Think I'll pass on the memorial day thing

Not that I don't have respect for the dead but if you think about it for a minute it's like having a celebration by your friends and relatives when they know you've left town. A moment of quiet remembrance then it's back to the gossip, wars, and scandals. And wars aren't uniting anybody like they used to. It's such a rushed holiday anyway. Throw another burger on the grill and be quick about it your Dad has to get to work in the morning and it's a long drive home.

No, how about doing something nice for the poor slobs who had to risk it all and are now faced with broken limbs and minds and not much of a future? They're the ones we should be remembering. And as some groups of former vets have gathered to send a message "It's time to get the hell out". I have to agree with them whole heartedly. But I know this won't end until corporations who are profiting from these adventures have sucked the remaining life blood out of the rest of us then no they won't end.

Just a few passing thoughts on the holiday.

The power of mayhem and other fun words

Key words for net news traffic:
attack
espionage
counterfeit
death
death toll
killed
bombing
arson
explosion
shot
rape
kidnapping
raid
hostage
assault
jailed
sex
scandal
clash
detonate
stabbed
torture
beheading

And to a lesser extent:
secret
leader
recovered
denounce
focus
curbs
thwarted
failed

All these words and more are neatly tucked away in a program an alogrythem (Sic) I believe they call it.
It combined with a net spider crawls the web looking for the pop of headlines for your viewing pleasure.
Never anything good mind you just the depressing or sensational to grab your attention.
Kind of makes me wish that Hurst was never born if you get my drift.

Now that I think of it this is the basis of most heavy metal bands in addition to some loud irritating non melodic background noise. Torture to the eardrums I call it. But oh well to each his own. Just keep those headphones on Sparky because the rest of the world just might like a little peace and quiet.

Caucus

Sounds like some venereal disease. "He's gotten over his case of Caucus quite nicely and fortunately it hasn't spread to others".

No, knowing the slightest bit about our history I know that many of the decisions were made either in a pub over several pints of strong ale or at a private home under the same conditions. And let's not forget the smokes.

And so we have:

This day learned that the Caucas Clubb meets at certain Times in the Garret of Tom Daws, the Adjutant of the Boston Regiment. He has a large House, and he has a moveable Partition in his Garrett, which he takes down and the whole Clubb meets in one Room. There they smoke tobacco till you cannot see from one End of the Garrett to the other. There they drink Phlip* I suppose, and there they choose a Moderator, who puts Questions to the Vote regularly, and select Men, Assessors, Collectors, Wardens, Fire Wards, and Representatives are Regularly chosen before they are chosen in the Town...

*Phlip a drink made of beer rum and sugar.

And we wonder why this country is so screwed up. Considering the aging alchies in congress I'm amazed that they have a coherent thought left among them. And we saw the results of the last ten years of the dry drunk that occupied the White House. His handlers played him like a fiddle. Also consider that the only people who have the time to attend such events have too much time on their hands and haven't looked past talking points.

And nothing worse than a mean drunk or worse than that a reformed drunk. Take your pick the place is crawling with them (either persuasion).

Beaver and Friday

This is the closest thin I could find to a beaver photo and something patriotic in honor of Memorial day. I know it's lame but the beast I coud do on shrt notice. He whaz hapnin to da spl cheque? Sumpans' nt rite. Dem dam lol catz haz gotz to da putter agin.

Bnk falz later.




Oh here's the problem

What a sad thought on the rights of passage

As the grand right of passage slowly approaches ( is it still the sixth of June or has that changed?) our vibrant youth will do much the same stupid things we did generations ago. Will it be candy striping the the school flag pole or carving class of 2011 with chemicals in the football stadium grass? Or maybe more creative shenanigans have made its' way to our high tech society. At least modern day rituals only involve the dawning of cap and gown and not some quasi satanic ditty like running naked over burning hot coals or having part of ones' nether region cut off.
And then with heads crammed with four years of mostly useless knowledge will head out for their own exploitive adventures. Dreams of world travel are soon dashed by the cost of just getting to the airport. And then there's the student loans to think about but they are a far away after thought. The excitement is just knowing that it's over and there'll be no more term papers to write or finals to sweat over. But what to do now? The rumor that XYZ Inc. was hiring turned out to be last month right in the middle of finals. Then the alarm is sounded (saw it on a tweet so it must be real) that you can be your own boss work whenever you want and make big bucks. Easy work. Work your own hours. No end to the possibilities. Which upon further investigation turns out to be selling overpriced vacuum cleaners door to door. Not to worry no body sells encyclopedias that way any more.

