Stop this Prince insanity......

Here is another reason I dislike the television media.

Prince Harry.

Did you know that he has been serving in Afghanistan? Did you know he has been doing it in secret? Did you know that he was the first royal to serve in a war zone since his Uncle Andrew served in that huge Falklands Island war with Argentina?
Great now that we all know this important information can we please stop talking about it.

I mean I find it admirable that a member of the upper class would actually put themselves in harms way while rich people in this country (who actually support this war) refuse to sign their children up for it.

But that is where I draw the line. I am not a British citizen. The United States does not belong to the commonwealth of nations. So why must we over kill about a royal family that we no longer call our own.

I respect the young Prince, even though he had nothing to do in gaining the position and novelty that his life is, he has been trying for a long time to be in the midst of the situation that his fellow soldiers are in.

However again I must ask why why do we actually care about this story so much. He went, was found out, and now he is on his way home…. END OF STORY

Mr. Bush (your royal lame duck ness) do you see how that Prince went after the TERRORIST. Maybe your daughters will get the hint and help look for BOMBS instead of getting BOMBED themselves.

Ford tries one more time...

Well Ford motor is giving the choice of buyouts once again, and once again I am going to pass the buyouts up.

It’s not that I enjoy working on the assembly line, and it’s not that I will miss showing up everyday (ok most days)

The only reason that I will be turning down the buyouts is because I can’t afford to take the buyout.

I understand that to the rest of the world, at least those that listen to the news, think that the higher end payout is a good deal. So did a lot of the people who took it the first time around.

$140,000 as the top prize (for those who are 55 years of age, and have at least 10 years of service, and the ever popular $100,000 for those who don’t qualify for the $140,000 seems like a lot of money. However that is before taxes have been taken out.

A friend of mine who took the $100,000 package received just over $60,000 after taxes. Of that he had to use a portion to gain insurance for his family, some to get his bills in order and then quite a bit to keep the family going until he could find a job (which in Michigan is kind of hard at the moment) of which made nowhere near what he was making, and gave him no insurance.

Now some people did make out with their buyout. They however all had over 25 years, were given about $30,000 in cash, and were allowed to keep their benefits just as if they had retired at 30 years.

A few of my friends took the education buyouts, and a couple of them might have a chance of getting a good job after all is said and done, but there are a lot of rules surrounding these buyouts, and it is not like they just go to school, they still have to get jobs to pay their bills. The funds received for this buyout go mostly for education.

I wish I was in the situation to take a buyout. I would love to wake up in the morning and know that I wouldn’t have to go into the factory anymore. There are many of us that wish that same thing, but in the end we have no other choice but to stay where we are, and hope that the company can get their act together so we can all benefit from the future.

Mr. Bush you only have 328 days, 1hr 31min and 23.8sec left in office. Do you think you might be able to get some real TERRORIST before you leave office, or are you content to just continue to BOMB civilians because you can? Just a question.

I OWE WHAT ????

So there I am, doing my least favorite thing in the world, sorting through the days mail and opening up a bill.

It is the cell phone bill, one that I was sure was going to hold a surprise for me. Oh let me tell you that I wasn’t let down. The grand total was a whopping $603.

That’s right $603. I thought it was a type-o also, so after I pulled my jaw off of the floor, I checked it again. Nope I was seeing straight it said $603.

I couldn’t believe it. I grabbed the phone and went off to call the phone company. Lets call them the “running real fast” company.

After pushing a series of numbers to get through the system, I was finally able to gain access to a “very nice” (notice the quotes) Indian lady.

I must be fair she was nice, however she wasn’t very helpful. After giving me the run around about not being able to access my account I “kindly” (quotes) said thank you and hung up.

Ok so I just hung up on her.

At this time it was time to eat, and then take my daughter to play rehearsal. I then came home and tried to call the “running real fast” company again. Once again I ran through the push buttons from hell, and then found myself again talking to another “nice” Indian lady.

This one actually tried to help me figure out why my bill was so high. She placed me on hold a number of times, giving the impression that she was looking in detail at my account. Yet each time she came back on the line she was just as confused as before.

I knew what the problem was. We had just up graded to better phones and were supposed to receive in store rebates, but for some reason the company didn’t give us the in store rebate, and now she was telling me that I had to go back to where I purchased the phones to get a mail in rebate.

I tried repeatedly to explain the situation to her but she just didn’t understand what I was saying. I kept seeing the image of Jerry Lewis as the Chinese character in the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” All smiles but no substance.

