Rush and Michael

I'm thinking Rush blew it this past week, and since I was listening when he said it, I knew he himself knew it within about five minutes. You have to be a longtime listener to pick up the nuances in his voice, but he definitely knew it in short order. You could pick up the slight change in demeanor as he fought to find the precise words without losing the original point.

Here's what I 'think' happened. For his subscribers you can watch via a web cam Rush do his show. He talks using his hands; I understand this as I do also (or at least I think I do). Anyway, the person listening did not get the affect of those watching, and I bet a hundred bucks someone wrote him an instant message and said it looked very bad. The words he spoke were dead on, the video made it appear he was making fun of Mr. Fox. He wasn't... he was using Fox's own words to 'wonder' if he (Fox) was off his meds. Nothing can change the perception the video portrays, but were you listening to the whole show, you would have known he was not making fun of Michael's Parkinson's Disease.

What makes it so frustrating for someone like me is the political aspect. To prove this point, Fox supports the senatorial candidate in Maryland who has voted [against] embryonic stem cell research (Cardin). But, he's a democrat so, oh well.

Several years ago, I was sitting in a parking lot waiting for my wife - I think she was in a doctor's office, that part I can't remember. Regardless, I was listening to Rush while she was inside. I distinctly remember when she came out, telling her there was something wrong with Rush. Something in his voice. Found out two weeks later he was going deaf and would be 'totally' deaf within two months. Just little nuances in his voice alerted me to this - what is the point?

I have listened to this guy along time - he is not racist as many proclaim... he does not make fun of peoples disabilities - he does say things that allow easy selection of soundbites... picking single sentences that make all these things appear to be so. You 'do' have to listen to understand these things. Here is the best example of this I can offer.

Many people who call in say "mega dittos Rush". Now, the 'media' would have you believe that mega dittos means the caller agrees with everything Rush says... couldn't be further from the truth. Mega dittos originated at least fifteen years ago... a caller proclaimed she just loved the show, and the next caller said the same thing, in fact she said, "mega dittos to what the last caller said". Hence the term was born, meaning I Love The Show and nothing more. After all these years, the media can't get even that little [f a c t] correct.

Is he a saint? Nope, and again, there are many days / times I have my disagreements with Rush. But, in general - he is able to articulate better than anyone in my lifetime, my own thoughts. Sometimes I don't even know I'm thinking it when he says it. Ha Ha. Mega dittos Rush!!

Drug Costs

So here a while back WalMart begins talking about $4.00 prescriptions. Sounds good. I wonder at the time what the other drug outlets will do. Hasn't taken long to find out - local grocers with a pharmacy are beginning to fall over themselves to offer the same price... makes my feeble mind begin to wonder and wander.
Can we all agree that the grocers are NOT going to give out $4.00 scripts and lose money? So to begin with the premise that they will still be making money, a question for the masses.
1) If the grocers are still making money by selling at $4.00, just how much profit were they making before?
2) Is it possible, just a widdle bit, that the dastardly drug companies are not quite so dastard? Hmmmm?
Let me be clear! I believe in free enterprise, BUT, I get tired of BIG OIL, BIG DRUG COMPANIES getting hammered. They just might not be as guilty as we are all led to believe. I know this much. If I am a WalMart stockholder, and $4.00 scripts made me lose my dividend, I'm taking my holdings and going elsewhere. So, do YOU think they are losing money on these offerings? I don't!!

The War & The Election(s)

So today's news shows [all] revealed the dems are gonna run the table, e.g. House and Senate. Okeedokie! And the reason??? Why the war of course.
Anyone who has read this drivel for any length of time knows that congress controls the purse strings of this country. Yes, The President can request, but he sure can't spend unless authorized by The Congress.
Allright then - when Congress reconvenes, I expect the first order of business to be shut off the funding for the war. Yessir, give a date and gittem outta there... no mo moolah. Any bets?

Social Hypocrisy

So, for years and years we have been fed the pabulum that 'when the chillren' are abused while a child, whatever they do as an adult should be excused. Right? Haven't we??? Hmmmm????

