Beware The Tub!

This is one of those news items I had to catch twice. That's why I embedded the video from KREM 2 News. So you too can relish the full impact.

You readers who know me know how I love to find obscure studies that one wonders how they ever got funded. This one is an Australian study that found men over 40 who use erectile dysfunction medication are more likely to get sexually transmitted diseases, especially Aids, then those who don't, including younger men.

The rationale they found was that older men were less likely to use condoms than younger men. Okay. I'll buy that. But could it also be because if the older men weren't taking the likes of Cialis and Viagra they wouldn't be having sex in the first place? Safe or otherwise?

Now, if they really want to do a study to clear up one of the great mysteries of life, what's the deal with Cialis and bath tubs? Unless there is a way to engage in sexual activity I'm unaware of, and that is certainly possible, I see no way those men could possibly get an STD with or without a condom!

Just saying...

Lust

The minute I saw her I knew I had to have her. She was standing away from the crowd, close to a grouping of plants. Tall, stately. I moved through people busy visiting or nibbling goodies until I stood in front of her. She wasn't necessarily a she at all, more androgynous. Then I found out in order to have her I'd have to buy her. So be it.

When she arrived at my home she proved difficult. Awkward and gangly. Her parts seemed scattered everywhere and none wanted to fit together as I had imagined they should. Hub, swallowing his amazement, tried to help me get her together but nothing wanted to fit. Joints were confusing as to the direction they should be. Arms and legs everywhere. She'd not stand still, nor straight nor strong. She waffled and wavered as though she didn't want to be there at all.

Days, maybe a week later, the struggle ended. Even with parts seemingly backwards she finally resembled the beauty of the illusion that I had first seen. We waited with baited breath to see if she'd hold together. She looked so beautiful in a caressing breeze and I adorned her with flowers.

Then mother nature chose to test her. I trembled with fear that the reality would not hold up as well as the illusion. But she did. Today, after the hurricane strength winds, she has won her place in my heart. It matters not that the reality is not as beautiful as the illusion. Looks can be deceiving but it's the beauty within and what's done with it that counts. My love hasn't waned, but she, it, whatever, surely put it to the test!

The Costco Green House!

Dedicated to Cindy Hval who followed this relationship through Facebook! That's what "friends" do!

The Devil Made Them Do It!

I was the child of a mixed marriage. My Father was a Catholic, my Mother not much of anything. Other than her support, I had a characteristic that precluded me following in my Dad's devout footsteps. I liked to ask questions. I was never willing to accept the "because I said so" rationale that seemed to be the weekly dictum in catechism classes. Replace I with God, the bible, or whatever else was appropriate.

I had been long gone from the church when the scandals of pedophile priests began hitting the front pages. I had too many run ins with Priests and Nuns who told me I'd never be a good Catholic if I kept questioning. I agreed and took my leave. Perhaps I did them a disservice. Maybe if more people who questioned had stuck around continuing to do so, the problem would not have escalated to the degree it has.

Now they are shocked that it has become a world wide problem, not just one with we maverick Americans. Nor is it as new a problem as once believed. The Pope himself is believed to have been involved in the transfer of a know pedophile when he was Archbishop of Munich.

Who is at fault? A church that is has as it's ministry men and women who live the most abnormal of life styles? A hierarchy that protects rather than prosecutes? None of the above. It's because of the Devil! So says the Vatican's chief exorcist!

How this happens, how they've been able to keep it so low key, confuses me. Those possessed by the Devil display some rather obvious and horrifying traits, like vomiting nails and glass and speaking in ancient tongues. Headaches, stomach cramps and aversion to holy symbols. I'd have stomach cramps too if I were about to regurgitate nails and glass! I might also have an aversion to holy symbols if I feared being caught for my sexual peccadilloes!

At least there is finally an explanation for why this has gone on for so long. It has nothing to do with the type of men who are attracted to a life basically without women. Having himself conducted over 70,000 exorcisms, the numbers begin to fall into place. I thought perhaps the men coming forward as victims included many looking for a fast buck or their 15 minutes of fame, but 70,000... Well, they weren't all priests!

The financial settlements are bankrupting many dioceses. For instance the church is the largest land owner in Ireland but has little cash in the bank.

The Vatican sits on vast mountains of wealth. Since the buck stops there, why doesn't the Pope loosen the purse strings to help out?

There I go again. Asking questions. I just can't seem to stop!

Let's Roast These Wienies!

Have you ever wondered how the millions of people in the world have managed to survive? Consider the quake in Haiti, the droughts in Africa, the squalor of the slums in Rio not to mention war! All take their toll on the human condition yet somehow we manage to survive.