Got your degree in Political Science or Ancient Greek literature did we? So sorry. I think the Day Labor outfit is looking for a few able bodies to clean out a sewer or two. Hey and you get paid daily with that gig. Or maybe you could get on with the phone book delivery guys but with gas being as high as it is you just might break even. Oh and don't forget the student loans or they just might garnish your meager wages.

And just how do you get experience for the position when no body will hire you to get the experience? Ah, that boys and girls is our little secret. And you thought the old man didn't know anything.

Sorry but them's the sad facts. A sad thought indeed.

Is this a hump day?

Or a two hump day

Okay one's called a dromedary but let's not get technical I just woke up.
So we shall see what silliness the day brings.

Title this the side effects of being to busy to post. Well at least I'm not slacking Randal.

Tepco confirms extra partial fuel rod meltdown at plant

Nothing like trying to spin a story. The two key words here are extra and partial. Exactly what is meant by extra. Is that as in oh don't worry about it these were just extra rods we have plenty more? And of course you have partial meltdown. Isn't that like being a little bit pregnant? And just how would they know anyway since nobody to date has been near the core of reactor to actually see its condition? Not to worry the Japanese say they'll have every thing under control by January!? I don't think I'd want these guys working on my car much less a nuclear reactor.
Here's a suggestion. Call the boys over there at Chernobyl and let have them have a look see. They could do no worse and seem to have a bit more experience in these matters.

Gots to run I have more pressing matters. I have work and after work some more work. No rest for the wicked.

Here's another one that won't be joining the parade

Mitch Daniels the governor of Indiana will not be joining the circus parade of republican hopefuls. I'm starting to lose track of who isn't running. It's like the Our Gang kids at the swimming hole and no body wants to jump in the water first. What's the matter boys and girls? Is the water too cold for you? I'm sure my fellow blogger Distributorcap could do justice with this concept. Only wish I had the photoshop skills and the time. If you're reading this Dcap I'll start you off.
We have Buckwheat played by Herman Cain.
Darla Hood is Sarah Palin
Butch is Trump after all he wanted to go to the middle east and give somebody a knuckle sandwich.

Now I have to wonder is there enough clown make up to go around this year? Hey guys how about saving some for the real circus. Wouldn't want to let the little boys and girls down when the real circus comes to town.

Like this guy will make it as president

Herman Cain has announced he's running for president. Aside from the fact that his ideas come right out of the Teabagger playbook that snowball has a better chance of survival. In looking at his background it appears he's nothing more than a corporatist and a bean counter.
So we have yet another clown to add to the circus parade.

In other news the end of the world didn't happen. At least I'm still here. Does this mean I'm not one of the "chosen"? Oh the shame....

Almost forgot 3 more banks hit the skids.

The Friday Beaver has been busy

Is it Friday already?

I don't know why they say busy as a beaver. Have you ever seen a beaver at work? Oops let me rephrase that. Have you ever seen a beaver actually building a dam? I've never even seen beavers in the wild as they must work the night shift doing the dirty deeds to trees at night when no one's around.

This week sure went by fast and much was done on my behalf but not for my own benefit other than a pay check.

Bank fails later.

I told you it's all about money

I'd love nothing better than to see a political ad with the bloviating senator or house rep. espousing his views just as an off stage miscreant stabs him with a syringe full of truth serum. It goes something like this.
Senator Blowhard: "The Social Security program is broken and "we" are the only party that can fix it."
Truth Serum talking: "The system is solvent until 2037. We just want to send it to our boys on Wall Street".
Senator Blowhard: "This is an "entitlement" program (subtext - is that it's some type of government giveaway)".
Truth Serum: "Entitlement means just that, you paid into the system as a supplemental income in you old age. You are therefore entitled to it".

