What a mess

As I peruse the news all I can say if it wasn't for bad news there wouldn't be any news at all. This post is for all of those readers in other parts of the country that might wonder how things are fairing out here in the Northwest. I sit here reading the news and can only comment that it's like watching a slowmotion train wreck. Every day it's been more layoffs and more businesses closing. Gang violence is on the rise. In addition there's a rise in robberies, murder and suicides. The school board in Seattle is having to close 5 schools to make up a budget shortfall and I'll bet more will follow. There's even talk of going to a 4 day school week to save money. A lot of businesses have done that already if they're still in business. Hours have been cut back and nobody dare take a vacation or sick day lest they fear being replaced when they get back or worse have their job eliminated all together.

Is there any good news out there? Not much from what I can see. The shipyard in Bremerton was hiring a few hundred to help repair military ships that have seen rough service in the last few years but, for a few hundred jobs some 5000 people showed up to apply. The border patrol was hiring if you want to live in some far away place on the Canadian or Mexican borders looking out for drug dealers or foreigners. I wonder now if they are coming or leaving.

Now I hear that both of our Seattle newspapers may go the way of the buggy whip. That is a mixed blessing. I haven't read any well written articles in either paper since before the last strike. I guess the editors thought it would be cheaper just to pull stories from the AP. You know much like TV did with reality shows after the writers strike there. I guess if you don't have to write it you don't need to pay much for it. That gives me an idea or two.

So tell me. What's going on in your part of the country? You can share your horror stories here or at your own site. Just leave a link in the comments so we know where to find you if you haven't been here before.

Republicans at it again

When I read the title of this article I thought good now we can start to get this country going again. Silly rabbit I should have known better. Buried in the meat of the article is the attitude these republicans take when it comes to spending on anyone but their friends or their pet projects. The headline reads:
GOP governors press congress to pass stimilus bill

Keep it us guys and come 2010 and beyond there won't be a republican party. When the voters in your state keep loosing their jobs you really think they are going to vote for you? And as I've said before TAX CUTS DO NOT CREATE JOBS!

Obama signs pro union exec orders

Now I can just see Rush and the other rethugs wringing their hands and gnashing their teeth as Obama quietly puts the country back together.
Undoing the Bush nightmare

Note to republicans: If you don't want to end up like the Whig or Bull Moose party (remember them? I thought not ) Then you'd better get off your butts and start working for the people and I don't mean George's old base the haves and the have mores.


(ironic how that was the only good photo I could find of someone sticking their tongue out with contempt)

Can't get TV after Feb? Too bad!

Once again the republicans are shitting on the little guy. This time if you have rabbit ears or roof top antenna forget about getting a TV signal. Need a set top box but can't afford it? Then screw you there's no more government discount tickets. So if you can't get reception when they change the signal to digital in Feb. blame the rethuglicans because they were the ones who don't give a squat about you. They only care about their corporate buddys. Maybe it is time to scrub and rinse DC of these dinasaurs and bring about a new party. These guys are like that whiney brat you'd like to bitch slap because everything you do they find fault with. If these guys keep it up I'll consider pulling my money out of the bank and cashing in my retirement fund. That's the only thing these guys seem to understand. They'd sell their dying grandmother for a couple of green backs and try and leverage that into some worthless paper. They sure can bail their buddys out in short order but when it comes to the rest of us we'll be eating shoe leather before they get around to passing a bill for the rest of us. So screw them. May they gag on their pate and Dom and I hope the same labs that tested the peanut butter tested their high class goodies.

Layoffs ending tragically

We're starting to see the beginnings of the real effects of a down economy. A couple and family has been eliminated from the face of the earth because they couldn't face the situation of being terminated. I guess I'm lucky in that I've almost always done contract type work so it's been up and down for the last thirty years so I'm used to being without work at times but the present situation has topped all other recessions. The usual industries not affected like plumbing, automotive, and medical are being affected. I can imagine the couple who became educated in their chosen field were able to get good jobs a nice house and a large family. They were expecting to hang in there during these down times by being tied to the medical field. That wasn't to be.
A family gone

The firings will continue until the economy improves

The Bush train wreck continues. Here's a quick look at the latest (layoffs that is):

Caterpillar 20,000
Home Depot 7000
Nextel 8000
GM 2000
Boeing 4500
Starbucks 1000
Microsoft 1400
Sun 6000
Pfizer 8000
ING 7000
Philips Elec. 6000
Alcoa 13,500
Circuit City 7300
AT&T 12,000

I'm batting 1000

Went to Lost in the Bozone the other day and was inspired at his cooking adventure. Now I'm the type who can cook most things. I once worked in a restaurant in my post college days for a short time and was taught some fairly complicated dishes. No I wasn't the chef but I am a quick learn when I see something prepared. So I thought I'd give a Polish dish a try. Savory sausage was the attempted dish. Oh how quickly I'd forgotten some of the basics. Against my better judgment I followed the directions to the letter. Big mistake. The reciepe:

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 large apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
3 red potatoes, cleaned and diced
1 1/2 cups sauerkraut, drained, rinsed, & packed
1-2 lb smoked sausage or kielbasa, cut in 3 inch pieces
Directions
1Melt butter in skillet.
2Add onion and green pepper.
3Cook until tender.
4Add apple, brown sugar, caraway seeds, potatoes, and sauerkraut.
5Mix well.
6Place sausage on top of sauerkraut mixture.
7Cover.
8Cook over medium-low heat for 40 minutes.

Can you find the mistake in this wonderful dish? No? Well if you note that the sauerkraut is drained and rinsed in addition to adding brown sugar you will get something with almost no liquid that after 40 minutes will burn on the bottom and I mean charred black.

I did manage to save the sausage so I'll try again tomorrow.

So if it wasn't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all.