1% vs. 99%" posters on signs in demonstrations throughout the country, the 1% might well be 0.001% when it comes to Mitt Romney and his SuperPacs.

Add to that the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (Jan. 21, 2010), a bitterly divided Supreme Court overturned a century of established precedent by ruling that corporate spending on candidate elections cannot be limited under the First Amendment. (In case you wondered where these SuperPacs originated ...)

In so doing, Justices Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Kennedy effectively declared that corporations are indistinguishable from people with respect to federal law and the U.S. Constitution. As a result of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, corporations and billionaires can spend unlimited sums of money, without disclosure, in political campaigns. As "people," corporations fell well within the 1% bracket.

Then add to that miscarriage of American justice, Romney's own lips mouthing such fodder as "I like to fire people!" and "You wanna bet $10,000?" and "I don't care about the very poor people ..." ... plus too many to count, we have gotten to the point where Rick Santorum might very well be on the side of the 99% before the end of the day with his strength finally beginning to show signs of life in Missouri and Minnesota.

For starters, just his being on the side of Jesus Christ of Nazareth across from the likes of Joseph Smith Jr., Moroni (who's he?), Brigham Young and other Mormon High Priests and Bishops (of which Mitt Romney was one at that rank in his church prior to his running for President) surely puts him (Rick Santorum with his sleeveless sweaters) with the 99%'ers. As I recall, Jesus had to borrow a denari to make one of his points as he constantly fought the 1%'ers (the Pharisees) in his day.

Anyway, we'll finally get to see whether 1% tops 99% or vice versa in some interesting contests this evening.

The question to be answered is: "Will our democracy (and men like Barack Obama and Rick Santorum) survive in which ordinary followers of Jesus Christ can control their future? Or will "democracy" simply become another commodity owned and controlled by billionaires and corporations in order to serve you-know-who's purposes?"

The 99% say NO!"

Mitt Romney: And God Bless the Cayman Islands ...

2012-01-18T19:54:00.001-08:00

If UNICEF says it's legit, I have to believe this is a worthy cause. Thank you, MSNBC, for bringing it to my attention.

2011-12-22T13:28:00.000-08:00

This simply should not be ... anywhere!

To make a donation ($48 buys one desk for two or three students!) or learn more ... go to: this site! This one's for you, Rachel! Both for your concern for Africa and the work (and sadly, some sacrifice) you did there for the Peace Corps!

This is a gift that keeps on giving!

Now we know what the Rapture will look like ... or won't!

2011-12-13T16:36:00.001-08:00

According to the High Priests at CERN, we will either have found the Higgs Boson by the end of 2012 or we will have proven that it doesn't exist. It should "look" something like the image above. Interestingly, the Mayan calendar ends at about the same time ...

We'll see who laughs last!

2011-12-06T16:55:00.000-08:00

2011-12-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

If an Old Goat Like Me has a Six Year-old Granddaughter who writes like this ... well, what must my IQ be at Seventy-seven?

2011-12-01T14:55:00.001-08:00

This was taped to her Bedroom Door after Being Sent to her Room for God-knows-what a Few Minutes Earlier!!

She sure didn't get this from my side of the family. I would have been afraid to even go downstairs to scarf up some transparent tape.

Who will be holding the grenade in his shirt pocket on 26 January 2011?

2011-11-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

As most of you Mediawingnutters are aware, the U.S. Congress raised the debt ceiling to $15.2 trillion on Aug. 2 after much after arguing the merits/demerits of raising taxes on the wealthy versus cutting Medicare, Social Security, et al. They ended up by “compromising” the issue(s) through one of the silliest political games ever concocted IMHO.

They created a Super Committee of six Democrats and six Republicans (above) to come up with a “plan” to cut $1.2 trillion from the budget by Thanksgiving or an automatic slice of $1.2 trillion would be required to be sliced from the budget—roughly 50-50 from Defense spending and entitlements (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Government Employee Pensions, etc.) by Congress in January (after Christmas). The National Debt had just hit $14.35 trillion at that point last summer forcing Congress into the box that created the Super Committee and its crazy undertaking.

Well, guess what? We (the National Debt) just hit $15 trillion this weekend give a day or two, and Judging by the roughly six and a half months it took the U.S. to add just $650 billion to the debt, it is likely that the U.S. will hit the debt ceiling again by the summer of 2012, just in time for a new round of political silliness as the presidential campaign season goes into warp speed.

Meanwhile, the so-called Super Committee of six Republicans and six Democrats are supposed to hammer out a deal to cut an additional $1.2 trillion from the budget before midnight on Wednesday (that is, in three days). Any bets that they discover what to cut at 23:59 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve? Would they really raise taxes on their wealthiest campaign contributors or even give up some of their own salaries by having the U.S. Government go to a three-day workweek?

Not likely!

Have fun, Barack Obama ... you will be guy with the grenade in your left shirt pocket—that is, the job of meeting the mandate to make the enormous cuts in early January (I’d recommend you do it randomly with a few Wheel of Fortune spins—and blame what happens on bad luck).

As for next summer when we hit the limit yet again, I’d suggest just smiling and discussing the upcoming World Series and then its highlights on MSNBC or CNN through November when one of the current Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (the Republican nominees—see previous posting) wins the Presidential Election—and the fun of handling the next time (soon, I’m sure) we hit the debt ceiling and becomes the last U.S. President of a fully financed government and turns off the lights in the White House as he or she walks out the door.

Hillary looked over the GOP candidates who were running and said, "Why not? I'm a shoo-in!"

2011-11-08T17:09:00.000-08:00

Hillary Clinton Enters GOP Presidential Race
Within a month, she'll be the last one standing!

And lest you forget, just below, you can see who we have running today ... Herman Cain is the one with the antlers and we ALL recognize Michelle Bachman, don't we? Other than Rick Perry (no beard), you might have some trouble identifying the rest. There has never been a Primary Season like this one ... EVER!!!

Mediawingnuts' birthday happens to be on Guy Fawkes Day ... so ...

2011-11-08T09:52:00.000-08:00

Notice the mask among those on the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstration
Admittedly, we of the 99% are not wishing to see the British Parliament Building burned down -- nor the Congressional Building! Just the barriers that divide us!

But ... as long as it's my birthday (two days ago, on Guy Fawkes Day), I can suggest some changes along the lines of one of my heroes from when I first heard of him in my teens:

1. Eliminate the sad gap between the super wealthy and the rest of us.
2. Health Care is both a birthright and a necessary entitlement.
3. Making it more difficult to register to vote only really makes it more difficult for the poor and those from minorities to register and vote.
4. If it takes higher taxes to allow the Government to hire workers (a la WPA days under FDR) then let's raise taxes--and not necessarily only on the those earning more than a million dollars per year!
5. Eliminate the words "homeless," "hungry" and "poverty" from the American English language.

Yes, I'm among the 99%
And NO, that is not Herman Cain nor Rick Perry hiding beneath the mask!

Looking at my window (upstairs) before they began painting a couple of weeks ago.

2011-11-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

The Quinault Indian Nation's "Round House"

This photo was taken from the edge of the mouth of the Quinault River with the Pacific Ocean (the big blue area to the left of a map of the United States) on the right as you are viewing this picture. (Of course, it would be on the left side of the map you are viewing, but read the legend on the map to be sure.)

You know, this is confusing even for me--but my window is the one facing you as you look at the picture. My face isn't in the window because I am on the other side of the viewfinder on my camera. I'll rig up a mirror on a clothes hanger so you will understand what you are looking at and why I'm not in the window of my office--actually, not really an office but little more than a dusty pile of papers and boxes with an ancient computer and a beautiful view, even though I'm not in the view when I take the picture from the window.

Do you follow what I'm saying?

Also, the building isn't really round. It is a hexadecigon (16 sided polygon). I'll look up that word in the dictionary when I get home. Hexadecimal code is comprised of sixteen bits, so I took a shot at my best guess at what a sixteen-sided polygon would be called. Of course, that's looking at it from above (or below) and not from the viewfinder of my camera.

This posting is getting too complicated for me; maybe my nephew, John Szabo, can put it on his http://szaboszabo.blogspot.com and correct the English. Then again, that might mess up his list of dreams and such that he is attempting to realize through a concentration method he's dreamed [no pun intended] up.

BTW, in another week or two, the building will be pale blue--definitely NOT my choice!

I'm not a 9-9-9 fan, but some of the "Satanic" arguments against it simply don't hold water!

2011-10-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

Where's the Sign of the Beast in This?
Simply turning 9-9-9 upside-down looks like d-d-d to this old curmudgeon. Of course, if you flip it both horizontally and vertically, you might get something like 6-6-6, but I think that I could come up with better arguments against Herman Cain's tax plan.

For starters, it's simply d-d-d-dumber than d-d-d-dog d-d-d-doo-doo.

And will make the wealthier only wealthier than they already are while hurting the less fortunate 99% and surely not balancing the budget. (Actually, it would be fairer to put that percentage at 90% or so.)

Forty hours per week up here might get a little boring, but now and then a deer or bear walks up to the Quinault River for a drink.

2011-10-20T15:52:00.001-07:00

View of the mouth of the Quinault River from the center 90 degree row of windows in my upper floor office of the Round House in the northwest corner of the Quinault Indian Nation

Only problem is that I have to stand to look out the window inasmuch as the lower window sills (all 360 degrees) are at the same level as the top of my head when I'm seated at my workstation. Then again, I'm almost always alone, so who notices when I stand up? The Pacific Ocean is off my left shoulder and some dogs lying in a sandy road are usually asleep behind me. To my right is a beautiful scene of a forested bluff with the Olympic Mountains in the distance. If I stand on my tiptoes and look straight down, I can check the roof of my Honda CRV for presents from the crows, terns or seagulls that seem to be excellent bombardiers.

What causes the universe's size to increase at an accelerating rate? Why ... Dark Energy, of course! Or might it be Dark Matter?

2011-10-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

Who took this picture anyway? Dark is dark and even Black Holes suck up light!

Or do we have the Law of Gravity backwards?

Neutrons traveling faster than light? The Universe expanding at an ever increasing rate? Time-travel backwards? Eleven dimensions? (But don't get caught teaching Intelligent Design in a Public School in America!)

Is Dark Matter or Dark Energy (sounds like Satan to me) to blame?

Well, if Harold Camping's latest prediction for the end of the world (October 21, 2011) pans out, many of us will have the answers in less than a week.

I'm not counting on it, but have given my life to the Lord (Jesus) whenever He returns--surely some measurable period of time before the end of the world, as I read the Book of Revelation--at least as I read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Okay, I've been won over. It's now Herman Cain for 2012!

2011-10-17T18:35:00.001-07:00

I’m in the Herman Cain Team from this moment forward. Listen to this incredible voice and see if you aren’t taken in by Mr. "Godfather Pizza” too.

The lyrics go sorta like this: (Think John Lennon singing "Imagine")

Imagine there's no pizza
I couldn't if I tried
Eating only tacos
Or Kentucky Fried
Imagine only burgers
It's frightening and sad

You're lucky you have pizza
To feed your kids for you
Only frosting or cookies
And no dishes you must do
Imagine eating pizza
Each and every day

Imagine there's no pizza
I couldn't if I tried
Eating only tacos
Or Kentucky Fried

Should you feel a bit depressed these days, Mr. Obama, just peek at the picture below and tell yourself, "I'm gonna run against one of THEM !?!"

2011-10-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

As I understand it, Mr. Cain will be more towards the center this evening and between Romney and Perry (shown in the center in this photo, but won't be in the center tonight, as I understand it).

On the positive side of the Republican candidates, they do at least seem to agree with biology (and God! ... and Mediawingnuts!) that we all begin human life at conception and not sometime shortly after the first or second trimester--however "trimesters" are determined/computed to the millisecond.

But then, they don't believe that anyone who (1) is not working or (2) wasn't born in America or (3) didn't vote for Barry Goldwater some years back or (4) speaks English as their second language or (5) has slightly darker skin than Ann Coulter is human either, so we have a little quarrel on the issue of what/who is human one way or the other.

Enjoy the debate [sic] !!

Who are you calling a "mob," Mr. Cantor?

2011-10-07T21:21:00.001-07:00

House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) addresses the Values Voter Summit, hosted by Family Research Council Action (FRC Action), in Washington, D.C., Friday

Of course, the Values Voter Summit wasn't a "mob," was it Mr. Cantor?

“Mobs” you call them? Well, what were you saying when the Tea Party was getting started in exactly the same way?

The theme of these protests is “I am one of the 99%” -- And I AM!!

Well, I have been unemployed for more than half of the time since coming to Ocean Shores, Washington—and I am clearly among the 99% of Americans earning less than one million dollars.

Yes, let’s tell Wall Street to join the rest of America—who are people (not corporations and hedge funds) who CARE!!

Yes, let’s occupy Wall Street and get our people back on track!

Steve Jobs' Macintosh -- the machine that my kids and I will remember ... forever!

2011-10-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

We Didn't Own an External Disk Drive, BTW

And notice that the word, "Macintosh," wasn't even on the front of the original Macs.

The specifications shown below (taken from www.apple.com) were enough, even with only 128k RAM, to enrapture my family for years--although I did upgrade to 512k somewhere along the way. Imagine! That's only one-eighth of a kilobytes (a thousand bytes--where a byte was/is only eight bits)! Today, with megabytes (millions of bytes), gigabytes (billions of bytes) and even terabytes (trillions of bytes) showing up in the specifications of active memory ... we can't even imagine what's in store for tomorrow.

Thomas Edison, stand aside ... you have company. Steve Jobs was indeed an inventor of the first order.