Of course in more advanced countries, like our own, Big Brother does all he can to protect us. From teddy bears whose eyes might be swallowed, from bikes whose paint may contain lead. On this level, especially, I wonder how I made it! I had my share of toys which had parts that surely put me at risk. I had a bike, though I never thought to eat any of the paint on it. Wash and shine it, yes. But eat it?

Ah, but even eating is becoming hazardous to our health. Especially kids who are prone to choking. It would seem I wasn't but apparently far too many are. Because of this, a group of pediatricians are pushing for the redesign of some of our more common foods. Especially the hot dog. The hot dog?

It's the shape, you see. Long and cylindrical. It poses a risk. What? If the kid tries to swallow it whole? They've really looked into this. A member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Injury had this to say,

"If you were to take the best engineers in the world and asked them to design a perfect plug for a child's airway, you couldn't do it better than a hot dog. It's the right size, right shape. It's compressible so it wedges itself in. When they're in that tight it's almost impossible, even with the correct training and the correct equipment, to get it out. When it's wedged that tightly, that child is going to die."

So would an adult, should one find themselves in the same situation, I should think!

Grocery manufactures, somewhat dryly I would imagine, suggested there be some responsibility assigned to parents, teachers and other care givers tending children. I should think!

It's not much fun living in this world of regulation that's being foisted upon us. Now they want to take away hot dogs as we know them. What to do at a ball game? Or around a camp fire? Or from the street vendors heaping it with onion and mustard and relish, maybe kraut or chili?

I won't even get into their suggestions about candy!

In thinking of the dangers of hot dogs, however, I would think pediatricians, of all people would be more concerned about the nutritious value of the ingredients rather than the likelihood a child would get himself into the stuffing of a hot dog down his gullet so tightly he suffocates!

Wouldn't you?

The West's Revenge!

Imagine! Washington D.C. is up to it's keester in snow. Have you ever heard such weeping and wailing from the media? Washington D.C.. Government. The people who are trying to reshape our car culture into one of teeny weenie green machines that can't even be charged up for a whole day's worth of driving, much less pull through snow covered streets.

We Westerners chuckle at all this. Who's fault is it that they aren't prepared? New York City has a plan for it. You'd think D.C. would too since when it does snow the entire government shuts down. That's not bad mind you. They can't do any harm when they're closed down!

They won't learn from this experience because they tend not to learn from any experience, but they should note that their little vehicles aren't worth squat in the white stuff. The people in upstate New York know it. We bought our first SUV when we moved from Seattle to Rochester, New York several years ago. It was needed and well used. Lake effect snow does pile up!

Then there is all of us in the Midwest and West. We are no stranger to wind and snow and blizzard conditions pushing up drifts as high as the house. Fallen trees. Collapsed roofs. Community spirit when it comes to digging everyone out. Dig out parties sponsored by the local TV stations where anyone with a snow blower or a shovel is asked to pitch in. And, boy, they do!

Last year we had around 160 inches, the year before around 180. Getting around in that took some doing. It took big, heavy vehicles like our cherished rigs - pick ups and SUVs. Our beloved gas guzzlers. I wouldn't live west of the Mississippi, out in the country, without one.

So listen up you government types. Here's your shovel ready project. How many of you are actually going to do the labor? Or are you going to hire it out and count it as "job creation"?

As for getting around,a few politically incorrect types are brazen enough to drive SUVs. It's a good thing, too. One such person able to slip and slide around town in the ultimate of offensive vehicles, a Hummer, got his just reward. He pulled a police car out of a snowbank.

Those eastern elitists who like to claim there is no intelligent life west of the Mississippi have that wrong as well as everything else. The direction might need to be reversed!

Slang Versus Profanity

Is there a descriptive word in the English language that isn't offensive to somebody? I'm thinking of all who have been accused of hurling slurs when they've done no more than use slang.

The current flap is over Rahm Emanuel accusing liberal activists of being, "f______ retarded". It took Sarah Palin a nano second to come forth and decry it as a slur on all God's children with cognitive and developmental disabilities. I'm sure that is exactly what Emanuel was thinking when he said it.

Recently, too, Harry Reid was castigated for referring to Obama as a Negro. Gasp. Horror of horrors! And of course awhile back there was the now infamous incident when Don Imus referred to the Rutgers girls basketball team as 'nappy-headed hos', slang used with great frequency by many of the girls' own race.

