Musings

This year has quickly slipped by ...


Another shot day has rolled around, and I must also see the RA doctor this afternoon for a checkup. I was supposed to see my family doctor for a six month check up this morning, but her office phoned yesterday and said she is ill and postponed me until December. This will make more than a year since I've seen her. My last appointment in April was postponed until now because my doctor was ill. I think I see the light! She checks her appointment list, sees my name and gets sick. I make a lot of people sick.
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I suspect that between McCain and Obama, more than a billion dollars will be spent in purchasing the presidency. Directly or indirectly, this is money that was hard earned by taxpayers, and I don't hear either candidate giving more than lip service to campaign reform. Our nation should not be allowing this deceit to go on. At least Sarah Palin got a new wardrobe.
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Why is the stock market still in free fall after having been given all that bailout money to help bolster it? Glad you asked. The market itself did not get the money; it has to wait for the old Republican whimsey of trickle-down economics to bolster it. Big time movers and shakers are getting the cash infusions from our treasury.
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Alan Greenspan, the former Fed chairman that helped W create this financial crisis, is saying it isn't his fault, but that his thinking was flawed. Rocks don't float!

Actually, ordinary citizens are the only ones whom face a crisis. The super rich could care less about anyone's economy. The ordinary rich will benefit from this; some as the meltdown happens, and others on down the road. I've never seen a poor or middle class rich person, and the smart money stays with the smart rich.

The dove perches in the same
place each morning before deciding
which feeder it wants to visit.


The weather has taken a turn for the cooler in East Tennessee. Up until yesterday it had been stifling hot.
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I haven't been off the place to make photos since the last day of August. I did get a few decent ones in the back yard, though. I've had a case of late summer blahs. Carolyn and I didn't get to take any days away from home this year because of fuel prices, and we are both feeling it. Hopefully we can get to Cade's Cove for a couple of days when the leaves turn. I could use a good dose of nostalgic Americana.

Carolyn has to work Saturday in Piney Flats refinishing floors for one of her customers. The weather is supposed to be pretty and mild Sunday, so maybe we can get out and get some photos. If we can afford gasoline.
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I read that the oil companies raised their wholesale prices by about twenty cents when Ike was in the Gulf of Mexico. That means that if you paid more than twenty to twenty-five cents per gallon than what you had been paying, you were being gouged and ripped off by the stations. My local Sunoco went from $3.54/gal to $4.00. Crap like that is partly to blame for the rush on the stations, and not necessarily consumer panic concerning supply. Since Friday, the price has gone to $4.08/gal, and will probably keep increasing. I really don't blame some people for pumping gas and then driving off without paying.
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The economic and financial crises that is eating up investments and tax money could not have been any better for the Democrats. "The economy is basically sound" McCain is showing his complete lack of understanding of how our capitalist market economy works. Well, I don't understand it either, but I'm not running for president. Palin probably knows more about the price of shotgun shells and rifle ammo than she does about any kind of large scale economics.

In 1979, Jimmy Carter put Paul Volcker as head of the Federal Reserve. He is the man that got this country back on the road to being financially sound, but his Reagan appointed successor took credit while at the same time rubber-stamping anything the Bush boys wanted, which sent the economy into the ever deepening spiral we now have. The Republican appointed Fed heads have agreed that the tax rebate of Bush's first term and the economic stimulus payments were things needed to get the economy rolling in the right direction. Neither worked. I will toot my own horn and say "I told you so" concerning the "economic stimulus" payments of earlier this year. Sometimes I am amazed at my own brilliance!

We need another Paul Volcker! Or maybe he will consider coming out of retirement and setting things straight.

And Moses lifted up his hand, and smote
the rock with his rod twice; and water
came forth abundantly ...