I finally had to hang up with her(of course I could put more quotes around the way I left that conversation), and decided that I will just go to the store tomorrow to see if I can get an understanding from someone who might actually be able to understand the situation.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not prejudice. I don’t dislike Indians. I don’t dislike people with accents, my Grandfather has a thick accent, and because of it I am able to understand what other people with accents are saying. What I am saying however is that I hate the fact that I have to talk to someone half way around the world, and then not be able to communicate the situation correctly.

All I know is that I better be able to get things straightened out tomorrow at the store or I am going to go ballistic 603 times. Once for each dollar they say I owe them.

Hey Mr. Bush, found any new Terrorist with Bombs lately. “Bad Muslim goes Boom” said Mr. Bush

What does the world think.

What I want to know is what people around the world think about what is happening in the United States? Not just those who might have spent time in the U.S. but also those who get their information from their local sources.

It is easy to see how things are going from a Michigan point of view, a California point of view, or even a Alabama point of view. But I want to know how people from Brighton England feel about the U.S.

I want to know how people in Tokyo see us, I want to know how people in Kiev see us.

I would like to know if we are truly perceived as the good guys, or the bullies. We in America always think that we act in the best interest of everyone when we act, however there are many times that we find out, after the fact, that we are not doing the right thing.

We also seemed to be vehemently outraged when ever anyone around the world says something against our judgment. (Freedom fries)

We here in America have to remember that every great nation will gradually fall from its power, and most of the time it is because they become singular in purpose while thinking that we are doing so much for others.

We can only be great leaders if we have the backing of those that follow us. We can only be a great world leader if we have the backing of the rest of the world. If we don’t then we look (as we have under the Bush Administration) like fools.


[This is for the wire tappers TERRORIST, BOMBS, ANTI-BUSH]

Exercising my 1st amendment right.

I am appalled at how my Government is attacking my 4th Amendment rights of protection against warrant less search and seizure. They want the power to tap into any phone line they wish, read any mail, e-mail or snail mail, regardless of content.

They say that they are trying to keep Americans safe from terrorist attacks, and that they will only use the taps on international calls. However I still don’t see what the problem is with getting a warrant. I know I have posted a blog about this subject before but it just blows my mind that my Government would do such a thing.

How are they going to determine which lines to tap? Are they going to grab lines of people they already think are tied to terrorist organizations? Or are they going to blanket the system in search of such words as terrorist, bombing, explosion ect…

I am tempted to use those words in every blog I write just so I know that there is somebody reading it.

Maybe if I am lucky I will get a letter from the President telling to stop being a pain in the Governments collective asses.

Please explain this to me...

I went to buy my son his very first baseball bat today. He wants to play little league and while he has had a mitt to play catch since last summer, we never got around to getting a bat. So off to the sporting goods store my son and I went. We knew we had to find a bat that was rated for little league.

How was I to know that there would be so many different kinds.

There were balls for little league, tee ball, youth league, softball, slow and fast pitch, and adult fast pitch baseball.

There were thin bats and thick bats, short bats and long bats, wooden bats and aluminum bats. Enough bats for a Dr. Seuss rhyme.

Now this alone was enough to shock me. When I was younger all they had were Louisville sluggers, and now they have bats from Japan and China, but this wasn’t the thing that shocked me the most. What was the biggest shock was the sticker price.
They ranged anywhere to $20.00 to $300.00. I had to pick my jaw off the ground. How in the world could a bat be so expensive. Granted the $300.00 was the adult bat, but the little league bats still topped out at about $180.00.

Of course I bought one that was on sale for $20.00, but even that one regular price was almost $50.00

I would love someone to explain to me just why a bat that a nine or ten year old would use has to cost so much. I asked one of the workers about it but he had no idea as to why this was the case.

It just floors me that a sport, which had once cost so little to participate in, now is beginning to creep up in price.

I just hope he is good enough at baseball as to one day be able to afford his own equipment.

President Bush makes me feel so safe. NOT

"Good morning. At this moment, somewhere in the world, terrorists are planning new attacks on our country."

This has got to be the worst statement Bush has yet to say in his term in office. I can't believe that the so called leader of the freest nation in the world would have the nerve to try and scare the American people this way.
He claims that if he doesn’t have the right to invade the privacy of the American people at his will then there is a problem. Has he never heard of the 4th amendment.

4th Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

There are many people out there screaming about “we have got to kill the enemy before he attacks us, and the only way to do that is to eves drop on peoples conversation.” There are many people out there that say “if you have nothing to hide then why should it matter?”