Oh yes, we must be politically correct and not offend anyone. Rush Limbaugh and his feminazis! I can remember when Italians were Wops, Mexicans were Beaners and Indians Ragheads. Slang. Descriptive. Be offended if you so choose.

I, however, am far more offended by the f-word Emanuel used preceding retarded. He uses it with abandon so it is said, just as it is on just about every program on the Comedy Channel. It has no business in the vocabulary of the President's chief of staff. Why Jon Stewart has to use it with the frequency he does escapes me. It does not make a skit funny. In fact I've gotten to the point of turning him off more and more frequently because of the sexually explicit language he and his cast use.

If there is a good side to all this it's that we will soon talk like we text. In abbreviated versions of the words we mean to use. The r-word, n-word. I'm the M-word writing a p-word on my b-word.

No one will have a c-word what we're talking about but at least we won't o-word anyone!

Bad Taste In Politics!

There's a lot of this going around these days. Everything from how the Democrats are trying to force legislation to how the campaign in Massachusetts is being carried out.

Never-the-less, it's still my country and I consider such problems our own to solve. I'm still proud of who we are as a nation with a few exceptions. Rush Limbaugh is on my list again. I'm never quite sure when he's serious or trying to be funny and falling flat. His comment about the Obama administration politicizing the earthquake in Haiti to enhance him image among the black community in this country is beyond the pale even for Limbaugh. Even Bush called him on it.

Unfortunately Limbaugh doesn't seem to have a monopoly on inane views. A French minister added voice to it by suggesting the U.S. was more interested in occupying Haiti than helping.

Venezuela's Chavez suggested much the same by questioning the number of troops we've sent and that we're occupying Haiti undercover.

Well, let's just have a look at this. Who has the manpower and the equipment most needed? The U.S. How about the ability to get it there and organize distribution? The U.S. Who's citizenry is raising millions of dollars via every means possible from Facebook to Twitter to texting? The U.S.

Who else has a neurosurgeon who makes his living as a CNN contributor stepping in to do surgery where medical personnel are in short supply? The U.S.

Which country has two former President's working along side the current administration to facilitate needs? The U.S.

And yes, I might as well ask it. Who would be among the first into France (didn't we do this once before a few wars ago?) and even Venezuela should a similar fate befall them? Yep. The U.S.

Trust me. We'd have no interest in 'occupying' either of you. We'd just want to help your people. Some things you really can't politicize without looking mean spirited or just plain foolish.

What's With These Reality Show Folks?

I'm not sure which is worse. The lengths to which people will go to become "reality" stars or the Secret Service considering criminal action against such people because they've (the Secret Service) been duped!

I can understand criminal action against the poor misguided folks in Boulder who floated a trial balloon a few weeks back. The balloon along with their plans quickly deflated after charges were brought for all kinds on improprieties regarding the closing of air space and that kind of thing. At least it had some merit.

But a couple of party crashers at a state dinner in D.C.? If anyone should be charged with a criminal act it should be the multitude of staffers who didn't do their job! You'll note many of the "celebrity" ilk were more than happy to pose for pictures. Isn't that a little hokey for a state dinner? I don't know; I've never been to one but I do think I would pass on cozying up to Katie Couric for a photo op. And Joe Biden and Rahm Emanuel. You have to love it. They didn't have a clue as to who these people were but no doubt figured they were big time contributors to all things Democrat!

You suggest the President could have been in danger? Especially when the name of the gentleman in question was Tareq Salahi? What kind of name is that? Not a good old American moniker like Brian or Katie or those belonging other invitees! Has that ever been mentioned in a story or is it politically incorrect to do so? I'm not suggesting we should profile people attending the events, but really!

Beyond that, let's look at the 'reality' part! Have you even noticed they are either celebrities like the Osborns or very attractive people who want to enter a world that is anything but real?

If you want reality, come to my house. Get a look at me when I roll out of bed and down my coffee. Get a look at me as I go about my daily chores outfitted in Wranglers and a sloppy sweater trying to minimize the effects of age and diet. That's reality and it ain't pretty! You might notice on my Facebook page there are far more pictures of my recently departed dog then of me. He had the looks in the family!

Don't try to convince me the "Real Houswives of New Jersey" of Orange County or Washington D.C. bear any semblance to the reality most of us know.

Had we tried to crash the state dinner we may have gotten past some of the checkpoints because others weren't doing their job but we'd have definitely been held up on the "beautiful people" scale. Unless of course we had Bacchus with us.

You have to wonder where they were seated? Were there place cards for them? I'd think not! What did the others who sat at their table think? "And what do you do for a living Tareq?

