Monday Musings and Ramblings

Another week, another set of random thoughts.

In the Revolutionary War, we called him Benedict Arnold. In WW II we called her Tokyo Rose. In Vietnam we called them Jane Fonda and John Kerry. Today we call them Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore, Sean Penn, Jane Fonda (again), and many other names. There are a few names I would like to call them, and do in private.

Comedian James Gregory says he doesn’t mind flying once year because it allows him to catch up on his drinking and praying.

Why is it that Rafael Palmeiro has incurred all this indignant wrath from fans and sports reporters, yet nothing is being said about Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire? Oh, and what a shock that Bonds says Congress should stop investigating steroid use by ballplayers. Sort of like Jesse James saying lawmen shouldn’t try to catch bank robbers.

If you're bidding on a job for UPS, don't send your bid by FedEx.

Cindy Sheehan gets all the news attention. This father of a Marine killed in Iraq gets none. Surprised? By the way, notice that the father is holding a cross with his son’s name that he took from Sheehan’s little get-together in TX. Who gave her permission to use that name for her political purposes? For that matter, did she have permission to use any of the names?

If your computer says, "Printer out of Paper," this problem cannot be resolved by continuously clicking the "OK" button.

It seems that the NY Times is upset that Kansas will allow 14 year old girls to marry. I wonder why they are not up in arms that the same state will allow the same girl to have an abortion. Oh wait, I think I know.

Monday Musings and Ramblings

I am beyond tired of all those insipid popup spam ads. They only work on complete and total idiots and simply annoy the other 95% of us.

If Ted Kennedy wants so badly to punish people for past occurrences, why won’t he come clean about Chappaquiddick?

From the dubious mind of Cindy Sheehan - “If George Bush truly listened to God and read the words of the Christ, Iraq and the devastation in New Orleans would have never happened.” There you have it – If Bush had only read the Bible, Hurricane Katrina would never have hit the US, and Saddam would never have killed thousands of innocent people.

Comedian James Gregory says when a weightlifter will tell you he can lift 400 pounds, you should reply, “Why? Don’t you have a jack?”

I will gladly forget Jimmy Buffett’s political leanings in order to listen to his music. However, you will not catch me watching a movie (after Bull Durham) with Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn (except for Fast Times at Ridgemont High) or Janeane Garofalo. Nor will I ever purchase anything associated with Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, or Michael Moore. Of course, those things are related to taste as well as common sense.

The First Realizations That You Are No Longer In College Include:
You're waking up at 6 am instead of going to bed
Beers at lunch get you reprimanded
The four food groups are no longer beer, pizza, chips and cereal
Sneakers are now 'weekend shoes'
Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one
Pregnancy now brings thoughts of tax deductions instead of coronaries
The only drugs you take are Tums and Tylenol
Wine appreciation expands beyond Boone's Farm and Mad Dog
You actually eat breakfast foods at breakfast time
Golf begins to seem a lot less silly

Iraqnam

Let’s all assume the Leftie Yoga Stance. Stand with your feet spaced apart. Now, bend forward. Further. Now, place your head between your legs. Bend your head back up and place it firmly…let’s just use the old phrase “where the sun doesn’t shine.” Now that you are in the position, chant the mantra.

“Iraq is like Vietnam…Bush lied...no WMD’s…War for Oil...”

Let’s step back and take a look at Vietnam.

Jane Fonda was embarrassing herself.

Lefties aligned themselves with socialists and communists and took anti-American positions. By doing so, they encouraged the enemy to hold on and fight back. When this was pointed out, they howled that someone would dare call them unpatriotic.

Members of the military were treated with disdain upon their return home by idiots with severely misplaced ideals.

The national mass media wrongfully reported successes (Tet) as losses and only reported bad news. Good news was totally ignored in a desperate attempt to discredit the administration and push their own political agenda as ‘news’.

Hmmm, I guess they are right after all about Iraq becoming another Vietnam.

Monday Musings

A short version today – it’s been hectic this past week.

I heard that Sean Penn tried to launch a “rescue boat” carrying him and his entourage including his personal photographer from a freeway ramp in New Orleans and the boat began taking on water immediately. It seems that someone had forgotten to reinstall the drain plugs. They were bailing water with dixie cups. I certainly hope Penn’s photog got some shots of that.