I may have to take my pre-cold-weather bath a little early this year. I went out at 7:30 this morning and four buzzards were circling the house. I tried to take a photo of a stink bug, but my olfactory aura must have offended him and he flew off before I could get his portrait. Hope the rains that we should get from hurricane Ike are warm enough for this hated task. If not, I will go to the creek as usual.
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Obama has a new tv ad slamming McCain for being computer illiterate. What the hell has that to do with anything that is disastrously wrong with this country? Is this how he intends to spend the millions in donations he has and will receive? If elected, will he pick up a handful of Potomac mud and sling it at our enemys?
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I read that McCain has edged ahead of Obama in the polls because whites are now embracing him. Is there still a lot of racism, loathing, and prejudice amongst the white folks in this country? You bet your ass there is. Will rational people prevail and elect Obama? Probably not. I suspect Obama will have to get both hands dirty by slinging enough mud to make voters fear McCain, just the way the Bushies did to "win" the last election.

I have been feeling poorly the past few days with old man prostate problems again. I haven't been away from home except to get my shot Friday past, and I rode with Carolyn to Elizabethton yesterday, and to the bank today. My temp. last evening was 101.3°, but has since come down to 99.7°. Just more aggravation that old men sometimes have to endure. I'm feeling more-and-more like chucking most of this medicine I'm taking.
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Haven't felt like making photos since The Roan on August 31, and I am bored out my ass.
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Politics is till just finger pointing. Neither candidate has a clue as to how to fix anything wrong with this country, so they do a lot of posturing and name calling to try and cover their ignorance and stupidity. Another thing they seem to have a big problem with is a little concept called truth. Seems they think Americans would rather believe a promising lie than the sad truth. I too believe that. Sarah Palin is still a rookie, and her handlers really don't know which non-truth to tell about her.
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Mimosa pods


Not much going on today. September is always a "not much going on" type of time in my life. Lots of family and old friends have birthdays this month, but still it is more of a time of transition for me. Football season has begun, and the cooler mornings are a sure sign of impending autumn. Darkness comes much earlier now, some leaves are beginning the annual change from green to brown, and there are tiny crickets all over the place. Squirrels are growing longer hair on their tails, which they use for a blanket. Back in the day, a lot of years we would get frosts by late September.

The early morning and late evening walkers that move up and down my street are wearing jackets and long pants. The resident robins have been gone for several weeks, but we are getting some transients in migration. The days are quiet now except for an occasional wren calling or a blue jay fussing over something he considers very important. Much of the summer haze is now gone from the sky, and there are very few lightning bugs left.

For me, the first day of September represents the first day of autumn, even though the sun is still three weeks from equinox.
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The jobless rate for the US is at a five-year high of 6.1%. Obama-slamma-bydamna better jump all over this piece of news. He is going to need all the bad news he can find to beat McCain and Palin. Palin: Isn't she cutest of the cute!?

Democratic Representative Charles Rangel, the chairman of the Ways and Means tax-writing committee doesn't pay taxes on some of his property. He apparently is also a New York City slum lord. I don't come close to liking his looks! His appearance is like one of the old-time Tammany Hall thieves.

Democratic Senators Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad received lower interest rates on some mortgages from a good old boy at Countrywide Mortgage. You and I cannot get those kind of interest rates. Dodd is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

This is exactly the crap Democrats campaigned against in 2006, and the very thing the voters entrusted them to fix. In reality, there isn't a dimes worth of difference in Democrats and Republicans making themselves wealthy at the expense of the middle-class public.

John McCain et al. are claiming the days of special interests will be over in Washington if when he is elected. Where and when have I heard that before? Oh, yes; every election since Nixon took over in 1968 has carried that particular garbage of a promise. Tell us exactly how you intend to accomplish it, Mr. Wannabe. What makes you think you can convince the fat-cat Congress to pass any law that will kill their cash cows? Or are you going to take more power away from the people like your twin has done the past eight years, and maybe issue a Royal Decree or a Papal Bull? Are the American people still gullible enough to fall for this spiel? Of course you are!

Wake up, America!