Let's remember one important thing buried in this nonsense. This country is a country of laws, not men. Had the unthinkable occurred, we would have survived. We might not be crazy about Biden as President, but we'd have survived.

Nothing did happen, however, other than showcasing how much blurring there really is between politics and entertainment. From the Vice President and the Chief of Staff on down to the lowliest social secretary, not to mention the Secret Service, they were had.

I got a good laugh out of it. Didn't you? Can we still laugh as a nation? Or does everything have to be criminalized?

Passing On Palin

I'm going on record. I am not going to buy nor read Sarah Palin's book. She is coming to the Coeur d'Alene Fred Meyer store December 10th on her signing tour. I will be no where in sight.

I must admit I considered going with my handy Flip video but have even decided against that. I just don't like the woman and do not, for the life of me, understand why this vacant, ill spoken woman gets the press she does. She appeals to ordinary Americans? She's one of us? I guess that makes me something other than ordinary.

I've been listening to all the hype until I'm to the point of not turning on the tube unless it's for the BCC. They seem to be the only real news broadcast out there any more and even they are over dosing on Palin. Did you listen to any of the Oprah interview? Was there anything other than whining? Is there anything in the book that has not yet been revealed? I'll pocket my $30 and take a chance.

It's hard for me to take her seriously as a family values person when her own family is somewhat dysfunctional. I don't blame this on the family as much as a mother whose ambitions out weighed motherhood. It's hard for me to take her seriously as a help to Republican candidates when she goes into an area, as she recently did in New York, without knowing the issues nor the constituency. Personality alone won't cut it in the end when the Democrat wins!

I find it especially hard to take her seriously when, as Maureen Dowd quotes from her book telling of Palin going into labor one 4th of July while kayaking, "I so wanted a patriotic baby that I paddled as hard as I could to speed up the contractions, but she held out until the next day."

This super hero of a woman belongs in a comic book. I can just see her in figure flattering tights with cape flowing behind her, fighting for the American underdog. Can she succeed in her fight against political corruption and media bias? Dang it, you betcha! Just not in the White House.

This Guy Isn't A Young Santa!

Forget the beard. Gifts you get from this guy would be better left unopened!

Okay. I'm over my vacation thoughts and am back in my "what can they possibly be thinking" mode. Like the pussy footing around the Fort Hood Massacre in attempt to make it something other than what it was. An Islamic act of terror.

My worry today, however, is the inanity of trying the September 11 terrorists and the mastermind behind it in our civilian courts, in New York City yet! Whoever made this decision is mad. Quite mad. Everyone involved in making it. All of them.

Look at the lead time they have given jihadis and jihadi wannabes already within the country to plan! I do not for one minute believe we can out think these people on how they might breech security.

I envision the entire city grinding to a halt. I envision several possible scenarios. Either the feds will close down the entire city for the duration of an open ended trial or everyone entering the city will have to pass through check points. Can you imagine the nightmare of that alone? Have you ever traveled to New York City? You have airports, bridges and tunnels. Can they all be adequately protected? At what expense?

Then there is the already faltering economy of the city. It would die. Who in their right mind would want to vacation there during that period? There goes tourism. Broadway. Restaurants. Shopping. Attractions. Not to mention services denied people who live there.

What New Yorker in their right mind wants this going on in their backyard?

Then there is the trial itself. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed wants to be his own attorney. That means he has the right to see every bit of classified information we have! That's just dandy. Especially if he happens to be acquitted or sprung by "friends". He could also be assassinated by those same friends to martyr him as a recruiting tool. Or they could cause mischief in other parts of the city, or country for that matter, while all eyes and security are focused on the trial.

Come on. You know how the media is going to act. It's going to be a circus. Like Michael Jackson's trial a few years back, or O.J.'s. And guess what? They both got off! It will only take one juror to deny the death penalty, no matter how strong the evidence. Then, if convicted at all, we'll get to support them for the rest of their lives.

It's time for Obama's apology tour to stop. We are at war. We have no obligation to bear our souls or anything else to anyone! They tell us this is to showcase our justice system to the rest of the world. To show them we're good people and fair. Who thought that up as a necessity? I'll buy into it when the countries these men came from do the same.

Let's change the meaning of "politically correct" to mean we do something that makes sense for this country rather than placating those who hate us!

Could You Eat Him?

Sometimes you just have to wonder! Did you know that it is legal to eat man's best friend in 44 states? I didn't either. Kind of makes you wonder why the remaining states have declared it otherwise!