I know it makes me sound like an old man, but today’s high school bands aren’t what they used to be. Today, they play the same halftime show all year long. True, they get pretty good at it by December, but isn’t that boring? We used to learn a new show on Monday and play it that Friday, then start over again. Makes for some anxious moments, to be sure.

Written inside a first year Latin book - Veni vidi flunki

I have noticed that almost everyone who comes out against the Fair Tax book by Neal Boortz and John Linder have either not read it or are simply lying.

I don’t know if it’s just because I’m lucky or what, but I wound up with a wonderful wife and great kids.

200 MPH Ramblings

Does Dale Earnhardt Jr have to be in every commercial break?

I have given up trying to figure out Nextel point standings. This past weekend, the race began with Jeff Gordon ahead of Ryan Newman in the standings. Midway through the race, Newman was 2 slots ahead of Gordon who was now 1 point behind in the standings. Then Gordon passes Newman and gets ahead of him by 7 or 8 slots. So now Gordon is back ahead in the standings, right? Nope, he was still behind, the announcers told us, without quite explaining why. Only later, when Gordon was 10 positions ahead of Newman did he finally get ahead in the standings again. Later, Newman was only 4 or 5 positions behind Gordon when the announcers informed us he had passed Gordon in the standings. Gordon finished 2 positions behind Newman and wound up 30 points down.

Congratulations to Kyle Busch for becoming the youngest Nascar race winner ever. Of course, after the race here comes some bozo with a mic (as if carrying a microphone automatically makes you smarter) asking about how frustrating it was trying to get that first win. He’s asking a kid who can’t buy a drink in a bar until next Spring about being frustrated that it took so long to win a Nascar race.

Jeff Gordon was very complimentary as always in his post race comments, while we heard last week that Junior says if he loses in the Nextel Cup Race, he hopes Gordon loses, too. Seems Junior is not wanting publicity all of a sudden. Cut to a commercial break where the first 3 commercials are all about Junior.

By the way, when Junior had car trouble and pulled into the pits, the cameras and announcers all dutifully followed him as he slowly pulled into the garage, waited patiently for him to get out, and then began an interview that lasted a good 4 or 5 minutes. All of this happened while there was still the small matter of a race still going on. Of course, Junior was no longer driving around (in 30th place), so the network must have figured no one wanted to see it anyway.

Junior fans get on Gordon for having been ‘handed’ his career. Seems that some think that Gordon's daddy made it easier for him early on, and they are mad because he did not have to ‘earn’ his way into Nascar.

This is coming from fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr? Hello, Kettle, this is the Pot…

Relief Effort Rant

I am angry. Livid. Ticked off.

I do not suffer fools lightly. That is one of my biggest failings. I have such little patience with stupidity and with people who don't at least put forth an effort. Today I have stumbled across a nest of fools.

The comedian Gallagher (the one who smashed watermelons) had a bit where he discussed a dam (I think it was the Hoover Dam). He recounted how, on a tour, you could see the button they did not push that would have prevented a spillover that had occurred. He would point out they sat and watched the water rise as they debated about what to do. They could have prevented the spill but did not and then he would look out at the audience and ask, "Do you know why?" Here, he would begin slapping his hands together for effect as he gave the answer, "Because WATER CAN MAKE A DECISION."

This year, I reneged on my promise to my wife and again got involved with the PTSO at our son's school. I went through three years of fighting with bureaucracy and idiots as first the secretary, then vice-president and finally president of a PTA a few years ago. After that, my wife said we had done our part and we could volunteer to do things but no more getting sucked into being on any boards. Until this year, we had kept to the deal.

So, in talking to the PTSO president, I said we really need to do something for the Katrina victims. We were on the fringe of the affected area but got off easy compared to MS and LA. Seeing as how we in this area have gone through a lot of storms, including Camille, Frederic, Ivan and now Katrina, we have a lot of empathy for those who are suffering. I thought we could collect money at the school by setting up collection jars or buckets in various locations. She said we had to run it by the principal. Okay, no problem.

