NO MORE SHEEP PLEASE

BAAAAaaaaaaaad news.... as you may have noticed the price of gas is going up up up again!!!!!
Rather than piss and moan and DO nothing about it, try BOYCOTTING the highest priced gas station (or any of your choosing) in your area. Let them know that you are boycotting the high price and the refusal of the oil companies to reduce their profit margin. They just pass the increase along to us, the consumer. Tell your friends... tell everyone you know, or see in the market... or anywhere! WE HAVE THE POWER TO CONTROL OUR DESTINY!!!! Talk to others.... don't let them convince you that it won't do a thing. it WILL if we are strong and united in our effort. Write to your congressperson, your senators and the President. Tell them that you DEMAND that they stop spending money on the war machine and stop giving aid to foreign countries until OUR country has been taken care of. There are TOO many in this country who are still hungry, poor, sick, jobless, etc.
WE need to fix OUR country. WE need to take back control over our politics and politicians. WE need to tell big business that products/services are costing TOO much for the common person. WE need to create jobs with decent pay.
WE need to get off our butts and MAKE THIS COUNTRY GREAT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!

Puritannis Rex

I subscribe to DirecTV and pay a fairly substantial amount each month to receive more than the basic channels. Seems to me that I should (we ALL should) be demanding to get what we are paying for. I'm an adult, but it hardly seems as though the cable programmers and censors understand that. I am SICK to death of watching various channels (SciFi, Chiller, Comedy channel, etc) which are showing adult rated programs and still having the actual adult content edited or bleeped out. It REALLY fucks up a comedian's act when he or she says "fuck" and I can't hear "fuck... all I hear is "beep" (or silence). I mean, what the fuck????

I'm an adult... and I want to see and hear those adult things in a program, movie or gore-fest like tits and ass and all those words that most people (common ones like me) use on a daily basis. I understand that some grandma in Gooberville, Iowa may be offended by certain adult words or images, but that is exactly what the remote is for.

Apparently we still live in the America of our Puritan forefathers and the Puritanical TV stations are afraid to step on any toes or make any waves for fear of a decrease in the allmighty ratings dollar.

Oh well.

I think next time I'll share my recent experience with that other "wonderful" satellite service... Hughsnet.

Return of the Living Dead

OK, I'm back again. Hopefully this time I can blog with some frequency.

The title of this entry refers to my return, of course, but as it happens one of the actors from that deliciously bad movie lives in my town and I have had the pleasure of meeting him several times a few years ago. Don Calfa played the role of the undertaker in this film. I don't know why I didn't talk to him about the movie at all (guess it seemed a bit rude to me), nor did I talk to him about any films. I just enjoyed it when he came into where I worked and chatted for a few minutes. No big deal.

I also met Dick Dale, the King of the surf guitars at the local Wal-Mart. Very cool guy.

Well, I'll be back soon with another episode of "Rant and Rave" like before.

Auto Thoughts

One small part of my perfect world (actually my perfect country, but hey, we Americans think of this country as being the world) would be to make an automobile an entitlement to all citizens "in good standing". This free car would be available to people starting at age 18. The government would pay for this via a slight increase in taxes, which if the cars were contracted for 5 grand the increase would be 100 smackers per month... a very reasonable sum. Uncle Sam should make a deal with only American based companies to manufacture these cars.
These cars would be replaced every 5 years, again for free. The Gov. could and should place certain requirements on the automakers which should include but not be limited to: total cost $5,000 big buckaroonies. Cars must get 50 MPG. Cars must seat 4 adults, or 2 adults and X amount of cargo (i.e. groceries). Cars must meet strict safety and pollution standards. Cars must have a minimum top speed of 75 MPH. Cars would have a security system to prevent theft. Cars would be turned in every 5 years for a new one etc, etc.
Automakers could still make more expensive cars available and I'm sure people would still buy them. Those qualified but deciding not to buy the Eco car would not have their taxes increased. These cars could not be sold by their owners, but would have to be turned in to the dealer for recycling when the five years are up. They would also receive free factory repairs for any mechanical problems (does not include accidents or abuse). There should also be a stipulation that any manufacturer's car that has too many problems (perhaps more than 1%) could not participate in the program.
This would create a lot of jobs and make NEW cars available to a great many people who couldn't otherwise afford it.
Lastly, these cars could be designed to be part of a future mass personal transit system. More on that another time. Do it for the PEOPLE!!!!

I'm Baccccccckkkkkkkk!

Ok, ok, so I haven't blogged in a month or so. I haven't had a big sense of urgency since it seems like only my wife reads this stuff, and she has to listen to me bellyache all the time anyway hehehe.

Before I elaborate further on my personal idea of utopia, and the way things SHOULD be, I want to talk a little bit about a couple of observations. First, I REALLY do not like going to the grocery store and having to say No, I don't want to buy any tamales from the back of some guy's van. While I applaude a person's spirit of enterprise, I will not buy them because A) it's strickly a cash transaction and they pay no taxes on their income, which isn't fair and B) who the hell knows what's in these things. They certainly aren't ANY health inspections going on here. In conclusion, PLEASE do not buy food from people selling from the back of their van, pickup, or trunks.