Another dull day in the 'burbs. Got my shot; whoop-de-do!
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The Fed chairman is reporting to Congress that the financial crisis is taking a toll on the economy. I suppose that by hearing it from someone will be the only way our lawmakers would know about it, because they are so isolated from it. If I need a tooth pulled, I will check to see if I can come up with enough money to pay a dentist. If a president or his henchmen, a congressman, or a Supreme Court judge needs dental work, they just have a limo carry them over to Walter Reed Hospital for free care. They could give a damn less how much pain you and I are in.
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Obama is going to reveal the answer to the big mystery! Tomorrow we should know whom he has picked for his second in command. If it isn't me or you, then to hell with it; it doesn't matter one iota.
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McCain doesn't know how many houses he owns. However many it is, I bet the mortgage payments aren't too awfully high. I also bet he doesn't know how many servants he owns, either.
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I feel so badly about Obama and McCain being merely wealthy instead of members of the super rich club.
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Reckon either of those two gentlemen ever sit down and surf blogs like this one to see what Jane and Joe Average think about things? Probably have a servant do so once a year or so and report the highlights to a loyal secretary (personal assistant) whom conscientiously files them away for them to read later. They listen to the heartbeat of America!

Barack vs the Anti-Christ

Is Barack Obama really the anti-Christ? If he is, what purpose does the anti-Christ serve except to scare the hell (literally) out of Christians? What makes American Christians think they are God's chosen people? Hasn't He already made that choice; weren't the Isrealites Jehovah's chosen children? Oh, I see. The Children of Israel (nee Jews) deemed Jesus as not being the true son of God of whom the prophets foretold. I suppose God demoted them and we Blessed Citizens of the United States of America sort of slid in Heaven's door ahead of anyone else and before it closed.

There is no reason to think that Obama is the Final Destructor as described by the gibberish of the Christian Book of Revelation.* And don't pretend that you know what the passages in that book really mean! George W. Bush would come closer than anyone I've known to fitting the description of anti-Christ, yet American Christians seem to love him.

Did you ever wonder why God needs so many demons, devils, and anti-Christs to keep Christians in line? After all, He is all-powerful. Isn't God loving you and you loving God enough? It would seem men needed and created these hideous, evil-doing creatures from places like Hell, Naraka, and Tartarus to help keep himself in line. If that be true, the Christians whom embrace these beliefs cannot have enough love of God in their hearts, and they are actually denouncing their Creator in a back-handed way. Shame!

Let's allow Barack lie to us the same way John and George are doing. After all, it's just politics.

*One time I messed up and called it Revelations, and a passing reader jumped all over the fact I made a mistake.

Skipper


I see the illegal invasion of the sovereign nation of Iraq has placed more than $85 billion of taxpayer money into the hands of civilian contractor buddies of Bubba and Dick. According to news reports, there are 190,000 contractor workers over there, and about that many military personnel. That means each American fighting person should have a personal valet or gun toter. This is all just crazy.
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China started cheating in the Olympic Games before athletes went to work. Their singer was just as fake as the communist government. Communism is just one big lie, wherever it lives.

Not much happening in my little piece of paradise today. Noticed news of another war being declared somewhere in the world. Hope it isn't one of those silly holy wars. All wars are silly, but a war of, by, or for religion is plenty stupid.

Carolyn had to work today, refinishing floors for one of her longtime customers. Of course her two-year old floor machine broke before the work even began in earnest. I took the crew some lunch from the Cottage and saw that there was nothing I could do to get the scrubber in working order, so we had to rent one to finish the job, It is now 8:00 pm, and she has yet to finish the work that they started at 9:00 am.
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The two doofus candidates are continuously accusing each other of one thing or another. I shudder to think that one of them is going to be president of this country. They should do like Andy Jackson did when some one affronted his dignity; challenge them to a duel! Pistols at ten paces but this time the winner being castrated on the spot. With the winner on the run over the hill to save his nuts, maybe a real man or woman would step forward to lead the nation. The problem with this is that McCain is too old to need his scrotum anyway, so he won't be losing much but a few disgruntled hormones. BO will want to keep his manhood in case an intern requires training.

A pox on both of their houses!