When school re-opened today, I went to one of the vice principals and explained our idea. I was given a brush off of an answer along the lines of, "I'll have to speak to the principal when I get a chance, he wants to coordinate the various collections." Okay, again no problem. After finding the PTSO president, who had heard from some of the other board members, and hearing their ideas, I agreed that it would be best to not collect money. Rather, we would collect school supplies and school clothing for those who had relocated to our area and would begin attending school here. Now this was a superb idea. I volunteered to head the effort, to get it published in the local paper, even try to get a mention on the local TV channel asking for donations.

When we re-approached the vice principal, the stone wall was again put up. She still had not spoken with the principal but would do so soon. I reiterated that I needed to know by lunchtime, as I was under a deadline crunch for publication in the paper. She assured me it would be no problem.

As the lunch hour approached, I returned to the vice principal's office to get an update. Had she spoken with the principal yet? Of course not. She was too busy working on the plans to make up the football game that had been postponed. Yep, there are priorities, you know. She said while she had not yet mentioned it to him, she knew that he did not want to do anything until he had studied some ideas, and gotten together with the school board, and coordinated, blah blah blah. Besides, several local churches have already collected a lot of things. Translation from Bureaucratese to English: We are not going to do anything, unless we can assure we can take full credit for it, and we don't know why you won't take the hint and quit bothering us with trivialities.

I was about twenty seconds from throttling someone, so I simply left. I went back to the PTSO president and informed her that I can't do this. I'll volunteer at some church or agency that will actually do something useful.

This brings up another point. My wife heard a local center, although small, was being used to house some of those who were left homeless by Katrina and had found their way to our city. She went there to volunteer, only to find an empty center except for the two ladies wearing their best "look at me I'm volunteering" outfits who she overheard discussing how nasty those refugees are. After speaking with the person running the center, my wife discovered that some locals in that upscale neighborhood had complained that these refugees dared walk around at night, and you know how that reflects on our neighborhood. So, the people in the center were relocated to another larger shelter in a nearby town.

You want to blame someone for what has happened since the hurricane? Don't blame Bush, or those in his cabinet, or even the governors of LA and MS. The fault lies at the feet of those career bureaucrats, most of who are appointed not elected. It's these middle management types who mess everything up because they are actually the ones responsible for making a decision (remember the dam button?) but won't do so. Bush doesn't micromanage everything, he delegates to subordinates who delegate who...and so on and so on. Somewhere down the chain, a weak link middle manager will find a way to screw up. It happens in large companies, it happens in the military (I have ten years personal experience on that count), it happens in all walks of life. The larger the network, the more levels of middle management, and the more chance someone will mess it all up.

The Sky is Falling...Again

RIP William Rehnquist.

How long before the gloves come off and the shrill attacks start up in earnest again? I would not look for democrats to go down quietly. The judicial branch has been their personal domain for a long time, a safe haven where they could lick the wounds from the constant battering they took in the voting booths over the last few years.

Instead of analyzing why they were on a losing streak reminiscent of the 1976 Tampa Buccaneers, they put their collective fingers in their ears, mumbled “nyah nyah nyah I can’t hear you” and placed all their eggs in the basket known as judicial activism. If you can’t get a law passed that suits you, and you can’t get your candidates elected, and you simply can’t get a majority of clear-thinking people to agree with your extremist agenda, then simply wait until a judge oversteps his position and makes law for you. As has been documented by many, almost all liberal ideas that have borne fruit have done so not from public opinion or passed laws, but because of judicial fiat.

Now that the President has a chance to shape the supreme court for some time, the lefties are panicking. The rhetoric is going to be ratcheted up a few notches. Liberals are seeing their last bastion of power swinging away from their grip, and they are none too happy. Stand by for howls of anger. Predictions of back-alley abortions, police states, trampling of civil rights (as well as trampling of those who support such rights)…nothing is too far out-of-bounds for the lefties, who never met a scare tactic they didn't like.

Remember the cries of how the evil right was going to starve schoolchildren, kill old people, shoot minorities, and shred the constitution? Remember the speeches mentioning mysterious reports of blacks being intimidated at voting precincts (heaven forbid one should dare ask for ID to prevent voter fraud) or turned away and denied the chance to vote (this one was proven, except it was merely a case of some people being told they were at the wrong precinct)? When an activist liberal court tried to overturn state law and reshape it to benefit Gore, the Supreme Court stepped in and said, Whoa, Nellie, you can't just make this up as you go, you have to actually follow the law as written. The Chicken Littles have since steadfastly marched in lockstep with each other, ignoring all evidence, facts and even proof from leftie newspapers, claiming in unison that the election was "stolen."