One of my more consistent themes in writing this blog is the disconnect between our culture and those of countries into which we try to insinuate our own. It usually has to do with human rights. Like stoning people to death or lashing them to serve as an example. I hadn't really given their culinary peculiarities much thought until recently. There has been a spate of articles suggesting we ought to consider having pets we can at some point in time consume in order to neutralize their carbon footprint. I don't care if it's a cat or a rat, if it's a pet I couldn't eat it.

I realize that what we consider domestic pets are often eaten by people of other cultures and have been since the beginning of time. I guess one man's delicacy is another's heartburn. Like sheep eyeballs. If I didn't know what I was eating, would I consider it a delicacy? I have no idea and hope never to find out. The closest I've come to culinary bravery was pig snout while in France. I doubt I'll ever rid myself of the image of those nostrils staring up at me from a daintily garnished bed of greens!

Those of you who follow me know I'm a huge softy when it comes to animal welfare. That being said, I have to tell you I was shocked to see the following article in today's Wall Street Journal , Let Them Eat Dog - A modest proposal for tossing Fido in the oven. Yikes!

Halloween Day! The time of year humane societies forbid the adoption of black cats! Here's an article that not only goes into vivid depictions of how dogs have been consumed past and present, but even a recipe!

Having read through all the unsettling descriptions, the summation points out that the prospect of consuming Fido is likely repulsive to everyone reading the article and that's what's most important.

Perhaps. I have to question the timing, number one, and any socially redeeming reason for the article in the first place, number two! I guess the saving grace, and don't misconstrue "grace", is that not a lot of strung out types looking for new horrors to explore on Halloween are likely to be reading the Wall Street Journal. Nor this post. I hope.

Politics ~ Theater Of The Absurd

Nancy has brought forth her health care reform that includes everything including the kitchen sink. It is bound to fail at some point. Obama is about to stiff the military and the fight against al Qaeda for political gains rather than victory.

Then there is the man in the picture. His name is William Bryk. He's an attorney who lives in Brooklyn. While living in Brooklyn he ran for the vice presidential nomination in New Hampshire in 2008. And won. New Hampshire law specifies one only need pay a $1,000 fee and have lived in the United States for 15 years. He won.

Now he has popped up as a challenger for our Senator, Mike Crapo. He's never been to Idaho. The closest he has come is Buffalo, New York! Not exactly in our back yard!

It seems he thinks Crapo, who had no challenger other than a write in last time he was elected, should not go unchallenged. What a noble thought.

It's not that he doesn't have some good ideas. He ran before because he was upset with Bill Clinton's personal conduct. I'm not sure what he planned to do about it.

He's worried about the decline of people's personal liberties. Boy, that fits well with this administration! Look at health care reform!

He said he's also alarmed about the nation's "arbitrary exercise of authority" and "interventions into countries that don't want them."

"I think we need to stop, slow down and think about what we should be doing."

That's all fine and dandy as far as generalities go, but he knows nothing about Idaho nor it's citizens. I should think an attorney could find better use of his time than this absurdity. He could run for office in New York state. What a novel concept. Run where you live!

Candidates come in all shapes and sizes and for a myriade of reasons. We have one race where the challenger admits to knowing nothing of the needs of the facing the district. Is willingness to learn enough?

I fell into the trap of no experience with Obama. I'm leary of it now. Especially on the local level. New blood is one thing, but knowledge of the issues is a whole different thing. A requirement I should think.

So. Mr. Bryk. Just stay home. If we want some one to challenge Mr. Crapo, we can find him on our own. If we want an out-of-state challenger we can look at Arnold Schwarzenneger! At least he has a home in Sun Valley.

Then again, if Mike Crapo has no challengers, just maybe it's an indication he's doing a good enough job no one figures they can beat him.

By the way, Idaho. You might consider tightening up that requirement to prevent more of this idiocy. There are too many important issues to concern ourselves with!

Halloween As A Liberal Holiday

It's raining. It's Friday. The nuts are on the highways. And the radio.

Hub and I were running errands. Conservative talk show host, Sean Hannity was on the radio. He was railing on about how Halloween is a Liberal holiday because it teaches kids to go door to door begging for something for nothing. Wow. Now I realize it takes a lot to fill the hours allotted to talk radio hosts day in and day out, but how absurd does one have to get?

Maybe that's the way it's looked at today. It sure was different when I was a kid. Having grown up Catholic, November first was All Saints Day and we always had to drag our selves out of bed, shrug off our candy high, and hustle off to Mass because it was a Holy Day of Obligation. In other words you had to go.

The night before was Halloween. It really began as a Celtic tradition. You know how those Irish love to party! So, the night before All Hallows was Hallow's Eve; Hallowe'en. The night when the dead wandered, evil dead. People put out food and drink to mollify the creatures before evil befell them.