System
•Introduced: 1/24/84
•Discontinued: 10/1/85
•Floppy Size: 400K
•Internal HD: none none
•Upgrade From: none
•Upgrade To: 512Ke, Plus
•Form Factor: 128
•Weight: 16.5 lbs.
Logic Board
•Main Processor: 8 MHz 68000
•PMMU: none
•FPU: none
•Data Path: 8 MHz 16-bit
•Secondary Processor: none
•Slots: none
•MIPS Rating: .7
Memory
•Memory on Logic Board: 0.125MB
•RAM Range: 0.125MB to 0.125MB
•RAM Slots: 0 n/a
•RAM Type: ns n/a SIMMs in groups of n/a
•Notes: This system has no built-in memory expansion, however third-party upgrades could take this system to 512K.
Video
•Built-in Display: 9" monochrome CRT
•VRAM Configuration: built-in CRT
•VRAM Speed: n/a
•VRAM Expansion: built in
•Color Bit Depth by Screen Resolution:
◦512x384: 1-bit
(1-bit = Black & White, 2-bit = 4 colors, 4-bit = 16 colors, 8-bit = 256 colors, 16-bit = thousands, 24-bit = millions)
The maximum color depth listed for 640x870 is 8-bit, reflecting the capabilities of the Apple 15 inch Portrait Display

•Notes: Screen size is 512x342.
Sound
•Sound In: none
•Sound Out: mono, 8-bit
•Microphone Port: none
Ports
•ADB: none
•Video: none
•Floppy: DB-19 - Disk Drive Port: 500K baud
•SCSI: none
•GeoPorts:
•Ethernet: none
•Microphone Port Type: none
•Ports: Printer Modem Speaker
•Notes: The serial ports in this system do not support handshaking or synchronous modems.
Serial Port specs
•AppleTalk: 230.4K baud
•Asynchronous: 57.6K baud (maximum rate)
•Synchronous: 920K baud (maximum rate with external clock)
Power
•Source: .5A 105-125V 50-60 Hz
•Consumption: 60 W or 205.2 BTU
•Battery Type: 4.5V alkaline, #523
Software
•Addressing Modes: 24-bit
•Original System Software: 0.0
•Original Enabler: none
•ROM ID: $0000
•ROM Version: n/a
•ROM Size: 64K
•AppleTalk Version: n/a
•System Software Supported: Mac OS 1.0 through 4.1 in 1984

It's Not Fair!!!! He has the Brewers, Packers and Badgers ... and all I have are the Mariners!

2011-09-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

My nephew, John Szabo, living in Wisconsin

Then again, he might not pray as fervently for the Brewers as his uncle does for the Mariners--and surely, the Mariners will get a greater share of wins against the Brewers after the Rapture (interleague play will be allowed in Heaven) once they make a trade or two to get Alex Rodriguez back to bring Ichiro Suzuki over the plate game after game (Ichiro will walk and steal second before A-Rod comes to the plate in the first inning of each game) while our ace, Freddie, holds the Brew-crew to about a hit and a half per game in the Heavenly Hallelujahdome.

But for now, it's JUST NOT FAIR!

Then again, he has Governor Walker up with which to put (prepositional placement borrowed from Winston Churchill) over there in Wisconsin ... so maybe it's not all that unfair.

We Need a Republican Who LOOKS Like a Republican!!

2011-09-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

Those Republicans in the House of Representatives are Metamorphosing into Fascists!

2011-09-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

Someone needs to grow a pair (of antlers, of course!) and stand up to the "party of no". The Republicans stance is immoral and mindless. The time of "trickle down economics" has passed. The Democrats (all Americans, really!) simply must fight back! Hammer at them for their support of Bush's tax cut long past the days since George W. Bush's presidency (Gaah!) slid into the worst Recession since the Great Depression.

We Progressives have to pick a message and stay with it. If we don't, the political landscape will turn very ugly for most Americans. We will be living in a country that will resemble the book, "Animal Farm."

The republicans want their unique version of Capitalism--called Fascism.

Oh yes, one more thing: I am NOT related to Rep. Paul Ryan (R. Wis).

Class warfare? Balderdash! Go get'em, Barack, and let them throw away an election that was theirs for the taking!

We Need the Barack Obama Who Cares ... America Needs You Back!

2011-09-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

Take a good look at the country you have been elected to SERVE!! Narcissism and seeming elitism won't hack it.
Come back, Barack, to your roots!
That's Right! We need you to care for all that is going wrong from the unemployment to the lack of Congressional concern.

She's not really heavy; she's my Sweetheart!

2011-09-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

Picture taken by either Nita or Klaus--friends from Germany who came to visit two or so weeks ago. And yes, Sweetie is wiggling in my arms something fierce.

Until this past weekend, when I told folks that I'd taught at the University of Maryland for more than a decade ... they'd ask, "Where?"

2011-09-06T16:20:00.000-07:00

Well, "Here and There!" was my usual reply ... and whoever heard of College Park, Maryland anyway? (which happened not be one of the actual locations that I taught for the Univ. of MD!)

And my eldest (more or less) daughter graduated from the University of Maryland ... uhh, I think ... (memory isn't one's highest suite at seventy-six ... almost seventy-seven) ... and that was but one step that pushed her forth in life to picking up her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. Come to think of it ... where's that school? Is it behind the Washington Monument or was it demolished under Mount St. Helens? Whoever heard of the Huskies or the Terps anyway?

Of course, the University of Maryland was the biggest thing going (both of the above players are Terps, of course) on the Internet this past weekend ... from Twitter to Facebook and beyond. The new uniforms are ... well ... something again! See a front shot below. By the way, they beat a former #1 in the nation NCAA powerhouse, Miami of Florida. Clearly, it was a case of mistaken identity, or something like that!

For those of you who didn't know what a Terp was ...

What if the "Rapture" were to occur in the middle of next week's GOP debate?

2011-09-01T14:10:00.001-07:00

If only Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry remained on the stage after a sudden disappearance of the other GOP candidates, what would be going through the minds of the rest of us who happened to be watching television and were "Left Behind"?

I've always wondered about the various possibilities (if the Rapture were to occur during the debate) and what those still standing on the stage as they gazed at the gaps in their ranks ... might be thinking.

Of course, it just might be that the only two who would disappear would be MB and RP. What would Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman do if they were still on the stage--alone or with a few others?

Fascinating thoughts race through my diseased mind ...

I will always remember 7 December 1941, 22 November 1963, 11 September 2001 ... and now 23 August 2011 !!

2011-08-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

The GREAT Earthquake of August 23, 2011 -- a Certain Sign that the Rapture is Almost Upon Us

Actually, of all of the horrible disasters that have occurred during my lifetime, the date for today's will probably come to mind quickest. Only my immediate family knows, but August 23 is also Rocky Colavito's birthday. And when he performed as the Cleveland Indians' best Center fielder ever (not just knocking the ball out of the park more times since the days of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, he could mitt a baseball seven feet over his head). His birthday has provided me with a lucky number (23) since before the Korean War--that's the war just after the really Big War that had me traumatized during my pre-teens! You know, Hitler and Tojo versus Roosevelt ... and Captain America!

I hope this posting finds most of my East Coast kids and grandkids -- and other relatives and friends alive and well. I'm still out at the Quinault Indian Nation working, but I've been told that I should be able to get through to a couple of those who were not too close to the epicenter this evening as the telephone lines are being restored.

If the entire family survives, I will probably switch lucky numbers from 23 to 5.8. Then again, today is the 23rd after all; maybe I'll just leave it 23 for a while longer.

Friends, relatives and POI's: To save me making a million phone calls this week, let me know (a short comment will do) that you survived the earthquake and that everyone is fine at your home. Thanks!

Had Rick Perry been successful in managing to have Texas secede from the USA, our education levels would average considerably better, I think!

2011-08-16T15:25:00.001-07:00

Governor Rick Perry, R Texas

The list below of various rankings of Texas schools among the schools in America's 50 states is interesting. (This was found in a major newspaper and on another blog.)

• State Aid Per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance – 47th
• Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) Scores – 45th
• % of Population 25 and Older with High School Diploma – 50th
• High School Graduation Rate – 43rd
• • Percent of Uninsured Children – 1st
• Percent of Children Living in Poverty – 4th
• Percent of Population Uninsured – 1st
• Percent of Low Income Population Covered by Medicaid – 49th
• Percent of Population with Employer-Based Health Insurance – 48th
• Total Health Expenditures as % of the Gross State Product – 43rd
• Per Capita State Spending on Medicaid – 49th
• Health Care Expenditures per Capita – 44th
• Physicians per Capita – 42nd
• Registered Nurses per Capita – 44th
• Average Monthly Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Benefits per Person – 47th
• Teenage Birth Rate – 7th
• Births to Unmarried Mothers – 17th
• Percent of Women with Pre-Term Birth – 9th
• Percent of Pregnant Women Receiving Prenatal Care in First Trimester – 50th

Could we be in for another George W??

Raccoons and Republicans ... both do in eggs--whether owl eggs in "safe" nests in my backyard or my 401 (K) nest egg!

2011-08-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

Those of us living on part-time jobs plus minimum Social Security at age 76 or our beloved sand owls in Ocean Shores ... our nest eggs have been thoroughly "broken." Aren't there any owl-lovers among those earning $250,000 or greater in the U.S.?

Personally, I at least understand the raccoons that run roughshod in my yard; I have little understanding of Republicans who will protect corporations or the millionaires/billionaires among us--and PLEDGED to do so, no less!

Can Mediawingnuts warn the entire world of its coming demise in time ... at one posting per day?

2011-07-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

2011 ... and it's only July so far ... !!!

Lessee ... Famine in Africa (worst ever, most likely) ... BP Oil Spill still has New Orleans in a quandary ... and just what is this U.S. debt ceiling that will collapse the world's economies? ... floods (everywhere from America to Europe to Asia) ... Harry Potter films ending (oh no!) ... earthquakes (along with nuclear meltdowns/melt-throughs) ... earth crust anomalies of record frequency and intensity in the Southern Hemisphere ... worst "tornado belt" ever ... heat records in both America and the Arctic ... sunspot activity reaching all-time intensity ... Rhode Island-sized ice chunks breaking off both poles ... double dip recession under way ... record droughts on three continents ... intensity of multiple murders on increase--everywhere! ... more wars in the Middle East since Adam and Eve tasted the forbidden fruit ... nuclear weapons proliferation worldwide--including "rogue" nations ... most powerful man on the earth appears--and he can toss three-pointers with amazing ease, but cannot save the world economy ... The United States of America on the brink of a default on its debt ... gay and lesbian marriages on upswing worldwide--along with the murder of fetuses worldwide also ... Wisconsin joins the "dark side" ... record rainfall, snowstorms and UFO sightings worldwide ... deadly plagues in Africa--and spreading ... the list could continue forever ... and oh yes, the Seattle Mariners have broken their own record and lost seventeen straight games -- not to mention my sweet puppy breaking her left hind leg!

Rapture coming? Well Mediawingnuts plans on wearing clean underwear and reading the Good Book (and the Big Book) daily!

And now we discover that there's an asteroid just ahead of the earth in our orbit around the sun.

Harold Camping may have gotten the dates and times all screwed up, but as the song in West Side Story goes, "Something's coming; something big ..."

And we in America are stewing over a meaningless (we do it twice a year or so) debt ceiling!

2011-07-27T13:06:00.001-07:00

Reunion Photo in Somalia

Famine once again stalks the Horn of Africa, threatening the lives of 10 million people in what the USAid-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net) describes as one of the world’s most severe food security emergencies.

Perhaps no country in the region is as badly affected as Somalia. The Somalia Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) estimates that 2.85 million people — a third of the population — are now in humanitarian crisis and in need of urgent assistance, an increase of 42.5 per cent over the figure in December 2010. “We are no longer on the verge of a humanitarian disaster; we are in the middle of it now,” Isaq Ahmed, the chairman of the Mubarak Relief and Development Organisation, a local NGO working in the south of the country, told IRIN on June 28. “It is happening and no one is helping.”

But goodness! What do Republicans say when someone with such a Muslim name speaks out like that? "That picture just above must be a bunch of Al-Quaeda terrorists!"

So, light cannot go faster than light?

2011-07-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

Being a scientist who has been published (peer-reviewed articles), the fact that the team's study was published in the U.S. peer-reviewed scientific journal Physical Review Letters leaves me cold. From all that I can determine from all that I've read is that if the photon is regarded as macro matter, it (light as a particle) can't travel in the three dimensions of which we are familiar faster than itself travels. Huh??

But let's give Du Shengwang of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology credit for getting this "finding" out into the mainline media. Yeh, I get it now; light cannot travel faster than the fastest speed that light can travel. Must be a String Theory kinda thing ...

So matter (the photon) is the medium (not clearly defined), not the message (worldwide media). And if you study the medium long enough, you may eventually get the message.

What am I missing?

This cartoon in the weekend paper here gave me some insight as to what the "middle" road actually looks like in this Debt Ceiling debate ....

2011-07-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

When Republicans and Democrats see eye to eye (as they seem to be in this Cartoon) we just may be closer to the Rapture--and Armageddon shortly thereafter. When I saw this Daryl Cagle cartoon in the weekend paper, my first thought was "get down on my knees and do what the Good Book says to do." This nutty Debt Ceiling debate is beyond humor at this stage and without discussing my personal budget situation (totally dependent on both the little Social Security check and my Medicare benefits), I keep wondering why I hear absolutely nothing about the "Nuclear Option"--which simply stated, is the legality a la the Fourteenth Amendment for the President to quietly raise the Debt Ceiling by about $4 trillion as an Executive Order in recognition of the dire straits that any other choice would leave both the country and the world.

Basically, it would be something akin to Armageddon if the World's economy melts down like half of our country melted last week and that seemingly silly movie, "2012," (or, for that matter, Harold Camping's ranting) was more real than Hollywood.