Changing subjects

Senator Blowhard: "Giving tax cuts to large corporations creates jobs".
Truth Serum: Giving tax cuts to corporations only make them more profits and does not create jobs. If it did this recession would have been over a long time ago. The money seems to go to the top with yet more big bonuses and higher stock options. The investors get a few cents out of the deal but for most workers it's wage freezes and less benefits. Where does all that money get spent? They're either sitting on it or they are trying to figure out ways to ship the whole operation over seas where labor is cheap or free".

Senator Blowhard: "I'm all for a voucher program for Medicare and and Medicaid."
Truth Serum: "A voucher wouldn't begin to cover even a basic plan and no insurance company would be stupid enough to cover someone in their 80s or 90s with severe health problems. That would leave grandma to fend for herself. She'd either have to shell out some big bucks to the insurance companies to cover the difference or go without. That would leave the insurance companies free to cover only healthy people who don't use the coverage. End result: higher profits for the insurers". Wasn't the term for that called extortion?

What do they think we are suckers?

A little transparency might be nice

In school? No spud for you

Some uneducated congress critter is putting the fix in against potatoes in school lunches. Like fries with that boys and girls? Sorry but you may be out of luck in the near future if the nutrition police have their way. Hey, weren't these the same clowns who deemed ketchup a veggie some years back? Maybe they were different clowns. So what's the alternative you might inquire? Green leafy veggies and oh yes sweet potatoes are okay at least for now.
A thought did come to me. Rather than turn the schools lawn clippings into mulch or compost why not just add it to the menu? With massive amounts of the green leafy stuff it would effectively kill two birds with one stone. And even better cut food costs for cash strapped school districts.
And just what other starches would they slash if they got the chance? Are bread products next? I can almost see it now. The tray wielding tots facing hair netted lunch ladies slinging ice cream scoops of green stringy grass cooked in a kettle since 4 A.M. Willy did just mow the lawn yesterday so it's fresh grass for everyone. But what to go with this culinary delight? Is drywall edible? If so a little hot water just might make it a dandy substitute for the bread ration. And think of all the debris from all the foreclosed homes that are being demoed that wouldn't hit the land fill.

But back to the potatoes. The potato lobby is not going to stand for this nor the Council or even the kids faced with this option. I'm thinking poor Willy will be carting barrels of the green leafy goo to the dumpster.

What now potato heads?

What's more fun than a republican sex scandal?

Why exploding Chinese watermelons of course. Makes me wonder what other delicate treats they have in store for us as they play with agricultural science. But we are no less guilty with our very own Monsanto. When I think of Monsanto I think of plastic food engineered to precise specs for maximum profit and little nutritional value. Hell anymore that could be said for most of our food stuffs. Just eliminate the food and give us the cheap fillers and preservatives would you? Why bother with tiny details like side effects and health problems down the road. Now fork over that bag of Olestra chips and nobody gets hurt except my intestinal track. The mind boggles to think of what they could do with their prison population given the chance.

What's this new "green" food everybody's raving about?

What was you or your family's most unfavorite car?

For us it was this ugly green Ford wagon that the family dubbed "The pickle". When fully loaded the brakes would fail and need replacing on a regular basis. It was supposed to carry nine people or was it six adults and three small kids? Maybe in the late 50s when families didn't heft the tonnage they do today that would have been true. Not so now. When fully loaded and no where else to store the luggage a roof rack was required adding to the stresses on engine and suspension. Not uncommon to wear out a wheel bearing or two. So our wonderful "Pickle" would be in the shop for its' umpteenth brake job or bearing replacement. And the stock tires were no match for a family looking like the Okies headed for Calif in the 1930s when out for an out of state vacation. After some research I find that this wonderful machine was based on that notorious of all car models of the 50s the Edsel. This being Fords' idea of the cheaper family wagon model.

Okay so let's have your picks. Was it a pink Pinto, a vulgar Vega, or maybe an early rice burner that should not have been produced?