The tradition continued and morphed into what we as kids knew. Before vandalism and poisoned treats ruined it, kids would spend the night, or maybe even a few nights, before soaping windows, ringing doorbells and running, or rat-a-tatting windows with a homemade notched spool spun with string. Off into the dark we would run giggling at our daring.

Halloween night we'd dress in our homemade costumes and go door to door looking for treats to avoid a repeat performance. It worked, you know, we always got treats.

It's a sad day when all that's left of a tradition for kids is a misconception of what it was about not to mention the politicizing of it.

When happenings like this were more than my Mom could grasp she always slipped into the mantra of how the time she had left on this earth was short and that she had been fortunate enough to have lived in the good old days.

I understand. I really understand. It makes one wonder what kinds of memories kids today will have when they look back at their good old days. I hope it's more than Halloween being a Liberal holiday!

Airport Screening As Porn?

Whole body scanners are in use in at least 24 U.S. airports. That's your choice if you're "selected" for a secondary search. Or you can opt for the pat down. Some choice.

As you can see, everything shows. What doesn't is thanks to some photo editing.

According to The Economist the British are just getting into trials for this invasion of privacy in the name of stopping terrorism. They've had some interesting problems arise.

One is what happens to the image. We're assured that the image is ghost like without identifiable glimpses of the face or hair. But a weapon can be detected. Now, here's the upshot. The screeners are in a separate room and thus would be unable to identify the individual! Then what's the point?

Excuse me? What if the person carrying an objectionable object bolts? If he/she can't be identified how would he be found? Besides, how many potential terrorists are stupid enough to try to get through security with a concealed weapon? Not many!

Then there is the question of children. Many parents aren't thrilled with the idea of a hidden stranger viewing their child in the buff. For that matter I don't imagine the parents are thrilled about having a hidden stranger view them in the buff either! Also, what happens to those images?

Now, I know the viewing of my tired old body would hardly be considered erotica. I'd still rather it not be done. As for kids, that's a whole different question. They have decided children under the age of 18 will not be x-rayed until legal consul decides if they may be breaking a law against creating indecent images of children.

To my way of thinking, viewing any person naked is indecent whether the image is or not. I'd like to know how many potential terrorists have actually been apprehended by virtue of pat downs, and now whole body scans. I also wonder when some person is going to sue the TSA for invasion of privacy for all this nonsense. Especially if it's an infant in arms or an 80 year old grandmother with a walker!

Have We Totally Lost Our Sense Of Humor?

What's your initial reaction when you look at the picture on the left? Is it, "Oh my gosh, what a horrible affront to Hispanics!"? Or "Oh my gosh, what a horrible affront to the 12 million illegals living within our borders!"? If so I'm going to go live on his planet. Actually I laughed. I really thought it was clever and funny.

As a Halloween costume, it had been available through Target online until they withdrew it contending, from pressure, it was a "mistake".

Come on people! First we have to watch our slang because it's offensive to somebody, we've eliminated "squaw" from our vocabulary because it's offensive to Indians, now we can't even market a Halloween costume that looks nothing like a Hispanic because of the implied meaning? Who implied it? If the Hispanics are so sensitive to it do you think maybe the shoe fits?

It reminds me of my pre-chess set days when I was playing around with little figures I was thinking of selling as one offs. I showed the first couple I made to the owner of a gallery that was carrying my work.

She told me she couldn't carry them because she was "Christian". Talk about being set back on your heels!

Since much of my work has a bit of politically incorrect subtleties to it, I decided we should part company. The chess set came after and I made it as politically incorrect as possible.

Living in Seattle at the time, it was when the politically correct police were successful in keeping the military from carrying their weapons in parades and forbid the Sea Fair Pirates from firing their pistols and brandishing their swords. It's been a long time since we lived there. I hope sanity has returned.

As for the chess set, I made the Knights Mummies who cannot move and Headless Horsemen who cannot see. The Bishops on one side are Devils and the others, Wizards. It felt so good when I finished it. It's a Halloween set for crying out loud. Lighten up!

Kids can't have popcorn balls or apples anymore for fear of not so nice stuff implanted in them - or the fear of contamination, so what do we do? We give them safe, factory wrapped candy. What's the good sense in that?

Most of the older kids don't even dress up any more. They come to your door for the hand outs. Some fun. If they'd come dressed ad that illegal alien I'd laugh and probably give them extra!