The Chicken Little Lefties have shouted about the sky falling so many times, crying wolf without the slightest provocation, that you now anticipate it. It’s like a script for Three’s Company – you know the actor’s line before they say it. You know what will happen next, and knowing it takes the edge off just a bit, although it’s still entertaining to watch them make a fool of themselves (quick – was I still speaking of the TV show?).

Stand by for an apoplectic show of gargantuan proportions. The Lefties may be figuring that if they are going to go down, they will go neither peacefully nor gracefully. This may well be one of the longest, most milked death scenes since Halloween and Friday the 13th, not to mention just as scary.

Monday Morning Musings

After a breakfast of crisp bacon, link sausage, scrambled eggs, grits with salt, pepper, butter and a bit of cheese, flaky biscuits with a side of grape and strawberry jellies, hash browns, cold milk, fresh orange juice and hot coffee, these tidbits are served.

The above opening is my personal homage to one of the greatest jounalists, sports writers, and editors of all time - Tom McEwan of the Tampa Tribune. I grew up reading his stories. Almost every Sunday, he would do a column of assorted thoughts and musings. He would always begin with the breakfast list. I wish my posts could be half as interesting as his columns.

It looks as if the wild rumors of cannibalism in the French Quarter turned out to be less than accurate. Go figure. Evidently, Mr. Robinson completed the Dan Rather Correspondence Course in Finding Sources.

I was checking my blog page and saw 4 comments. I must admit I got a bit excited. I had reached out and touched someone enough to cause them to take the time and effort to respond. This was exciting…for about thirty seconds, until I saw all four comments were spam with ads in them. Sigh…

I did get a nice response from a close family member who shall remain nameless (thanks, Mom) who said that even if she had not been told that I wrote the blog, she would have known it was me after reading it. Sometimes it’s okay to be predictable.

We watched a very, very good show on National Geographic channel the other night. Called “In The Womb”, it covered the development of a fetus from conception to birth. I couldn’t help but think out loud, “hoo boy, the pro-abortion crowd would howl if they saw this.”

I missed a week of work at one of my jobs. I am not about to complain, however. Especially when I have met so many in the last week who have lost not only their homes but their jobs as well. It’s mind-boggling to try and comprehend the total impact of this natural disaster (notice I used the term “natural disaster” to imply it’s no one’s fault).

AP ran a national story online the other day. It stated that the victims of Katrina were poorer than the US average. Okay, let’s review. The people who lived in the poorer sections of downtown New Orleans and did not own cars and thus had a harder time trying to evacuate, and the people in rural Mississippi, are poorer than the US average. Next up on Breaking News – People who stand in the rain tend to get wet, film at 11.

I am a lifelong Atlanta Braves Fan. I don’t care that they have not won more World Series. I know of a lot of fans who would give anything to make the playoffs every year. But this year, it just seems a little bit special watching the enthusiasm of all the rookies they are playing. And they are still winning.

Last night I watched two shirtless kids playing soccer on the golf course behind our house. Who says the South is not diversified?

Of course I have an ego

I will draw a parallel on the previous subject of opinions. I was going to include this in the post on opinions, but I felt I was getting a bit long-winded. Bear with me, that is an ongoing problem of mine. From everything I’ve heard and seen, it’s hereditary.

When I was in high school, someone asked me if I had an ego. I answered yes, we all have egos. They immediately said oh no, not me. But I explained my reasoning on why I said that.

Each day, you are faced with thousands of decisions from the time you first awaken until the time you go to sleep. Little decisions, big ones, in-between ones. When you wake, you must decide when to sit up. How much time will you lay there? When will you stand? What clothes will you wear today? What will you eat for breakfast? Will you skip breakfast? Should you go to work today, or risk calling in sick? Drive or walk? Left or right? When someone nods to you and says good morning, do you look down? Reply? Smile? Shake hands? Kiss them?