Boone Lake Saturday night


As we were people watching and awaiting sundown at Watauga Lake last evening, Carolyn offhandedly said as she looked out across the wide water, "I wonder if there are any sharks in there?". I thought it over for a moment, then I told her I didn't know, but there probably aren't. There are times to keep one's mouth shut. Fortunately, she doesn't read this blog or even look at my Flickr photos.
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I read where Obama got selected president in Germany. Well, that is a good start, I suppose. I wonder how he would fare in Iraq or with our dear friends the Saudis?
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The in-fighting is getting good in the Democratic presidential circus. Jealous Jesse Jackson versus Badass Barack Obama is making some news. The Reverend Al Sharpton is refereeing, but seems to be siding with Jackson. See it all on pay-per-view for only $49.95.

Does anyone know what the hell the Right Reverend Jessee Jackson does for a living? I've known of this man for many, many years, but all I ever see him do is stick his nose in somewhere. Not to say he hasn't helped in certain situations, but what exactly does he do to earn a living? I've always said that my biggest failure in life was not becoming a preacher and hitting the television and political trails as the permanent underdog. Maybe it isn't too late! Please send donations via PayPal and I will offer up a prayer for you. Sign your Social Security check and send it to me immediately. God wants you to do this, so don't take a chance on forever burning in the hellfire of Hades. Do it! Now!
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I see where Ted Stevens, the long time Republican Senator from Alaska has been indicted for concealing loot and stealing money from the the American taxpayers. Wonder what kind of spin Fox News and Bill O'Reilly will put on that? Well, at least he didn't accept a blowjob form an intern!
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Terrible thing the shooting in the Knoxville church. Some are blaming Rush Limburger and other right-wing extremists for the tragedy; I blame the wacko whom did the shooting. Limbaugh and his ilk are more into situation comedy than politics. They are laughable. I better shut my Liberal mouth before a sicko comes gunning for me.
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A Flickr friend sent me an email early this afternoon saying he was being all shook up by an earthquake near Los Angeles. I told him to get outside immediately when he felt something like that, and that he could wipe his butt later. He is an old hand at those things, so he will more than likely be ok.

McCain MacAfied

If John McCain becomes president of the USA, will everyone and everything in the Executive Branch be MacAfied similar to McDonald's? Will he want to be called Mr. MacPresident, or be referred to as the BigMac? Of course he shall have a MacCabinet around him with MacAdvisers, much like a MacBurger has MacFries, and each of these MacInsiders will have his own MacStaff whom will be peppered about like MacSalt. The MacCabinet will be required to attend morning MacBriefings wearing MacRonald McDonald clown MacSuits, and lower MacStaff MacMembers will wear MacHamburglar MacOutfits.

McCain must have a MacOval Office and a MacBlue Room, and press MacConferences will be held in the MacPress briefing MacRoom. He will have a MacHot line to every MacLeader in the MacWorld. His MacFinger will always be near the MacButton that can launch MacNuclear MacDestruction upon our MacEnemies. How MacPissed is he at the MacVietnamese MacGovernment and the MacPeople therein whom MacTortured him for MacYears?

Will he force a MacBill through MacCongress that recognizes McDonald's as the MacOfficial MacEating establishment for the good old MacUSA? Will there be a McDonald's franchise on the aircraft carrier MacRonald MacReagan?

As I MacWrite this, McCain has yet to decide on MacWhom shall be his MacRunning MacMate. He may choose MacSomeone—possibly a MacWoman—from the MacEast, because of the high MacVoter count there, and having a MacWoman aboard the MacElephant MacExpress should help close the MacGender MacGap, and pull in some MacMinorities whom are MacLeery of MacO MacBama.
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I tried spell checking the above, but the checker went haywire. A portent of the McCain administration maybe!?

Super-size my MacHappy MacMeal!

Iraq! Love it or leave it

Yankeepez has me thinking again; he does that a lot. I am thinking of John McCain's extension of Bush's plan to keep troops in Iraq for a long, long time.

Should we leave? When should we leave?

The reason I was very anti-war to begin with—other than it is morally wrong to attack a sovereign nation just because our president doesn't like their president—has to do with the complicated political and economic realities of the region. Show me one person or any group of persons whom say they are Middle-East experts, and I will show you one liar or a group of liars. Sure, there are a few people whom know a lot about the region and its problems, but there is not a one that understands it well enough to say, "I know what is wrong and how to fix it".