Well!!! Turns out from the horses mouth no less that Mark Foley's priest massaged him nekkid when he was umm, oh, around 12 or 13..... so, is it not time after all the pabulum we were fed all those years to excuse his sorry butt??? Ha ha ha ha ha.. What fools we are - the hypocrites are strangely SILENT!!! Where are you?

And for the record - ONE MORE TIME. "I" do NOT excuse him, nor any of the other adults that commit social injustices. If you are insane, that is one thing... for a thinking adult, I simply don't buy into the junk we've been fed as a society that there is a 'reason' for their (an adult's) action(s). Tis called responsibility methinks.

Softwre Recommendation

I'd like to recommend a 'Free' program to anyone reading this blog who uses Windows. The program name is 'TidyStartMenu'. Dunno how many of you, upon depressing the 'START' button and looking for a specific program get aggravated, but... there is a solution.
I love computers as anyone who knows me can testify. As a result, I download many many programs and install them just to see them work. Often times I will notice I was intrigued with them early on, and then dump them later. In fact, I try and have a philosophy that if I do not use a program in six months I dump the program.
Because I install so many programs, I try and keep a log of all those I install, and the related web site in case my puter crashes and I need to reconstruct things. And, because I install so many, the listing of programs in my START menu fills the whole screen and I find myself looking and looking some more. 'TidyStartMenu' to the rescue. EXCPET I forgot to log 'TidyStartMenu' when I initially installed it about six months ago!!! Arrgh! I have been doing quite a few installs recently and today I noticed my START area filling up again. I was racking my brain trying to figure out the name of 'TidyStartMenu' and I finally found the program.
With this program, you can organize the programs according to their purpose, e.g. you can put all games into a folder, all utilities into their own folder, all Microsoft Office programs in their own folder etc. In affect, if you put six games into the games folder, you have freed up five entries in the START menu.
Here is a link to the web site if you are interested in reading about the program: www.tidystartmenu.com/ , and, here is a direct link to the program itself if you want to download and git going: www.tidystartmenu.com/TidyStartMenu_Setup_freeware.exe
I have, as I 'always' do, checked the program for viruses and for spyware and it comes up clean. Those that know me know how to get ahold of me, and those that don't, feel free to leave a comment with a question if you have one. "I" love this program, and know it would benefit you.

300 Million Americans

So I'm listening to Ms. Katie today - she says America now has 300 million Americans. The person who actually made the counter turn over could have been Hispanic, black, illegal etc. I say BULL STEINOFSKY!!!!! If the person is here [ illegally ] they are NOT an American. How tough is that to comprehend?

It's Coming!!!

Here is something to consider on election day - remember Florida and chad? Who could forget. Conventional wisdom says the Democrats will run the table (I doubt it)... but, to me, this is what to look for. Whether it will be chad or not, recounts will be rampant. Why do I say this? I have read over and over again about GOP fraud... to me, this means a seed is being planted and many recounts will be sought.
There are several things I am learning as I observe this upcoming election: 1) If there is just a one or two vote margin in the House, walking from one side of the aisle to the other (change party), can change the balance of power quickly. Why would one do that? Umm, the promise of a powerful position maybe? 2) The vote for a new speaker does not require 218 votes, only the highest vote getter (if I understand it). : ) Again, if the distribution of seats is razor thin, you better believe there will be horse-trading a going on, BIG TIME!!
It is going to be an exciting period, these next couple of weeks. Reminds me of a scene from 'Apocolypse Now' - "I love the smell of napalm in the morning".

Wassup!!