First of all.
There have been people since the creation of this nation that have wanted to attack us. There are people in this nation that if given the chance would aid in an attack on this nation. Yes the worlds terrorist are the new threat to us, but they are not the first nor will they be the last.

Second,
The "President" has the FISA court in which to gain his warrants.

What is the FISA court? The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act resulted from extensive investigations by Senate Committees into the legality of domestic intelligence activities. These investigations were led separately by Sam Ervin and Frank Church in the 1970s after certain activities had been revealed by the Watergate affair (see the Church Committee report). The act was created to provide Judicial and congressional oversight of the government's covert surveillance activities of foreign entities and individuals in the United States, while maintaining the secrecy needed to protect national security. It allowed warrantless surveillance within the United States for up to one year unless the "surveillance will acquire the contents of any communication to which a United States person is a party". If a United States person is involved, judicial authorization was required within 72 hours after surveillance begins.

It is a very simple procedure. The President, or the Government for those who wish to defend Mr. Bush, has to only ask the FISA court for the warrant. There has only been a few times in the courts history that they have refused to give a warrant to the Government.

Third
If the Government has the need for the warrant, a need that is so great as to go after the parties as quickly as possible, and they know that they have up to 72 hours after they start the wire tap then why should it be difficult to obtain the warrant. For heavens sake why start problems for yourself if you don’t have to.

I am in favor of going after those who would want to terrorize anyone in the world. However, I am also in favor of protecting the rights of the American people. You can say what you want about “if you don’t have anything to hide then why worry about it.” I don’t have anything to hide, but that doesn’t mean I want the Government to spy on me. That sounds more like the Soviet Union, or China than the United States of America.

People that claim they are for our freedoms but would allow this President to hold us down in fear, should prepare for your rights to be infringed upon. Believe it or not some of our enemies are not foreign at all but the may in fact be terrorist, and one of them may live at 1600 Pennsylvania ave.

Here is an opinion on the whole deal why Bush is getting mad at the House of Representatives. It is not for the surveillance portion of the Bill that Bush is upset about, the House seemed willing to work with Bush about that issue. What they didn’t want was to give the Phone companies immunity from lawsuits for turning over information on Americans to the Government without warrants.

The American people are going to have to wake up. They are going to have to start making their Government accountable for their actions. We don’t have to live in fear. There is a great chance that we will be attacked again, and God knows that the Republicans are hoping that the attack happens under a Democratic administration so that they can say “We told you so.”

We need to live by another motto’; “If you attack us you will awaken a wrath of such magnitude as to curse your people for many generations.” I guess it is a little bit much but we need to get back to we will defend ourselves, but we do not start the fight.

Where can conservatives go?

I know this is a loaded question.
I know exactly where they can go, but what I am talking about is after the elections.

For years we have heard die hard liberals in this country swear that they would flee the country if Republicans like Bush won the Presidency. Now however the shoe is on the other foot.

When Sen. Obama becomes the President how will the die hard Conservatives continue to make it in this country.
I don't know if they can say the same things as Liberals. I don't think they can make the same statements about fleeing the country.

I mean where could they go.

Most of Europe and South American is more Liberal than we are. I can't see any of them fleeing to anywhere in Africa, I mean there are so many "black" people there. Australia has just elected a more Liberal government, and even though I would like them to all freeze in Antartica I can't see them going there either. This leaves Asia.

I think Conservative would like Asia.

The majority of people in Asia are treated like slaves, (or as Republicans like to call them CHEAP LABOR). Not to meantion that governments in Asia, (notibly China, Indonesia, Vietnam...) know how to crack down on anyone who disagrees with policy.

Asia would be a Conservatives paradise.

The rich are allowed to get richer, and the poorer understand that they are proclaimed by God to be poor and are willing to accept the fact. It is a place that Conservative can be free to be themselves.
They like Asia so much that they have been trying to turn the United State into a place similar to it. You would think they would have left (I mean exported themselves) to Asia a long time ago. I mean it would be cheaper for them to do with themselves as they have done with many of our jobs.

Ship them to Asia.


Obama for President

A letter to Governor Granholm.

Michigan and Florida voters were shafted during this Primary season. Now there is a chance for our voices to be heard but maybe not the way we want them to. This is my letter to Gov. Granholm.