The main fact is the people of the region, including Israel, don't want us there. We are seen as invaders and occupiers, and even worse, infidel invaders and occupiers. Do you understand Muslim religion and how it is interwoven into the lives of these people? Do you understand the history of the Gulf region? The Muslim religion is their lives! It is their history!

The only reason I can think of for still being in Iraq is to keep that nation's oil out of the hands of Muslim fundamentalists like those whom control Iran. Does Bush really want democracy in Iraq? No, but he does want the free flow of oil to keep coming to the big businesses that paid for his appointment and election.

If you don't like the price of gasoline now, you darned sure aren't going to like what comes when the US pulls out. Not only will the price skyrocket even compared to what it is doing now, but you will see the same supply situation we had during the oil embargo of 1973 when our good friends in Saudi Arabia cut us off. You remember the Saudis, don't you? The Muslim nation that gave us Osama Bin Laden and most of the 9/11 hijackers?

So we pay a price for the present administration's idiocy and greed. Either keep sacrificing our service people to the Holy Oil, or be prepared for this nation to grind to a near halt in its ability to do anything that is based on the use of imported oil.

No, I'm not for McCain's proposal to "win"; I know it can't happen unless we bomb the entire region back to the stone ages.* Nor am I for Obama's plan to pull most troops out in less than two years because I believe it will cause utter chaos and we will end up bombing the hell out of them anyway and have to return our service people to an even worse slaughter. Don't forget to look over your shoulder, because the biggest player of all in this situation isn't saying a lot right now. Instead, China is quietly buying and stockpiling all the oil that it can, using the money you spent for their cheap goods, a lot which were manufactured by an "impressed" prison labor force.

We have our selves in a lose-lose situation, and there is no 'lesser of two evils' here. I see no way out unless someone comes up with a miraculous and quick alternative to imported oil.

*To say the truth, I'm not entirely against bombing them into history, but it is unrealistic. I fear any kind of strong, religious uprising anywhere in the world. I fear that religion will eventually pull us all back to the stone ages. At the present, I am afraid of Christianity more than any other communal faith because it is so widespread and downright sneaky and hypocritical, but the thought of uncontrolled Muslim fundamentalism gives me chills in my spine.

Not a heck of a lot to talk about today. Carolyn looked at another job for a possible bid. That in itself is a rare thing these days. She used to bid on three-to-five jobs a month, now one every three months is exceptional. If she bids on this one, it will make the third this year. With inflation, companies are cleaning their offices using their own people. It saves money as long as no one gets injured while doing janitor chores, because these firms usually don't buy the expensive workman's comp. insurance. If a regular office employee incurs an injury while cleaning, the employer will not be insured and stands to be sued. If that happens, having a professional cleaning service would have been much cheaper and the cleaning in most cases is better done because the regular office employee doesn't want to be there after hours anyway.
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I see where one of McCain's advisers has had to step down (fired!) because he called the rest of us "whiners" for complaining about the economy. He was telling the truth, and apparently we are being heard. How can anyone be more out of touch with real people than the Republican Party elite? It was President George W. Bush's fellow Texan and indigenous loud mouth ex-Senator Phil Gramm whom made the remark. He also said Americans are in a "mental recession" instead of an economic one. I bet that son-of-a-bitch hasn't been in a grocery store personally to buy food for his family in decades! What the hell does the stupid bastard know about an economy that working people have to deal with?! His economy is fine! He is wealthy, as are most of the Republican big-wigs. As puppets of big business, all they know how to do is shovel shit on our plates and and we've been pretty good at eating it for the past 40 years!

Phooey!
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Going to be gone a couple of days... hopefully back Sunday night.

In the meantime...

Think of our presidential candidates as pasture patties. There is the new fresh one that is still damp and runny, and there is the one that looks decent (for what it is) but has sold its soul for a day in the sun, and there is the old one that's lost its substance to the point it isn't even good fertilizer.

These piles of poop want to be president of the United States. Being a good president isn't even a goal for any of them. It boils down to the same old, same old. Avarice and greed drives them, and money and power are their goals (and gods).