The late Friday beaver edition

I've been about as busy as this little guy the last few days and Blogger didn't help by being out of service. I knew something was going wrong when my moniker got changed on a blog post. Then I discovered a few minor glitches in another computer we have here at casa Demeur. After a bit of spring cleaning all seems to be going smoothly. If this is a Homeland Security ploy then you guys better be doing a better job of hiding your tracks. I could have tracked the source but won't waste my time doing that. And I must add that Macs are so much easier in dealing with such problems. I'll bet Windoze users spend more time fiddly farting with bugs than any other system. Well we all know what flies are drawn to don't we?

Bank fails later if I think about it.
Update: No bank fails this week.

Burn out

There are times when there's just not much left to say that's not already been said. This is one of those times. Or as Blog Fodder would put it "to tired to blog". So I'll leave it at that unless something important comes up.

The silliness of war and politics (it's all about the money)

It's either the U.S. or some other country (usually us) who develops some new fangled high tech weapon designed obliterate masses of population. We've become so creative at cleaning out the underbrush of civilization that no country on earth can beat us in that regard. But if you stop to think of all the cash that it's cost for this endeavor we probably could have feed clothed and housed the better part of humanity. Wars are fought for one reason and one reason only and that would be greed. All the propaganda and politics will not get you away from that face. When some politician starts in with the "us against them" or "we're the party of" watch out. They could probably care less about your well being or standing in the world and more about their own wallets. Doesn't matter if their Liberal, NDP, Torry, Democrat, Republican or what ever. You may stand for a principle they seeking office are looking at your bank statement. And it's now come to the point where you don't even have to win or even file papers that you're running to make bundles of cash.

So I think I'll just throw my hat in the ring. No wait a minute I don't even have to do that because that would involve a filing fee. Let me rephrase that. I'll be starting a fact finding committee to start thinking about considering to run once someone will front me the money. And don't worry your money will be well spent. Limos don't come cheap these days and after all we must present a high class image to the public. They wouldn't consider voting for a bum you know.

Where the hell was I

After a solid day with a headache (the system sometimes gets out of wack and no I don't drink) I mistakenly turn on the Sunday talk shows to be inundated with republican talking heads from the past. Just what rock they crawled out from under is anyone's guess. Nothing like getting a sour stomach from listening to these guys. It's like the grade school kids who had nothing to do with a victory trying to take all the credit. Sorry guys Bush was a 100% failure in everything he did.

In other news it seems Michigan is pulling a Wisconsin with the beginnings of a recall effort of 9 rethuglicon state house members as well as their governor. In Michigan's' case it's a matter of the governor signing a bill that effectively overturns the will of the people. The bill makes for taking over a city or town perfectly legal and putting it into the hands of an appointed person. That person would then have the right to nullify contracts and gain hold of what's left of the city coffers. Nothing like modern day fascism eh?
Michigan Gov your next Oh and don't eat the teriyaki jerky either.
Hat tip to the We Party for this one.

Hard to say exactly how well the economy is going at present. Just four years ago it would take me better than an hour to get to work and it didn't matter what shift I was working. After an extended absence (Again that's thanks to Bush and the Wall Street boys) it's taking about 1/2 an hour sometimes a little more. For a week or so a little more and now traffic has become lighter. I don't know if that is the result of higher gas prices or not. In their infinite wisdom our public transportation here has cut service and raised prices. Need to take a bus to see grandma at the home on Sunday? Forget it if you live here. No bus for you.

Beaver Day and I missed it

Hey Graves how about a beaver talk at the library?

Okay okay I know in all silliness that started some time ago when a certain Pygalgia posted booby photos to increase web traffic to his site so I thought I'd give it a try and now it's become a tradition.

As I said in my last post keep your eyes peeled for when a major story or event makes headlines for three straight days in a row somebody will take the opportunity to slide one over on us. Seems the republicons are dropping their Medicare overhall plan. What's the matter, nobody fall for your discount coupon plan for health care? Don't you know that only works at the grocery store. Sure wish they had a coupon for tomatoes.