My second thought of the day involves familes and how white people (of which I am included) don't really take care of family nor do we take advantage of what should be a built-in support system that the family has to offer. I know, or know of, several hispanic families that pool their resources for the overall betterment of the family. Easy enough to do if selfishness is absent, and it seems to me that, at least up to a point, it would be great for the whole family. I'll leave it up to the reader to think about the details
Oh, and just to be fair, I do know one white family in Texas that has this kind of situation. They call it the "Family Business" and conduct meetings, etc. Maybe a lot of families in Texas do it, I don't know. I don't mess with Texas, and they don't mess with me.

In my next blog I'll try to get back to the serious task of explaining my perfect world, and maybe even how we can save the world by eating beans. Oh, wait... maybe it's not beans... hell, I don't remember.

money money Money MONEY

I believe that capitalism is a large part of what's wrong with this land of ours. I believe that if, as a people, we can move beyond lust for the almighty dollar we can become the country that our founding fathers envisioned. A democracy with a social conscience and a goal to improve the lives of ALL of it's citizens could truly be a land of milk and honey.
There is a great deal of talk and political dealing concerning the economy lately. It's almost certain that a recession is on the horizon. News from Washington today about tax rebates and temporary tax relief for business may give some small amount of comfort for a time, but will not be a cure for the financial woes this country faces.
We need to redirect our efforts on the home front on economic matters, how we do business, and WHY we do business. The "why" should be, as I said before, to improve the lives of ALL our citizens. The "how" seems to me to be a lot simpler than most people think, IF we remember the "why".
The United States is said to be the wealthiest in the world, and yet we have approximately 10% of our people living below the poverty level. Current unemployment is about 7% nationwide. With a population of around 300 million, this translates into 30 million poor people and 21 million without a job. With those kinds of numbers is it any wonder why we have a drug problem? A crime problem? A depression problem? How can we tolerate the poverty, crime, etc.? And why should we?
I feel in my heart that many of the country's problems would be cured if we ran it for the benefit of it's citizens instead of for businesses, although the businesses would benefit from it also. Drug use stem from a feeling of hopelessness and/or a desire to escape. This would be greatly reduced if a person has a job, has hope, has the belief that their life is and will continue to get better. Poverty is nothing more than the absence of a job with a comfortable wage.
During the Great Depression of the thirties many public works projects were created as a way to get people working again... and it made for a better country in the process... with happier citizens. We should do this again, on a continuing basis, with a MUCH broader scope and with a goal of eliminating poverty and unemployment in this country. This could and should be paid for with taxes. I'm not talking about the taxes we pay now, that are spread out and pay for little more than the bureaucracy that runs them (kind of like highway toll collections, which pretty much just pay for the salaries of those who collect and maintain the toll systems). Right now we pay a variety of taxes, Federal, State, Local, excise tax, luxury tax, sales tax, use tax, gas tax, energy tax.... the list seems endless.. and this doesn't includes licenses... for your car, business, dog... another endless list. The government should A) calculate how much it would cost to take care of it's citizens basic needs (food, water, clothes, housing, transportation, etc) and then B) design a tax that would cover those costs using a sliding scale. The tax would be high, no doubt about it, but the people would be getting their needs taken care of in a way that NEEDS to be guaranteed to be complete, fair, honest and inclusive of all. (Remember my comment in an earlier blog about an 80% tax?)
The creation of an economical, efficient, ecologically safe automobile... paid for by the government... built by the big three (or more) automakers.... free to each qualified citizen, would create thousands of jobs, reducing unemployment and poverty. A complete redesign and rebuilding of the nations highway system, using the latest technology to blend personal and public transportation to all corners of the country.... with free usage, would create thousands of jobs, reducing unemployment and poverty. Building comfortable, efficient and effective housing for citizens to own.... for free, would create thousands (oh, you get the idea). These are just a few of the hundreds of civil projects that would eventually eliminate poverty, unemployment, possibly drug and gang problems, and have a positive effect on the standard of living in this country.
Think just maybe it's worth a try?

I'd Rather be in Philadelphia

My wife shared the following with me and I thought it would be a good thing to pass along. We men use to have something like this too, it was called Brotherhood... but I think it got lost. Maybe it still lives in Philadelphia (?)



A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day,
drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As
they talked about life, about marriage, about the
responsibilities of life and the obligations of
adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her
glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance
upon her daughter

'Don't forget your Sisters,' she advised, swirling
the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll
be more important as you get older. No matter how
much you love your husband, no matter how much you
love the children you may have, you are still going
to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now
and then; do things with them.'

'Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women...
your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other
women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women
always do.'

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman
thought. Haven't I just gotten married?
Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a
married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely
my husband and the family we may start will be all I
need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact
with her Sisters and made more women friends each
year. As the years tumbled by, one after another,
she gradually came to understand that her Mom really
knew what she was talking about. As time and nature
work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman,
Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world,
here is what I've learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT.........

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how
many miles are
between you. A girl friend is never farther away
than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you
have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life
will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,
praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on
your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the
valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk
beside you...Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters,
daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers,
Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended
family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and
neither would I. When we began this adventure called
womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or
sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we
would need each other.

Every day, we need each other still. Pass this on
to all the women who help make your life meaningful.
I just did. Short and very sweet:

There are more than twenty angels in this world.
Ten are peacefully sleeping on clouds. Nine are
playing. And one is reading her email at this
moment.