Get real, Mr. President, and simply say that you'll raise the Debt Ceiling on your own on August 1, 2011 if the politicians in Congress continue to act like politicians and less like members of the rest of humanity.

What value is having a ceiling on our National Debt anyway?

2011-07-19T10:37:00.001-07:00

The Gross National Debt

Tune in on August 2, 2011 ...

Interestingly, I heard a snippet of news on my favorite XM station while driving home from work yesterday. Moody's Ratings agency just yesterday suggested the United States should eliminate its statutory limit on government debt to reduce uncertainty among bond holders.

With that one quick fix to the current crisis, we would stabilize the entire world's economy and likely maintain the US Dollar as the standard currency for world trade for as long as we maintained a growing Gross Domestic Product.

Specifically Moody's addressed the current silliness (but serious silliness) as follows (taken from an article extracted in part from CNN's News Bureau tab on its website):

"The United States is one of the few countries where Congress sets a ceiling on government debt, which creates "periodic uncertainty" over the government's ability to meet its obligations.

"We would reduce our assessment of event risk if the government changed its framework for managing government debt to lessen or eliminate that uncertainty," Moody's analyst Steven Hess wrote in the report.

The agency last week warned it would cut the United States' AAA credit rating if the government misses debt payments, increasing pressure on Republicans and the White House to come up with a budget agreement.

Moody's said it had always considered the risk of a U.S. debt default very low because Congress has regularly raised the debt ceiling during many decades, usually without controversy.

However, the current wide divisions between the House of Representatives and the Obama administration over the debt limit creates a high level of uncertainty and causes us to raise our assessment of event risk."

And they promptly proceeded to do just that ... only a shot across our bow for the moment, but our AAA rating is looking a bit shaky today.

What most European countries do to limit debt not owed to its own citizens (we owe about 40% of our current $14 trillion-plus debt to ourselves) is to periodically adjust the percent of the GDP that is permitted to comprise the National Debt. We squeezed under most such percentages utilized by almost all of the developed countries in the world today (between 60 and 80 percent) ... even during the Great Depression and World War II.

Whatever, it seems quite sensible to Mediawingnuts to disconnect the National Debt "Ceiling" from Government Spending and taxation (both controlled by a skittish and partisan U.S. Congress). I'd also suggest that the word "Ceiling" be replaced by the words, "Prudent Approximate Maximum Percentage of GDP Except for Times of Unusual Circumstances such as a Collision with a Moon-sized Asteroid or the Unexpected Rapture of Believing Christians into the Loving Arms of Jesus."

But then, why have a "Ceiling" of any kind?

Playing "Chicken" is only fun for the "chickens"

2011-07-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

Our President and his opponent "chickens" enjoying their favorite game
The game of chicken that is currently being played out on Fox Cable Network and MSNBC Cable Network--and on Capitol Hill--could be the most irresponsible action taken by our highest elected officials in two and a half centuries.

It appears that Obama is saying "No!" to any deal that touches Social Security and/or Medicare spending and doesn't cover at least the next two and a half years. Basically, he is stating that he wants a "clean"* debt ceiling increase for a period to get us past the 2012 elections. On the other hand, the Republicans are stating that they will say "No!" to any increase in the debt ceiling that goes beyond about six months and/or includes a tax increase on ANYBODY! Even a one percent increase on the likes of Bill Gates' billions (or Rupert Murdoch's) is unacceptable.

Thus they both want a clean* [sic] bill; it's only a matter of the duration of the debt ceiling.

My personal thought is that they should make it twenty trillion dollar increase and not think about it until my grandchildren are having my great-grandchildren--and trust God to work out the details as regards spending and tax rates. God didn't take twenty years to part the Red Sea, so I believe twenty years to bring spending and tax rates into line to reduce the national debt to ZERO would be duck soup for Him.

* "Clean" is the new buzzword for no changes in spending or tax rates.
The rest of us "chickens" after the above "chickens" both win their game of "Chicken"

It surely appears that Mr. Boehmer and Mr. Obama are sticking to their guns to the point of ... well what would you call it?

2011-07-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

Turn this PhotoShop art upside down and change the dollars into Believers and you might have an artists rendition of the Rapture. As it is here depicted though, it's no more than Federal spending helping to increase the gravity and density of a peculiar Black Hole.

I for one, although not entirely in Mr. Harold Camping's arena where a date can be pulled from one's left ear every other week for the 'end of the world' or even the rapture (which predates the end of the world by roughly 1007 years, according to the King James Version of the Good Book). That Rapture, BTW, is quite likely going to be sooner than we might imagine one of these unpredicted and unforeseen days in the near future.

At least all of the Biblical signs are in place for the Tribulation to begin, and that won't happen until Jesus has gathered His own (a.k.a., the Rapture) into the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18). The English word, "Rapture," comes not from either the Greek, Aramaic, or ancient Hebrew, BTW, but from the Latin word for being "caught up."

Aren't we Bible-thumpers an arrogant bunch?

But then, just look at the Biblical signs in just the past Century--and increasing by the day, it seems: rashes of tornadoes in America (and elsewhere), earthquakes together with devastating tsunamis, Global Warming--call it what you wish, but chunks of the ice shelf north of here are breaking off that are larger than some of our states--not to mentioning the increasing size of the hole in the Ozone Layer that protects us (to an extent), and has for billions of years, economic collapse of currencies and economic stability that we had always thought was bolstered by the US dollar (actually, they are Chinese dollars now, more or less), morality collapse worldwide--and so pervasive that not one of us can be unaware of it, if not having been a part of it at some time in our seemingly more and more tumultuous years, animal species going extinct right and left (are bedbugs, fleas and the mosquitoes on the Endangered Species list yet?) and then there's the most recent "Arab Spring" ... cum summer cum autumn cum winter of 2011.

I think I'd rather have even a Tea Party member as our President than an all-out Nuclear War. And that (a Nuclear War) is more likely now than ever in my lifetime, including the JFK-standoff with Russia in 1963. Consider that Israel, Pakistan and (soon, if not already) Iran ... have WMDs. (No point in mentioning North Korea; they will likely be our next Favored Trading Partner and debtor in US currency, if China wisens up too quickly.

Now, how did I wander from the silly debate(s) ongoing between the GOP and Democratic caucuses to the Rapture which will precede yet more turmoil a la the "Left Behind" series of movies that play periodically on the religious channels of our television sets?

A connection? Someone ask Harold Camping for me ... he's bound to have an answer.

Any Ideas?

2011-06-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

>
Sweetie is Already 16 Pounds!
If any of you know what can be done to bring her weight down, I'd sure like to know what that "what" is. She's supposed to be between nine and twelve pounds and won't be nine months until July 9th.

Sarah Palin writes the perfect letter 'from God'! Her announcement to family (from God) announcing little Trig ...

2011-06-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Li'l Trig ... truly a Gift from God!
You can say what you wish about her politics or her knowledge of Paul Revere's ride ... I believe you cannot disbelieve her true love for God and His gift to her and her family ...

The Entire letter as Released from Sarah Palin's Emails While She Was Governor of Alaska

To the Sisters, Brother, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Friends of Trig Paxson Van Palin (or whatever you end up naming him!) --

I am blessing you with this surprise baby because I only want the best for you. I've heard your prayers that this baby will be happy and healthy, and I've answered them because I only want the best for you!

I heard your heart when you hinted that another boy would fit best in the Palin family, to round it out and complete that starting five line-up.

Though another girl would be so nice, you didn't think you could ask for what you REALLY wanted, but I knew, so I gave you a boy because I only want the best for you!
Then, I put the idea in your hearts that his name should be 'Trig', because it's so fitting, with two Norse meanings: "True" and "Brave Victory". You also have a Bristol Bay relative with that name, so I knew it would be best for you!

Then, I let Trig's mom have an exceptionally comfortable pregnancy so she could enjoy every minute of it, and I even seemed to rush it along so she could wait until near the end to surprise you with the news - that way Piper wouldn't have so long to wait and count down so many days - just like Christmastime when you have to wait, impatiently, for that special day to finally open your gift? (Or the way the Palmas look forward to birthday celebrations that go on for three, four days_ you all really like cake.) I know you, I knew you'd be better off with just a short time to wait!

Then, finally, I let Trig's mom and dad find out before he was born that this little boy will truly be a GIFT. They were told in early tests that Trig may provide more challenges, and more joy, than what they ever may have imagined or ever asked for.
At first the news seemed unreal and sad and confusing. But I gave Trig's mom and dad lots of time to think about it because they needed lots of time to understand that everything will be OK, in fact, everything will be great, because I only want the best for you!

I've given Trig's mom and dad peace and joy as they wait to meet their new son. I gave them a happy anticipation because they asked me for that.

I'll give all of you the same happy anticipation and strength to deal with Trig's challenges, but I won't impose on you... I just need to know you want to receive my offer to be with all of you and help you everyday to make Trig's life a great one.
This new person in your life can help everyone put things in perspective and bind us together and get everyone focused on what really matters.

The baby will expand your world and let you see and feel things you haven't experienced yet. He'll show you what "true, brave victory" really means as those who love him will think less about self and focus less on what the world tells you is "normal" or "perfect°.

You will grow and be blessed with greater understanding that will he born along with Trig.Trig will be his dad's little buddy and he'll wear Carhartts while he learns to tinker in the garage. He'll love to be read to, he'll want to play goalie, and he'll steal his mom's heart just like Track, Bristol, Willow and Piper did.

And Trig will be the cuddly, innocent, mischievous, dependent little brother that his siblings have been waiting for_in fact Trig will - in some diagnostic ways - always be a mischievous, dependent little brother, because I created him a bit different than a lot of babies born into this world today.

Every child is created special, with awesome purpose and amazing potential. Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed up world you live in down there on earth. Trig is no different, except he has one extra chromosome. Doctors call it "Down's Syndrome", and Downs kids have challenges, but can bring you much delight and more love than you can ever imagine! Just wait and see, let me prove this, because I only want the best for you!

Some of the rest of the world may not want him, but take comfort in that because the world will not compete for him. Take care of him and he will always be yours!
Trig's mom and dad don't want people to focus on the baby's extra chromosome. They're human, so they haven't known how to explain this to people who are so caring and are interested in this new little Alaskan. Sarah and Todd want people to share in the joy of this gift I'm giving to the Palin family, and the greater Alaska family.

Many people won't understand_ and I understand that. Some will think Trig should not be allowed to be born because they fear a Downs child won't be considered "perfect" in your world. (But tell me, what do you earthlings consider "perfect" or even "normal" anyway? Have you peeked down any grocery store isle, or school hallway, or into your office lunchroom lately? Or considered the odd celebrities you celebrate as "perfect" on t.v.? Have you noticed I make 'em all shapes and sizes? Believe me, there is no "perfect"!)

Many people will express sympathy, but you don't want or need that, because Trig will be a joy. You will have to trust me on this.

I know it will take time to grasp this and come to accept that I only want the best for you, and I only give my best. Remember though: "My ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts- for as the heavens are higher than the earth, my ways are higher than yours!"

I wrote that all down for you in the Good Book! Look it up! You claim that you believe me - now it's time to live out that belief!

Please look to me as this new challenge and chapter of life unfolds in front of you. I promise to equip you. I won't give you anything you can't handle. I am answering your prayers. Trig can't wait to meet you. I'm giving you ONLY THE BEST!

Love,
Trig's Creator, Your Heavenly Father

One of my sons and his wife are chasing jellyfish for me -- or something like that!

2011-06-22T12:34:00.001-07:00

Jellyfish in Hawaii

The jellyfish protein apoaequorin improves cognitive function in individuals with memory concerns ... a.k.a. ME!

As I remember from my years in Hawaii, Box Jellyfish were not a welcomed sight on Hawaii’s pristine beaches, but there is another species of jellyfish invading the islands of Oahu and Maui whose visit is welcomed.

Aequorea Victoria is the jellyfish from which the calcium-binding protein apoaequorin, a potential therapeutic for Alzheimer’s disease, is derived.

Go get'm, Brooke and John!

Dad could use a little of that apoaequorin as I get closer to the average age of senile elderly men in the State of Washington.

Oh yes, this is a simplified picture of the actual apoaequorin protein for those who would rather not have to keep live jellyfish in their fridge.

When will we finally allow those crazy Bush tax cuts to trickle-down into the Black Hole of bad memories?

2011-06-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

GOP candidate Tim Pawlenty observed the 10th anniversary of the Bush-era tax cuts by proposing $2 trillion in additional tax cuts, primarily for millionaires and global corporations. Then, in a game of "Gotcha!", I watched the seven (at the time) GOP Dwarfs argue the question, "which among them could tear down the US economy faster?"

Have we learned nothing?

A decade since their passage, its clear that the Bush tax cuts were a $2.5 trillion mistake that put us on the road to fiscal instability.

Of course, Mr. Obama, by allowing the cuts to continue for an additional two years in an attempt to demonstrate bipartisan compromise, has put himself and his party in a corner from which they may never escape.

Where is some adult leadership--in either of the major political parties?

Makes a lotta sense to me!

2011-06-10T15:28:00.001-07:00

A glimpse of my funeral ... now that I've paid for a prepaid cremation including disposal of the remains (me?) into the Pacific Ocean

After receiving a dozen or so fliers advertising prepaid cremation deals in the mail and after seeing a few ads and/or feature articles in the local newspaper, it occurred to me that I could save "whoever" a lot of anxiety coming up with a "funeral,"--or whatever they are called nowadays--and having to figure out what to do with the old man anyway.

I could be a bit proactive and take care of the entire affair myself.

Notice how clean and neat an empty church (above) looks. Even that makes more sense!