It’s not just huge decisions such as do you sell your house today, or quit your job. It’s also small mundane things. All of these are decisions.

Here comes the tricky part. On every one of these decisions you make each second of every day, you are making what you believe to be the best decision at that point in time for that choice. Otherwise, you would not make that decision. So, you are making what you believe to be the best decisions all day long, by the thousands. Subconsciously, you believe that you are always right. That fits the description of ego.

I know what you are thinking, and yes, I actually did date in high school, and quite a lot. But I did a fair bit of thinking as well. Also, notice I said you believed you were right at that particular point in time. I am not saying anyone is perfect and never makes mistakes. Nor am I saying we never recognize our mistakes. Even those are choices. When you realize you actually made a wrong decision, you are faced with more choices. Do you admit it? How do you correct the mistake? How do you ensure you do not make that mistake again? It just keeps going on and on.

So, yes, I have an ego. I always think I am making the right decision. I always agree with myself, even if I later change my mind. I am, after all, my own best friend. I am always together, I sleep with myself, I even shower together. Now that is true closeness.

You can't judge me

Let’s discuss opinions.

One of the silliest things I have ever heard goes something like this, “You have no right to judge me, you arrogant jerk.” You can switch the last phrase with any number of replacements. We’ve all heard someone utter something very similar to this at one time or another. It doesn’t matter whether or not the comment was directed at you, you’ve heard or read it.

People who think they have the “right” to not be judged have long been one of my pet peeves (Side note – I’ve got a ton of pet peeves and we’ll hopefully get to a lot of them over time). Let’s just examine that belief.

I would love to see the origin of this laundry list of “rights” that grow each day that have somehow been bestowed upon people by birthright. If you want something, the quickest and easiest way to achieve it (without actually working and earning it, that is) is to loudly proclaim that it’s your “right” to whatever. Someone will fall over themselves to cater to your whims as soon as you begin braying about your “rights”. What about my right to not be annoyed by people claiming their “right” to a home, a car, a job, a certain way of life, a retirement, a college education, etc., etc., etc. Where does it stop?

Second, let’s look at this whole “judging” thing. According to the dictionary, the definitions of “judge” include:
- To form an opinion or estimation of after careful consideration
- To determine or declare after consideration or deliberation
- (Informal) To have as an opinion or assumption

So, in effect, those who utter the phrase we began with are judging that the person they are addressing is not qualified to have an opinion. One of the saddest things about this is that the irony completely escapes the speaker. Anyone who would say that phrase obviously does not understand the concept of circular logic.

I have yet to meet the person who would use this phrase who is actually in a position to take away my ability to form an opinion. Therefore, they do not have the capability to inform me that I can’t form an opinion on them and their actions.

We all form opinions, on a daily basis. You are forming an opinion of me and my writing as you are reading this sentence. When you look out the window in the morning, you form an opinion on how the day’s weather will be. When you are walking down the street, and you encounter someone you’ve never met, you instantly form a beginning opinion based on available information, i.e. their appearance. Granted, the opinion may be wrong, and it may change, but it’s useless to deny that the opinion exists.

Try to not form opinions. Your head will explode.

When most people use the “you can’t judge me” tactic, what they usually mean is, “you can’t disapprove of me." Now this is a completely different can of worms. This person is saying, in effect, “I am offering you information on me, by my actions. You will form an opinion on these actions, it’s human to do so. However, you are not allowed to form opinion A, only opinion B is allowed.” Says who? Doesn’t that rather negate the whole “forming an opinion” cycle?

Well, that’s only my opinion.

Stoking the racial fires

Randall Robinson is a supposedly serious journalist who is known for his book on white reparations titled, "The Debt - What America Owes Blacks". He has posted a strange accusation that has led to some spirited debate, to no one's surprise, I am sure.

Mr. Robinson leads his post with "It is reported that black hurricane victims in New Orleans have begun eating corpses to survive. " Nowhere does he offer any source. Nowhere does he offer any backing evidence. Nowhere else have you heard of this since it appeared over 24 hours ago.

Predictably, the responses have come down on both sides of this accusation. Try to think of an issue where you won't get someone to take a position contrary to all common sense and logic. You could utter the most assinine idea and you will get someone to agree.