Wake up America... is this the only choice we have? My choice is to shun the lot of them. You do as you please on election day, but I will vote by not voting. Will my vote make a difference? No, it won't. Will your vote make a difference... ?

Taking a day or so away from tramping...

Does anyone besides myself find the world situation with oil prices alarming? Yes, the lack of direction from out elected leaders is causing problems, as is the dearth of any coherent foreign policy by the Cheney administration. The "war to liberate Iraq" has played a large roll in this mess, and will continue to do so, probably as long as there is oil to be pumped from the ground.

In my opinion, the biggest piece of the oil puzzle is the greed of the major producing nations—especially the worst enemy the United States has at the moment, Saudi Arabia—and the desire to control the world's oil reserves by Communist China, which will soon replace the Sheikdoms as the worst enemy of the "free" world.

China has a lot of oil of its own in the ground; lots of oil. China is also buying every drop of oil that becomes available on the spot markets and is driving the futures market, causing a big part of the present fiasco. It is a fiasco for everyone but China and the producers/exporters. Someday, it will become a miserable spot for the latter because Beijing will own the biggest part of what oil is still available.

Ever notice on newscasts from China how crowded the center-cities are with traffic? Yes, they do have a traffic problem, but have you noticed that away from city centers, there is very little automobile traffic? Even in the worst of traffic jams there, you see a lot of bicycles, many more bicycles than cars, actually. Folks, let me tell you what you already know—those bicycles get very, very good gas mileage. Between the cars and bicycles come the motor bikes. Not big Harleys or Hondas, but small machines the size of Vespas (basically a motor-scooter) and such. They don't get as much gas mileage as do the bicycles, but it is still pretty darn good.

Now, if you ever get a chance to see what the communists don't want you to see, look what is driven mostly in small and out of the way places. For god's sake, they are still using ox carts! A bunch of those around, too, and they get excellent gas mileage. Very few autos in Smallville, China, and not a lot of motorcycles, either. Other than the ox cart for things like we use a pickup truck, they mostly ride bicycles.

So what is China going to do with the oil they are stashing? Produce more and more shoddy merchandise for their own people, plus keep flooding the world with crappy goods, because soon enough, the communists there will be the only ones manufacturing anything.

I better stop now, 'cause I've made myself mad again.

Don't Get Me Started

In a blog today, someone "When did running for president get unfair, rude, predictable, tiresome, and most of all patronizing and condescending?" The short answer is; since day one, or at least the election of 1796 between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. It was nasty, but in a more genteel way; duels were the quick fix of the era.

The real good stuff started with the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828. This was the beginning of today's Democratic Party, but was nothing like the soft and semi-liberal party of today. Jackson was an "anything goes" president as far as his friends and supporters were concerned. To cross him was political suicide; just ask Davy Crockett of Alamo fame. Jackson reigned in the banking system which was good, but he hadn't fully understood all the consequences. Jackson also removed the Southern Indians (Native Americans) from their ancestral lands to reservations in Oklahoma. This was so his big political "donors" could control the lands. Jackson was a Tennessean, but I'm none too proud of his presidency.

Ever since Jackson, things have gotten worse; so much so I have tuned out of the "system" and instead, I do everything I can to pull it down. I refuse to be a part of anything so degrading as American politics.

I could go on with this for pages and pages, but like you, I would soon be bored, and also I would be mad on a beautiful day that deserves better.

......

Two months from today will be the first full day of SPRING. Just 62 more days! Politics be damned!

The Lost Tomb of Jesus—A Slight Return

This is a continuation of yesterday's sermon concerning the documentary about the tomb of Jesus, which I watched with keen interest. I did not watch the Critical Look show that followed because I wanted a clear picture so that I could make up my own mind.

First of all, I don't think that the show even rates as scholarly.

I have been trained—ever so slightly—in the craft of news journalism. What I saw last night, by today's standards, was about par, especially for video sensationalism. With journalists like Nancy Grace and Glenn Beck on CNN, and anyone that considers himself/herself a journalist on the Fox News Network, I find the documentary okay. After all, the only reason that we have ever heard of them is because they have an agenda that sells ad time for the networks.