A couple of phonecalls to get a good price (certainly cheaper than any funeral home, casket, burial plot, etc.!) on an all-details-covered prepaid package, I chose Neptune Society (sounds like a swimming club) to take care of EVERYTHING from the time I fall over dead until the time the ashes (me?) are dumped into the ocean. Yup, they even come to pick up the corpse (me?) and deliver it (me?) to the crematorium and then deliver the ashes (me?) to the ocean -- or wherever anyone on the other end of a phonecall might want them (me?) delivered (the Sistine Chapel sounds nice) from a mailbox to a hole in the ground ... and voilla! It's done! Just for the record, I checked the box labeled "buried at sea" on the contract.

They even take care of registering my death with the State and delivering a little box of "mementos" to whomever in the world would want such a gruesome little maple-looking wooden box ... containing pictures of my cats and dog and maybe my bifocals, a stapler, a ball-pint pen, my drivers license, some shredded credit cards, and anything else that might fit in a 8" x 8" x 5" box. I can even use the box to hold paper clips in the meantime.

Yeh, they even included the little box.

I mentioned my decision (already made ... and signed, sealed and notarized) to a couple of my youngsters (actually adults, of course) and they seemed satisfied that it was a smart move--well, one son wasn't that pleased, but didn't have a better idea.

Did I mention that the boat ride--at least for the ashes--is included at no extra cost?

Also, it's 100% ecologically and environmentally green--I mean figuratively speaking, of course. Well, there is the smoke, I suppose ... but not one square inch of our rapidly crowding earth is used unnecessarily.

Anyway, I really think more folks (young or old) should think of this as a legal and painless (I hope! They do check bodies to insure they are brain-dead before shoving them into the oven, don't they?) way of getting some of the details out of the way in advance of ...

Well, you know what I mean.

Neat, huh?

El Nino, la nina, global warming, Congressional tweets aside --- what happened to our summer in Ocean Shores?

2011-06-09T11:58:00.001-07:00

Clearly, one can determine that our three-day summer in early June was "it"!
The equatorial Pacific Ocean will not be plagued by an El Nino or La Nina weather anomaly in the summer of 2011, the first time since 2009 when conditions are neutral in the region, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said earlier this morning. For reference only, you are viewing late winter in March, 2011 (upper left earth) and early summer on 3 June, 2011 (lower right earth). No image for late summer on 6 June, 2011 is yet available.

Neutral? Then why did our summer come early this year and last only three days?

Even the clams and the salmon are confused.

What next? An earthquake and tsunami only 75 miles from our lovely (but chilly) beaches in Ocean Shores?

For the record, la nina means "little girl" in Spanish and el nino means "little boy" (presumably, the Christ child), but what either have to do with the suddenness of autumn falling upon the Pacific Northwest eludes me.

Then again, we are not having starvation-level droughts nor heavy snowstorms this early autumn ... yet.

Barely One Year Later ... Irony of Ironies!

2011-06-08T16:40:00.000-07:00

Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. married longtime Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin

Guess who officiated at the wedding! Really!!

Former President Bill Clinton pronounces them "man and wife" almost exactly one year ago ...

Does this mean that there is a President Weiner in our future--or only that the latest American favorite pastime (watching sex scandals unfold on the nightly news) is a posterboard for Muslim (her) - Jewish (him) relationships in this weird world within which we all live?

It would only be weirder yet if the wedding had been officiated by the current Speaker of the House, John Boehner ... pronounced "BAY-ner" ... I'll let you-all untwist the sarcasm (no irony this time) in this last interesting, but untrue, scenario.

Newt Gingrich teaching that youngster a thing or two! By the way, I am no relative of Paul Ryan's!!

2011-05-26T10:47:00.001-07:00

Paul Ryan learning a thing or two about "engineering" from Newt Gingrich

Thanks, Newt! Your courage in exposing the truth-- that Paul Ryan’s budget plan is too “radical” and represents “right wing social engineering” were right on. The Republican’s plans to dismantle Medicare and reward Big Oil and billionaires with “incentives” and more tax breaks is a strong example of how extreme today's Republican party has become. If only other Republicans saw things the way you did, we'd be much better off.

2010 and 2011 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull and Grímsvötn have Camping followers in a stir

2011-05-25T09:31:00.001-07:00

Eyjafjallajökull in 2010
Grímsvötn in 2011
If nothing else, spelling bees will probably have their own "end times" thanks to the Icelandic volcanoes of recent years. Try pronouncing the two that have disrupted European airspace two years in a row now.

Just tweaking -- adding 42 days to May 21, 2011 would give us a date of around July 2, 2011 ... assuming that Jesus was resurrected on April 5 or so!

2011-05-24T09:38:00.001-07:00

... and a cloud received Him out of their sight ...
Act 1:3 and 9 KJV: (v. 3) "To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: ... (v.9) And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight."

Of course, the 722,500 days after Jesus' Ascension (roughly 42 days after His Crucifixion) almost seems random anyway, although it's nice that it's a perfect square of 850 = 10 + 5 + 17 ..... that is, 850 x 850 = 722,500.

Bare in mind I am not "prophesying," only tidying up some of Harold Camping's spurious numerology and the meanings he put into the numbers 5, 10 and 17.

Just look at the tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, volcanoes (near the North Pole?) and the turmoil in the Middle East ... and well, early July isn't so far-fetched and surely no one except the Father knows the exact time and date--as Jesus said.

Why did Camping start his arithmetic at the day of the Crucifixion anyway, and not when He ascended bodily and spiritually into the clouds forty days after His Resurrection?--as will those still alive at the time of the Rapture, although not ahead of those who have died before us/them. [See 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18]

All that aside, I really think that Harold Camping meant well and will be forgiven for his peculiar arithmetic and apparent numerology. Mediawingnuts certainly forgives him and also thanks him for giving me some nutty blog-postings and some thinking about what is real ... there will be a Rapture ... and a Tribulation ... and an ultimate Judgement of us all! Basically, all of the uncertainties highlighted by Mr. Camping's false predictions suggest that we should abide by the advice given in one of my recent previous postings.

Okay, okay ... let's try a new date for the Rapture! How about May 21 plus 40 days? That's June 30, 2011!

2011-05-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

Funniest photo I saw on the web ...
If I was to try to predict the rapture from the numerology that Harold Camping used, I would at least have used, as my starting date, the day that Jesus rose into the clouds ... roughly 40 days after the date selected by Mr. Camping as the starting date. The angel told the apostles then (roughly 40 days after the Crucifixion and resurrection) that he would return in the same manner, so that June 30, 2011 (equals May 21, 2011 + 40 days) seems like as good a day as any to select.

What do you guys think out in blog-surfing-land?

Best quote I recall as regards the Rapture happening tomorrow: "I stay ready to keep from having to get ready" -- anonymous

2011-05-20T09:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't always been "ready" but I have been ready in recent years ... and today and tomorrow, God willing ... as I will be at 6:00 p.m. (Pacific Coast Time) tomorrow evening.

Warning! For those of you in Hawaii: Accept Jesus and His Teachings earlier than 6:00 p.m. That's 3:00 p.m. where you folks are. And besides, that should be your life's goal anyway ... from now till your natural death or whenever the Rapture comes, today, tomorrow, next week, next year or sometime after Iran is nuked by Israel or a Tea-Party Republican (gasp!) is elected President of the United States.

You guys on the East Coast have until 9:00 tomorrow evening, but why not beat the clock and accept Jesus right now!

I hope that you all know that I don't really believe that the rapture will fall on some predicted date--especially-- a date based on what appears to be crazy arithmetic. But just the same ... if I feel the shaking of an earthquake tomorrow afternoon or evening, I will be on my knees in a nanosecond!To heck with the Tsunami sirens; I'll be a believer in that crazy arithmetic in a heartbeat.

Judgement Day nearly upon us and I ran into an interesting ad on the Internet ...

2011-05-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

Raccoons under my front deck/porch waiting for a dish of cat food ... and begging to be allowed to go with me to meet Jesus in the clouds at the Rapture
Surely, you've all read the arithmetic on my previous posting that backs up this Saturday as the "Judgement Day--actually, only the Rapture--but who's quibbling over Biblical terms? Anyway, I've been concerned about my cats, the dog and the 104 raccoons under my front porch after I disappear in the "twinkling of an eye." The ad I found that will provide me and millions like me peace is shown below:

You've committed your life to Jesus. You know you're saved. But when the Rapture comes what's to become of your loving pets who are left behind? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind.

We are a group of dedicated animal lovers, and atheists. Each
Eternal Earth-Bound Pet representative is a confirmed atheist, and as such, will still be here on Earth after you've received your reward. Our network of animal activists are committed to step in when you step up to Jesus.

We are currently active in 26 states, employing 40 pet rescuers. Our representatives have been screened to ensure that they are atheists, animal lovers, are moral / ethical with no criminal background, have the ability and desire to rescue your pet and the means to retrieve them and ensure their care for your pet's natural life.

Our service is plain and simple; our fee structure is reasonable.
For $135.00 we will guarantee that should the Rapture occur within ten (10) years of receipt of payment, one pet per residence will be saved. Each additional pet at your residence will be saved for an additional $20.00 fee. A small price to pay for your peace of mind and the health and safety of your four legged and feathered friends.

Unfortunately at this time we are not equipped to accommodate all species and must limit our services to dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and small caged mammals. [Please note: we can now offer rescue services for fenced or caged deer and raccoons as well as horses, camels and donkeys in NH,VT, WA, ID and MT.]

Simply visit us at Eternal Earth-Bound Pets, USA and set your troubled hearts at peace.

Shall we give it another try? Harold Camping (and thousands of his followers) believe it will be this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

2011-05-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

It's right in here! It's basic arithmetic ... this is for my grandson, Johnny, to teach his dad, Jack, a thing or two about mathematics. Harold Camping (above) looks as though he preceded Isaac Newton, so who knows?
1. According to Camping, the number five equals "atonement", the number ten equals "completeness", and the number seventeen equals "heaven".

2. Christ is said to have hung on the cross on April 1, 33 AD. The time between April 1, 33 AD and April 1, 2011 is 1,978 years.

3. If 1,978 is multiplied by 365.2422 days (the number of days in a solar year, not to be confused with the lunar year), the result is 722,449.

4. The time between April 1, 2011 and May 21, 2011 is 51 days.

5. 51 added to 722,449 is 722,500.

6. (5 x 10 x 17)^2 or (atonement x completeness x heaven)^2 also equals 722,500.

This is just basic arithmetic.

But more seriously--Jesus and others taught us to be ready on each and every day because the "Rapture" (described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) could be ... TOMORROW ... or better yet ... TODAY!!

In Camping's defense, the pundits who make fun of him continue to say that he's predicting the end of the world on May 21, 2011. The "Rapture" that Camping is predicting will not be the end of the world according to my reading of the Bible--there will be some seven years of Tribulation after the rapture and I don't think I'd want to be around all the way through that!

Personally, I think I'm actually ready for something like the Rapture ... or an unexpected heart attack or a brain aneurysm or ...

And God knows, I haven't always prepared for any of the above. My own life in Christ doesn't even add up to a third of my lifetime ... as any of the persons in my life would certainly attest!

It may be hokey arithematic, but I'd rather that Jesus were coming sooner than later!

2011-05-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

If you recall from one of my lesser important postings, some folks are predicting that tomorrow will be the date of the prophesy in 1 Thes. 4:13-18. That is, some of us--the true Believers--will be swept up into the Heavens (dead first, from their graves) to meet Jesus for an Eternity of bliss and ... well ... Eternity!

The math went something like this: Using Daniel 9 and the 70 days mentioned there, we add 70 years to May 14, !948 (the day Israel became a sovereign nation) and get May 14, 2018. Remember, to God a year is like a day--or something like that! Anyway, we are also told in Scripture that His Chosen (that's us!) won't suffer the Tribulation (seven years) that will end on May 14, 2018. Subtract seven years from May 14, 2018 and you have:

But then, if we aren't greeting one another in the clouds with Jesus, we have still one more week to wait for the date that Harold Camping came up with using Noah's Ark, the tilt of the earth, the Jewish calendar and some mathematics that would make Albert Einstein blush. May 21, 2011 is right around the corner!

To the believers in Jesus as the Christ, I'd suggest posting your comment before midnight tomorrow--you might very well be in Heaven. For the non-believers, you will have seven years or so to think about it and come to the Truth before all Hell breaks loose.

Wow! Once Sweetie's cast came off, she really took on a little more of her "alpha" personality ... Her Aunt Mary Lou wanted an up-to-date fridge pic!

2011-05-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

She only bares her teeth during mealtimes and when one of the cats is sleeping on one of her marrow bones from the butcher. Taking the cast off her left hind leg certainly changed her overall appearance,I think.

Donald Trump will NEVER give up!! He located this latest 100% genuine Obama birth certificate ...

2011-04-29T14:37:00.000-07:00

Now this is what I call an example of Paint Shop Pro ... at its best! (Click on birth certificate to read it.)

Watch the Trump crowd and remaining birthers jump on this!

May 21, 2011 is Armed Forces Day according to my (US-made) calendar -- Would we be raptured on such a Holy Day in America?

2011-04-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

Will any of the Tea Partiers be raptured -- or will they finally see (too late!) that Jesus's message is dead center in such ideas as allowing for the possibility that increased taxes for the wealthy ... actually can help those in need; that is, those at the bottom of the pay scales? Will the radical Republicans still oppose Social Security and Medicare? A suggestion to believing Christians: leave your Bibles out on your lawns or on the sidewalks in front of your homes before you're raptured so that those who are left behind can read them and understand that "Obamacare" is truly in the Message that Jesus taught. From what I've read of the Tribulation that follows the rapture, they'll need Obamacare ... and MORE!

Healed ... more or less... I think I'll call the vet this morning!