I don't know, I don't know. I guess I'm not politically correct enough to go to heaven at this point in my life. Where I'd really like to go is where my dogs are. If I can't go there either, I want to go to where ever that alien came from.

Can You Imagine?

One of the things I do before deciding on what to write is skim headlines from a variety of sources. One of my favorites is Drudge because the header can be totally misleading.

This caught my eye today: MURDOCH, MALONE CONSIDER NBC BUY... DEVELOPING...

Murdoch interested in NBC? The Murdoch who owns News Corp which owns FOX? Wow! Would that be fun to watch!

The Reuters article indicates this is not likely because of antitrust concerns, but it sure is fun to contemplate. How would all the pro-Obama talking heads cope with having to turn into, say, a Glenn Beck or Bill O'Reilly? Can you imagine Keith Olbermann having to parrot O'Reilly? Goodness, what would he do for his Worst Persons segment?

Who would mimic the sobbings of Beck? Maddow maybe? Nope. That's sexist to equate a woman with crying jags. And Chris Matthews. Who would send tingles running down his leg? Would Andrea Mitchell go back to being a real reporter? At one time she was one of the best! Could Chuck Todd compete with Major Garrett?

Wow. Imagining NBC becoming a shill for conservative issues is mind boggling, though it would make things more fair and balanced. There would still be ABC, CBS and CNN to carry on the Liberal agenda. NBC, FOX and MSNBC would then level the playing field.

Let's see. Anchors. CNN has Anderson Cooper to FOX's Shepard Smith. ABC is going to have Diane Sawyer, CBS has Katie Couric. NBC's Brian Williams would have to watch his back! Ann Curry is waiting in the wings.

This is truly the stuff of dreams. Daydreams. Or ~ maybe nightmares!

Huummmmm er....

A young French student left this comment on yesterday's post:

Hello !
I'm french, I'm 17 years old, and I study English at school. And in my English book, we speak about you and your blog. I think that's very original to whrite all your thoughs in a blog, and I think you've got a quality writing. You have to go on !

It's amazing how one comment inspires me not to change what I'm doing. It is what I do when it comes to blogging.

I dedicate today's post to my young reader.

What vehicle first comes to mind when you think of humongous gas guzzlers the administration wants to get off our roads? The Hummer, right? They'd like to annihilate it, right?

Imagine my surprise when I saw this headline in this morning's Wall Street Journal - Hummer Plans Headquarters In Michigan! It made me realize someone out there thinks there is going to be a market for them. Not GM. It's one of the brands they chose to get rid of.

How about the Chinese? They're the ones buying the brand! They'll no doubt sell a lot of them in China. Probably enough to wipe out and carbon emissions savings that would have occurred here had the brand disappeared.

The game plan, however, is not to contain it in China. The plans for the U.S. include the creation of 300 jobs with people working on design, marketing, engineering and distribution. To keep it in Michigan, the state has committed $20.6 over the next ten years! Wow!

You've gotta love it! GM sells the gas guzzler to China who in turn will devote millions in research, development and distribution tactics in the U.S.. Michigan in particular because they need the jobs, want to keep the reputation of being the automotive capital of the world and offered the greatest incentives.

Now that the cash for clunkers deal has ended, the used car business is in shambles and showrooms of car dealers sit silent, the foundation for an uprising has been laid! Hummer will live to see another day! America loves it's gas guzzlers. America needs it's gas guzzlers, especially during the winter months, just to get around. Especially here in the West! Try driving a smart car over some of our back country roads. Try going anywhere in a car that needs a charge every eight hours and it takes nearly as many hours to complete. Try paying the surcharge on your electric bill for the extra electricity that will have to be generated!

In time, be assured, when all this hype has once more settled down, Hummers will peek out of garages along with honkin' big pickups, SUVs of all types bearing familiar brands. The difference will be the ownership will be foreign and the profits will go off shore.

Our emissions may go down for a time but foreign emissions will increase to offset them. Then ours will creep back up.

These attempts at sweeping change seem to have a few flaws. Are we just a little at odds with ourselves?

Is The Whole World going Nuts?

I thought we had a corner on political correctness, especially when it comes to words describing ethnicity. You know, words like "redskins" and "squaw". Ask Don Imus about "nappy" hair!

Maybe it's what happens when the world of politics becomes so chaotic no one knows what to think about it. Or don't want to think because the inconsistency and blatant incompetence of it is so overwhelming! Crack down on something so removed from important issues, people will forget the reality of what is or is not happening. I don't know, I don't know.