But, for real journalism, The Lost Tomb of Jesus, Nancy Grace, Glenn Beck and their compatriots on The Fox News Network, just don't fit in anywhere. And I'm not really disappointed that the show was not a true documentary. It was what I expected.

Mr. Jacobovici failed to convince me that this find was the tomb of the Biblical Jesus. His best evidence is that the names on the coffins are the names of family of Jesus. I am unconvinced that this isn't coincidental. He used only one statistician's say-so as proof. There needs to be more statistical evidence; much more. The inference that I got was that the 1-in-600 ratio could mean that every sixth-hundred tomb dating to that general time could have the same set of names on caskets. There were probably thousands of tombs such as this and many of them would have been in or near Jerusalem. Of the thousands, some could have had the same markings.

I will dismiss his DNA evidence as concluding very little. In fact it actually proves nothing concerning the who-what-when-where-why and how that a news journalist is interested in. I also believe that science takes this general approach when confronted with a theory.

To give Mr. Jacobovici credit, he says that he is offering the show as a possibility and not as fact. Actually, even this cannot stand up to any kind of scrutiny because of the use of actors to portray people and places. As a cop on and old television show used to say, "Just the facts please".

I believe that this show was made for entertainment, at least I will take it as such because it was rather enjoyable. Many more of this genre have been produced over the years, either pro or con of popular spiritual beliefs, and I suppose that many more will be made; at least, I hope so. This drama is no better or no worse than many of them. Bringing to light any evidence supporting or contradicting a controversial subject can be considered nothing but good for all of us in the big picture. If the producers wanted to present the show as possible facts, they should have, in the very least, provided a much greater degree of evidence. Their evidence should have been examined by many more experts in the fields that they used on the show, and all findings should have been placed before the public. They knew that it would raise a controversial stink in the way that it was presented. It seems that they got what they wanted.

One problem that any of them have, pro or con, is that most scientists won't delve too far into the subject because they would have to assume a negative proposition (faith that Jesus is the Son of God) and real science doesn't deal with the ideology of faith, only the facts. A tomb with coincidental markings is just not enough facts.

In the end, I cannot support or deny that the tomb of the biblical Jesus has been found. I can agree with the producers that it is possible. And that is not a leap of faith, because there are no facts that this Jesus or any other is the son of any god.

A five minute news show could have explained as much as this drama did in two hours

George's Fence of Desperation, or, How to Help Republicans Get Reelected

So we're going to build a 700-mile-long fence on our border with Mexico. What the hell is that going to prove or prevent? It will give illegal aliens several years work building the damn thing. Can you pronounce Halliburton in Arabic and in Spanish? Ii and Si. It is pronounced as "We get what we want".

Will said fence prevent the importation of weapons and biological agents?

George W. Bush has to be the most naive person that I've ever heard about. He just don't get it and he doesn't want to get it; we stop the illegal immigration from within, not on the border.

• Stop giving jobs to illegals and make employers pull jail time along side the illegals they hired, then deport the whole bunch
  
• Stop George W. Bush and the "big business can't do anything wrong" attitude that permeates the Republican Party
• Stop the welfare for illegals
• Vigorously protect our Ports of Entry
  
• Pass and enforce laws protecting America, its citizens, and all of its borders
  

We kill people that kill people, so why not severely penalize people that take away our hard earned way of life? Make the punishment fit the crime! My dad bled real American blood in Belgium in WWII, and he carried shrapnel for the remainder of his life from his wounds. His and the sacrifice of countless others should not be trod upon in the name of "business", or for any other lame conservative cause or excuse.

This coming election day, put the congressional politician's feet to the fire. Vote in new blood all the way around, even if it means voting Democratic. Folks, I'll admit that modern day Democrats aren't much, but they are better than what we've been handed by Bush and his clones, with their in-your-face lies and smirky* little grins. Maybe the "L" word isn't so bad, after all.

But, if you don't vote, I can't say as I blame you. Whomever is elected will be getting elected for themselves, not for you and me.

*Google the word "smirky". A big part of the entries have Dubya's name in the article.