Governor Granholm,
I am writing to you today about the possibility of a Michigan Democratic Caucus. I understand the hesitation you might have in holding another voting session. It cost a lot of money to put one of these events on, but I believe that there is something more important going on here. Your office released the statement "More people participated in the primary than in any other time in history and we want to respect those votes. We will work toward a resolution to get our delegation seated at the democratic national convention."

Now it is true that all our votes should be counted, however the problem I see is that under the current outcome my vote will not be respected. Both political parties forced a move of the primary date, something that the average voter had no choice in. The National parties then retaliated by telling the Candidates not to participate in our primary. Both Senators Obama and Edwards agreed to request, while Senator Clinton refused to remove her name from the ballot. Michigan Democrats and Independents were given the choice of uncommitted if our chosen candidate were not on the ballot. 40% of the voters took that option. Many other voters voted for Senator Clinton because they believed that their vote wouldn’t count if they voted for uncommitted.

I, myself, voted uncommitted, not so much out of dislike for Senator Clinton, but because of my anger with the Democratic party for placing Michigan voters in the position we found ourselves.

Now that the race is as close to a tie as can be everyone wants to seat our delegates. I want that also, but I, as well as many other Independents, feel that our votes are not being counted. We want to vote for a candidate. Had things not gone awry we would have been able to vote for the person in which we wanted, but it now seems that the Democrat party, especially in Michigan, doesn’t want that to happen.

The only fair thing to do is to allow us to have a Caucus so that all our votes can be counted. If Senator Clinton is successful in winning once again then at least no one can say that there was back room deals made to support one particular candidate over another. The voice of the people should be the only thing that matters in the process of electing our leaders.

Again our votes won't count.

Well just when we thought it had got as bad as it could the Democrats throw one more thing at us.

SUPER DELEGATES

For the first time in a long time people are energized about the whole election process. All over the country people are coming out in record numbers to vote in the Democratic primaries and caucuses.
They are life long Democrats and some cross over Republicans, but the biggest group is the Independent group looking to help make a change in this nation.

This should be a very exciting time for the Democrats. They seem to have the upper hand over the Republican party. Even though it seems that John McCain will be the Republican nominee the Democrats look to be poised to take the Presidency.

Once again though the Democratic party seems to be on the verge of losing their chance to win.

How can this be?

SUPER DELEGATES.

Even though people have been coming out in strong numbers it must be brought to everyone’s attention that the majority of independents are coming out for Sen. Obama. These are people who might not vote ordinarily, and will not be there for Sen. Clinton if she is the nominee.

Again I say SUPER DELEGATES.

These are the people in the Democratic party that have been given special voting privileges so that in case there is no clear winner for the Dems, then they can vote and help decide who will be the nominee. They are leading Democratic leaders, Senators, Congressmen/women, party leaders, and other specially picked persons.

Normally they wouldn’t be used, but this year Obama, and Clinton possibly be neck and neck going into the Convention. If this is the case then these people will help to decide the winner.

The problem is that there are over 800 SP’s. This means that if Obama is slightly ahead in the number of delegates and the party “faithful” feel that they don’t want to give the nomination to him then they can use their votes to give Clinton the win.

I, like many other independents, may feel betrayed by the Democrats. If this is the case then there is a good chance that most of those Independents will decide to stay home. Or for that matter switch over to McCain.
It doesn’t seem fair no matter which way one looks at it. The leaders in the Dem. Party will try as hard as they can to get who they want as the nominee (which seems to be Clinton.) It also seems that they might do what ever they have to, even if that means taking what the voters want and throwing it aside.

It may be the stupidest thing the Democrats can do.

Am I insane??

I sit here with a question in my head.

Should I run for the local school board or not?

I am one of those people who have a lot of opinions, and I get very mad at times at those in charge because I don't think they do their jobs correctly.

I guess that would qualify me to either put up or shut up.

Running for any sort of office has not really ever crossed my mind, and while this is a relatively small position, it is one that I have to be elected into.

I always thought of myself as the kind that would watch from the sidelines, give my opinion, have someone else say “hey that’s a great idea, let me get to work on that” and then go on my way.

I understand the concept of if you want something done you have to do it yourself, but I am not sure I am qualified for such a job.

It is not something that I do out of want, but with the situation as it is this may be something I do out of necessity.
I have a little time to think about it but I won’t take too long in making my decision. I just hope I know what I am doing (God help us all :-} )

Some good movie quotes

These are some of my favorite movie quotes. Some of them you might know some you might not, but I think they are all pretty good.

1. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like victory.Apocalypse Now, spoken by Robert Duvall

2. 'Where gonna need a bigger boat!' - chief Brody - Jaws

3.-"You a bounty hunter?"-"A man's got to make a living."-"Dying ain't much of a living boy
from Outlaw Josey Wales:

4. What you think of as pain is a shadow. Pain has a face...allow me to show it to you, Gentlemen...I AM PAIN. - Pinhead Hell Raiser II

5. “I don't wanna sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't wanna sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed, you know, as a career, I don't wanna do that...right now I just wanna be with your daughter, sir” - John Cusack - Say Anything

6. I'll shove that bat up your ass and turn you into a popsicle. - Ajex- The Warriors

7. Wait a minute, Doc. Ah... Are you telling me you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean? - Marty McFly - Back to the future

8. That's not a knife. [Dundee draws a large Bowie knife] That's* a knife. - Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee

9. I used to play a little ball. I was small, but I made up for it by being slow.- Earl Pilcher, Jr. - A Family Thing

10. My Chevy shook a shit! -. Jimmer Negamanee - Escanaba in da moonlight

My plead to the west coast

I can’t stand this.

I am watching the SUPER DUPER ALLY OOPPER Tuesday Primary and I am about ready to pull my hair out.

I can’t believe that Clinton is winning in so many places.
What are people thinking?
How can we allow her to become the Democrat nominee?

Can’t anyone see that she will only hurt the chances of a Democrat becoming President.
She will only bring out the Anti-Hillary folks that might just stay home if Obama is the Dems candidate.

So this is my appeal to those on the great plains and the west coast.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE vote for Obama.

There is still time to save this nation. We need a person who can build bridges in Washington, not bring a new division to our nations capital.

Obama is that person.

Clinton will only force the two sides to work against one another, and give us another four years of nothing getting done.

So again I plead, vote for OBAMA.

If Clinton wins I might just have to stay home on election day.

REPUBLICANS=Less Government????

Someone please explain something to me.

I am constantly hearing how the Republican party is the party of less Government.

How they are the party who doesn't want Government to be able to tell you what to do.

I guess however that is unless the situation deals with what you do with your body (ex. Abortion), which Religion is correct(constantly calling us a "Christian nation), trying to make it that everyone should pray in school, telling you have no rights if you are gay(ex. marriage, adoption), who can have sex with who, and calling you out if you have an independent thought that goes against them.

Now we have the latest of the absurdities.

Mississippi Rep. John Read of Gautier (Republican) has called for legislation that would force restaurants to turn away customers on the basis of weight.
He would have it that people that are considered to be obese would not be allowed to eat in any restaurant in Mississippi.

How absurd is this notion?
First, he has tried to place further Government control over peoples daily activities.
Second, he is telling people that only certain citizens have rights.
Third, he has probably setting the state up for many lawsuits by people that will undoubtedly be offended by the proposal.

It is true that there are many overweight people in this nation,(30% of adults in Mississippi according to Rep. Gautier) but is it Governments job to regulate what a person eats, regardless of how bad it might be for the individual?

The Republicans are the same group that find it a travesty that Government would force a business to regulate what it places in the water or air, which hurts more then just one person.
Yet once again they find it ok to tell citizens what they can or cannot do with their personal lives.
I guess the Republican version of less Government means Government giving you less choice in how you live your life.

I am so glad we are protecting WHAT...

Three of the worlds largest oil companies had a very good year in 2007.

Chevron, the United States 2nd largest oil company, posted a record profit of $18.69 billion, while Americas largest oil company Exxon Mobil broke its own record for net income by any U.S. corporation, at $40.6 billion.

British Shell Oil profits for the whole of 2007 soared to $31.3bn from $25.4bn the previous year.

Now everything we have been told about why we actually went into Iraq makes so much sense to me.

The freedom of the Iraqi people, the Democratization of the Middle East, the Liberation of the WHOLE DAMN WORLD.

We have to send our soldiers around the world so that they can protect pipe lines, refineries, and of course GAS STATIONS.
This just in "the elite 101st airborne has taken up position around the Shell station in south central Baghdad."

Apparently President "Lame duck" is just holding out long enough to let this war become someone else’s problem, while the whole time his buddies are raking in the BILLIONS of dollars.

Oh yeah a few more Americans died this week, along with a over a hundred Iraqi civilians, but then again what am I thinking. What are a few hundred, or for that matter a few thousand lives compared to the Billions of dollars that can be made.

I guess Bush would call it a pretty good FAIR TRADE policy.