What's happening in Britain will no doubt soon invade our shores. According to the TIMESONLINE a new surge of words are being purged from common usage. For instance, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission wants "black" day replaced by "miserable" day. They suggest that such words carry a "hierarchical valuation of skin color". Even "ethnic minority" is deemed insulting.

The National Gallery in London thinks " gentleman's agreement" insults women and "right hand man" is demeaning.

Even the word "master" is a no no even when it comes to "master" bedroom! "Whiter than white" is also taboo! "Black sheep", "black looks" and "black mark" are also considered a negative view of all things black! There was no mention of "blacker than the ace of spades". I'm sure if I put my mind to it I could come up with a lot more.

How the heck can I blog if I'm forbidden to refer to Obama as our first "black" President? Maybe it's an omen. Oops! That could be insulting to some religious groups.

Man. I do miss Bacchus! He was a catch all. He was reddish brown, white and black and for yellow, well, maybe his teeth. He didn't care what we called him as long as we called him for dinner. No wonder people love their dogs so much.

More Beer!

I can be pretty hard on the President but I have to give him credit for the "beer summit"!

Here I had been thinking he was acting "stupidly" again by perpetuating an issue that had gotten over blown and that it was little more than another photo op for a camera hungry President since the press was not allowed within earshot.

Nothing changed my mind when I heard the statements from the "guests" afterwards. They were stiff at best and probably prepared by White House staffers. Never mind that the beer was on us!

Then I saw this portion of a cartoon and thought, "Aha!" There is a method to his madness. If enough brew is consumed the major antagonists will look better and better to one another! This could lead to a whole new philosophy in any area of negotiation with those who don't see things our way. Drink up!

The policeman and the prof certainly had a better deal than a group of business leaders who were invited to the White House for lunch a few weeks back. Imagine, lunch in the President's private dining room and the chance to discuss everything from health care to education. Imagine their surprise when they were asked for their credit card information so they could be charged for the meal!

The rational was to prevent any appearance of conflict of interest. I'm not sure that is acceptable. This group included the CEOs of Xerox, Coca-Cola, AT&T and Honeywell. The administration is sorely in need of their advice and consul considering, from the President on down, they have precious little business experience. I'm not sure we should be "charging" them for the privilege of sharing their knowledge!

Even Letitia Baldrige, who is the first lady of Washington of etiquette, suggested it was a serious breech of protocol. Whoa! There's that word again. Protocol. Hasn't the White House hired a protocol officer yet?

I sure hope it was a three martini lunch, even if the CEO's had to pay. It may have made things look a little better!

Should They Or Shouldn't They?

There is a point to be made when it comes to taking time to construct legislation. Financing the health care overhaul has been a big hang up but now the ideas are coming forward. Tax plastic surgery!

Of course this is a boon or bust issue. Take me for instance. I am well aware that insurance does not pay for such luxuries therefore I don't partake even though there are several places on this tired old body that could use some enhancement. I won't list them. Those who know me know from whence I come, to everyone else. Well, tough. So it's a bust issue for me.

It's a boon for all those members of Congress who indulge. Both Nancy Pelosi and Hillary are suspect and we all know Joe Biden had hair plugs. It probably wouldn't cover bad toupees but it should! But then again, there would be a whole lot more of those ridiculous comb overs male politicians love to sport. It wouldn't really matter though because Congress exempts themselves from every law they pass that we have to abide by.

Thinking about that, I'd feel a whole lot better if it were written into any health care legislation, that they cannot exempt themselves; that they'd have to choose from the same plans offered to us.

It would be a bust for the news and entertainment industries. What would the likes of Joan Rivers do? I figure the onset of high definition TV sent our news anchors and reporters scurrying to the nearest plastic surgeon. We know they already need the teeth whitening, nose straightening and probably tummy tuck services but the tax write off would go away. I mean come on, how can you trust what a news person tells you when they lie about how they really look?

I've been watching the promos for the fall line ups on the networks. There are more and more reality shows because it's what the advertising demographics watch. Would that be cool or what? If everything on the tube had to be reality TV?

If taxing plastic surgery should become law, it might help women get over their self image problems. They'd find the icons of image aren't really so very different from themselves. I see this as a positive since some 86% of the patients are female.

It's also thought to be a tax on the wealthy since only they can easily afford it. Those who can't sometimes set aside money for years to get the procedure they want! Take for example the price of a nose job . It ranges between $3000 and $8000. That's a lot of spare change stuffed under a mattress!

Think of all the lost buying power! How long would it take to save that much? For me, had I started in my 20's I'd probably still be saving because things would have come along for which I'd have borrowed from the fund. I'm self indulgent on a lot of levels. And now? Who cares?