2011-04-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

From this angle, it still looks "broken," don't you think? Click on the X-ray to get a closer view. That spur looks as though it would hurt, but she was as sweet as ever on my pillow last night.
Maybe I'll have to set her in my bed with a slight orientation towards my face ...
Say, nephew John ... could you have your brother, Ed, take a look at this and see what he thinks? Admittedly, I work for the Quinault Tribe on the Pacific Ocean and he works for the Oneida Tribe in Wisconsin ... but bones are bones, aren't they? Even Democrat bones versus Republican bones! Bones are bones.

Sister Mary Lou: Yes, you may put these latest pictures of Sweetie on your fridge. Although she was "fixed" yesterday (also), she/he/it is still your niece/nephew/whatever.

Sweetie's healing ... I thinkl! But her weight is another thing--over twelve pounds!

2011-04-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

Click on Sweetie's nose to get close-up of her gorgeous smile!

Jesse Ventura's words, but my sentiments exactly!

2011-04-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

Writing to the power brokers ... political, social and economic! Jesse says it exactly right!

"You control our world. You’ve poisoned the air we breathe, contaminated the water we drink, and copyrighted the food we eat. We fight in your wars, die for your causes, and sacrifice our freedoms to protect you. You’ve liquidated our savings, destroyed our middle class, and used our tax dollars to bailout your unending greed. We are slaves to your corporations, zombies to your airwaves, servants to your decadence. You’ve stolen our elections, assassinated our leaders, and abolished our basic rights as human beings. You own our property, shipped away our jobs, and shredded our unions. You’ve profited off of disaster, destabilized our currencies, and raised our cost of living. You’ve monopolized our freedom, stripped away our education, and have almost extinguished our flame. We are hit… we are bleeding… but we ain’t got time to bleed. We will bring the giants to their knees and you will witness our revolution!"

For those of us who have accepted Jesus's Death for our Salvation, this Government Shutdown "crisis" might last only 42 or 43 days!

2011-04-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

Administration officials are saying (as of five minutes ago) that nearly 800,000 federal workers would probably be told to stop working if a deal is not reached in the next eight hours. Small business loans would stop. Tax returns filed on paper (mine is still on my hard drive) would not be processed. Government Web sites would go dark--but good news: Mediawingnuts is not threatened--momentarily. And federal loan guarantees for new mortgages would become unavailable--note to son in Leavenworth, Washington: sign the damned papers quickly this afternoon!

Speaking to reporters moments ago, a senior administration official said the cumulative impact of the shutdown “would have a significant impact on our economic momentum well beyond this upcoming weekend." ... "but, what about beyond May 21?" is my question for the day!

The long term effects might be no more than the opening salvo for the seven year Tribulation Period prophesied for roughly four or five millennia so this might be a longer shutdown of the U.S. Government than either our Congress or Barack Obama might be imagining as even remotely possible.

Just a random thought ...

And no, I am not one of the "Rapture Freaks" who are cancelling all plans for beyond May 22 or so. I just thought that it was an interesting thought for the day as I listen to the mumblings of disaster here on the Indian Reservation wherein I work--because of our dependence upon Federal monies.

There are Adults in the Political Arena ... Time for Paul Ryan (no relative!) to Step Aside!

2011-04-06T14:49:00.001-07:00

Back when the "tan man" and the "orange man" could actually laugh ... and agree on an issue or two! (This photo from about a year ago ...)

Although President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner have been blasting each others' economic proposals of late, they both know that the Government simply cannot shut down over silliness like Representative Paul Ryan's proposal yesterday to slowly do away with Medicare and Social Security. At least the two nominal leaders of their parties who represent two different constituencies (the People in Obama's case and the corporations in Boehner's case), both want a decent and fair America for their children and grandchildren.

Agreement will be reached and the two men above should get 95% of the credit.

No, despite the Pee Party/ Pee Potty/ Tea Potty/ whatever they call themselves these days, the Government will NOT shut down on Friday evening!

After Three Weeks, You'd Think She'd be out of the Splint/Cast ... But Sweetie is still the Sweetest!

2011-04-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

Mediawingnuts Holding His Sweetheart!

Oh yes, ignore the background. It will be straightened up in a week or two. Just as Sweetie's Uncle Richard who remembers my living room quite well, I think, would assure you all.

Mossa Koussa (former "Envoy of Death" for Gaddafi) escapes to Britain where he will likely get three days in jail and a slap on the wrist.

2011-03-30T17:31:00.001-07:00

Former Libyan Foreign Minister and "Envoy of Death," Moussa Koussa
Guess who is "protesting" Gaddati's attacks and massacre of civilians? Yup! The former intelligence chief for Gaddafi (20 years duration) and more recently, his Foreign Minister, Moussa Koussa ... who is now trying to slip out from under his past into Britain where such seepage seems to go with the territory.

Hopefully, we will get what information we need from him before we return him to Gaddafi where his fate ... well, he knows best what Gaddafi might do with him since he was Gaddafi's hatchet man for twenty-plus years. After all, he earned the informal title, "Envoy of Death," over those years for something, I would imagine.

This Libyan mess gets curiouser and curiouser as time passes. I wonder what part our own government played in the past massacres and Gaddafi's bank accounts. Likely, this goes back through a number of our Presidents and Congressional leaders--both Democrats and Republicans.

I personally don't expect Moussa Koussa to live out the week.

Interestingly, he graduated from Michigan State! No, no ... I'm sure that Michigan State University had nothing (well, maybe a tad) to do with Gaddafi's past massacres, including bringing down Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

We should let the Brits convict him swiftly and then release him to his former boss after maybe three days in a British prison.

Freedom Fighters ... NOT "Rebels," for the love of a duck!

2011-03-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

Freedom Fighters ... NOT "Rebels," for the love of a duck!

Colonel Gaddafi is not only a brutal dictator, but a rebel without a cause--other than his own billions of dollars tucked away in Swiss bank accounts and yes, the US Defense Industry. Why didn't we listen to President Dwight Eisenhower more than a half century ago?

The brave Freedom Fighters who are opposed to Gaddafi are not rebels but citizens! And again, I repeat: FREEDOM FIGHTERS!!

It's very strange to read of the people of Benghazi and Misurata as being rebels. They are not rebels. They are protectors and freedom fighters, but certainly not rebels.

Let me quote some powerful words spoken by Ed Schultz on MSNBC and written in the Huffington Post:

"The rebels are those opposed to peaceful solutions in Libya. The head rebel in Colonel Gaddafi, who invaded Libya in the 1960s. He wants to control Libya again despite the people of Libya wanting him to leave.

Colonel Gaddafi is a rebel without a true cause. he is inclined to totalitarian methods and anarchy. He obfuscates and misleads people who want orderly change.
See Colonel Gaddafi for what he truly is! A cruel rebel.....

He organizes the killing of Libyans to maintain his control over wealth. He is the true rebel to the cause that the majority of the people of Libya support. Ordinary people in Libya want simple rule, goodly respect, human dignity, shared life, and mutual participation, not dictatorship. Instead, the rebel Colonel Gaddafi uses the country's money to pay for an invasion force that keeps him in power.

Yes, Colonel Gaddafi is and was the real rebel. The opposers to his rule are ordinary people thrust into a war they do not want, into killing they abhor."

It is absolutely imperative that the U.S. step in and help these marvelous people in whatever way we can!

Like 23% of America, I listened to our President yesterday ... and this is what I heard ...

2011-03-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

Libya End-Game

Obama's "Exit Strategy" (actually, NATO's) is not too different than was George W.'s in Iraq ... as best I understood it! What am I missing?

Rebecca Brought up a Good Question in her Comment to Previous Posting ...

2011-03-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

Will Schrödinger’s cat be raptured dead or alive on May 21, 2011? (... or on May 14, 2011 as a couple of maverick televangelists believe ...) Would someone please peek in the box on Nephew John's birthday on May 13th and get the word out to the rest of us quickly? What are the odds of Mr. Gaddafi (see previous posting) being alive on May 13, 2011?

Schrödinger’s Cat, Taffy (better pronounciation: Gad-dafi)

2011-03-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

Let's assume that Schrödinger’s box is open for a brief moment!
But still, let’s not get caught up in the hysterics of our war with Muammar Gaddafi being equivalent to WW III. We all remember Erwin Schrödinger’s hapless cat, don’t we? Well, Schrödinger’s cat is as famous as his equation (curiously known as Schrödinger’s Equation) which underpins the entire world of sub-atomic matter (best example in today’s world: Murramar Gaddafi) which explains why we really don’t know whether MG is alive or dead as the Libyan crisis continues unabated.

I suggest that we all take a step inside Gaddafi’s box of Schrödinger uncertainty and be happy that we even exist, if only for a relatively short period. There is no way to predict the future and when the guillotine blade falls, we won't even feel it or question our being alive or dead. Unless we are clairvoyant and can see into the future, nobody (Gaddafi, you, me … even Erwin Schrödinger) knows what the final outcome will be.

Just a short lesson in Quantum Physics!

This sign points smack dab to a small Indian Village (Oyehut) in a ... basin on the Pacific Ocean!!

2011-03-18T14:58:00.000-07:00

I sure pick neat places to live, don't I? Some newspaper on the East Coast reported our town (Ocean Shores) to one of the Cable Networks as being the most vulnerable (relative to the danger of a tsunami) place in the USA to live.

I think I'd still pick Ocean Shores over a border town just north of Mexico (relative to ALL sources of danger (tornadoes, drug cartel wars, heat stroke, etc.).

First it's Libya ... then Japan ... then Sweetie's Tibia!

2011-03-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

Sweetheart's Tibia (post-accident ... or whatever caused it)

And before you ask, no, I don't know how it happened!

Best guess of veterinarian is that she tangled one of her toenails (rear left foot) in one of my raggedy chairs or the rug and tried too hard to pull loose. She is/was a VERY strong puppy for her size.

Only good aspect of this is that she no longer has been chasing the cats.

Highest elevation on Ocean Shores' three mile-wide peninsula equals fourteen feet!

2011-03-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

Fortunately, there is a fairly tall spruce in my back yard. It might help if I had a ladder taller than three steps!

The Ego Has Landed ... GOP Makes Splash-down in Wisconsin!

2011-03-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

'Nuff Said!

And now there may be twenty-six in Chicago! And twenty seven next week after Scott Walker sorts his underwear for the trip.

2011-03-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

Sheen and Qaddafi

The American TV/radio network,CBS, and the head of the anti-government rebel body in Libya say they will not pursue Charlie Sheen nor Moammar Qaddafi for alleged crimes if they step out of the limelight and take up residence with the 24 Democrats hiding out from Wisconsin in a Chicago hotel. Of course, Moammar Qaddafi would have to step down as leader of the north African country wherein he resides within the next three days and Charlie Sheen's name would have to disappear from all newscasts for those same three days.

Sounds like a good deal to me.

The RNC is discussing a similar "deal" with Wisconsin's Governor, Scott Walker, but he claims it would take more than three days to sort his socks and underwear for the trip to Chicago.

Let's not try yet another "Iraq War" in Libya. Hold the course, Mr. President and keep it a "war" of words!

2011-03-06T21:00:00.000-08:00

The message from President Barack Obama yesterday was unambiguous: "Colonel Gadhafi needs to step down from power and leave." But no, it didn't suggest that we would step in and lose another 4500 of our boys (and girls) as we did in GWB's ill-conceived Iraq War in 2004!

What our president said was what he said--no more, no less. No bombs. bullets and bodies resulting from US actions. Their Civil War is THEIR Civil War.

Sometimes, it takes greater courage not to act than to show sad and deadly bravado when there is no need for it.

Libya's delusional dictator is not listening to Mr. Obama or any other world leader as he makes his last-ditch, homicidal (and suicidal) effort to stay in power.

So, some frustrated Americans (Republicans and Democrats, sadly) are calling for missiles instead of messages. They want the United States to blast its way into Libya, oust Gadhafi and . . . who knows? This is a gut reaction, not a strategy. It's an express route to creating an anti-American backlash.

A dramatic 15-foot-high banner went up last Monday and Tuesday in the main square of Benghazi, the revolution's stronghold, that said in English: "No foreign intervention. Libyan people can manage it alone."

We should pay attention.

Wisconsin political slogan: Whenever two trains meet at an intersection of railroad tracks in Wisconsin, neither shall proceed until the other has.

2011-03-04T15:06:00.000-08:00

Oh ... NOW I get it!!
Whenever two trains of opposing political parties meet at an intersection of railroad tracks in the Wisconsin Legislature, neither shall proceed until the other has.

Go to previous post for a SERIOUS thought.

God Will Conquer Dravet's Syndrome

2011-03-04T09:40:00.000-08:00

Buy it!

I went ahead and bought this CD knowing that the money was going to a personally satisfying cause. But surprise! I actually liked it and it's the CD that has been riding to and fro the Quinault Indian Nation and Ocean Shores during this past week. And if you want one for your kid(s), think about getting "Joeys Song for Kids" -- all songs by known artists and VERY pleasant listening.

But best of all, every dime goes towards knocking out this fairly recently discovered and rare disease that causes seizures and a wide variety of disabilities ... along with the most beautiful smile God could have provided any of His miraculous creations. The happiness and silliness in the lyrics alone bring joy to this old man who has, only in his later lifetime, discovered the tragedy of Dravet's Syndrome and its effects (both good and bad) on all who know of it.

Is Libya ripe for revolution? Is the earth ripe for the Rapture ... whether on May 14 or May 21, 2011 ???

2011-02-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

Is this screwball the "King of Kings"?
Is Libya ripe for revolution?

The world’s longest-serving head of state, Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s “King of Kings,” the “Imam of the Muslims” and “Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Libyan Revolution,” is braced for a day of rage this coming week similar to those that have been ongoing in Tripoli for three weeks or so.

Col. Gaddafi has ruled Libya for 40 years based on a cult of personality, an iron fist and a widespread security apparatus.

Jesus, the real King of Kings, simply fasted for 40 days and ...