I listen to Rush Limbaugh - have since the early 80s - daughter #1 turned me onto him via his book 'See I Told You So'. Rush has always had the ability to put into words what I am thinking. Interestingly enough he generally makes me feel better also... by that I mean, he is usually very positive and upbeat. Why is this important? Probably isn't, but to illustrate - early this morning, like around 5 a.m. ish I was reading some left leaning blogs... seems there is really no reason to go to the voting booth as the dems have this puppy locked up. I go for my walk around 9 ish just to clear my head, come home, eat lunch at 10:30 ish and sit down to listen to Rushbo. Has me feeling at leas there is a fighting chance withing 15 minutes and I guess I am grateful.
Here's the thing. "I" nor nobody else knows what in the sam hill is going to happen on election day. This much I 'do' know. If the dems do not take control of what they think they should, they will hollar voter fraud... this is a given and to be expected. And, in the final analysis, no matter who wins, this Republic will continue to march forward one way or another. Some may not like the results but the American people usually get precisely what they want. As for me? At the moment I am slightly optimistic and can't even say why. Ha ha.
Later - listened to Neil Cavuto today; he had Dick Morris on - ole Dick said the dems would take 'both' the house and the senate and that as of 'today', Hillary would be President. Only 18 hours till Rush comes back on. : )

Autum's Beauty

Git OUT and see the trees TOO!!!

A New Google Service

This is a test of a new Google service called 'Docs & Spreadsheets'. It is the beginning of Google taking 'away' from Microsoft in my opinion. I say, more power to them, and anyone who does not think it is happening has their head in the sand. Google has much to offer these days, all for free and it continues to grow almost daily. I have generated an email account there for when the day comes I leave my current ISP. While I won't be posting it publicly here, I will provide it to anyone reading this who is interested. And if 'you' would like a free GMAIL account, let me know and I will send you an invitation. Currently they provide almost 3GB of storage. Dunno how you would ever fill it up.

So, now that I have typed this (to include spell checking), I will post it to my blog, and since Google also owns the blogging service I utilize I [expect] this entry to integrate into the blog with ease.

Believe it or not, while I was typing above, my puter locked up... being aggravated thinking I had lost the two paragraphs above, I got the puter running again, logged back onto this service and guess what!!! Google, in their wisdom has automatic saving going on. Welllll, this is gitting more and more intersting. Yup, I do highly recommend Google, and again, if you want a free account, let me know and I will send you an invitation.

They Say It Is Over

I mowed today during my normal time to watch the political shows. I knew what the subject would be - Mr. Foley. I have picked up enough on the news, the papers, the blogs et al. to know that 'they' say, it is over. We will have a turn over in congress, many thinking 'both' houses. So, I guess there is not much reason to vote eh? NOT! I will vote and if I could possibly vote in the bay area, I guess I'd vote for Ms. Pelosi. After all, she 'is' gonna drain the swamp. Okeedokee Nancy, come on in - the water is fine.

Somewhere Bill Clinton is laughing his hinny off.... Foley is 'frying' for words, The President got umm, an actual servicing, convinced the nation it was not sex, further convinced the nation it was his private business, and here we are. Ha ha ha ha, laughing hysterically. Furthermore, North Korea, the war, Hugo Chavez, notta - not as important as Mr. Foley. For goodness sakes America, he has apologised, he 'is' in therapy, he 'has' / 'was' molested, (by a priest no less)... do not all these things excuse him??? Naaaa.

There really is no excuxe for republicans - and again, if Hastern 'knew' run him out also. May as well have a good purge. May as well emascalate'em all. The world will continue to spin - well, 'maybe'... did you just hear a rumble somewhere??? Asia maybe? Naaaa.

More on Foley

I guess it depends on whose ox is being gored. Last night I was channel surfing just to see if anyone was at least talking about the page and whether or not this had been a setup. The setup allegation had been slipped into the mix earlier in the day.

On MSNBC there was nothing but venom... this was on Joe Scarboroughs show. Over on FOX, Hannity and Combs they were at least discussing the possibilities. Yup, depends on the side you want to be right.

The only thing I will say is this. I have not heard one person in authority state they are not glad Foley is gone. You can contrast that with whomever you like. As for me? I am glad he's OUT, and if an investigation reveals Republicans in the leadership (or any other for that matter), knew of the [instant messages] and did not reveal same, I will call for their being prosecuted to the fullest immediately.

And one other thing - "I for one" am sick of whomever, the minute they are 'caught' opting for rehab, saying they have a drinking problem, saying they were molested et al. Absolute pablum.

The Congress

I guess I'd be remiss not to mention Mr. Foley, republican Florida.