Years ago, when I was living in California, there was a story out of San Francisco that the city council was allowing NAMBLA, the North American Man Boy Love Association, to use city property (specifically libraries) to hold their meetings. Think about that. A group whose stated goal is abolishing any age of consent, a group whose sole purpose in life is to make it acceptable for grown men to have sex with children, babies, even infants, anytime, any place...this group was being supported by tax dollars by the city of San Francisco. There were people who were elected City Councilman by voters who approved of this. Today, years later, it still boggles my mind almost beyond the point of comprehension.

My response to Mr. Robinson is as follows:

1. You have now joined the rank of race warlord, alongside Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. You go public with unsubstantiated (dare we say lies?) "rumors" (Tawana Brawley, cannibalism). You hurl racial insults under the guise of pointing out racial problems (Hymietown, America is a "monstrous fraud" because whites are letting blacks become cannibals). You inject race into any situation where it might benefit you.

2. You say, "no one has come to help them." You may want to turn on a TV or radio there, Randall. Or pick up a newspaper. Or go online. Or open your eyes.

3. You refer to the hurricane aftermath as "This defining watershed moment in America’s racial history" and "the lowest moment in my country’s story." You may want to open a dictionary to the page with the listing for hyperbole.

4. You say, "But what can I do but write about how I feel." While this has been answered many times sufficiently in the responses, allow me to reiterate the general feelings -- you can donate money, goods or time to any one of a myriad of organizations beginning with the Red Cross or the Salvation Army. That, and quit posting irresponsible accusations.

I also want to address one of the responses Mr. Robinson received. Someone who signed themself as "Cornelius" posted the following:

"It is objective truth that white America does not care about diverse African Americans. It is not enough that there be affirmative action. We, as African Americans, are being portrayed as looters. Just because one steals a TV after a hurricane does not mean anything when you are eating corpses after four days without food. White america needs to pay up for past wrongs, and past hurricanes. How dare America segregate African Americans and force them to live below sea level. Why is it when white people take food, it is called "searching for food." But when African Americans take a TV from Walmart it is called "looting." Racism, that's why.

In order for America to prove that it is not racist, it must rebuild New Orleans above sea level."

My response -

1. One man's "objective truth" is another's outrageous slander.

2. It's okay to steal a TV as long as you've eaten a corpse??

3. White America needs to pay for past hurricanes?? Just which hurricanes did White America cause, Cornelius? Did we do that before or after we invented the AIDS virus to wipe out blacks? Whites have to pay for past hurricanes??? Good grief, does your entitlement EVER end?

4. Find ONE SINGLE black who was segregated and "forced" to live in New Orleans....Just one....go ahead, we'll wait...

5. As to why taking food is called "searching for food" and taking TV's is called "looting", perhaps it's because munching on a Zenith won't do much for your digestive tract. Do you REALLY want to compare those who took food and medicine to those who were shown rolling carts full of Air Jordans and those who stole every cadillac from the dealership?

6. Rebuilding NO above sea level would prove America is not racist? How about we just make everyone an instant millionaire? Or bring MLK back from the dead? Why something simple like rebuilding a huge metropolitan city and raising it serveral feet in the air? That's wayyyy too simple

Overall, I am heartened that the majority of the responses are logical, taking Mr. Robinson to task for pushing his agenda with unfounded and unsubstantiated "reports". There has always been a fringe contingent, as I previously noted. By the way, the fringe exists on both sides. Democrats could run a glass of toxic waste for office, and Republicans could run an amoeba, and they would both receive 25% of the vote. That being said, the leftie fringe tends to be more self-righteous, much louder, more ridiculous in their stands, and much more obnoxious. But it does make it so much fun to respond to their crazy wackiness.

Hurricane Ramblings

I live in an area that is on the outskirts of where Katrina hit. In fact, if you leave New Orleans and drive east, the first place you’ll find gas is where I live. Guess how the gas lines look in my neighborhood?

This may be seen by some as being insensitive, but I did not begin this to change my views so as not to ruffle feathers. Besides, in today’s world, any opinion will ruffle feathers, and one thing I strongly believe in is having opinions. But that’s another post for another day.

Right now I want to focus on some ramblings about the hurricane and its aftermath.