“But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us. Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die. For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-5(NLT)

It may not be tomorrow ... or even as early as May of this year ... or in 2012 ... or even in this Century, but the REAL "King of Kings" will return for His own!! And no, it won't be Colonel Gaddafi!

My guess is that He'll look a bit more like this as he descends through the clouds above

Where's Wisconsin on this map?

2011-02-19T20:48:00.000-08:00

Can you see Wisconsin down there in the lower left?

During this past week (like as recently as yesterday), Glenn Beck has been carefully tying Islam to the Antichrist described in the New Testament. He even had a side-by-side comparison of the Antichrist and the "12th Imam" or "Mahdi" (terms Beck uses interchangeably to describe the figure many Muslims believe will guide believers in the end times) on his chalkboard.

And to help Beck discuss this connection, Beck hosted Joel Richardson, an anti-Muslim activist who says that Satan will use Islam "to fulfill the prophesies of the Bible" and has written a column headlined "What Obama and the Antichrist have in common."

And now, he is linking Wisconsin to the turmoil in the Middle East.

Lord love a duck!

But I've assuaged my Wisconsin relatives' worst fears (that this crackpot, Glenn Beck might be right) with a careful assessment of the capabilities of Israeli nuclear-tipped missiles should Egypt, Syria, Wisconsin and Iran gang up on Israel.

Israel's missiles would fall short--maybe making it to Manhattan, but very little further.

Eunice Sanborn, oldest person in the world, passes on to be with her Savior

2011-02-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

When asked what she attributed her long life, Eunice Sanborn replied, "Honey, if you have the Lord Jesus, you don’t need anything else!"

For what it's worth, she was born on my sister Mary Lou's birthday ... July 20, 1896. See previous posting devoted to Mary Lou's hubby of almost fifty years.

Joseph Andrew Szabo -- seventy-five today and counting!

2011-01-30T15:39:00.000-08:00

Joseph Andrew Szabo January 30, 1936-February 20, 2009

Joseph Andrew Szabo—great personal friend, fellow student in both high school and college, my “big brother” in Alpha Delta Phi, a super brother-in-law—and (most important) my Big Brother in Christ—besides being a marvelous NLRB Director and … so much more from husband of a beloved sister to father of many of my nieces and nephews to grandfather to many and (now) great-grandfather to two and counting! (Not to mention, he is the uncle to my children and brother-in-law to my wife ... and an in-law to so many more whom I don't even know.)

And yes, he’s seventy-five today—sadly, in the hereafter for us remaining—having easily earned a place close to Christ in the radiance of the Father almost two years ago.

Just a couple of very belated vignettes to highlight the kinds of things that even supersede his great career with the National Labor Relations Board and his celebrated abilities with word-working and intarsia (see photo below) in his final decade(s) of retirement … things that only an old curmudgeon might have been aware of, but that round out the picture of this great Saint in Heaven.

I spoke with him on the day before he passed on and his greatest concern was for his wife (my sister, Mary Lou) as we discussed the need for him to have a roof put over his outdoor transformer so as to protect it (and her) from the harsh Wisconsin sleet and snow—largely to insure that when the power in the area was lost, there would be no interruption from his newly bought super-automatic on-off transformer built onto his home.

He was gone from our mortal presence within 24 hours of that phone call. But his last thoughts were still focused on the safety and comfort of his family.

Another little known vignette goes back more than fifty years or so. Joe and I were entered in the world-renowned [sic] Woodward Oratorical competition (our own little Super Bowl, so to speak) at what is now called Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The long and the short of that contest was that I finished second to Joe who gave a really great speech that day. Of course, I was devastated even though we beat out the rest of the competition—some excellent speakers on their own.

For me, second place was still “losing.”

Walking back to the fraternity house, Joe noticed that I wasn’t 100% happy with the results and so he remarked out of the blue, “Well Joe, we beat out some pretty good competition today and just think—we took home all the “gold.” Only the top two prizes included actual money prizes aside from trophies. No mention of his First Place—it was only that we won the only two money prizes. Instantly, I felt better.

That’s how I will always remember Joe. He was sensitive to all in his presence and at all times.

Even today, almost two years since his long and uncomfortable death, I will never forget this giant of a human being who always put those around him in his awareness and deepest concerns.

Happy Birthday, Saint Joseph Szabo!

Enjoying his retirement and becoming world-known as an Intarsia craftsman and artist

I'll See You All on May 22, 2011 !!

2011-01-16T22:31:00.000-08:00

Click on image for reading with less eye strain!

To read more, I suggest you look up the author, Harold Camping, who is the Focus on the Family radio/TV host ... using Amazon.com and read some of his eschatological arguments ...

Correction: (Thanks, Mark B.!) Harold Camping is with Family Radio and has been since the late 50s--not "Focus on the Family" as stated above. When I watched the old Camping dude on TV the other night--on a news broadcast--I picked up on the word "family" and my subconscious or something filled in the blanks incorrectly. Sorry 'bout that!

Have any of you begun seeing the billboards that are popping up around the country--like the ones below? (They are also on park benches and on buses in most of the larger cities in America.)

Haven't we been this route sometime in the past--maybe like forty or fifty years ago? Didn't someone find the logbooks in the cabin of Noah's Ark with dates close to "May 21, 4989 BC" written in them? That would be almost 7000 years ago, wouldn't it? Recall Daniel's seventy weeks (obviously 7000 years) and do your own arithmetic.

I'll have to check with one of my nephews who is a well-read Christian Pastor as relates to all of this ... or maybe his more eschatology-oriented brother, John, who has promised to unravel the entire Biblical mystery so he can tell his mother and his uncle (me!) whether we will be raptured on the 14th or 21st of May. I suggested to him that he should tell everyone to send his birthday gifts a day or so early this year--just in case!

You Add It Up!!

2011-01-16T00:42:00.001-08:00

+

+

=

Happy New Year to you ALL!

2010-12-31T16:43:00.000-08:00

This New Year’s Eve, like so many in America, I will be with a group of friends from a Twelve Step group celebrating the incoming 2011 with coffee and home-made pies and pizza at the local Alano Club.

Not all of those present will have a home of their own to go home to. Many, even in so remote an area as Western Washington, are homeless--but even many of these persons will sleep on cots and couches in the relatively warm homes of those of us more fortunate than they are.

But there is still considerable needless suffering throughout America as we shuffle into 2011. So many persons are suffering for lack of food, shelter, medical care and other problems--problems that these persons did not bring upon themselves.

And yes, there is a difference between inevitable suffering and the suffering we bring on ourselves. Admittedly, much of our suffering is self-inflicted.

Have you heard of the monkey trap? It has a very small opening at the top. When the monkey reaches into it for a piece of fruit, he is unable to pull his hand out again because his fist clutching the fruit is too big. To be free, all he would have to do is open his fist and let go of the fruit. But that is the one thing he, like the Republicans in Congress, have been unwilling to do.

And so he is caught. He is caught by his own greed....

But then, don't we all--Democrats and Republicans--find ourselves in similar situations time and time again? Don’t we make our life a monkey trap? We trap ourselves with our own greed, fear, lazy habits, addictions, anger and resentments ... in a word, everything we hold onto.

But right now, my thoughts are with the very poor and homeless. I hope that the millionaires and billionaires who held 97% of America hostage--including the chronically unemployed and unemployable--so that they could hold onto the tax cuts for themselves are happy tonight.

We'll have to wait until next month or the month after that to see what more the new Republican-led House of Representatives can attempt to grasp from the poor so as to shore up the "economy" while reducing the National Debt.

They need some time to get Christmas out of their minds before reaching once again into the Monkey Trap.

Merry Christmas, America—or should I say, “Merry Christmas, earth!”

2010-12-21T23:56:00.000-08:00

Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signing START III in early April of this year
Merry Christmas, America—or should I say, “Merry Christmas, earth!”

Curbing atomic weapons proliferation is not simply a sincere vision of our President, it is the vision of all peace-loving persons around the world. Besides limiting the arsenals of Russia and the US to 1550 strategic nuclear weapons within the next seven years, the new START (STrategic Arms Reduction Treaty) will signal to Iran and North Korea (among others) that they are flying in the face of Russian-US cooperation in promoting global peace—and hopefully, curtail a number of nuclear weapons programs underway—or soon to be underway—in several less-than-stable countries in North Africa, East Asia and the Middle East ... and elsewhere.

Interestingly, Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed the treaty on April 8, 2010 more than eight months ago, yet the Republican opposition claimed not to have had enough time to review the seventeen-page document … and nearly blocked ratification of the treaty.

It was politics at its lowest and ugliest.

Although both major political parties are often guilty of politicizing that which ought not be politicized, the actions of the Republicans in the Senate (and speeches given by Republicans in the House) in recent days reached a new bottom, in my opinion.

The other bills being hurried through Congress in this “Lame Duck” session pale in contrast to the immense importance of the ratification of START. An accidental nuclear war would even leave the don’t-ask-don’t-tell matter as a forgotten endnote to the lifeless mass of radiated matter once called “earth” ... the smoldering sphere would be our fitting legacy to the Cosmos if we're not extremely prudent in this arena.

Who needs a reincarnation of Joe McCarthy while we have Glenn Beck to do the ranting and raving Monday through Friday on Fox Cable News [sic]?

2010-12-20T23:35:00.000-08:00

McCarthyism in 2010
I've about had it up to here (flattened hand well above the level of my eyes) with Glenn Beck's rants and raves about President Obama being a socialist, Marxist, communist, racist and God-and-America-hating liberal (said with a low growl) scourge on humanity. I'll leave it to another time to discuss the distinct differences among the various labels we have put on various economic and political systems, but a quick peek at the excellent verbiage in Wikipedia under "socialism" would help--although it's clear that Mr. Beck has no idea what the subject is even about.

If it's on one of Rupert Murdoch's cue-cards or on the Fox Cable News teleprompter in the vicinity of Glenn Beck, that's sufficient to get a dizzying and hateful act of fear-mongering at its worst.

It's sufficient to mention that there are two systems, both often referred to as "socialism", but actually quite different. One is socialism as practiced in the former "people's democracies" of the Soviet bloc, considered to be a precursor to communism and the other is better known as "social democracy", and is practiced to a greater or lesser extent in most western European countries.

Actually, Obama is neither although I might find myself leaning towards the latter more conventional definition.

The former definition almost always degenerated into totalitarianism.

Beck has on at least two occasions denigrated the public transportation systems of France and Germany--which he cites as only one of the failures in these countries stemming from their "socialist systems" of economics and politics. I'd personally recommend he spend eight to ten years in either place (for my family, it was Germany).

Germany has a population density of almost 600 people per square mile, more than all but 4 states in the US (NJ, RI, Mass. and Conn.) so to expect the same type of transportation services is silly. Oregon with 39 people per square mile has wonderful mass transit in Portland (the only place that needs it) and none anywhere else. How would a high speed rail compete with Southwest Airlines at $99 for a flight to San Francisco (which has a train from the airport to downtown every 20 min at the most).

Please, Mr. Beck, don’t just travel someplace and pretend to understand the good and bad features of its governmental structure. I don't truly believe I fully understand the good and bad features of the German culture/government/economic system after having lived there for almost a decade.

Live in France or Austria for a period of time. Take a subway ride out to the poor suburbs surrounding Paris (I did!) and see if you feel safe (I did!). Learn to work your way through the day to day life. Get a drivers license, find an apartment, get a land line phone, get a job and pay taxes. Until then you will not understand the meaning of a democratic socialist nation. Perhaps then you will have a better feeling of whether people are happier and more secure or not.

In the meantime take a lesson learned from the late Senator Joe McCarthy and don't equate every more egalitarian "welfare" society than ours as a gigantic step towards "Atheistic Communism" (your words, not mine). Newsweek recently reported that Finland and Switzerland were the two best countries in the world within which to live. Both are as egalitarian welfare states as you could ask for.

For the record, I never feared for my life anywhere in Western Europe during the 1980s while my family and I lived there--even with the Soviet Bloc states right next door.

It's funny that Socialism is such a magic "bad" word in America. We're not talking about the totalitarianism of communism on the march, but a more egalitarian society where the gradations between poor, Middle Class, and rich are less pronounced, as it was in the 1950's while I was in high school and undergraduate classes in Cleveland, Ohio.

I'm very tired of the "Capitalist" game of who's got the most marbles. It is not only sadly funny but also poignantly destructive. I have travelled in the 'socialist' countries like Canada and France. These countries have vibrant, attractive, and safe cities unlike our often decaying aged hulks in which we fear to tread. It is my perception that the citizens of these countries are happier and more secure because they are less concerned about the personal consequences of economic turmoil. Finally, they have the most advanced mass transportation high speed passenger trains in the world. You be the judge. Why is Socialism a curse here when it seems to be working just fine for our Allies? Was Eisenhower a communist because there were 90% marginal tax rates on our richest citizens?

We've had over a decade of demagoguery now. Karl Rove took it mainstream with both Bush campaigns, and after 2010 special interests kicked it into hyperdrive with the Tea Party.

The U.S. is a nation in decline, and it is also a nation without a powerful vision for the future. Who are we? Who do we want to be? I thought Obama could articulate and push such a vision forward but he's been stopped by Senate filibusters and the Party of No at every turn.

Until Congress and the President provide a real vision for the future--and that future vision grabs the American imagination, no amount of rational argument is going to be enough to counter the angry, fearful folks like Glenn Beck from clamoring for the imaginary American past.

Beck's movement, if a movement it be, is a fascist moment--it could lead to the birth of American fascism. Reason does not apply here, but a powerful progressive vision just might, if only we (largely Congress) had one.

Who is/was the greater demagogue?
A demagogue |ˈdeməˌgäg¬| is nothing more than a charismatic leader (not simply political, but often popularly watched talking heads on television) who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational arguments.