1) I'm glad he is GONE from the halls of congress!!!

2) There is a major difference between IM (instant messages) and regular email. The instant messages were obscene, the emails were ambiguous.

3) The republican leadership knew about the ambiguous emails for about 2-3 years. So, I might add did the Federal Bureau of Investigation. While Foley was warned at the time, there was nothing there to warrant dismissal.

4) "Sombody" knew about the obscene instant messages for a little over two years and did not reveal this obscenity until right before election time. I wonder who would benefit by waiting for this opportune time... any guesses?

5) Who would want to let the [chillren] be exposed to these obscenities even one day more than necessary? Just how despicable is it to let the chillren be exposed for even one more minute than necessary.

6) Mr. Reynolds, Illinois - Melvin Jay "Mel" Reynolds (born January 8, 1952) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Illinois. Reynolds currently works for Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition.

Reynolds was born in Mound Bayou, Mississippi and he graduated from Roosevelt University and the University of Illinois. An academic achiever, he won a Rhodes Scholarship to Lincoln College in the University of Oxford.

Reynolds was unsuccessful in his 1986, 1988 and 1990 campaigns against Congressman Gus Savage. However, Reynolds was able to defeat Savage in 1992. He served in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995.

In August of 1994, he was indicted for having sex with a sixteen-year-old campaign volunteer. Despite the charges, he continued his campaign and was re-elected in November of 2004. Reynolds initially denied the charges, which he claimed were racially motivated. On August 22, 1995 he was convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography. He resigned his seat on October 1, 1995.

Reynolds was sentenced to five years in prison and expected to be released in 1998. However, in April of 1997, he was convicted on fifteen unrelated counts of bank fraud and lying to SEC investigators. These charges resulted in an additional sentence of seventy-eight months in federal prison. Reynolds served all of his first sentence and served forty-two months in prison for the later charges. At that point, U.S. President Bill Clinton commuted the sentence for bank fraud. As a result, Reynolds was released from prison and served the remaining time in a half way house.

7) Gerry Studds - Studds is remembered chiefly for his role in the 1983 Congressional page sex scandal, when he and Representative Dan Crane were censured by the House of Representatives for separate sexual relationships with a minor – in Studs's case, a 1973 relationship with a 17-year-old male congressional page. The relationship was consensual, but violated age of consent laws and presented ethical concerns relating to working relationships with subordinates.

During the course of the House Ethics Committee's investigation, Studds publicly acknowledged his homosexuality, a disclosure that, according to a Washington Post article, "apparently was not news to many of his constituents." Studds stated in an address to the House, "It is not a simple task for any of us to meet adequately the obligations of either public or private life, let alone both, but these challenges are made substantially more complex when one is, as I am, both an elected public official and gay."

As the House read their censure of him, Studds turned his back and ignored them. Later, at a press conference with the former page standing beside him, the two stated that what had happened between them was nobody's business but their own.

Back onboardr>
Studds was re-elected five more terms after the censure.

8) Bill Clinton - nuff said

In summary, read #1 again - then tell "ME" the republican party does not handle their dirty laundry a leetle bit different than the opposition.

Smoking Ban

The city of Omaha has implemented a smoking ban. Sounds good eh? Wellll, like most elements of government there are loopholes. Places that make the city M O N E Y, otherwise known as cash get a five year deferment. No need to go into the details here, bottom line is ma / pa bars etc. are being penalized. Here's the good part.

If I am in an establishment where Susie Homemaker lights up, I can call 911 and turn her in for breaking the law. Actually put out by the police department in a news release. Now that call will be placed low on the totem pole (little Indian lingo there), but it seems to me the city is opening itself up for a very large lawsuit. Won't take long I'm sure.

All these years of trying to drill into our heads that 911 is for emergencies, and now to use it for lighting up???!!! This is indeed government at its finest. And just wait, sounds like the food police are right around the corner. Can't wait for our instructions on what to do if Johnny J. is seen eating a golden french fry cooked in hydrogenated cooking oil. There 'are' times I'm glad I am the age I am.