I think it’s despicable for some to try and make political hay from this by slamming the President for “causing” Katrina. I am quite tired of hearing that global warming caused this, and Bush is of course solely responsible for global warming.

First, you can’t even get scientists to agree on if global warming even exists, much less what is causing it, or how much humans can even affect it. True, those on one side of the issue are getting all the press, but that is a function of the selective media, and must be taken with a grain of salt. Or a silo of salt.

I have read where some are actually blaming Bush for ordering the levees to be intentionally destroyed. Presumably this was done in order to make the oil barons even richer. Yep, no conspiracy nutjobs here. By the way, did you know that Karl Rove invented a time machine and Bush used it to travel back in time in order to destroy the dinosaurs? Darn those oilmen.

I have met several people who left LA and MS and have lost everything. I have such sympathy for these people. I have no idea what they are going to do to recover, but I know the American spirit will prevail and one day they will be back on their feet.

I genuinely feel terrible for the people I have encountered who have lost everything. I have a much more difficult time trying to work up sympathy for those who are rioting, raping, looting, and demanding to be given help in New Orleans. They disobeyed a mandatory evacuation order, they destroyed the Superdome, they broke into stores and steal. Yes, I know, we have all heard about having to steal in order to live. But the funny thing is, most of the looters I saw were carting racks of designer clothes, or expensive jeans, or stacks of high-end sneakers from Footlocker. I heard about a Cadillac dealership near the Superdome where every car was stolen. Yep, those Escalades will sure fill a man’s belly. And, I suppose if you are planning on walking to Houston, 10 or 12 pair of Air Jordans will get you there.

Sorry, but when you take a rifle and shoot at doctors trying to evacuate sick people, or when you shoot police who are endangering their own lives and forsaking their own families in order to try and save others, then you have just forfeited any sympathy that might have come your way.

The media is playing the blame game right along with the detractors, seemingly horrified that dead bodies are left by the side of the roads while rescues are taking top priorities. Alright, let’s play that little game. Let’s suppose the rescuers were to devote time to collecting dead bodies. Do you think anyone else would die while this was happening? Now let’s all imagine the outcry from the media and the left wing hysteria crowd if that were to happen. Why, those evil people ignored live people and let them die while they were picking up corpses who were past help! Here’s a bonus question – who do you think the lefties and the media would blame if that were the case? They do love to play that blame game, after all. So, they intentionally try to make it a no-win situation where they can blame the administration no matter what.

I can assure you from first hand experience that dead bodies have not been just left laying around. At the very least, there were members of the Coast Guard collecting bodies. I have personal knowledge of some who spent days collecting bodies before being evacuated with their families. You want to discuss trauma? Talk to these people. But by and large, the main focus has been on finding and saving the living, and rightly so.

We lost power here, and there was scattered damage, but mostly we came out alright in this area. We are doing what we can to help, and will continue to do so, just as we did after 9/11. I think that is much more constructive than laying around and seizing the opportunity to score political points.

And so it begins...

Why am I doing this? Who knows...

Do I think I have all the answers? Certainly not.

Do I think my opinion is that important, that it needs to be shared with others? Nope, again.

Am I tired of reading, hearing and seeing things that are blatantly wrong, things that make me want to scream, things that make me shake my head and wonder if I truly am from another planet, as I used to insist during the disco heyday? Ahhh, now we may be getting closer to the answer.

Do I really have the time to devote to a serious blog? Lord, no.

Am I smarter (or as smart) as a ton of people who already have blogs? I'd prefer not to answer that one.

Are my views being heard? Certainly, if you ask my family. The question should be more appropriately phrased as, Are my views being represented in the blogosphere? I can't think of a single view that is NOT being aired. How long before there are more blogs than people?

Then why? Why do this? Why start something you have precious little time for doing, something that will likely not be read by many, something that will duplicate a lot of effort?

Again, the answer must be, who knows? I have wrestled with doing this for some time. Yes, I have an ego, but I don't really consider this to be necessary for the world to keep revolving.

The bottom line is that I just need to ramble on now and then (as you can already see), and this happens to be the forum I chose to do so at this point in time.

So, if you are unlucky enough to have stumbled upon my musings, sit back and enjoy a journey wherever my mind and heart happens to take us.