Why in Heaven's name did God create FLEAS?

2010-12-11T00:36:00.000-08:00

And speaking of Heaven, would God really have something like this hopping around in Heaven??

Thus far, my weapons include flea traps (ugh! the flea paper sticks to your hands when you go to change it), flea powder (caused a rash on Rosie's back), flea/baby/Dawn Liquid Dish Detergent shampoo (kills nothing and makes Rosie cry even louder), garlic in dog's and cats' food (dog and two of the cats now fart under my covers), and a variety of chemicals that make me Ocean Shores' absolute expert on those chemicals that absolutely DON'T WORK!

I also bought a flea killing Fogger (a.k.a. fumigator), but haven't the foggiest idea how to get my seven cats and tiny dog out of the house for three hours of "fogging" plus an hour to de-fog the fogging agent with fans and non-existent air conditioning. Problem is exacerbated by the fact that I live on a sand bar (for all practical purposes) and sand fleas thrive on/in the peninsula of Ocean Shores.

After the past several days, I look back on George W. Bush's "War on Terror" during the first decade of this millennium with absolute fondness. And, in that regard, my own--and my dog's and my cats' "War on Fleas" has me about to the point to resorting to nuclear weapons.

At this point in time I'm broke, haven't slept for days, am unemployed and all of my pets now hate me ...

Any ideas?

"You know." ... Elizabeth Edwards

2010-12-06T15:34:00.000-08:00

A Profile in Courage ... Elizabeth Edwards

Elizabeth Edwards, the estranged wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, has been advised by doctors that "further treatment of her cancer would be unproductive," according to a statement from the Edwards family.

A source close to the family told CBS News, "She is dying." The source said Edwards would likely die within weeks and possibly days.

Elizabeth Edwards, 61, posted to her personal Facebook page a message to friends reading in part, "The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that."

The Facebook message to us all is below:

Mrs. Edwards' Facebook Message ... Click on it to read her message if type font is too small!

Okay now, am I crazy or simply mentally ill ... just a bit ... maybe?

2010-11-27T20:52:00.000-08:00

Rosie and the old man!
They say that Doberman Pinschers only weigh 132 lbs at full size, so a "miniature" Pinscher (more or less) probably will weigh 13.2 lbs ... right?

While the World Sleeps ... is Armageddon spelled Y-e-o-n-g-p-y-e-o-n-g ???

2010-11-26T11:09:00.000-08:00

Yeongpyeong after attack earlier this week

Earlier today, North Korea warned the world that U.S.-South Korean plans for military maneuvers put the peninsula on the brink of war, and appeared to launch its own artillery drills for a second time yesterday within sight of an island (Yeongpyeong) that it showered with a deadly barrage earlier this week. Four persons died in the earlier attack.

The fresh artillery blasts yesterday were especially defiant because they came as the U.S. commander in South Korea, Gen. Walter Sharp--a previous colleague of mine when he was a company grade officer--toured the South Korean island to survey damage from Tuesday's hail of North Korean artillery fire that killed the four people mentioned above.

None of the latest rounds hit the South's territory, and U.S. military officials said Sharp did not even hear the concussions, though residents on other parts of the island panicked and ran back to the air raid shelters where they huddled earlier in the week as white smoke rose from North Korean territory.

Tensions have soared between the Koreas since the North's strike Tuesday destroyed large parts of this island, killing two civilians as well as two marines in a major escalation of their sporadic skirmishes along the sea border.

What most Americans are unaware of vis-à-vis these latest attacks is that (1) North Korea is run by a man who is certifiably insane, (2) North Korea has somewhere between six and nine (eight is the official number) nuclear weapons, and (3) Seoul, the capital of South Korea--and my family’s home for more than five years while I was a scientific advisor to the United Nations Command--is less than thirty miles from the DMZ … so that launching a nuke at three million innocent civilians is not outside of the military equation.

Another “Korean War” (killed 30,000+ American soldiers last time) is perhaps only one artillery round away.

Where that would lead—with both China and the U.S. nervous as hell—is anyone’s guess.
A nuclear missile aimed at Seoul is beyond Mediawingnuts’ imagination … would we nuke Pyongyang (North Korea’s capital city)? in retaliation? … Would China enter the fray against its better interests? … What date is being bandied around by the “Armageddon crowd” … December 21, 2012? … Will our globe make it till then?

This is a great test for both the Chinese negotiators (talking to Kim Jong Il) and our State Department (Hillary Clinton) talking assurances and calm to/with the South Korean leadership. I have some confidence, but when it only might take an errant (or deliberate) single missile falling on Yongsan (my old workplace atop a hill in Seoul) or who-know-where else, well … you get the idea!

Maybe Glenn Beck is right (see previous posting just below) and we should start stocking food and cyanide pills ... who knows? Nuttier guys than Beck have been right now and then through history ...

Fearmonging is Glenn Beck's most fine-tuned talent

2010-11-23T19:05:00.000-08:00

Mr. Beck is the joker on the right highlighting the upcoming hyperinflation on everything from Cheerios to fresh fruits--as a result of Medical Health Reform and last year's reform of Wall Street regulations, of course!

For far more than only the past couple of weeks Glenn Beck has been telling his audience on Fox Cable News [sic] that not only should they consider Food Insurance (which costs between six and seven thousand dollars for a year's supply of food), but that they have a responsibility to purchase such insurance to prepare for the coming crisis. For most of the past year, his show’s commercials have also featured commercials for at least one firm that sells gold—coins, bricks and certificates of ownership while Beck has all the while been suggesting that we are not only headed for a time of high inflation, but of hyperinflation in which the dollar essentially becomes worthless.

My guess is that he will soon go into the Food Insurance business--or at least be endorsing it on TV commercials.

To support his claims Beck uses a peculiar twist of logic (though he has no college degree or specialized training in economics--look him up in Wikipedia!) and the study of the National Inflation Association (NIA). The National Inflation Association has itself come under scrutiny for their partisan leanings and questionable funding sources. It’s worth looking NIA up on the web (Google it!). My second Masters Degree was in Experimental Statistics and Econometrics and nothing I recall from all of the economics courses I took at North Carolina State University would have me come to the same conclusions as Glenn Beck’s gobbledygook.

Beck has gone as far as to claim that hyperinflation will cause the cost of a loaf of bread to rise above $20, and the cost of a Hershey candy bar to top $15. Note: The current rate of inflation is roughly 2% and has been hovering near zero for a couple of years. Unfortunately, my Social Security check reflects this and will be going up by exactly nada/zero/nothing for the coming year.

Anyway, the scare tactics employed by Beck on his show have even made me a little anxious—not that it will cost $400 per can for me to continue feeding my cats, but that people will actually begin to hoard food such that the inflation rate actually will go up by a few percentage points--but hardly hyperinflation unless we elect Glenn Beck president or something equally silly.

And incidentally, I concur with the Mormon faith’s general concern that we all have plenty of food in our homes; I only disagree with the scare tactics that GB is throwing in our faces at a time when there are far more serious concerns about which we should be taking almost immediate actions—spelled: Global Warming, START Treaty ratification, middle class tax cuts, etc.

One of Glenn Beck’s favorite closing lines is, “Don’t believe me! Check the facts for yourself.”

Well I did and I now know, as any commodities trader will tell you, it is entirely possible that food and gold prices will actually go down in the near future. This is why commodities trading is actually seen as a very risky venture.
Personally, I recommend diversifying—get a puppy to play with your kittens or get a kitten from the nearest shelter to keep your dogs exercised. It’s a proven fact that having a pet (or pets) will add far more to your life expectancy than an extra roomful of … food?

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's SUPER...

2010-11-14T19:51:00.000-08:00

Super strange, that's for sure! The Pentagon's first take on this was "Beats the hell outta me!" before it rather sort of kind of said that it was "definitely" an aircraft approaching the camera aboard the KCBS television news helicopter over the water off the coast of Los Angeles and easily within fifty miles of LAX International Airport.

Even before reading what I have to say, I'd suggest visiting a far more analytical study of the "Mysterious Missile Launch" on a good friend's website.

Even before 24 hours had passed, both the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy refused to take responsibility for that mysterious missile launch which woke up news rooms across the country this past Monday, November 8, 2010. And both the Pentagon and a spokesman for the FAA indicated that there was no radar pickup at that time.

Most curious of all (to me anyway) was the combination of a definite spiraling of the exhaust plume or contrail or whatever it was … and the definite edges on both sides of the … well, let’s call it a “contrail” although there are several reasons why that can’t be—at least not the contrail of an aircraft.

My buddy whose website I directed you to above has submitted FOIA (Freedom of Information Access) requests to the FAA and likely NASA, the Pentagon, the Coast Guard (separately) for radar data and other forensic evidence so that he can more clearly analyze the available data. First reports mentioned terrorists, North Korea and even the Boy Scouts of America after our Government threw its arms in the air with their obvious lack of knowledge as to what this was.

My best guess is that it was either an unconventional missile or rocket launch or, of course, an unconventional aircraft whose contrails don’t follow any of the patterns of what we’ve all come to know about such contrails.

And remember … the Pentagon’s first take was that it was a missile launched from 35 miles out to sea. That puts it in restricted air space—too close to Los Angeles and the International Airport there for a couple of reasons for there to have been some pre-warning. And no alerts were issued by ANYONE prior to the launch, unconventional aircraft passover flight … or whatever.

This wasn’t just noticed by the television cameras either; just visit Google.com and put in the keywords, “mysterious missile launch” before clicking on the “Images” button. Of course, you can watch the video (as taken by KCBS) on YouTube, if you wish.

Indeed video zoom shows a military helicopter whose orientation completely dismisses the Pentagon statements through the week that it was just some aircraft contrail. It WAS a missile, probably a large intercontinental missile "for show" similar to one launched during the Bush years in the Atlantic prior to his meeting with his Russian counterparts. That one was "for show," and this one has been QUITE a show for a full week.

Stay tuned to my buddy’s website for further details as they become known. I wouldn’t wait too long for our Pentagon or NORAD (also looking into it) to present anything more revealing than what we have today.

Sen. Patty Murray Wins fourth Term Here in the Wonderful State of Washington!!!

2010-11-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

She's My Gal !!!

Not everything was as bad as my previous posting suggests.

Democrat Patty Murray has won a fourth term to the U.S. Senate. Only a couple of hours ago, her Republican challenger, Dino Rossi, finally conceded the race after new vote totals showed Murray widening her lead.

Frankly, I think she would make a marvelous candidate for President in 2012 should Barack decide to step aside. I truly want to see a new, stronger and feistier Barack Obama win in 2012, but Patty Murray has EVERYTHING it takes to be a great leader.

Say "Goodbye" to Compassion and Greener Energy ... Say "Hello" to Corporate Greed (Tax Cuts for Billionaires) and Future Unrest Worldwide ...

2010-11-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, and House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio joyously discussing likely increases in lobbyist dollars in their Republican fists in the next few years as a result of the the historic Republican victory on Tuesday

Republicans picked up at least a record 630-plus state legislative seats nationwide. That's even more than the 472 seat gain in 1994, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council, and more than the previous record of 628 seats by Democrats in the Watergate election of 1974. Not since 1928 have Republicans held so many state legislative seats.

Not since 1928 ...

Need more be said?

But as unhappy as I am with the results, I recognize that the American people have spoken and, before, the second foot falls in 2012, we will have lost even the modest ObamaCare voted in by both houses and yes, the millionaires and billionaires will be rolling in money with stock market surges, deregulation of off-shore drilling and everything else that Republicans believe is necessary for America to be America.

President Obama deserves our applause for sticking to his "no-drama-Obama" guns and showing more concern for the country--and the world--than his personal or party politics over the past twenty months.

Hopefully, the inevitable "Tea Party" crash won't be as crushing as the Crash in '29.

And for that matter, we all have to remember all that Europe went through during the Nazi occupations to realize that Tuesday's Midterm Election isn't the worst that could happen to our beloved America! This classic photo of a Frenchman watching the Germans march into Paris is one of the most endearing memories of my childhood.

A Mischievous Question ...

2010-10-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

Who hates the United States Government More ... Al Qaeda or the Tea Party?

Although I have to admit (unashamedly!) that I have already mailed in my vote for Patty Murray to continue to be the senior U.S. Senator from the State of Washington, I must say that Dino Rossi (her Republican opponent up here) can at least be proud of the fact that he wasn't endorsed by Sarah Palin, the former "half-governor" of Alaska who spent most of her time in Alaska trying to see Russia from her back yard ... and her Tea Party menagerie (see not-so-funny cartoon above) for the primary election.

But at this time in our history, I think it's critically important to keep the House and the Senate in the control of the Democratic Party. In a perfect world, the Senate would become filibuster proof a week and a day from now with sixty Democrats. Then again, in a perfect world, Al Gore would have been our 43rd President and there might never have been a 9-11.

Al-Qaeda and the extreme right wing of the Republican Party have sure mucked us up, wouldn't you agree?

But surely, without that [delete four-letter word] Filibuster, Congress could get jobs bills passed, give corporations huge tax breaks to keep jobs in America, pass a fair tax bill which would eliminate the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthy and just try to keep up with the rest of the industrialized world.

Unfortunately the Republicans in the Senate have decided to abuse the filibuster rule in the same way a typical teenager uses the home phone for hours on end or use the family car to bus their friends to a football game in the next county (without mentioning it to the rest of the family).

Would you believe that even when President Obama and the Democrats in both Houses of Congress tried to incorporate some of the Republican's own ideas, they were summarily filibustered? Are the Republicans in Congress afraid of what the Tea Partiers and Al-Qaeda might say if the majority party in both Houses of Congress and the White House actually--oh, just for the sake of argument--were allowed to be a part of the governing process?