Oil prices are falling but do you think they'll come down at pump anytime soon? They've hit $4 a gallon here. God help you if you live in LA or Frisco. I could only imagine. And the Rons as in Mo on capitol hill are up for the "drill baby drill" chorus. Only problem is any oil drilled here is sold on the open market to the highest bidder. We'll see nary a drop for our internal combustion rigs. And like I stated from a previous post "what goes up must come down". Gee ya think gold just might be next? So where's the next bubble going to happen? They've raped just about everything we have. Home equity...gone. Retirement...wiped out. Jobs...went overseas. Just what is left to pillage? If the host looses too much blood it dies and the parasite with it.

Bank fails later.
Update: Only one bank fail this week in FL.

The reason Bush won't show his ugly mug at ground zero

Aside from the fact that 911 happened on his watch even after an August Presidential Daily Briefing entitled "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in U.S."

A few skeletons in the closet Mr. Bush?

And from his own mouth he sealed his fate in history with the words: "I don't know where Osama bin Laden is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him to be honest with you … And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. ..."

I could just see the crowd now with Obama and Bush standing there. One accomplished the goal that the other didn't care about. For Obama it's a political victory. For Bush it's nothing more than an economic one. For if you bothered to read the link you'd know that the Bush crime family is still making money hand over fist with oil and arms.

To the Arab world Bin Laden had become a liability anyway. Nothing like being suspect just because you're from the Middle East or even look like you're from there. And he certainly did no favors for the Muslim religion either.

As we go forward be mindful of the facts behind the scenes. The Saudis are not what they appear to be on the surface. Even though they are not the oil players they once were they're still able to do some back room dealing and have us jump through hoops at their whim. But I suspect there are a few other games going on while the celebrations continue. It always seems the perfect diversion for yet more underhanded shenanigans. So keep your eyes peeled.

News you can use or not

Osama Bin Laden is dead.
You watch Palin will be reporting that Obama is dead. When corrected she'll sound like Emily Latella of SNL "Well never mind".
Lem me see they've been sitting on this info for about a week now. Nothing like diverting the attention away from lack of work,workers rights, safety rules and the gutting of most agencies that protect us.

Pope John Paul gets the beauty treatment. Wasn't he the one who overlooked the pedophile scandal? And didn't he put his pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of us? Oh that's right he wears a dress.

And yet again the Seapigs go for the cheap. They give up the first round draft picks for 5th and 7th round picks. Can you say losers?

Today's word for the day: Doctrinaire - to impose a doctrine without regard to practical considerations. Sounds like the Ryan health care plan to me.

Hoisted by ones' own petard: We bomb Japan with atomic bombs in WWII then later sell them shoddy nuclear reactors in the 70s. When the reactors fail after an earthquake, radiation is headed our way possibly killing thousands. Ah the irony of it all. Forget the milk eat cheese it's safer.

Ah May Day

No this isn't about ladies in long white dresses dancing around a pole with ribbons.



This is about workers who were treated like near slaves at the whim of their employers. This is about the robber barons of old who in these modern times have been resurrected from a by gone era to try and do the same shit they did back then by paying off politicians. This den of thieves thinks nothing of taking away the rights of average Americans while lining their pockets with the hard earned cash of middle America. Republican or Democrat they're both guilty. Republicans do it openly saying it's for your own good. Yes getting kicked in the nuts sounds like a wonderful idea too as long as you're doing the kicking.

So where are we in all this? I'd say in the very early stages. It will take awhile to remove eight state legislators from Wisconsin and it will be the governors' turn early next year. Many unfair laws in other states are in the process of being overturned. But exactly how much patience do people have? We're starting to see a bit of violence around the edges with fringe groups. And why is that you might ask? In watching one of those cartoon movies last night it hit me like an Acme anvil. Most if not all that is presented to us on TV and in the media gives a formula for success. And that is whoever inflicts the most violence wins and it doesn't matter if you're wearing a white hat or a black one. And sadly this is presented to the youngest viewers even before they learn to walk.
We truly need a third party in this country. One that is not bought and paid for by corporate America. A party that is funded by average folk like you and me. A party that represents the majority and not the top one percent. We do have the power if we just get organized and fund it and it wouldn't really take that much. But we need some leaders that represent us who are willing to say enough is enough.