A great test might be for Obama and the Democrats to spoof the Tea Partiers and Al-Qaeda by pushing for an omnibus bill to eliminate Social Security, the IRS and the Department of Education while funding the building of (again, only for the sake of argument) a two hundred feet tall and fifty feet thick concrete wall around the entire Middle East--and our southern border, of course ... and while they're at it, include in the omnibus bill the unnecessary rebuilding of our Armed Forces to, say, twenty million strong while tripling our nuclear arsenal ... and maybe even rounding up (for summarily being deported to the South Pole) the estimated twenty million illegal immigrants working for patriotic American corporations and other wealthy Americans.

Would the Tea Partiers in Congress still say, "NO!" in lock step to such obvious Tea Party ideas?

What Al-Qaeda might do or say is left as a moot question.

Which brings us back to the mischievous question just below the still-not-so-funny cartoon above!

Which is which?

Another "Oops!" Moment for Christine O'Donnell

2010-10-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

Christine O'Donnell within a couple of nanoseconds after her debate on Monday night -- and after having heard her handler read the Wikipedia item below to her verbatim!

The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law "respecting an establishment of religion", impeding the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. The amendment is also interpreted as the constitutional origin of the separation of church and state as interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Jesus cheering at the prospect of a Republican/Tea Party avalanche on November 2nd

2010-10-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

Jesus cheering at the prospect of a Republican/Tea Party avalanche on November 2nd

Are Republicans expected to support electing someone for their state's next Senator or their district's Member of the US House of Representatives in two and a half weeks ... who support free help for the poor, free care for the sick, redistribution of wealth (gasp), and someone who will turn the other cheek when attacked?

Hell no! (Excuse my English.)

Why? Because those are all “Socialist” ideas and “Muslim” things. Why ... they're radical to the core.

But for some of the "Christians" among you, let those of us who can think be reminded that all of those ideas (and very words) come directly from the words of Jesus in the New Testament of the Bible.

Interestingly, Republicans attack anyone who supports these things as “radical, liberal, socialist, big government” politicians who will destroy our country. (When did "liberal" or "socialist" become four-letter words?)

But isn’t it the Republicans who always flaunt their Christianity? Aren't they the folks who know of secret Government labs wherein reside mice with fully developed and functioning human brains, thanks to stem cell research--another vulgar and unchristian phrase? How could they be so far away from the teachings of Jesus? Have they even ever read more than ten pages from the New Testament Books of their precious Bibles?

In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus condemns those who refused to help the poor, heal the sick, clothe the naked and house the homeless, all of which Republicans proudly stand against, because they don’t want a “welfare state.”

If you’re a good Christian, don’t vote Republican, because they stand against Jesus’ words.

And if you're not a Christian, don't vote Republican because they stand against your belief systems too. They attack goodness and compassion and stand against those from whom most of the largest corporations and corporate interests in America would steal to the point of creating hunger, disease, nakedness, homelessness and overall poverty among them.

I realize that not all Republicans are evil; many are simply misinformed and duped by scary words like "socialism," "atheist," "radical," and "big (spoken with a low growl) government." For those among you who are Republican and generally nice folks, I recommend reading The Help--a really good novel--on November 2nd,

For your viewing and edification, I suggest Capitalism: A Love Story, produced by Michael Moore and available in DVD.

With three weeks to go ... this is the only hope for a renewal in America!

2010-10-16T00:56:00.000-07:00

FDR, LBJ and BHO -- An opportunity for Barack Obama to insure a continuation of America's historical evolution towards Universal Fairness for all!

A second Economic Bill of Rights was added to FDR's 1944 State of the Union Address--it was filmed and added to his radio address. In Michael Moore's superb documentary, "Capitalism: A Love Story", he (MM) revealed that Japan, Italy, and Germany all have this Second Bill of Rights as part of their rebuilt governments' constitutions--all written after World War II.

Obviously we here in America are still waiting ...

I highly recommend the documentary--as I would any of Michael Moore's films over the past few years. I only saw this one this evening when I found it in a box of DVDs behind my bed. In any event, these are the highlights of Franklyn Roosevelt's "Second Bill Of Rights":

"A Second Bill of Rights"

Every citizen has the right to:

1. A job with a living wage (Universal Employment)
2. Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies (Universal Job and Wage Fairness)
3. A home (Universal Proper Habitation)
4. Medical care (Universal Health Care)
5. Training or Education (Universal Education)
6. One Month Vacation per Year (Universal Recreation)

A powerfully delivered speech by Barack Obama between now and November 2nd would end all talk of a Republican demolition of the Democrats on what I believe could very well be a historic date.

John Raese and Rush Limbaugh meet ... WHERE?

2010-10-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

The meeting place of two of the guys who matter in the GOP--at least between now and November 2nd

Rush Limabaugh happened to mention the following on his radio show yesterday as a (sort of) endorsement of John Raese for US Senator in West Virginia:

"I happen to know John Raese; He is a part-time resident here in Palm Beach and he has a locker right across the ... right across the bench from me at a prominent local club. I've never played golf with him, but I've met him."

Rush Limbaugh aside, I can not believe the people of West Virginia, many of whom I knew while serving as a civilian scientist for the US Air Force, would elect someone as power hungry as is John Raese. He obviously has no love for the state or he would live there at least more than half-time--he averages four months each year in West Virginia and eight months at his mansion in Florida. He just wants the power and prestige that a seat in the Senate would give him--but wants to enjoy and spend his money in his Florida home.

I have always regarded West Virginians as "salt of the earth people" with basic ideals related to their homes and families. Many of the most down-to-earth and genuine folks I've known were from West Virginia.

I hope I am not wrong.

(At least I heard no mention of encounters in the shower in the audio clip of Rush's radio show played on cable TV.)

Endorsee John Raese ... the benefactor of Rush's "endorsement"Endorser Rush Limbaugh

Besides not recalling a Supreme Court case with which she disagreed, Christine O'Donnell was a little vague about her Top Secret "China plans" info.

2010-10-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

Christine O'Donnell trying to recall a recent Supreme Court case with which she disagreed

Every Democrat's favorite Delawackoh (Republican Senatorial candidate for Delaware), Christine O’Donnell, had some--not surprisingly--vague and yet still dingbatty things to say about China during the debate she took part in last evening.

Of course, she declined to name her informants and this brings us to an incredible point: Having had a TS-plus codeword clearance some years ago, I know how difficult clearances at such high levels--this is Strategic Information, not Tactical, after all--are to come by. Thus, either the Bush Administration committed a serious criminal act (likely Carl Rove) in letting her peek at the classified information or (more likely) she is out-and-out making crapeeola up on the fly.

Either way, a criminal investigation should be begun immediately and Rove, Bush and Cheney should be subpoenaed quickly before Christine O'Donnell goes even further and discloses where the mice with fully functioning human brains are being hidden by our Government in Top Secret laboratories.

As for Christine O'Donnell's releasing the classified information on China, stem cell research and a super-top-secret manned expedition to the sun, she could easily be declared incompetent to have even vaguely realized the nature of her crimes and put in an asylum or perhaps a dog sled in, say, Alaska ... under the care of Todd Palin (Sarah's far more interesting other half).

(I must honestly admit that Christine did a credible job of appearing "normal" throughout most of the debate and has at least promised answers to the questions that sailed over her head--most of them--on her website sometime today.* And she was/is certainly better looking than Chris Coons, the Democrat who is running against her, and remembered her talking points in a noteworthy manner.)

We'll see!

* Nothing new on her website two days later!

You can tell your friends that you read it on Mediawingnuts first. Yes, Sarah Palin will run!

2010-10-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

Sarah will at least try in 2012 and be at the head of the GOP ticket by 2016!

When I first saw Sarah Palin along with most of you in August 2008, we all (admit it!) scratched our heads and thought to ourselves, "Sarah who?" Since then, she's gone on to become the most recognizable female face on TV, and even has some half-respectable credits to her name (heroine of Tea Party, author, etc.)--once she quit her day job.

So today, when it comes to Palin, the question on most of our minds is, "Will she or won't she?" The Tea Party continues to build momentum and has positioned Republicans to possibly decimate the Democrats in Congress--if not win both houses--in November, largely as a result of her timely endorsements. Let's hope that common sense prevails and that the Democrats will at least maintain "control" (or what seems like control) of the Senate.

But November results aside, as of today (October 6, 2010), I hereby predict that the second dizziest broad in politics (no one can beat Christine O'Dumbell in Delaware for that honor) will be in the race to be the Republican nominee for President in 2012--and will at least be second on the ticket then. To give the Republican Party an air of credibility [sic], she will likely either allow a Mormon (Glenn Beck or Mitt Romney--you pick!) to run with her at the head of the ticket--or select one of them to run with her, if she beats them in the primaries.

The primaries will be a tussle, but I think her rabid followers will either beat off or come close to beating off Beck and Romney (or even a Newt Gingrich go at it) and at least give her good shot at top billing. If she isn't the nominee, she'll make it hard for any one of them not to include her on the ticket. She remembers what sank the GOP in 2008--and it wasn't her name on the ticket! It was the crashing economy and after she was named to the ticket, McCain actually surged ahead for about a week.

I know that and She knows it too.

Remember, you read it here first!

The Fabulous 2010 Ocean Shores "Penguin Scare"!

2010-10-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

I'm simply a common Murre Uria Aalge! Sorry for the scare.

Finding low priced real estate in Ocean Shores is becoming "the thing to do" among the big Real Estate investment firms, so why shouldn't a Murre Urea Aalge look over our superb beach? But the above photo made it all the way into our local rag, the North Coast News, so it needs some explaining, I suppose.

For the record, I clipped the following from an online "Bird Finder":

Natural History

It might be easy to mistake this bird for a penguin, with its white belly, dark head and wings, and upright posture. But common murres aren’t even related to penguins. Common murres are pelagic seabirds—they spend eight or nine months of each year continuously at sea. Those short wings are perfect for diving and “flying” under water.

Conservation

Because seabirds spend so much time on the surface of the water, and because they congregate in large groups for nesting, they’re very threatened by oil spills. Murres dive deep—as deep as 200 feet (60 m). Unfortunately, this puts them in danger of being trapped in gill nets, where they drown.

Pesticide compounds found in the eggshells of murres in California pose a threat to future reproductive success.

Cool Facts

Common murres don’t build nests like many birds. Instead, the females lay their eggs on bare rock or soil on steep cliffs. Fortunately, the pear-shaped—or pyriform—eggs stay quite safe there. If an egg is disturbed, it pivots around its pointed end, whereas an oval egg might roll off the edge of the cliff.

A murre chick leaves the cliff in dramatic style. Even without proper flight feathers, it hurls itself off the edge and glides down to sea—a drop of 800 to 1,000 feet (244 m to 304 m). The male murre escorts the chick out to sea, where he feeds and cares for it until the chick can fly on its own.

You know ... She's beginning to grow on me ... in a flaky sort of way!

2010-10-05T17:28:00.000-07:00

Christine O'Donnell ... of mice and men fame

Christine O'Donnell, the Republican nominee in the race for Vice President Joe Biden's old U.S. Senate seat in Delaware, released her first television advertisement over the weekend. Responding to tapes that have surfaced of television appearances she made in the 1990s, she declares in the ad: "I'm not a witch...I'm you." Here is what she said.

Although her midnight picnics on a "bloody" Satanic Altar is the most quoted and youTube'd, I still prefer her more recent claim in 2007 that US company scientists (working for the US Government while doing brain cell research) have developed mice with fully developed and functioning human brains. That one is her classic IMHO and even caught right-wing Bill O'Reilly off guard on Fox Cable News.

Chatting with one of my sons this afternoon, our conversation happened to roam in the direction of the Senate race in Connecticut ...

2010-10-04T23:08:00.000-07:00

A just-released Quinnipiac Poll shows ex-World Wrestling Entertainment exec Linda McMahon within easy striking distance of Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal

Although I suppose I shouldn't have an opinion on a Senate race three thousand miles away, I gave it a tiny bit of thought -- spelled: G-O-O-G-L-E.

As the former WWE CEO, McMahon built an empire that peddled violent, sexually explicit material that glorified the exploitation of women, and the mentally disabled. In this regard, she properly pointed out that her husband was the “wrestling fan” and she was simply the “money manager.”

Yet, it's some of Ms. McMahon's “management” record outside the ring that is raising questions, particularly the use of steroids within the WWE in order to “bulk up” both the WWE wrestlers and the WWE profits. The bottom line for Connecticut voters might boil down to the fact that although steroid abuse was known to have run rampant under her watch at the WWE, her handling of the WWE funds (she and her husband are multi-multimillionaires) displayed superb money-handling skills and brought boku wrestling dollars into Connecticut.

Apparently Mr. Blumenthal has a blemish on his record too, having allowed the implication that he was a “Vietnam veteran” slide by several times without his having corrected the statement to be understood as “Vietnam era veteran.”

In any event, the Quinnipiac Poll shows Blumenthal, the Democratic nominee, with a 51%-45% lead among voters likely to head to the polls Nov. 2. This despite the fact that 72% of those responding said they believe Blumenthal has the right experience to be senator, compared with 39% for McMahon, the GOP candidate. Thus, although she's a political rookie, she may be the one Senate seat that returns the Senate to the Republicans.

I do wish though that Ms. McMahon weren't of the strong belief that the Minimum Wage was “unconstitutional” and will be among at least seven newcomers calling for it to be repealed. It’s so easy to attack those for whom seven-plus dollars per hour is a lot when your own family … well let’s just say … she and her husband have amassed seven dollars times a very large number.

Bottom line: anything can happen and both candidates seem like nice persons, all in all.

(A vote for Blumenthal seems safe, I'd say.)

This Posting is a Cut-and-paste Job, to be sure .... But oh, so True! Sadly, Racism is Alive and Well in America in 2010 ...

2010-10-03T21:32:00.000-07:00